EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 5/16/22
PIPELINE NEWS
Williston Herald: Corps pauses release of court-ordered environmental study draft for Dakota Access pipeline
HuffPost: How A Major Tar Sands Pipeline Project Threatens Indigenous Land Rights
Windsor Star: Three months after axe attack on Coastal GasLink work camp, RCMP has not announced any leads in case
The Hawk Eye: Big River Resources selects Navigator CO2 for carbon capture.
Wall Street Journal: Plains All American to Settle Class-Action Lawsuit Over 2015 California Oil Pipeline Spill
WASHINGTON UPDATES
STATE UPDATES
Grist: Ohio residents fight to get radioactive oil and gas waste off their roads
Santa Maria Times: Exxon Mobil Corp. files suit against county supervisors over denial of oil trucking permit
EXTRACTION
Financial Times: US shale companies enjoy ‘tsunami of cash’ on high oil prices
Globe and Mail: Alberta government gets flood of applications to use underground caverns for carbon capture
Politico: GROUP WARNS OF REFINERY EMISSIONS
CLIMATE FINANCE
Nexus Media: Cooking The Books, Cooking The Planet
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
Shaw News: Enbridge donates to Kishwaukee College Foundation
OPINION
Bismarck Tribune: Editorial: Don’t force pipeline on landowners
Troy Media: Carbon capture an opportunity for Canada to lead the world
Motley Fool: Is Suncor Going the Wrong Way With Its Latest Bold Decision?
PIPELINE NEWS
Williston Herald: Corps pauses release of court-ordered environmental study draft for Dakota Access pipeline
Renée Jean, 5/15/22
“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has paused the release of the draft Environmental Impact Statement for the easement supporting the Dakota Access Pipeline crossing at Lake Oahe. The Corps had planned to release the draft last month for public comment,” the Williston Herald reports. “The Corps website for Dakota Access says the pause is occurring at the request of Asst. Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, Michael Connor. He wants more time to engage with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to understand the concerns expressed in their letter dated Jan. 20, 2022, formally withdrawing as a cooperating agency on the EIS. At the time, the tribe cited a lack of transparency in the EIS process, as well as a number of safety concerns they believe aren’t being addressed, including the pipeline operator's safety record and Energy Transfer's spill record on other pipelines that cross High Consequence Areas. Tribal Chairperson Janet Alkire said in a recent press release that Tribal representatives met with Connor on April 28 to discuss their concerns, and to again urge the Corps to shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline. “Standing Rock has requested a number of basic documents and plans, such as the oil spill response plan for the Missouri River,” she said. “We have received no information whatsoever, and the failure to cooperate with our Tribe and our emergency managers is continuing.” Alkire urged the Corps to take into consideration a 2021 Notice of Violation issued by federal regulators against the pipeline’s parent company Energy Transfer, which outlined a number of probably safety violations beginning in Stanley, North Dakota, and continuing to the east state line of South Dakota… “The tribe also believes that Energy Transfer’s spill history with other pipelines should be considered, such as Energy Transfer’s Mariner and Revolution pipelines, which the tribe said are subject to 57 operate criminal charges in Pennsylvania, and environmental violations at the Rover pipeline in Ohio, resulting in fines totaling $40 million… “Alkire and Holmstrom renewed calls to shut Dakota Access pipeline down while its Environmental Impact Statement is prepared, particularly since its federal easement was vacated in 2020. The judge in the case, James Boasberg, left it up to the Corps whether to shut the pipeline down while the EIS proceeds. The Corps declined to shut the pipeline down.”
