EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 4/30/26
PIPELINE NEWS
E&E News: Court clears path for MVP Southgate pipeline
Bloomberg: Pipeline Safety Programs Reauthorization Passed by Senate
E&E News: Bipartisan pipeline safety bill clears Senate
Capital and Main: With Promises of Money, Controversial Gas Pipeline on Navajo Nation Passes First Hurdle
The Center Square: North Dakota oil marks 75 years as pipeline remains central to output
Canada’s National Observer: Sunrise gas pipeline megaproject will drive up Canada’s emissions and faces ‘uncertain’ future
Williams Lake Tribune: B.C. prioritizes copper mine near Clearwater, pipeline through Cariboo
New Media: Natural gas pipeline expansion planned in Shawano, Oconto counties
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Reuters: Trump met with Chevron, other energy companies, on Tuesday
STATE UPDATES
Press release: Happy California Ocean Day to everyone except Donald Trump and his dirty oil enablers
Clean Air Task Force: Pennsylvania announces $267 million awards for industrial decarbonization projects that reduce emissions from steel, cement, food, and manufacturing
Canary Media: Local policies to get buildings off gas keep winning in court
KRQE: Economists say New Mexico’s revenue is volatile due to oil and gas changes
CBS San Francisco: Air regulators fine Valero Benicia refinery $3.25 million for multiple air quality violations
EXTRACTION
Canada’s National Observer: Carney government issues new oil and gas subsidies in spring mini-budget
Canada’s National Observer: Champagne pops cork for fresh support of ‘low-carbon’ LNG and carbon capture
E&E News: Countries agree to second conference on ditching fossil fuels
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
DeSmog: Revealed: British Ad Giant’s Billion-Dollar Greenwash of U.S. Oil Industry
OPINION
Waverly Newspapers: Can we get a deal on the CO2 Pipeline Bill?
Real Clear Energy: The Folly of Funding Direct Air Capture
The Advocate: Carbon capture and storage: Powering the future of Louisiana’s industrial economy
Sacramento Bee: New oil drilling in California would put land, water, lives at risk
PIPELINE NEWS
E&E News: Court clears path for MVP Southgate pipeline
Niina H. Farah, 4/30/26
“A federal appeals court denied environmental groups’ efforts Wednesday to pause construction of a natural gas project extending the Mountain Valley pipeline about 30 miles into North Carolina,” E&E News reports. “The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued two brief, nearly identical orders stating it would not freeze construction of the MVP Southgate pipeline while litigation over a pair of water quality permits is ongoing. The decisions, which clear the way for preliminary work to begin on the gas conduit, come just a day after a three-judge panel heard back-to-back arguments from conservation groups saying North Carolina and Virginia environmental regulators had improperly certified that the pipeline’s construction plans would comply with the states’ water quality standards. Appalachian Voices and the Sierra Club are leading the separate challenges to the Section 401 permits under the Clean Water Act. The state certifications are a necessary first step for the Army Corps of Engineers to issue a Section 404 permit to dredge waterways in the pipeline’s path.”
Bloomberg: Pipeline Safety Programs Reauthorization Passed by Senate
Lillianna Byington, 4/29/26
“Pipeline safety programs would be reauthorized for five years under legislation passed Wednesday by the Senate,” Bloomberg reports. “The bill (S. 2975), which passed unanimously, would renew programs overseen by the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration, part of the Transportation Department. “I applaud the Senate’s passage of the PIPELINE Safety Act and look forward to resolving differences with the House so we can get it to the President’s desk,” Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said in a statement after the vote. The panel approved the measure last year.”
E&E News: Bipartisan pipeline safety bill clears Senate
Manuel Quiñones, 4/30/26
“The Senate approved legislation Wednesday that would reauthorize the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s safety programs,” E&E News reports. “S. 2975, the “PIPELINE Safety Act,” would reauthorize PHMSA’s safety programs until 2030. The agency last received full authorization in 2020. The bill passed by unanimous consent. The legislation from Commerce, Science and Transportation Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas), ranking member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), and Sens. Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.) would authorize new studies and standards for hydrogen and carbon dioxide pipelines. “As the energy capital of the world, millions of jobs nationally and in Texas depend on the safe and reliable movement of energy,” Cruz said during a markup last year. “The ‘PIPELINE Safety Act’ … is an important, consensus-driven bill that directs PHMSA to address key pipeline safety challenges.”
