EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 3/21/23
PIPELINE NEWS
Bloomberg: Canada Faces $15 Billion Loss on Oil Pipeline, Morningstar Says
Canadian Press: Indigenous led prospective buyer 'not going away' even as Trans Mountain costs spiral
Reuters: U.S. pipeline regulator grants over $25 million in funding to improve safety
Des Moines Register: Iowa farmers face $1 billion-a-year hit to income without carbon pipelines, report says
Radio Iowa: Renewable Fuels study of blocked carbon pipeline impact on corn price
Bismarck Tribune: Burleigh County considers pipeline zoning ordinance tied to CO2 debate
Tri States Public Radio: McDonough County will intervene in revised pipeline filing
Oelwein Daily Register: Companies meet with Board to discuss pipeline permits
Pocono Record: Environmental groups appeal permits for natural gas pipeline planned in Monroe, Luzerne
WHYY: PGW’s pipeline replacement plan will cost up to $8 billion and ignores climate impacts, study says
Grist: Welcome to Utah, where pipeline protests could now get you at least five years in prison
Prairie Public Broadcasting: New incentive pending for a pipeline to bring Bakken gas to central and eastern North Dakota
KXNET: The future of oil pipelines in North Dakota
WASHINGTON UPDATES
The Hill: Biden to declare two new national monuments in Nevada, Texas
Politico: Granholm On Permitting
InsideEPA: House GOP Urges FERC To Limit Use Of CEQ’s GHG Guide, Citing Core Duty
FOX News: More Than 2 Dozen Groups Back Republicans' Sweeping Energy Package
Carlsbad Current-Argus: More than 3,000 acres of New Mexico public land being sold for oil and gas amid protests
STATE UPDATES
Anchorage Daily News: ConocoPhillips Alaska to pause some work at Willow oil field amid lawsuits from conservation groups
ICT News: BNSF fuel train derails on Swinomish Reservation
Billings Gazette: Fort Peck tribes plan ambitious hydrogen project
E&E News: Ban hydrogen in homes? Mass. debate mirrors national quandary
EXTRACTION
The Hill: UN warns of ‘rapidly closing’ window to avert global warming
InsideClimate News: Fossil Fuel Executives See a ‘Golden Age’ for Gas, If They Can Brand It as ‘Clean’
Reuters: U.S. oil exports to Europe hit record in March on steep discounts
Journal of Petroleum Technology: Plummeting 'Energy Return on Investment' of Oil and the Impact on Global Energy Landscape
Midland Reporter-Telegram: Operators Urged To Prepare Now For Methane Intensity Tax
CLIMATE FINANCE
The Hill: Biden issues first veto, rejecting bill to reverse ESG rule
Washington Post: Why seniors are blocking entrances to the four largest U.S. banks
OPINION
Salt Lake Tribune: Kevin T. Jones: Proposed tanker route threatens priceless artworks in Utah’s Nine Mile Canyon
The Hill: Alarmed about climate change? Here’s what we can do
PIPELINE NEWS
Bloomberg: Canada Faces $15 Billion Loss on Oil Pipeline, Morningstar Says
Robert Tuttle, 3/20/23
“Canadian taxpayers may end up taking a loss of C$20 billion (nearly $15 billion) on the government-owned Trans Mountain Pipeline after costs to expand it skyrocketed, according to Morningstar Inc.,” Bloomberg reports. “Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government will probably get no more than C$15 billion when it goes to sell Trans Mountain — and possibly much less, Morningstar analyst Stephen Ellis told Bloomberg. The government paid Kinder Morgan Inc. C$4.5 billion for the system in 2018 after the midstream company threatened to cancel plans to nearly triple its capacity to 890,000 barrels a day. The cost of that project has soared to about C$31 billion because of a range of factors including supply-chain challenges. “At a C$31 billion investment cost, no way the pipeline is going to recover costs,” Ellis told Bloomberg… “But Trans Mountain has to compete with Enbridge Inc.’s much-larger system that carries Canadian crude into the US as far as the Gulf Coast. That will limit the tolls Trans Mountain can charge the 20% of oil shippers without contracts, keeping the returns for the pipeline “very low,” Ellis told Bloomberg. The government’s best option would to try to sell Trans Mountain to a consortium of companies that could absorb lower returns on the conduit by expanding their existing oil facilities, such as storage tanks and other pipelines that connect to it. A number of Indigenous groups have formed to seek an ownership stake in Trans Mountain but, so far, Pembina Pipeline Corp. is the only established pipeline company to openly express interest in buying it.”
Canadian Press: Indigenous led prospective buyer 'not going away' even as Trans Mountain costs spiral
3/20/23
“An Indigenous-led initiative is still pursuing ownership of the Trans Mountain pipeline, despite the project's ballooning price tag,” the Canadian Press reports. “We are not going away, just because it's $30.9 billion. We are entering into the early stages of negotiations,'' Stephen Mason, managing director of Project Reconciliation, a Calgary-based group that is working to facilitate the purchase of a major equity stake in the pipeline for the 129 First Nations along the route, told CP. “...The Trans Mountain pipeline – Canada's only pipeline system transporting oil from Alberta to the West Coast – was bought by the federal government for $4.5 billion in 2018 after previous owner Kinder Morgan Canada Inc. threatened to scrap the pipeline's planned expansion project in the face of environmentalist opposition… “The federal government has indicated it does not wish to be the long-term owner of the pipeline, and has said it is open to the idea of Indigenous ownership… “Project Reconciliation is pursuing a “minimum of a 30 per cent equity stake'' in Trans Mountain, Mason told CP, which would mean not just economic benefits for Indigenous communities but Indigenous governance leadership through the Trans Mountain Corp. board of directors… “Some environmentalists have suggested that as the world begins to move away from fossil fuels in the coming decades, the Trans Mountain pipeline could become a stranded asset and a liability to whoever owns it. But Mason told CP that access to revenue streams from today's fossil fuel industry will give Indigenous communities the ability to invest in tomorrow's energy innovations. “That corridor is a valuable corridor to move what will be the next generation of energy, whether it be in the form of ammonia or pure hydrogen. That corridor is very expensive real estate,'' Mason told CP.
