EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 4/28/26
PIPELINE NEWS
Jefferson Public Radio: California’s fight over pipeline tests state’s right to push back against Washington during war
Carbon Herald: Louisiana’s Carbon Capture Bet: Opportunity, Risk, and the Cost of Slowing Down
Reuters: Canada, Alberta close in on carbon price agreement, sources say
Gasworld: Environmental investigations begin for German 120km hydrogen pipeline
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: ‘There’s a day of reckoning coming’: Energy experts expect another spike at the pump
Utility Dive: House Republicans introduce bill to extend renewables tax credits
New York Times: How the Trump Administration Ended Independent Science at the E.P.A.
Heatmap: Why This Gas Crisis Isn’t Hitting Like 1979
STATE UPDATES
Colorado Sun: Cutting air pollutants a new frontier in Colorado air quality fight
EXTRACTION
E&E News: The world is searching for oil. This summit is looking to get rid of it.
New York Times: Carney Sets Up Investment Fund to Boost Canadian Economic Independence
Forbes: Shell reverses course in Canada and buys ARC Resources for $14 billion, doubling down on oil and gas
Harvard Media: Auditor general says oil sands monitoring reporting improved
Latitude Media: How much of the data center power pipeline is real?
Upstream: Chinese offshore giant makes start on latest carbon capture project
WLOX: 16 years after the BP oil spill: Lasting impact and ongoing recovery
OPINION
Washington Post: Why some of America’s greatest projects would be impossible today
PIPELINE NEWS
Jefferson Public Radio: California’s fight over pipeline tests state’s right to push back against Washington during war
Julie Watson, 4/27/26
“Crude oil pumped from the depths of the Pacific Ocean is flowing for the first time in more than a decade through a pipeline that crosses California state park land after the Trump administration defied state officials to restart drilling off Santa Barbara, calling it essential to national security,” Jefferson Public Radio reports. “State officials call it trespassing and are asking a Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge at a hearing Monday to order Sable Offshore Corp. to stop using the pipeline — which snakes for 4 miles (6 kilometers) through a portion of Gaviota State Park — and to remove it… “Energy Secretary Chris Wright used a Cold War-era provision March 13 to direct Sable to restart production, saying shoring up domestic oil supplies is needed to lower gas prices amid the Iran war as the Islamic Republic continues to squeeze a vital shipping channel through which one-fifth of the world’s oil travels… “The litigation is the latest salvo in an escalating legal battle that is testing states’ power to challenge Washington’s wishes, even during wartime, as the Trump administration rolls back regulations seen as unfriendly to its plans for more coastal oil drilling… “Opposition to the project has been fierce in Santa Barbara, where a 1969 oil spill helped give rise to the modern environmental movement after local California communities hadn’t been given any voice in decisions about offshore drilling. “I think it’s an attack not only on our democracy but also the will of the people who live here,” youth activist Ethan Maday, 15, told JPR of the federal intervention.”
Carbon Herald: Louisiana’s Carbon Capture Bet: Opportunity, Risk, and the Cost of Slowing Down
Violet George, 4/28/26
“Louisiana, long defined by its oil and gas legacy, is now positioning itself at the forefront of a new industrial transition: carbon capture and storage (CCS),” according to the Carbon Herald. “...But as political, regulatory, and community tensions grow, the state’s momentum is no longer guaranteed. Conflicts have reached high levels in government, even among Republicans, with the state’s Governor and Treasurer clashing over their stances on the budding industry… “Daniel Erspamer, CEO of the Pelican Institute, a free market think tank headquartered in New Orleans, told the Carbon Herald: “This is maybe one of the more surprisingly controversial industries we’ve had. Louisiana has traditionally embraced oil and gas and petrochemicals, but this has become much more complicated.” “...“The episode highlights a deeper divide: CCS is no longer a uniformly supported economic strategy, but a politically polarizing issue – particularly within the Republican Party. While some lawmakers continue to frame carbon capture as essential to preserving Louisiana’s industrial base, others have begun to oppose it on property rights, environmental, and ideological grounds. This intra-party friction has complicated the state’s once relatively unified push to position itself as a national CCS hub… “At the same time, community concerns remain a significant factor. Critics continue to raise questions about the safety of CO2 pipelines, the long-term integrity of underground storage, and the broader impact on communities already burdened by industrial activity. In some cases, opposition has extended to legal challenges over land use and property rights, further slowing project timelines… “While the technical and economic case for CCS in Louisiana remains strong, its political and social license is far from settled and increasingly contested in ways that could shape the pace and scale of deployment.”
