EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 3/8/22
PIPELINE NEWS
Reuters: U.S. Midwest carbon pipeline has secured less than 2% of key Iowa route, filings show
West Virginia Public Broadcasting: Finish Mountain Valley Pipeline To Deter Russia, Manchin Says
Bloomberg: Not too late to build Keystone XL, Kenney says as U.S. looks for Russian oil replacement
Fairbury Journal-News: Keystone XL Pipeline Agreement with the County Terminated
FOX Business: Psaki claims Keystone XL Pipeline would make no difference for rising gas prices
Southern Environmental Law Center: Tennessee legislature’s reckless pipeline amendment takes power from local governments
LocalMemphis.com: Memphis could lose control over Byhalia oil pipeline
WQAD: Coalition raises concerns about carbon capture pipeline in Illinois
Canadian Press: Indigenous groups still aim to buy Trans Mountain pipeline, even as costs soar
The Texan: Texas Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in Eminent Domain Pipeline Case
Greater Baton Rouge Business Report: Audubon Engineering lands LNG pipeline contract in Louisiana
WASHINGTON UPDATES
STATE UPDATES
Williston Herald: Bakken energy industry is getting a moment to push for more American oil production
Deep South Center for Environmental Justice: Webinar: The False Promise of Carbon Capture in Louisiana
Bakersfield Californian: Kern launches California's first carbon capture project review
CNBC: Why a California city is trying to build the state’s last fossil-fueled power plant
KEYT: ExxonMobil’s Oil Trucking Proposal expects final decision next week
ABC7: Youth activists fight to stop oil drilling sites in Contra Costa Co.
Bismarck Tribune: North Dakotans weigh in on methane emissions proposal
EXTRACTION
Wall Street Journal: Europe Fears It Could Be Too Late to Shake Off Russian Gas Addiction
New York Times: These Climate Scientists Are Fed Up and Ready to Go on Strike
NOLA.com: BP spill cleanup workers more likely to be diagnosed with hypertension, new study says
Forbes: Concentrated Solar Power Could Give Oil Companies A Second Revenue Stream
Guardian: How satellites may hold the key to the methane crisis
CLIMATE FINANCE
Press release: TC Energy announces closing of U.S. $800 million subordinated notes offering by TransCanada Trust
S&P Global: Shareholder advocacy group gives most top US utilities an 'F' on climate
OPINION
Motley Fool: Why I Sold My Stake in Enbridge Stock
NWIowa.com: Letter: Pipeline naysayers are ignoring other issues
Guardian: Our climate solutions are failing - and Big Oil’s fingerprints are all over them
Corporate Knights: Canada needs to make Big Oil pay their fair share
Santa Fe New Mexican: Reducing methane emissions increases energy security
PIPELINE NEWS
Reuters: U.S. Midwest carbon pipeline has secured less than 2% of key Iowa route, filings show
By Leah Douglas, 3/8/33
“Landowners in Iowa have been slow to cede their property rights to a 2,000-mile (3,219 km) proposed carbon dioxide pipeline that would cut through the U.S. Midwest, Reuters reports. “Summit Carbon Solutions said last month it had negotiated easements with hundreds of landowners along the pipeline route, marking a major advance for what it hopes will become the world’s largest carbon capture and storage (CCS) project. But in Iowa, the state that would host the largest section of the proposed line, the company has reported just 40 land easements, covering just 1.9% of its 703-mile traverse, according to a database maintained by the Office of the Iowa County Recorder and analyzed by Reuters. The discrepancy raises questions about Summit’s progress in securing a route for the $4.5 billion project, dubbed the Midwest Carbon Express, which would transport carbon dioxide siphoned from ethanol processing facilities in five Midwestern states to North Dakota for underground storage… “ But many landowners worry the project could also damage farmland and impact human health in the event of a leak, according to Reuters interviews and a review of public comments filed with state regulators… “On Feb. 1, Summit issued a news release in which its CEO, Bruce Rastetter, said, "we’ve had early success signing hundreds of pipeline easements with farmers who have a vested interest in our success." But as of Feb. 22, the date of the most recent available filings in Iowa, Summit had recorded only 40 easements containing 68 tracts of land and covering 13.6 miles of the pipeline route, according to the data reviewed by Reuters… “Asked to explain the discrepancy between its public statements and the land records, Summit told Reuters that the Iowa database does not reflect the most recent easement total due to administrative and other delays. The company told Reuters it has paid over $17 million to landowners along the pipeline route so far, and that negotiating the rest of the route will take a year or more.”
West Virginia Public Broadcasting: Finish Mountain Valley Pipeline To Deter Russia, Manchin Says
Curtis Tate. 3/7/22
“U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin has called for the immediate completion of a stalled natural gas pipeline as an alternative to Russian energy,” West Virginia Public Broadcasting reports. “Manchin said the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which stretches 300 miles across West Virginia and Virginia, can help European countries rely less on Russia for natural gas. The pipeline is mostly complete but tied up in federal court. Environmental groups have successfully brought the project to a halt over concerns about impacts on waterways and endangered species. But Manchin, who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said the pipeline should be completed now. “That one pipeline coming out of West Virginia will put 2 billion cubic feet of gas a day into the market,” he told WVPB. “That can be accomplished in eight months. They’re 95 percent completed.”