Reuters: U.S. pipeline regulator grants over $25 million in funding to improve safety
3/20/23
“The U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) on Monday announced more than $25 million in funding to improve safety nationwide after recent train derailments,” Reuters reports. “These grants are targeted to train first responders, strengthen safety programs, improve safety, reduce environmental impacts and provide support to state inspectors for hazardous materials shipments and pipelines inspections, PHMSA said. "These grants will train firefighters and other first responders and help ensure that communities have the resources they need to keep their residents safe," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg… "Whether it's dealing with a pipeline rupture or a train derailment—training is essential to the safety of our first responders and the communities they serve," said PHMSA Deputy Administrator Tristan Brown.
Des Moines Register: Iowa farmers face $1 billion-a-year hit to income without carbon pipelines, report says
Donnelle Eller, 3/21/23
“Iowa farmers could lose about $1 billion in annual farm income if carbon capture pipelines aren't built to ensure the state's largely corn-based ethanol will remain viable as the country seeks to slow down climate change, says the second part of an industry-backed report,” the Des Moines Register reports. “...A 75% estimated loss in ethanol production if the pipelines aren't built would force the state's growers to ship about 44% of their crop outside of the state, primarily to neighboring ethanol-producing states Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota, says the report. Released Monday, the report by Decision Innovation Solutions, an agriculture-focused economic analysis firm, was funded by the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association… “The association released the second report as lawmakers are expected to consider legislation that would make it harder for the three companies proposing pipelines, Summit Carbon Solutions, Navigator CO2 Solutions and Wolf Carbon Solutions, to build them in Iowa… “Opponents of the pipelines say the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association is trying to scare people into supporting the pipeline projects, which would liquefy carbon dioxide emissions from ethanol and other industrial agriculture plants and pipe them to either Illinois or North Dakota, where they would be sequestered deep underground. "It's fear-mongering," Jessica Mazour, the Sierra Club of Iowa's conservation program coordinator, told the Register. She told the Register the groups don't represent farmers along the route, many of whom are opposed to the project. "Farmers can see right through" the report, she told the Register. "It's the ethanol and pipeline companies that stand to benefit from the projects, not farmers." “...Statewide, corn farmers would see net farm cash income decline by $1.1 billion, the report says… “But a Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll, released last week, showed 78% of Iowans oppose the proposed use of state-granted eminent domain to secure land for the pipelines, as Summit and Navigator CO2 have proposed… “Shaw called the opposition to eminent domain an emotional response. He told the Register that when Iowans get more information about the projects, they better understand the need, pointing to a statement by Ames-based Summit that it has reached voluntary agreements with 70% of the landowners along the route of its proposed pipeline. "That's the poll that really matters," Shaw told the Register.
Radio Iowa: Renewable Fuels study of blocked carbon pipeline impact on corn price
O. KAY HENDERSON, 3/20/23
“A study commissioned by the renewable fuels industry suggests corn prices in Iowa would drop significantly if carbon capture pipelines are not built in Iowa,” Radio Iowa reports. “It’s like asking a farmer, a corn farmer on the corn side of their equation to take an 85% pay cut,” Shaw said during an online news conference this morning… “We are now looking at Iowa being the only…state on the map where there is still an active effort to derail these projects,” Shaw said… “Tim Recker, a corn farmer from Arlington, spoke during today’s news conference. He called carbon pipelines the next step for the ethanol industry. “If we don’t find favor in getting CO2 transported, I’m going to be shipping corn to my neighboring states or I’m going to be putting a lot more corn on the river system — an 80 year old lock and dam system, our rail sytem or trucking it a lot farther than I do today,” he said “and to me, that’s going backwards in our industry, not forward.” Shaw cited part of the study which found just 6% of Iowa field corn currently leaves the state without having value added either by being used to make ethanol, fed to livestock or converted to industrial use. “If we don’t align ourselves to be profitable under the current policy and market conditions and we let the ethanol production migrate out to those areas that do, the study found…44% of our corn would leave this state without having any value added to it,” Shaw said.”
