EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 4/28/25

PIPELINE NEWS

• The Iowa Standard: GOP Sen. Sires calls for Senate colleagues to stand against eminent domain for CO2 pipelines

• KCRG: Nonprofit hosts series of meetings about possible negative effects of carbon pipeline

• Heatmap: How a Carbon Pipeline Is Turning Iowa Against Wind

• Arizona Republic: Why Navajo activists oppose a proposed hydrogen pipeline that could be the world's longest

• KFYR: Keystone Pipeline has re-injected spilled oil into line as cleanup, investigation continues

• Interlochen Public Radio: After oil spill in Pigeon River Country, cleanup efforts continue

• Business Insider Africa: U.S. considers investment in Africa's most ambitious gas pipeline project

• News Decoder: A pipeline of prosperity or plunder

• Reuters: Netherlands backs carbon storage project as Total, Shell step back

• AGBI: Oman to build 400km hydrogen pipeline network

• WV News Report: West Virginia PSC Launches Task Force to Review Gas Utility and Pipeline Safety Regulations

WASHINGTON UPDATES

• E&E News: Republicans to reveal, debate reconciliation plans

• E&E News: Burgum leans away from ‘all-of-the-above’ energy

• Reuters: US aims to boost offshore oil drilling by easing pressure rules

• E&E News: Interior shifts policy to boost offshore oil and gas production

• E&E News: Trump’s NOAA downplayed a huge finding: CO2 surged last year

• E&E News: Zeldin’s plan for endangerment finding: Accept warming, contest its costs

• Pennsylvania Capital-Star: Trump climate plan: Red states get hydrogen, blue states don’t. Where does that leave Pa.?

STATE UPDATES

• Cowboy State Daily: Wyoming Power Plant May Be Proving Ground For Emissions-Free Coal Burning

• American Press: ExxonMobil sheds light on its area CO2 projects

• WWL: Landmark verdict shakes up debate over Big Oil's damage to coastal Louisiana

• WWL: 'Man who beat BP' now sues U.S. Government over Gulf Oil Spill response

• WDSU: Unified Command responds to oil and gas mixture released near Garden Island Bay

EXTRACTION

• Reuters: US shale patch slows down as oil prices sink

• Carbon Herald: Eni Awards Saipem $590M Contract For Liverpool Bay CCS Development

• Wall Street Journal: Carbon-Capture Startup Remora Sets Sights on Freight Rail

OPINION

• Spencer Daily Reporter: Reynolds' record speaks for itself

• Santa Barbara Independent: Restarting Sable’s Pipeline Would Harm Our Communities, Environment, and Economy

• Cornwall Standard-Freeholder: Community editorial board: Pipeline dreams from the 2025 Canadian election

• Healthy Debate: Harms from fossil fuel expansion are absent from this election campaign. Why we need to worry
  

PIPELINE NEWS

The Iowa Standard: GOP Sen. Sires calls for Senate colleagues to stand against eminent domain for CO2 pipelines
4/25/25

“Republican State Sen. Dave Sires spoke in support of private property rights on Wednesday and against the use of eminent domain for carbon capture pipelines,” The Iowa Standard reports. “...He then went through a brief timeline of Summit Carbon Solutions be given authority to use eminent domain for its carbon capture pipeline project. But Sires said that is an abuse of government power and an abdication of the government’s role of protecting the individual rights of its citizens. “At its core, government exists to protect the individual rights of its citizens, not to surrender them to private corporations under the guise of economic development,” he said. “Yet over the past few years, Iowa officials have repeatedly failed to defend the property rights of everyday Iowans. We are witnessing the dangerous misuse of public power for private gain.” Sires said Iowa senators should stand with their constituents, not corporations. “I call on this body to reject the abuse of eminent domain and to pass meaningful protections for Iowa landowners,” he said.”

KCRG: Nonprofit hosts series of meetings about possible negative effects of carbon pipeline
Lacey Reeves, 4/27/25

“Close to a hundred people gathered in Readlyn on Saturday to learn how the proposed Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline could impact them. The event was hosted by Sierra Club Iowa Chapter, its’s holding a series of meetings in communities across Iowa,” KCRG reports. “...This is our land and they can’t have it,” farmer Kim Junker said… “She’s one of many pushing for the Iowa Senate to take up a bill passed by the House that would limit eminent domain, and likely block the pipeline. “They can give us all the money they want to, we don’t want it. It’s not about the money, it’s about our farmland, it’s about our property rights, it’s about our legacy, our businesses, our livelihoods,” Junker said… “These pipelines are incredibly dangerous, more dangerous than other kinds of pipelines we have in the state,” Jessica Mazour with Sierra Club Iowa Chapter said.”

