EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 4/21/22
PIPELINE NEWS
Canadian Press: Ottawa feared repeat of 2020 rail blockades before B.C. pipeline arrests last fall
Sioux Falls Argus Leader: South Dakota projected to get $440M in labor income from Summit CO2 pipeline, study shows
KMA: Montgomery County board postpones pipeline inspection decision
Associated Press: Officials mark start of CO2 pipeline used for oil recovery
Reuters: Pipeline operator Kinder Morgan’s profit sinks on lower crude volumes
KTAL: Stonewall community prays for BAFB pipeline blast victims
WASHINGTON UPDATES
The Hill: Biden administration deflects blame to courts for new oil lease sale
E&E News: Biden faces legal fight over delayed offshore leasing plan
Politico: COST OF CARBON CUDGEL
The Tyee: Powerful US Senator Joe Manchin Loves the Oilsands. Now What?
Politico: A NEW NEPA
E&E News: Biden’s CEQ has a Stephen Miller problem
STATE UPDATES
Politico: ANOTHER ONE FOR THE STATE COURTS
WyoFile: Utilities: Wyo CCUS mandate could spike monthly bills by $100
Capital and Main: California Oil and Gas Industry Leans on Political Heavyweights to Drill Wells
Politico: National Grid offers 'fossil free' vision for gas system in New York
CBS: LA County bans single-use plastic at restaurants
EXTRACTION
Reuters: Rising calls for U.S. LNG revive stalled export projects, but at higher costs
Bloomberg: As Europe Jilts Russian Gas, Biggest U.S. Exporter Puts on a High-Tech Show
FRONTLINE: THE POWER OF BIG OIL
Center for American Progress: Fixing Abandoned Offshore Oil Wells Can Create Jobs and Protect the Ocean
CLIMATE FINANCE
Reuters: World Needs Extra $1.3 Trln Energy Investment by 2030 - JP Morgan
Press release: Over 100 Organizations Escalate International Climate Campaign on Vanguard
Philadelphia Inquirer: Penn students are camping out on the campus green to get their environmental demands met
OPINION
News-Advocate: Lampinen: Enbridge's Line 5 should be shut down immediately, permanently
The Nation: Wearing Down Joe Manchin and His Fossil Fuel Allies
Intelligencer: What you can do about the oil spill
PIPELINE NEWS
Canadian Press: Ottawa feared repeat of 2020 rail blockades before B.C. pipeline arrests last fall
Stephanie Taylor and Brenna Owen, 4/21/22
“Federal officials feared a repeat of the 2020 rail blockades one month before RCMP enforced an injunction last fall against protests that cut off access to a pipeline construction site in northern British Columbia,” according to the Canadian Press. There was also concern that people from other demonstrations over Indigenous land rights had travelled to the site, including "Mohawk warriors." Details of the rising tensions around construction of the 670-kilometre Coastal GasLink pipeline are contained in briefing notes prepared for federal officials ahead of a meeting with RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki… “Those opposed to the pipeline have set up blockades along forest service roads to stop workers from getting through and have been confronted by police and court injunctions granted to its owner, TC Energy… "Small-scale protests have been held in recent days in various parts of the country in support of the hereditary chiefs. There is a risk that protest activities could spread and possibly escalate to levels seen in early 2020," officials wrote… "With the latest update and the alleged involvement of members of the Mohawk Nation from Ontario, there is a very likely chance for violence and disruptive sympathy actions across Canada similar or greater than those seen in early 2020." About a month after the Oct. 19 meeting, RCMP cleared another round of blockades set up by members of the Gidimt'en clan, one of five in the Wet'suwet'en Nation. A photojournalist and documentary filmmaker were among those arrested at the site.”
Sioux Falls Argus Leader: South Dakota projected to get $440M in labor income from Summit CO2 pipeline, study shows
Nicole Ki, 4/20/22
“A new study by a New York-based accounting firm projects South Dakota's portion of Summit Carbon Solutions' carbon dioxide pipeline will bring in $440 million in labor income during the construction phase,” the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reports. “The economic impact report was conducted by Ernst & Young and released early Wednesday by Summit. Based on that report, Summit anticipates total investments across Iowa, the Dakotas, Nebraska and Minnesota to come out to $3.7 billion to build out the 2,000-mile pipeline. In South Dakota, Ernst & Young forecasted a $795 million building cost and a $74 million tax revenue from Summit's "largest carbon capture and storage project in the world." According to the study, 32 ethanol plants have already signed onto it. Within the operations phase, there's an expected $37 million in annual expenditures and $15 million in state and local taxes for South Dakota, the study states… “From the outset of this project, Summit Carbon Solutions has been committed to driving the future of agriculture by expanding economic opportunities for ethanol producers and strengthening the marketplace for farmers in the Midwest,” Jake Ketzner, Summit Carbon Solutions Vice President of Government and Public Affairs, told the Leader. Ketzner told the Leader the study clearly shows "the overwhelmingly positive impact of this multi-billion-dollar private investment, including the creation of thousands of new high-quality jobs, the utilization of local suppliers and main street businesses, and tens of millions of dollars in new tax revenues that will help local communities fund our roads, hospitals, first responders, and more.”
