EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 3/20/23
PIPELINE NEWS
Iowa Capital Dispatch: Key GOP lawmaker has ‘high expectations’ of House pipeline vote
KBUR: In the Midwest, the latest pipeline wars don't involve oil and gas — but carbon dioxide
The Narwhal: Canada’s Trans Mountain pipeline destroys spotted owl habitat feds have vowed to protect
North Shore News: Tsleil-Waututh pipeline protester faces jail time after lost appeal
Fairbury Journal News: Lawmakers in Two States Discuss the Keystone Pipeline Oil Spill
WFAE: Regulators urged to tighten permit for Huntersville pipeline cleanup
Insurance Journal: New York Senate Passes Bill Requiring Insurance Disclosure on Pipeline Projects
The Saxon: Reconciliation, at the heart of new energy projects
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Permitting Overhaul In Congress Draws Shrugs From Industry
PBS: EPA orders states not to block waste shipments from Ohio derailment
Press release: Lawsuit Launched Over U.S. Delay on Petition to Phase Out Oil Drilling on Public Lands
E&E News: ‘Climate homicide’: Could Big Oil be sued for disaster deaths?
Washington Post: EPA will approve California’s tough truck rules
STATE UPDATES
Carbon Herald: Carbon Capture Delayed By EPA Say State Business Organizations
Colorado Sun: Polis orders Colorado regulators to set new rules for oil and gas industry to sharply cut ozone by 2030
Source NM: Many worry that companies are flouting New Mexico’s landmark gas flaring rules
KCBX: Rep. Salud Carbajal reintroduces bill to ban offshore drilling in California
EXTRACTION
Semafor: Oil and gas companies are writing their own rules for carbon storage
Reuters: IPC CEO urges Canada to offer more funding to build carbon capture
National Observer: Massive tailings leak highlights another vexing oilsands problem
Reuters: Repsol scraps plans for east coast Canada LNG terminal
Agence France-Presse: Kuwait oil firm declares ‘state of emergency’ after leak
CLIMATE FINANCE
Argus Media: Shell says 2022 emissions down, wary of scope 3 calls
Climate and Community: An Economist's Case for Restrictive Supply Side Policy: Ten policies to manage the fossil fuel transition
OPINION
Quad City Times: Letter: Pipeline development creates only short-term jobs
Globe and Mail: The Trans Mountain pipeline purchase has been a (necessary) failure
The Tyee: Trudeau’s Pipeline Scandal
Traverse City Record Eagle: Letter: Let's move forward with Great Lakes Tunnel
The Hill: Scaling carbon removal requires a portfolio approach
Center for American Progress: After Getting Willow Project Wrong, Biden Must Get These Climate and Public Lands Decisions Right
Guardian: US banks are sacrificing poor communities to the climate crisis
PIPELINE NEWS
Iowa Capital Dispatch: Key GOP lawmaker has ‘high expectations’ of House pipeline vote
JARED STRONG, 3/17/23
“The leading legislative advocate for a bill that would impose new restrictions on proposed carbon dioxide pipelines is optimistic that the Iowa House will vote on it before an upcoming deadline, but he is reticent about its future beyond that,” the Iowa Capital Dispatch reports. “I have high expectations that this legislation will come to the floor of the House before our funnel deadline,” said Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison, who has shepherded the bill through subcommittee and committee votes. Holt’s comments were part of an Iowa Press discussion that was set to be aired Friday night and this weekend on Iowa PBS… “Holt said it’s “very possible” the bill will be amended when it finally reaches the House floor… “Rep. Norlin Mommsen, R-DeWitt, has proposed an amendment to it that would gut most of the new restrictions but would allow landowners to be better compensated for damage caused by pipeline construction. Holt said he has not talked extensively with senators about whether there is sufficient support for the bill if it clears the House, and that he doesn’t know whether Gov. Kim Reynolds supports it… “Rep. Lindsay James, a Dubuque Democrat who is the House minority whip and appeared on Iowa Press with Holt, holds a dim view of the bill’s future. “My understanding is that this is dead on arrival in the Senate and that the governor will not sign this into law,” she told the Dispatch. To survive a March 31 legislative deadline, the bill must be approved by the House and a Senate committee. It’s unclear when the House might vote on it.”
KBUR: In the Midwest, the latest pipeline wars don't involve oil and gas — but carbon dioxide
3/17/23
“Here & Now's Anthony Brooks speaks with Nara Schoenberg of the Chicago Tribune about the fight over the proposed construction of a pipeline for carbon capture and storage in the Midwest,” KBUR reports.
The Narwhal: Canada’s Trans Mountain pipeline destroys spotted owl habitat feds have vowed to protect
Sarah Cox, 3/17/23
“The Trans Mountain pipeline, owned by the federal government, is a culprit in the destruction of endangered spotted owl habitat, The Narwhal has learned in a new twist to 11th-hour efforts to save the owl from extinction in Canada. The B.C. NDP government, elected in 2017 on a platform that included using “every tool in [the] toolbox” to stop Trans Mountain from being built, quietly approved 24 new cutblocks for the pipeline in habitat federal scientists deemed necessary for the owl’s survival and recovery, including old-growth forests… “The pipeline’s destruction of spotted owl habitat puts the federal government, which owns Trans Mountain, in a very awkward situation. Under the Species at Risk Act, the government is responsible for identifying the owl’s critical habitat and taking action to prevent the species from dying out in Canada… “Andrea Olive, a University of Toronto professor whose research focuses on species-at-risk conservation, told the Narwhal clear-cutting spotted owl habitat for the Trans Mountain pipeline highlights a problem with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s message that Canada can both be a natural resource superpower and champion biodiversity and conservation. “When push comes to shove, these are the decisions that we have to make,” Olive told the Narwhal. “We have a prime minister who keeps telling us again, and again, that sustainable development is possible. And that we essentially can have our cake and eat it too, or have our pipeline and the owl too.” “...According to the Wilderness Committee, the Trans Mountain pipeline cutblocks are among 200 the B.C. government approved that overlap with spotted owl “potential future” critical habitat. The proposed recovery strategy, open for public comment until March 27, gives the B.C. government up to 60 years to decide if “potential future” habitat merits designation as core “critical habitat,” triggering protections under the Species at Risk Act.