Capital and Main: With Promises of Money, Controversial Gas Pipeline on Navajo Nation Passes First Hurdle
Jerry Redfern. 4/29/26
“A 234-mile stretch of pipeline that could carry natural gas or natural gas-hydrogen blends across the Navajo Nation is a step closer to reality,” Capital and Main reports. “The Resources and Development Committee of the Navajo Nation Council passed a resolution at the end of March to conditionally allow Tallgrass Energy — through its subsidiary GreenView Resources — to begin work on a section of a natural gas pipeline that will traverse the Navajo Nation, running from a spot near Farmington, New Mexico, to another spot roughly 40 miles north of Flagstaff, Arizona… “As tribes we don’t have the capital or the equity to have Indian tribes and Indian country be able to build out a project of this magnitude,” Jesus told Capital and Main. “At the end of the day, we have to partner up.” “...Plans initially called for the pipeline to transport hydrogen but shifted last year to natural gas or a blend of the two. The change was made without consulting the Navajo Nation, rankling many… “The fuel change also altered the project’s environmental underpinnings. The original plan would have transported hydrogen for clean energy and industrial projects. The plan now calls for natural gas or natural gas-hydrogen blends to be burned for electricity… “As of publication there were no publicly filed documents referencing either Tallgrass or GreenView with the regulatory agencies in New Mexico, Arizona or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the prime federal pipeline permitting agency… “The project could supply fuel for up to three new power plants in Phoenix and Yuma, Arizona. Steven Davidson, senior vice president for government and public affairs at Tallgrass, told Capital and Main the company is courting other customers “across the Southwest” as well… “Tó Nizhóní Ání has fought the pipeline at the local level for the past four years and in that time collected petitions from 16 chapter houses opposed to the plan, both along and outside the proposed route.”
The Center Square: North Dakota oil marks 75 years as pipeline remains central to output
Tom Joyce, 4/29/26
“...The industry generates over $4 billion in annual taxes and royalties. The money helps fund infrastructure, schools, and property tax relief. It also built the state’s $14 billion Legacy Fund. Pipelines move much of that oil,” Tom Joyce writes for The Center Square. “The Dakota Access Pipeline carries about half of North Dakota’s output, or roughly 700,000 barrels per day, to refineries in the Midwest and Gulf Coast… “Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, told The Center Square the pipeline plays a major role in the state and the country. “The Dakota Access Pipeline is a vital component of energy infrastructure, not only for North Dakota’s oil production and economy, but also for broader American energy security,” Ness told The Center Square… “Ness told The Center Square the benefits extend to Native American communities. “Both the State of North Dakota and the MHA Nation benefit through increased tax revenues and royalty payments driven by improved pricing for Bakken oil… Overall, the Dakota Access Pipeline has been a game-changing infrastructure, supporting tens of thousands of jobs in the oil and gas sector and strengthening the nation’s energy security,” Ness told The Center Square.”
Canada’s National Observer: Sunrise gas pipeline megaproject will drive up Canada’s emissions and faces ‘uncertain’ future
Darius Snieckus, 4/29/26
“The $4-billion Sunrise gas pipeline project set for construction in BC this summer could push Canada’s CO2 emissions sharply higher and poses a “much more uncertain” financial bet for Canada’s energy security and exports than the federal government is acknowledging, industry analysts and environmental groups said,” Canada’s National Observer reports. “...The gas transported through 139 kilometres of new pipeline would release about six million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere annually, equal to 1.3 million cars’ exhaust, according to calculations by climate advocacy group Stand.earth… “This is around the same impact as bringing 15 new gas-fired power plants online,” Sven Biggs, the group’s Canadian oil and gas program director, told Canada’s National Observer. “Right now, when nations across the globe are at the Santa Maria [Colombia energy transition conference] discussing phasing out fossil fuels, this is not a good look. That much pollution is not just bad for Canada’s climate commitments, it’s bad for the planet,” he added… “If countries start to question the reliability of LNG as a fuel or if it gets too expensive due to sustained conflicts and disruptions, they may deem it more prudent to switch to more predictable and locally controlled sources such as renewables,” Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis senior analyst Mark Kalegha told Canada’s National Observer. “In that scenario, demand for the fuel — and some throughput on the expanded system — may not fully meet current expectations,” he added. Canada’s drive to rapidly expand its fleet of LNG export terminals — there are currently six major projects in development as part of Ottawa’s goal to more than triple export capacity from 14 to 50 million tonnes a year — could boomerang and leave taxpayers exposed to paying for stranded assets and other costs.”