KMA: Montgomery County board postpones pipeline inspection decision
Mike Peterson, 4/20/22
“Plans for hiring a company to handle carbon pipeline inspections in Montgomery County are on hold,” KMA reports. “During Tuesday's county board of supervisors meeting, Supervisors Chair Mark Peterson asked for the board's consensus on selecting a company for inspection services related to Summit Carbon Solution's proposed Midwest Express CO2 pipeline, which is planned to stretch through a portion of the county. Recently, the county's board of supervisors interviewed officials from LT Leon and Associates of Des Moines. But, Peterson says there's questions as to who would pay for the services IF the pipeline project is scuttled… “If we did hire a firm, and if they provided some services in the county, it's a little bit unclear as to who would pay for them if the pipeline is not put through." said Peterson… “Robinson added counties like Pocahontas have ordinances in place regulating pipeline inspections. She also cited the Page County Board of Supervisors approval last September of a letter of intent with ISG Incorporated of Mankato, Minnesota securing the company's services if the pipeline comes to fruition.”
Associated Press: Officials mark start of CO2 pipeline used for oil recovery
4/20/22
“State and energy officials held a ceremony in Bowman Wednesday to mark the completion of a carbon dioxide pipeline used to help recover more crude from older oil fields,” the Associated Press reports. “...Denbury is targeting oil fields within the Cedar Creek Anticline area that straddles the border. The carbon dioxide would come from ExxonMobil’s Shute Creek Gas Plant and Conoco Phillips’ Lost Cabin Gas Plant in Wyoming, according to Denbury’s application filed with North Dakota regulators. It would travel via several pipelines in Montana before crossing into North Dakota… “It’s the second such pipeline in the state. The North Dakota Public Service Commission approved its first carbon dioxide pipeline in 1998 to carry gas from Basin Electric’s Great Plains Synfuels Plant near Beulah to oil fields in Saskatchewan.”
Reuters: Pipeline operator Kinder Morgan’s profit sinks on lower crude volumes
4/20/22
“Kinder Morgan Inc reported a nearly 53% plunge in quarterly profit on Wednesday as the U.S. pipeline operator transported lower volumes of crude and condensate,” Reuters reports. “Crude prices have this year rallied to their highest levels in more than a decade, but oil output remains far from the levels seen before the pandemic as many companies prioritize shareholder returns over production ramp-ups. Kinder Morgan said quarterly crude and condensate pipeline volumes were down 4% compared with a year earlier. Net income attributable to the company fell to $667 million, or 29 cents per share, in the first quarter ended March 31, from $1.41 billion, or 62 cents per share, a year earlier… “On an adjusted basis, profit fell 46.7% to $732 million.”
