EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 12/7/21
PIPELINE NEWS
CBC: Coastal GasLink failed to fix nearly 2 dozen environmental violations along pipeline route, B.C. officials say
Facebook: Sodalite News: Supporters of the Wet’suwet’en Nation have shut down the tracks owned by CN
Duluth News Tribune: World's largest carbon capture pipeline aims to connect 31 ethanol plants, cut across Upper Midwest
The Gazette: Hundreds of Linn County residents gather to grill Navigator about CO2 pipeline
News Journal: Carbon capture pipeline projects stir up controversy in Iowa
KCRG: People frustrated with past pipeline projects express concerns over potential new 1,300-mile ‘Heartland Greenway’ pipeline
KFYR: North Dakota Industrial Commission approves west-to-east pipeline grant guidelines
U.S. DOJ: Pipeline Company Sentenced for Largest-Ever Inland Oil Spill
Associated Press: Sunoco ordered to dredge Downingtown lake, reroute pipeline, and pay $4M fine over 2020 spill
Reuters: Pipeline operator Enbridge forecasts higher 2022 core earnings
WXYZ: Inside the Enbridge Line 5 oil pipeline controversy
GCaptain: NTSB Board Meeting to Consider Report Into Deadly Waymon Boyd Pipeline Strike
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Washington Post: Biden is approving more oil and gas drilling permits on public lands than Trump, analysis finds
InsideClimate News: Biden Promised to Stop Oil Drilling on Public Lands. Is His Failure to Do So a Betrayal or a Smart Political Move?
Reuters: Oil CEOs clash with U.S. Energy Dept official over energy transition
Politico: HUSH HUSH FRENCH BUYS
E&E News: Utah will ask Supreme Court to consider monuments challenge
Politico: LOOKING AT METHANE THROUGH THE NEW YEAR
Politico: PIPELINES, WILDLIFE AND PFAS IN COMMITTEE THIS WEEK
STATE UPDATES
Associated Press: Honolulu utility shuts well to prevent fuel contamination
Reuters: Alaska agency commits to more spending on Arctic oil plans
EXTRACTION
Wall Street Journal: Demand for Oil, Gas to Remain Robust for Years, Energy Leaders Say
Reuters: Halliburton says the world is entering a period of oil scarcity
Yahoo Finance: How much Suncor and its peers need to spend to hit net-zero
Financial Post: Chris Varcoe: 'I am an activist,' says Steven Guilbeault as he meets energy leaders
Albuquerque News: Sandia Labs Develops New Method for Oil and Gas Wastewater Recycling
Pro Publica: These Real Estate and Oil Tycoons Avoided Paying Taxes for Years
CLIMATE FINANCE
Environment Journal: Methane reductions are largely from divestments, says new study
Center for Media & Democracy: ALEC Launches Attack on Banks That Divest From Fossil Fuels
McGill Tribune: Divest McGill delivers petition to administration urging immediate divestment from TC Energy
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
Cornwall Seaway News: Enbridge donates smoke and carbon monoxide alarms to North Stormont Fire Department
OPINION
Casper Star-Tribune: Hutcherson, Smitherman: We’re betting Wyoming’s future on Wyoming’s past
Missoulian: Opinion: NorthWestern Energy puts profits over people. We deserve better.
Santa Barbara Independent: Oil-Rig Setback Rule Doesn’t Go Far Enough
Montana Standard: Guest view: Century-old 'Teapot Dome' scandal isn't over
PIPELINE NEWS
CBC: Coastal GasLink failed to fix nearly 2 dozen environmental violations along pipeline route, B.C. officials say
Betsy Trumpener, 12/6/21
“Officials have flagged numerous, ongoing environmental violations by Coastal GasLink that could harm sensitive waterways along the pipeline's route through northern B.C.,” the CBC reports. “Inspectors with B.C.'s Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) said Coastal GasLink failed to comply with orders in 2020 to fix nearly two dozen sediment and erosion problems on watercourses and wetlands. The pipeline project has been slapped with two enforcement orders to fix the problems, after failing to comply with conditions of the environmental permits that allow the pipeline to be built. The November orders were signed by the EAO's senior compliance and enforcement officer. They require the multibillion-dollar pipeline project to take measures to control erosion and stop sediment from entering sensitive waterways… “In a written statement to CBC News, Coastal GasLink said it took "immediate action to remedy the EAO reports' findings of non-compliance." “...The EAO posted the non-compliance orders publicly just days before the RCMP arrested 30 Wet'suwet'en members and supporters blockading a remote Coastal GasLink work camp that housed more than 500 pipeline workers. The people at the blockades, who call themselves land defenders, said they were blocking Coastal GasLink from drilling under the Wedzin Kwa, or Morice River. The Coastal GasLink infractions covered by the enforcement order include the Clore River watershed on Wet'suwet'en traditional territory, Mike Ridsdale, environmental assessment co-ordinator with the Office of the Wet'suwet'en, told the CBC. "CGL is getting a lot of non-compliance reports written up. When is enough?" Ridsdale told the CBC. "These violations are amended by writing a simple report stating that the error has been rectified. Unfortunately, many times the damage is done."
Facebook: Sodalite News: Supporters of the Wet’suwet’en Nation have shut down the tracks owned by CN
12/4/21
“Supporters of the Wet’suwet’en Nation have shut down the tracks owned by CN, used for Frieght and Amtrak to the United States, which also serves commuter trains in the City on Montreal. Now taking place On Saint-George street in Saint-Lambert, Quebec.”
