EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 5/21/26
(Note to readers: The next edition of “Extracted” will be published on Tuesday, May 2.)
PIPELINE NEWS
E&E News: Green groups sue FERC over Constitution pipeline
Law360: 4th Circ. OKs Pipeline Work During Green Groups’ Permit Suit
Iowa Capital Dispatch: Summit pipeline opponents, supporters seek action from utilities commission
Bold Nebraska: Boone County to Discuss Moratorium on CO2 Pipelines at May 27 Public Hearing
Reuters: Enbridge launches Project Beacon open season to boost natgas supply in New England
Calgary Herald: ‘A lot of questions’ remain for potential West Coast pipeline, from route to carbon capture plans
Canadian Press: Carney lays out pipeline conditions as Eby flags negotiations on B.C.’s priorities
Canada’s National Observer: Flagship $20B-plus carbon capture project lowered goals in Ottawa-Alberta oilsands deal
WhoWhatWhy: Former BC Premier Gordon Campbell: Carbon Capture ‘Doesn’t Work’
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Youth seek to block EPA repeal of climate endangerment finding
Heatmap: Trump ‘Fabricated’ Timeline in Offshore Wind Deal, House Democrat Says
E&E News: Dems question security justification for wind settlements
E&E News: Democrats target oil industry stock buybacks
E&E News: Interior rakes in $4B in Texas, New Mexico oil and gas lease sale
E&E News: Biden-era money is plugging red state oil wells
STATE UPDATES
Press release: Richmond City Council Votes to Pass Resolution Opposing Carbon Pipelines and Dumping Projects
Press release: Texas Community Leaders Deliver First-of-Its-Kind Complaints to Hold Japanese LNG Financiers Accountable
Houston Chronicle: Houston’s offshore oil industry rides new wave of deepwater expansion
EXTRACTION
E&E News: UN climate resolution passes despite US opposition
E&E News: Dutch Supreme Court to decide Shell’s duty to slash emissions
Gasworld: Microsoft signs seven-year CO2 storage deal with BioCirc
OPINION
Globe and Mail: Ottawa-Alberta deal continues to strangle energy sector with climate red tape
PIPELINE NEWS
E&E News: Green groups sue FERC over Constitution pipeline
Mona Zhang, 5/21/26
“Environmental organizations are suing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission over a decision surrounding the Constitution Pipeline Project, the latest development in a more-than-decade-long fight over the proposed natural gas pipeline that would link Pennsylvania to upstate New York,” E&E News reports. “On Tuesday, FERC dismissed requests for a rehearing over a prior agency order from some of the groups that filed the lawsuit and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. That evening, the environmental organizations filed their petition in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Similar to the Northeast Supply Enhancement, another controversial natural gas pipeline, developer Williams Co. had all but abandoned the project until the Trump administration revived support for fossil fuels.”
Law360: 4th Circ. OKs Pipeline Work During Green Groups’ Permit Suit
Abigail Harrison, 5/20/26
“A Fourth Circuit panel refused to order Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. LLC to halt construction on an interstate pipeline, saying in an order Monday that environmental groups failed to persuade the judges that a recently issued discharge permit was arbitrary and capricious,” Law360 reports.
Iowa Capital Dispatch: Summit pipeline opponents, supporters seek action from utilities commission
Kadin Luhmann, 5/20/26
“Iowa property owners asked the Iowa Utilities Commission Wednesday to deny Summit Carbon Solution’s recent filing seeking to modify its pipeline project, while ag group members and some others called for approval of the plan,” the Iowa Capital Dispatch reports. “...Jann Reinig, a Shelby County landowner, said despite her county being exempt from the new proposal, uncertainty about other parts of Iowa and the potential for Summit’s return after their initial project is completed leaves little room for celebration. “We landowners have no right to celebrate. We’ve tried to be Iowa nice for five years and that’s running kind of thin,” Reinig said. “We aren’t Iowa stupid. Even though this proposal has been cut back, there are still almost 4,000 parcels of Iowa land that we have no idea what’s going to happen to.” “...While most public comments asked the IUC to deny Summit’s proposal, some asked the commission to expedite the request… “The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) filed a formal request to IUC on Tuesday to schedule a hearing for the approval of Summit’s proposal, saying that IUC’s permit request was submitted six months ago… “The commission has not set a timeline for its next order in the Summit Carbon Solutions docket, an IUC spokesperson said Wednesday in an email response to Iowa Capital Dispatch.”