Bismarck Tribune: Burleigh County considers pipeline zoning ordinance tied to CO2 debate
BLAKE NICHOLSON and DAVID VELÁZQUEZ, 3/20/23
“A proposed Burleigh County ordinance would require companies building pipelines for hazardous liquids such as carbon dioxide to obtain a special permit and comply with other rules relating to setback distances, insurance, liability and other matters,” the Bismarck Tribune reports. “County commissioners on Monday got their first formal look at the proposal, which could get a vote next month following a public hearing. Commissioners acknowledged that an ordinance, if approved, is likely to draw a lawsuit from CO2 pipeline developer Summit Carbon Solutions. “Anything we can do to improve the safety to the citizens, I’m willing to take a shot at it," Commissioner Brian Bitner said… “They also lengthened some required setback distances, and restricted the ordinance to larger pipelines. The proposed ordinance is one of two that emerged amid pushback from northern Burleigh County landowners to Summit's planned Midwest Carbon Express pipeline, which would cross the county to the north of Bismarck… “Some landowners worry about their safety should the pipeline rupture. Summit recently said it has a rupture plume model but has not shared it with landowners along the route… “The proposed Burleigh ordinance would require a computer model report showing the blast zone, which Flanagan said is more specific than modeling for a plume that could be affected by factors such as wind and topography… “The county can't regulate the depth of a pipeline, but commissioners on Monday voted 4-0, with one member absent, to add a provision to the proposed ordinance setting the "level of cultivation" at a minimum of 4 ½ feet… "We can't tell them how deep to put the actual pipeline, but we can create a depth for cultivation as part of farming practice in North Dakota," Flanagan said.
Tri States Public Radio: McDonough County will intervene in revised pipeline filing
Rich Egger, 3/20/23
“The McDonough County board agreed to intervene in Navigator CO2’s revised filing with the Illinois Commerce Commission,” Tri States Public Radio reports. “...As it did with the earlier application, McDonough County has decided to intervene in the case. Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, Vice President of Government and Public Affairs for Navigator CO2, told TSPR it’s not a bad thing for counties to have a participatory role in the case… “That necessarily does attach some fees and lawyers and such associated with it. Not everyone has the financial capabilities to be able to do that.” “...At the McDonough County board’s March meeting, 14 members voted in favor of intervening.”
Oelwein Daily Register: Companies meet with Board to discuss pipeline permits
Shane Butterfield, 3/20/23
“Attorneys from two of the companies with plans to undertake carbon pipeline projects in Iowa spoke before the state Utilities Board last week, including a representative of Wolf Carbon Solutions, who indicated the company may not be ready to begin its project as early in 2024 as previously thought,” the Oelwein Daily Register reports. “The goal of the meeting was to address existing scheduling issues related to the companies’ requests for the permits necessary to commence their work, Radio Iowa reported. In the course of the questioning, Amanda James, an attorney for Wolf, indicated her client may not be ready to start as soon as they planned… “Meanwhile, Samantha Norris, an attorney for Navigator CO2 Ventures, told the IUB that her client was a bit more certain of its timeline. “We are requesting a hearing in the first quarter — we’ll plan on requesting a hearing in the first quarter of 2024,” Norris replied, when asked… “The building of the three proposed pipelines continues to be a controversial subject across the state, with proponents emphasizing the projects’ importance to Iowa’s economic future as a vital part of the emerging ethanol industry. Many of those in opposition, however, led by landowners, are standing against the construction of the pipelines for safety reasons as well as objecting to the companies’ proposed use of eminent domain to secure access to its route.”
Pocono Record: Environmental groups appeal permits for natural gas pipeline planned in Monroe, Luzerne
Kathryne Rubright, 3/21/23
“PennFuture and the Delaware Riverkeeper Network have filed an appeal on permits granted for a natural gas pipeline planned in Monroe and Luzerne counties,” the Pocono Record reports. “Permits given by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental protection would allow the Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company to degrade waterways, the groups said in an appeal filed with Pennsylvania’s Environmental Hearing Board on March 14… “The expansion, known as the Regional Energy Access Expansion Project, would add 22.3 miles of 30-inch pipe in Luzerne and 13.8 miles of 42-inch pipe in Monroe, in addition to a new compressor facility in Gloucester County, New Jersey and updates to existing facilities. New Jersey has not signed off on the project, while the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved it… “What the permits here allow Transco to do is to cut across a number of High Quality streams and to cut across two Exceptional Value streams, Poplar Creek and the Tunkhannock Creek, as they construct this additional pipeline, which is multiple miles across Luzerne and Monroe counties,” Jessica O’Neill, senior attorney with PennFuture, told the Record, adding that Tunkhannock is “one of the premier fishing streams in Monroe County.” “...In the bigger picture, the pipeline will “transport additional huge quantities of fracked gas for combustion, for burning, and so we're talking about additional carbon dioxide going into the atmosphere in a state where we have climate goals that shouldn't involve the construction of new fossil fuel infrastructure,” O’Neill told the Record.”
WHYY: PGW’s pipeline replacement plan will cost up to $8 billion and ignores climate impacts, study says
Susan Phillips, 3/21/23
“Philadelphia Gas Works customers are on track to spend $6 to $8 billion to replace aging gas pipes over the next 35 years, locking in decades of fossil fuel use at a time when the city of Philadelphia is committed to carbon neutrality by 2050,” WHYY reports. “...The economics of gas distribution networks is really falling apart,” Dorie Seavey, an economist and independent consultant who authored “Philadelphia’s Gas Pipe Replacement Plan: How much will it cost and does it make sense?” for the nonprofit climate solution think tank HEET, told WHYY… “HEET has advocated the use of networked geothermal as an alternative to replacing some of the aging pipes, as one solution. The city has committed $500,000 for PGW to conduct a networked geothermal pilot project as part of its business diversification plan… “In a hearing on the gas utility’s weather normalization adjustment, customers said the billing practice is unfair in the face of climate change. “Safety needs to be an absolute priority,” Seavey told WHYY. “And there are some times when a pipe just has to be replaced. But the notion that you’re going to do wholesale replacement of all vintage pipe without looking at whether there are cost effective alternatives to me doesn’t make any sense.”