North Shore News: Tsleil-Waututh pipeline protester faces jail time after lost appeal
Nick Laba, 3/17/23
“A pipeline protester from the Tsleil-Waututh Nation must serve a 28-day jail sentence, the B.C. Court of Appeal has ruled,” North Shore News reports. “A judgment handed down Wednesday dismissed Will George’s claims that a B.C. Supreme Court judge erred in her sentencing last year, particularly regarding considerations related to George’s identity as an Indigenous person. On the afternoon of Jan. 6, 2021, George took part in a blockade at the entrance to Trans Mountain Pipeline’s terminal on Burnaby Mountain. This happened 33 months after Trans Mountain obtained an initial injunction to restrain people from impeding work on the project, according to the appeal court’s judgment. By that time, more than 220 people had been arrested related to the protests. On that day, George and other protesters parked a vehicle in front of the terminal entrance, and disabled it by removing its tires and wheels, blocking other vehicles from entering or exiting… “By not drawing a distinction between George and the hundreds of other protesters, the sentencing judge erred by lessening George’s Indigeneity and therefore disregarded legal principles emphasizing that incarceration should be avoided for Indigenous offenders whenever possible, his lawyer argued. But, writing for the panel of three judges, Justice Peter Voith disagreed, noting the sentencing judge considered George’s Indigenous heritage in deciding a fit sentence… “In a statement released by the Wilderness Committee after the ruling, George expressed dismay at the decision. “Canada is sending me to jail because I was doing the work the colonial government failed to do – protecting my territory and my nation from a catastrophic oil spill,” he said. “Tsleil-Waututh Nation has worked for a decade to oppose the Trans Mountain pipeline, but Prime Minister Trudeau failed us, so I am left with no choice but to do whatever I can to stop it.” George’s lawyer, Affan Bajwa, told NSN that he is speaking with George about possibly filing an appeal with the Supreme Court of Canada, which would bring his client out of jail until a decision is made there.”
Fairbury Journal News: Lawmakers in Two States Discuss the Keystone Pipeline Oil Spill
Gordon Hopkins, 3/17/23
“This week, lawmakers in two states discussed the Keystone Pipeline oil spill that occurred last year, how the cleanup is progressing and possible long-term ramifications,” the Fairbury Journal News reports. “A hearing with the Kansas Legislature was held Tuesday, March 14, with Gary Salsman, TC Energy Vice President, Field Operations, answering questions. That same day, commissioners with both Jefferson and Douglas counties also discussed the matter. The oil leak dumped an estimated 12,937 barrels of crude oil into Mill Creek, three miles east of Washington, Kansas…”
WFAE: Regulators urged to tighten permit for Huntersville pipeline cleanup
David Boraks, 3/17/23
“Residents, public officials and environmental groups urged state regulators in Huntersville Thursday night to tighten requirements for a water-quality permit that Colonial Pipeline needs to speed cleanup of a massive gasoline spill two and a half years ago,” WFAE reports. “The incident happened in August 2020, when a previous repair on the 40-inch pipeline failed, sending about 2 million gallons of gasoline into the soil. That makes it the nation's largest-ever gasoline pipeline spill on land, according to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. Workers are still recovering gasoline from wells at the site in the Oehler Nature Preserve about two miles east of downtown Huntersville. Colonial Pipeline has been storing contaminated groundwater in tanks and then trucking it elsewhere. Now the company wants to build a water treatment plant at the site, and to release treated water into the nearby North Prong Clarke Creek, which is part of the Yadkin River watershed. Most of the 15 speakers at the hearing said the draft permit for the project isn't strict enough on what can be released into the creek. "This is the best option we have now to clean this up as quickly and as cost effectively as possible, but we just want to make sure that DEQ maintains very stringent standards," said Edgar Miller, the Yadkin Riverkeeper. In particular, the riverkeeper group is concerned that the permit would allow Colonial to release excessive amounts of cancer-causing benzene and fails to require testing for PFAS, so-called forever chemicals that have been found at the site… “Skip Hudspeth of Huntersville said it's up to the DEQ to protect the area: "Colonial can't be trusted. And it's also in DEQ's lap to really step up and ensure that this cleanup is managed in a way that takes care of the people in the neighborhoods and takes care of the wildlife in the streams," Hudspeth said.
Insurance Journal: New York Senate Passes Bill Requiring Insurance Disclosure on Pipeline Projects
3/20/23
“The New York Senate has unanimously approved legislation that requires the disclosure of insurance information on permit applications for the construction of pipelines traversing any freshwater wetlands in the state,” Insurance Journal reports. “...The construction and placement of pipelines across the state’s freshwater wetlands are not without potential risks, and this legislation simply offers transparency in regard to liability,” Senator Pete Harckham, the chief sponsor of the bill (S.3365), told the Journal. “Having insurance information readily available, in case of an accident or an emergency, will give community members who are worried about the environment and public safety some deserved peace of mind.” The bill must still pass the Assembly and receive the assent of the governor… “The expense of cleaning up fragile wetlands can be particularly onerous,” Tim Guinee of the Climate Reality Project Chapter Coalition told the Journal.