HuffPost: How A Major Tar Sands Pipeline Project Threatens Indigenous Land Rights
Will Parrish, 5/15/22
“Near the banks of the North Thompson River in British Columbia, about 400 miles northeast of Vancouver, the Tiny House Warriors village announces itself with a hand-painted sign attached to wooden stakes: “Unceded Secwepemc Territory,” HuffPost reports. “As much as the Tiny House Warriors village has been a hub for maintaining Indigenous culture, it has also been a hub of resistance. The homes sit on a road alongside a construction site related to a massive expansion of the federally owned Trans Mountain Pipeline, a 1,150-km (710-mile) pipeline that carries 300,000 barrels of tar sands diluted bitumen every day from Alberta through British Columbia to an endpoint on the Canadian coast outside Vancouver… “Opponents of tar sands development, however, view it as a fulcrum for the rapidly accelerating climate crisis… “For now, the Trans Mountain expansion is the only major tar sands pipeline battle currently at hand. The Canadian government has gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure its completion… “But the project has run up against determined opposition from First Nations groups and environmentalists, as well as municipalities, student groups, and some labor groups and politicians. Since the project’s proposal in 2013, protesters have staged dozens of actions to block construction along the pipeline’s route, resulting in over 300 arrests. Well over a dozen legal challenges have been mounted since the project was first announced, including by numerous First Nations, like the Tsleil-Waututh Nation… “By establishing a small village in the project’s path, the Tiny House Warriors have staked claim to land they argue belongs to their people… “However, the government and pipeline companies have fiercely opposed Indigenous land claims in court. In particular, they’ve used court-ordered injunctions to force First Nations peoples off their land through police enforcement, according to researchers at the Yellowhead Institute, a First Nations-led think tank at Ryerson University. These injunctions, which can prevent protesters from blocking pipeline construction and other commercial activities such as logging and mining, have enabled the government and energy companies to make an end run around Indigenous land claims. This dynamic is playing out vividly at the Tiny House Warriors village. “Basically everything about the legal system is skewed against Native people,” Pam Palmater, an Indigenous Mi’kmaq lawyer, Ryerson University professor, and activist, told HuffPost. “Federal and provincial governments and even corporations use the justice system, they weaponize it against First Nations, land defenders, Indigenous people in a multitude of ways.”
Windsor Star: Three months after axe attack on Coastal GasLink work camp, RCMP has not announced any leads in case
Tristin Hopper, 5/16/22
“Nearly three months after masked, axe-wielding assailants attacked a B.C. work camp in the dead of night, a team of more than 40 RCMP investigators have yet to announce any leads into the identities, funding or methods of those responsible,” the Windsor Star reports. “On Feb. 17, between 20 and 40 masked attackers carrying torches, flare guns and axes swarmed a Coastal GasLink work camp near Houston, B.C., doing several million dollars in damage. In the wake of the attack, a statement by B.C. Premier John Horgan called it a “violent and criminal act” and promised a “thorough investigation to identify and apprehend those responsible.” Within hours, the B.C. RCMP announced they had earmarked 40 investigators for the case. Just last week, another violent incident — this time in Montreal — appeared to be linked to the Coastal GasLink project. A Jaguar and Land Rover parked in the driveway of RBC executive Michael Fortier were both lit on fire. Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal are currently investigating the arson’s connection to a string of recent vandalism incidents targeting the homes of RBC executives, ostensibly due to the bank’s financing of the Coastal GasLink project… “On Friday, an RCMP spokesperson told the National Post there were “no updates” on the investigation.”
The Hawk Eye: Big River Resources selects Navigator CO2 for carbon capture.
Michaele Niehaus, 5/16/22
“Des Moines County is set to be a part of Navigator's Heartland Greenway carbon capture and sequestration system, and with it will come 9.31 miles of pipeline,” The Hawk Eye reports. “The company announced this week that it entered a 20-year agreement with Big River Resources, which has ethanol plants in West Burlington and Dyersville in Iowa, as well as one in Galva, Illinois… “Navigator was one of three carbon sequestration companies vying for a contract with Big River. The other two were Midwest-based Summit Carbon Solutions and Canada-based Wolf Midstream… “Despite its removal of CO2 from the atmosphere, carbon capture has drawn skepticism from Iowa residents and property owners whose land falls in the pipeline corridor and would be subject to eminent domain, as well as from governing boards concerned over lack of EMS services in rural areas. As of noon Friday, about 135 objections and nearly a dozen opposition letters have been filed with the Iowa Utilities Board in relation to Navigator's pipeline… "The Poweshiek County Board of Supervisors have heard from many of the landowners who live in the proposed Navigator Pipeline area and some who live in small towns that would be affected," the letter states. "Each and every one is against the pipeline going thru (sic) their land and under their rivers." The board further urged the IUB to deny Navigator's hazardous liquid pipeline permit due to lack of fire and ambulance services in the event of a pipeline leak… “The Poweshiek County Board of Supervisors also argued that the pipeline will damage farm ground and tile, thus lowering the affected land's Corn Suitability Rating, as well as farmers' income, and loss of availability of land, some of which has been in families for generations, upon which landowners can build… “Whether eminent domain should be used for carbon pipelines was brought up during a recent discussion with Iowa Secretary of Agriculture candidate John Norwood, who serves on the County Real Estate Condemnation Commission, which entails review of eminent domain. "I don't think it qualifies as public use," Norwood told The Hawk Eye Wednesday. "It's not a utility, and it's not a public right-of-way, so it doesn't meet the definition of a use that qualifies for eminent domain." “...Brothers-in-law Ron Lair and Jerry Landrum, who own neighboring properties south of Danville, the pipeline will be an unwelcome addition to their land. "I ain't a big fan of the pipelines. Not too many of us are," Landrum told the Hawk Eye. "They're going to go within 500 yards of my house."