Heatmap: How a Carbon Pipeline Is Turning Iowa Against Wind
Jael Holzman, 4/25/25

“Local renewables restrictions are on the rise in the Hawkeye State – and it might have something to do with carbon pipelines,” Heatmap reports. “Iowa’s known as a renewables growth area, producing more wind energy than any other state and offering ample acreage for utility-scale solar development… “But something else is now on the rise: Counties are passing anti-renewables moratoria and ordinances restricting solar and wind energy development. We analyzed Heatmap Pro data on local laws and found a rise in local restrictions starting in 2021, leading to nearly 20 of the state’s 99 counties – about one fifth – having some form of restrictive ordinance on solar, wind or battery storage… “But it may also have to do with an outsized focus on land use rights and energy development that emerged from the conflict over carbon pipelines, which has intensified opposition to any usage of eminent domain for energy development. The central node of this tension is the Summit Carbon Solutions CO2 pipeline… “Instead, Summit is now stalled because grassroots opposition to the pipeline quickly mobilized to pressure regulators in states the pipeline is proposed to traverse. They’re aiming to deny the company permits and lobbying state legislatures to pass bills banning the use of eminent domain for carbon pipelines… “The same counties with CO2 pipeline moratoria have enacted bans or land use restrictions on developing various forms of renewables, too… “I asked Jessica Manzour, a conservation program associate with Sierra Club fighting the Summit pipeline, about this phenomenon earlier this week. She told me that some counties are opposing CO2 pipelines and then suddenly tacking on or pivoting to renewables next. In other cases, counties with a burgeoning opposition to renewables take up the pipeline cause, too. In either case, this general frustration with energy companies developing large plots of land is kicking up dust in places that previously may have had a much lower opposition risk.”

Arizona Republic: Why Navajo activists oppose a proposed hydrogen pipeline that could be the world's longest
Natasha Cortinovis, 4/2625

“Activist Jessica Keetso voiced strong opposition to a proposed hydrogen pipeline through her Navajo Nation homeland during a discussion on energy development and environmental justice at the Society of Environmental Journalists’ 34th Annual Conference in Tempe,” the Arizona Republic reports. “Keetso, of environmental advocacy organization Tó Nizhóní Ání, and Capital & Main reporter Jerry Redfern emphasized the historical exploitation of Navajo resources. Redfern said: “In the last 100 years, there’s been near-constant mineral extraction of all types on Navajo lands: coal, uranium, vanadium, oil, gas. And it has never brought a great deal of prosperity.” Tallgrass Energy’s proposed hydrogen pipeline could potentially be the world’s longest. It would stretch over 200 miles from Shiprock, New Mexico, to north of Flagstaff, following an existing Navajo-owned natural gas pipeline that runs along 13 inhabited communities… “Keetso and Redfern argued that hydrogen production from natural gas perpetuates the same century-old harms, consuming scarce water resources and risking further ecological damage… “I would not want a natural gas plant running, they're unsafe. And then a CO2 pipeline, that’s also very dangerous, and a hydrogen pipeline, all close to one another,” Redfern said.”

KFYR: Keystone Pipeline has re-injected spilled oil into line as cleanup, investigation continues
Emmeline Ivy, 4/25/25

“Earlier this month, the Keystone Pipeline spilled 3,500 barrels of crude oil onto agricultural land, according to the state Department of Environmental Quality,” KFYR reports. “...So far, they recovered 3,110 barrels of oil. Of that, they have injected 2,433 barrels back into their line. So, that’s reusable oil as crude oil. They have 1,538 barrels in storage on the site,” NDDEQ Spill Investigation Program Manager Bill Seuss told KFYR… “So far, they estimate they have removed 20,000 tons of dirt and have about 20,000 more to go.”

Interlochen Public Radio: After oil spill in Pigeon River Country, cleanup efforts continue
Ellie Katz, 4/25/25

“Cleanup crews are responding to an oil spill in Pigeon River Country State Forest which was discovered last week,” Interlochen Public Radio reports. “More than 4,600 gallons of material spilled into a densely wooded wetland in the state forest: at least 50 barrels of crude oil, 60 barrels of brine, a saltwater byproduct, and 100 gallons of condensate, or natural gas liquids. The oil, brine, and natural gas liquids have impacted about one acre of a valley wetland so far. On April 16, workers discovered the leak from a flow line during routine maintenance and immediately shut down the line. The ruptured flow line is owned by the company Lambda Energy Resources, which is also paying for remediation… “They had to build roads so they could access where the release was,” Josef Greenberg, a spokesperson with Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, told IPR. “They had to take down some trees to access where this area was. It was difficult terrain.” He told IPR crews have removed more than a thousand barrels of material from the site so far, including crude oil and brine as well as contaminated water and soil… “In the spill area, the moss is basically gone. The moss is dead,” he told IPR. “The evergreen trees in the spill area, they’re really showing stress.”