Duluth News Tribune: World's largest carbon capture pipeline aims to connect 31 ethanol plants, cut across Upper Midwest
Jeff Beach, 12/6/21
“Spanning five states and involving at least 31 ethanol plants connected by 2,000 miles of pipeline, an Iowa company is poised to make a major investment in low-carbon fuel,” the Duluth News Tribune reports. “...The company already has held a series of public meetings in Iowa and is reaching out to landowners along its proposed route. But it has yet to apply for a permit in any of the five states: Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, South Dakota and North Dakota. That will likely happen sometime in the first quarter of 2022, Jake Ketzner, vice president of governmental affairs with Summit Carbon, told the Tribune. Ketzner calls the project a “transformational project for the future of agriculture.” “...But not all are excited about the project. Groups seeking to protect the environment and protect the rights of landowners are mobilizing to keep Summit from steamrolling the project through. Peg Furshong is the director of CURE, which stands for Clean Up the River Environment, an organization that calls itself a rural social justice group in Minnesota. She told the Tribune her group, along with other groups concerned about the environment in other states along the route, have been trying to learn as much as they can about carbon pipelines in a short amount of time. “There’s a whole lot of stuff we still need to know,” she told the Tribune. “What I do know is that landowners and farmers along the route need an ally.” Summit has yet to hold public meetings in Minnesota, but at those meetings, “the only information they're going to get is from people who want something from them.” She told the Tribune the main goal of her group right now is to “slow it down” so that people have time to make good decisions. She doesn’t want landowners to rush into signing a voluntary easement, because once they do, “they can’t get it back, even if the pipeline isn’t built.” She told the Tribune Minnesota doesn’t even have rules in place for carbon pipelines. She told the Tribune the rules that exist specify other types of pipelines, such as oil.”
The Gazette: Hundreds of Linn County residents gather to grill Navigator about CO2 pipeline
Erin Jordan, 12/7/21
“More than 30 people spoke out against a carbon dioxide pipeline proposed to run through 36 Iowa counties, including Linn, at an informational meeting where hundreds of people gathered Monday night in Cedar Rapids,” The Gazette reports. “When Steve Pisarik, a southern Linn County farmer, asked the crowd of about 250 at Veterans Memorial Building for a show of hands of how many wanted the pipeline on their land, no one raised their hands. “I’ve got a pipeline currently on my farm and a highway on my farm. And now this one. It’s asking a lot,” Pisarik said. “When this thing breaks — and it will sooner or later — how much will spill out on my ground?” “...Questions asked during Monday night’s more than three-hour meeting concerned safety, the proposed pipeline route, whether the project brings value to average Iowans and the financial backing of the project… “In February 2020, a pipeline carrying CO2 and hydrogen sulfide ruptured in Mississippi, sickening motorists and residents near the site, the Clarion-Ledger newspaper reported… “Brenna Stoops, who lives in Cedar County, told Navigator Monday night she’s concerned because she and her husband have received a letter saying the proposed pipeline would go through their 37-acre property, where they want to develop a paintball park. "We plan to use our land for a business outside of farming,“ Stoops said. ”How would it be determined value of losses?“ “...Josh Henik, who farms in southwest Linn County, said he’s heard the Utilities Board will decide whether the project is in the common good. “What direct benefits do we see for the actual citizens of Iowa?” he asked. Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, vice president of government and public affairs, said not only does the pipeline help ethanol plants, which buy Iowa corn, but the project is expected to take 15 million metric tons of CO2 out of the atmosphere. “This isn’t just negating emissions on one coast or another, it’s emissions in our own backyards,” she said. “We’re cleaning up air in the state of Iowa and not somewhere else.”
News Journal: Carbon capture pipeline projects stir up controversy in Iowa
Mary Stroka, 12/3/21
“Many landowners and other stakeholders in Iowa have raised concerns about two proposed carbon-capture pipeline projects that would stretch through Iowa and other Midwestern states,” the News Journal reports. “A handful of opponents of the Summit carbon capture pipeline rallied Thursday prior to the company’s CEO Bruce Rastetter speech at GreenSeam’s 2021 Rural Forum. The event was held outside Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center in Mankato, Minn. Iowa resident, gourd farmer and Food & Water Watch organizer Emma Schmit said at the rally that carbon capture isn’t the solution to “the looming climate crisis.” She criticized the use of tax dollars to developing the industry… “Craig Woodward, who lives in Mankato and owns land in Iowa, claimed the property value of land involved in the project would plummet. “I can’t think of any landowner that would want to have a hazardous liquid pipeline buried on their land.” Heather Pearson, an “Iowa pipeline fighter” and a volunteer for Food & Water Watch, also criticized the project. “Iowans should not have to sacrifice our farmland, our soil, our waterways, our health, our property rights for Bruce Rastetter’s greedy, money-grabbing privately owned but publicly funded greenwashing scam of a pipeline,” Pearson said. Iowa landowners are concerned about the safety of the pipeline if it breaks, whether it would affect crop yields, and if they would be legally responsible for any pipeline accidents while advocates say carbon capture could cut emissions or even reduce emissions.”
KCRG: People frustrated with past pipeline projects express concerns over potential new 1,300-mile ‘Heartland Greenway’ pipeline
Ethan Stein, 12/6/21
“Around 150 people expressed their concerns and frustrations at a Monday meeting in Manchester over a 1,300-mile pipeline project called “Heartland Greenway”, KCRG reports. “...Due to the size of the project, the Iowa Utilities Board requires the company to host 37 different public hearings to answer people’s questions about the project. Monday’s meeting in Manchester was one of those meetings. Developers and a representative from the Iowa Utilities Board heard complaints about pipelines, concerns over if the technology actually works and the effects the pipeline would have on farmers. Brice Lubben, who is a farmer in Delaware County, said past pipeline projects make him concerned about their effects on farmland. He said he’s seen a pipeline destroy farmland multiple times at different farms ”After seeing the history that’s happened before,” Lubben said. “It’s hard to get a new perspective when it’s happened twice before.” “...The company brands the pipeline as a solution to climate change. But, a leading climate advocacy group, the Sierra Club is organizing against the project. It says the project doesn’t go after the root causes of climate change.”