The Saxon: Reconciliation, at the heart of new energy projects
3/20/23
“Economic reconciliation allows many Indigenous communities to receive part of the benefits of energy projects located on their territories,” according to The Saxon. “The Cedar LNG liquefied natural gas project, approved by Victoria and Ottawa this week, is the first in Canada to be led by a First Nation. This new partnership looks set to become a model for future BC energy projects… “You don't have to go far to find examples of energy projects that First Nations were fiercely opposed to, Mark Jaccard, a professor in the School of Resource and Environmental Management at Simon Fraser University, told the Saxon. During the last phase of energy projects in Canada, First Nations were seen as an obstacle, he explains. Between 2004 and 2016, Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipeline project met with strong opposition, including from First Nations in British Columbia and Alberta, who felt they had not been sufficiently consulted. The outcry eventually led to the abandonment of this nearly $8 billion project. According to Adam Pankratz, professor of economics at the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia, there were problems with what Enbridge had done. They haven't done their job as well as Cedar LNG or TransMountain. He believes that there is now a recognition that if we do not have the commitment and support of First Nations, there is no chance that these projects will be accepted.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Permitting Overhaul In Congress Draws Shrugs From Industry
Zack Colman, 3/17/23
“The Republican push to loosen federal permitting rules for energy projects is falling flat with the industry it’s designed to benefit,” E&E News reports. “Publicly, energy industry executives and representatives have praised lawmakers for taking on a problem that both Republicans and Democrats have identified: It takes too long to win approval to build energy infrastructure such as pipelines, liquefied natural gas plants or solar and wind farms. But privately, they tell E&E the ideas included in the House bill to overhaul permitting rules miss the point and would do little to help advance major projects that are key to boosting jobs, lowering energy prices and meeting climate targets. ‘When you look at what’s on the Hill, we are spending 99 percent of our political capital on a set of reforms that will be of no statistically significant consequence,’ Jim Connaughton, who led permitting efforts as chair of former President George W. Bush’s White House Council on Environmental Quality, told E&E… “Interviews by E&E with 11 energy developers, former Republican administration officials, trade associations and lobbyists representing energy firms revealed a consensus opinion: Lawmakers are spending precious congressional days on feeble or unworkable solutions, potentially stranding billions of dollars in new federal incentives and jeopardizing President Joe Biden’s goal to cut the nation’s planet-warming emissions in half during this decade.”
PBS: EPA orders states not to block waste shipments from Ohio derailment
3/17/23
“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday ordered states to stop blocking contaminated waste from a fiery train derailment in Ohio from being sent to hazardous waste storage sites around the nation,” PBS reports. “A handful of politicians and states have sought to block shipments from East Palestine, including Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, who last week said he had stopped waste from the derailment from coming into his state. EPA Administrator Michael Regan said there was no reason for states to block shipments of the type of waste that certified facilities routinely handle every day. “This is impermissible and this is unacceptable,” he said… “So far, crews have removed nearly 5,500 tons of contaminated soil and 7 million gallons of wastewater from the area, according to the EPA. Three weeks ago, the agency briefly stopped contaminated waste from being removed from the area when concerns were raised about oversight of where it was being shipped to sites in Michigan and Texas. Hazardous waste sites in Ohio and Indiana also have received shipments in recent weeks.”
Press release: Lawsuit Launched Over U.S. Delay on Petition to Phase Out Oil Drilling on Public Lands
3/16/23
“Conservation groups today filed a notice of their intent to sue the U.S. Interior Department for failing to respond to a petition to phase out oil and gas extraction on public lands. Signed by more than 360 climate, Tribal, religious and conservation groups, the January 2022 petition provides a policy framework for managing the decline of federal oil and gas production to near zero by 2035. Research published since the petition was filed shows that developed countries must end oil and gas extraction by 2034 to avoid the harms of 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming. “Biden’s approval of the climate-killing Willow project shows how desperately we need rules cracking down on runaway oil and gas extraction on public lands,” said Taylor McKinnon with the Center for Biological Diversity. “The climate deadline to end oil and gas extraction in the U.S. is 2034, and the natural place to start is on land the federal government controls. It’s pathetic that legal action is needed to force the administration to act.” Despite campaign promises to end new oil and gas drilling and leasing on public land, the Biden administration has expanded leasing under the Inflation Reduction Act, approved the massive Willow project in the western Arctic, and issued more public-lands drilling permits in its first two years than the Trump administration. The Biden administration has failed to enact policies that align federal fossil fuel leasing, permitting or production with decline curves necessary to avoid the catastrophic consequences of warming 1.5 degrees Celsius… “The Administrative Procedure Act requires federal agencies to initiate rulemaking or provide a substantive response to rulemaking petitions within a reasonable timeframe. Today’s notice says the administration’s failure to respond to the petition is unreasonable because of the urgency of the climate crisis. ”
E&E News: ‘Climate homicide’: Could Big Oil be sued for disaster deaths?