Business Insider Africa: U.S. considers investment in Africa's most ambitious gas pipeline project
Solomon Ekanem, 4/28/25

“The United States is interested in investing in the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project, aiming to connect Nigeria to Morocco,” Business Insider Africa reports. “Interest in the project was revealed during bilateral engagements at the 2025 Spring Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank Group in Washington, D.C. The pipeline project spans 5,660 kilometers and aims to connect West Africa to Europe via Morocco, with a total estimated cost of $25 billion… “The United State's interest in the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project was revealed by Nigeria’s Finance Minister, Wale Edun, who highlighted the potential for U.S. involvement in the initiative… “Key areas of interest includes U.S. interest in investments in Nigeria’s natural gas sector particularly the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline given the country’s vast gas reserves,” he noted… “Expected to enhance energy security for both coastal nations and the Alliance of Sahel States (ESA), the pipeline will become the world’s longest offshore gas pipeline… “Meanwhile, U.S. involvement in the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline could be seen as part of a broader strategy to counterbalance China’s growing influence in Africa, particularly in the energy and infrastructure sectors.”

News Decoder: A pipeline of prosperity or plunder
Enock Wanderema, 4/25/25

“In the sticky heat of an April afternoon in Kampala, Uganda nine university students stood outside the headquarters of Stanbic Bank, their voices raised in protest. It is a sound that has echoed for more than half a decade,” News Decoder reports. “Their signs called for an end to the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), a $5 billion project: 1,443 kilometers of 24-inch wide, heated and buried steel ambition, snaking from Uganda’s oil-rich Lake Albert basin to the Tanzanian port of Tanga on the Indian Ocean. Before the hour was out, they were in police custody. The government has hailed the project as a pillar of economic transformation. But critics — students, activists, and environmental groups — argue it will displace communities, threaten biodiversity and entrench a model of development that sidelines democratic participation. Dissent has been met with arrests, surveillance and a steadily shrinking civic space. The protests, though often silenced, persist, challenging a narrative that equates oil with progress… “Members of the UN Economic Commission for Africa urged a shift away from exporting raw materials and toward value addition through manufacturing and industrialisation… “For the students arrested, whose protests have long been dismissed as anti-developmental by a government intent on progress-by-pipeline, this sudden harmony of rhetoric might feel like vindication — if only the delegates meant what they propose… “The French oil giant TotalEnergies, with Chinese partner CNOOC in tow, controls the lion’s share of the project. Uganda, the country from which the oil originates, has been cast in the role of host, not owner. Tanzania, whose land will bear the pipeline’s longest stretch, fares no better. For Mamdoo and many others, this is not a partnership; it’s a palatable version of plunder.”

Reuters: Netherlands backs carbon storage project as Total, Shell step back
Alban Kacher, 4/25/25

“The Dutch government said on Friday it would commit 639 million euros ($726 million) to the construction of the country's largest carbon capture and storage project, after TotalEnergies and Shell withdrew part of their planned investments,” Reuters reports. “The two oil majors have opted out of investing in the pipeline infrastructure necessary to connect industries to the storage sites in depleted gas fields under the North Sea. In a bid to keep the project and its own climate goals on track, the government decided to step in to minimise risks for the two remaining investors, government-owned energy company EBN and Dutch gas grid operator Gasunie. "This takes away a large part of the risk in the project," climate minister Sophie Hermans told Reuters… “The final investment decision on the so-called Aramis project is expected in 2026. The storage, with an annual capacity of 22 million tons, should be operational by 2030.”

AGBI: Oman to build 400km hydrogen pipeline network
Sunil Singh, 4/28/25

“Oman’s natural gas network operator OQ Gas Networks (OQGN) is planning to build a dedicated hydrogen pipeline by 2030, in line with a strategy to develop the sultanate’s renewables sector,” AGBI reports. “The funding approval for the 300-400 kilometre project is expected by 2027, Oman Daily Observer reported, citing the majority state-owned company’s 2024 annual report. OQGN will follow a phased approach, starting with regional pipelines which can expand into a nationwide network. “By 2030, the company expects 300-400km of hydrogen pipelines to be built…”

WV News Report: West Virginia PSC Launches Task Force to Review Gas Utility and Pipeline Safety Regulations
4/25/25

“The Public Service Commission of West Virginia has initiated a new task force focused on reviewing and updating regulations governing gas utilities and pipeline safety across the state,” according to WV News Report.”...The task force will be chaired by the Commission’s legal staff and include representatives from key industry players such as Mountaineer Gas Co., Hope Gas Co., and Cardinal Natural Gas Co. Additional participants invited to join the group include the Gas and Oil Association of West Virginia, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, EQT Corp., Diversified Energy Co., and CNX Resources Corp. The Commission has extended an open invitation to other stakeholders within the natural gas industry who wish to be involved in the process. Interested parties are encouraged to submit a notice of participation to the Commission’s executive secretary.”

