EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 3/9/22
PIPELINE NEWS
Reuters: TC Energy says it will not revive Keystone XL oil pipeline project
FOX News: Former Keystone Pipeline worker says US energy crisis is result of Biden's policies: 'We tried to warn you'
CBC: B.C. adds conditions for Trans Mountain pipeline expansion as concerns remain over spill-response plans
Press release: Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs meet Royal Bank of Canada executives, demand the bank stop financing Coastal GasLink pipeline
AgWeek: Carbon pipeline panelist says to 'rethink' easement compensation
The Center Square: Summit pipeline opposition passes Democratic Progressive Caucus
Bloomberg: Rover Pipeline $20 Million Fine Challenge Should Wait, FERC Says
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Tribes push to co-manage public lands in historic hearing
E&E News: Russia crisis may drive a U.S. natural gas surge
STATE UPDATES
Los Angeles Times: Santa Barbara County blocks ExxonMobil’s bid to restart offshore oil wells
Associated Press: Pentagon to shut down leaking fuel tank facility in Hawaii
EXTRACTION
NewsMiner: ConocoPhillips evacuates Alpine site due to natural gas leak
Bloomberg: Methane Cloud Spotted in Texas Shale Basin Near Gas Pipelines
Reuters: U.S. shale producers Oasis, Whiting to merge in $6 billion deal
WorldOil.com: Southwest Research Institute to create more effective burner to reduce methane emissions
CLIMATE FINANCE
Politico: CLOSER TO DISCLOSURE
OPINION
Roanoke Times: Limpert: Mountain Valley Pipeline will be a health hazard
Globe and Mail: The world needs more Canadian oil and gas
Clarkston News: Letter to the Editor: Let’s keep Line 5 Pipeline open
Santa Fe New Mexican: Reducing methane emissions increases energy security
PIPELINE NEWS
Reuters: TC Energy says it will not revive Keystone XL oil pipeline project
Nia Williams, 3/8/22
“TC Energy Corp said on Tuesday its Keystone XL (KXL) pipeline project to carry Canadian oil to U.S. refineries will not be revived, even as politicians on both sides of the border call for its resurrection to help replace Russian oil imports to North America,” Reuters reports. “...The Keystone XL Pipeline Project was terminated and will not proceed,” a TC Energy spokesman said in an email… “Alberta Premier Jason Kenney on Monday urged the U.S. government to reconsider the pipeline, which was canceled last year after U.S. President Joe Biden revoked a key permit. In the United States, opposition Republicans including former vice-president Mike Pence have also called for KXL to be authorized.”
FOX News: Former Keystone Pipeline worker says US energy crisis is result of Biden's policies: 'We tried to warn you'
Teny Sahakian, 3/9/22
“A former Keystone XL pipeline worker said the energy industry "tried to warn" President Biden against policies hindering U.S. oil and gas production – policies the worker said have caused the country's growing energy crisis,” FOX News reports. "We tried to warn this administration back when they canceled the Keystone Pipeline" that it was also "canceling national security, foreign policy and energy," Neal Crabtree told Fox News. "They all kinda go hand-in-hand." “...Biden's "policies have everything to do with the rising fuel prices in this country today. "It has nothing to do with the war in Ukraine," Crabtree continued. Crabtree told FOX there will be no end to rising gas prices "as long as Biden is using this ‘any way but an American way’ when it comes to fossil fuels. We've got to get the administration's foot off the throats of the energy companies and let them do what they do best.”