Bloomberg: Not too late to build Keystone XL, Kenney says as U.S. looks for Russian oil replacement
Robert Tuttle, 3/7/22
“TC Energy Corp.’s Keystone XL crude pipeline could be built by the first quarter of next year if the Biden administration were to reverse its decision to cancel the project,” Bloomberg reports. “Construction of the controversial pipeline, which would have raised Canada’s oil-sands export capacity to the U.S. by almost 900,000 barrels a day, had already begun when the project was scrapped last year by U.S., Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said during a news conference. “We could turn this around in less than a year,” Kenney said on Monday… “The U.S. government would first need to financially “de-risk” the project before TC Energy would commit money to building the line after two previous cancellations, Kenney said… “During a disaster like this, national security and the interest of the economy must prevail,” the premier said. “I think there is a lot of creative ways that this could be addressed.” Alberta will produce and export record volumes of oil this year and the province can boost shipments abroad by about 10% by using existing pipeline and crude-by-rail facilities more efficiently, Kenney said. Enbridge Inc.’s new Line 3 pipeline and a so-called diluent recovery unit that allows heavier crude to be railed down to U.S. refineries will also help boost exports, he said.”
Fairbury Journal-News: Keystone XL Pipeline Agreement with the County Terminated
Gordon Hopkins, 3/4/22
“TC Energy, the company formerly known as TransCanada Corporation, officially terminated it’s road haul agreement with Jefferson County at a meeting with county commissioners the afternoon of Tuesday, March 1,” the Fairbury Journal-News reports. “Although not a surprise, it still came as a disappointment to commissioners. After voting to terminate the agreement, commissioner Mark Schoenrock told representatives of TC Energy, “Well I would say, both as a county commissioner and as a private citizen, I was, you know, disappointed to hear that news. We’re all here very supportive of the XL Pipeline… Is there any chance at all that you guys will be able to start back up or is it totally a dead issue now? “How about if a new administration comes into power?” Brock Taylor, Senior Land Representative at TC Energy, said it was highly unlikely, given the uncertainty, “I think it would be a dead horse. We spent a lot of money. We had a supportive administration but as soon as that one left, we didn’t have time to get enough built in the next four years before the next administration slashed the project. This is a lot of investment for us.” Commissioner Gale Pohlmann asked, “What is your plan as far as materials left from the project?” “We’re trying to sell the pipe,” said Taylor. “That’s still being worked on. There’s no buyer at this point.”
FOX Business: Psaki claims Keystone XL Pipeline would make no difference for rising gas prices
Jon Brown, 3/7/33
“White House press secretary Jen Psaki suggested Monday that the Keystone XL Pipeline, the construction of which President Biden canceled on his first day in office, would not have made a difference in the nation's skyrocketing gas prices,” FOX Business reports. “Psaki made the claim in response to questions from Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy, who asked her why the Biden administration is seemingly blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin for rising U.S. gas prices, which hit a new record high of $4.104 on Monday, surpassing the previous record of $4.103 set in 2008, according to data from GasBuddy… “Doocy later asked if Biden would consider rescinding his executive order canceling the Keystone XL Pipeline, prompting Psaki to ask if Doocy believes the pipeline would have an impact on gas prices. "Well, do you think that that would maybe affect prices faster than getting the whole country off of fossil fuels?" Doocy asked. "I actually don't think it would," Psaki replied. "The Keystone was not an oil field. It's a pipeline. Also, the oil is continuing to flow in just through other means. So it actually would have nothing to do with the current supply imbalance."
Southern Environmental Law Center: Tennessee legislature’s reckless pipeline amendment takes power from local governments
3/7/22
“An amendment proposed by Tennessee lawmakers would prevent all local governments – rural and urban – from having a say in where crude oil, petroleum, and methane gas pipelines and tanks are built,” according to the Southern Environmental Law Center. “If passed, the amendment would allow out-of-state fossil fuel companies to construct pipelines near schools, homes, drinking water sources, and other places that are currently protected from oil and gas infrastructure. The amended versions of Senate Bill 2077 and House Bill 2246 would have a broad impact across the state. Water utilities adopt local plans to protect drinking water wellfields and intakes in order to ensure communities have access to safe drinking water, and city and county leaders use zoning codes and local ordinances to reinforce those protections. This bill, if passed and upheld in court, would make such protective measures illegal and give a green light to companies looking to build risky oil and gas pipelines near critical drinking water facilities… “The bill would also prohibit local governments from regulating petroleum and methane gas infrastructure near school playgrounds and other sensitive areas… “SELC and The Sierra Club strongly urge legislators to vote down this irresponsible measure that puts Tennessee communities at risk.”
LocalMemphis.com: Memphis could lose control over Byhalia oil pipeline
Nick Papadimas, 3/7/22
“People who thought they'd successfully beat efforts to build the Byhalia pipeline learned on Monday Valero hasn't given up,” LocalMemphis.com reports. …Sen. Ken Yager and Rep. Kevin Vaughan of Collierville are pitching a bill that would take away local control of land use zoning any time it might affect the delivery of gas or "liquified petroleum gas transmission". The issue is expected to be voted on in the House and Senate Commerce Committees on Tuesday.”