Grist: Welcome to Utah, where pipeline protests could now get you at least five years in prison
Naveena Sadasivam, 3/21/23
“In Utah, protests that hinder the functioning of fossil fuel infrastructure could now lead to at least five years in prison,” Grist reports. “The new rules make Utah the 19th state in the country to pass legislation with stiffer penalties for protesting at so-called critical infrastructure sites, which include oil and gas facilities, power plants, and railroads. The new laws proliferated in the aftermath of the Standing Rock protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2017. Utah’s legislature passed two separate bills containing stricter penalties for tampering with or damaging critical infrastructure earlier this month. House Bill 370 makes intentionally “inhibiting or impeding the operation of a critical infrastructure facility” a first degree felony, which is punishable by five years to life in prison. A separate bill allows law enforcement to charge a person who “interferes with or interrupts critical infrastructure” with a third degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison. Both bills were signed into law by the governor last week. Of the two bills, First Amendment and criminal justice advocates are particularly concerned about HB 370 due to its breadth, the severity of penalties, and its potential to curb environmental protests… “This bill could be used to prohibit pipeline protests like we saw with the Dakota [Access] Pipeline project,” Mark Moffat, an attorney with the Utah Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, told Grist, referring to the 2017 protests at Standing Rock in North Dakota. “It elevates what would be basically a form of vandalism or criminal mischief under the laws of the state of Utah to a first-degree felony.” “...Similar bills are pending in at least five other states, including Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, Idaho, and North Carolina. These bills include various misdemeanor and felony charges for trespassing, disrupting, or otherwise interfering with operations at critical infrastructure facilities… “Many of these bills also bore a striking resemblance to model legislation developed by the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, a membership organization for state lawmakers and industry representatives best known for drafting model legislation that’s later enacted by conservative states.”
Prairie Public Broadcasting: New incentive pending for a pipeline to bring Bakken gas to central and eastern North Dakota
Dave Thompson, 3/20/23
“The North Dakota legislature is looking at a new way to incentivize a natural gas pipeline to bring Bakken gas to central and eastern North Dakota,” Prairie Public Broadcasting reports. “An effort began in the 2021 special Legislative session to use $150 million in federal money from the American Rescue Plan Act as seed money for a pipeline. But even though there was interest, there were no takers… “Bekkedahl told PPB in the Industrial Commission budget bill, the state will try a new program. Under it, instead of subsidizing the building of the pipeline, the state would subsidize the sale of the product at the end of the pipeline. "We (the state) would buy capacity on the pipeline, spare capacity not being sold yet on the other end," Bekkedahl told PPB. "Then they can build the pipeline, sell what they have right now for capacity contracts, and then work to engage further contracts. That would take the state out of its obligation of the capacity contracts." Bekkedahl told PPB it means less money up front for the state, and better certainty for the pipeline builders. He told PPB the funding source for this program has not yet been identified.”
KXNET: The future of oil pipelines in North Dakota
Taylor Aasen, 3/20/23
“More than 190,000 miles of liquid petroleum pipelines cover the United States,” KXNET reports. “There are four types of liquid petroleum pipelines, which include crude and refined, and all four types can be found in North Dakota. So, what is the future of pipelines in our state and country? In Canada, most Canadians believe the Trans Mountain Expansion Project will be the last major oil pipeline. In the U.S. though, oil pipelines are big business. In fact, according to IBIS World, it’s a $51 billion industry, which consists of over 2,200 companies and over 218,000 people employed. And although the current administration wants green energy, oil remains at the center of the energy industry as a primary energy source… “The federal government still states that the fastest way to transport oil is by pipeline.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
The Hill: Biden to declare two new national monuments in Nevada, Texas
RACHEL FRAZIN, 3/21/23
“President Biden on Tuesday will designate two new national monuments at Nevada’s Avi Kwa Ame and Texas’s Castner Range and will also take a step toward the designation of a national marine sanctuary,” The Hill reports. “The Avi Kwa Ame monument in Southern Nevada will include the peak also known as Spirit Mountain, which is part of the creation story of several tribal nations… “It is considered to be one of the most sacred places by the Mojave, Chemehuevi and some Southern Paiute people and is also sacred to other indigenous groups. Castner Range, in the El Paso area, was a training and testing site for the Army during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The monument Biden is designating Tuesday will include 6,672 acres of the Franklin Mountain range. It is home to species including the Mexican Poppy flower. Biden will also direct the Commerce Department to consider designating a new marine sanctuary to protect all U.S. waters around the Pacific Remote Islands southwest of Hawaii… “Biden is expected to make the announcements during a conservation summit that will be held at the Interior Department on Tuesday. The moves come about a week after the Biden administration angered many environmentalists by making the controversial decision to approve the Willow Project, a major oil-drilling proposal in Alaska. Asked during a White House press briefing Monday whether the administration was sending mixed signals on the environment, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the Willow approval came as a result of “legal constraints.”