Lesley Clark, 3/20/23
“Oil majors are facing civil lawsuits in courts from Hoboken to Honolulu that could cost the industry hundreds of billions of dollars for its role in producing planet-warming emissions,” E&E News reports. “But can petroleum producers be held criminally responsible for climate-related deaths that occurred after companies allegedly deceived the public about the dangers of burning fossil fuels? A new academic paper says they can, and authors of the research say the novel legal theory — known as “climate homicide” — is already stirring interest from prosecutors. “We have some indication they’re at least listening and curious,” David Arkush, director of Public Citizen’s climate program and a fellow at the Roosevelt Institute, told E&E. “To someone who knows the criminal law, there’s a moment of ‘What!?’ and then, ‘It’s OK. It’s not crazy.’“ The paper, “Climate Homicide: Prosecuting Big Oil for Climate Death” — written by Arkush and Donald Braman, an associate professor at George Washington University Law School — will be published next spring in the Harvard Environmental Law Review. “We concluded there aren’t really any legal or factual barriers to prosecution,” Arkush told E&E… “The paper tries to make a case for criminal prosecution of companies that knew but publicly dismissed the dangers of global warming. The authors argue that criminal charges are routine “for far less culpable and lethal conduct.” “...Niskanen Center chief legal counsel David Bookbinder, who is representing several Colorado communities in a climate liability case, told E&E that “given that climate change has already killed thousands of people, and put millions more at risk, it’s encouraging to see serious thought being given to criminally prosecuting fossil fuel companies for their actions.” “...Companies that are convicted of criminal charges could instead face restructuring into a “public benefit corporation,” a designation that gives a company latitude to focus on priorities other than simply maximizing shareholder value.”
Washington Post: EPA will approve California’s tough truck rules
Maxine Joselow, 3/20/23
“The Environmental Protection Agency will allow California to enforce ambitious rules aimed at phasing out sales of diesel-burning trucks, according to three people briefed on the plans,” the Washington Post reports. “The EPA will grant California a waiver under the Clean Air Act to enforce rules that are significantly tougher than federal standards, said these individuals, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the announcement was not yet public. The move could have a profound effect on the air that Californians breathe, especially in low-income communities and neighborhoods of color that are disproportionately burdened by truck pollution. Heavy-duty trucks account for nearly a third of the state’s nitrogen oxide pollution and more than a quarter of its fine particle pollution from diesel fuel. Both of these pollutants are linked to asthma, other respiratory illnesses and premature death… “Six other states, which together with California represent about 20 percent of U.S. heavy-duty vehicle sales, have already committed to follow California’s tougher standards. But because of the way the Clean Air Act works, California and these other states cannot act on their plans until the EPA grants the Golden State a waiver. “This is a critical market signal,” Matt Petersen, who heads the nonprofit Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator, told the Post.
STATE UPDATES
Carbon Herald: Carbon Capture Delayed By EPA Say State Business Organizations
Vasil Velev, 7/17/23
“A collation representing businesses from multiple industries in five states has sent a letter to the EPA requesting that applications for Class VI wells be reviewed and approved by states,” Carbon Herald reports. “Class VI wells are used for injecting carbon dioxide and processing documents faster would remove a bottleneck for the growing number of carbon capture projects in the U.S. “Zero permits have been granted since the passage of the IRA – widely heralded as the most ambitious climate legislation in U.S. history – or the 2021 Infrastructure Act, which established $50 million to assist states in the primacy process.” “...As it stands, the EPA has full control over the review and approval of permits for all states but two – Wyoming and North Dakota. Signatories on this letter came from five other states – Illinois, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Texas and West Virginia – all of which have carbon capture and storage projects already in the works that have stalled because of the alleged red tape from the EPA… “In early February New Mexico saw progress with a bill for funding carbon storage. If enacted by the state senate it will provide $2.4 million of funds, so that New Mexico can seek primacy over its Class VI wells. Several days ago Louisiana governor John Bel Edwards received confirmation that his request for control over the approval process is being reviewed by the EPA, potentially removing barriers for carbon capture projects in the state.”
Colorado Sun: Polis orders Colorado regulators to set new rules for oil and gas industry to sharply cut ozone by 2030
Michael Booth, 3/16/23
“Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday ordered Colorado’s oil and gas and air pollution regulators to set new rules by the end of 2024 to cut ozone-producing nitrogen oxide from petroleum development in half by 2030,” the Colorado Sun reports. “The directive also orders the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, whose members Polis appoints and who oversee executive staff under the governor’s administration, to redouble efforts to carry out laws requiring more consideration of health and the environment in their regulations. The Polis announcement sets an interim goal of nitrogen oxide, or NOx, cuts of 30% during the summer ozone season of 2025, from a 2017 base level. “This action will significantly improve air quality and contribute to Colorado’s efforts to achieve reduced and safer levels of Ozone pollution, with immediate cuts in ozone-causing chemicals in Colorado’s air in the next 2 years and the largest regulatory reduction in NOx from oil and gas in Colorado’s history,” Polis said on Twitter. The governor’s move comes as Democratic legislators were contemplating introducing a bill with ironclad directions to the COGCC and the health department’s Air Pollution Control Division to tighten up permitting for oil and gas drilling and industrial pollution sources. A coalition working on a draft bill told the Sun Thursday they continue to meet and negotiate with interested parties.”