WQAD: Coalition raises concerns about carbon capture pipeline in Illinois
Jennifer Somers, Khalia Patterson, 3/7/22
“Carbon capture company Navigator CO2 Ventures is looking to build a 1,300-mile carbon pipeline that would run underneath the ground of five Midwest states including Illinois and Iowa, with Illinois being the dumping site,” WQAD reports. “Some are voicing concern about the company's intentions, the disruption of farmland and the safety of those who live where the pipeline will be. The Coalition to Stop CO2 Pipelines, made up of various environmental organizations and landowners against the project, will host a community meeting Monday, March 7 for the public to voice their concerns… "(Carbon pipelines) do - in some cases - leak," Lan Richard, co-director of the Eco-Justice Collaborative in Champaign, told . "When they do leak, it is an explosive event and can spread carbon dioxide throughout the whole area, half a mile to one mile away depending on the terrain." The coalition fears this will damage valuable farmland. Eminent domain rights could give power to private companies like Navigator to take any property for public use without the owner's consent in exchange for payment or compensation. "Although there's compensation proposed for (land use), it's only for the first three years and on a decreasing rate," Richard told WQAD. "And the concern is that once that land has been disrupted, it was always be of lower quality." "Our long-term concern is that a lot of this carbon dioxide will be sold to oil companies to get more oil, which will then be burned and release more carbon," Richard told WQAD.
Canadian Press: Indigenous groups still aim to buy Trans Mountain pipeline, even as costs soar
3/7/22
“Indigenous-led groups remain committed to pursuing ownership of the Trans Mountain pipeline, even as cost overruns for the pipeline expansion project soar,” the Canadian Press reports. “Last month, the federal Crown corporation that owns the pipeline revealed estimated construction costs of the expansion have ballooned by 70 per cent to $21.4 billion, up from an earlier estimate of $12.6 billion… “In an email Monday, Trans Mountain Corp. spokeswoman Siobhan Vinish confirmed that due to existing contractual agreements with shippers, only 20 to 25 per cent of the increased capital costs can be passed on to oil companies in the form of increased tolls. That means that about $7 billion in cost overruns must be absorbed by Trans Mountain itself, ultimately eroding the project's returns. But escalating costs aren't deterring Indigenous-led initiatives like Nesika Services, a non-profit organization that is working to help Indigenous communities along the pipeline's route acquire a stake in Trans Mountain. "It means obviously the entire pie for the project is smaller," Nesika Services executive director Paul Poscente told CP. "But we've done some modelling based on the publicly available information, and it's absolutely still viable…We still believe that Canada can sell a portion of this pipeline to Indigenous communities on a commercial basis. We have been urging Canada to start a negotiation." Project Reconciliation, another Indigenous-led initiative that is seeking 100 per cent Indigenous ownership of Trans Mountain, recently sent a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to indicate it is still "ready, willing and able" to purchase the pipeline.”
The Texan: Texas Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in Eminent Domain Pipeline Case
KIM ROBERTS, 3/7/22
“The Texas Supreme Court heard arguments on February 23 in a case to determine whether a company has eminent domain authority to build a pipeline across private land to carry a product other than crude petroleum,” The Texan reports. “The case is between the Hlavinka family, which owns over 15,000 acres of land in Brazoria County, and the HSC Pipeline Partnership. In 2016, HSC made an offer for a 50-foot wide easement through the Hlavinka property for a pipeline to transport polymer-grade propylene (PGP). The Hlavinkas rejected the offer so HSC began condemnation proceedings to gain the easements, extending almost two miles across the land… “Several issues were argued before the court. First, whether the pipeline would be a public use as required by the constitution, whether the pipeline company has statutory authority to condemn the property, and finally if the property is condemned, how it should be valued. The Hlavinkas assert that the pipeline is not a public use. Their attorney, Clay Steely, told the court, “I believe constructing a pipeline solely to sell your product to a customer is not a public use. That’s a private use.” “...Steely also argued that the HSC Pipeline does not have the authority to condemn under any statute because it is not carrying crude petroleum, as required by the Texas Natural Resources Code. However, HSC Pipeline responded, and the First Court of Appeals agreed, that it is entitled to eminent domain authority as a common carrier carrying oil products under the Texas Business Organizations Code… “The court also asked questions about valuing the land and whether a landowner ought to be able to provide testimony about previous arms-length transactions they have reached for other pipelines.”
Greater Baton Rouge Business Report: Audubon Engineering lands LNG pipeline contract in Louisiana
3/4/22
“Audubon Engineering Co., with offices in Lafayette, announced last week that it has been awarded a contract to provide engineering and construction management services for a greenfield liquefied natural gas interconnect pipeline on the Louisiana coast,” according to Greater Baton Rouge Business Report. “Regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the pipeline project will move between 1.5 and 2.0 billion cubic feet per day of gas to serve as the main supply for an undisclosed LNG export facility. Audubon successfully completed the front-end engineering for the project in 2021. Backed by its integrated offshore and pipeline teams, Audubon is leading the project from its Louisiana and Texas offices.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Politico: CANCEL COPS
Josh Siegel, 3/7/33
“House Oversight Committee Republicans sent a letter Friday to Democrat Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) accusing her of canceling a hearing this coming week with oil and gas company board members because it is "no longer politically expedient" after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine brought issues of energy security to the forefront,” Politico reports. “Now that world events have shown the importance of domestic oil and gas production, you are canceling the hearing,” which was scheduled for Tuesday, wrote Republicans led by ranking member James Comer (R-Ky.). Maloney and Environment Subcommittee Chair Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) had scheduled the hearing for board members to testify about their companies’ activities to combat climate change. Khanna’s subcommittee held a hearing with top executives of several oil majors late last year to gauge what the companies knew about their role in climate change in past decades.”