KFYR: North Dakota Industrial Commission approves west-to-east pipeline grant guidelines
Michael Anthony, 12/6/21
“With funding secure, the North Dakota Industrial Commission is moving forward towards finding applicants for natural gas projects,” KFYR reports. “On November 29, the commission announced guidelines for a $150 million natural gas pipeline grant program, which was funded during the special legislative session. $10 million will go towards a project to bring gas to a planned corn-milling facility in Grand Forks County while $140 million will be for a pipeline to bring natural gas from western North Dakota to the Red River Valley. Officials say there has already been plenty of interest in these projects… “Application deadlines are on March 1 for the Grand Forks County project and April 1 for the pipeline.”
U.S. DOJ: Pipeline Company Sentenced for Largest-Ever Inland Oil Spill
12/6/21
“The pipeline company responsible for the discharge of 29 million gallons of oil-contaminated “produced water” – a waste product of hydraulic fracturing – was sentenced to pay a $15 million criminal fine and serve a three year period of probation today by U.S. District Court Judge Daniel M. Traynor in Williston, North Dakota. Summit Midstream Partners LLC pleaded guilty to criminal charges that it violated the Clean Water Act, as amended by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, by negligently causing the discharge into U.S. waters in 2014, and deliberately failing to immediately report the spill to federal authorities as required. More than 700,000 barrels were discharged thereby contaminating Blacktail Creek and nearby land and groundwater. By law, the federal fines in this case will go to the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund used to respond and clean up future oil spills. “Summit is being held criminally accountable for its crimes of negligently discharging more than 29 million gallons over more than 4 months and then knowingly failing to report the discharge,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Summit gave misleading and incomplete statements to the government about the duration and size of the spill. Through the civil and criminal cases, Summit is being held responsible for its misconduct and must implement more rigorous environmental management to prevent and detect future spills as a condition of probation.” “...The criminal fine is in addition to a $20 million civil penalty imposed on Summit Midstream Partners LLC and a related company, Meadowlark Midstream Company LLC, to resolve civil violations of the Clean Water Act and North Dakota water pollution control laws. On Sept. 28, the civil consent decree was approved by the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota.”
Associated Press: Sunoco ordered to dredge Downingtown lake, reroute pipeline, and pay $4M fine over 2020 spill
Michael Rubinkam, 12/6/21
“The developer of the Mariner East 2 pipeline will dredge part of a contaminated lake and pay more than $4 million for spilling thousands of gallons of drilling fluids at Marsh Creek State Park in Chester County, state officials announced Monday in a settlement that will allow construction to resume,” the Associated Press reports. “Sunoco Pipeline LP will dredge at least six inches of sediment from Ranger Cove in the park. It will also replace fish, turtle and bird habitat, restore the shoreline, and reroute its Mariner East 2 pipeline, according to the state Departments of Environmental Protection and Conservation and Natural Resources, which jointly announced the settlement. The spill, which happened in August 2020 during construction of the troubled pipeline, contaminated wetlands, tributaries and part of the 535-acre lake. About 33 acres of the lake were placed off limits to boating and fishing because of the spill… “The agreement will allow Sunoco to resume construction of the pipeline with a new route and a different construction method that will eliminate the use of drilling fluids… “Environmental activists and homeowners who assert their water has been fouled say that fines and shutdown orders have not forced Sunoco to clean up its act. They have been demanding the revocation of Mariner East’s permits.”
Reuters: Pipeline operator Enbridge forecasts higher 2022 core earnings
12/7/21
“Canadian pipeline operator Enbridge Inc (ENB.TO), on Tuesday forecast higher core earnings in 2022 and announced a share repurchase of up to C$1.5 billion ($1.18 billion), betting on rising demand for oil and gas,” Reuters reports. “The company expects 2022 EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) to be in the range C$15 billion to C$15.6 billion, higher than its 2021 expectations of C$13.9 billion to C$14.3 billion.”
WXYZ: Inside the Enbridge Line 5 oil pipeline controversy
Chuck Stokes, 12/5/21
“On Sunday, December 2, Spotlight on the News will go inside the Enbridge Line 5 oil pipeline controversy,” WXYZ reports. “With so many political, legal and environmental issues at stake, should it and will it ever be shutdown? We explore one of many perspectives. Our guests will include Beth Wallace, Manager of Conservation Partnerships at the National Wildlife Federation - Great Lakes Region; and Jeffrey Insko, Author and Professor of English & American Studies, Oakland University.”