Reuters: Canada, Alberta close in on carbon price agreement, sources say
Amanda Stephenson, 4/27/26
“Canada and Alberta are expected to strike a deal in the next two weeks that will increase the price on carbon for the province’s industrial emitters, two sources with knowledge of the talks told Reuters, but a broader agreement to tackle oil sands greenhouse gases and green-light a new crude oil export pipeline remains elusive… “He has said he is willing to get behind the construction of a new oil pipeline to the West Coast if Alberta agrees to strengthen its pollution pricing scheme and if Canada’s biggest oil sands companies will sign on to the giant C$16.5 billion ($12.1 billion) Pathways carbon capture and storage project… “The two sources told Reuters a carbon pricing agreement that would increase the effective price the province’s heavy emitters must pay on carbon to C$130 a metric ton is very close to being finalized… “Experts told Reuers a carbon pricing deal is necessary first to make the economics of the Pathways project work… “An Alberta government source told Reuters the province remains committed to presenting its pipeline proposal by July 1, and wants an agreement before then with Canada’s oil sands companies that commits them to building the carbon capture and storage project. Carney has said any pipeline project must be built in tandem with that project.”
Gasworld: Environmental investigations begin for German 120km hydrogen pipeline
Connor Jack, 4/28/26
“Pre-environmental impact assessment surveys have begun along the route of Gascade’s Eastern Germany Hybor pipeline, setting the stage for planning permissions,” Gasworld reports. “The investigations – which include the mapping of vegetation and wildlife along the pipe’s path – were launched at some segments in late 2025 and are now underway in all affected areas… “The German transmission system operator (TSO) aims to repurpose 120km of existing gas infrastructure for the Hybor pipe. Scheduled for completion in 2029, it will trace a course from Bobbau in Saxony-Anhalt, flowing South to Rückersdorf. Gascade completed the conversion of 400km of natural gas pipelines from Lubmin in Babbau to carry hydrogen in December last year. The TSO is also hosting a set of public information events around the construction of the next 150km stretch in communities along the route.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: ‘There’s a day of reckoning coming’: Energy experts expect another spike at the pump
Scott Waldman, Eli Stokols, 4/28/26
“Energy experts say another oil price spike is coming — and it may be made worse by the president’s social media posts,” E&E News reports. “President Donald Trump has repeatedly spurred temporary dips in oil prices by claiming on Truth Social that the Iran war is near an end and that U.S. oil production would ensure sky high gas prices would soon retreat… “But the president’s promises can only work for so long. Supply of oil — especially in Europe and Asia — is dwindling and a price shock is coming, Dan Pickering, chief investment officer at Pickering Energy Partners, told E&E. He told E&E that when the summer driving season begins there will be another gas price shock that “hits people in the face.” “There’s a day of reckoning coming,” he told E&E. “It will be painful because I can tell you that the stock market’s ignoring this.” Another spike in prices around Memorial Day could be a fatal blow to Republican chances for holding onto the House next year, as Americans’ confidence in the economy continues to drop… “Officials close to Trump are, for now, dismissing analysts’ warnings that the true global economic impact of the war has yet to be felt… “Even some U.S. oil and gas industry executives are frustrated with Trump’s rhetoric, with one respondent to a recent Dallas Fed survey saying the president “sends conflicting signals to operators who cannot plan rigs and capital budgets when prices swing wildly based on tweets.”