Politico: STATES ARGUE TO KEEP SCC INJUNCTION
Josh Siegel, 3/7/33
“Louisiana and the other states that successfully torpedoed Biden's social cost of carbon pushed back late Friday on the administration's request to stay the injunction,” Politico reports. “The administration previously argued that the SCC was not used to justify administrative actions, but now that it is blocked, "they are singing a very different tune," the states wrote. “Because this Court was exactly right to hold that the Executive Order and Estimates exceed the Executive Branch’s authority, its injunction works no irreparable harm on Movants.” The Justice Department last week asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit to get involved and stay the injunction; it is unclear how long that appeal might take.”
STATE UPDATES
Williston Herald: Bakken energy industry is getting a moment to push for more American oil production
By Renée Jean, 3/2/22
“The Bakken’s energy industry has long pushed back against green energy movements, promoting the narrative that its oil and gas production is vitally important to American energy security. The recent invasion of the Ukraine could help it further that narrative, and congressional delegations in both North Dakota and Montana are both busy using it to win some political points for the energy sectors in their state,” the Williston Herald reports. “Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines and North Dakota Republican Sens. John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer are all signatories to a letter the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources sent to President Joe Biden outlining 10 steps he and Congress should take to restore America’s energy independence… “Cancelling Keystone XL pipeline was among the first steps the Biden Administration took that started the ball rolling on inflationary measures that have aggravated market uncertainty, and caused underinvestment in oil and natural gas that is leading to high energy costs. That’s exacerbating inflation that’s been brought on by supply chain issues in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. “(This) has hurt American families and our economy,” the letter continues. “Those decisions have also weakened our ability to addresss the immediate crisis in Ukraine and support our North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies.” “It is time for your administration to develop a new approach that embraces America’s energy abundance,” the senators wrote. “American-produced energy is not just good for our economy and international competitiveness. Making America energy dominant will increase our nation’s and our allies’ security.” The 10 steps outlined by the letter are… “Encourage FERC to avoid new barriers for natural gas pipeline approval. Making more American natural gas available to Europe, which you have endorsed, can’t happen without additional infrastructure. Withdraw the executive order cancelling the Keystone XL pipeline and approve existing and future cross-border oil and gas permits.”
Deep South Center for Environmental Justice: Webinar: The False Promise of Carbon Capture in Louisiana
3/7/22
“Join us and the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice this Thursday, March 10, at 2:00 p.m. Central (3 p.m. Eastern) for a webinar on the proposed rollout of carbon capture and storage in Louisiana and the damaging effects it would have on overburdened and underserved communities if deployed. Carbon capture use and storage (“carbon capture”) has been heavily promoted as a climate "solution" by the coal, oil, and gas industries. Using carbon capture technology, industries claim they will recover post-combustion carbon dioxide from their flues and smokestacks and either “store” the gas permanently underground in sedimentary rock or “use” the gas to recover oil or make other products. But on closer inspection, carbon capture is a false promise. On top of this, wide-scale industrial expansion of carbon capture technology would harm historically marginalized communities that already bear disproportionate environmental burdens. In Thursday's webinar, advocates and experts will discuss the latest updates on the proposed rollout of carbon capture in Louisiana and how communities and advocates are responding to this threat. The Center for Progressive Reform's policy brief on the topic will serve as a springboard for the discussion. They are: Monique Harden, Assistant Director of Law and Policy at the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice; Rob Verchick, CPR President and Professor at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law; and Karen Sokol, CPR Member Scholar and Professor at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. Center for Progressive Reform Policy Analyst Katlyn Schmitt will moderate the discussion. Register: https://bit.ly/LAccswebinar”
Bakersfield Californian: Kern launches California's first carbon capture project review
BY JOHN COX, 3/4/22
“In preparation for what could be a new avenue in California's fight against climate change, the state's first environmental review of a carbon capture and sequestration project kicked off Friday in Kern County,” the Bakersfield Californian reports. “The review will focus on a plan by local oil producer California Resources Corp. to gather carbon dioxide from various industrial sources and bury it in depleted oil reservoirs using half a dozen injector wells 26 miles southwest of Bakersfield in the Elk Hills Oil Field. The project is the furthest along of several such proposals geared toward helping California reach its goal of carbon neutrality by 2045. It would earn state and federal financial incentives if operated as envisioned by Santa Clarita-based CRC… “Although the oil industry has increasingly embraced CCS as a way to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, environmental groups remain skeptical, in part because the installations require large amounts of energy and the transport of CO2 over long distances… “Kern has been identified as an ideal place for CCS because of its wealth of depleted petroleum reservoirs. In addition, the county is equipped with a pipeline network that could be helpful in bringing CO2 to injection wells, though CRC's proposal says trucks and rail could also be used to haul in the gas… “CRC said it has identified a list of reservoirs in California capable of storing up to 1 billion metric tons of CO2.”