GCaptain: NTSB Board Meeting to Consider Report Into Deadly Waymon Boyd Pipeline Strike
Mike Schuler, 12/6/21
“The National Transportation Safety Board will hold a virtual public board meeting on Tuesday to consider the draft final report on hazardous liquid pipeline strike by the dredging vessel Waymon Boyd and subsequent explosion and fire which killed four,” GCaptain reports. “The Waymon Boyd struck a submerged 16-inch hazardous liquid propane pipeline during dredging operations in Corpus Christi, Texas on August 21, 2020. A geyser of propane gas and water erupted adjacent to the vessel. As a result, propane gas engulfed the dredge and an explosion occurred, causing a fire that damaged the vessel and surrounding shoreline. A total of 18 personnel employed by Orion Marine Group were working or resting on the dredge and assist boats (tender boats, anchor barges, booster barges and a supply barge) on the day of the accident. Three crewmembers aboard the Waymon Boyd and one on an adjacent anchor barge died in the explosion and fire. Six crewmembers aboard the dredge were injured, one of whom later died from his injuries. The Waymon Boyd, valued at $9.48 million, was a total loss, while the cost of pipeline damage was $2.09 million.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Washington Post: Biden is approving more oil and gas drilling permits on public lands than Trump, analysis finds
Maxine Joselow, 12/6/21
“The Biden administration has approved more oil and gas drilling permits on public lands per month than the Trump administration did during the first three years of Donald Trump's presidency,” the Washington Post reports. “The report by Public Citizen, a liberal advocacy group, illustrates that President Biden has been slow to reverse Trump's fossil-fuel-friendly agenda, despite his campaign promise to push for “no more drilling on federal lands" because of climate change. The analysis looked at data from the Bureau of Land Management, which processes applications for drilling permits on public lands. Its main findings were: During Biden's first year in office so far, BLM has approved an average of 333 drilling permits per month. That figure is more than 35% higher than Trump's first year in office, when BLM approved an average of 245 drilling permits per month. That number is also higher than the monthly average in 2018 (279 permits) and 2019 (284 permits), but lower than the monthly average in 2020 (452 permits), when oil companies stockpiled permits in the final months of the Trump administration. "From an environmentalist's point of view, this doesn't look great for Biden," Alan Zibel, the lead author of the analysis and the research director of Public Citizen's Corporate Presidency Project, told the Post. Jamie Henn, an organizer with the Build Back Fossil Free coalition who was not involved in the analysis, told the Post the findings underscore his frustrations with the Biden administration. "The president has basically only tried to tackle one side of the climate problem," Henn told the Post. "He's talked a lot about building clean energy, but he hasn't done anything to stop fossil fuels. And you need to tackle both sides if we're going to address this crisis."
InsideClimate News: Biden Promised to Stop Oil Drilling on Public Lands. Is His Failure to Do So a Betrayal or a Smart Political Move?
Marianne Lavelle, 12/6/21
“As a candidate, President Joe Biden never embraced the strict curbs on fossil fuel development that progressives sought, like a ban on fracking. But his climate plan included a clear pledge to halt any further advance of the oil and gas industry on federal lands or offshore,” InsideClimate News reports. “Banning new oil and gas permitting on public lands and waters” and “modifying royalties to account for climate costs” were two steps Biden said he would take if elected, to help put the nation on track to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Environmentalists were enthusiastic about these proposals because Biden wouldn’t need Congressional approval; the president could just invoke the Department of Interior’s broad authority to manage federal lands. So green groups told ICN they were deeply disappointed when Interior Secretary Deb Haaland released the roadmap for the future of federal oil and gas leasing the day after Thanksgiving. The document proposed little change beyond raising the fees that the industry must pay to extract resources on public lands and requiring companies to increase their insurance coverage—proposals already under consideration in Congress, although opposed by industry. The Biden administration did not endorse any restrictions on new leasing or steps to address the greenhouse gas impact of drilling on federal lands. “Our biggest criticism is simply that it basically ignores the elephant in the room, which is climate change,” Joshua Axelrod, senior advocate for the Natural Resources Defense Council’s nature program, told ICN… “But some observers argue that from a climate perspective, the administration had little to gain and a lot to lose politically by going forward with a ban on new federal leasing at this time. “Oil and gas leasing has taken on a symbolic importance far beyond its actual climate value,” Paul Bledsoe, who worked on climate policy in President Bill Clinton’s White House and now is a strategic advisor to the Progressive Policy Institute, told ICN. He thinks the Biden administration’s decision to avert a showdown over leasing reflects a decision to spend its political capital on climate steps that will have greater impact, like the sweeping methane rules proposed in November and the investments in a transition to electric vehicles that are contained in the Build Back Better package now under consideration in the Senate.”
Reuters: Oil CEOs clash with U.S. Energy Dept official over energy transition
By Marianna Parraga and Erwin Seba, 12/7/21
“Top energy executives this week urged a more cautious transition of energy policy away from oil and gas, but a U.S. Energy Department official said the industry has a moral obligation to address climate change and the economic opportunity it represents,” Reuters reports. “Executives from Saudi Aramco, Exxon Mobil and Chevron, speaking at the World Petroleum Congress in Houston on Monday, blamed demand for renewables and lack of investment in fossil fuels for recent fuel shortages and price volatility… “U.S. deputy Energy secretary David Turk pushed back against the industry position, saying addressing climate cannot be put on the back burner. "There is not an alternative to stepping up and fixing the threat to climate change," he said to an audience in a largely empty hall. "The future of energy is lower carbon from exploration discoveries and production," said Liz Schwarze, vice president of global exploration at Chevron.”