Wall Street Journal: Plains All American to Settle Class-Action Lawsuit Over 2015 California Oil Pipeline Spill
Ginger Adams Otis, 5/15/22
“The owner of an oil pipeline that caused a 4-mile-long spill along a California beach in 2015 has agreed to pay $230 million to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by fishermen and property owners, according to attorneys and court documents,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “Plains All American Pipeline LP will pay $184 million to those affected within the fishing industry and $46 million to property owners, according to court documents, if the settlement reached Friday is approved by a federal court. The Houston-based company didn’t admit liability in the agreement, which if approved would cap seven years of litigation. A hearing on the pending settlement is scheduled for June 10… “The 2015 pipeline rupture spilled nearly 3,000 barrels of oil into the Pacific Ocean and polluted a long stretch of a Santa Barbara County beach… “This settlement should serve as a reminder that pollution just can’t be a cost of doing business, and that corporations will be held accountable for environmental damage they cause,” plaintiff attorney Matthew Preusch, of Keller Rohrback, said in a statement.
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Does a crackdown on Russian gas help or hurt the climate?
MIKE SORAGHAN, CARLOS ANCHONDO, 5/13/22
“President Joe Biden’s efforts to ramp up U.S. natural gas exports have sparked a debate over whether the administration is betraying its climate goals or advancing them in a new way,” E&E News reports. “The debate comes as the Western world scrambles to wean itself from the oil and gas supplies that have funded Russia's invasion and bombardment of Ukraine. Before the war, which began in late February, Europe depended on Russia for about a quarter of its oil and more than a third of its natural gas. Now, Europe is looking for another source of energy. The oil and gas industry, along with some climate watchers, argues that this presents an opportunity: U.S. natural gas can be used to phase out its dirtier Russian counterpart. "There’s a huge climate benefit," Paul Bledsoe, a strategic adviser with the Progressive Policy Institute and a former Clinton administration climate official, told E&E. "It's critical for us to be able to point out that U.S. gas is the cleanest in the world."
Politico: TACKLING PRICE GOUGING
Matthew Choi, 5/13/22
“Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), along with Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), are expanding the scope of Democrats’ price gouging crusade,” Politico reports. “They introduced a bill Thursday that would authorize the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general to enforce a federal ban on “unconscionably excessive price increases” during abnormal market disruptions. Though Democrats have recently discussed price gouging in the context of high gasoline prices, the Price Gouging Prevention Act would cover all goods along the supply chain. It would also appropriate $1 billion for FTC.”
STATE UPDATES
Grist: Ohio residents fight to get radioactive oil and gas waste off their roads
Diana Kruzman, 5/13/22
“Joe Mosyjowski has watched a decade-long boom in oil and gas drilling unfold in the region surrounding his 50-acre farm in northeast Ohio. Mosyjowski, a 71-year-old retired engineer who once spent his days designing stormwater infrastructure, was surprised to learn that a byproduct of all that drilling was being spread on roads and streets near his property, which contains a football field-sized pond that he swims in every summer. Mosyjowski grew increasingly alarmed as he read that the product, a salty brine used to keep roads ice-free, can be radioactive,” Grist reports. “I don’t want this stuff spread anywhere near the roadways,” Mosyjowski told Grist in a phone call from his home in Portage County, a rural area about an hour south of Cleveland. “I don’t want it near my water, because the water runs into my pond. I just want to keep things clean.” At least 13 states — including Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan — allow oil and gas wastewater to be put to “beneficial use,” a category that includes road de-icing, dust suppression, and maintenance. This is an advantageous arrangement for oil and gas companies, because it’s cheaper to give brine to local governments for free rather than paying to dispose of waste in a landfill. Cash-strapped towns and counties, meanwhile, are reluctant to look a gift horse in the mouth — to the detriment of their residents’ health, according to Cheryl Johncox, an organizer with the Sierra Club and member of the Ohio Brine Task Force, a coalition of activists, scientists, and concerned residents. “This is a way for the industry to push off their problems onto regular people and not be held accountable,” Johncox told Grist… “But once these substances enter the environment, they don’t go away. When the roads dry, dust containing lead and radium blows into the air people breathe, while excess brine leaches into the soil and runs off into nearby waterways. Radium is of particular concern because it is “bone-seeking,” meaning it collects in bone cells; long-term radium exposure can increase the risk of developing bone or lung cancer. For this reason, according to Johncox, the brine “has no place being spread in our environment, on our roadways, near homes.”