WASHINGTON UPDATES

E&E News: Republicans to reveal, debate reconciliation plans
Andres Picon, 4/28/25

“House Republicans are putting pen to paper for their massive party-line bill and are beginning to unveil some of the text ahead of a crucial markup sprint that begins this week,” E&E News reports. “Republican committee chairs will spend much of the next three weeks shepherding their portions of the tax, energy, defense and immigration package out of their committees with the goal of getting the final legislation to President Donald Trump’s desk before the end of May. It’s a deadline that may very well slip… “The House Ways and Means Committee, which will oversee changes to the Inflation Reduction Act’s tax credits, is eyeing a markup as soon as May 12 and 13, POLITICO reported. Congressional leaders, tax policy chairs and administration officials are set to keep meeting on a tax plan for the reconciliation package… “Observers generally expect that the tax credits that enjoy the most bipartisan support could ultimately be spared… “The American Petroleum Institute has lobbied Republicans to preserve the clean fuel production credit known as 45Z, the carbon capture utilization and storage credit known as 45Q and the clean hydrogen production credit known as 45V, according to a spokesperson for the group… “Many of the tax credits could be altered rather than repealed to prevent negative market impacts for businesses that rely on them. That could involve new sunsetting provisions, caps on spending and stricter eligibility requirements.”

E&E News: Burgum leans away from ‘all-of-the-above’ energy
Ian M. Stevenson, Carlos Anchondo, 4/28/25

“...As governor, Doug Burgum sought to push North Dakota to be carbon-neutral by 2030,” E&E News reports. “...But as a member of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet, Burgum has taken a sharply different tack. Last week, the Interior Department unveiled a plan to speed up the development of domestic energy and critical minerals. The new emergency permitting procedures don’t apply to renewable sources such as wind and solar, reflecting Trump’s priorities and his Jan. 20 energy “emergency” executive order. Carbon capture and storage technology, or CCS, was also left out… “The exclusion of solar, of onshore wind, of CCS from these new policies may not be the type of action that we saw with Empire Wind, but it’s noteworthy by itself,” Travis Annatoyn, counsel at Arnold & Porter who was a former deputy solicitor for energy and mineral resources at Interior in the Biden administration, told E&E… “But CCS projects rely heavily on the federal 45Q tax credit, and the oil and gas industry has benefited over the years from expensing intangible drilling costs… “As governor, Burgum not only introduced a target of making North Dakota carbon-neutral by 2030, he also cheered DOE’s decision in late 2023 to make up to $350 million available to a carbon capture retrofit of a coal-fired power plant in central North Dakota. And, during his final week as governor in December, Burgum voted to approve injection permits for a large, interstate CO2 pipeline project seeking to permanently store CO2 underneath the state. What specific actions Burgum may end up taking on carbon capture as Interior secretary, however, remain to be seen… “The White House also included a call out to CCS in its Earth Day message last week, a move welcomed by groups like the Renewable Fuels Association… “As Interior secretary, Burgum hasn’t talked about carbon capture as much as fossil fuel production, but did endorse the technology Friday. “If we want to solve the issue of CO2 — if that’s the last remaining issue — there are hundreds of ways to do that and in places like in my state of North Dakota, we were doing carbon sequestration,” Burgum said… “Still, Annatoyn with Arnold & Porter told E&E Interior is “clearly comfortable” unveiling major policy initiatives with speed, so “it might be the case that we see really dramatic action” from Burgum on CCS, even if that hasn’t happened so far.:

Reuters: US aims to boost offshore oil drilling by easing pressure rules
Timothy Gardner, 4/25/25

“The U.S. Interior Department said on Thursday it has implemented new guidelines for allowable pressure differences in a certain type of oil drilling in part of the Gulf of Mexico, changes it expects can boost U.S. oil output,” Reuters reports. “...Under the new rules, operators working in the Wilcox rock formation under part of the waters that Trump has renamed the Gulf of America, can produce oil from multiple offshore reservoirs using greater pressure differences. The rules on so-called downhole commingling between reservoirs in the Paleogene expand the allowable pressure differential from 200 pounds per square inch to 1500 psi. Interior expects the changes can boost output by 100,000 barrels per day of oil from the region over 10 years… “The producers must meet conditions including pressure monitoring and regular performance reporting, Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said.”

E&E News: Interior shifts policy to boost offshore oil and gas production
Shelby Webb, 4/25/25

“The Interior Department on Thursday changed an offshore oil and gas policy that will allow operators to produce oil from more geologic layers at once,” E&E News reports. “The action targets part of the Gulf of Mexico, which President Donald Trump renamed the Gulf of America earlier this year. Interior officials wrote in a news release that the change in policy could increase production in the Gulf by about 10 percent — or more than 100,000 additional barrels a day over the next 10 years. Interior officials wrote in a press release that the policy change follows Trump’s Unleashing American Energy executive order, which ordered agencies to review policies that ‘impose an undo burden’ on the development of domestic energy resources.”