KTAL: Stonewall community prays for BAFB pipeline blast victims
Savannah Arnold, Carolyn Roy, 4/20/22
“A large crowd gathered in Stonewall Wednesday night to surround the family of Adam Purland in prayer,” KTAL reports. “Purland and fellow Energy Transfer contractor Clay Moock remain in critical condition in the burn unit at Ochsner LSU Health in Shreveport after they were injured in a natural gas pipeline explosion and fire on Barksdale Air Force Base Tuesday… “Donors turned out by the dozens Wednesday to give blood for both men, who have reportedly suffered extensive burns and will require numerous surgeries. Both Purland and Moock remain in critical condition in the burn unit at Ochsner LSU Health in Shreveport.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
The Hill: Biden administration deflects blame to courts for new oil lease sale
RACHEL FRAZIN, 4/20/22
“The Biden administration, under fire from climate activists over its move to restart oil and gas leasing on federal lands, is seeking to shift blame to a court ruling as it seeks to navigate dueling climate and energy pressures,” The Hill reports. “The administration has emphasized that its Friday decision to open up about 144,000 acres of publicly-owned lands for oil and gas drilling was caused by a court order — and has indicated in recent days that its preference would be to not hold any lease sales at all. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Monday said the court ruling was “forcing our hand” and that President Biden’s policy is to “ban additional leasing”. “Today’s action…was the result of a court injunction that we continue to appeal, and it’s not in line with the president’s policy, which is to ban additional leasing,” Psaki said. Asked if new leases will undercut Biden’s climate goals, Psaki reiterated that “these leases are not in line with our policy or the president’s view.” “...The move generated push back from left-wing environmental advocates, who argued that the administration should try to limit drilling as much as possible — as well as industry and Republicans — who argued that the sale was too small and took issues with other modifications like higher fees for drillers… “I think what’s happened, frankly, is that the Biden administration is responding to pressure for new oil and gas development that has come about as a result of the war in Ukraine,” Mark Squillace, a professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, told the Hill. He added that the administration could have proposed an even smaller lease sale to minimize drilling.:
E&E News: Biden faces legal fight over delayed offshore leasing plan
Niina H. Farah, 4/21/22
“For the first time in more than four decades, the Interior Department will soon be without a five-year plan for offshore oil and gas lease development — opening the door to novel legal challenges against the Biden administration,” E&E News reports. “The delay has prompted litigation from the fossil fuel industry to force Interior to release a new five-year plan, even as the international scientific community urged U.S. and world leaders to quickly halt all new fossil fuel development — including offshore leasing — to limit catastrophic warming of the planet. The challenges present a new legal test of the degree of discretion Congress gave to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to decide when or if it plans to auction new offshore leases. BOEM’s current offshore leasing program runs through the end of June. Since January 2021, BOEM hasn’t “engaged in the statutory or regulatory steps required to develop a new leasing program,” the American Petroleum Institute and fossil fuel companies said in a lawsuit filed last year. Industry’s push for a new five-year offshore plan comes as Interior last week announced it will resume limited oil and gas lease sales on public lands. The coalition challenged BOEM’s planning delay in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana as part of its lawsuit opposing the Biden administration’s broader pause on leasing on federal lands and waters.”
Politico: COST OF CARBON CUDGEL
Matthew Choi, 4/20/22
“The social cost of carbon was initially a wonky metric that Barack Obama's agencies used to help guide policy with the economic consequences of climate change in mind. But it has grown into a major political focal point among Republicans set on derailing the Biden administration’s climate agenda,” Politico reports. “...It guides climate considerations for issues such as public transit grants, oil and gas lease sales and energy efficiency regulations, and it offers an economic baseline that the administration can use to defend its policies in court… “That makes the tool a huge target for Republican attorneys general, who won a court injunction early this year that temporarily blocked federal agencies from using the metric — a decision that ground the government's regulatory machine to a halt. Another court later reversed that decision, but red states hope to take the fight to the Supreme Court. How to calculate the social cost of carbon has also become a deeply political question: The Obama administration set it at $43 per ton of carbon dioxide, but the Trump administration whittled it down to $1 before Biden raised it back to $51 per ton. With better understanding of how climate change is affecting the world, some experts are calling for a price closer to the $200 range, a number that would make it vastly easier to justify efforts to throttle greenhouse gas emissions.”
The Tyee: Powerful US Senator Joe Manchin Loves the Oilsands. Now What?
Geoff Dembicki, 4/20/22
“Earlier this month, one of the most powerful Democratic politicians in the U.S. accepted an invitation from Alberta Premier Jason Kenney and flew to the heart of the oilsands,” The Tyee reports. “Once there, West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin toured a large open-pit bitumen mine operated by Suncor, and then visited Cenovus’s Christina Lake facility, which uses high-pressure injections of steam to extract 250,000 barrels of oil from the ground every day… “Manchin, reportedly impressed by his experience in Alberta, said he was “honoured” to see for himself the world’s fourth biggest oil reserves… “Previous U.S. president Donald Trump was a vocal supporter of the now-cancelled Keystone XL pipeline, which was proposed to stretch from the oilsands to the Texas Gulf Coast. But industry supporters tell the Tyee Manchin, who despite his refusal to support Biden’s legislative priorities is frequently described as a consensus-seeking “moderate” in the U.S. political conversation, could be a potentially more effective ally… “During his recent visit, the West Virginia senator said he’ll soon be inviting Kenney to Congress. Manchin wants the Alberta premier to testify about the geopolitical importance of the oilsands at the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Kenney should tell Americans “what you do, how you do it, and how well you do it,” Manchin advised. This is a major win for the Alberta government, which recently spent $3 million on contracts with lobbying firms that have touted their access to key U.S. government officials, according to a report from OpenSecrets. One of the firms reportedly working with Alberta is Capitol Counsel, whose partners include Jonathan Kott, a former advisor to Sen. Manchin.”