Williams Lake Tribune: B.C. prioritizes copper mine near Clearwater, pipeline through Cariboo
Josh Fischlin, 4/29/26
“The B.C. government has announced the Yellowhead Copper project and Sunrise Expansion project are now on their fast-track list,” the Williams Lake Tribune reports. “An April 29 press release from the Province says it has added 17 major projects to its priority list, including the Taseko copper mine slated to come to the Clearwater area and the Enbridge pipeline expansion set to run through the Cariboo… “The $4 billion natural gas pipeline expansion is set to provide up to 300 cubic feet per day of additional transportation capacity on B.C.’s major natural gas transmission system. The project, owned by Enbridge and 38 First Nations groups, is set to run from Chetwynd to Huntingdon/Sumas, passing through Cariboo-region hubs including Quesnel, Williams Lake and 100 Mile House.”
New Media: Natural gas pipeline expansion planned in Shawano, Oconto counties
Kevin Passon, 4/29/26
“Plans to expand a natural gas pipeline in Michigan and Wisconsin, including through Shawano and Oconto counties, is drawing a lot of interest from affected residents,” New Media reports. “TC Energy, which owns and operates the ANR Pipeline, held public open houses in Shawano and Lakewood in late April… “It is what it is, I guess,” Terry Ondik, a third-generation landowner of property between Gillett and Suring, told New Media… “Craig Summerfield, spokesperson for TC Energy, said the company will be working with landowners to secure 50-foot easements for the new 36-inch pipeline that will be built right next to the existing 30-inch pipeline… “The new pipeline would be 92 miles long, including 83 miles in Wisconsin and 9 miles in Michigan. TC Energy will also build a greenfield compressor station in the Town of Waukechon in Shawano County… “Plans for the $700 million expansion project were pre-filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and formal application will be made in the fourth quarter of this year.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Reuters: Trump met with Chevron, other energy companies, on Tuesday
Timothy Gardner, 4/29/26
“U.S. President Donald Trump met with top officials from Chevron and other energy companies on Tuesday to discuss a range of topics, including U.S. oil production, oil futures, shipping and natural gas, a White House official said on Wednesday,” Reuters reports. “Chevron’s spokesperson told Reuters its CEO Mike Wirth attended the gathering to discuss global oil markets, which have been roiled by the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Trump’s Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were also at the meeting, which was first reported by Axios. High oil prices are a risk for Trump’s fellow Republicans ahead of the midterm congressional elections in November. “The executives all spoke highly of the actions President Trump has taken to unleash American energy dominance, and said the President is doing all the right things right now,” the White House official told Reuters… “The administration could take additional steps including relaxing pollution regulations at refineries, in an attempt to lower fuel prices.”
STATE UPDATES
Press release: Happy California Ocean Day to everyone except Donald Trump and his dirty oil enablers
4/28/26
“Governor Gavin Newsom today proclaimed April 28 as California Ocean Day to honor the coastline that helps define California’s identity, economy, and way of life. California’s 1,100-mile coast connects California to the world, and the world to California. It is home to one of the most biodiverse marine ecosystems on Earth, a $51 billion economic engine, and is a living testament to what it means to fight for something worth protecting. California’s ocean is not for sale. Our coast is priceless to the hundreds of thousands of people who depend on it to make a living, and the countless wildlife that make it one of the most biodiverse marine ecosystems on Earth. While Donald Trump plots to hand our beaches to his fossil fuel industry donors, we’ll keep fighting to protect every inch of it… “California Ocean Day is a call to action, a reminder that our work is far from over. Climate change, offshore oil drilling, sea level rise, pollution, biodiversity loss, and habitat degradation pose real and urgent threats to everything California values. We owe it to ourselves, to our ancestors, to future generations, and to the land we call home to protect our oceans… “Donald Trump’s vision for California’s beaches? Oil rigs on the horizon, oil slicks in the surf, and dead wildlife washing ashore. Well blowouts, pipeline ruptures, and catastrophic spills are inherent risks of offshore oil and gas drilling, not isolated incidents. These disasters cost billions of dollars, take decades to remediate, and cause devastating impacts to marine ecosystems and coastal communities that depend on a clean and sustainable ocean environment for their livelihoods. These aren’t hypothetical risks. They’re California’s reality.”
