EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 1/8/25
PIPELINE NEWS
Minnesota Star Tribune: Minnesota regulators hit pause on controversial gas pipeline near Pipestone National Monument
E&E News: FERC prevails in NEPA fight over gas pipeline expansion
Sioux Falls Argus Leader: PUC chair denies conflict of interest claim despite ties to land crossed by pipeline
Manchester Press: Delaware County board monitoring out-of-state pipeline developments
Lincoln County Leader: Federal legislation introduced to decommission offshore, gas wells, pipelines and platforms
E&E News: Feds: Orchid will survive pipeline, no longer needs ESA help
Alaska Beacon: Unnamed energy company is negotiating takeover of proposed trans-Alaska gas pipeline
Offshore Energy: Allseas delivers 700-kilometer natural gas pipeline off Mexico
Reuters: Phillips 66 strikes $2.2 billion EPIC NGL deal to boost natural gas liquids bet
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Washington Post: The surprising climate commitments of Trump’s new ‘energy czar’
E&E News: Trump wants to undo Biden’s offshore drilling ban. Courts may not let him
InsideEPA: Biden’s Sweeping Offshore Drilling Block Presents Difficult Reversal Target
Louisiana Illuminator: Biden order expands Trump’s offshore drilling ban from 2020
Must Read Alaska: No power for you: Biden plugs all future offshore oil and gas, impacting Alaska, including Cook Inlet
Politico: Trump’s oil promises have bigger problems than Biden’s new offshore drilling ban
The Center Square: Oil industry seeks end to climate change lawsuits
E&E News: Trump’s LNG plans rely on 1970s safety rules
E&E News: Trump energy, environment picks to get hearings next week
Press release: In First Action of 119th Congress, Van Hollen Reintroduces Legislation to Make Polluters Pay for Fueling Climate Change
STATE UPDATES
Beyond Petrochemicals: Mitsubishi Abandons Plan for Massive Petrochemical Plant in Louisiana
WRAL: New Duke Energy gas plants move forward in North Carolina despite residents' concerns
High North News: Oil Lease Sale in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to be Held This Week
KNSD: Public pushes back on proposed National City fuel transfer station
EXTRACTION
Morningstar: AI’s Electricity Demands May Stall Carbon Capture Development
E&E News: Meta invites climate disinformation by tossing fact-checkers
CBS News: Dozens of dolphins and other marine mammals found dead after massive oil tanker spill in Russia
CLIMATE FINANCE
Sierra Club: Regardless of Net-Zero Alliance Membership, Major US Banks Must Uphold Their Climate Action Commitments
OPINION
Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEFFA): Enbridge should consider closing its old, troubled Line 5 pipeline
Only Sky: The stupid and necessary climate pill
NOLA.com: Oil and gas execs have reason to expect a happy new year
PIPELINE NEWS
Minnesota Star Tribune: Minnesota regulators hit pause on controversial gas pipeline near Pipestone National Monument
Walker Orenstein, 1/7/25
“Minnesota utility regulators on Tuesday rescinded a permit for a gasoline pipeline near Pipestone National Monument, ordering “cultural and archeological” surveys on two potential routes after backlash from tribes who say the area is foundational to their religious beliefs,” the Minnesota Star Tribune reports. “The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission could ultimately approve one of the two routes after the surveys, which will be coordinated with the tribes. The board’s vote unanimously reversed itself from September. That month, the PUC voted 3-2 to approve a 13.1-mile route that was farther from the monument than Oklahoma-based Magellan Pipeline Co. wanted. The decision also required a survey and input from four tribes along the selected path before construction could begin, though two DFL commissioners said that work should take place before selecting a route. Magellan Pipeline Company wants to build a new pipeline around Pipestone National Monument… “Commissioner Hwikwon Ham, a political independent who voted for the permit last year, said Tuesday that reversing course would help build trust and allow tribes more input and insight into each step of the regulatory gauntlet… “Before the original PUC vote, the issue drew thousands of public comments. Tribes argued that reviving the pipeline so close to the monument violated their religious freedom and risked damaging an area of cultural significance. There are 23 tribes with an affiliation to the quarries… “Our stance has consistently been one of firm opposition to any pipeline that poses a risk to the sacred stone, cultural sites and landscape that has been revered for millennia,” said Samantha Odegard, tribal historic preservation officer for the Upper Sioux Community, in a Dec. 27 letter to the PUC.”
E&E News: FERC prevails in NEPA fight over gas pipeline expansion
Niina H. Farah, 1/8/25
“An appeals court on Tuesday dismissed claims that federal energy regulators should have considered alternatives to building new gas infrastructure before approving a pipeline expansion project in Indiana,” E&E News reports. “The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit found that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission had provided “ample explanation and analysis” of both the economic benefits and environmental effects of Texas Gas Transmission’s Henderson County Expansion Project. The 24-mile pipeline is slated to deliver gas to serve as a backup source for wind and solar energy. Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana, which challenged the FERC approval in 2023, claimed the commission should have considered the purpose of the project to be the expansion of the electric grid’s use of renewable power. The D.C. Circuit disagreed, finding that FERC’s responsibility was narrowly focused on development of the gas pipeline component of the project meant to replace retiring coal infrastructure.”