CBC: B.C. adds conditions for Trans Mountain pipeline expansion as concerns remain over spill-response plans
Brenna Owen, 3/8/33
“British Columbia has amended the conditions of its environmental assessment certificate for the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion and told the federal government it still has concerns about its response to potential marine oil spills,” the CBC reports. “The changes announced in late February focus on the impacts of marine shipping and potential oil spills from ships related to the pipeline project… “One of B.C.'s recommendations encourages Transport Canada to "expand the scope of its oversight" to include work done by the Western Canada Marine Response Corp., which responds to spills. In particular, it says Transport Canada's oversight should include shoreline cleanup, planning for sunken and submerged oil, co-ordinating volunteers, and managing wildlife and waste in the event of a spill… “Among B.C.'s new conditions is a requirement that Trans Mountain, a federal Crown corporation, provide a report on health risks in the event of a marine oil spill. It must identify measures to reduce human exposure and negative health effects and outline which authorities would be responsible. Another condition requires Trans Mountain to provide a report with baseline data on B.C.'s shoreline in areas that could be affected by an oil spill, including Vancouver's English Bay and the Strait of Georgia. The report should include information on land use, infrastructure, flora and fauna, the order says. The province has also amended a condition to require updates every five years on research Trans Mountain is involved with related to diluted bitumen and how the heavier, unrefined oil product could be cleaned up if spilled in water.”
Press release: Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs meet Royal Bank of Canada executives, demand the bank stop financing Coastal GasLink pipeline
3/8/33
“On Friday, February 25, Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs met with Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and City National Bank (CNB) executives demanding the bank withdraw financing for the Coastal GasLink pipeline by March 11. The meeting marked the first-ever meeting between RBC leadership and Indigenous land defenders, who have been resisting the controversial fracked gas pipeline for a decade. At the meeting, the following demands were issued to RBC, with a 2-week deadline of March 11: (The bank's annual shareholder meeting takes place on April 7): 1. Revoke financing of the Coastal GasLink pipeline, including current loans; 2. Do not provide a penny more for Coastal GasLink, including no new loan arrangements or financial services of any kind; 3. Have a follow-up meeting with Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs by March 11. Regarding the meeting, the Hereditary Chiefs – Dinï ze’ Woos, Frank Alec; Dinï ze’ Namox, Dinï ze’ Madeek, Dinï ze’ Gisdaywa ; and Tsakë ze' Sleydo', Molly Wickham – issued the following statement: “Today, we told RBC leadership directly that the bank’s financing of the Coastal GasLink pipeline threatens our medicine, our water, our ancestral lands, our culture and our homes. Our sacred headwaters, the Wedzin Kwa river, is the lifeline for our people, and it’s profoundly at risk. Financing Coastal GasLink is the exact opposite of reconciliation. The fracked gas pipeline violates our hereditary title, and has led to years of RCMP violence and harassment of peaceful Indigenous land defenders and the forced removal of Wet’suwet’en peoples from their territory.” RBC also holds over 85 million shares in the project’s parent company, TC Energy, about 8.6% of the company. RBC not only finances TC Energy; it’s deeply invested in the company, and doubly exposed through the Coastal GasLink pipeline.”
AgWeek: Carbon pipeline panelist says to 'rethink' easement compensation
Jeff Beach, 3/8/22
“Landowners faced with the prospect of a carbon capture pipeline running through their property should be asking for something more than a one-time payment and a few years of compensation for crop yield loss,” AgWeek reports. “That was the opinion of one panelist in a discussion of carbon pipeline projects at the Agweek Farm Show on Tuesday, March 8, in Rochester. "Maybe it's time for a different kind of negotiation," said Peg Furshong, who owns property near the path of a proposed pipeline in Renville County. The company behind that project, Summit Carbon Solutions, is seeking voluntary easements for property access but also has cited the need for eminent domain to force landowners to comply, saying that the project provides a public service. Furshong said a true public service would be ongoing payments from a pipeline company to support local governments, schools and hospitals… “Furshong was joined on the panel by Jess Mazour of the Sierra Club in Iowa, and Dan Wahl, who farms land in northwest Iowa that Summit has targeted for its pipeline… “Wahl said the threat of using eminent domain "lit a fire" that has had him working with other landowners near the ethanol plant at Superior, Iowa, in opposition to the pipeline. He said of 17 landowners just south of the Minnesota state line, 15 are not signing voluntary easements and just two are, even though many of them sell corn to the ethanol plant. "I'm encouraging everyone to take a step back before you sign anything when you get approached," he said. Ethanol plants stand to benefit from the pipeline by being able to sell fuel for a premium price in low-carbon fuel markets such as California. But Wahl said there is no guarantee of more money for corn growers and few cents a bushel isn't worth it.”