E&E News: Trump’s NOAA downplayed a huge finding: CO2 surged last year
Chelsea Harvey, 4/25/25

“Climate-warming carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere grew at a record-breaking speed in 2024, surging by 3.7 parts per million, a recent NOAA data analysis has found,” E&E News reports. “It’s one of the agency’s biggest scientific findings of the year — yet the research largely has flown under the radar after NOAA officials took steps to minimize the announcement. Instead of publishing a press release or a featured article online, the agency described the findings only in social media posts on Facebook and on X. And the posts failed to highlight the dataset’s most important finding: that last year’s CO2 concentrations jumped by an unprecedented amount. That’s a departure from the agency’s historical approach to public communication… “According to a source with knowledge of the 2024 analysis, NOAA staff prepared a public web story this year as usual. But officials nixed the report at the last minute, instead releasing the findings only on social media. The source was granted anonymity because they feared reprisal from the Trump administration… “A NOAA official suggested that downplaying the new CO2 data has dampened media attention on what otherwise would have been a major climate headline. The scientific findings were reported earlier this month by The Washington Post, and the suppressed web story was reported by CNN earlier this week. There’s otherwise been little news reported on the subject. But scientists told E&E it’s a finding that’s worth more attention — and more worry. Some researchers believe last year’s CO2 spike is evidence that the Earth system itself is becoming more vulnerable to the impacts of rising temperatures.”

E&E News: Zeldin’s plan for endangerment finding: Accept warming, contest its costs
Jean Chemnick, 4/28/25

“One of the biggest mysteries surrounding President Donald Trump’s EPA is how it plans to revoke the endangerment finding — the lifeblood of most climate regulations,” E&E News reports. “...Experts told E&E EPA may be betting that it can upend the scientific finding — which paved the way for the nation’s rules on climate pollution on cars, power plants and across other sectors — without taking direct aim at the overwhelming evidence that greenhouse gases are driving up global temperatures. Instead EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and other officials whom the president tasked in January with undoing the finding could raise questions about whether a sector — or even the whole country — contributes enough climate pollution globally to warrant regulation. They may also try to redefine how air pollution can harm the public — a necessary predicate for regulating greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. “Maybe they’ll change their mind, but they seem to have an idea of how they want to go about revoking the finding,” Jeff Holmstead, who served as EPA’s air chief under President George W. Bush, told E&E… “He and other experts told E&E the administration may take aim at the cost increases that regulations have on energy and other pillars of Americans’ lives, not at atmospheric science directly. That could allow EPA to skip the cumbersome process of assembling panels of contrarian scientists to build an alternative record on the indisputable link between human emissions and global warming.” “...Conservative lawyers and analysts see room to question Obama-era claims about the extent to which greenhouse gases pose such a danger, even without assailing basic principles of climate science.”

Pennsylvania Capital-Star: Trump climate plan: Red states get hydrogen, blue states don’t. Where does that leave Pa.?
Audrey Carleton,4/24/25

“Less than a year after announcing plans to establish a hydrogen-based aviation fuel hub at Pittsburgh International Airport, Pennsylvania-based natural gas producer CNX has quietly taken down the website on which it advertised the hub,” the Pennsylvania Capital-Star reports. “The move comes as the fate of the much-vaunted hydrogen industry — seen by the Biden administration as a way to power America while reducing climate-altering emissions — is in upheaval. While a Biden-era rule dealt a blow to those in the gas and oil industry hoping to invest in hydrogen technology and offered greater financial incentives to the renewable energy sector, President Donald Trump is showing preference for fossil fuel-powered hydrogen. Meanwhile, the fate of those Biden-era tax credits — whether for renewable energy or fossil fuel — is up in the air as congress wades through the budget reconciliation process. Under Trump’s guidance, the Department of Energy has indicated it plans to kill Biden-era funding for four renewable-powered hydrogen hubs in primarily Democratic regions while retaining funds for fossil fuel-powered hubs in mostly red states, such as South Dakota, Ohio and Kentucky.”

STATE UPDATES

Cowboy State Daily: Wyoming Power Plant May Be Proving Ground For Emissions-Free Coal Burning
David Madison, 4/24/25

“PacifiCorp confirmed this week it’s moving ahead with a plan that could ultimately retire the iconic smokestacks of its Dave Johnston Power Plant seen to the north while driving between Glenrock and Casper, Wyoming,” Cowboy State Daily reports. “The energy experts contacted by Cowboy State Daily offered a range of opinions about the novel oxy-combustion technology and carbon sequestration plans unfolding at the Dave Johnston plant… “The 8 Rivers innovation uses pure oxygen to burn hydrogen and carbon monoxide generated from coal, and this process creates a stream of pure carbon dioxide. This CO2 is then recirculated through a new type of turbine that will not need smokestacks to release emissions… “PacifiCorp noted the work happening at Dave Johnston, “Is still in the feasibility phase, so a decision to build the facility has yet to be made.” “...I believe it is possible, at least theoretically,” Dr. Erin Baker, distinguished professor of industrial engineering at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst,, who offered caution about the notion that what 8 Rivers is developing will become, as the company describes it, “a silver bullet” to solve the problems that come with burning coal to produce electricity, told the Daily. “Some important points are that it would not be pollution-free. Coal is still very dirty,” Baker told the Daily, conceding that perhaps the pollution would no longer be airborne, but “water and soil would still be at risk.” “Another point is that we have finite storage space for CO2,” Baker told the Daily, citing work by Emily Grubert at Notre Dame University.”