Bold Nebraska: Boone County to Discuss Moratorium on CO2 Pipelines at May 27 Public Hearing
5/20/26
“The Boone County, Nebraska Commissioners will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, May 27 to discuss a proposed moratorium on CO2 pipeline construction in the county,” Bold Nebraska reports. “Landowners and residents of Boone County and others in the vicinity who want to protect property rights against eminent domain land seizures, and who oppose the risky Summit CO2 pipeline are encouraged to attend the hearing in person to show support, and share their concerns during public comments. Faced with the looming prospect of local landowners being targeted by Summit Carbon Solutions to obtain easements for its proposed risky CO2 pipeline, and potentially seeking to use eminent domain, Commissioners in Boone County are taking action to protect their community. The public hearing and vote by Commissioners on a proposed moratorium on the construction of CO2 pipelines in Boone County follows similar previous actions taken by neighboring counties. Stanton County unanimously denied Summit’s permit request in February 2024, and Dakota County tabled the company’s request in November 2025 and has since removed it from their agenda. Bold Nebraska supported a bill introduced in the Nebraska Legislature in 2026, LB 916, which would have banned eminent domain for CO2 pipelines in Nebraska. Shelli Meyer, whose family’s land in Dixon County is threatened by the Summit pipeline, testified and Bold’s Founder Jane Kleeb also submitted testimony along with over 700 Nebraskans who wrote letters to their Senators urging them to support LB 916. Bold will support another bill to ban eminent domain for CO2 pipelines next year, but in the meantime — show your support for the Boone County Commissioners by signing a letter endorsing the CO2 Pipeline Moratorium before the public hearing on May 27.”
Reuters: Enbridge launches Project Beacon open season to boost natgas supply in New England
Scott Disavino, 5/20/26
“Canadian energy firm Enbridge launched an open season process earlier this week for its proposed Project Beacon to upgrade its existing Algonquin Gas Transmission natural gas pipeline system in New England,” Reuters reports. “...If customer commitments are secured and regulatory approvals are obtained, Project Beacon could be in service by 2030, Enbridge said… “Project Beacon is separate from Enbridge’s 75-million cubic feet per day Algonquin Reliable Affordable Resilient Enhancement (AGT Enhancement), expected to be in service in 2028.”
Calgary Herald: ‘A lot of questions’ remain for potential West Coast pipeline, from route to carbon capture plans
Chris Varcoe, 5/21/26
“While there is momentum behind the Alberta-Canada energy pact and the province’s drive to see a major new export pipeline built, a few decisive questions still lurk below the surface,” the Calgary Herald reports. “...Where would such a line run, and could it satisfy the opposition from B.C. Premier David Eby — who on Wednesday called the existing federal tanker ban on the northwest coast “crucially important for British Columbians” — and from some coastal First Nations?... “Another critical question is whether the Oil Sands Alliance will give its final OK to the proposed Pathways carbon capture network in northern Alberta… “The alliance, representing five large operators, said Friday the industrial carbon tax “maintains uncompetitive costs on the Canadian oilsands industry,” adding them to the expenses tied to the carbon capture project… “Could potential fiscal measures, such as accelerated capital cost allowances, eventually be needed to encourage more production and investment? Hodgson did not sound receptive to the idea of additional production incentives. “Given the framework we’ve laid out, there’s more than enough incentive for the producers to bring forward their production plans,” he told the Herald.”
Canadian Press: Carney lays out pipeline conditions as Eby flags negotiations on B.C.’s priorities
5/20/26
“British Columbia Premier David Eby says he and Prime Minister Mark Carney have agreed to enter negotiations on B.C.’s priorities for developing the economy,” the Canadian Press reports. “...He says that includes the moratorium on oil tanker traffic off B.C.’s north coast, that has been raised as a potential impediment to any new pipeline from Alberta to the B.C. coast. Carney says it’s important to build in the right way, in partnership with First Nations and with an emphasis on sustainability, and the priorities of British Columbians. He had earlier Wednesday laid out prerequisites for the possible pipeline that has been championed by Alberta’s government, but which Eby has warned would reward separatist behaviour. Carney told the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade that the pipeline project, advanced last week through an implementation agreement between the federal and Alberta governments, will only proceed with the creation of the Pathways carbon capture project. He said British Columbians should also share substantial economic and financial benefits from the project and that the duty to consult First Nations under section 35 of the Constitution Act is “non-negotiable.”