The Center Square: Summit pipeline opposition passes Democratic Progressive Caucus
Mary Stroka, 3/8/22
“Carbon capture and sequestration pipeline opponents are still working to stymie implementation of the Summit Carbon Solutions project in Iowa,” The Center Square reports. “The Progressive Caucus of the Iowa Democratic Party passed a resolution in a 36-1 vote Sunday to express disapproval for the development and construction of the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline. The resolution said carbon capture and sequestration is currently unproven technology, asserts increases in jobs will be minimal, and poses safety risks. “Private property rights trump the covetousness of the ultra-wealthy and eminent domain should not be used solely for the profit of private corporation,” it also said. Iowa Democratic Party Progressive Caucus Chair Brian McLain said in a statement he sent The Center Square that rural Republicans, rural Democrats, and Libertarians are reaching out to support this resolution. SF 2160, a bill Sen. Jeff Taylor, D-Sioux Center, introduced, would have banned private companies’ use of eminent domain. It died in the Commerce Committee in February, despite the senators advancing it in a Feb. 15 meeting, Iowa Public Radio reported.”
Bloomberg: Rover Pipeline $20 Million Fine Challenge Should Wait, FERC Says
3/8/22
“Rover Pipeline’s and Energy Transfer’s challenge to a $20 million fine for removing a historical farmhouse should wait until the U.S. Supreme Court’s resolution of another case, FERC told a Texas federal court, Bloomberg reports. “The case cited by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is Axon Enterprise Inc. v. Federal Trade Commission. The Supreme Court will consider whether Congress stripped federal district courts from considering constitutional challenges to the FTC’s structure by giving appeals courts the ability to uphold, change, or set aside the commission’s cease-and-desist orders.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Tribes push to co-manage public lands in historic hearing
Rob Hotakainen, 3/9/22
“Kevin Washburn, a member of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma, wants Americans to address what he regards as one of the biggest injustices in U.S. history: the theft of land from Indian tribes,” E&E News reports. “Return of federal lands may be possible in some instances, but I encourage all of us to think about all of the options on the table — and not just return,” Washburn told the House Natural Resources Committee yesterday. At the first congressional hearing ever to focus on the dispossession of their land, tribal members endorsed one bold option recommended by Washburn: They said Congress could acknowledge past injustices by giving Native American tribes more power to co-manage public land with federal agencies. “What could be more restorative than giving tribes the opportunity to participate in the management of lands their ancestors were removed from?” asked Carleton Bowekaty, lieutenant governor of the Pueblo of Zuni in New Mexico. Washburn, who’s also dean and professor at the University of Iowa College of Law and the former head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs during the Obama administration, told the lawmakers that such a move would also “broaden the federal commitment to conservation and strong stewardship of public land.” “Tribal land managers perform better, in some ways, than expert managers,” he said.
E&E News: Russia crisis may drive a U.S. natural gas surge
Mike Soraghan, 3/9/22
“The tragedy of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine presents a business opportunity for the U.S. natural gas industry if Europe turns sharply away from Russian gas,” E&E News reports. “Prior to the war, Europe got more than a third of its gas from Russia. If Europeans wean themselves from that, American gas producers and exporters of liquefied natural gas say they can help fill the gap in the years ahead… “The issue is at the forefront after the European Commission unveiled proposals yesterday to reduce its dependence on Russian energy, including increasing LNG imports from countries other than Russia and increasing use of renewable energy… “In a joint letter to Biden last month, AXPC and other industry groups including LNG Allies compared supplying more gas to some of the biggest U.S. foreign policy successes of the postwar era — the Berlin Airlift and the Marshall Plan. But the LNG developers don’t need much help from the Biden administration to boost exports in the next few years. With 14 LNG projects federally approved but not yet built, the U.S. industry could roughly double its exports without need for major regulatory approval. While they don’t need approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or Department of Energy, the projects do need support from investors. Those 14 projects are awaiting a “final investment decision” from the companies developing them. By extension that means the fate of U.S. gas exports largely hinges on utilities and other gas providers in Europe — if they won’t commit to long-term agreements to buy the fuel, the terminals won’t get built in the United States.”