Politico: HUSH HUSH FRENCH BUYS
Matthew Choi, 12/6/21
“French energy commodities trading firm Engie sought to keep a deal to buy liquefied natural gas deal from U.S. producer Cheniere under wraps a year after the firm walked away from a separate deal last year because of climate change concerns,” Politico reports.” Officials with the French government who sit on the firm’s board had protested over the high emissions linked to the previous deal, but the volumes under the new deal with Cheniere deal signed in June were small enough to avoid the approval of that board this time around. “No publicity should be made around the transaction to keep it under the radar,” read a document the Engie officials submitted to the company’s executive committee that Ben reviewed. But the document also noted the companies should not assume the deal would remain a secret, given the number of stakeholders involved. Environmental group Friends of the Earth got its hands on the documents and lambasted the covert deal. Lorette Philippot, a campaigner for the group, told Politico it’s a “serious breach of [the firm’s] duty of vigilance and a disgrace for this energy company which is making so much effort to green its image.” “...progressive Democrats, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren , are pushing for the U.S. to block natural gas exports as the U.S. undergoes its own energy price spikes.”
E&E News: Utah will ask Supreme Court to consider monuments challenge
By Jennifer Yachnin, 12/6/21
“A national law firm that touts its repeated appearances before the Supreme Court will advise Utah officials as the state looks to upend President Biden’s recent restoration of two national monuments, the state’s attorney general said yesterday,” E&E News reports. “Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes (R) announced that the firm, Consovoy McCarthy, based in Boston and Washington, won a contract "to assist with research and analysis about potential litigation" challenging the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments. State officials raised the specter of a court challenge ahead of Biden’s decision in October to restore more than 2 million acres of public lands to both sites. Former President Trump had excised those lands from the monuments in late 2017 at the behest of Utah and federal officials who have long characterized their designation as the epitome of government overreach. "Two months ago, President Biden ignored the views of Utah’s state and local leaders and unilaterally expanded the boundaries of both the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments," Reyes said in a statement. "As Utahns know better than anyone, these magnificent lands deserve appropriate long-term protections. Unfortunately, President Biden has undermined that goal. His actions create more uncertainty and prolong the political tug-of-war over Utah’s public lands." Although Utah’s all-Republican congressional delegation and its state government, led by Gov. Spencer Cox (R), have opposed large-scale national monuments, local officials including the county commission in San Juan — where the Bears Ears site is located — have endorsed the restoration.”
Politico: LOOKING AT METHANE THROUGH THE NEW YEAR
Matthew Choi, 12/6/21
“The House Science Committee wants to see details on how oil and gas companies operating in the Permian Basin detect and repair methane leaks — potentially hinting at new legislation next year on the issue,” Politico reports. “Chair Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) wrote letters to 10 oil and gas producers asking for the information by Jan. 21, saying the committee “is investigating whether existing [leak detection and repair] programs possess the capabilities to achieve wide-ranging, quantifiable emission reductions from oil and gas sector methane leaks, and whether additional policies and research may be required to support a stronger Federal role in monitoring, quantifying, and evaluating methane leak emissions.” The oil and gas industry has already rebuffed the methane fee under consideration for Democrats’ reconciliation package, but have been more receptive to direct methane regulation by EPA.”
Politico: PIPELINES, WILDLIFE AND PFAS IN COMMITTEE THIS WEEK
Matthew Choi, 12/6/21
“Several committees will be taking a look at energy and environment-related legislation this week,” Politico reports. “A House Energy subpanel chaired by Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) will meet Tuesday to discuss Rush’s recent bill, the Energy Product Reliability Act (H.R. 6084 (117)), which would create a new standards-writing body for pipeline reliability. The bill comes in response to last winter’s Texas energy crisis and the Colonial Pipeline cyber attack.”
STATE UPDATES
Associated Press: Honolulu utility shuts well to prevent fuel contamination
By AUDREY McAVOY, 12/3/21
“Amid a continuing crisis over fuel contaminating the Navy’s tap water at Pearl Harbor, Honolulu’s water utility said Friday it shut off one of its wells so it doesn’t taint its own supply with petroleum from an underground aquifer it shares with the military,” the Associated Press reports. “The Honolulu Board of Water Supply said it acted shortly after the Navy on Thursday disclosed that a water sample from one of its wells had shown the presence of petroleum. The well is near a giant World War II-era underground fuel tank complex that has been the source of multiple fuel leaks over the years. The tap water problems have afflicted one of the military’s most important bases, home to submarines, ships and the commander of U.S. forces in the Indo-Pacific region. They also threaten to jeopardize one of Honolulu’s most important aquifers and water sources. Nearly 1,000 military households have complained about their tap water smelling like fuel, or of physical ailments like stomach cramps and vomiting. The Navy water system serves 93,000 people. The Navy told AP Thursday it would flush clean water through its distribution system to clear residual petroleum products from the water. The process, followed by testing to make sure the water meets Environmental Protection Agency drinking standards, could take four to 10 days. The Navy told AP it will investigate how contaminants got into the well and fix it.”
Reuters: Alaska agency commits to more spending on Arctic oil plans
By Yereth Rosen, 12/3/21
“The Alaska state agency that holds oil leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) has committed to spending more money to develop those tracts, even though prospects are dim for any oil activities there in the near future,” Reuters reports. “The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, a state-owned development agency, on Wednesday approved continued spending on ANWR oil development, including an estimated $3.6 million in second-year lease costs on top of $12.8 million it spent this year acquiring the leases. The spending commitment comes as the Biden administration is reconsidering the environmental studies that the Trump administration used to prepare the ANWR lease sale… “The supplemental environmental statement is expected to be completed in 2023, according to the BLM. By then, the ANWR oil program may no longer exist. The Build Back Better infrastructure bill that passed the U.S. House on Nov. 19 and is pending in the Senate includes a provision to abolish the program entirely.”