Politico: A NEW NEPA
Matthew Choi, 4/20/22
“The Biden administration’s completed Phase 1 NEPA rule on Tuesday reinstated requirements for federal agencies to consider the environmental impacts of their decisions — reversing the Trump administration's efforts to water down the mandate,” Politico reports. “But environmentalists tell Politico the battle is not over. With billions of dollars set to be unleashed under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684), House Natural Resources Chair Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) urged the White House to release a much anticipated Phase 2 NEPA rule to make sure the bipartisan infrastructure package’s resources are used with environmental justice and climate change in mind. “Without a strengthened NEPA and public engagement process, these investments could very well fall short of their full potential to advance equity and environmental justice for all communities,” Grijalva said in a statement… “This new rule will impede infrastructure projects this nation needs, confusing the permitting procedure by reducing coordination between federal agencies, ignoring project goals and causing unnecessary delays in the review process,” American Gas Association President and CEO Karen Harbert told Politico.”
E&E News: Biden’s CEQ has a Stephen Miller problem
Robin Bravender, 4/20/22
“Former Trump administration aide Stephen Miller is on the minds of Biden White House staffers as they work to channel federal investments toward disadvantaged communities,” E&E News reports. “His name has been invoked” by White House officials as they consider whether to explicitly consider race in a tool that’s aimed at advancing environmental justice, an administration official familiar with the conversations told E&E. That’s because Miller and his legal group successfully challenged a Biden program that intended to aid farmers of color, arguing that it discriminated against white farmers… “When Biden’s CEQ in February unveiled a draft screening tool to target vulnerable communities for federal investments, environmental justice advocates were concerned that race wasn’t explicitly listed as a factor. CEQ officials have repeatedly stressed that they want the new policy to hold up in court. And legal experts tell E&E the threat of challenges from groups like Miller’s — as well as a Supreme Court that’s viewed as unwelcoming to race-based policies — are likely factors in the Biden administration’s reluctance to exclude race from its environmental justice screening tool. “We live in this world where if you don’t like government policy, you find a judge, and there are plenty of judges who are not sympathetic to race-conscious programs,” Neal Devins, a professor at William & Mary Law School, told E&E. “I think there’s an awareness by the Biden administration that they’re going to have to defend it in court, and it’s much easier to defend a race-neutral program.”
STATE UPDATES
Politico: ANOTHER ONE FOR THE STATE COURTS
Matthew Choi, 4/20/22
“Another legal challenge by localities against the fossil fuel industry landed in the local governments’ favor, with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals determining Tuesday that the case belongs in state court — which the plaintiffs consider more favorable to their cause,” Politico reports. “The case, brought by several California counties, is one of several seeking damages from fossil fuel companies for their role in climate change. The 10th Circuit had ruled similarly in favor of several Colorado cities and counties in February, and the 4th Circuit did the same this month in case filed by Baltimore. The energy companies plan to challenge the 10th Circuit ruling in the Supreme Court… “A spokesperson for Chevron, one of the defendants, told Politico that the counties' claims are based on worldwide carbon emissions, areas governed by federal and not state law.”
WyoFile: Utilities: Wyo CCUS mandate could spike monthly bills by $100
Dustin Bleizeffer, 4/19/22
“Adding carbon-capture systems to existing coal-fired power plants in Wyoming could cost the average residential ratepayer an additional $100 per month, according to Black Hills Corp’s initial filings to the Wyoming Public Service Commission,” WyoFile reports. “The retrofit costs alone could range from $400 million to $1 billion for each coal unit, according to PacifiCorp, which operates as Rocky Mountain Power in Wyoming. Adding carbon capture utilization and storage technologies would also significantly reduce electrical generation efficiency at the coal plants, further ramping up the expense for ratepayers… “Now law, the Wyoming PSC is wrestling with how to administer what some refer to as a coal-CCUS portfolio standard — the only such portfolio standard in the nation. It requires regulated utilities to determine how much CO2 capture can be applied to existing coal plants and still justify the costs to ratepayers. One preliminary conclusion by PacifiCorp and its consultant Kiewit Engineering Group, Inc. suggests that capturing 40% or more CO2 emissions would not prove economic for coal units included in its analysis. House Bill 200 proponents also sought to minimize the ratepayer burden by allowing the PSC to establish a cap for incremental rate increases. The commission in November set a 2% cap, potentially preventing something on the order of a $100-per-month increase. But regulated utilities must be allowed to charge ratepayers for full capital and implementation costs, which could result in extending the period that a utility charges ratepayers for a CCUS investment — potentially by decades. PacifiCorp estimates the 2% cap could generate a maximum $13.1 million annually for a CCUS project that costs between $400 million and $1 billion. “That means, presumably, you’d have to run [some coal units] for another 50 years,” Powder River Basin Resource Council attorney Shannon Anderson told WyoFile.. “If that doesn’t happen, then at some point ratepayers are going to be paying for systems that we are no longer using.”