Canada’s National Observer: Flagship $20B-plus carbon capture project lowered goals in Ottawa-Alberta oilsands deal
Darius Snieckus, 5/20/26
“Canada’s flagship Pathways carbon capture and storage megaproject in Alberta will trap a quarter less CO2 than initially targeted by the oilsands consortium cleared to build the $20 billion-plus complex, according to last week’s energy ‘grand bargain’ agreement between Ottawa and the province,” Canada’s National Observer reports. “Buried in the implementation agreement announced Friday by Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is a clause cutting the project’s carbon capture goal to 16 million tonnes per annum (Mta) by 2035 from the original 22Mta pledged by 2030… “The scaled-back capture target comes as Pathways CCS is under scrutiny for potentially catastrophic environmental impacts that cast doubt on its ability to slow rising oil and gas sector emissions, especially with a new one million barrel per day Alberta-BC pipeline proposed in the energy agreement… “But the MoU with Alberta set a carbon price of $130/tonne — far below the ambitious $170/tonne set by the previous Liberal government. With the estimated capital cost already climbing from $16.5 billion to more than $20 billion, that lower price floor could raise financing risk for the project. “With an industrial carbon price that will barely move against inflation for the next 15 years, it is highly unlikely we will see investment in the Pathways project or other meaningful action to reduce emissions in Canada’s oil sands,” McKenzie told CNO… “McKenzie told CNO the best way forward was a “strengthened” industrial carbon pricing system. “This, along with the federal and provincial subsidies already on offer for carbon capture projects, would create the necessary investment certainty to move the Pathways project to FID [final investment decision].”
WhoWhatWhy: Former BC Premier Gordon Campbell: Carbon Capture ‘Doesn’t Work’
Mitch Anderson, 5/21/26
“For years, Canadian officials and oil industry backers have pitched carbon capture and storage (CCS) as the solution that would allow Alberta’s oil sands — and the nation’s proposed West Coast pipeline — to proceed with a lower climate impact,” WhoWhatWhy reports. “Now, in a speech at this year’s Canada Strong and Free Network (CSFN) conference in Vancouver, keynote speaker and former British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell warned the costly, troubled technology has failed to deliver, undercutting a central justification for billions in public subsidies and new oil infrastructure… “It’s time to take off the blinders. Carbon capture and storage is something we’ve talked about in Canada for more than a generation, more than 25 years,” he told the conference. “We’ve invested billions of dollars trying to convince ourselves that carbon capture and storage will work. It doesn’t work. It costs money. And that money is money that we take out of other potential productive resources that we could have for Canadians.” Campbell was certainly not suggesting that fossil fuel extraction be scaled back. His comments instead pointed out that pretending to solve emissions problems with expensive and ineffective carbon capture and storage is an unwise waste of scarce public resources. This unusual truth-bomb from a public figure stands in stark contrast to the theater playing out in Alberta and Ottawa, where CCS is being heavily promoted and backed by billions in public money as a panacea for oil sands climate costs… “Thousands of Albertans like me live directly in this project’s ‘hazard zone,’” said Penny Fox, No CO2 Pipelines co-founder, in a press release. “In an explosion, people in our communities are facing anything from breathing issues to brain damage to instant death. So I have one question for the Prime Minister: If you wouldn’t live next to this pipeline, why should we?”... “Gordon Campbell makes a good point. The Pathways project will cost the taxpayers billions and do nothing to contain the vast majority of ultimate oil sands emissions… “Why should highly profitable oil industry laggards still expect public handouts before cleaning up their own mess?”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Youth seek to block EPA repeal of climate endangerment finding
Alex Guillén, 5/21/26
“A group of youth challenging EPA’s endangerment finding repeal have asked a federal court to issue a stay that would immediately block it, effectively reinstating vehicle emission rules in the meantime,” E&E News reports. “Reverting to the existing emission rules while the legal challenge plays out would prevent almost a billion metric tons of carbon dioxide from being emitted, the youth argue. But their request could invite early Supreme Court intervention, which may give the Trump administration an early win in the case if the justices conclude the challenges are not likely to succeed. The environmental groups and Democrat-controlled states also challenging the rule had not yet moved for a stay, and are staying out of the youth request.”