Utility Dive: House Republicans introduce bill to extend renewables tax credits
Diana DiGangi, 4/27/26
“Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives are trying to restore clean tax credits for wind, solar and other clean energy technologies that were curtailed by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” Utility Dive reports. “The American Energy Dominance Act, introduced Thursday, would remove the accelerated deadlines that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act placed on the renewable energy 45Y production tax credit and 48E investment tax credit, and make similar changes to other impacted credits, like the 45V clean hydrogen production credit. The bill was introduced by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, Rep. Mike Carey, R-Ohio, and Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y. A release from Fitzpatrick’s office said the legislation was “developed in direct partnership with the North America’s Building Trades Unions.” “...Capstone analyst Andrew Lascaleia said in a Saturday research note that the firm does “not expect [Fitzpatrick’s] bill that would reverse many of the changes made to energy tax credits under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to gain traction in this Congress.” “However,” Lascaleia added, “we believe the bill, which would restore clean electricity, hydrogen, and energy efficiency tax credits, may find support if Democrats win the House or Senate in the 2026 elections. This would benefit renewables developers and manufacturers.”
New York Times: How the Trump Administration Ended Independent Science at the E.P.A.
Lisa Friedman, 4/27/26
“For more than a half-century, a prestigious scientific arm of the federal government did groundbreaking research aimed at saving American lives. It studied fertility, asthma, wildfires, drinking water, climate change and myriad other health threats,” the New York Times reports. “In just one year, it has been almost completely dismantled… “They are among more than 1,500 biologists, chemists and other experts at the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development who have been laid off, reassigned or pressured to retire. Today, only 124 researchers remain, and this month they must decide whether to remain employed they will abandon their work and move to different parts of the agency, or the country. Those who stay will no longer serve in an independent unit designed to be free from political interference. Instead, they will be overseen by Trump appointees or in a new unit directly under the administrator, Lee Zeldin. An internal memo in one office reviewed by The New York Times says its future research must “align with agency and administration priorities.” Critics told the Times the moves are part of the administration’s deregulatory fervor: Without independent science, they told the Times, there can be few new limits on pollution or toxic chemicals… “Dismantling the research arm will significantly damage the agency and weaken the government’s ability to protect public health, more than two dozen current and former E.P.A. officials interviewed for this article told the Times. Some spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. The science office operated the world’s only laboratory specializing in controlled human-exposure studies to determine the health effects of vehicle exhaust, wildfire smoke, ozone and other pollutants. That laboratory has been closed.” “...Scientists told the Times the E.P.A. was now less likely to have information that might provide the basis to strengthen regulations of air and water pollution or toxic chemicals.”
Heatmap: Why This Gas Crisis Isn’t Hitting Like 1979
Matthew Zeitlin, 4/27/26
“Everyone’s mad about high oil prices, but are they doing anything about it? With around 11 million barrels per day (about a tenth of global production) shut in, and thus missing from the global oil market, someone has to be using less of it. Maybe it’s petrochemical plants that run on tight margins slowing down. Maybe it’s European airlines cancelling flights. At least so far, it’s probably not American drivers,” Heatmap reports. “In the U.S. we’re seeing an indifference, in terms of what we can see from consumption numbers,” David Doherty, head of natural resources research at BloombergNEF, told Heatmap on the sidelines of the research group’s annual summit last week. The Energy Information Administration’s proxy for gasoline consumption, “product supplied of finished motor gasoline,” shows no dramatic change following the beginning of the war or subsequent spike in oil prices… “But even in the context of the almost $5 per gallon in 2022 and the $4.11-ish gas hit in the summer of 2008, the impact on actual households is likely more mild. “$4 now is very different to $4 five years ago. And it’s definitely different to $4 in 2008, which is when the last price spikes came through,” Doherty told Heatmap. “$4 doesn’t get you a coffee now. $4 a decade ago got you coffee plus oat milk.”