Capital and Main: California Oil and Gas Industry Leans on Political Heavyweights to Drill Wells
Aaron Cantu.4/19/22
“Amid the industry’s calls for more oil and gas production due to the Ukraine war and the federal government opening public land to drilling, California approved more new wells in March and April than in any two-month period since last October,” Capital and Main reports. “The California Geologic Energy Management Division so far has approved 89 in March and April, compared to 67 the first two months of the year and 35 the last three months of 2021 (most in October). Excluding new wells approved for water disposal — a form of underground injection that oil companies use to dispose of wastewater produced during oil and gas drilling — the rate of new well approvals rose 500% from January and February to March and April. CalGEM says the rise isn’t due to the war, but to a court ruling that temporarily threw out a controversial ordinance allowing Kern County to rubber stamp environmental approval for wells. Now authority has reverted back to CalGEM, which started approving more wells to meet a March deadline on operators’ permit applications, an agency spokesperson told Capital and Main. A trial next week will determine the fate of the county ordinance. Regulators are aware that the industry wants more drilling. Records obtained by Capital & Main show that four days after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, the California Independent Petroleum Association sent a weekly news bulletin to CalGEM regulators proposing they approve permits as a way of relieving pressure at the pump — a link that isn’t so straightforward, experts say.”
Politico: National Grid offers 'fossil free' vision for gas system in New York
MARIE J. FRENCH, 4/19/22
“National Grid, which serves the largest number of gas customers in New York, is pushing a vision for a “fossil free” gas system to continue providing heat and energy to buildings for decades to come,” Politico reports. “The utility’s vision released Tuesday relies on blending hydrogen into the pipeline system and displacing the gas extracted from underground with renewable natural gas produced from landfills, cow manure and wastewater treatment plants. The company is offering the plan as an alternative to the predominantly gas-free plans of the state’s climate council, which is tasked with achieving an 85 percent reduction in emissions from 1990 levels by 2050… “The company said its plan can slash emissions from its system in line with New York’s emissions mandate, but the analysis appears to rest on rewriting the hard-fought climate law that New York legislators passed in 2019. That includes a change to how the warming impact of greenhouse gasses is evaluated, with National Grid preferring a longer time horizon that gives less weight to the impact of methane — the molecule they want to continue delivering to customers. National Grid’s plan also doesn’t account for the carbon dioxide emitted when renewable gas is burned the same way New York does. Wynter told Politico no other state uses the 20-year global warming potential and treats renewable natural gas nearly the same as geologic gas.”
CBS: LA County bans single-use plastic at restaurants
MADELINE SPEAR, 4/19/22
“Los Angeles County passed an ordinance Tuesday aimed at reducing waste from single-use plastic in restaurants and food facilities in unincorporated areas,” CBS reports. “The ordinance will require single-use food ware, including utensils, takeout containers, and cups, to be compostable or recyclable. It will also ban expanded polystyrene, or Styrofoam, products and require reusable food ware at full-service, dine-in eateries…"Single-use plastics, especially expanded polystyrene, are toxic and pose a major hazard to our public and environmental health, especially frontline communities. This ordinance is a critical stepping stone to reducing pollution and moving towards a thriving culture of reuse, and we applaud the County for its leadership in reducing harmful plastic waste," Alison Waliszewski and Emily Parker, Co-Chairs of Reusable LA, told CBS.
EXTRACTION
Reuters: Rising calls for U.S. LNG revive stalled export projects, but at higher costs
By Marcy de Luna, 4/21/22
“Soaring demand for U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) as buyers steer clear of Russian fuel is putting some long-stalled U.S. export projects back on track. But rising costs for materials and labor threaten to snarl these plants once again,” Reuters reports. “Two developers with projects sidelined due to the U.S.-China trade war – Energy Transfer with its Lake Charles LNG and Tellurian Inc with its Driftwood LNG – have begun talks with construction provider Bechtel Group over costs, according to a spokesperson and regulatory filing. Materials prices have shot up 20% in the past two years while gas compressors are 30% costlier, construction and energy experts told Reuters. Metals required for LNG projects are in short supply due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and could add another 10% to costs, they added… “LNG plants built a few years ago cost about $540 per tonne of annual LNG output, putting the construction of a 10 million tonne per annum plant at $5.4 billion, Greg Vesey, former CEO of LNG Ltd, which sold its proposed export project in 2020, told Reuters. "At a 25% increase, the range is going to be between $600 and $700 a tonne.” The cost hikes are, however, not likely to halt new construction. Wall Street analysts now expect four multi-billion-dollar plants to be approved this year, versus a previous projection of two or three plants.”