EXTRACTION
Wall Street Journal: Demand for Oil, Gas to Remain Robust for Years, Energy Leaders Say
By Collin Eaton and Christopher M. Matthews, 12/6/21
“The leaders of the world’s largest oil companies said Monday that demand for the products they make will remain robust for years to come even as the world attempts to transition to lower-carbon energy sources,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “The chief executives of Exxon Mobil Corp. , Chevron Corp. and Saudi Arabian Oil Co., speaking at the World Petroleum Congress in Houston, said that while the world needs to address the risks posed by climate change, global economies cannot function without fossil fuels.”
Reuters: Halliburton says the world is entering a period of oil scarcity
12/6/21
“Oilfield services firm Halliburton (HAL.N) on Monday said the world was headed for a period of oil scarcity following years of underinvestment in fossil fuel development,” Reuters reports. "I think that for the first time, in a long time, we will see a buyer looking for a barrel of oil, as opposed to a barrel of oil looking for a buyer," Halliburton Chief Executive Officer Jeff Miller said at an oil and gas conference in Houston.”
Yahoo Finance: How much Suncor and its peers need to spend to hit net-zero
Jeff Lagerquist, 12/6/21
“Decarbonizing Canada's oil patch will cause a material hit to the free cash flows of producers, but it won't be a "death blow," according to analysts at Scotiabank who worked up rough cost estimates for six of the largest companies,” Yahoo Finance reports. “The bank looked at the Oil Sands Pathways to Net Zero initiative, a partnership between Suncor (SU.TO)(SU), Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO)(CNQ), Cenovus (CVE.TO)(CVE), Imperial Oil (IMO.TO)(IMO), MEG Energy (MEG.TO), and ConocoPhillips (COP) to use carbon capture and other technologies to cut greenhouse gas emissions from operations to net-zero by 2050. The companies collectively account for 95 per cent of oil sands production. Those firms estimate it will cost $75 billion over 30 years, or roughly $2.5 billion per year, to eliminate the 68 megatonnes of greenhouse gases they emit annually today. With no company guidance available, Scotiabank based its own cost estimates on the proportion of oil sands production, and applied metrics for greenhouse gas intensity. Canadian Natural Resources and Suncor are projected to spend the most, at $765 million and $760 million per year, respectively, followed by Cenovus at $470 million, Imperial at $380 million, MEG at $65 million, and ConocoPhillips at $60 million.”
Financial Post: Chris Varcoe: 'I am an activist,' says Steven Guilbeault as he meets energy leaders
Chris Varcoe, 12/6/21
“Oh, to have been a fly on the wall of Friday’s meetings between the country’s oilpatch and Canada’s most powerful environmentalist activist. And, no, I’m not talking about David Suzuki. On a frosty day in Calgary, federal Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault sat down with leaders from several petroleum producers, pipeline companies, power utilities and Alberta business groups at the Harry Hays Building,” the Financial Post reports. “It was his first chance to meet face-to-face in the city with top brass from companies such as TC Energy, Enbridge, Tourmaline Oil, ATCO and TransAlta. A separate session was held with the heads of major oilsands producers, including Cenovus Energy CEO Alex Pourbaix, Suncor Energy CEO Mark Little (who attended virtually) and Canadian Natural Resources’ president Tim McKay — all representing companies that are jointly pursuing net-zero emissions by 2050. A former Greenpeace Canada campaign manager and co-founder of Quebec environmental group Equiterre, Guilbeault was a fierce critic of the oilsands before entering politics in 2019. Two decades ago, he famously scaled the CN Tower to string up a banner that declared: “Canada and Bush: Climate Killers,” under the observation deck of the Toronto landmark. He’s also opposed oil pipelines, including the Trans Mountain expansion and Energy East. Now, he’s in charge of Canada’s climate strategy. “Throughout my career as an environmentalist, I think I’ve shown an ability to be able to work with people who don’t think like I do, and that public policy is about the art of compromise,” Guilbeault said in an interview Friday. “I am an activist. I was and I still am an activist, but I am now the minister of environment and climate change for all Canadians. And I have responsibilities now that were not the responsibilities I had as an environmentalist activist.”
Albuquerque News: Sandia Labs Develops New Method for Oil and Gas Wastewater Recycling
Gwynne Ann Unruh, 12/3/21
“A research project conducted at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies has found that, by mimicking Mother Nature, scientists at Sandia Labs were able to develop a new membrane to make fresh water,” the Albuquerque News reports. “By mimicking an algae protein, the membrane can remove salt from seawater and wastewater to make fresh water for farming and energy production, all while using less electricity than the current method. The project was funded by Sandia’s Laboratory Directed Research and Development program. By adding a common amino acid, called phenylalanine, to an electrodialysis membrane, the researchers discovered it enabled the membrane to better capture and remove positive ions, such as sodium. The new, more efficient membrane could also be used to remove salt from industrial wastewater to provide a new source of fresh water... “Water that is produced by hydraulic fracturing to recover natural gas can be ten times as salty as seawater. As a result, the produced water generally gets buried underground instead of being returned to the environment… “For a future research project, Rempe would like to design an electrodialysis membrane that can separate out specific economically valuable ions, such as rare earth metal ions. Rare earth metals are used in automotive catalytic converters, powerful magnets, rechargeable batteries and cell phones and are mostly mined in China. “Rare earth metals are valuable, and the lack of domestic supply is a national security issue. Together, taking care of our water supply and recycling our valuable minerals are important for environmental security and climate mitigation.” Rempe told AN.