Source NM: Many worry that companies are flouting New Mexico’s landmark gas flaring rules
MARTHA PSKOWSKI, 3/17/23
“...Flares are designed to eliminate methane from natural gas. But unlit flares and inefficient combustion mean that flaring still emits large amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere,” Source NM reports. “In May 2021, New Mexico’s Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, or EMNRD, adopted new rules that prohibit routine flaring and venting and require operators to achieve a 98 percent gas capture rate by 2026. February 28 was the deadline for operators to certify that they were on track to comply… “But environmental advocates and lawyers say that in the absence of rigorous state field enforcement, oil and gas companies are continuing wasteful methane flaring and venting. Recent flyovers by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, independent monitoring by environmental advocates and NASA satellite imagery have documented significant methane releases. To date, only two companies have been fined for unauthorized flaring since the rules went into effect. While operators still have time to achieve full compliance with the new rule, industry watchdogs warn that counting on operators to self-report flaring and venting is a failing strategy. Meanwhile, regulators say they are hamstrung by budget limitations. “What we’re seeing, unfortunately, is there’s a lot of talk about protecting clean air and the climate in New Mexico, but not much follow-through.” Jeremy Nichols, climate and energy program director at the Santa Fe-based nonprofit WildEarth Guardians, told Source NM. “It’s not enough to say there are good rules on the books.” “...Inside Climate News reached out to four companies with questions about their compliance with New Mexico’s natural gas waste rule after reviewing flyover footage from the EPA and videos provided by Barrett of Earthworks… “The open question is whether most operators in the nation’s No. 2 oil state are complying with the new rule—or will even comply by 2026—as methane emissions across the globe accelerate climate change. “We cannot rely on the companies to self-report,” Shoup, the environmental advocate in Carlsbad, told Source NM. “Enforcement action that is swift and aggressive is what it’s going to take to hopefully rein them in.”
KCBX: Rep. Salud Carbajal reintroduces bill to ban offshore drilling in California
Amanda Wernik, 3/17/23
“Congressman Salud Carbajal has reintroduced the California Clean Coast Act to ban future offshore oil and gas leasing off the coast of California,” KCBX reports. “It’s in response to a renewed push by the new house Republican majority to expand drilling and oil lease sales. Though President Joe Biden passed a five-year-ban on oil and gas development on the California coast, Carbajal said there’s no guarantee it will stay in place. “This can change by the stroke of a pin by any administration, and that's why the California Clean Coast bill that I'm reintroducing will codify no drilling into law,” Carbajal told KCBX. Carbajal told KCBX the bill is important for protecting the coastline from the devastating and long-lasting effects of oil spills. The Central Coast’s most recent major spill was the 2015 Refugio Oil Spill, when over 140,000 gallons of oil spilled into the Santa Barbara Channel. This is Carbajal’s fourth time introducing the California Clean Act, and he told KCBX he’s determined to see it become law… “Carbajal’s bill has not yet gone to committee.”
EXTRACTION
Semafor: Oil and gas companies are writing their own rules for carbon storage
Tim McDonnell, 3/17/23
“Global oil and gas companies are writing their own rules for controversial carbon-sequestration projects, officials say — but they’re divided over what those rules should be, in particular on proposed legislation that would offer protection in lawsuits over negative side effects,” Semafor reports. “Two bills introduced last week in the Texas state legislature — one of which was partially authored by Chevron — aim to shield companies that inject CO2 captured from factories, power plants, or the atmosphere into underground reservoirs from some litigation, in the event that the reservoirs leak, trigger earthquakes, or otherwise cause damage. But Oxy, formerly Occidental Petroleum and an aggressive proponent of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), opposes the moves, putting it in an unlikely alliance with environmental groups. The debate in Texas shows how legacy energy companies are racing to write the rules for emerging climate technologies, and points to an issue on which the Biden administration’s clean energy development goals and its environmental justice promises may conflict… “But Oxy, which is pushing most aggressively to the forefront of CCUS, told Semafor it “oppose[s] shifting long-term liability” off of companies and onto a state-managed trust fund, because the projects are in its view low-risk: “Properly selected and operated CCUS projects offer safe, secure and permanent CO2 storage.” “...One reason for the industry split over liability protections has to do with the grinding pace of federal permitting bureaucracy. Geologic carbon sequestration projects require a special permit from the Environmental Protection Agency. These permits are notoriously tedious to procure; only two have been issued so far nationwide, after a six-year application process. As a result, some states are keen to get permission to bypass that process and issue permits themselves. Wyoming and North Dakota have succeeded, but Texas is still bound by the federal process, which many in the industry would like to change. But if the state’s legal criteria for these projects are weaker than the EPA’s, that delegation is less likely to come through, Anderson told Semafor.”
Reuters: IPC CEO urges Canada to offer more funding to build carbon capture
Nia Williams, 3/19/23
“International Petroleum Corp (IPCO.TO), the first foreign oil company to sanction a project in Canada's oil sands in more than a decade, could add carbon capture and storage (CCS) to the plant if more government financial incentives become available, its CEO told Reuters. Geneva-based IPC, part of Sweden's Lundin Group, sanctioned phase one of the 30,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Blackrod thermal project in northern Alberta last month. The company joins Canada's biggest oil producers in urging policymakers to boost public funding for the costly technology that is seen as key to cutting emissions from the carbon-intensive oil sands. Industry says CCS projects need more government support to be financially viable, while Ottawa and the oil-rich province of Alberta are at odds over who should provide increased funding… “It comes after years of tepid foreign investment in the oil sands, with international firms deterred by high upfront capital costs, crippling export pipeline congestion that has curtailed production, and concerns about bitumen's high carbon intensity. Nicholson told Reuters IPC's decision was underpinned by new Canadian export pipeline capacity and IPC's own strong financial position… “Strong global crude prices mean oil sands production will likely continue to climb through existing project expansions, analysts told Reuters, even though a wave of greenfield projects like Blackrod are unlikely. "The oil sands are long-life, low-decline assets," Wood Mackenzie analyst Scott Norlin told Reuters. "We use the term 'cash-flow generating machines'. They just print money, especially when oil is above $70."