American Press: ExxonMobil sheds light on its area CO2 projects
Doris Maricle, 4/26/25

“ExxonMobil is currently in the initial phases of developing carbon capture projects in Allen Parish, including the Hummingbird and Mockingbird projects, which will be situated in the southern part of the parish, to the west and southeast of Oberlin,” the American Press reports. “We believe the region around Allen Parish has the right kind of underground rock formations to safely and permanently store CO2 (carbon dioxide),” ExxonMobil’s Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) Asset Manager Justin Carr said in an email to the American Press. A public hearing regarding ExxonMobil’s permit application for two exploratory Class V wells in Allen Parish will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 30 at the Allen Parish Civic Center, 609 Tiger Lane in Oberlin… “The American Press has learned that ExxonMobil has already submitted applications to the LDENR for two underground injection control Class VI permits… “Carr also noted that since the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1972, there hasn’t been a single case of drinking water contamination from permitted underground injection… “Right now we have contracts to handle about 14 million metric tons of CO2 each year from across the Gulf Coast,” Carr told the Press… “There are over 5,000 miles of CO2 pipelines in the U.S., and they’ve been operating safely for over 40 years,” he told the Press, noting that pipelines are the safest method for transporting liquids over long distances… “Regarding the Satartia, MS, incident Carr explained it was caused by a landslide due to unprecedented rainfall… “A convergence of rare factors, including temperature, humidity, light winds, land topography, and the time of day, facilitated the CO2’s flow downhill towards Satarita.”

WWL: Landmark verdict shakes up debate over Big Oil's damage to coastal Louisiana
David Hammer, 4/24/25

“This month, a Plaquemines Parish jury awarded the parish a $745 million verdict against oil giant Chevron for damage the company’s predecessor, Texaco, allegedly caused in coastal marshes dating back decades,” WWL reports. “It's a landmark decision in a legal battle that's lasted 12 years, and both sides agree, the significance can’t be understated. “It's a huge victory not only for the parish but for the coast of Louisiana. It's huge because we finally can hold responsible (a) party who destroyed this coast, knowing that they could do better,” John Carmouche, the trial lawyer who spearheaded the Plaquemines lawsuits against Chevron and about three dozen others, told WWL… “Chevron plans to appeal the verdict, which could lead to settlement talks… “Big Oil interests backed candidates in Plaquemines elections, hoping to “Kill the Lawsuits,” as yard signs blared in 2015. But even though anti-lawsuit candidates won those battles, their efforts to end the litigation failed… “A key part of what kept the lawsuit afloat was support from the Louisiana attorney general at the time, now-Gov. Jeff Landry. As a congressman, Landry had made waves as a staunch defender of the oil industry in the wake of the devastating BP oil spill, holding up a sign at President Barack Obama’s 2011 State of the Union speech that said, “Drilling = Jobs.” But as attorney general, he signed onto the coastal lawsuits on behalf of the state.”

WWL: 'Man who beat BP' now sues U.S. Government over Gulf Oil Spill response
David Hammer, 4/25/25

“Fifteen years after BP’s devastating Gulf oil spill, the only cleanup worker to successfully sue the oil giant over his chronic medical condition is filing a new lawsuit, this time taking aim at the federal government for allegedly failing to enforce regulations to protect him and thousands of others from exposure to toxic chemicals,” WWL reports. “...While at least 4,000 other cleanup workers’ lawsuits were dismissed in courtrooms across the Gulf Coast, Maas succeeded by moving to rural Tennessee and getting his case sent to the federal court in Cookeville, Tenn. Instead of squaring off with BP in conservative 5th or 11th Circuit courts – where plaintiffs must establish exposure to a specific dosage of toxins to prove it caused their illnesses – Maas’ case was heard in the 6th Circuit, where Nashville-based Judge Waverly Crenshaw allowed his case to go forward based on testimony from Maas’ doctor and a scientist who studied general effects of exposure to petroleum and the cleanup chemical Corexit… “I'm gonna beat the feds too. There ain't no doubt about it,” Maas told WWL… “It accuses the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency of failing to enforce environmental and workplace regulations in the summer of 2010 during the BP spill cleanup operations.”

WDSU: Unified Command responds to oil and gas mixture released near Garden Island Bay
Metia Carroll, 4/27/25

“The Coast Guard, Spectrum OpCo, LLC, and the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office have responded to an oil and gas mixture release in a marsh environment,” WDSU reports. “The oil and gas mixture was released near the operator's Garden Island Bay Production Facility company's well in Plaquemines Parish on Saturday. An overflight by an LOSCO aircrew confirmed the presence of crude oil and the federal and state approved an emergency oil spill response plan… “No injuries or wildlife impacts have been reported.”