Bloomberg: As Europe Jilts Russian Gas, Biggest U.S. Exporter Puts on a High-Tech Show
Naureen S Malik, 4/19/22
“Deep in Louisiana’s bayou country, 18 maroon canisters discharge clear, odorless methane into the air as hard-hatted engineers patrol wind gauges, solar panels and a laser surveillance system shooting beams at mirrors,” Bloomberg reports. “ The experts and employees of Cheniere Energy Inc., the largest U.S. exporter of natural gas, are part of a high-stakes campaign to show Europe that as it abandons Russian gas, it can substitute the American variety without fear. Their job is to find the most efficient leak detecting system. “If we do our job of leading the North American industry to reduce its emissions profile, it will be very clear that natural gas has a seat at this energy transition table for decades and decades,” Chief Commercial Officer Anatol Feygin told Bloomberg. Europe’s energy crisis, magnified by the Ukraine war, has driven demand for natural gas to new heights, offering American producers an opportunity to win over buyers wary of their fracked product, with its reputation for environmental wreckage and history of climate-warming methane leaks… “The European Commission’s proposal late last year to include natural gas as a sustainable investment “was a key development for us,” Feygin told Reuters. The move, met by fierce opposition from environmental advocates, poses a challenge to Europe’s obligations under the Global Methane Pledge, which the EU, U.S. and some other countries committed to at last year's climate talks in Glasgow…“There is no time for fossil fuel detours,” Rachel Cleetus, policy director with the climate and energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, told Bloomberg. “Calling for infrastructure that takes years to build is not going to help Europe right now, it’s not going to help gas prices right now, but it is going to lock us into fossil fuel infrastructure for a long time.”
FRONTLINE: THE POWER OF BIG OIL
4/19/22
“FRONTLINE examines the fossil fuel industry’s history of casting doubt and delaying action on climate change. This three-part series traces decades of missed opportunities and the ongoing attempts to hold Big Oil to account. Tonight, we’re launching our biggest project yet on the subject: an epic, three-part documentary series investigating America’s decades-long failure to confront climate change, and the role of the fossil fuel industry and one of its biggest players, ExxonMobil. The Power of Big Oil spans more than 40 years and multiple presidential administrations. It draws on newly uncovered documents and more than 100 interviews with key players. And over the course of three nights, it sheds new light on what scientists, corporations and politicians have known about human-caused climate change for decades, the missed opportunities to mitigate the problem, and the lengths to which the fossil fuel industry went to cast doubt on the science, influence public perception and block action from the 1980s to the present day. “I’m 83 years old. Three or four decades ago, we predicted it,” Martin Hoffert, a former NASA physicist who worked as a consultant for Exxon in the 1980s, says in tonight’s 90-minute film. “To have those predictions come true, that’s sort of the golden icon that you look for as a scientist. However, as a human being, and as an inhabitant of planet Earth, I’m horrified to watch the lack of response to this.” Part one of The Power of Big Oil premieres tonight at 10/9c on PBS (check local listings) and on YouTube, and will be available to stream starting at 7/6c on pbs.org/frontline and in the PBS Video App… The series — which is from a team of award-winning filmmakers and journalists that includes Dan Edge, Jane McMullen, Gesbeen Mohammad, Robin Barnwell, Sara Obeidat, Emma Supple and Russell Gold — continues April 26 and May 3.”