STATE UPDATES
Colorado Sun: Cutting air pollutants a new frontier in Colorado air quality fight
Michael Booth, 4/24/26
“Colorado has expanded its air pollution-fighting arsenal to an entirely new theater after years of preparation, taking on so-called air toxics like benzene, formaldehyde and hydrogen sulfide from asphalt makers with mandatory control measures meant to protect surrounding low-income neighborhoods,” the Colorado Sun reports. “ State health officials can now monitor emissions and require new equipment and processes for five designated chemicals known to cause higher rates of cancer and other disease. The initial list includes benzene from refineries, ethylene oxide from sterilizers, hydrogen sulfide from asphalt and manure operations, formaldehyde from turbines and combustion engines, and hexavalent chromium from chrome-plating industries. Cutting back air toxics adds to Colorado’s other major ongoing air pollution battles: trimming greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change, and capping “criteria” pollutants that permeate the environment at larger scale such as ozone, nitrogen oxide, PM2.5 and volatile organic compounds. Health and environment advocates believe they can make community health progress in minority and low-income neighborhoods disproportionately impacted by industries, through tighter control of a few toxic chemicals from a handful of sites… “For years, communities living near highways, oil and gas sites and industrial facilities have been exposed to the highest levels of these pollutants — and currently, Colorado does not have strong rules on how much of these chemicals can be in the air,” said Conservation Colorado, after the AQCC vote. “These impacts fall disproportionately on communities of color. Latino people are nearly three times more likely than white people to live in areas with the most harmful air, and Black and Latino communities are more likely to face the worst pollution overall, according to the American Lung Association. This action moves the state closer to changing that.”
EXTRACTION
E&E News: The world is searching for oil. This summit is looking to get rid of it.
Sara Schonhardt, 4/24/26
“...A group of some 60 countries is meeting this week on the Colombian coast to figure out how to phase out fossil fuels, after three decades of United Nations-led talks have struggled to produce a clear path for battling climate change,” E&E News reports. “...But one thing that will make the conference in Colombia different is that it won’t include countries that have historically tried to hold back climate action. “It is hugely important that the Colombians and the Dutch and others have set this up, because we all see how wrecked the COP process is, how vulnerable it is to naysayers and those who want to derail it,” Wopke Hoekstra, the European Union’s climate commissioner, told E&E… “The first-of-its-kind conference kicking off Friday in the coastal town of Santa Marta marks the beginning of a widening effort outside of the annual climate talks known as COP summits to accelerate the shift to solar, wind and other clean energies. It comes after efforts to reaffirm a global pledge to move away from oil, gas and coal fell apart at the COP30 talks last year in Brazil. Organizers told E&E the conference is for countries that are committed to clean energy, not those that deny climate change. “We are not unhappy because the U.S. is not here,” Colombia’s environment minister, Irene Vélez Torres, told E&E. “We knew that they weren’t going to be here. We weren’t expecting them to be here because their energy policy and their economic policy is to ‘drill, baby, drill.’ So this is not the place for them. Also, we didn’t want to have anyone boycotting our conversations.”