Politico: Granholm On Permitting
3/21/23
“Granholm said during the Washington Post event that Biden supports speeding up permitting, but believes it’s possible ‘without sacrificing the goals behind [the National Environmental Policy Act] and the other permitting rules that protect the environment,’” Politico reports. “House Republicans are pushing changes to NEPA that would limit some environmental reviews in a bid to streamline energy project approvals. ‘It is clear that speeding up permitting, whether it’s for any type of energy but particularly clean energy, in light of [the IPCC report], has to happen if we are really to take action to prevent the biggest harms to our planet,’ Granholm said, adding that Biden is looking at ways to hasten permitting ‘from the executive branch side.’ She said the administration is considering actions to make agency reviews ‘concurrent rather than consecutive,’ add staff to over-burdened agencies tasked with the reviews and issue a memorandum of understanding under the Federal Power Act that would set time frames for transmission permitting.”
InsideEPA: House GOP Urges FERC To Limit Use Of CEQ’s GHG Guide, Citing Core Duty
3/17/23
“House Energy and Commerce panel Republicans are urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to limit its use of White House guidance on accounting for greenhouse gas emissions in National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews, arguing it is at odds with regulators’ core duty of approving natural gas and transmission facilities” InsideEPA reports. “‘While we understand this interim guidance is subject to change until the rule is finalized, we write to reiterate that NEPA, and especially the [Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)] guidance, does not supplant the Commission’s core statutes for siting or permitting natural gas or electric transmission projects,’ House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Energy, Climate, & Grid Security Subcommittee Chair Jeff Duncan (R-SC) write in a March 16 letter to FERC’s four commissioners. The letter raises concerns that following the CEQ guidance could lead FERC to abandon its core mandate and asks each of the commissioners a series of questions regarding the commission’s interpretation of the CEQ guidance. CEQ’s ‘vague guidance raises many concerns regarding how the Commission will follow its authorizing statutes in the issuance of permits for both natural gas and electric transmission infrastructure,’ the lawmakers write.”
FOX News: More Than 2 Dozen Groups Back Republicans' Sweeping Energy Package
Thomas Catenacci, 3/17/23
“More than two dozen conservative organizations sent a letter to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., urging Congress to work swiftly to pass sweeping energy legislation Republicans introduced this week,” FOX News reports. “The coalition of 27 groups, led by Americans for Prosperity (AFP), argued H.R. 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act, would tackle inflation fueled by energy costs, characterizing it as the ‘biggest challenge facing families and business.’ Overall, the legislation would boost domestic energy production while rolling back regulations and taxes, according to the letter exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital. ‘Families and businesses are facing historic inflation costs driven by President Biden’s war on American energy,’ AFP Vice President of Government Affairs Akash Chougule told Fox News Digital in a statement. ‘Now, Congress has a real opportunity to lower costs by repealing the onerous taxes and regulations that are standing in the way of an abundant, reliable energy supply.’ ‘The Lower Energy Costs Act would unleash America’s energy abundance by speeding up construction and energy production throughout this country,’ Chougule continued. ‘We are calling on Congress to swiftly pass these bold reforms to lower costs for all Americans, and we will hold accountable those who stand in the way.’”
Carlsbad Current-Argus: More than 3,000 acres of New Mexico public land being sold for oil and gas amid protests
Adrian Hedden, 3/17/23
“A sale of New Mexico’s public land to the oil and gas industry was expected in May with lands going to auction throughout the Permian Basin in the southeast corner of the state,” the Carlsbad Current-Argus reports. “...The BLM reported March 17 that it found oil and gas extraction on the nominated parcels of land would not significantly impact the environment. The lands were expected to see 19 horizontal wells drilled, producing about 3.2 million barrels of oil and 18 billion cubic feet of natural gas, read the BLM’s report… “Within these counties, as well as the area immediately surrounding the nominated lease parcels, there already exists extensive oil and gas development and production,” read the report. “Oil and gas development and its attendant industry are identifying components of the economic and social fabric of the region.” “...An environmental group sought to voice its opposition to leasing public land to oil and gas in court, leading a national lawsuit against the BLM’s parent agency the U.S. Department of the Interior. Santa Fe-based WildEarth Guardians were lead plaintiffs in the suit filed Thursday, along with national groups the Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Earth. The notice of intent to sue was signed by 360 environmental and indigenous groups around the country, citing the DOI’s alleged failure to phase out oil and gas operations on public land… “Jeremy Nichols, climate and energy program director at WildEarth Guardians told the Argus President Joe Biden has so far failed to deliver on promises made during the campaign trail and first term in office to reduce pollution from domestic energy production. “Far from living up to his promise to protect the climate, President Biden is actually undermining his commitment to the American public to end fossil fuel leasing,” Nichols told the Argus.
STATE UPDATES
Anchorage Daily News: ConocoPhillips Alaska to pause some work at Willow oil field amid lawsuits from conservation groups
Alex DeMarban, 3/18/23
“Conservation groups have asked a federal judge for a preliminary decision to stop construction work this winter at the Willow oil field in Alaska’s Arctic, days after the Biden administration approved the project,” the Anchorage Daily News reports. “Developer ConocoPhillips has begun building the ice road for the project but agreed to delay activity associated with gravel mining and road-building while the court considers the request, according to paperwork filed in the case. That could put dozens of jobs on hold for now… “Several conservation groups this week filed two lawsuits against the Biden administration to stop the project, arguing that its impacts on the environment have not been fully considered, nor have project alternatives that could reduce its potential harm… “In their requests for a first-step decision to stop road construction and gravel mining, the groups say the activity would cause irreparable harm, such as mine blasting and traffic that will displace caribou and affects Alaska Native hunters who rely on them. ConocoPhillips has agreed to halt any construction that would impact the surface of the ground until April 4, to allow the court to review the request for a preliminary injunction, the Justice Department filing says.”