Clean Air Task Force: Pennsylvania announces $267 million awards for industrial decarbonization projects that reduce emissions from steel, cement, food, and manufacturing
4/29/26
“The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection announced $267 million in RISE PA awards for 31 industrial decarbonization projects across the commonwealth. These projects utilize a range of technologies from carbon capture to electrification to on-site renewables to fugitive emission abatement, demonstrating the wide range of tools at our disposal to clean one of the most impactful and economically important sectors,” according to Clean Air Task Force. “Pennsylvania is a longstanding energy leader, and by tackling the industrial sector – responsible for more than 30% of statewide emissions – today’s announcement proves climate progress and energy leadership go hand in hand,” said John Carlson, Senior Northeast Regional Policy Manager at Clean Air Task Force (CATF).”
Canary Media: Local policies to get buildings off gas keep winning in court
Alison F. Takemura, 4/29/26
“Policies to transition buildings off polluting fossil gas are holding up in federal courts across the U.S. That’s a big win for local governments looking to spur electrification, given that these types of regulations suffered a major setback just a few years ago,” Canary Media reports. “In 2023, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Berkeley, California’s pioneering ban on gas hookups in new buildings… “There is a clear consensus among the courts that have ruled on the issue that the 9th Circuit’s decision in [California Restaurant Association] v. Berkeley was wrong,” Carpenter-Gold told Canary. Last month, U.S. district court judges handed down victories to local jurisdictions in three cases — two in Maryland and one in Washington, D.C. The rulings “have sent a clear message: states and local governments can be confident to move forward with the range of decarbonization and electrification programs,” Tim Oberleiton, senior attorney for the nonprofit environmental law group Earthjustice, told Canary… “Industry opponents paint local electrification policies as anti-consumer choice. But these are public health regulations meant to protect homebuyers and renters from appliance decisions often made by builders and landlords, Carpenter-Gold told Canary.”
KRQE: Economists say New Mexico’s revenue is volatile due to oil and gas changes
Jessica Barron, 4/28/26
“Economists told state lawmakers today that surging gas prices are adding a boost to the New Mexico economy. However, they say the market remains volatile, and the situation may see a dramatic shift,” KRQE reports. “Corporate income taxes are one of if not the most volatile revenue source in the general fund. And we’ve seen this revenue jump and plummet $800 million in either direction at the drop of a hat,” said Ismael Torres, Chief Economist for the Legislative Finance Committee. Economists are advising lawmakers to start taking steps to prepare for any potential shifts in the economy. The recent war in Iran and the increase in oil prices has helped bring in more money to the state. But because of the state’s dependency on the oil and gas industry, they say New Mexico is one of the top five states for revenue volatility. “$96 a barrel oil, compare that with our expectation for $58 a barrel for this fiscal year and we think that if these prices stay this high through the end of the fiscal year that could mean something on the order of $850 million or more. $850 Million or more to the state this fiscal year alone,” said Torres. Prior to the spike in oil prices, economists say the state was expected to lose money… “Experts told KRQE uncertainty in the oil and gas industry makes it hard to project New Mexico’s economic outlook.”
CBS San Francisco: Air regulators fine Valero Benicia refinery $3.25 million for multiple air quality violations
Carlos E. Castañeda, 4/28/26
“The Valero refinery in Benicia was issued fines totaling $3.25 million for multiple air quality violations and ongoing compliance issues, air regulators announced Tuesday,” CBS San Francisco reports. “The Bay Area Air District said in a press release that the violations stemmed from a series of operational and equipment-related incidents at the refinery over multiple years that resulted in excess emissions and community complaints. The 118 violations cited included exceeding particulate matter levels and a release of butane, along with failing to have a monitoring plan to meet emission tracking rules, the Air District said.. “Valero is still producing gasoline at the refinery from existing inventory; the site will becoming a hub for importing gasoline and other refined products, along with possible low-carbon energy projects, after processing operations cease. The Air District said it was also requiring Valero to take corrective actions such as implementing a fenceline montoring plan, public access to real-time and historical data, and quarterly reports on pollutant concentrations and quality checks.”