Sioux Falls Argus Leader: PUC chair denies conflict of interest claim despite ties to land crossed by pipeline
Dominik Dausch, 1/7/25
“A South Dakota regulator, who voluntarily recused herself from pipeline dockets in 2022 and 2014 due to conflicts of interest, will not be stepping down again in 2025 despite a request to do so,” the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reports. “Public Utilities Commissioner Kristie Fiegen declined to recuse herself from Summit Carbon Solutions' permit application docket in a letter sent to the company Friday evening. "I am an elected Public Utilities Commissioner and will carry out my duties as such," Fiegen wrote in a brief email response to Summit Carbon General Counsel Jess Vilsack. "I do not have a legal conflict. I am sitting on the docket." The terse message was a response to a letter written by Vilsack on Thursday, in which the company's lead attorney requested Fiegen voluntarily recuse herself from the pipeline docket due to an apparent conflict of interest. According to Vilsack's letter, Summit Carbon's new pipeline route runs through agricultural land in McCook County owned by Fiegen's sister-in-law, Jean Fiegen-Ordal, and Fiegen-Ordal's husband, Jeffrey Ordal. Vilsack, who is the son of U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, argued this presents either a "direct personal interest or an indirect pecuniary interest" in the project's permit application. "Even if you have no direct financial or other stake in the decision to approve or deny the permit, your close family members will be affected financially by the Commission’s decision on Summit’s pending application," Vilsack wrote… “Asked if the pipeline company is considering to litigate the issue prior to Fiegen's response, Zenor declined to answer directly, telling the Argus Leader the company would "let the letter speak for itself."
Manchester Press: Delaware County board monitoring out-of-state pipeline developments
Mike Putz, 1/7/25
“Delaware County Supervisors say they will keep an extra close eye on North and South Dakota, as well as Minnesota, as those states see underground pipeline development,” the Manchester Press reports. “In November 2023, Navigator Heartland Greenway canceled plans for a pipeline in Iowa, including through parts of Delaware County. In its decision, the company cited “the unpredictable nature of the regulatory and government processes involved, particularly in South Dakota and Iowa.” A year after that decision, North Dakota regulators approved a pipeline route permit for Summit Carbon Solutions. The North Dakota decision follows the Iowa Utilities Commission decision in June to approve Summit’s request to construct, operate and maintain a hazardous liquid pipeline through 29 counties in Iowa. Recently, Minnesota approved the Summit route, as well. As a result of those decisions, Delaware County Supervisor Shirley Helmrichs told the Press the county board is watching. “As a board, we aren’t sitting real comfortable. Summit has progressed in North Dakota and South Dakota. They say they will only come as close as their POET refinery in Fairbank (Iowa).” Helmrichs told the Press she and her supervisor colleagues are skeptical, noting that Big River United Energy has an ethanol plant in Dyersville. “I know Big River isn’t into that (POET) yet, but some of the owners of Big River also have ownership in POET. So that makes me a bit nervous,” she told the Press. Recently, Linn County (Iowa) supervisors approved the implementation of a new set of regulations governing the construction of hazardous liquid pipelines in Linn County. Helmrichs told the Press Delaware County supervisors will closely monitor the Linn County regulations. Delaware County Supervisors have so far resisted putting in setback regulations for carbon capture pipelines. The supervisors did, however, retain legal counsel in March 2023, when they hired Timothy Whipple, an attorney with Ahlers and Cooney P.C… “Helmrichs told the Press the supervisors have been disappointed with how state legislators have responded to their concerns.”
Lincoln County Leader: Federal legislation introduced to decommission offshore, gas wells, pipelines and platforms
Jeremy C. Ruark, 1/7/25
“U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley have introduced legislation that would address the growing threat of abandoned offshore oil and gas infrastructure to marine ecosystems and the environment,” the Lincoln County Leader reports. “According to a study by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, more than 2,700 wells and 500 platforms in the Gulf of Mexico are overdue for decommissioning. The same study found that the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which are responsible for enforcing decommissioning deadlines, can’t effectively enforce decommissioning obligations and financial assurance requirements… “The Plug Offshore Wells Act would direct the U.S. Department of the Interior to submit an annual public report to Congress on the status of decommissioning offshore oil and gas wells, platforms, and pipelines. It would also reduce financial burdens on taxpayers by increasing oversight of Big Oil companies and hold them accountable for the full terms of their offshore oil leases. The Plug Offshore Wells Act is supported by the Center for Biological Diversity, Earthjustice, Natural Resources Defense Council, Oceana, Ocean Conservancy, Ocean Defense Initiative, and the Surfrider Foundation. In addition to Wyden and Merkley, the bill is co-sponsored in the by Senators Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Ed Markey (D-Mass).”
E&E News: Feds: Orchid will survive pipeline, no longer needs ESA help
Michael Doyle, 1/6/25
“The Fish and Wildlife Service on Monday proposed removing Endangered Species Act protections from the Ute ladies’-tresses, a perennial Western orchid that’s played a bit part in a dispute over a proposed natural gas pipeline,” E&E News reports. “Citing population improvements and other positive trends, the Fish and Wildlife Service said the plant listed as threatened in 1992 can now stand on its own… “The Fish and Wildlife Service originally identified ‘habitat loss and modification due to water development and urbanization’ as the primary threats to the species. Some environmentalists also identified the proposed Crow Creek pipeline as a potential threat. In 2020, the Alliance for the Wild Rockies and a group called Yellowstone to Uintas Connection sued the Forest Service over its approval of the 48-mile Crow Creek pipeline connecting Idaho and Wyoming. The suit included the Ute ladies'-tresses as among several federally protected species that could be affected by the project, about 18 miles of which would cross federal land.”