ICT News: BNSF fuel train derails on Swinomish Reservation
RICHARD ARLIN WALKER, 3/18/23
“A BNSF train leaving a Western Washington oil refinery with diesel fuel derailed shortly after midnight on March 16 on the Swinomish Reservation about 80 miles north of Seattle,” ICT News reports. “It was one of three BNSF derailments in three days and occured just days before the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and BNSF Railway prepare to go to trial over the company’s apparent violation of a right-of-way and easement agreement on the tribe’s lands. The BNSF derailments come amid renewed national attention to rail safety after a toxic derailment last month in East Palestine, Ohio, and other derailments in Michigan, Alabama and elsewhere. No injuries were reported and no fuel is believed to have entered an adjacent bay that is a habitat for salmon, forage fish, shellfish, seals, otters, shorebirds and bald eagles. Authorities believe up to 3,100 gallons of fuel spilled into a berm on the landside of the tracks. “We have a long way to go, but we know that things could have been much, much worse,” Swinomish Chairman Steve Edwards said in a statement on Thursday, March 16. “We at Swinomish will continue to do everything we can to protect the waters and natural resources around us, while ensuring public safety.” “...By Friday, excavators and trucks were removing contaminated soil from the site. One truck driver, waiting to take another load of contaminated soil to a permitted facility, told ICT he had worked through the night and into the day.”
Billings Gazette: Fort Peck tribes plan ambitious hydrogen project
Tom Lutey, 3/17/23
“The Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes are in the early stages of a hydrogen fuel project, one they hope can be folded into a four-state partnership involving Montana,” the Billings Gazette reports. “Should the development advance, Fort Peck Reservation would play host to a hydrogen plant producing fuel for the trucking industry, as well as a carbon sequestration site and wind farm. Economic Development Director Rodney Miller confirms for Lee Montana Newspapers that the tribes will later this month register a new corporation, the Assiniboine-Sioux Hydrogen Company, which will become the majority owner in a partnership with developer Cyan H2 LLC… “This is focusing on renewable energy and hydrocarbons,” Miller told the Gazette. “It’s a futuristic approach to energy development. The technology is really starting to evolve. The potential users and benefactors are developing prototypes, there are companies doing work on the automotive side.” “...The plan is ambitious, not only for the hydrogen plant, wind farm and carbon sequestration sink, but also a pipeline to deliver the hydrogen to U.S. Interstate 94 for distribution.”
E&E News: Ban hydrogen in homes? Mass. debate mirrors national quandary.
David Iaconangelo, 3/20/23
“Plans by Massachusetts utilities to blend low-carbon hydrogen into natural gas distribution networks to feed homes and other buildings has sparked a national debate over “green” hydrogen’s reliance on renewables and what that might mean for the electric grid,” E&E News reports. “What happens in the Bay State could provide a model for the rest of New England, which is heavily reliant on natural gas. The debate came to the forefront this month when Gas Transition Allies — a coalition of environmental nonprofits — released a report slamming the utility plans in Massachusetts. Making green hydrogen from renewable electricity and water, the groups argue, is an energy-intensive process that would divert other clean electricity from the grid. Green, or renewable, hydrogen is expected by analysts to become the central way of producing a low-carbon version of the fuel in the coming years. In Massachusetts, the process could conceivably be driven by offshore wind turbines, although the Gas Transition Allies argue that the turbines’ power would be more efficiently used directly for power generation.”
EXTRACTION
The Hill: UN warns of ‘rapidly closing’ window to avert global warming
RACHEL FRAZIN, 3/20/23
“A report from the United Nations climate change panel doubles down on calls for action to combat planetary warming amid a “rapidly closing window,” The Hill reports. “The latest report from the intergovernmental panel on climate change is a “synthesis” of three recent reports which said that climate change was “unequivocally” caused by humans, that it will increase premature deaths and other poor health outcomes and that a “substantial reduction” in global fossil fuel use is needed to combat the problem. Similar to these other reports, the latest iteration notes that the planet has already warmed about 1.1 degrees Celsius (about 2 degrees Fahrenheit) and that under the current status quo it is on track to exceed 1.5 Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) of warming — a temperature gain that scientists have said should be avoided to avert some of the most serious climate change consequences… “It details risks including increase in heat-related death and illness, diseases coming from food, water and insects and flooding in coastal areas, and reiterates the call for “minimal” use of fossil fuels where emissions are not captured or otherwise mitigated, as well as forest conservation and restoration… “U.N. Secretary General António Guterres also called for a general phase down of oil and gas production and for developed countries to phase out coal by 2030, according to a copy of his prepared remarks. “The climate time bomb is ticking,” he said. “But today’s IPCC report is a how-to guide to defuse the climate time bomb. It is a survival guide for humanity.”
