EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 5/2/22
PIPELINE NEWS
Michigan Advance: Enbridge, Nessel fight over Line 5 pipeline in holding pattern
Sioux Falls Argus Leader: 'We're easy prey': Why Lake County landowners are fighting Summit's planned CO2 pipeline
Mississippi Valley Publishing: Supervisors eye letter to support new rules for pipeline
The Tyee: FOI Reveals RCMP’s Pipeline Action Called Off After Info ‘Leaks’
Reuters: U.S. natural gas production growth wanes as need arises
CURE: What everyone should know about Carbon Pipelines 101
Midland Reporter-Telegram: Expansion plans for Permian Highway Pipeline unveiled
WLBT: Evacuations over after pipeline hit in Lawrence Co.
WASHINGTON UPDATES
EXTRACTION
HuffPost: Gas Giants Have Been Ghostwriting Letters Of Support From Elected Officials
Bloomberg: Gulf of Mexico Oil Drilling Makes Too-Little, Too-Late Comeback
E&E News: Gas flaring emissions drop to 10-year low, analysis finds
Energy Monitor: Soaring costs curb enthusiasm for US LNG
E&E News: Booming offset industry could cut CO2 — or just line pockets
CLIMATE FINANCE
FOX Business: Berkshire Hathaway boosts bet on oil ahead of shareholder meeting, makes Chevron 4th-largest investment
E&E News: Oil is soaring. Will the majors stick with net zero?
TheEnergyMix: Insurance Giant Allianz Sets Oil and Gas Exit Strategy
OPINION
Tennessean: Pipeline legislation leaves local Tennessee leaders powerless
Blue Virginia: Virginia Legislators: Mountain Valley Pipeline is an “Environmental Catastrophe”
TheEnergyMix: May 3 Day of Action Pushes Canada to End Fossil Fuel Subsidies
Globe and Mail: Suncor’s safety record helped make it a target for activist investors
The Hill: Oil and gas industry waste opens door for methane mitigation
Ted Glick: The Walk for Appalachia’s Future
PIPELINE NEWS
Michigan Advance: Enbridge, Nessel fight over Line 5 pipeline in holding pattern
LAINA G. STEBBINS, 5/1/22
“When Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel took office in 2019, both having campaigned on decommissioning Enbridge’s Line 5, they ushered in a flurry of legal and regulatory battles over the embattled oil pipeline,” the Michigan Advance reports. “Two federal lawsuits could determine the fate of the 69-year-old Canadian pipeline that transports oil under the tumultuous waters where Lakes Michigan and Huron connect. Two main questions have yet to be answered: Who will determine whether Line 5 as it currently exists will be decommissioned? If the state wins a favorable decision, the existing Line 5 will be shut down. If Enbridge wins, the pipeline will continue to operate for years until the planned construction of a new, tunnel-encased pipeline is completed, when/if that project is approved. What will happen to the “tunnel project,” which Enbridge is seeking immediate approval for but is facing pushback from environmentalists and tribal citizens?.. “Both are overseen by U.S. Judge Janet Neff in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan… “A flurry of legal filings over the last few months have led to decision time for Neff in that case. The federal judge will rule that either: a.) Nessel v Enbridge should remain in federal court, which would give the upper hand to the Canadian pipeline company; or b.) The lawsuit rightfully remains in the state court it was originally filed in and should continue in Ingham County. If the case remains in federal court, the oil company would have a clear advantage as it intends to lean heavily on federal statutes and international commerce arguments to win. Whitmer, Nessel and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) would have an upper hand if the case is remanded back to the 30th Circuit Court, where they could point to state laws, public trust doctrine and Enbridge’s easement violations in a bid to force a Line 5 shutdown.”
Sioux Falls Argus Leader: 'We're easy prey': Why Lake County landowners are fighting Summit's planned CO2 pipeline
Nicole Ki, 5/2/22
“Charlie Johnson and his first cousin Aaron Johnson manage more than 3,000 acres in the Oreland Township of Lake County,” the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reports. “...It’s the same land, cultivated across three generations, where Aaron and his six siblings were born and raised. He and his wife are now raising their three kids near the farm to continue a fourth-generation legacy. But there’s a bigger fear Aaron and the rest of the Johnson family have been losing sleep over, and it’s proposed to be just 780 feet from his front door: the risk of the world’s first large-scale carbon sequestration pipeline expected to be commissioned by 2024. “We have a governor that’s so adamant about your personal rights, and you can choose to wear a mask or get vaccinated if you want,” Aaron, 41, the youngest of the Johnson farmers, told the Leader. “I choose not to have this hazardous pipeline property, but it’s still being forced on me." His biggest concern is what the pipeline will mean for the safety of his family and farm. "My kids are within 780 feet of the (planned) pipeline right now, playing catch," Aaron said, pointing to his 10-year-old daughter, 8-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter. "Should I tell them to go to the other side of the house?" he asked, following with a nervous chuckle… “But Summit's goal to build the world's largest-scaled carbon capture and storage project in the Midwest has been met with massive resistance from landowners, like the Johnsons, in all five states… “Aside from public safety being a top concern, landowners like Betty Strom say they’re being targeted and forced into easements for a pipeline they never wanted on their property. “We’re easy prey,” Strom, 77, a widowed landowner who’s been leasing her property to the Johnsons to farm in the last year, told the Leader. “They can divide and conquer,” she explained. Farmers and landowners don’t have the same resources as Summit does to send land agents out to impacted individuals on the pipeline with what she called a “bribe,” Strom told the Leader… “Every time a land agent has approached her to survey her land, or about the easement, she’s been stern on saying no… “Strom's decision to not accept Summit’s offer is a priority of public safety of neighbors like the Johnsons, over “greed,” she told the Leader. She believes the pipeline to be extremely hazardous, carrying CO2 that could be a threat of serious injury and death to humans and other life.”