National Observer: Massive tailings leak highlights another vexing oilsands problem
Natasha Bulowski, 3/20/23
“The recent revelation of a massive leak from Imperial Oil’s tailings ponds highlights the question of what to do with the rest of the oilsands waste accumulating along the Athabasca River,” the National Observer reports. “Massive ponds filled with more than 1.4 trillion litres of toxic waste are set to hit capacity in 2025. At that point, the sludge-like oilsands tailings will be treated and dumped into the river, in accordance with federal regulations still being developed. That is, unless Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) identifies an alternative; the federal agency says dumping treated tailings is just “one of the options” under consideration. The federal Fisheries Act currently prohibits the release of harmful substances into fish-bearing waters. The federal government is in the process of developing oilsands mining wastewater regulations under the Fisheries Act to authorize releases of treated tailings “under strict effluent quality standards to minimize risks to the environment.” Releasing untreated tailings into the Athabasca is not being considered. But many First Nations say treated or not, oilsands tailings should not be dumped into waterways they rely on. The Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) is against the release of any treated tailings, and last summer at the Dene National Assembly, northern nations unanimously passed a motion opposing the government’s proposed plan. “It has to stop,” Dene National Chief Gerald Antoine told Canada’s National Observer in an interview. “You see how they're toying around to change the rules of engagement to meet their needs or meet their wants, which doesn't meet the needs of the land or the people that live there.”
Reuters: Repsol scraps plans for east coast Canada LNG terminal
3/17/23
“Repsol has informed the Canadian government that an east coast liquefied natural gas project (LNG) is not economically viable because the cost of transporting gas to the terminal would be too high, a Canadian government spokesperson said on Thursday,” Reuters reports. “Spanish company Repsol had been looking into developing an LNG export terminal in St. John, New Brunswick, to supply European markets, part of a global push to secure alternative supplies to Russian gas following the invasion of Ukraine.”
Agence France-Presse: Kuwait oil firm declares ‘state of emergency’ after leak
3/20/23
“The Kuwait Oil Company declared a “state of emergency” on Monday following an oil spill on land, but said no injuries or disruption to production had been reported,” Agence France-Presse reports. “The emergency followed an “oil leak in the west of the country”, the state-owned company said in a statement, as video posted by Kuwaiti media showed a gushing pipe surrounded by a large slick of oil… “Teams have been dispatched to determine the source of the leak and contain the incident, Al-Amer said, declining to give the spill’s exact location. Kuwait’s Al Rai newspaper released a video on Twitter showing a pipe spewing large amounts of oil onto barren land… “The Kuwait Oil Company has previously reported oil leaks in its fields in 2020 and 2016. In 2017, Kuwaiti authorities reported two slicks off the Gulf’s state’s shores over the span of a few days.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
Argus Media: Shell says 2022 emissions down, wary of scope 3 calls
Caroline Varin and Jon Mainwaring, 3/16/23
“Shell said today that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting from its own operations — scope 1 and 2 emissions — decreased by 15pc year on year to 58mn t of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) in 2022. It said that calls to set targets to reduce scope 3 emissions, made through use of its production, would mean cutting its oil products and gas sales, and shareholders' returns,” Argus Media reports. “...It said abatement projects and the purchase of electricity played a role in reducing emissions, but that the commissioning of its polymer facility in Monaca, US, partly offset the decreases. The firm said it did not use carbon credits to achieve scope 1 and 2 reductions in 2022… “Shareholder activist group Follow This is urging other shareholders at Shell, BP, ExxonMobil and Chevron to align their 2030 emissions reduction targets with the Paris climate agreement, which calls for global warming to stay "well below" a 2°C rise in pre-industrial temperatures and ideally limit it to a 1.5°C rise… “But Shell warned against calls to introduce medium-term targets to reduce absolute scope 3 emissions, ahead of its annual general meeting (AGM) on 24 May. It said it would have to cut its sales of oil products and gas to reduce its scope 3 emissions in line with the Follow This resolution. "Doing so, without changing demand and the way our customers use energy, would effectively mean handing over customers to competitors, "the firm said, adding it would affect Shell's financial strength "materially" and "limits its ability to generate value for shareholders."
Climate and Community: An Economist's Case for Restrictive Supply Side Policy: Ten policies to manage the fossil fuel transition
Mark Paul and Lina Moe, 3/17/23
“Until the rise of the Green New Deal, economists’ favored response to the climate crisis was some form of carbon pricing—leveraging the market to produce positive climate outcomes. With the Green New Deal came a more investment-forward strategy, one that has helped usher in a huge expansion of renewable energy and other clean technologies. The recently passed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 invested a massive amount of money into demand-side, investment-forward climate policies. What the IRA lacked was restrictive supply-side climate action to curtail and phase out the supply of fossil fuels. (In fact, parts of the bill expanded fossil fuel extraction.),” Mark Paul and Line Moe write for Climate and Community. “Policymakers have been hesitant to employ restrictive supply-side policies—in other words, explicitly phasing out the supply of fossil fuels—on the theory that increasing the demand for clean energy will crowd fossil fuels out of the marketplace. Implicit in the strategy of focusing on clean energy investment is the assumption that fossil fuel firms will voluntarily close their doors as they get pushed out and exit the market in an orderly fashion. They will not. Without discrete restrictive supply-side planning and policy, the end of fossil fuels will be a chaotic collapse where workers, communities, and the environment suffer. In this report, we explain the economic rationale—and climate necessity—of deploying restrictive supply-side policies to actively wind down fossil fuel extraction and provide 10 concrete policies to do so. Levers like bans, restrictions, or phaseouts are not new; in fact, history shows that products can go quickly from commonplace to banned. In the last four decades, the United States has outlawed lead paint, phased out asbestos, and curtailed tobacco marketing and sales. Similar policies can be used for fossil fuels; indeed, comparable policies are in place in other countries and at the state level. Restrictive supply-side interventions can provide crucial support for demand-side policies by: Guaranteeing Emission Reduction. Whereas the outcomes of demand-side policies are largely uncertain, supply-side policies guarantee that fossil fuels are not extracted and burned, thereby ensuring climate targets are achieved…”
OPINION
Quad City Times: Letter: Pipeline development creates only short-term jobs
Kenn Bowen, Iowa CCI Member, 3/19/23
“Iowa needs long-term, good-paying union jobs. C02 pipeline development would only create a handful of jobs for a short time if they're built. The long-term damage and risks from pipelines simply aren't worth it,” Kenn Bowen writes for the Quad City Times. “Rather than supporting yet another extractive agribusiness project in Iowa, why don't we use federal resources from the Inflation Reduction Act to create thousands of jobs installing and maintaining solar panels on buildings. Or given that between 2018-2022, 76% of Iowa kids 6 years and younger had lead detected in their blood, how about we invest in replacing countless lead pipes across our state. That's the kind of job creation strategy we can get behind. Stable, long-term employment in work that reduces pollution, invest in our children's well-being and future and protects our communities rather than propping up corporate profits for pipeline companies like Summit, Navigator, and Wolf/ADM.”