STATE UPDATES
Los Angeles Times: Santa Barbara County blocks ExxonMobil’s bid to restart offshore oil wells
3/9/22
“The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday rejected a bid by ExxonMobil to restart offshore oil wells that were shut down in 2015 after a pipeline leak caused the worst coastal spill in 25 years,” the Los Angeles Times reports. “Amid lingering environmental concerns, the board voted 3-2 to deny ExxonMobil’s request to set up interim trucking routes to transport oil — a crucial step toward allowing three dormant 1980s-era drilling platforms to resume production. “We disagree with the decision, which disregards our employees, contractors and countless others working in California’s oil and gas industry who depend on these jobs to support their families,” ExxonMobil said in a statement. A pipeline carrying oil to shore was shut down May 19, 2015, when a corroded section above ground and running west of Santa Barbara ruptured, sending 140,000 gallons of oil onto a state beach and into the ocean. ExxonMobil proposed sending up to 24,820 tanker trucks a year on the 101 Freeway and Highway 166 for up to seven years or until the pipeline is repaired or replaced. ExxonMobil argued that trucking was the only way to bring offshore crude to market until then and that the project would bring jobs and money to the area. But two recent oil spills brought renewed scrutiny of the issue… “Environmentalists applauded the decision to put the brakes on the trucking proposal. “Exxon’s trucking proposal was a step in the wrong direction on climate and put Californians and our coastal resources in harm’s way from spills, crashes, pollution and fires,” said a statement from the Environmental Affairs Board at UC Santa Barbara.
Associated Press: Pentagon to shut down leaking fuel tank facility in Hawaii
LOLITA C. BALDOR, 3/9/22
“The Defense Department will permanently shut down the Navy’s massive fuel tank facility in Hawaii that leaked petroleum into Pearl Harbor’s tap water, and will remove all the fuel, the Pentagon said Monday,” the Associated Press reports. “Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told AP the decision by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is based on a new Pentagon assessment, but also is in line with an order from Hawaii’s Department of Health to drain fuel from the tanks at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility. The tanks, built into the side of a mountain during World War II to protect them from enemy attack, had leaked into a drinking water well and contaminated water at Pearl Harbor homes and offices. Nearly 6,000 people, mostly those living in military housing at or near Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam were sickened, seeking treatment for nausea, headaches, rashes and other ailments. And 4,000 military families were forced out of their homes and are in hotels.”
EXTRACTION
NewsMiner: ConocoPhillips evacuates Alpine site due to natural gas leak
Maisie Thomas and Liv Clifford, 3/7/22
“Alpine Field employees were evacuated from the North Slope site Monday, March 7, 2022, after reports of a gas leak, according to ConocoPhillips,” NewsMiner reports. “The leak Monday comes after ConocoPhillips reported a leak Friday at the same drill site. Nonessential personnel at ConocoPhillips’s Alpine site were evacuated Monday afternoon, following a natural gas leak at an Alpine drill site first detected on March 4, according to ConocoPhillips Alaska spokesperson Rebecca Boys. The gas leak is subsurface — below the gravel — and occurred at the Alpine drill site CD1. The cause of the leak is still under investigation and an estimate of the amount of gas that leaked is not yet available.”