Pro Publica: These Real Estate and Oil Tycoons Avoided Paying Taxes for Years
Jeff Ernsthausen, Paul Kiel and Jesse Eisinger, 12/7/21
“...Then there’s the other Stephen Ross, the big loser. That’s the one depicted on his tax returns. Though the developer brought in some $1.5 billion in income from 2008 to 2017, he reported even more — nearly $2 billion — in losses. And because he reported negative income, he didn’t pay a nickel in federal income taxes over those 10 years,” Pro Publica reports. “What enables this dual identity? The upside-down tax world of the ultrawealthy. ProPublica’s analysis of more than 15 years of secret tax data for thousands of the wealthiest Americans shows that Ross is one of a special breed. He is among a subset of the ultrarich who take advantage of owning businesses that generate enormous tax deductions that then flow through to their personal tax returns. Many of them are in commercial real estate or oil and gas, industries that have been granted unusual advantages in the American tax code, which allow the ultrawealthy to take tax losses even on profitable enterprises… “Then there’s Texas wildcatter Trevor Rees-Jones, who built Chief Oil & Gas into a major natural gas producer over the past two decades. The multibillionaire reported a total of $1.4 billion in income from 2013 to 2018, but offset that with even greater losses. He paid no federal income taxes in four of those six years.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
Environment Journal: Methane reductions are largely from divestments, says new study
Pippa Neill, 12/7/21
“Methane emission reductions in the oil and gas sector are largely from divestments, according to a new report published by GlobalData,” Environment Journal reports. “While some of the largest oil and gas producers have lowered their emissions in line with sustainability goals, GlobalData notes that a large portion of those reductions come from divestments. Miles Weinstein, Energy Transition Analyst at GlobalData, said: ‘When emissions are reduced by divestment, those emissions have not disappeared but simply moved around. Emission intensity has been reduced in many cases, but, in the face of increasing production, more efforts will be necessary to meet national and international climate targets. After all, the oil & gas industry is responsible for around a quarter of methane emissions globally.’ According to their latest report, global fossil fuel production will increase by 8% by 2026, and therefore more needs to be done to ensure methane emissions do not rise with it.”
Center for Media & Democracy: ALEC Launches Attack on Banks That Divest From Fossil Fuels
Alex Kotch, 12/3/21
“As climate change accelerates and environmental disasters proliferate around the world, a Big Oil-funded business lobbying group has decided to attack financial firms that are taking their money out of fossil fuel companies,” the Center for Media & Democracy reports. “Today at the annual States and Nation Policy Summit of the right-wing American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a pay-to-play organization that brings together corporate lobbyists and mostly Republican state lawmakers to author model legislation, members of the group’s energy task force voted unanimously to approve a new model policy that would prevent financial companies that end investments in oil, gas, and coal companies from receiving state government contracts or managing state funds. The bill, the Energy Discrimination Elimination Act, directs state treasurers or comptrollers to maintain a list of firms that boycott fossil fuels. Each government contract with a business that has more than 10 employees must include a verification that the company does not boycott fossil fuel businesses. The act and its backers claim that fossil fuel divestment will hurt workers and state pension funds, yet it ignores the growing U.S. renewable energy industry and its lucrative stocks.”
McGill Tribune: Divest McGill delivers petition to administration urging immediate divestment from TC Energy
Anoushka Oke, 12/7/21
“Divest McGill and other campus groups gathered outside the James Administration Building on Dec. 1 to show solidarity with Wet’suwet’en land defenders. Student activists assembled to listen to speakers and gather signatures for a petition that urges McGill to divest from TC Energy—the fossil fuel company building the Coastal GasLink (CGL) pipeline through Wet’suwet’en territory without proper consent,” the McGill Tribune reports. “...Stefan Christoff, radio host of Free City Radio on CKUT 90.3 FM, helped write the petition. Christoff spoke to The McGill Tribune ahead of the protest, explaining the implications of McGill’s roughly $4.7-million investment in TC Energy. “McGill has talked a lot about sustainability, and [has] talked a lot about the environmental crisis we all face,” Christoff told the Tribune. “[McGill’s investments are] obviously a direct contradiction with that rhetoric, and beyond [the fact that] these investments directly are constructing an oil and gas pipeline, they’re constructing that pipeline on Indigenous lands [….] Many, many members of the Wet’suwet’en Nation are against this pipeline.” Divest sent the petition to the McGill administration on Dec. 2, with 748 signatures.”
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
Cornwall Seaway News: Enbridge donates smoke and carbon monoxide alarms to North Stormont Fire Department
Nick Seebruch, 12/6/21
“The North Stormont Fire Department received 126 combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarms from Enbridge Gas through the Safe Community Project Zero,” Cornwall Seaway News reports. “The smoke and carbon monoxide alarms donated by Enbridge Gas will be distributed through North Stormont Fire Department and community outreach partners,” North Stormont Fire Chief Nancy-Ann Gauthier told the News. “Thanks to Enbridge’s generosity, vulnerable residents of North Stormont can access vital safety equipment in the form of Kidde combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.” Enbridge has donated over 68,000 alarms over the past 13 years.”