CNBC: Why a California city is trying to build the state’s last fossil-fueled power plant
Emma Newburger, 3/5/22
“Glendale, a Los Angeles suburb that’s home to Walt Disney Imagineering and the famous Brand Boulevard, could be the last city in California to build a fossil-fueled power plant. The move has angered residents and environmentalists who have urged the city to invest in clean energy to slow the climate crisis,” CNBC reports. “Glendale has proposed to spend $260 million on five new natural gas-powered generators that will produce about 93 megawatts at the Grayson Power Plant, enough to power a midsize city. The decision comes after the state passed legislation requiring 100% clean energy by 2045. The ongoing debate over the plant highlights a broader issue over how California must figure out how to eliminate planet-warming fossil fuels while continuing to power communities, an effort utility providers say will require continued investment in natural gas. The electricity sector accounts for about 16% of California’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to the California Air Resources Board. Environmentalists have pointed out that the power plant is less than a mile from several schools, childcare centers and other community centers and will increase greenhouse gas emissions in a city already suffering from poor air quality. They argue that the plant would lock in more pollution for years to come and that investment to fund the new generators is a waste as the state transitions to cleaner energy sources. But Glendale Water & Power, the local state-run utility, has argued that its proposed thermal generation would only run at 14% capacity — significantly less polluting than the gas engines in place now — and provide vital back-up power for the city. The new generators, it said, will provide power in the event that transmission lines are shut down to mitigate wildfire risk, as well as supply air conditioning during unbearable heat waves.”
KEYT: ExxonMobil’s Oil Trucking Proposal expects final decision next week
3/5/22
“A final decision is expected next week on ExxonMobil's Oil Trucking Proposal, and there will likely be a strong public turnout,” KEYT reports. “Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors will hear arguments from both sides of the controversial project on Tuesday. The oil giant is seeking permission to restart three offshore platforms: Harmony, Heritage and Hondo. All three shut down in 2015 following the devastating Plains Pipeline oil spill off the Gaviota Coast. Local environmentalists say the timing is critical. Restarting those platforms would "exacerbate the current climate crisis" and put the coastline and marine wildlife at risk. They say trucking is the most dangerous form of transporting crude oil. "If this project is approved, ExxonMobil would be able to truck up to 70 trucks per day carrying 460,000 gallons of oil along our Coastline and along incredibly dangerous inland highways," Maggie Hall, Senior Attorney with Environmental Defense Center (EDC, told KEYT). "And this could last for up to seven years." Hall told KEYT there is no benefit at this point to getting the last bits of oil out of those three aging platforms. She also told KEYT that over the past two decades, California has logged 87-tanker truck accidents involving transporting crude.
ABC7: Youth activists fight to stop oil drilling sites in Contra Costa Co.
Ryan Curry, 3/6/22
“Alexi Lindeman went home to home placing fliers Saturday evening on mailboxes in a Brentwood neighborhood. She chose that neighborhood because it borders a proposed oil draining sight. Those fliers are about a protest planned for next week,” ABC7 reports. “We do not want this drilling site here, or any other drilling site in contra," Lindeman told ABC7. Lindeman is a high school student and member of Sustainable Contra Costa - a nonprofit group dedicated to helping fight climate change. Her protest next week is designed to spread awareness to the community so they can voice their concerns to Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors about the proposed oil drilling site… “There is a current proposal to expand the current oil drilling site to another. That plan is still awaiting an environmental impact report. Supervisory Gioia told ABC7 that could get done in the coming months. Once it is done, Lindeman hopes there is enough public input to stop a new permit. "It has serious environmental and health impacts," she told ABC7. "Plus, we are talking about the future of the planet. We have to take care of it."
Bismarck Tribune: North Dakotans weigh in on methane emissions proposal
AMY R. SISK, 3/5/22
“North Dakotans have a lot to say about the Biden administration’s plans to curb methane emissions, weighing in on how often oil field inspections should occur and how much the federal government can legally regulate,” the Bismarck Tribune reports. “Comments submitted earlier this year by state officials, the oil industry, the Three Affiliated Tribes and environmentalists are among those the Environmental Protection Agency will consider as it develops regulations surrounding the potent greenhouse gas that can leak from oil field infrastructure. North Dakota officials say the EPA proposal has “significant technical and legal flaws” and that the agency “must drastically rework” its plans. The North Dakota Petroleum Council argues for more flexibility in leak inspections, while an environmental advocate says inspections should occur more frequently than what the EPA is considering. The tribe, meanwhile, says any new national standards “should not burden or prevent production of tribal trust minerals.” “...An environmental activist on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation suggested to the EPA that inspections occur monthly at all oil wells. The EPA should also increase the number of air quality monitors in North Dakota, said Lisa DeVille, vice president of Fort Berthold Protectors of Water & Earth Rights. "My community is directly impacted by the toxic pollutants that are emitted alongside methane and we are also facing the terrible consequences of these greenhouse gases being emitted," she wrote in her comments. Chairman Mark Fox of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation wrote that the tribe acknowledges people “living and working closest to oil and gas resources on tribal lands are exposed to human health risks,” as well as “the climate benefits of reducing methane emissions.” But, he said, requiring quarterly inspections “could create significant challenges” on the reservation as inspectors drive long distances, especially in winter.