Bloomberg: Methane Cloud Spotted in Texas Shale Basin Near Gas Pipelines
Allison Nicole Smith, 3/8/22
“A cloud of methane was spotted by satellite over the Eagle Ford shale basin in Texas last month, near oil and gas production areas and natural gas pipelines,” Bloomberg reports. “The release of the super-potent greenhouse gas was about 3 miles (5 kilometers) from Energy Transfer LP’s Houston pipe and another line identified as Energy Transfer in a U.S. government database, according to an analysis of satellite data by geoanalytics firm Kayrros SAS. The plume was also near an active part of the Eagle Ford shale production basin, in which there are multiple wells that could have been responsible for the release. Energy Transfer, founded by billionaire Kelcy Warren, didn’t respond to emails and phone messages seeking comment… “The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said it wasn’t aware of the plume and didn’t receive any reports of emissions for the period and area. The release ``does not appear to be the type of information that would prompt an investigation,’’ and the agency doesn’t monitor for the greenhouse gas “because there is not a statute or rule that can be enforced on.” “...The Feb. 11 event in Texas had an estimated emissions rate of about 25 metric tons of methane an hour, according to Kayrros. If the release lasted an hour at that rate it would have the equivalent short-term climate impact as the annual emissions from roughly 450 U.S. cars.”
Reuters: U.S. shale producers Oasis, Whiting to merge in $6 billion deal
3/7/33
“Oasis Petroleum Inc (OAS.O) and Whiting Petroleum Corp (WLL.N) will merge in a $6 billion deal including debt, the U.S. shale oil and gas producers said on Monday,” Reuters reports. “The deal between the companies, which had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020 following a crash in energy prices due to the pandemic, comes amid record high crude prices. Shares in Oasis rose 6.2%, while Whiting Petroleum climbed 6% in premarket trade. The combined entity will have a premier Williston Basin position in North Dakota and Montana with top-tier assets spread across about 972,000 net acres and a combined production of 167.8 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day, the companies said.”
WorldOil.com: Southwest Research Institute to create more effective burner to reduce methane emissions
3/7/2022
“Southwest Research Institute will collaborate with University of Michigan (UM) to use additive manufacturing and machine learning to create an advanced burner that will eliminate 99.5% of the methane encountered during oil production,” WorldOil.com reports. “Burners currently used on the field commonly perform below target specifications, especially under crosswind conditions, which results in a significant portion of this powerful greenhouse gas escaping into the atmosphere. The three-year, $2.9 million project is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) Reducing Emissions of Methane Every Day of the Year (REMEDY) program. It is one of several projects funded in support of the U.S. Methane Emissions Reduction Action Plan, announced at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26). The plan seeks to reduce methane emissions and promote American innovation and manufacturing of new technologies to achieve climate goals.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
Politico: CLOSER TO DISCLOSURE
Matthew Choi, 3/9/22
“The Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to begin the process of rolling out its long-awaited rule governing how publicly traded companies must disclose their risks from climate change as soon as Wednesday,” Politico reports. “While the date could slip — it already has multiple times — whatever rule the SEC issues could profoundly alter how companies and investors assess their exposure to the effects of climate change and policies to rein in emissions… “Two major issues have bedeviled the SEC decision. One is how to handle "Scope 3" emissions — meaning those associated with the end-use of a product, such as emissions from gasoline rather than emissions from extracting oil. The other is how to assess materiality, which roughly refers to issues a reasonable investor would want to know that could affect a company's bottom line. One person familiar with the commission's thinking told Politico Scope 3 is likely to be phased in at a later date given concerns about accounting methodology. That's a sizable blow for climate advocates who contend omitting disclosure of those emissions would let some of the biggest contributors to climate change, like oil companies and banks, off the hook for a majority of the planet-heating pollution attributed to them.”