Center for American Progress: Fixing Abandoned Offshore Oil Wells Can Create Jobs and Protect the Ocean
Zainab Mirza, Say Sanchez, Miriam Goldstein, 4/20/22
“The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) manages more than 2,000 active oil and gas leases with over 55,000 wells across 10.9 million acres of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Approximately 58 percent of these wells—more than 32,000—are permanently or temporarily abandoned,” according to the Center for American Progress. “ Poorly decommissioned, abandoned, and orphaned wells are a direct threat to our environment, society, and economy. Abandoned and orphaned offshore wells are at high risk of leaking and spilling oil or gas into the environment. Limited monitoring and record keeping have allowed these occurrences to largely fly below the radar, making them difficult to track. While there have been limited studies on this in the United States, there has been extensive research in the North Sea. These studies reveal that abandoned offshore wells can contribute between 3 thousand to 17 thousand metric tons of methane emissions annually—the carbon dioxide equivalent of approximately 16,000 to 91,500 gas-powered cars driven annually… “The thousands of orphaned and abandoned oil and gas wells currently located in federal waters demonstrate the importance of reassessing the post-development requirements of offshore oil and gas leasing. Enforcement of existing policies; a robust federal job program; increasing financial obligations; and a comprehensive record-keeping and monitoring process are all viable approaches to both reducing the negative socioeconomic and environmental impacts of these sites as well as the ease with which they come to exist.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
Reuters: World Needs Extra $1.3 Trln Energy Investment by 2030 - JP Morgan
4/20/22
“The world needs to find $1.3 trillion of incremental investment by 2030 to boost all types of energy output and infrastructure from renewables to oil and gas to avoid an energy crunch, U.S. bank JP Morgan said in its first annual energy outlook,” Reuters reports. "Our main finding is that by 2030, energy demand growth will exceed supply growth by circa 20% based on current trends, primarily driven by emerging economies and their efforts to develop and lift their citizens out of poverty," strategists Marko Kolanovic and Christyan Malek told Reuters. Investment will need to be inclusive of all fuels, including oil and gas, renewables and nuclear, with oil demand alone expected to grow by around 10% by 2030 and gas by 18%. "Not all fuels are made equal, and for the most part (and within this time horizon), different sources of energy are not fully fungible - solar panels cannot replace oil, needed for example in the industrial production of petrochemicals," said the outlook, to which 30 JP Morgan analysts contributed. The research contrasts with the message from the International Energy Agency (IEA), which last year said no new investment was needed in fossil fuels.”
Press release: Over 100 Organizations Escalate International Climate Campaign on Vanguard
4/20/22
“Today, in an open letter to Vanguard CEO Tim Buckley, over 100 organizations representing over 6 million people called on the world’s second-largest asset manager to enact the visionary financial leadership that is needed to meet the scale and urgency of the climate crisis. The letter comes with the launch of Vanguard S.O.S., an international climate campaign made up of civil society organizations, finance experts, grassroots groups, and climate activists, many of whom pushed BlackRock to start tackling its climate problem with the BlackRock’s Big Problem campaign. “Vanguard is the quintessential example of an institution that could be doing so much good for the world, and is instead sticking to a business-as-usual mode that is ending in tragedy for the planet and its people,” said Bill McKibben, author and founder of Third Act. “Imagine how blinkered you'd have to be to be earth's second-biggest asset manager and not using that power to help ward off the greatest emergency humans have ever faced. It's tragic--but it's also maddening, and that anger will propel action as people demand accountability." Vanguard received the worst possible score — zero out of 30 — in a scorecard ranking 30 major asset managers on their climate commitments released this morning by Reclaim Finance. “Our new report shows that Vanguard is one of the biggest climate laggards of the asset management industry,” said Lara Cuvelier, Sustainable Investments Campaigner with Reclaim Finance. “Vanguard is one of the top two investors in companies developing new coal projects and holds $130 billion in the 12 biggest oil and gas expansionists, and there is not a single policy in sight from Vanguard to restrict investments in fossil fuel expansion or even use its shareholder voting power to hold the world’s biggest polluters accountable.”
Philadelphia Inquirer: Penn students are camping out on the campus green to get their environmental demands met
Susan Snyder, 4/20/22
“A group of students pushing the University of Pennsylvania to divest from fossil fuels among other demands rooted in environmental justice has set up tents on the College Green to share their message around the clock,” the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. “We’re planning on staying for the foreseeable future,” Emma Glasser, 21, a junior material science engineering major from Princeton and member of Fossil Free Penn, told the Inquirer. “There were about 20 students camping overnight Tuesday until campus police arrived and asked them to leave, Glasser said. Six students remained through the night and more joined in again Wednesday morning. The College Green demonstration is the latest effort by Fossil Free Penn to address a longstanding gripe with the Ivy League university about its ties with fossil fuel companies. Penn trustees in 2016 decided not to divest, saying the isn’t a “moral evil.” “...Students continue to question whether Penn has involvement in fossil fuels and want the university to take other environmentally conscious steps, including refusing to take research funding or donations from the fossil fuel industry and banning oil and gas companies from recruiting at campus career fairs.”