Heatmap: Trump ‘Fabricated’ Timeline in Offshore Wind Deal, House Democrat Says
Emily Pontecorvo, 5/20/26
“The Trump administration justified its nearly $1 billion settlement agreement with TotalEnergies to effectively buy back the French company’s U.S. offshore wind leases by citing national security concerns raised by the Department of Defense,” Heatmap reports. “Emails obtained by House Democrats and viewed by Heatmap, however, seem to conflict with that story. California Representative Jared Huffman introduced the documents into the congressional record on Wednesday during a hearing held by the House Natural Resources Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. “The national security justification appears to be totally fabricated, and fabricated after the fact,” Huffman said during the hearing. “DOI committed to paying Total nearly a billion dollars before it had concocted its justification of a national security issue.” “...While the emails do not discuss the document further, the November date is notable. It suggests that the Interior Department had been negotiating a deal with Total before BOEM officials were briefed on the DOD’s classified national security concerns about offshore wind development… “Giacona and Tyner are copied on the emails Huffman presented on Wednesday, indicating that the memorandum of understanding between Total and the Interior Department had been drafted and distributed prior to their reviewing the classified assessment. The final agreement both parties signed on March 23, however, justifies the decision by citing a series of events that it portrays as taking place after officials learned of the DOD’s national security concerns.”
E&E News: Dems question security justification for wind settlements
Timothy Cama, 5/21/26
“House Democrats are accusing the Trump administration of concocting national security concerns to justify paying $1 billion to take back a company’s offshore wind leases,” E&E News reports. “Rep. Jared Huffman of California, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, cited emails Wednesday that he said show the Interior Department had discussed a plan to end the leases last year nearly two weeks before the agency said it first heard national-security-related concerns about the potential wind farms off the coasts of New York and North Carolina from the Department of Defense… “We should be talking about the fact that Secretary [Doug] Burgum lit $1 billion of taxpayer money on fire by paying a French energy company, TotalEnergies, not to produce affordable clean energy,” Huffman said in the hearing of the Natural Resources Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee… “Democrats further argued that the settlement, which paid Total the full cost of its leases, violated the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which sets a formula for reimbursement of canceled leases based on the present value of them. The settlement also illegally states it cannot be reviewed in court, they said.”
E&E News: Democrats target oil industry stock buybacks
Amelia Davidson, 5/21/26
“Top Senate Democrats released legislation Wednesday that would slap high taxes on oil and gas companies that attempt stock buybacks,” E&E News reports.“The ‘Taxing Buybacks from Big Oil Windfalls Act’ is the party’s latest attempt to highlight oil companies’ soaring profits as the Middle East conflict sends the average price of gasoline soaring past $4.50. The bill — which has virtually no chance of passage in Republican-controlled Congress — would raise the tax rate on large oil and gas companies’ stock buybacks from 1 percent to 25 percent… “Energy prices are driven by global market conditions — including geopolitical disruption and supply constraints — not individual companies. This is a cyclical, capital-intensive industry where earnings reflect supply and demand and support the long-term investment needed to produce and deliver energy reliably,’ an API spokesperson told E&E in response to the Democratic bill.”
E&E News: Interior rakes in $4B in Texas, New Mexico oil and gas lease sale
James Bikales, 5/21/26
“The Interior Department said Wednesday it had generated more than $4 billion in revenue in a major oil and gas lease sale across some of the nation’s most lucrative acres in the Southwest,” E&E News reports. “Interior’s Bureau of Land Management leased all 74 parcels it had put up for auction across parts of New Mexico and Texas, totaling 33,530 acres. The area offered is in the most prolific region for U.S. oil production that has continuously grown for nearly two decades. Winning bids and rental payments totaled $4,007,944,870, the department said.”
E&E News: Biden-era money is plugging red state oil wells
Mike Lee, 5/21/26
“A program that pays for cleaning up abandoned oil and gas wells is popular with state energy agencies in Republican strongholds years after it launched during the Biden administration,” E&E News reports. “The 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law set aside $4.3 billion for state grants to plug so-called orphaned wells, with the bulk of the funds going to state oil and gas regulators. State officials gathered in Oklahoma City this week said they’re making tangible progress, moving past slowdowns that previously dogged the program. The plugging program has been a rare occasion where conservative states were happy to work with a U.S. government initiative backed by former President Joe Biden. The goal is to address a major environmental problem that most oil-producing states face, and the federal program took into account the fact that most states already had their own plugging efforts.”