Alaska Beacon: Unnamed energy company is negotiating takeover of proposed trans-Alaska gas pipeline
James Brooks, 1/7/25
“The state-owned corporation in charge of developing a trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline said Monday that it is in secret negotiations with an energy company to lead and fund the project,” the Alaska Beacon reports. “The pipeline and associated infrastructure is expected to cost at least $44 billion, and that cost has been an insurmountable hurdle for a project that has been discussed for more than 50 years. Frank Richards, head of the Alaska Gasline Development Corp., declined on Monday to share any details of the potential agreement, including the name of the state’s partner. “I’m announcing that AGDC has reached an exclusive framework agreement with a qualified energy company to privately lead and fund the development of the Alaska LNG project,” he said at a news conference. “I expect a formal announcement of the definitive agreements in the next few months,” Richards said. Gov. Mike Dunleavy, speaking at the conference, said he has previously been skeptical about the gas line but now believes actual progress is being made… “Dunleavy said he intends to introduce legislation this year that will incentivize gas production in Cook Inlet. The state Legislature approved incentives during an almost identical gas-shortage crisis a decade ago, but lawmakers later repealed those incentives because of their billion-dollar cost. That cost, coupled with the state’s worsening long-term finances, has made legislators reluctant to repeat their prior acts. Last year, legislators considered but did not pass financial incentives for new drilling. They’ve also grown skeptical of AGDC itself, with some legislators proposing to eliminate a corporation that has failed to deliver on its core goal.”
Offshore Energy: Allseas delivers 700-kilometer natural gas pipeline off Mexico
Nadja Skopljak, 1/8/25
“Allseas has completed its offshore pipelay commitments for a 700-kilometer-long natural gas pipeline in Mexico ahead of schedule, for its client TC Energy,” Offshore Energy reports. “The Southeast Gateway 36-inch natural gas pipeline runs south along the coast from Tuxpan through the Gulf of Mexico to Coatzacoalcos and Dos Bocas… “TCE is building the $4.5 billion deepwater gas pipeline in partnership with the Mexican state-owned power utility Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) to secure the power supply in southeastern Mexico. The Southeast Gateway Pipeline will transport around 37 million cubic meters of natural gas per day. It is planned to be in service by mid-2025.”
Reuters: Phillips 66 strikes $2.2 billion EPIC NGL deal to boost natural gas liquids bet
1/7/25
“U.S. oil refiner Phillips 66 said on Monday it would acquire various pipelines and distribution systems from Ares-backed EPIC NGL in an all-cash deal for $2.2 billion, as it seeks to expand its Permian presence,” Reuters reports. “...Phillips 66 would acquire EPIC Y-Grade GP and EPIC Y-Grade, and its various subsidiaries under the deal, which is expected to be immediately accretive to earnings per share, it said in its statement. “This transaction optimizes our Permian NGL value chain, allows Phillips 66 to provide producers with comprehensive flow assurance and is expected to deliver attractive returns in excess of our hurdle rates,” said Phillips 66 CEO Mark Lashier… “The deal marks a shift away from Phillips 66’s efforts of cutting costs and pursuing divestitures through non-core asset sales. In December 2024, Phillips 66 sold its 25% stake in the Gulf Coast Express pipeline in Texas to an affiliate of ArcLight Capital Partners for $865 million.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Washington Post: The surprising climate commitments of Trump’s new ‘energy czar’
Dino Grandoni, 1/8/25
“As the governor of a major oil-producing state, Doug Burgum emerged as a staunch champion of the fossil fuel industry. Yet he promised to make his state carbon neutral, by preventing climate-warming gases from reaching the atmosphere,” the Washington Post reports. “...Burgum, who will oversee how much oil, gas and coal the United States extracts from public lands and waters over the next four years, embraces the bold and controversial idea that we can capture much of the planet-warming pollution from that activity… “But critics across the political spectrum — including some fellow Republicans who will also serve alongside Burgum in the next Trump administration — have called the technology an untested and unnecessary boondoggle. For some climate activists, carbon capture is a ruse by the fossil fuel sector to forestall the much-needed transition to renewable energy and allow oil companies in some cases to inject carbon dioxide underground to help extract even more petroleum. For others, pumping carbon dioxide underground is a threat to the property rights of farmers, ranchers and other landowners. “We don’t need to be a dumping ground for everybody’s carbon,” Scott Skokos, executive director of the Dakota Resource Council, a conservation and farming group that opposes several carbon-capture projects in the state, told the Post. “Ultimately, all that carbon is going to be stored underneath a bunch of different farms and you just never know in 20, 30, 40 years if those storage wells are going to hold up or not.” Now Burgum and his new boss must decide whether to embrace or shun the low-carbon tech that the oil industry loves… “Project 2025, a policy blueprint from the conservative Heritage Foundation, calls for eliminating the tax credit. Vivek Ramaswamy, a Republican businessman who ran for president in 2024 and whom Trump picked to help run the newly proposed “Department of Government Efficiency,” said it is “indefensible” to use taxpayer dollars on carbon capture. But Burgum, who also briefly ran for president in 2024, has defended carbon capture as simply good business for his state… “For Skokos, the North Dakota conservationist, Burgum’s support of carbon capture has more to do with helping business than fighting climate change. “He’s trying to save — I guess the best way to put it would be entrenched interests like coal and oil and gas,” he told the Post… “We’re confident that … there’s going to be support to maintain 45Q,” Mike Sommers, head of the American Petroleum Institute, the industry’s largest lobbying group in Washington, told the Post. “And I would also say that the industry is unified on the preservation of 45Q.” “...Kurt Swenson, who raises cattle on a family ranch in central North Dakota, considers himself a conservative. He voted for Burgum twice. But he soured on the former governor after Burgum backed the Summit project, which plans to store carbon under his family’s 2,000 acres. Swenson fears the nascent storage techniques may leak carbon onto his family’s ranch and says the project violates their constitutional rights as property owners. The rupture of a carbon pipeline in Mississippi in 2020, for instance, hospitalized 45 people as residents struggled to breathe… “The last thing we want to do is to see that land become scarred from an industrial process,” Swenson told the Post. “We really don’t have anything other than models to say it won’t leak.”