OPINION
Casper Star-Tribune: Hutcherson, Smitherman: We’re betting Wyoming’s future on Wyoming’s past
Grady Hutcherson: A classroom teacher for 24 years, Grady Hutcherson now serves more than 6,000 education employees as President of the Wyoming Education Association (WEA). Dan Smitherman currently serves as The Wilderness Society’s Wyoming State Director, 12/5/21
“Take the path of familiarity, and our education system continues relying on the “boom-or-bust” cycle of oil, gas and coal production that will no longer provide for the health or well-being of our communities and has the state facing a mounting $250 million yearly deficit in education funding,” Grady Hutcherson and Dan Smitherman write for the Casper Star-Tribune. “Or forge a new path and finally diversify away from Wyoming’s now dangerous dependency on fossil fuel production to more stable sources of funding. Over the past 20 years, the signals have piled up that Wyoming must find new sources of revenue rather than relying on fossil fuel production and dying industries to pay the state’s bills. Case in point, the public education “rainy day fund” that has been masking the problem and enabling the state to keep above water, even amid a deficit, but cannot be a long-term solution… “Reality is, even ignoring the health and environmental issues, Wyoming can’t rely on fossil fuels to replenish that rainy-day account or fill our general fund… “As a result of being ranked first in the nation for oil and gas production from public lands, Wyoming has, for too long, tied many of our services, including public education, to now-unstable markets. Wyoming needs a long-term plan to provide a stable, healthier funding source for schools and other important social services. But as the state is taking this major offramp from a volatile status quo, there also needs to be a short-term plan that makes the current situation fairer for students and teachers… “One of coal country’s biggest lessons is that the greatest threat to communities’ long-term vitality is not change but waiting too long and trying to make the transition too late. Wyoming can dither away our savings at this crossroads, putting our youth and our future at risk. Or we can embrace change on our terms with a bold vision. The consequences are clear. The path of familiarity will continue to hurt Wyoming’s youth. A new path is needed... before it’s too late.”
Missoulian: Opinion: NorthWestern Energy puts profits over people. We deserve better.
Joanie Kresich of Livingston is the board chair of Northern Plains Resource Council, a conservation and family agriculture group, 12/5/21
“NorthWestern Energy has hatched a scheme that yields big profits for shareholders while overcharging customers, polluting our air, water and land, and further destabilizing our climate. It’s a plan in direct conflict with our vision of carefully tending our natural resources and creating thriving, healthy, and safe local communities,” Joanie Kresich writes for the Missoulian. “If you haven’t heard of NorthWestern’s ideas for Montana’s future, that’s understandable. The South Dakota-based corporation is evading public input and scrutiny because its plans threaten the energy future Montanans want. The company intends to build a huge network of polluting methane power plants using outdated technologies instead of embracing 21st-century, reliable, efficient and proven technologies like wind, solar, and battery storage… “Let’s tell NorthWestern’s executives that the clean energy future has arrived in Montana and is growing stronger day by day, bringing benefits to all of us, on rural farms and ranches, in small towns and big cities. We’ve already linked our hands and hearts with that future. You can sign your name to our letter telling NorthWestern we don’t want this polluting gas plant at NorthernPlains.org/no-methane-plant.”
Santa Barbara Independent: Oil-Rig Setback Rule Doesn’t Go Far Enough
Nadia Abushanab is advocacy and events director for Santa Barbara County Action Network (SBCAN), 12/6/21
“Next Thursday, December 9, the California Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM), will host the second of two online hearings regarding the draft Public Health rule. The draft rule requires a 3,200-foot setback zone between new oil wells and sensitive receptors, such as homes, hospitals, schools, and businesses open to the public. It also would require enhanced monitoring of wells already within this setback zone, although they would be allowed to continue extracting oil and gas,” Nadia Abushanab writes for the Santa Barbara Independent. “Over two million Californians live within 3,200 feet of an existing oil well. People living in these areas experience health problems such as increased rates of asthma and other respiratory illnesses, lower birth rates, and higher risk of cancer. New research also shows that those who live in more polluted areas are also more likely to experience complications from COVID-19. Communities of color and low-income communities are much more likely to live within 3,200 feet of an active oil well, making their environmental health risks disproportionately higher than more white and more affluent communities. While this draft rule is a big first step for California — one of the only major oil producing states without any setback requirement currently in place — it does not go far enough. We need protections for those already experiencing these detrimental health impacts. The rule does virtually nothing for the more than 2 million Californians currently living within 3,200 feet of an oil well, it only protects new communities from oil and gas drilling in their neighborhoods, and it does not even completely do that. This rule does not apply to existing drill sites without an active well on them… “It is time for California to step up and be a true leader in the fight against climate change, to firmly say no new oil, no drilling where we are living, and to lead the transition into the renewable energy economy.”
Montana Standard: Guest view: Century-old 'Teapot Dome' scandal isn't over
DAN BUCKS, 12/3/21
“A century ago, in the infamous "Teapot Dome" scandal, Interior Secretary Albert Fall took bribes to sell oil leases in Wyoming and California to wealthy friends at below market rates. Fall was convicted and sent to jail, so people thought the scandal was over. But, in truth, the scandal continues to harm the public to this day. The most damaging part of the Teapot Dome scandal — selling federal oil and gas leases and deposits far below market value — has never stopped,” Dan Bucks writes for the Montana Standard. “Interior policies shortchange the American people today at least as much, if not more, than their grandparents were a hundred years ago. This fiscal irresponsibility has robbed the federal treasury and state and local governments where production occurs of untold billions upon billions of dollars. Those dollars are diverted into ill-gotten gains for speculators and windfall profits for wealthy investors and oil and gas executives. Research shows that this improper transfer of public wealth into private hands does not increase oil and gas production or jobs and does not lower energy prices for consumers. Interior fails to require sufficient bonds to ensure that well sites are properly reclaimed and shuttered. Abandoned wells leak methane and other toxic substances—endangering the climate and public health. The public is left holding the tab for cleaning up the mess. Further, excessive leasing of federal lands has left vast tracts of land with no oil and gas production. These dormant leases reduce public uses for recreation, wildlife, and other sustainable activities and deny the public the full benefits that flow from those uses… “Ending the disastrous Teapot Dome policies is a cause worthy of public support.”