STATE UPDATES
Press release: Richmond City Council Votes to Pass Resolution Opposing Carbon Pipelines and Dumping Projects
5/20/26
“Last night, Richmond City Council became the first city in the state to pass a resolution opposing any carbon dioxide waste dumping projects and carbon dioxide (CO2) pipelines within or near Richmond. “As a councilmember and Richmond resident, our safety and ability to prevent disastrous emergencies is of utmost priority,” said resolution sponsor Councilmember Claudia Jimenez. “I am proud to bring forward this common sense safety measure that will keep dangerous carbon pipelines out of our community.” Carbon dumping projects (also known as carbon capture and storage, or CCS) have been proposed across the Bay Area and California and pose a host of health and safety risks to people and wildlife in surrounding areas. They also require miles of CO2 pipelines to be built to transport carbon from refineries and other polluters to be stored underground. “CCS is not only unsafe for people and the environment, but it consistently falls far short of lofty climate promises,” said Victoria Bogdan Tejeda, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute. “Richmond is doing the right thing by standing up to this dirty, dangerous delay tactic and I hope others follow suit.” These threats have become all the more real for Richmond residents after the California legislature last year lifted the state moratorium on CO2 pipelines.”
Press release: Texas Community Leaders Deliver First-of-Its-Kind Complaints to Hold Japanese LNG Financiers Accountable
5/18/26
“Community leaders from Texas travelled to Tokyo today to file a landmark series of complaints and meet directly with the Japanese financiers of the Freeport LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) project. This is the first time a community harmed by a Japanese-funded LNG project has filed a series of coordinated complaints against the whole chain of project financiers —targeting both Japanese public institutions JBIC and NEXI, private megabanks MUFG, Mizuho, and SMBC, and the Japanese power company JERA. The complaints come as Japan faces mounting scrutiny of its fossil fuel dependency, with the soaring oil and gas prices due to the Hormuz crisis exposing the vulnerability of Japan’s long-term LNG strategy. In October 2025, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi signed a $550 billion US investment commitment in a desperate attempt to mitigate tariffs and appease President Trump. Prime Minister Takaichi announced the first tranche with a $36 billion commitment to US oil and gas investments… “MUFG, Mizuho, and SMBC are the three largest financiers of LNG projects in the U.S., having committed $14.8 billion, $12.8 billion, and $10.1 billion, respectively. Japanese government institutions JBIC and NEXI amplify this exposure further, providing loans, equity, and guarantees that lower risk for private Japanese banks and trading houses, enabling them to pour billions more into Gulf Coast terminals. Specifically, JBIC and NEXI provided $3.8 billion in financing for the Freeport LNG terminal in Texas. The complaints mark the first step in a broader process to hold Japanese financiers accountable. Freeport leaders will continue to pursue every available avenue to hold Japanese financiers accountable for the harm caused by their investments.”
Houston Chronicle: Houston’s offshore oil industry rides new wave of deepwater expansion
Rachel Nostrant, 5/21/26
“...Now, it is seeing a new resurgence after years of taking a back seat to the onshore fracking boom as technology, artificial intelligence, and policy shifts have boosted an offshore industry some said was fizzling out,” the Houston Chronicle reports. “Offshore still has a lot of promise,” McConnell said earlier this month at the Offshore Technology Conference, which he chaired this year. “The promise comes through better imaging and better drilling technology.” Production in the Gulf of Mexico is reaching record highs, according to the Energy Information Agency. Production in the area topped 2 million barrels per day at the end of 2025 for the first time in six years. U.S. offshore oil production, a majority of which comes from the Gulf Coast, hit over 714 million barrels last year. It marked the highest annual output on record for the industry, according to the Interior Department. The resurgence of Gulf Coast drilling comes as onshore operations face the threat of decline in the Permian Basin and increasingly volatile crude markets. Offshore drilling, favored for the longevity of its resources, is better suited to weather low oil prices because its breakeven costs – the price needed per barrel for operations to be profitable – are considered lower and more stable, despite high up-front costs associated with new offshore wells. Technological advancements are driving the offshore industry’s latest wave… “In March, BP’s deepwater Kaskida project received federal clearance for a deepwater project in the Gulf of Mexico expected to start production in 2029. It follows the Argos project, the London-based oil giant’s first platform launched in the Gulf since the Deepwater Horizon disaster.”