EXTRACTION
Canada’s National Observer: Carney government issues new oil and gas subsidies in spring mini-budget
Natasha Bulowski, Darius Snieckus, 4/28/26
“The Canadian government has unveiled two new oil and gas subsidies as part of its Spring Economic Update, including a carbon capture tax credit that aims to boost production from the Alberta oil patch,” Canada’s National Observer reports. “...Last fall, Prime Minister Mark Carney promised the province that the federal government would make changes to an investment tax credit for carbon capture projects to allow companies to inject captured CO2 into oil wells to drive more production. Originally, enhanced oil recovery was not eligible under the tax credit. The idea is that by allowing companies to use captured CO2 to produce more oil, it will encourage fossil fuel companies to invest in carbon capture. A massive carbon capture project in Alberta’s oilsands is a precondition to building a new oil pipeline… “Emissions could yet be made worse by building CCS facilities as many oilsands sites will need new gas plants in order to generate enough steam to capture the carbon from existing operations. Under the changed tax credit, projects that do enhanced oil recovery will receive 25 per cent credit for capture technology and 18.75 per cent for transportation, storage and use equipment. “The tax credit is worth half as much if you do enhanced oil recovery (EOR), but the point is that what was nominally a climate policy, which was about reducing emissions from the oil and gas industry, may now be directly subsidizing the extraction of oil and gas with a net climate cost,” Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood, senior researcher at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, told Canada’s National Observer. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, in response to a question from Canada’s National Observer, insisted the tax credit will result in “storing more carbon.” This may be technically true, but the captured CO2 is immediately used to pressurize oil or gas reservoirs to squeeze more production out of the wells, which leads to more greenhouse gas emissions.”
Canada’s National Observer: Champagne pops cork for fresh support of ‘low-carbon’ LNG and carbon capture
Darius Snieckus, 4/30/26
“Minister of Finance François-Philippe Champagne said Tuesday that the Liberal government is rolling over plans to have liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports and oil output-boosting carbon capture and storage projects lead the country’s 2050 net-zero strategy — a call that has drawn sharp criticism from the climate and cleantech sectors,” Canada’s National Observer reports. “Along with lowered tax rates for “low-carbon” LNG facilities, his party’s Spring Economic Update reclassified oil and gas projects using carbon capture to boost production as eligible for a 25 per cent investment tax credit. These measures, said Champagne, reflected that Ottawa was “very committed” to the legally binding emissions reductions pledges agreed as part of the 2015 Paris Agreement, he said. “Canada is one of the rare countries in the world which can produce [energy] sustainably and responsibly,” he told Canada’s National Observer… “The expanded carbon capture tax credit for enhanced oil recovery, he said, would ensure “more carbon was stored” during oil and gas production in Canada. While technically correct, CO2 captured is immediately used to pressurize oil and gas reservoirs to boost production, ultimately leading to further greenhouse gas emissions. Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood, senior researcher at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, told Canada’s National Observer that though this tax credit is “nominally a climate policy” intended to reduce emissions from the oil and gas industry, “it may now be directly subsidizing the extraction of oil and gas with a net climate cost.” Champagne, in response to a question from Canada’s National Observer, insisted the tax credit will result in “storing more carbon.” “...Caroline Brouillette, executive director of Climate Action Network Canada, told Canada’s National Observer the investment tax incentives for so-called enhanced oil recovery and LNG “feel like a big miss for the moment we are in.”
E&E News: Countries agree to second conference on ditching fossil fuels
Sara Schonhardt, 4/30/26
“This week’s first-of-a-kind summit to shift away from fossil fuels won’t be the last,” E&E News reports. “Officials from nearly 60 nations have gathered here for two days to discuss how — not whether — to wind down their dependence on oil, gas and coal. Now Colombia and the Netherlands will pass the baton to Ireland and Tuvalu to carry on what many officials hope sets the foundation for a new form of multilateral cooperation. “We’ve met over the last couple of days at a moment when the need to transition away from fossil fuels is no longer a distant objective, but an immediate and defining challenge of our time,” Philip Nugent, Ireland’s director general of the environment, said during the closing plenary. “What we’ve seen over these last days is not only a recognition of that urgency, but an openness, a positivity and a willingness to act on it together.” The decision to host the conference in the Pacific Island nation of Tuvalu sends a powerful signal to the world, he added.”