Santa Maria Times: Exxon Mobil Corp. files suit against county supervisors over denial of oil trucking permit
Mike Hodgson, 5/12/22
“Exxon Mobil Corp. filed a petition Wednesday asking a federal court to overturn the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors’ denial of a temporary oil trucking permit, order a reconsideration of the permit and award compensation, with interest, for damages caused by the decision,” the Santa Maria Times reports. “...It claims the supervisors’ March 8 denial of the permit was “an arbitrary, capricious and unlawful prejudicial abuse” of discretion, violates the U.S. and California constitutions and impairs ExxonMobil’s vested right to restart and operate its Santa Ynez Unit. The petition says the board rejected the permit application for reasons unrelated to the merits of the project. “Rather than focus on the merits of the project, however, the board improperly treated the consideration of the project as a referendum on offshore production as well as the transportation and use of crude oil in the county of Santa Barbara,” the petition alleges. “But that was not the issue before it,” the petition continues. “The only question before the board was whether the project complies with federal, state and local law. It does.” “...Supervisors voting with the majority said the benefits of hundreds of jobs, overall economic impact and more than $1 million in tax revenue to the county did not outweigh the risks of truck crashes and the impacts of oil spills on the environment and hospitality industry.”
EXTRACTION
Financial Times: US shale companies enjoy ‘tsunami of cash’ on high oil prices
Derek Brower, 5/16/22
“America’s shale oil companies are enjoying a cash bonanza, as soaring oil prices and months of capital restraint transform the fortunes and balance sheets of a sector once notorious for debt-fuelled drilling sprees,” the Financial Times reports. “Operators will rake in about $180bn of free cash flow — operating income minus capital and maintenance outflows — this year at current crude prices, according to research company Rystad Energy. That compares to huge losses amassed during a decade of fast supply growth that crashed to a halt just before the pandemic. And the amount of cash generated by operators this year will be greater than the total earned over the past 20 years, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights. “It’s a tsunami of cash,” Raoul LeBlanc, head of S&P’s North American oil and gas division, told FT. “The companies have almost finished the balance sheet repair.” “...Shale executives insist they will stick with plans to keep capital spending — and drilling — in check, instead spending their windfall on dividends, debt repayment and share buybacks. “What’s different today than the past . . . is that we are allocating capital in a way that maximises returns to shareholders, rather than maximising [production] growth,” Nick Dell’Osso, chief executive of Chesapeake Energy, which filed for Chapter 11 protection in mid-2020 under the weight of debts amassed during years of rampant drilling, told FT… “There are lots of headwinds to increasing production worldwide,” Occidental Petroleum chief executive Vicki Hollub told analysts last week. “We can’t destroy value and it’s almost value destruction if you try to accelerate anything now.” “...Analysts tell FT listed shale producers are now earning so much cash — and equity valuations remain so discounted after years of investor flight — that share buybacks could eventually take some of them private.