E&E News: Trump wants to undo Biden’s offshore drilling ban. Courts may not let him
Niina H. Farah, 1/7/25
“President-elect Donald Trump has already pledged to reverse President Joe Biden's move to withdraw more than 600 million acres of offshore waters from fossil fuel development. If Trump follows through with his promise, history shows that he may not have such an easy time defending his actions in court,” E&E News reports. “It would be very much an uphill battle to ask a court to invalidate Biden’s order," Keith Hall, director of the Mineral Law Institute at Louisiana State University, told E&E. "If Biden had tried to withdraw all unleased acreage in all federal waters, or to do something close to that, thereby preventing all future leasing, supporters of offshore leasing would have a good argument that such an order would be an abuse of discretion and invalid," Hall continued, "but of course that is not what happened." “...When Trump entered his first term in the White House, he attempted to reverse the Obama-era withdrawal. He quickly faced legal action from the League of Conservation Voters and other environmental groups in the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska. In March 2019, Judge Sharon Gleason ruled that Section 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act did not permit Trump to change course. Only Congress could undo the Obama administration’s action, she said.”
InsideEPA: Biden’s Sweeping Offshore Drilling Block Presents Difficult Reversal Target
1/6/25
“President Joe Biden’s decision to block oil and gas drilling across a wide swath of federal offshore areas -- including waters off the East and West coasts, parts of Alaska and the eastern Gulf of Mexico -- could be difficult for the incoming Trump administration or GOP critics to reverse even as industry has not conducted much activity in these areas,” InsideEPA reports. “...But Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ), ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, told reporters that he doesn’t “see any scenario where that gets overturned,” given support from key Republican lawmakers for coastal preservation including to support the tourism industry.”
Louisiana Illuminator: Biden order expands Trump’s offshore drilling ban from 2020
Wesley Muller, 1/7/25
“An energy industry researcher says, despite both praise and criticism of President Joe Biden’s executive order banning offshore drilling in huge swaths off much of the nation’s coastline, the measure will likely have no near-term impact on oil and gas exploration,” the Louisiana Illuminator reports. “President-elect Donald Trump issued a similar ban five years ago, and Biden’s action expands on it… “LSU professor David Dismukes, an energy sector economist, told the Illuminator he expects nothing of real significance to come out of Biden’s decision. Most of the crude oil extracted in the U.S. comes from the Permian Basin, a vast area spanning western Texas and southeastern New Mexico. Only about 15% comes from offshore drilling in federal waters, and that is overwhelmingly concentrated in the western and central Gulf of Mexico, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. “It’d take decades to get the eastern [Gulf of Mexico] and Atlantic and parts of Alaska into position for drilling, particularly anything remotely like what we see in the central and western [Gulf of Mexico],” Dismukes told the Illuminator. Restricting areas from future development is not good for long-term resource availability, Dismukes told the Illuminator, adding that he doesn’t see Biden’s new restrictions being a big negative.”
Must Read Alaska: No power for you: Biden plugs all future offshore oil and gas, impacting Alaska, including Cook Inlet
Suzanne Downing, 1/6/25
“President Joe Biden said on Monday he will lock up the resources of the Outer Continental Shelf, preventing all oil and gas leasing in the future off the shores of Washington, Oregon, and California, and even more the Northern Bering Sea in Alaska,” Must Read Alaska reports. “...In Alaska, the new Northern Bering Sea protections are consistent with a long-standing request from more than 70 coastal Tribes based on the need to help sustain a vital and threatened ocean area, and the natural resources it contains that Indigenous communities have stewarded and relied on for subsistence since time immemorial,” the president said… “The statement said the oil and gas from these areas would be negligible compared to the possible harm an oil spill may cause.”