EXTRACTION

Reuters: US shale patch slows down as oil prices sink
Georgina Mccartney, 4/25/25

“Some small U.S. shale producers are putting the brakes on oil drilling as crude prices sink to multi-year lows and steep tariffs drive construction costs higher,” Reuters reports. “...The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) cut its output growth forecast by 100,000 bpd to 300,000 bpd. Pointing to President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs, the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) cut its U.S. supply growth forecast for 2025 by 150,000 bpd to 490,000 bpd, and also predicted global oil demand growth would fall to its slowest rate in five years. “We’re paring back on drilling until we see what happens with the tariffs and demand for oil, and where oil prices go,” Bill Daugherty, co-founder and managing partner of Blackridge Resources, an independent operator working in the Appalachian basin in the eastern U.S., producing around 500 bpd, told Reuters. U.S. crude futures tumbled to a more than four-year low of $55.12 a barrel on April 9 as investors worried that tariffs could prompt an economic slowdown… “There are people in the administration touting that oil should be in the $50s. Even the best acreage in the Permian isn’t going to make much money in the $50s,” Dan Doyle, president and owner of Arena Resources, a Wyoming-based operator producing around 1,000 bpd, and fracking firm Reliance Well Services, told Reuters.”

Carbon Herald: Eni Awards Saipem $590M Contract For Liverpool Bay CCS Development
Violet George, 4/28/25

“Italian energy services company Saipem has secured a major contract from Eni to support a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project off the coast of northern England,” the Carbon Herald reports. “The €520 million (~$590 million) deal covers work on the Liverpool Bay CCS initiative, which is slated to be completed over three years. This project is central to the HyNet industrial cluster, positioned in one of the UK’s most carbon-intensive regions. Under the plan, carbon dioxide captured from industrial sites across North West England and North Wales will be funneled through a combination of new and upgraded infrastructure to depleted gas reservoirs beneath the Irish Sea, owned by Eni… “As part of the broader development, existing offshore platforms will be retrofitted, 149 kilometers (92.6 miles) of pipeline infrastructure will be repurposed, and an additional 35 kilometers (22 miles) of new pipelines will be laid to connect industrial carbon sources to the network.”

Wall Street Journal: Carbon-Capture Startup Remora Sets Sights on Freight Rail
Yuliya Chernova, 4/28/25

“Startup company Remora recently bought a 4,400-horsepower locomotive that is about to be delivered this week to its parking lot in the Detroit suburbs via a new rail spur,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “The company plans to use the 1994 General Electric unit to test its mobile carbon-capture technology for rail use, Paul Gross, Remora’s 28-year-old chief executive and co-founder, told the Journal. “Remora’s technology is designed to extract CO from the exhaust of diesel freight train locomotives and semi trucks, then purify and liquefy the greenhouse gas on board. It plans to sell the CO, sharing the revenue with its transportation partners… “The technology has drawn interest from railroad companies and trucking operators that will test Remora’s systems. The startup has raised $117 million in venture capital to date. Its supporters will need patience. While software startups can generate almost immediate revenue selling their tools, Remora is now in its fifth year of development as it navigates the challenges of commercializing a new hardware product.”

OPINION

Spencer Daily Reporter: Reynolds' record speaks for itself
Bonnie Ewoldt, Milford IA, and Crawford County landowner, 4/25/25

“During the past four years, I’ve penned many letters to the editor in protest of Summit Carbon Solutions’ plans for a 2,500-mile CO2 pipeline and its intent to take our property through eminent domain,” Bonnie Ewoldt writes for the Spencer Daily Reporter. “My most recent LTE expressed frustration with the Iowa Legislature where eminent domain reform bills passed out of the House the past four sessions only to die in the Senate Commerce Committee. Recently, I received a reply from a reader in Dickinson County asking me to “think about” the possibility that Governor Reynolds has been complicit in the actions of the Legislature and the unfair treatment of landowners on Summit Carbon Solutions CO2 pipeline route. I have given this some thought, and interesting facts support the possibility. The writer mentions the fact that Gov. Reynolds is a “protégé of former Gov. (Terry) Branstad.” This is true. Coincidentally, Branstad is now shown on Summit Carbon Solutions website as the Senior Policy Advisor… “The connection between Gov. Reynolds and Bruce Rastetter, owner of Summit Carbon Solutions, is also mentioned. Facts support this assertion. Public records show that Rastetter has contributed over $150,000 to Reynolds’ campaigns over the years. Furthermore, a FOIA request filed by Bold Nebraska (2019-2020) and Food and Water Watch (2022-2023) show that Gov. Reynolds and Bruce Rastetter exchanged eight hundred emails which often included plans for lunch. A more recent FOIA request by Bold Nebraska (2024) was returned with more than 20,000 possible documents… “Yes, I’ve thought about the assertion that Gov. Kim Reynolds uses the weight of the governor’s office to tip the scales in favor of Summit Carbon Solutions. I think her record speaks for itself.”