Globe and Mail: Alberta government gets flood of applications to use underground caverns for carbon capture
EMMA GRANEY, 5/16/22
“The Alberta government is sorting through more than 40 applications to use underground caverns across the province for carbon capture, utilization and storage hubs,” the Globe and Mail reports. “The flood of applications underscores the optimism in the province for the emissions-reducing technology. While CCUS can be used in various major industrial sectors – such as cement, steel and fertilizer production – the oil and gas sector sees it as a key part of reducing its environmental footprint by capturing carbon-dioxide emissions and forcing them deep into the ground and out of the atmosphere… “Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage told The Globe and Mail that the latest call for CCUS hub proposals covers pore space right across the province, from the oil sands in the far north to southeastern Alberta… “Suncor Energy Inc. chief executive Mark Little told The Globe recently that the group, of which the oil company is a part, submitted an application for pore space earlier this month. “I think everybody’s a little anxious that 2030 is not a long ways away for us to build an entire carbon trunk system, put in C02 recovery technologies and those sorts of things. It just takes time,” Mr. Little told the Mail. “I don’t think there’s really any big issue here with the province or the feds. I think we’re working very co-operatively together to solve maybe one of the greatest problems in the world right now, which is: How do you provide energy security and deal with climate at the same time? It’s anything but trivial.” “Mr. MacDonald predicts that billions of dollars will be spent on CCUS in Alberta, and fully expects the latest round of funding to be oversubscribed given the surge in global interest in the technology.”
Politico: GROUP WARNS OF REFINERY EMISSIONS
Matthew Choi, 5/13/22
“A dozen U.S. oil refineries in 2021 emitted the carcinogen benzene at rates exceeding EPA's "action level" of 9 micrograms, according to a report from Environmental Integrity Project based on fenceline monitoring,” Politico reports. “Refinery owners may have already acted to correct high emissions from last year, but EIP Executive Director Eric Schaeffer says that’s not enough. “EPA and the oil refining industry really need to do more to crack down … because the fenceline concentrations at too many refineries are high enough to pose a potential threat to neighborhoods that are close by.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
Nexus Media: Cooking The Books, Cooking The Planet
5/11/22
“Oil and gas companies are increasingly using mergers and acquisitions to offload emissions from their own balance sheets as a way to meet corporate climate targets without actually reducing emissions, according to a report released Tuesday by the Environmental Defense Fund,” Nexus Media reports. “Examining mergers and acquisitions between 2017 and 2021, EDF found 155 deals totaling $84.6 billion that resulted in assets moving away from companies with net-zero pledges, and 211 deals worth $115.6 billion from companies with stated goals to reduce methane emissions. In total, deals involving “reduced-environmental-commitment transfers” rose from 10% in 2018 to 15% in 2021. For example, weekly flaring at the Umuechem oil field in Nigeria went from a max of 2 million cubic feet of flaring climate warming methane per week in 2020, to a near-overnight jump to 10 million after it was sold to a private equity firm, a 700 percent increase. “You can move your assets to another company, and move the emissions off your own books, but that doesn’t equal any positive impact on the planet if it’s done without any safeguards in place,” Andrew Baxter, director of energy transition at EDF told the New York Times.
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
Shaw News: Enbridge donates to Kishwaukee College Foundation
5/15/22
“Enbridge Inc., a longtime partner of the Kishwaukee College Foundation, recently donated $5,000 toward scholarships for students pursuing careers in welding and engineering at the college,” Shaw News reports. “According to a news release, Enbridge is a regular supporter of Kishwaukee College’s programs with financial support and equipment donations. Enbridge employees stayed after the check presentation to share their expertise with Kish students during a welding demonstration.”
OPINION
Bismarck Tribune: Editorial: Don’t force pipeline on landowners
Editorial Board, 5/14/22
“Burleigh County has joined three other counties in opposing the use of eminent domain for a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline. Burleigh County's action isn’t binding, but it’s intended to send a message to the state Public Service Commission,” the Bismarck Tribune Editorial Board writes. “The PSC doesn’t have the authority to grant eminent domain. However, Summit Carbon Solutions needs PSC approval for its Midwest Carbon Express pipeline. The pipeline would cross five states, picking up carbon dioxide from more than 30 ethanol plants. It would end in Mercer and Oliver counties, where the emissions would be injected deep underground. Summit said it has reached agreements with 25% of the landowners. It hasn’t ruled out the use of eminent domain if it can't reach voluntary agreements with every landowner along the route. Eminent domain involves taking private property for public use. Landowners are still compensated, but they have less control over the agreements. The Tribune editorial board understands the reluctance of some landowners to settle with Summit. They might not agree with Summit on the location of the pipeline on their land, they may have safety concerns about possible leaks or they simply may not want a pipeline on their property… “The burden should be on Summit to reach agreements with landowners. If the company fails to negotiate agreements, it shouldn’t try to force them on landowners. Commissioners in the four counties are right to side with their constituents… “Besides North Dakota, the pipeline would cross Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota. Summit's talks with some landowners apparently haven’t gone well in other states, too. Four county commissions are listening to North Dakotans’ concerns, and so should state officials. If Summit wants to build the pipeline it needs to earn the support of landowners, not force the pipeline on them.”