Politico: Trump’s oil promises have bigger problems than Biden’s new offshore drilling ban
Ben Lefebvre and Zack Colman, 1/7/25
“President-elect Donald Trump will have trouble meeting his pledges to massively increase oil production — even if he manages to overturn President Joe Biden’s sweeping new ban on offshore drilling,” Politico reports. “Reluctance by economically skittish petroleum producers, the rise in fuel-efficient cars and Trump’s own threatened trade wars will make it difficult for the United States to produce significantly more oil than it already does, energy analysts told Politico. The fact that the U.S. is already the world’s biggest oil producer and biggest gas exporter will also make sharp increases hard to achieve, despite Trump’s campaign pledges of energy “dominance.” “...“That’s all welcome news as far as oil industry lobbyists are concerned, but it won’t necessarily lead to more oil output, analysts told Politico… “Oil producers in the U.S. — and in OPEC+ — have finally convinced investors they are not going to increase output if it erodes their profitability or fiscal positions,” Bob Ryan, head of analysis firm Ryan Commodity Insights, told Politico. “Trump can make the regulatory environment more accommodative to oil producers, but the market will let them know when higher output is needed.” “...While Republicans are eyeing cuts to Biden’s electric vehicles incentives in the United States, demand for zero-emissions transportation is booming in China, whose massive market is driving the priorities of the major automakers. That alone figures to weigh on oil demand — especially as China seeks to establish market dominance in the international EV sector… “Trump has promised a 25 percent tariff on all products from Canada and Mexico if they fail to stem the flow of migrants or illegal drugs… “Tariffs would imperil deliveries of heavy crude from Canada, the top U.S. supplier of the stuff, that would be “exceedingly difficult to replace,” energy consulting firm ClearView Energy Partners wrote in a December note… “We understand President Trump’s agenda with respect to tariffs, but we feel strongly that he should consider walling off energy,” Tom Pyle, president of the conservative think tank Institute for Energy Research, who noted the challenges refiners would face replacing Canadian imports, told Politico. “I think it’s perfectly appropriate to include Canada as a reliable trading partner.”
The Center Square: Oil industry seeks end to climate change lawsuits
Brett Rowland, 1/7/25
“Energy producers facing a climate lawsuit from the city of Honolulu are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in the case, which could have sweeping implications,” The Center Square reports. “The energy companies have petitioned the Supreme Court to review the case that could block state and local governments, including Honolulu, from pursuing state lawsuits that accuse fuel producers of duping the public about climate change… “At issue is whether federal law precludes state law claims seeking redress for injuries allegedly caused by the effects of interstate and international greenhouse-gas emissions on the worldwide climate. "The question is of substantial importance to one of the country's most critical industries, and it raises profound questions of constitutional structure," the petitioners, Sunoco et al., asked the U.S. Supreme Court in the matter of Sunoco LP v. City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii. Sunoco and other fuel producers argue the time is right to settle the dispute. "In light of the enormous legal and practical importance of this case, now is the time to resolve the question presented," attorneys for the plaintiffs wrote… “While the Biden administration opposes the oil and gas companies' efforts, President-elect Donald Trump, on the campaign trail, pledged to stop the "frivolous litigation." “...Industry observers will be watching closely. The justices are scheduled to conference on the case on Friday, Jan. 10, with a decision to come after on whether or not to review if federal law pre-empts Honolulu’s state law claims over climate change.”
E&E News: Trump’s LNG plans rely on 1970s safety rules
Mike Soraghan, 1/8/25
“U.S. natural gas exports are poised to surge as President-elect Donald Trump retakes power, putting a renewed spotlight on safety standards drafted during the Carter administration,” E&E News reports. “...Continuing to rely on old safety rules could fuel the fears of people who live near proposed sites, which in turn could give added ammunition to opponents who want to block exports. “I don’t know why they would approve any more plants if the rules aren’t in place,” Melanie Oldham, who lives a few miles from the Freeport LNG terminal in southeast Texas she has opposed for years, told E&E. “We don’t know of course, but it could get stalled again.” “...Eight LNG terminals are operating in the United States. Five more are under construction, and another dozen or so are in various stages of permitting… “Federal officials at the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration — part of the Transportation Department — have been working to update the safety rules for more than eight years, dating to the final years of the Obama administration. Congress has twice told the agency to revise the regulations. But PHMSA hasn’t even published a draft. “Advancing this rule remains a top priority and we are working to complete it as soon as possible,” PHMSA spokesperson Matt Sonneborn told E&E… “In the final year of Trump’s first term, PHMSA officials withdrew their proposed draft from the White House Office of Management and Budget. Skip Elliott, who ran PHMSA during Trump’s first term and is serving on his current transition team, did not respond to requests for comment. Work resumed under Biden, but the LNG safety proposal was competing with other priorities, including rules for carbon capture pipelines, cracking down on methane emissions from pipelines and regulating thousands of miles of gathering pipelines that transport gas from production sites… “The current rules were enacted in 1980 after being drafted in the late 1970s… “But the safety rules didn’t make the turn. They just stood still.”
E&E News: Trump energy, environment picks to get hearings next week
Andres Picon, 1/7/25
“President-elect Donald Trump’s picks to lead EPA and the departments of Energy and the Interior will all get confirmation hearings next week,” E&E News reports. “They will be among the first of Trump’s nominees to face questioning from Senate committees as the new Republican governing trifecta prepares to implement its agenda, which includes expanding fossil fuel production… “Lee Zeldin, a former Republican House member from New York, will testify before the Environment and Public Works Committee next Wednesday or Thursday, Chair Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) told E&E. Former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R), whom Trump tapped to lead the Department of the Interior and a new National Energy Council, will sit before the Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Jan. 14. In addition, Liberty Energy CEO Chris Wright, whom Trump picked to lead the Department of Energy, will testify before the panel on Jan. 15.”