Santa Barbara Independent: Restarting Sable’s Pipeline Would Harm Our Communities, Environment, and Economy
Paasha Mahdavi is a professor at UC Santa Barbara, where he directed the Energy Governance and Political Economy Lab, 4/25/25

“In 2015, an oil pipeline burst off the coast of Santa Barbara County. Over 450,000 gallons of heavy crude spilled into the surrounding environment, spreading out across 136 miles of coastline. Now, a decade later, a hastily-formed speculative company, Sable Offshore Corp., wants to restart that pipeline,” writes for the Santa Barbara Independent. “In a recent Independent op-ed, a company’s ally claimed — without evidence — that this would be a boon to California and the local community. My analysis tells a different story… “My expertise is in oil and gas policy, with extensive experience evaluating energy companies’ business plans. The op-ed ranges from misrepresentative to downright false… “First off, the piece claims that restarting the pipeline will reduce imports of foreign oil. But based on both statistical analysis of the 2015 pause and an economic analysis of costs compared to major suppliers, it won’t… “Which leads me to the second claim, that Sable’s project will make gas cheaper in California. But as I’ve just explained, the oil pumped off our coast will not end up in your gas tank. And it certainly won’t make your gas cheaper… “Perhaps most absurd is the claim that restarting the pipeline will be good for the environment. When the very same pipeline burst in 2015, it contaminated 1,500 acres of coastline and 2,200 acres of ocean habitat. Beaches were closed and coated with oil. Fisheries shut down and fishers lost millions in economic productivity. Birds, sea lions, and dolphins washed up dead on the shore. It was nothing short of an environmental catastrophe. But even if it doesn’t break again, the pipeline and the project would be disastrous for the climate… ”Restarting Sable’s pipeline isn’t an economic shot in the arm, it’s a gut punch. Sable wants to extract especially dirty crude oil off our coast, export it to foreign markets, all to boost the bottom line of oil executives in Texas, while our communities pay the price. Santa Barbara cannot afford to let this happen.”

Cornwall Standard-Freeholder: Community editorial board: Pipeline dreams from the 2025 Canadian election
Alex Gatien, Standard-Freeholder community editorial board, 4/25/25

“If your knowledge of Canada’s fossil-fuel sector was based solely on the discourse in the current federal election campaign, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to conclude new pipelines and expanding oilsands production were simply the result of willing them into being,” the Cornwall Standard-Freeholder community editorial board writes. “Rather than being treated as incredibly expensive pieces of infrastructure that operate for decades and are built by the private sector, both the Liberals and Conservatives have displayed a remarkable flippancy that often completely ignores the economic realities of both extracting and transporting fossil fuels. The narrative pushed by Conservative Party of Canada Leader Pierre Poilievre has been that the Liberal Party of Canada government has deliberately sabotaged pipelines and expansion of Alberta’s oilsands… “Is the assumption that if we granted automatic permission to oil and gas companies, they would immediately build pipeline after pipeline? Is it that the federal government would subsidize construction of new pipelines or build them itself?... “The expectation in this election seems to be that oil companies, which like all corporations exist to deliver maximum returns to shareholders, will somehow embark on all sorts of massive capital investments regardless of potential profitability in a show of Canadian pride. It is incredibly unrealistic. Canadian oil companies are simply not going to make capital investments in new infrastructure with price tags potentially reaching into the tens of billions of dollars if it isn’t profitable… “At this point in time, the oilsands are simply not a very good investment in a world with ample oil supplies and low prices… “New pipelines may diversify market access, although even the newly opened Trans-Mountian Pipeline still ships most of its oil to the United States, but they do not increase production… “Many Canadians, including political leaders, seem to expect oil companies to act in a way that defies how corporations operate… “We should be immensely cautious of politicians’ promises to expand oilsands production and build new pipelines with virtually no details. Once you scratch the surface, they seem to be little more than a rush to provide giant subsidies to Canadian oil companies with minimal or no public benefit.”

Healthy Debate: Harms from fossil fuel expansion are absent from this election campaign. Why we need to worry
Margaret McGregor is a family physician, health researcher, clinical associate professor with the UBC Department of Family Practice and member of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment’s BC Committee, 4/25/25

“As British Columbia’s first liquified natural gas (LNG) terminal prepares to begin exporting gas and Canada’s two largest political parties discuss expediting fossil fuel projects to protect ourselves from American tariffs, the health harms of this policy direction have been erased from the conversation,” Margaret McGregor writes for Healthy Debate. “So, why is this a problem? First is that the burning of fossil fuels is internationally recognized by climate scientists as the main driver of climate chaos… “The cognitive dissonance is staggering. Second is the disregard for the health of voters living close to the fossil fuel industry, whether near the oil sands, fracking well pads, along pipeline routes or nearby fossil fuel facilities preparing oil and gas for export… “This disproportionate placement of polluting industries near already disadvantaged communities, resulting in serious health issues, is a well-documented practice across many jurisdictions… “The health of those living downstream from oil and gas extraction activity but close to LNG facilities is also an issue. Research in this area is just beginning but findings are far from reassuring… “Calls for rapid scaling of fossil fuel projects not only ignore the impacts of these industries on atmospheric warming but fail to consider their direct effects on human health. “Ghosting” of the planetary health harms of fossil fuel expansion from 2025 Canadian election platforms suggest President Trump’s fossil fuel “drill, baby, drill” agenda may be winning even before the votes have been counted.”