Troy Media: Carbon capture an opportunity for Canada to lead the world
Deborah Jaremko is director of content for the Canadian Energy Centre, an Alberta government corporation funded in part by taxes paid by industry on carbon emissions, 5/15/22
“Canada’s largest oil sands producers are “in full-scale development mode” on a major joint project designed to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and propel the sector down the path to net-zero,” Deborah Jaremko writes for Troy Media. “The companies have planned one of the world’s largest carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects. It’s a key piece of what could become a new large-scale industry for Canada that reduces the environmental footprint of multiple sectors, including oil and gas, fertilizer, steel and cement. “[CCS] could be a major source of employment and I think position us to be leaders in the world,” said Jackie Forrest, executive director of ARC Energy Research Institute, on a recent ARC podcast… “There are 26 commercial-scale CCS projects in the world, and four are in Canada – including the largest CO2 pipeline on the planet, the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line. Since 2000, CCS projects in Canada have safely stored more than 44 million tonnes of CO2, or the equivalent of taking more than 9.4 million cars off the road. The first phase of the Oil Sands Pathways to Net Zero project, expected to be operational by 2030, would add capacity to store an additional 8.5 million tonnes or 1.8 million cars worth of CO2 per year, safely removing the emissions from the atmosphere… “Before giving the final go-ahead, the six companies in the project will require additional clarity on factors including the federal government’s new CCS investment tax credit, future carbon taxes and access rights to deep underground pore space for storage. But they’re proceeding with the work to make it happen… “Working together to advance new technology is in the DNA of Canadian companies, Joy Romero, executive adviser for innovation with Canadian Natural Resources, told Troy Media. “We can learn from each other, building on what others know rather than doing it in parallel. That is how we can, in fact, accelerate and deliver these projects in these very ambitious time periods.”
Motley Fool: Is Suncor Going the Wrong Way With Its Latest Bold Decision?
By Reuben Gregg Brewer, 5/15/22
“Canadian oil sands giant Suncor is shifting gears on the clean energy side of things. Is that good or bad?” Reuben Gregg Brewer writes for Motley Fool. “Clean energy advocates would probably be happiest if the world could remove carbon fuels from the energy landscape overnight. That's just not possible, and the transition away from fuels like oil and natural gas is likely to take decades, which means oil producers like Suncor Energy (SU 3.00%) will still be able to produce reliable cash flows for years to come. But how they use that cash will be an increasingly important topic for investors to monitor. Suncor, for one, is starting to pare down its bets… “So while an "all of the above" approach is still being taken, it has started to invest outside of its oil business… “In early April, however, Suncor announced that it was selling its solar and wind assets. This is in keeping with a broader business simplification plan that involves selling some oil assets. The goal is to focus on what Suncor does best as opposed to trying to do too many things at one time. It intends to key in on renewable fuels and hydrogen in the "clean energy" space, as both share some similarities to the oil business… “This is not the same approach being taken by companies like TotalEnergies, BP, and Shell. These companies, admittedly much larger entities, are spreading their bets a lot more liberally and are in fact highlighting solar and wind as key growth opportunities. This more scattershot approach has the benefit of allowing the integrated giants to put their fingers in so many pies that something is likely to work out in the long term. Suncor's approach, perhaps necessitated by its more diminutive size, requires management to pick the winning technologies -- a much riskier proposition. While Suncor still has a solid energy business and plenty of time to pivot if slimming down doesn't work out as planned, it could end up losing valuable time. Moreover, there's no reason why it couldn't leave the heavy lifting to others, simply opting to provide cash for minority stakes in wind and solar projects. To be fair, U.S. energy giants Chevron and ExxonMobil are both taking a similar approach, choosing complimentary clean energy investments over things like big solar and wind farm developments. So it is hard to say that Suncor is making a massive mistake. However, for investors who err on the side of safety and diversification, Suncor's business shift probably deserves some deep thought.”