Press release: In First Action of 119th Congress, Van Hollen Reintroduces Legislation to Make Polluters Pay for Fueling Climate Change
1/7/25
“Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), in his first legislative action of the 119th Congress, reintroduced the Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act, legislation to require the biggest polluters to begin paying their fair share to confront the climate crisis. The Senators’ legislation requires the largest U.S.-based fossil fuel extractors and oil refiners and foreign-owned companies doing business in the U.S. to pay into a $1 trillion Polluters Pay Climate Fund, with their contributions based on a percentage of their global emissions. The Fund would then be used to finance a wide range of efforts to tackle the impacts of climate change… “This bill is cosponsored by Senators Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). U.S. Representatives Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Judy Chu (D-Calif.) plan to reintroduce companion legislation in the U.S. House later this year. “In Maryland and across the country, we are witnessing the accelerating costs of climate change – from rising seas to devastating flooding to more powerful hurricanes – and for too long American taxpayers have been footing the bill. It’s time that the biggest companies fueling the climate crisis address the harm they have caused. This legislation puts a simple but very powerful principle into action: big polluters should pay to clean up the mess they have made, and those who have polluted the most should pay the most,” said Senator Van Hollen… “Using peer-reviewed “carbon attribution” research, it is possible to definitively attribute carbon in the atmosphere to specific companies. The Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act would assess companies based on their global carbon dioxide emissions and authorizes the Treasury Department to charge the largest polluters in proportion to their past carbon emissions, in excess of 1 billion metric tons – resulting in the top polluters contributing $100 billion each year for 10 years to the Fund.”
STATE UPDATES
Beyond Petrochemicals: Mitsubishi Abandons Plan for Massive Petrochemical Plant in Louisiana
1/7/25
“Today, in a major victory for the health and safety of Louisianans, Mitsubishi Chemical Group has officially announced the cancellation of its planned MMA (methyl methacrylate) production facility in Geismar, Louisiana. The plant would have been the largest of its kind in the world producing more than 750,000 tons of carbon pollution each year as well as toxic substances like ammonia, formaldehyde, and methanol… “In July, with funding from the Beyond Petrochemicals campaign, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) published a damning report citing market shifts, sustainability options, and growing public opposition as significant challenges for the Geismar project. The report made clear that Mitsubishi would face negative financial consequences, and Louisiana would waste taxpayer dollars if work on the project moved forward… “As oil and gas companies bet on increased petrochemical production to increase their profits, fenceline communities – those living near petrochemical facilities – shoulder the health impacts from petrochemical production, including respiratory illnesses, birth defects, and high risk of cancer… “While Mitsubishi’s decision to withdraw plans for its MMA facility is a welcome relief, we must not lose sight of the larger pattern of unchecked resource extraction and toxic pollution plaguing the River Parishes. I’m a living witness to the impacts of climate change, which are jeopardizing our lives and livelihoods—and it shows in the number of funerals we have each week. Adding more hazardous emissions, including methanol, ammonia, and particulate matter, only heightens an already unacceptable cancer risk in our communities. We deserve real economic opportunities that don’t sacrifice our health or our environment. It’s time for a just transition—one that invests in sustainable industries, protects workers, and ensures a healthier future for everyone in St. James Parish,” said Sharon C. Lavigne, Founder and Director of RISE St. James Louisiana.”
WRAL: New Duke Energy gas plants move forward in North Carolina despite residents' concerns
Laura Leslie, 1/6/25
“Duke Energy's push to build more natural-gas-burning power plants is moving forward,” WRAL reports. “ North Carolina environmental regulators recently approved air pollution permits for new Duke plants in Person and Catawba counties. It's part of the state's push to cut carbon emissions to net zero by 2050. A law requiring the reduction, House Bill 951, was passed with bipartisan support in 2021. Among other things, it required energy utilities to reduce carbon emissions from their power plants. Duke agreed to wind down its remaining coal plants as part of that deal… “The utility is also adding capacity to meet what it says is a rapidly increasing demand for power, including a second generating facility at the site in Roxboro. Some Person County residents say it's coming at the cost of their community's health.”
High North News: Oil Lease Sale in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to be Held This Week
Hilde-Gunn Bye, 1/7/25
“The US Bureau of Land Management has announced that the bid opening for the oil and gas lease sale for Alaska’s Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) will be held on January 10th,” High North News reports. “The upcoming sale is the second lease sale for the ANWR, which Congress mandated in the Tax Act of 2017 during the previous Trump administration. In December, the Biden administration announced it had finalized restrictions on the sale to protect wildlife and the environment. Furthermore, it adopted the alternative that limits the lease sale to 400,000 acres, which is the minimum amount required by the Tax Act.”
KNSD: Public pushes back on proposed National City fuel transfer station
Omari Fleming, 1/6/25
“Time is running out for people in National City to tell city leaders how they feel about a project that could have a major impact on the environment,” KNSD reports “The BNSF rail line off West 18TH Street could soon include a new biofuel terminal, if Houston-based USD Clean Fuels wins approval from the City of National City. The proposed facility would run 24/7 and employ 20 staff members. It would also use around 70 trucks each day. It's the diesel pollution from all those trucks that has the executive director of Environmental Health Coalition in National City worried about the impact on the community. “This would be a step backwards; people have high rates of asthma and respiratory issues. So, we don’t want to see more facilities like this in the area," Jose Franco Garcia, Executive Director of Environmental Health Coalition, told KNSD. According to the coalition, residents in West National City breathe more diesel-polluted air than 90% of the California. Because of the air quality, the area has been designated a Portside Environmental Justice neighborhood, leading the state to put emissions-reduction and air-monitoring programs in place… “The "California Air Resources Board" sent a letter to National City leaders saying it could help reduce pollution and greenhouse gasses so the state can reach its carbon neutrality goals. The letter also said they’re "concerned about the potential for the project to increase heavy-duty truck and locomotive trips in the nearby … community, resulting in an increase in localized health impacts."