New York Times: Carney Sets Up Investment Fund to Boost Canadian Economic Independence
Ian Austen, 4/27/26
“Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada said Monday that his country would establish a pool of money similar to those used by major oil exporters like Norway to make investments as he seeks to make the Canadian economy less dependent on the United States,” the New York Times reports. “Known as a sovereign wealth fund, it will focus on investments in Canadian infrastructure and will be operated like a private company. In creating one of it own, Canada is following the lead of other countries, among them oil-rich nations in the Middle Eastern. “This will be a Government of Canada fund, but more importantly, it will be a people’s fund, it will be your fund,” Mr. Carney told reporters in Ottawa. “Many countries that are blessed with natural resources, like Norway, have them. Canada has not until now.” Mr. Carney linked its creation to his plans for major infrastructure projects like pipelines, ports, new nuclear generation and a high-speed passenger rail line. They are intended to bolster the economy in the face of President Trump’s trade war with Canada… “With an initial infusion of 25 billion Canadian dollars — about $18 billion — Canada’s new fund will be a fraction the size of Norway’s, which at $2 trillion is the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund… “ But in Canada, underground natural resources belong to the provinces, and they collect and keep royalties paid by oil companies. Alberta, the center of Canada’s oil and gas industry, set up a sovereign wealth fund in 1976. But in the following decade, the province stopped transferring any oil royalties to the fund and governments began withdrawing money from it. The Alberta fund held about $32 billion at the end of last year.”
Forbes: Shell reverses course in Canada and buys ARC Resources for $14 billion, doubling down on oil and gas
Jordan Blum, 4/27/26
“Nearly a decade after selling its dirtier Canadian oil sands assets amid the global transition to clean energy, Big Oil giant Shell is reversing course in Canada and buying ARC Resources for nearly $14 billion,” Forbes reports. “While Shell followed the energy supermajor trend of exiting Canadian oil sands in the prior decade, Shell’s acquisition of ARC places new emphasis on the natural-gas-heavy Montney region of British Columbia and Alberta, which is relatively cleaner than the thick oil sands and more resembles U.S. shale plays… “Shell, BP, and other Big Oil players have focused lately on growing oil and gas production to boost revenues, while placing less-profitable renewable and clean energy strategies on the back burner. The Montney region is considered an emerging oil and gas play as the biggest U.S. shale basins continue to mature and natural gas demand grows worldwide, led by exports and the AI power boom. The ARC deal, which grows from $13.6 billion to $16.4 billion with the assumption of debt, makes it less likely—at least in theory—that Shell would reignite any talks in the near term to acquire struggling rival BP in what would be the biggest energy deal of the century.”
Harvard Media: Auditor general says oil sands monitoring reporting improved
Jon Tupper, 4/27/26
“Alberta’s auditor general says a long-standing recommendation to improve reporting on the province’s oil sands monitoring program has now been fully implemented, marking the end of a concern first raised more than six years ago,” Harvard Media reports. “In a new assessment report released in April, the auditor general found the Department of Environment and Protected Areas has put in place a formal annual reporting process designed to improve the completeness, accuracy and timeliness of public reporting on the Oil Sands Monitoring Program… The auditor general first flagged concerns in 2018, finding annual reports were incomplete, unclear and not released on time. A follow-up in 2023 found little improvement, with multiple reports delayed for years and still lacking key information. The latest review concludes the department has since introduced a structured process for drafting, reviewing and approving reports, with internal deadlines aimed at meeting a public release target of Sept. 30 each year. While the most recent reports were still released slightly behind schedule, the auditor general found the new process is being followed and has improved overall timeliness… “The auditor general’s report focuses on governance and reporting processes and does not examine specific environmental outcomes, including issues such as water releases into the Athabasca River.”
Latitude Media: How much of the data center power pipeline is real?
Lisa Martine Jenkins, 4/27/26
“There are 780 gigawatts of announced data center projects in the U.S., which is more than the country’s current total peak load of 759 GW,” Latitude Media reports. “It’s an additional U.S. of power by 2030,” said Oliver Kerr, managing director of North America at Aurora Energy Research, onstage at Latitude Media’s Transition-AI 2026 conference this month. “I think that’s just a wild number.” However, the reality of how many projects actually come online may be just a fraction of that, given infrastructural and logistical hurdles. The key question that the energy industry has to answer is precisely how much of this potential load growth is real, and how much generation will be required to meet it. Estimates are all over the place… “This discrepancy is because the number of data centers that companies say they need on paper doesn’t necessarily account for the generation, grid infrastructure, and capital required to build them. It’s not just about money, but rather about the physical reality of getting steel in the ground. Kerr emphasized that even though net capacity additions on the grid in the last few years have been increasing, they’re “nowhere near” to meeting the needs of the supposed data center pipeline… “Transmission further complicates things… “One major reason is that demand for this equipment, and many of the other materials needed to build and power a data center, is outstripping supply, prompting long waits and high prices… “Ultimately the concern is not that demand projections are too high; it’s that deliverability simply isn’t possible at the scale that the tech industry is currently calling for.”