InsideClimate News: Fossil Fuel Executives See a ‘Golden Age’ for Gas, If They Can Brand It as ‘Clean’
Nicholas Kusnetz, 3/19/23
“Natural gas has long been subject to a war of words. Once it was a “bridge fuel” that would straddle the gap from fossil energy to renewable sources. More recently, climate activists have sought to highlight that gas pollutes, too, by stripping “natural” from its name and calling it fossil- or methane gas,” InsideClimate News reports. “The industry is pushing back, and gas executives displayed their latest linguistic counteroffensive at an industry conference this month in Houston. “It’s time for us to stop tiptoeing about the value of natural gas,” said Octávio Simões, chief executive of Tellurian, which is struggling to finance its multi-billion dollar plan to export liquified natural gas, or LNG. “It’s time for us to say it is an incredible fuel, and we’re not afraid to burn it in our kitchens,” he added, drawing cheers from the otherwise subdued crowd. Gas’s fortunes have fallen over the last decade as emerging science revealed that its production and transport releases large volumes of methane, the fuel’s primary component and a potent greenhouse gas… “During the panel, Rice called his company’s product the “cleanest energy in the world,” despite the fact that gas emits 20 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions. Fossil fuel executives were broadcasting the same message as Rice and Simões throughout the conference, CERAWeek by S&P Global, one of the energy industry’s largest annual gatherings. Ryan Lance, chief executive of ConocoPhillips, said in a separate panel that “the whole taxonomy around gas is changing” as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which sent energy prices soaring and European countries scrambling for new sources of fuel. “Gas is something that’s going to be more than just a bridge fuel,” Lance said. “It’s going to be around for a long time.” Environmental groups and many scientists have warned that this outcome would be a disaster for the climate.”
Reuters: U.S. oil exports to Europe hit record in March on steep discounts
Arathy Somasekhar, 3/20/23
“U.S. crude exports to Europe have hit a record 2.1 million barrels per day on average so far this month, spurred by wide discounts to the global benchmark and weaker oil demand by U.S. refineries,” Reuters reports. “Record exports to Europe and China this month reflect the rise of United States in crude oil trade and solidifies its role supplying Europe following Russia's invasion of Ukraine… “Export demand has aided prices for some top U.S. crude grades. The average price for WTI Midland, pegged at the top U.S. shale basin, has gained nearly 50% so far this year compared to the previous quarter, while WTI at East Houston has gained about 30%. Exports should remain strong in the months ahead as long as the Brent-WTI spread remains wide, Kpler's Smith told Reuters.”
Journal of Petroleum Technology: Plummeting 'Energy Return on Investment' of Oil and the Impact on Global Energy Landscape
Siddharth Misra, 3/20/23
“As a critical component in 90% of all industrially manufactured products and a third of global primary energy consumption, oil is the backbone of industrial civilization,” according to the Journal of Petroleum Technology. “...The global energy landscape is facing a crucial turning point. Various studies show that oil liquid production is expected to peak in 2035 at a magnitude of 500 petajoule per day (PJ/d), but when the energy required for the extraction and production of these liquids is taken into account, the net-energy peak is expected to occur in 2025 at a level of 400 PJ/d (Delannoy et al. 2021)... “It is projected that the energy needed for oil liquid production will increase exponentially from 1.5 PJ/d in 1950 to 210 PJ/d in 2050, after which it is expected to plateau… “It is essential that global stakeholders act swiftly to transition to more sustainable and renewable sources of energy to ensure a secure and sustainable energy future. Given the plummeting energy return on investment of oil, the global energy transition must occur quickly to avoid energy shortages, environmental threats, and economic depression. In the foreseeable future, the energy needed to produce oil liquids could approach unsustainable levels, a phenomenon called “energy cannibalism.” “...On the one hand, we clearly have too much fossil fuels stock to respect ambitious climate targets. On the other hand, should the supply side of oil liquids face major bottlenecks, then a fast global shift to renewable energy sources will be all the more difficult to achieve.”
Midland Reporter-Telegram: Operators Urged To Prepare Now For Methane Intensity Tax
Mella McEwen, 3/19/23
“A new methane intensity tax is set to take effect beginning in 2024, and analysis shows smaller producers are facing significant exposure,” the Midland Reporter-Telegram reports. “Though repeal of the tax, which was included in the Inflation Reduction Act passed last summer, is part of a package of energy legislation unveiled this week by House Republicans, its passage is not certain. Producers are being advised to take proactive steps to meet or come in under the reporting threshold. An analysis by ESG Dynamics estimates the tax will cost the upstream oil and gas industry $579 million – other estimates are as high as $700 million – in 2024, largely carried by smaller producers. ESG Dynamics estimates about 80% of operators producing below 10,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day will be affected, compared to about 40% of operators producing more than 100,000 BOE per day.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
The Hill: Biden issues first veto, rejecting bill to reverse ESG rule
BRETT SAMUELS, 3/20/23
“President Biden on Monday issued his first veto since taking office, rejecting a bill that would have reversed a Labor Department rule on environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing,” The Hill reports. “This bill would risk your retirement savings by making it illegal to consider risk factors MAGA House Republicans don’t like. Your plan manager should be able to protect your hard-earned savings — whether Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene likes it or not,” he added, referring to the Republican congresswoman from Georgia. The Biden administration had previously issued a rule stating that money managers can weigh climate change and other ESG factors when they make decisions for retirement investments on behalf of clients. It replaced a rule from the era of former President Trump that the Biden administration said discouraged consideration of ESG factors “even in cases where it is in the financial interest of plans to take such considerations into account.” “...The President vetoed the bill because it jeopardizes the hard-earned life savings of cops, firefighters, teachers, and other workers – all in service of an extreme, MAGA Republican ideology.” White House spokesperson Robyn Patterson said in a statement. Congress is unlikely to be able to override Biden’s veto, as it would require the support of two-thirds of both chambers. The legislation and Biden’s subsequent veto is part of a larger debate over ESG investing. Opposition to the practice has become a point of emphasis for many conservatives, who view it as part of a broader “woke” agenda among Democrats that infringes on Americans’ rights to make their own decisions.”