Globe and Mail: The Trans Mountain pipeline purchase has been a (necessary) failure
THE EDITORIAL BOARD, 3/18/23
“In the spring of 2018, the American pipeline company Kinder Morgan gave up on the Trans Mountain oil pipeline, despite having government approval to triple its capacity between Edmonton and Vancouver,” the Globe and Mail Editorial Board writes. “It was a fraught time in the oil business. Prices for Canada’s No. 1 export were low for a fourth consecutive year, yet rising output in the oil sands stoked worries about adequate pipeline capacity. The federal Liberals were about to pass major climate legislation, including a carbon tax. They had also approved two large export pipelines – TMX and Line 3 to the U.S. Midwest – but rejected a third, Northern Gateway in British Columbia. A fourth project, the Alberta-to-Texas Keystone XL, was mired in the U.S. courts. The spectre of TMX’s demise spooked Ottawa. Alberta wanted pipelines, especially to the West Coast to reach Asia, but no one in industry stepped up. Ottawa paid Kinder Morgan $4.5-billion for the existing pipeline and the expansion, whose budget was $7.4-billion. The deal was billed as a “sound investment opportunity.” Ottawa suggested it would sell before construction was complete. Five years later, Canadians still own the pipeline and TMX’s budget is, as of last week, $30.9-billion, up more than 40 per cent from a $21.4-billion estimate a year ago and four times greater than in 2018. It is supposed to be moving oil by this time next year. The cost escalation – and the consistent understating of costs by Trans Mountain Corp., the company Ottawa bought – is a financial disaster. But the project is a political necessity: the landlocking of Alberta oil would have had disastrous consequences for national unity… “It even blames the challenge of building a new pipeline through urban areas of B.C.’s Lower Mainland. One wonders why pipeline executives and engineers were surprised to discover mountains and cities during construction… “TMX, however, could be pragmatically cast as a necessary evil. In 2018, the prospect of no new pipeline at all seemed grim. TMX solves the capacity question – Canada will never need another new oil pipeline again. And when it opens, it will lessen Canada’s dependence on U.S. buyers… “It’s clear that TMX has not turned out to be a sound investment opportunity, as Ottawa first said. To the contrary, it’s a failure, financially speaking. But given Canadian political realities, TMX is a necessary failure.”
The Tyee: Trudeau’s Pipeline Scandal
Andrew Nikiforuk, 3/20/23
“Well, the transfer of billions of dollars from ordinary Canadians to wealthy oil companies continues unabated. The cost of the obscenely over-budget Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, as The Tyee predicted last fall, has increased again by a whopping 44 per cent from $21.4 billion to now $30.9 billion,” Andrew Nikiforuk writes for The Tyee. “Brace yourself. The costs will likely go higher because the twinning of the 980-kilometre-long pipeline, which will transport bitumen from Edmonton to Burnaby, is only 80 per cent complete. The Trans Mountain Corp., of course, blamed the cost overruns on the usual suspects: global inflation, supply chain challenges and get this, “challenging terrain and geography.” “...Robyn Allan, the brilliant independent economist who predicted this sorry debacle, wasn’t impressed by the corporation’s latest revelations: “This is nothing short of a disaster and it continues to shock me that Ottawa can present a boondoggle as good for the economy, and a global warming machine as something Canadians should be happy to pay for,” Allan, who headed the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, told the Tyee… “The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis also concluded last year that Canadians would never see a return on their billions because the tolls have been set too low to ever recover costs… “An almost 45 per cent jump is staggering when you consider that the project was well underway and hence costs should have been relatively locked in when Trans Mountain announced last year they had skyrocketed to $21.4 billion,” she told the Tyee… “So here’s Allan’s bottom line, and don’t say you weren’t told. “Trans Mountain is not profitable or commercially viable so by definition it cannot have a positive impact and represents a huge taxpayer-funded economic drain. “It doesn’t matter how many consultants Ottawa pays to spin a different story. The truth is there is no manner by which this project is a benefit to Canadians or the Canadian economy.”
Traverse City Record Eagle: Letter: Let's move forward with Great Lakes Tunnel
Brad Jewett, Grand Traverse County commissioner, 3/20/23
“As a frequent opinion-page writer recently suggested, it's time to “come together over Line 5,” Brad Jewett writes for the Traverse City Record Eagle. “Let’s start by stopping the misinformation and fear-mongering that writer continually uses in her opinion pieces… “The propane that heats homes, the fuel that enables air and land travel, and the manufacture of thousands of everyday items upon which we depend all rely on product from Line 5. In Northern Michigan we understand the significance of Line 5 to the region, as well as the importance of the Great Lakes… “Enbridge is funding construction of the Great Lakes Tunnel under the Straits because it is the next step to continuing to safely provide the energy upon which this region depends… “More than 70 percent of Michiganders have come together; they support construction of the Great Lakes Tunnel as the common-sense solution to continuing to meet the region’s energy needs while protecting our waterways. It’s time to stop the delay tactics and let Enbridge build the Great Lakes Tunnel.”