EXTRACTION
Morningstar: AI’s Electricity Demands May Stall Carbon Capture Development
Leslie P. Norton, 1/7/25
“Booming electricity demand may delay the development of technologies to cut carbon dioxide emissions from manufacturing and energy production, such as direct air capture or green chemical production, writes John MacDonagh, emerging technology analyst at PitchBook, Morningstar’s private markets research arm,” Morningstar reports. “...Direct air capture, which aims to extract CO2 directly from the atmosphere, relies on low-carbon electricity. Indeed, the business model for direct air capture companies is to generate and sell carbon credits based on capturing carbon. Using conventionally produced electricity to power direct air capture technology “would work against the aim of net decarbonization … so DAC companies need low-carbon energy power purchase agreements to operate,” writes MacDonagh, in PitchBook’s 2025 Outlook on renewable energy… “But while direct air capture companies have aggressive plans, most are still planning and constructing pilot facilities. “The availability of affordable clean energy is potentially make-or-break for these projects,” MacDonagh writes, noting that startup CarbonCapture paused development of a project planned for construction in Wyoming, citing competition for clean electricity. “Climate tech startups are generally not as capable of competing relative to data centers, which are a far more mature technology. Continued growth in data center investment will result in a more challenging environment for startups, and the ability of data center operators to pay higher rates for clean energy will result in project delays, relocations, and cancellations for carbon & emissions tech startups—particularly in the DAC and green chemicals spaces,” MacDonagh writes.”
E&E News: Meta invites climate disinformation by tossing fact-checkers
Scott Waldman, 1/8/25
“Disinformation about climate science soon could spread more rapidly online, experts say, after tech giant Meta announced Tuesday that it would no longer use fact-checkers to moderate content on its platforms, including Facebook and Instagram,” E&E News reports. “Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the social media sites would rely on its users to correct climate denialism and other forms of misinformation. He also vowed to partner with President-elect Donald Trump to combat what Zuckerberg described as censorship around the globe… “Fact-checkers have just been too politically biased, and have destroyed more trust than they’ve created, especially in the U.S.,” Zuckerberg said in a video message announcing the change… “Zuckerberg also said Meta’s domestic content moderation team would be moved from California to Texas to “help remove the concern that biased employees are overly censoring content.” He did not offer details on why moving operations from a Democratic-led state to a Republican-led state would fix that dynamic. Andrew Dessler, a climate scientist at Texas A&M University who has worked with third-party groups to correct climate denialism on Facebook, warned the move by Meta could help usher in a future where political beliefs supplant a shared reality… “Meta and other companies benefit from the sharing of bad information and use algorithms designed to boost content, no matter how false, in order to make “profit at the expense of the truth,” said Michael Khoo, climate disinformation program director at Friends of the Earth, in a statement. “Disinformation’s effects have become more obvious and proven every day,” Khoo said. “We’re seeing it hamstring our ability to mitigate climate change with false attacks on wind power.” “...In his remarks Tuesday, however, Zuckerberg said Trump’s victory in November was “a cultural tipping point towards, once again, prioritizing speech.”
CBS News: Dozens of dolphins and other marine mammals found dead after massive oil tanker spill in Russia
1/6/25
“Thirty-two dolphins have died since fuel oil spilled out of two storm-stricken tankers three weeks ago in the Kerch Strait, which separates the Russia-occupied Crimean Peninsula from Russia's southern Krasnodar region, an animal rescue group said Sunday,” CBS News reports. “Russia's Delfa Dolphin Rescue and Research Center said the deaths are "most likely related to the fuel oil spill." The center said on the messaging app Telegram that a total of 61 dead cetaceans - an order of aquatic mammals that includes whales and dolphins - had been recorded since the emergency, but the condition of the bodies suggested that the 29 others had died before the spill. "Judging by the condition of the bodies, most likely the majority of these cetaceans died in the first 10 days after the disaster. And now the sea continues to wash them up," the center wrote, noting that most of the dead dolphins were from the endangered Azov species. Russia's Emergencies Ministry said Sunday that over 96,000 tons of contaminated sand and soil had been removed by officials and volunteers along the shoreline of the Krasnodar region's Anapa and Temryuk districts. The ministry said it was working to clean up after the incident, but that "strong winds and waves" had thrown oil onto some beaches. "More than 68 kilometers of coastline have been cleaned," it said. In a further statement Sunday, the ministry said two new oil slicks had been discovered.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
Sierra Club: Regardless of Net-Zero Alliance Membership, Major US Banks Must Uphold Their Climate Action Commitments
1/7/25
“Today, JPMorgan Chase became the 6th major US bank to leave the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), a voluntary initiative launched in 2021 that has hundreds of member banks across dozens of countries. The move follows announcements in recent weeks by the other major US banks — Morgan Stanley, Citi, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Goldman Sachs — that those banks would also be leaving the NZBA,” the Sierra Club reports. “Despite the exodus, all six major US banks have their own net-zero commitments that pre-date or are independent from their membership in the NZBA, which have not changed as a result of the banks’ exit. An October 2024 report by the Sierra Club, Leaders or Laggards: Analyzing major US banks’ net-zero commitments, examined the banks’ climate targets, policies, and disclosures, and the ways in which they are, or are not, aligned with their goals to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. In response to the news, Ben Cushing, campaign director for the Sierra Club’s Fossil-Free Finance campaign, issued the following statement: “Regardless of shifting political environments, the fact remains that the only credible way for financial institutions to meet their long-standing net-zero commitments is to rapidly phase out fossil fuel financing and scale up funding for clean energy solutions. While voluntary industry alliances like the NZBA play an important role, membership has never been the true measure of a company’s climate progress. What matters most is the strength of a company’s policies and targets, and transparent adherence to them. If Wall Street banks acquiesce further to climate denier politicians and fail to follow through on their climate commitments, it will isolate the US on the global stage, and the enormous costs will fall upon our global economy, financial markets, and vulnerable communities. Ultimately, it’s up to banks’ regulators, shareholders, and clients — including state and local leaders — to hold them accountable.”