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
DeSmog: Revealed: British Ad Giant’s Billion-Dollar Greenwash of U.S. Oil Industry
TJ Jordan, 4/29/26
“British advertising conglomerate WPP has helped oil companies ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, and BP spend an estimated $1 billion on ads in the United States since the 2015 Paris Agreement to tackle climate change, a new report shows,” DeSmog reports. “The figure is nearly twice the respective amounts linked to U.S. rivals Omnicom and Interpublic Group (IPG), which merged in November. London-based WPP was the leading advertising group serving America’s oil industry over the past decade, according to the analysis by DeSmog. During this period, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, and BP had employed “deceptive and misleading” communications strategies designed to thwart policies to tackle the climate crisis by curbing the use of fossil fuels, a congressional investigation concluded in April 2024. WPP’s services — from developing ideas for ads and designing logos, to securing ad space and analysing target audiences — were “crucial” to maintaining the oil industry’s public image, current and former WPP employees said. WPP is estimated to have earned millions of dollars a year from this work. “The UK prides itself on climate leadership, and yet WPP, the supposed jewel of the British advertising industry, is facilitating dangerously misleading advertising in the U.S.,” Victoria Harvey, holder of a PhD in the ad industry’s response to the climate crisis from the University of East Anglia, who reviewed DeSmog’s methodology, told DeSmog. “By creatively articulating the deception from big oil and gas, WPP has set the climate agenda back and continues to do so.” ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, and BP spent an estimated combined total of $1.5 billion on buying U.S. ad space such as TV slots and social media feeds since the Paris Agreement, according to the analysis. That’s roughly equivalent to running ads on every billboard in New York’s advertising hotspot Times Square every day for the last decade.”
OPINION
Waverly Newspapers: Can we get a deal on the CO2 Pipeline Bill?
State Rep. Sandy Salmon is a Janesville Republican who represents Iowa Senate District 29, which includes Bremer, Butler and Chickasaw Counties, as well as part of Floyd County, 4/29/26
“I am presenting an amendment to the platform at the 2nd District GOP convention. Eleven of us in the Senate added a compromise amendment to the CO2 pipeline bill dealing with eminent domain. It takes some provisions of the Senate Leader’s bill SF 2067 and the ban on eminent domain for CO2 pipelines (from the original HF 2104) plus a few new ones that improve the process and puts them together. The hope is that we can find agreement on this long-standing and contentious issue,” Sandy Salmon writes for Waverly Newspapers. “Here are the provisions: 1) Ban on eminent domain for CO2 pipelines. 2) The pipeline company can search for any willing landowner outside of the original IUC-approved route to sign an easement in what is called the voluntary easement corridor… 6) A pipeline company cannot purchase an easement within 2 miles of the limits of a city without the city’s approval. 7) Certain factors that are listed in law must be considered by the IUC in the final order. A new one is the inconvenience or injury that may result to property owners or the public as a result of the project… 8) Permit applications that have obtained 100% voluntary easements shall have their hearing date prioritized… 12) The landowner can choose to not communicate with the pipeline company by contacting them and the IUC. Then the pipeline company cannot communicate with the landowner at all except through mail. The landowner can change his mind.”
Real Clear Energy: The Folly of Funding Direct Air Capture
Jonathan Lesser is a Senior Fellow with the National Center for Energy Analytics, 4/28/26
“When it comes to government subsidies, the worst ideas are often immune to logic, living on like Dracula regardless of political party. One such subsidy is direct air capture (DAC)—literally vacuuming thin air to remove carbon dioxide, which can then be sequestered underground or, ironically, used for enhanced oil recovery,” Jonathan Lesser writes for Real Clear Energy. “The Dept. of Energy just announced it will restore $1.2 billion of funding to build DAC facilities, primarily for two projects: Occidental Petroleum’s Stratos Plant, located in west Texas and slated to begin operations sometime this quarter, and Heirloom’s Project Cyprus, in southwest Louisiana. Each is supposed to remove one million metric tons of CO2 annually. For context, one million tons is equivalent to 15 minutes of the 35 billion tons of global emissions in 2024. Moreover, on top of restoring the subsidies for DAC facilities, last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act preserved the Biden Administration’s DAC tax credits: $180 per metric ton for CO2 that is permanently sequestered, and $135 if the CO2 is reused, which the Stratos Plant will do for enhancing oil recovery… “A U.S. DOE report issued at the end of the Biden Administration suggested that the U.S. needs to extract as much as two billion metric tons of CO2 annually. Extracting that with DAC would require almost 60% of today’s total U.S. electricity generation. Burning natural gas at DAC facilities would be self-defeating due to the CO2 it emits. So would using power generated from natural gas and coal plants, which supply the majority of U.S. electricity… “Yet, even extracting two billion metric tons annually, an amount one thousand times larger than the resurrected boondoggles, would have a negligible impact on atmospheric CO2, reducing it by an amount too small to be measured. And, based on the climate models used to justify the scheme, the estimated effect on world temperature would be a reduction of 0.003 °C, a similarly negligible and unmeasurable amount, except in terms of billions of dollars squandered. Finally, there are the risks of sequestration itself, as there is no guarantee that CO2 stored underground will not escape… “Regardless of whether society needs to reduce CO2 emissions, DAC is an astonishingly expensive and unrealistic approach. The Trump Administration has pledged to reduce wasteful spending. Eliminating DAC subsidies ought to be high on the list of cuts.”