EXTRACTION
Wall Street Journal: Europe Fears It Could Be Too Late to Shake Off Russian Gas Addiction
Georgi Kantchev, 3/5/22
“Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine has jolted Europe’s slow-moving efforts to wean itself off Russian natural gas, but time is running out, threatening to leave consumers cold and factories idle by next winter,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “Whether the Kremlin turns off the taps in retaliation for sanctions or Europe stops buying, European policy makers agree that they need to prepare for a future with much less Russian energy, if any. Untethering Europe’s gas market from Russia would represent a monumental change for a continent that has grown so reliant on gas from the Siberian permafrost that it has built little infrastructure needed for alternative supplies. The European Union gets around 40% of its gas from Russia—and that dependence has grown in recent years… “Replacing Russian gas is easier said than done, however. Many liquefied natural gas terminals that receive deliveries from the U.S. and Qatar are maxed out. Two new terminals approved by the German government this week will only be built in three years at the earliest, one of the companies involved has said. Renewables would take even longer to make a difference, analysts tell WSJ. Suppliers closer to home—such as Norway, Algeria and Azerbaijan—are unable to significantly scale up production. Internal linkages between Europe’s gas pipeline networks are patchy, making it difficult to distribute whatever extra gas there is. Any new LNG cargoes will come with a much higher price tag than piped Russian gas, threatening a European economy already struggling with inflation…”This leaves policy makers with unsavory choices if the flows stop, including energy rationing and using more coal, jeopardizing climate-change goals.”
New York Times: These Climate Scientists Are Fed Up and Ready to Go on Strike
Raymond Zhong, 3/1/22
“Sometimes, Bruce C. Glavovic feels so proud to be an environmental scientist, studying coastal planning and teaching future researchers, that it moves him to tears. Other times, he wonders whether any of it has been enough. Scientists have proved beyond doubt that climate change is transforming the planet for the worse. Yet their work has mostly failed to spur governments to address the issue,” the New York Times reports. “...It was this frustration that led Dr. Glavovic, 61, a professor at Massey University in New Zealand, and two colleagues to send a jolt recently through the normally cautious, rarefied world of environmental research. In an academic journal, they called on climate scientists to stage a mass walkout, to stop their research until nations take action on global warming. Predictably, many researchers balked, calling the idea wrongheaded or worse — “a supernova of stupid,” as one put it on Twitter. But the article gets at questions that plenty of climate scientists have asked themselves lately: Is what we’re doing with our lives really making a difference? How can we get elected officials to act on the threats that we’ve so clearly identified? Do we become activists? Would we sacrifice our credibility as academics, our cool composure, by doing so? Dr. Glavovic told the Times he believes a pause on research would give his fellow researchers a chance to think, really think, about how best to use their skills in the slender window humans have left for altering the planet’s trajectory. “The clock is ticking,” he told the Times.
NOLA.com: BP spill cleanup workers more likely to be diagnosed with hypertension, new study says
MARK SCHLEIFSTEIN, 3/5/22
“BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill workers who were highly exposed to oil-related chemicals and other particulates during the 2010 cleanup were more likely to be newly diagnosed with hypertension years after the spill, according to a new study released last week,” NOLA.com reports. “Hypertension, or high blood pressure, increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, two of the leading causes of death in the U.S., according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Our study demonstrates an association (between hypertension and participation in the spill cleanup), but it doesn’t rise to the level of causality at this point,” Richard Kwok, an epidemiologist with the National Institute of Environmental Health Science and lead author of the study published in JAMA Network Open, a peer-reviewed medical journal, told NOLA.com… “Researchers pointed out that “total petroleum hydrocarbons,” a group of chemicals found in crude oil, including that from the BP well, have long been associated with negative health outcomes related to hypertension. Past studies have also linked oil exposure during prolonged cleanup activities to “oxidative stress,” or an imbalance between the body's production of free radicals and antioxidants. Oxidative stress can damage tissues, DNA and proteins in the body. Tiny particulates created by burning oil can contribute to atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, which also can lead to hypertension, other studies have shown… “The medical claims administrator would not comment when asked whether this new study would restart that four-year window for filing a claim, now that the link between high blood pressure and exposure to spill pollutants has been better established.”
Forbes: Concentrated Solar Power Could Give Oil Companies A Second Revenue Stream
Ken Silverstein, 3/7/22
“The Hathaway oil company is up to something — using concentrated solar power for enhanced oil recovery,” Forbes reports. “Natural gas has traditionally been the energy source to increase oil production. But in this case, solar power is used to generate steam, which goes downhole to loosen up the oil. But that energy can also be stored in the subsurface rocks, creating a giant geothermal battery that can run on demand. “This technology turns existing oil wells into clean energy generators,” John King, chief executive officer of San Diego-based Hyperlight Energy, told Forbes. “The potential storage capacity could exceed the output of all the natural gas power plants in California. This technology is solar power with an on-and-off switch. We can run it for days or weeks at a time… “Hyperlight is building its first pilot installation, called Tectonic Sun Alpha, at Hathaway’s oil site in Bakersfield, California, with seven active oil wells. It will use 6 megawatts of concentrated solar power for enhanced oil recovery. The excess energy is also stored in the rocks for months at a time. The technology is suited for sedimentary formations, spongy deposits that hold heat. About 3%-4% of enhanced oil well recovery sites across North America have this potential… “”And while some may wince at the thought of more oil development, the focus here should be on the evolution of utility-scale solar and long-term energy storage — both of which are critical to hitting net-zero goals.”