OPINION
Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEFFA): Enbridge should consider closing its old, troubled Line 5 pipeline
Suzanne Mattei, Tom Sanzillo and David Schlissel, 1/7/25
“Enbridge Energy L.P.’s plan to bore a tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron to replace an underwater segment of Line 5 is costly and ill-advised,” Suzanne Mattei, Tom Sanzillo and David Schlissel write for the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEFFA). “The Enbridge tunnel pipeline faces rising costs: Based on risks and construction inflation, the project may ultimately cost three or more times as much as initially estimated. In addition to the tunnel’s rising costs, Enbridge faces an expensive project to re-route Line 5’s Wisconsin segment, plus litigation related to both projects that could result in Line 5 shutdown. A plan to close Line 5 would not only relieve Enbridge of debt burdens and litigation battles related to the projects, but also would allow the company to chart a more flexible energy transition course… “IEEFA’s review of testimony and documentation in proceedings on the matter, along with information and analysis from other pertinent sources, concludes… Based on risks and construction inflation, the project may ultimately cost three or more times as much as initially estimated. Enbridge should question whether it makes sense to keep sinking money into an old pipeline-prolonging the "carbon lock-in" effect of the fossil fuel infrastructure-when markets for its products are on a declining trajectory. Electrification and other technologies are increasingly competitive with Line 5's products. Also, a recent study raises concern about propane use in the home. Flexible alternatives can provide leeway for Enbridge, its customers and the region to adapt to energy shifts via incremental scale-down of activity. Enbridge should consider the long-term wisdom of a non-pipeline solution to the Line 5 quandary.”
Only Sky: The stupid and necessary climate pill
Dale McGowan, 1/7/25
“...Carbon capture, a process by which CO2 is either separated from industrial emissions as they are emitted (carbon capture utilization and storage, or CCUS) and jammed into the ground, or sucked out of the atmosphere (direct air capture, or DAC) and jammed into the ground, was developed in the 1930s,” Dale McGowan writes for Only Sky. “We just need a massive and expensive upscaling—admittedly a big 'just'—but it's more pill than behavior change, which makes me hopeful about the possibilities… “We'll need a global network of pipelines and storage facilities for captured carbon. The carbon capture industry should obviously run on renewable energy to avoid sawing off the branch it sits on. We'll need government support to lower the costs of the tech, a global carbon price to make carbon capture financially viable, ongoing investments in R&D, and the political will to fund it all… “Carbon capture is a stupid plan. It's like dealing with gun violence in schools by putting every student in a Kevlar vest. It's bailing water out of the boat instead of fixing the hole, guzzling painkillers instead of setting your broken arm. Horses and barn doors. It has been correctly and loudly (but not loudly enough) noted that carbon capture is essentially a PR strategy to help the fossil fuel industry delay the phaseout of the planetary cancer that makes their boat payments. The obvious solution is and has always been behavioral, converting key industries from fossil fuels and other pollutants to clean energy. It would be insanely expensive, but we are out of cheap options. We are also out of discipline, as if we ever had any. And so, I suppose, the stupid pill it is.”
NOLA.com: Oil and gas execs have reason to expect a happy new year
Bob Marshall, 1/6/25
“A few days ago, CEOs in the oil, gas and petrochemical industries awoke with every right to expect a happy new year,” Bob Marshall writes for NOLA.com. “...Just 24 hours earlier, some House and Senate members were praising the success of an 18-month-long negotiation that resulted in a bipartisan energy bill supported by both chambers. Important concessions had been made by environmentalists, including lowering limits on the time and ‘page length’ allowed for analysis of environmental impacts on drilling in exchange for support in speeding renewable energy permitting. But the next morning the House speaker, Louisiana’s own Mike Johnson, killed the deal. His major reason: ‘With a Republican White House, Senate and House, we are confident we will secure stronger and more comprehensive permitting reforms in the next Congress.’” So much for working across the aisle. And that means a renewal of Trump´s first term campaign to gut environmental protectionism, without the checks of a split Congress… “Oil and gas businesses want to extract more oil from public lands so they can make more money, regardless of the costs to us. We’ll all eventually pay a steep price for their happy new year.”