OPINION
News-Advocate: Lampinen: Enbridge's Line 5 should be shut down immediately, permanently
Eric Lampinen, Manistee, 4/20/22
“An opinion piece published April 13 by Jeff Lawrence outlined the dire predictions Michigan faces if we shut down Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline carrying 540,000 barrels of oil daily under the Straits of Mackinac,” Eric Lampinen writes for the News-Advocate. “They include the loss of more than half of Michigan’s propane supply, 2000 trucks per day traveling Michigan roads to supply oil, a 40 to 50 cent increase in gasoline prices and other unnerving consequences. Certainly all Michiganders remember the disastrous events that occurred when Line 5 was shut down by injunctive court order in 2020. You don’t remember? That’s because they never happened. A court ordered the entire pipeline closed in June 2020 because damage to the eastern segment caused by an anchor strike threatened our great lakes, and Enbridge failed to report it to the state. The western segment was reopened later in July but the eastern segment remained down for 83 days, interestingly, without consequence. Enbridge spends millions creating a false narrative that Line 5 is critical to Michigan when in fact it merely transports oil across our state with all but 5% to 10% arriving in Sarnia, Ontario. The UP uses only 0.025% of the pipeline oil for propane heating, easily replaced by four trucks per day… “Line 5 is an antiquated and aging environmental disaster waiting to happen. We must not allow it when viable alternatives exist. Line 5 must be shut down immediately and permanently.”
The Nation: Wearing Down Joe Manchin and His Fossil Fuel Allies
Ted Glick, 4/20/22
“You are wearing people out,” complained Senator Joe Manchin at a March 4 hearing of the US Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which he chairs. The West Virginia senator, who reportedly receives $500,000 a year from the coal company he founded and that’s now run by his son, was reprimanding three commissioners of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the little-known, immensely powerful agency that regulates the interstate transmission of electricity, methane gas, and oil,” Ted Glick writes for The Nation. “...At his committee hearing, Manchin directed his ire at the three Democratic commissioners. “There’s a policy by some of death by a thousand cuts on the fossil fuel industry,” he said, before warning that the new FERC rule threatened America’s energy security and economic prosperity. If their projects had to pass such a community and environmental impact assessment, Manchin added, private companies might not pursue the projects in the first place. “I know these people,” he said, in an inadvertently revealing comment. “They’re not going to invest. They’re going to walk away.” “...As a veteran climate and social justice activist who attended the committee hearing Manchin chaired, I interpret such comments as a sign that our side is beginning to turn the tide. For years, activists have been hammering FERC for its blatant pro-industry bias and the resulting intensification of the climate crisis—a bias, it’s worth noting, that has persisted under Democratic and Republican administrations alike… “It’s time for change in West Virginia. Manchin swore he would defend the Constitution against enemies foreign and domestic. He has violated that oath. Instead of establishing justice, he has established injustice at every turn. He has decided that the US Chamber of Commerce agenda is better than the agenda for the people of West Virginia and the United States. At every turn, he has chosen money and greed. Next month, a “Walk for Appalachia’s Future” will travel across West Virginia raising up the voices of local activists demanding cancellation of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a proposed 300-mile-long fracked-gas pipeline through West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina that Manchin supports.”
Intelligencer: What you can do about the oil spill
Rachel Tompkins, Walter Williams, 4/19/22
“Friday, March 11, 2022, began like any other Friday in Edwardsville — the closing of another workweek and the promise of nice spring weather over the weekend. This sense of normalcy didn’t last for long. Just before noon, community members received word that 165,000 gallons of crude oil spilled from an underground pipeline, through a farmer’s field, and into the Cahokia Canal just north of town,” Rachel Tompkins and Walter Williams write for the Intelligencer. “Marathon Pipe Line (MPL), the Ohio-based company responsible for the leak, operates approximately 6,000 miles of underground pipelines in 14 states, including ours. A day later, you still couldn’t miss the smell or the rainbow-tinted slick traveling underneath the MCT bike trail on the surface of Cahokia Creek. With nice weather, everyone was out at this popular spot, and everyone was wondering what a disaster of this magnitude really meant for the land, animals and people who call Edwardsville home. We’d like to think this spill was one of those once-in-a-lifetime tragedies, like a 100-year flood or a once-in-a-century tornado. However, like other fossil fuel-driven disasters, pipeline failures only grow more frequent and disastrous every year because of aging infrastructure. The continued use of this aging infrastructure, along with the use of cheap materials for our massive network of underground pipelines, has left Illinois in an oily web of trouble.”