OPINION
Roanoke Times: Limpert: Mountain Valley Pipeline will be a health hazard
William Limpert is a retired environmental regulator who formerly lived in Bath County along the route of the since-canceled Atlantic Coast Pipeline, 3/8/22
“The Mountain Valley Pipeline would pose a significant public health risk to those nearby if it becomes operational,” William Limpert writes for the Roanoke Times. “...Natural gas transmission pipelines, like the MVP, leak and intentionally discharge large volumes of natural gas, toxic substances, and other pollutants. A recent study by Alvarez, et al., estimates a 0.35% volume loss from natural gas transmission systems. MVP cited this study in computing their own losses… “Toxic substances and other pollutants in the MVP discharges would be similar to Aliso Canyon, including volatile organic chemicals, and benzene… “People near the MVP, and especially those close to the compressor stations, would be at risk from the negative health impacts of radon, toxic substances, and other pollutants for a very long period of time. Some families could be at risk for generations. Some persons could be at risk their entire lives. This is a serious public health issue… “FERC and the MVP should know that if this unjust, unneeded, and dangerous pipeline becomes operational, and the health of our fellow citizens along the MVP is damaged, We The People will be knocking hard on your door, and we will be demanding full justice.”
Globe and Mail: The world needs more Canadian oil and gas
THE EDITORIAL BOARD, 3/9/22
“On the 413th day of his presidency, Joe Biden imposed new sanctions on Russia, cutting off almost 700,000 barrels a day of oil the United States imports from that country – aiming an economic missile at the “main artery” of Vladimir Putin’s economy,” the Globe and Mail Editorial Board writes. “But on the very first day of Mr. Biden’s presidency, way back in January of 2021, he imposed an economic punishment on his closest ally, when he roadblocked a potential 830,000 barrels a day of oil from Canada, by cancelling the permit for the then-under-construction Keystone XL pipeline… “The U.S. was happy enough to keep on buying Russian oil until an invasion of Ukraine forced a turning off of the tap. Now, the U.S. is courting Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela to fill the gap. Hey, America, look up north. In the hypothetical world of what might have been, Keystone XL oil could have been flowing today… “Had Keystone XL opened several years ago, oil companies might have increased production to match the export capacity. But Canada’s industry has no gushing spigot that it can instantly turn on… “Amid all the challenges and complications, there has to be a sensible middle ground for Canada – one where we neither junk our environmental commitments nor shoot ourselves in the foot by forcing investors to take their money elsewhere. Russia’s attack on Ukraine has changed the global energy market. Canadian oil and gas has a big role to play in this new world. Perhaps the Trudeau government could start by reminding Mr. Biden of that.”
Clarkston News: Letter to the Editor: Let’s keep Line 5 Pipeline open
Ann Marie McMichael, Clarkston, 3/8/22
“With a lot going on in the world, I wanted to write of the importance of not letting politicians close the Line 5 Pipeline. Governor Whitmer ordered Enbridge to close the 68-year-old line, revoking a 1953 state easement,” Ann Marie McMichael writes in the Clarkston News. “ At least our neighbors in Canada are helping when they invoked a 1977 treaty with the U.S. to keep it running. Whitmer does not have Michigan citizens’ backs. If the pipeline is shut down, energy costs will skyrocket. A recent analysis conducted by Consumer Energy Alliance showed that closing Line 5 Pipeline could cost Midwest residents billions, severe job losses and fuel shortages. The fact that Governor Whitmer has ordered this shutdown shows her disregard for American citizens and her failure to ascertain the reality of the situation. Shutting down the affordable energy Michiganders rely on would be a disaster… “God Bless America, my home sweet home. Let’s stop buying foreign oil and keep Line 5 open.”
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.,” Jon Goldstein writes for the Santa Fe New Mexican. “They argue higher demand for natural gas in Europe dictates looser environmental standards back home. 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… “Operators here emit over a million metric tons of methane annually. And since methane is the primary component of natural gas, those emissions result in more than $273 million worth of wasted natural gas that would otherwise be heating and powering homes and more than $43 million in lost revenue that could go toward public education every single year… “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.”