Guardian: How satellites may hold the key to the methane crisis
Jocelyn Timperley, 3/6/22
“Last month, scientists working with data from Tropomi, a monitoring instrument onboard the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-5 satellite, published some startling findings,” the Guardian reports. “Writing in the journal Science, the team reported that it had found about 1,800 instances of huge releases of methane (more than 25 tonnes an hour) into the atmosphere in 2019 and 2020. Two-thirds of these were from oil and gas facilities, with the leaks concentrated over the largest oil and gas basins across the world, as well as major transmission pipelines, the team said… “The current constellation of satellites in orbit around the planet today can see about 10% of the methane emissions of oil and gas on the planet,” Riley Duren, chief executive of Carbon Mapper and a researcher at Arizona University, who co-wrote the paper, told the Guardian. “The remaining 90% of these oil and gas methane emissions are below the detection limit of that satellite, but they won’t stay undetected for long.” “...In the next few years, several new satellites with far higher resolutions are set to be launched, including MethaneSat, scheduled for launch by the US nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) in early 2023, and the first two satellites from Carbon Mapper in late 2023; the latter plans to have a whole “constellation” of them in orbit by 2025. “Over the next two to three years, you’re going to see an expanding constellation of methane monitoring satellites that will give us a more expansive view of the methane iceberg,” Duren told the Guardian. These satellites will give an unprecedented overview of where the methane is being emitted and help to guide operators and decision-makers in their efforts to reduce it.
CLIMATE FINANCE
Press release: TC Energy announces closing of U.S. $800 million subordinated notes offering by TransCanada Trust
3/7/22
“TC Energy Corporation today announced that TransCanada Trust (the Trust), a wholly-owned financing trust subsidiary of TransCanada PipeLines Limited (TCPL), has closed an offering of U.S. $800 million of 5.600% subordinated Trust Notes, Series 2022-A due March 7, 2082 (Trust Notes), guaranteed on a subordinated basis by TCPL. The Trust Notes were offered through a syndicate of underwriters, co-led by Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and MUFG Securities Americas Inc., under the Trust's short form base shelf prospectus dated Feb. 26, 2021, as supplemented by a prospectus supplement dated March 2, 2022. The Company intends to use the proceeds to redeem its issued and outstanding Cumulative Redeemable Minimum Rate Reset First Preferred Shares, Series 15 (TSX:TRP.PR.K) pursuant to their terms, and pending such redemption, to reduce short-term indebtedness as well as for general corporate purposes.”
S&P Global: Shareholder advocacy group gives most top US utilities an 'F' on climate
Karin Rives, 3/4/22
“Utilities with natural gas-fired plants often fail to account for emissions from their supply chains, a new investor advocacy report said,” S&P Global reports. “Four of the five largest electric utilities in the U.S. received a failing grade from the shareholder advocacy group As You Sow for not including greenhouse gas emissions from their natural gas supply chains and other indirect pollution in their net-zero emission goals. Most of the 55 largest companies in the U.S. now report at least some of their emissions, and utilities perform well on their direct Scope 1 and 2 emissions from their own operations, the group said in an assessment published March 3. In the power sector, Southern Co. earned the highest score with a "C-" for also providing the most complete accounting of its Scope 3 emissions, which include supply chain methane emissions and end-user pollution over which companies have little or no control. However, As You Sow gave Exelon Corp., Dominion Energy Inc., Duke Energy Corp. and NextEra Energy Inc. an "F" each for not reducing their total emissions sufficiently to reach net-zero by 2050. This accounting problem mainly occurs because the utilities do not include upstream methane emissions associated with production of the natural gas they use to generate electricity, the group said. "To accurately assess net-zero progress, it is critical that utilities measure not only direct emissions associated with producing power, but also the indirect emissions associated with their fuel sources and products," the report said. As You Sow, one of the nation's largest shareholder advocacy groups, is the lead filer on more than 80 resolutions for the 2022 proxy season thus far.
OPINION
Motley Fool: Why I Sold My Stake in Enbridge Stock
Amy Legate-Wolfe, 3/3/22
“Enbridge comes up in practically every single article if you’re talking about two things: energy and dividends. The latter, of course, is where most Canadian investors have particular interest. And for years I’ve been a benefactor of those dividends. However, I recently made the decision to sell my stake in Enbridge stock. How much? All of it. It wasn’t an easy decision but one I’ve been thinking about for some time. So here I’ll go over why,” Amy Legate-Wolfe writes for the Motley Fool. “In my opinion, the future growth potential for Enbridge stock is limited. The pipeline company has long-term contracts set up for decades of income, it’s true. This has allowed it to support its dividend and dividend growth for all those years… “Right now Enbridge stock has pipeline projects coming out its ears. These projects continue to be met with environmental and societal pushback as the world moves to clean energy. Pipelines take up a lot of space, space that could be used for cleaner energy. All that pushback means delays and more delays for future growth. And while those pipeline projects remain stagnant, there hasn’t been all that much evidence of finding clean energy projects from Enbridge stock. Whether I’m a tree hugger or not, the fact remains that clean energy is the future. Not the oil and gas focus that Enbridge has. While other pipeline companies continue to diversify, Enbridge seems to be lagging behind.”