Upstream: Chinese offshore giant makes start on latest carbon capture project
Russell Searancke, 4/27/26
“China’s CNOOC Ltd has reportedly started the construction phase of an offshore carbon capture, utilisation and storage project at the Dongfang 1-1 gas field,” Upstream reports.
WLOX: 16 years after the BP oil spill: Lasting impact and ongoing recovery
Flora Dedeaux, 4/26/26
“This week marked 16 years since the BP oil spill tragedy, which killed 11 people, spewed 130 million gallons of oil into the Gulf and crippled the ecosystem,” WLOX reports. “Institute for Marine Mammal Studies (IMMS) President and CEO Dr. Moby Solangi joined Bill Snyder on WLOX News This Week with his insight into what happened then and where we are now. “It was a devastating issue,” Solangi told WLOX. “It was the worst man-made disaster in U.S. history... and the Gulf is a very critical habitat, for fisheries, for tourism, and I think this was a wake-up call that we could have really lost a jewel.” First, there was an explosion, which killed 11 people. Then, as time went on, it became more and more evident the extensive damage that occurred to the Gulf and coastal ecosystems… “Solangi told WLOX during the oil spill, we lost about 91 dolphins and 308 sea turtles, some of which were endangered. “People don’t realize the largest dolphin population in the United States is here in Mississippi, and this is a critical habitat for the Kemps Ridley, which is the most endangered sea turtle in the world,” Solangi said. According to Solangi, many offspring of animals that reproduced during the oil spill didn’t survive, even after the spill was technically over… “Recently, there was a much smaller but still impactful oil spill in the Louisiana marsh. Solangi told WLOX even a small spill can still upset the balance.”
OPINION
Washington Post: Why some of America’s greatest projects would be impossible today
Tom Cotton, a Republican, represents Arkansas in the U.S. Senate, 4/27/26
“...That starts with retooling the permitting process that approves — or, more often, holds up — major power generation, mining and other critical infrastructure and defense-related projects,” Tom Cotton writes for the Washington Post. “For years, a broken permitting system has choked the infrastructure growth that underwrites American strength. A maze of reviews, bureaucracy and litigation delays or blocks crucial projects. The SunZia transmission line, for instance, transports power throughout the southwestern U.S. Construction began in 2023 and is expected to finish this year, but the permitting process took nearly 17 years — almost six times as long. Such permitting delays are routine, and they come with a high price. According to a McKinsey estimate, up to $1.5 trillion in investment for projects is sitting idle, awaiting federal permit approval… “Even after agencies approve a project, activists and trial lawyers can still use the courts to block it. Beginning in 2017, lawsuits stonewalled construction for six years on the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which transports natural gas through Virginia and West Virginia. The project became so bogged down in litigation that Congress was forced to intervene to mandate the pipeline’s construction… “A nation that cannot build liquefied natural gas export terminals cannot supply troops stationed overseas… “The U.S.’s permitting process is not merely inconvenient. These delays undermine the country’s ability to build with speed and confidence… “To achieve these aims, the country needs straightforward, enforceable permitting standards and fast, efficient construction. First, major environmental laws — such as the Clean Water Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Historic Preservation Act and the Endangered Species Act — need to be streamlined and simplified. Second, a single agency should oversee permitting reviews with firm deadlines and a clear, coordinated decision process. Third, to avoid unnecessary time in court, there should be limits on duplicative lawsuits and shorter statutes of limitations.”