EXTRACTION
E&E News: UN climate resolution passes despite US opposition
Sara Schonhardt, 5/21/26
“A landmark United Nations resolution on whether countries are obligated to address climate change was adopted Wednesday despite muscular opposition from the United States and other oil-producing nations, including Iran,” E&E News reports. “The measure, put forward by the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, sought political support for an advisory opinion issued last year by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague. The court, often considered the world’s highest legal authority, determined that governments can be held liable for climate inaction based on existing international law. The court’s opinion is nonbinding, and so is the resolution adopted Wednesday. But it does signal countries’ commitment to take the court’s opinion forward by acknowledging its ruling. It also provided an example of countries aligning themselves against the United States and a handful of other nations that are opposed to climate action… “This resolution is highly problematic in calling on states to comply with so-called obligations that are based on nonbinding conclusions of the court on which U.N. member states’ views diverge,” Tammy Bruce, the United States’ deputy representative to the U.N., said in remarks before the vote. The resolution included “inappropriate political demands” related to fossil fuels and other climate topics, and “amplifies legal errors” in ICJ’s opinion, she said, adding that the measure goes beyond the court’s conclusions “in several concerning ways.” “...Green groups and the youth activists who helped initiate the call for an ICJ opinion also rallied behind the outcome. “This must be a turning point in accountability for damaging the climate,” Vishal Prasad, director of Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change, told E&E. “Communities on the frontlines, like in the Pacific, have been waiting far too long and continue to pay too high a price for the actions of others.”
E&E News: Dutch Supreme Court to decide Shell’s duty to slash emissions
Lesley Clark, 5/21/26
“Environmentalists and the oil giant Shell will face off Friday at the Dutch Supreme Court in what is billed as the first time a country’s top court will consider a company’s responsibility to curb planet-warming emissions,” E&E News reports. “The hearing comes two years after an appeals court in the Netherlands handed a legal victory to Shell, finding that a lower bench improperly imposed a binding emissions mandate on the oil company. Milieudefensie (Friends of the Earth Netherlands), which filed the climate case against Shell, however, has argued that the company has a legal duty to reduce its emissions by a specific figure: 45 percent by 2030, compared to 2019. “We will show that there is indeed a solid legal basis for imposing a specific reduction percentage on Shell,” Milieudefensie spokesperson Winnie Oussoren told E&E. “It’s time for Shell to take responsibility for its climate harms.”
Gasworld: Microsoft signs seven-year CO2 storage deal with BioCirc
Dominic Ellis, 5/21/26
“Denmark renewables firm BioCirc has signed a seven-year carbon dioxide storage deal with tech giant Microsoft,” Gasworld reports. “The European company will deliver 650,000 carbon removal units, corresponding to 650,000 tonnes of permanent CO2 displacement, using bioenergy carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technology at five of BioCirc’s eight bioas plants… “Anette Poulsen, Sales Development Manager at Adding Engineering, told Gasworld, “This is a strong signal, both for the development of a permanent CO2 displacement and for the role Danish companies can play in the green transition on a large scale. It also shows how much is starting to happen in the intersection between energy, technology, process plants and documentation in recent years.”
OPINION
Globe and Mail: Ottawa-Alberta deal continues to strangle energy sector with climate red tape
Julio Mejia and Elmira Aliakbari are analysts with the Fraser Institute, 5/21/26
“The governments of Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith reached an agreement last week on the next steps for a potential new pipeline that could connect Alberta oil and gas to Asian markets. But the price Alberta will pay is steep: A higher industrial carbon tax and renewed support for the costly Pathways carbon-capture project, both of which will erode the competitiveness of Alberta’s energy sector,” Julio Mejia and Elmira Aliakbari write for the Globe and Mail. “...Despite a longer timeline and lower price, the tax will make Alberta less attractive to investors while delivering little environmental benefit… “No other major energy-producing country imposes a comparable burden on carbon-intensive industries such as oil and gas. Raising the cost of investing in Alberta’s energy sector will simply shift investment to regions with more competitive tax and regulatory environments where energy is often produced with higher emissions, such as Latin America, the Middle East or the United States. And emissions cross borders regardless of where they originate… “The Pathways project would require more than $24-billion in industry investment before 2030, including around $16.5-billion for the proposed network that would move captured carbon emissions from oil sands facilities to underground storage locations. Adding carbon-capture technology could substantially increase production costs and potentially nearly double the break-even cost of oil sands projects. Higher costs will make Alberta’s energy sector less competitive and further push investment out of the province. With this new agreement, the Smith and Carney governments have simply committed to a slower path toward the same destination – weaker investment at home, and energy production pushed elsewhere to benefit other countries.”