NWIowa.com: Letter: Pipeline naysayers are ignoring other issues
Loren Flaugh, Primghar, 3/7/22
“Opposition to the three proposed Midwest carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) pipeline projects is welling up like a long dormant volcano getting ready to erupt,” Loren Flaugh writes in NWIowa.com. “Bold Nebraska and its founding director Jane Kleeb are working hard to organize opposition to two CO2 pipelines planned for Nebraska. The Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club with its 6,000 members might be the primary opposition group in Iowa… “With current corn prices well above $6 per bushel, it’s like taking away the life’s blood of the Iowa corn producer. Farmers spend a lot of their heard-earned money in small rural communities and too many more of them will continue to disappear… “If all those who argue that doing away with the pipeline transportation is a good thing, then they need to start working 24/7 to invent or engineer a new supply and distribution infrastructure chain quickly to replace the existing one that has worked just fine over these last many decades. It will be interesting to see what these pipeline and fuels naysayers come up during one long hard night of engineering and design. After all, there’s no such thing as a seamless transition from one form of supply and distribution chain to a hurriedly engineered supply chain that will be untested and new.”
Guardian: Our climate solutions are failing - and Big Oil’s fingerprints are all over them
Amy Westervelt, 3/7/22
“People who do not spend their days reading climate reports or scouring the archives of oil companies are often surprised to hear that the fossil-fuel industry has been part of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) since its inception,” Amy Westervelt writes for the Guardian. “ And it’s not just the IPCC. Oil companies have been involved in the entire international effort on climate change since it began in the late 1980s – and here’s a pro tip: they’re there for a reason, and it’s not decarbonisation… “Yet an increasing number of peer-reviewed studies point to the fossil-fuel industry’s fingerprints on that particular problem as well, thanks to the role it plays as a primary funder of university research on not only climate science, but also policy and economics, as well as its penchant for greenwashing solutions that don’t work, or that work only for the few. IPCC authors were more direct when it came to misinformation. The North America summary notes that “misinformation about climate science … has sowed uncertainty, and impeded [the public’s] recognition of risk”. A few paragraphs later, it adds that both misinformation and “politicisation” of the science are “delaying urgent adaptation planning and implementation”. But the closest it gets to taking the next step and naming the source of misinformation – oil companies – is to vaguely note that “vested interests have generated rhetoric and misinformation that undermines climate science and disregards risk and urgency”.
Corporate Knights: Canada needs to make Big Oil pay their fair share
SHAWN MCCARTHY, 3/7/22
“Canada’s carbon pricing regime needs a major overhaul if governments are going to rely on it to drive industrial emitters such as oil sands producers to invest in deep decarbonization projects,” Shawn McCarthy writes for Corporate Knights. “The federal government is reviewing its Output-Based Pricing System (OBPS) as part of an update it must make to its climate plan by the end of March. The OBPS imposes the carbon levy on a small fraction of emissions from large industrial producers in order to protect their competitiveness while encouraging them to cut their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Some environmental groups argue that, to meet emission targets for the oil industry, the OBPS should be supplemented or even replaced by a hard cap that would set explicit GHG limits enforced through fines and even criminal sanctions… “As it reviews the OBPS, the Liberal government will have to ensure any increased stringency is demanded of the provinces as well. It will have to assess industry claims that higher costs will lead to “carbon leakage,” or the shift in carbon intensive production from Canada to elsewhere. However, most global sources of crude have a lower carbon intensity than oilsands so the leakage argument is too tough to substantiate.”
Santa Fe New Mexican: Reducing methane emissions increases energy security
Jon Goldstein is the senior director of regulatory and legislative affairs at Environmental Defense Fund, 3/6/22
“The world is watching in horror as Russian artillery lights up the sky night after night in Ukraine and innocent civilians seek shelter from Russian aggression. Unfortunately, some are using the crisis in Ukraine to score political points, asking for an increase in oil and gas drilling and slowing regulatory progress on methane here in the U.S. They argue higher demand for natural gas in Europe dictates looser environmental standards back home,” Jon Goldstein writes for the Santa Fe New Mexican. “But the time has never been more critical for strong, sensible rules to cut methane waste and pollution here in New Mexico and across the U.S. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is right to address the state’s serious problem with oil and gas methane and air pollution… “When the Environmental Improvement Board meets later this month, it should finalize the strongest possible rules that include improvements supported by community and environmental advocates, as well as Oxy, the second-largest oil producer in the state, to ensure all wells are inspected and frontline communities are prioritized and receive the most frequent inspections. If we don’t act, oil and gas flares in New Mexico’s Permian will continue to light the night sky, and leaks across the state will needlessly waste our resources. Strong methane waste and oil and gas air pollution rules are the right thing for New Mexico’s bottom line, the health of our families and our energy and climate security.”