The Advocate: Carbon capture and storage: Powering the future of Louisiana’s industrial economy
This story is brought to you by ExxonMobil, 4/29/26
“What do the oil and gas, chemical, agribusiness, steel, and information technology sectors have in common? Each play a part in Louisiana’s diversified industrial economy – and they are all exploring how carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology can support long-term, sustainable operations,” ExxonMobil writes for The Advocate. “...ExxonMobil has been part of Louisiana’s energy evolution for 115 years and continues to build upon the state’s strong industrial base with CCS, as it taps into the next generation of investment… “CCS has already attracted new industrial investments that will inject billions of dollars into our state… “LSU-CES determined that building out CCS infrastructure to its full potential in Louisiana, including the CO2 wells and pipelines needed to service existing and announced projects, would, over the 7-year construction period alone, generate: 2,000 jobs per year; $1.8 billion to Gross State Product (GSP) annually; $1 billion in labor income annually… “According to the LSU-CES study, business is not only booming for local vendors and contractors; CCS projects create benefits for local landowners as well. The study estimates that the proposed CCS buildout would provide an estimated $230 million in payments to landowners and generate millions in tax revenue for Louisiana parishes – including in rural parishes that have not previously had opportunities to directly benefit from Louisiana’s industrial sector. Mutually beneficial lease agreements between landowners and oil and gas companies are not new to Louisianians, and CCS pore space agreements operate similarly. Landowners voluntarily enter into agreements to allow the secure storage of carbon dioxide deep underground, while continuing to use their land on the surface. To date, ExxonMobil has signed carbon sequestration or CO2 pipeline agreements with more than 1,500 landowners across Louisiana.”
Sacramento Bee: New oil drilling in California would put land, water, lives at risk
Keegan Bowers is a graduating physician at the Kaiser Permanente Oakland Pediatric Residency Program, completing a Master’s in Public Health at UC Berkeley, concentrating on environmental health policy, 4/29/26
“The Golden State” motto has come to symbolize California’s stunning natural landscape and bright future, which is exactly where Trump plans to plant his poison-producing, “drill baby, drill” oil agenda,” Keegan Bowers writes for the Sacramento Bee. “The public comment period for the environmental impact statements of the Bureau of Land Management’s two Oil and Gas Leasing and Development projects closed March 13, and is currently under review by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Together, these projects propose leasing over 1.5 million acres of public land in California’s Bakersfield and Central Coast Field Offices to oil and gas companies for drilling. This is expected to result in as many as 77 new oil projects over the next 20 years, impacting lands near national parks and surrounding communities. The Bureau of Land Management leasing our shared land to oil and gas companies not only robs generations of Californians of natural beauty, it also poses large-scale health risks. Everyone loathes an oil spill… “This isn’t an isolated incident: This winter, California averaged more than 70 oil spills on land per month… “The Bureau of Land Management proposal authorizes oil wells to circumvent state laws that prohibit new drilling near homes, schools and parks. Children, especially those from low-income, Black and Latinx communities, are the most vulnerable to — and burdened by — toxic air exposures while their small bodies and lungs are developing. In the East Bay, where I practice, many sources of air pollution, including oil wells near Concord, contribute to nearly double the rates of asthma diagnoses and attacks compared to the rest of California… “We cannot allow the current administration to rob future generations of Californians of the clean air and water we have worked so hard to protect. Now is the time for Californians to stand in solidarity to protect our precious lands and vulnerable neighbors by urging Newsom to stop Trump’s plans to pillage our public lands and pollute our skies, hills and valleys. We cannot allow our health to be sacrificed for oil industry interests.”