The Hill: Scaling carbon removal requires a portfolio approach
Philip Moss is the global director of tech removals at South Pole, a company that develops and implements comprehensive emission reduction projects, and he is the chairman of the board for the NextGen CDR Facility. Ben Rubin is the executive director of the Carbon Business Council, a tech neutral coalition with more than 80 carbon management companies, 3/18/23
“A preeminent climate report, co-authored by scientists from around the world and scheduled to be published next week, is expected to affirm that humans have released too many greenhouse gas emissions and that removing them is essential for a climate-safe future. A growing number of governments and corporations are responding to this climate challenge by investing in solutions that remove carbon emissions from the atmosphere. Many on the market are taking a portfolio approach, investing in a wide range of promising solutions and minimizing risk. To continue encouraging innovation and a menu of proven options, it’s imperative to keep a level playing field and avoid picking winners and losers,” Philip Moss and Ben Rubin write for The Hill. “...The length of time that carbon stays locked away once it is removed from the atmosphere emerges as a key definitional question as the industry scales. Different forms of removal lock away carbon dioxide for different amounts of time — ranging from decades to hundreds of thousands of years. Projects should not be written off just because the carbon they sequester is shorter-term in duration… Approaches that address the fast and slow aspects of the carbon cycle should both be part of the solution, rather than facing the current competitive “either / or” approach that is at risk of roiling the carbon removal industry. Taking an inclusive approach to carbon removals spurs private sector investment and leads to the scaling up of multiple solutions… “In the race to reach gigaton-scale removals, the more crowded the playing field, the better. The key to success is keeping the field level so that multiple forms of carbon removal can scale to spur innovation and protect communities from the impacts of climate change.”
Center for American Progress: After Getting Willow Project Wrong, Biden Must Get These Climate and Public Lands Decisions Right
Drew McConville, Jenny Rowland-Shea, 3/17/23
“Since taking office in January 2021, President Joe Biden has been a consistent champion for climate action. His administration both set the most ambitious conservation goal of any president by committing to conserving 30 percent of U.S. lands and oceans by 2030 and secured historic investments that are speeding the transition to clean energy and restoring nature. But the president got it wrong by approving the Willow drilling project,” Drew McConville and Jenny Rowland-Shea write for the Center for American Progress. “The decision opens up a new frontier of oil and gas development in the remote Arctic while leaving local Alaskan communities vulnerable to serious public health and subsistence risks. Importantly, the work to limit the climate and community impacts of the Willow project and future Arctic expansions is not over, and the ongoing concerns of local communities, including Nuiqsut, must be addressed… “While there are no one-for-one tradeoffs to make it right, this column details four near-term opportunities for President Biden to protect public lands and the climate. 1. Factor climate risk into oil and gas decision-making; 2. Protect other sensitive lands from drilling, mining, and other harm with new conservation designations; 3. Conserve the nation’s oldest, carbon-storing forests; 4. Rebalance how public lands are managed to conserve the most treasured places… “In the months ahead, the president and his Cabinet will need to act with urgency to seize remaining opportunities to address climate change and nature loss at the scale demanded. By approving the Willow oil drilling project, the Biden administration not only made the wrong decision but also missed a major opportunity to align its oversight of public lands with the nation’s climate goals.”
Guardian: US banks are sacrificing poor communities to the climate crisis
Ben Jealous is the executive director of the Sierra Club, the former executive director of the NAACP, and the author of Our People Have Always Been Free; Bill McKibben is the founder of Third Act, which organizes Americans over the age of 60 for action on climate and democracy, 3/16/23
“The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank will bring many forms of fallout. One of the most obvious consequences is that the biggest banks – Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo, Bank of America – will probably get even bigger. That is why we’re joining protests across the United States outside hundreds of those banks’ branches on Tuesday, 21 March: if they’re going to hold that much power over the planet’s economy, we need them to recognize and help with our great crises,” Ben Jealous and Bill McKibben write for the Guardian. “...The four biggest banks in America are the four biggest financiers of fossil fuel expansion in the world. These banks didn’t need Donald Trump’s help to sabotage the Paris climate accord: since 2015, they have provided well over $1tn in lending and underwriting to the companies building new coal plants, pipelines, fracking wells, gas export terminals and more. This polluting infrastructure is designed to last decades – long past the point at which science tells us we need to wean off fossil fuels. We can’t shut off all oil and gas overnight, but we can, and must, call on these banks to keep it from expanding, to move money out of dirty energy projects and finance more clean energy instead… “We can solve this problem. If Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo and Bank of America no longer fund new fossil fuel expansion, it makes the climate fight easier. There’s no reason they can’t: in December, Europe’s biggest bank, HSBC, announced that it would no longer directly finance new oil and gas development. Many other global banks have stopped funding coal. So far, American banks are headed in the opposite direction. Despite commitments to zero out the emissions resulting from their financing activities by 2050, they’ve continued with business as usual. At global climate talks in 2021, the big US banks joined an international alliance of “net-zero” financial institutions. So far, that initiative has been an exercise in greenwashing. In fact, some US banks threatened to quit if the alliance adopted any rules with real teeth… “The redlining of America was one of the ugliest chapters in our nation’s history. We must stop our nation’s banks from doing the same to our communities and the planet.”