Washington Post: Why seniors are blocking entrances to the four largest U.S. banks
Maxine Joselow, 3/21/23
“When customers of America’s four largest banks visit their local branches on Tuesday, they may be greeted by an unfamiliar sight: Activists in rocking chairs blocking the entrances,” the Washington Post reports. “Their aim? To pressure banks to stop financing fossil fuels and heed scientists’ warnings to help phase out oil, gas and coal to avert the worst effects of climate change. The rocking chairs are the brainchild of Third Act, a group that seeks to engage Americans 60 and older — those in their “third act” of life — in environmental activism. But the demonstrations are expected to draw all ages in about 100 cities across 29 states, according to the 53 groups organizing the events. The protests add to the mounting environmental pressures on Wall Street from politicians in both parties. Liberal lawmakers have pleaded with large financial institutions to cut ties with the fossil fuel industry, while conservatives have attacked what they call “woke” capitalism, a reference to companies publicly and financially supporting progressive social causes. Caught in the middle are four banks — Chase, Bank of America, Citi and Wells Fargo — that rank as the world’s largest lenders to the fossil fuel industry, according to a report released last year by Rainforest Action Network and other environmental groups… “In certain ways, if we can get the banks to shift, that would probably have more global impact than getting Congress to shift,” Bill McKibben, the author and climate activist who launched Third Act in 2021, told the Post. “Washington doesn’t really run the world anymore. But Wall Street still kind of does.” “...But McKibben said baby boomers — defined as people born between 1946 and 1964 — have a moral responsibility to join the climate crusade. “If you’re 65 now, you’ve been on this planet for something like 80 percent of the carbon dioxide that’s ever been emitted,” he told the Post. “There’s a debt to be paid, and there are ways to pay it.” “...One of Tuesday’s biggest protests is expected to draw hundreds of people to the heart of the nation’s capital. A rally downtown will feature remarks by environmental leaders including Ben Jealous, the new executive director of the Sierra Club and former head of the NAACP.”
OPINION
Salt Lake Tribune: Kevin T. Jones: Proposed tanker route threatens priceless artworks in Utah’s Nine Mile Canyon
Kevin T. Jones is the former state archaeologist of Utah, and the author of “Standing on the Walls of Times: Ancient Art of Utah’s Cliffs and Canyons,” with photographs by Layne Miller, 3/17/23
“A proposed bypass connecting Highway 101 with I-10 through Los Angeles County has drawn the ire of historic preservationists and art aficionados alike. While touted as an economic necessity that will enable more efficient transport of goods — especially oil products — through the area, the effects on historic neighborhoods and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art are seen by many as unacceptable,” Kevin T. Jones writes for the Salt Lake Tribune. “...While this proposal is purely imaginary — so far — a similar proposal is in the works that will cut through the heart of what has been called “The world’s longest art gallery” — Nine Mile Canyon in central Utah. Home to more than 10,000 works of ancient art, the canyon is world-renowned as a treasured repository of sublime, mysterious, moving, fine art… “A proposed road improvement will bring oil tankers at a rate of one every three minutes through the canyon, along with local and tourist traffic. The disruption, the unmitigated destruction of the ambience of the now serene canyon is as unacceptable as a highway through the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and perhaps even greater, as these works of art are immovable — they cannot be taken to another spot and put on display… “The Nine Mile Canyon Coalition, a grassroots organization of mostly local people who love and care for the canyon and its resources, is working to oppose the proposed highway (they have been called “rock huggers” because of their commitment), as is the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. I urge those who care about art, about culture, about Native American heritage, and about protecting our environment, to work with these and other organizations to oppose this wrong-headed greed-driven proposal.”
The Hill: Alarmed about climate change? Here’s what we can do
Robert “Bob” Taylor is a freelance journalist who specializes in environmental issues and previously worked as an economic analyst for Shell oil company, 3/20/23
“According to a Yale University study, six in 10 Americans (59 percent) are either alarmed or concerned,” Robert Taylor writes for The Hill. “...One is to become involved in decarbonizing our lives, our homes, businesses and means of transportation; the other is to advocate for governments to hold polluters accountable… “For decades, fossil fuel companies — using their enormous financial and political power — have been able to shift the costs of their pollution onto the public… “If fossil fuels were our only energy options it would be a different story, but they’re not. Clean, renewable energy sources are readily available to replace them. Indeed, solar and wind energy are already cheaper in many places… “Until recently there have not been many incentives for consumers to switch from fossil fuels, but that has changed as renewables have become cheaper and billions of dollars in subsidies and rebates have become available through the Inflation Reduction Act… “Unfortunately, as important as these actions are, they won’t be enough to reach our climate goals. To avoid catastrophic and irreversible impacts the IPCC warns that we must halve emissions by 2030. If fossil fuel companies are allowed to continue to increase their production and profit from their polluting fuels, we face a losing battle. We must advocate for governments to phase out these dirty fuels and speed the transition to a clean energy future. The transition won’t be easy because this industry is arguably the most financially and politically powerful force on Earth. They have used their power successfully to prevent or delay government policies that would upset their pernicious business model. At the 2023 annual energy conference of oil executives in Houston, their determination to expand oil and gas production was made clear. One CEO remarked, “Our strategy is to stay as oily as we can for as long as we can.”