Mississippi Valley Publishing: Supervisors eye letter to support new rules for pipeline
Robin Delaney, 5/2/22
“Lee County Supervisors will consider a letter of support of proposed revisions to the pipeline inspector’s manual in response to some landowners dissatisfaction with the restoration of their property in conjunction with the Dakota Access pipeline,” Mississippi Valley Publishing reports. “For example, just last week, Kevin Hohl referred to his experience with the Dakota Access Pipeline as “a disaster,” and asked supervisors to put a stop to the Navigator CO2 Ventures’ Heartland Greenway project… “However, since the Dakota Access Pipeline, the state has adopted more stringent requirements with regard to restoring the property of impacted landowners. Lee County Supervisors’ letter, if approved at their meeting today, is in support of those changes that have been forwarded to the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB). Among those new requirements are: A detailed in-field topsoil survey prior to construction that requires multiple measurements every 500 feet; Deep tillage at least 18 inches deep on crop ground and 12 inches deep on pasture ground prior to topsoil replacement to alleviate compaction concerns; Topsoil stockpile stabilization using seeding and mulch or soil tackifier to protect topsoil quality. County inspector is to have the discretion and authority to halt operations during wet conditions to prevent damage to property. “We have heard from many landowners that are not satisfied with how their land was restored during and after construction (of the Dakota Access project),” reads supervisors’ proposed letter of support. ‘The ability for the inspector to halt operations during wet conditions would prevent rutting or further damage to the soil, and we are very much in favor of this.” Hohl is the not first to express concerns about carbon dioxide pipeline. At supervisors’ April 11 meeting, Ted Stein of Fort Madison asked the board to consider passing a resolution in opposition of the proposed Navigator CO2 Pipeline… “But according to a April 26 press released from the Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club, 26 Iowa counties have submitted formal statements to the IUB objecting to any use of eminent domain for the Navigator and Summit pipeline projects… “26 out of 50 (52%) of the impacted counties have submitted objections; 17 of the 36 (47%) counties impacted by Navigator have objected with the IUB; and nearly 1000 landowners have submitted objections with the IUB.”
The Tyee: FOI Reveals RCMP’s Pipeline Action Called Off After Info ‘Leaks’
Amanda Follett Hosgood, 4/28/22
“Even as the RCMP publicly denied plans for a January 2022 raid in Wet’suwet’en territory, the provincial government was told police action was “anticipated to occur around Jan. 10,” The Tyee reports. “But the planned police enforcement action was scrapped after rumours of a growing RCMP presence circulated on social media, prompting pipeline opponents to vacate an important Coastal GasLink worksite. The documents, obtained by The Tyee through a freedom of information request to the B.C. Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General, contradict RCMP statements as police forces were believed to be building in northern communities in early January. “There’s no resources that have been deployed in the area and no understanding that there’s any requirements for any enforcement,” an RCMP media spokesperson said in a Jan. 3 interview with The Tyee… “But in an internal RCMP email sent later the same day, which was then forwarded to B.C. Public Safety Ministry officials, RCMP Chief Supt. John Brewer acknowledged that “rumours of RCMP impending arrival were leaked throughout the town and social media,” resulting in the camp being abandoned and a change in enforcement plans.”
Reuters: U.S. natural gas production growth wanes as need arises
By Scott Disavino, Arathy Somasekhar and Brijesh Patel, 5/2/22
“U.S. natural gas production growth is waning at the same time many countries are looking for new suppliers to help break their dependence on Russian gas after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine,” Reuters reports. “The United States is already the world's largest producer of natural gas. But the two mainstays of production - the Appalachian region and West Texas - are seeing growth slow, with companies blaming lack of adequate pipeline infrastructure, despite prices near 14-year highs… “Growth has slowed in Appalachia, which supplied about 37% of U.S. gas in 2021, because it has become increasingly difficult for energy firms to build new pipes to move gas out of the Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia region. With pipelines in the Permian Shale, the nation's second biggest gas supply basin, filling quickly, analysts said production growth in that Texas-New Mexico basin could slow significantly next year unless firms start building new pipelines soon… “Appalachia "is nearing takeaway capacity limits," said analysts at Bank of America, who estimated there would be "little to no production growth" until new pipes enter service. One giant project, the Atlantic Coast pipeline, was canceled in 2020 after costs rose from an estimated $6.0-$6.5 billion to $8 billion. Another long-delayed project, Equitrans Midstream Corp's (ETRN.N) $6.2 billion Mountain Valley line from West Virginia to Virginia, has not been completed due to ongoing lawsuits… “Several energy companies are interested in building new pipes in the Permian, including units of Enterprise Products Partners (EPD.N), Kinder Morgan (KMI.N) and Energy Transfer.”
CURE: What everyone should know about Carbon Pipelines 101
4/27/22
“Over 200 miles of CO2 pipelines are proposed for Minnesota. Most Minnesotans are unaware of the projects—and those that do know about them have a lot of unanswered questions. This informational session, “What everyone should know about Carbon Pipelines 101,” on Tuesday, May 3, from 6-7:15 pm, will provide an overview of the impacts of this type of pipeline in your community. Topics will range from transparency concerns, risks to both human health and the environment, and what it means for those in the community. This session is for anyone interested in learning more about carbon pipelines.”
Midland Reporter-Telegram: Expansion plans for Permian Highway Pipeline unveiled
Mella McEwen, 4/29/22
“Permian Highway Pipeline has announced a binding open season for an expansion project on its system,” the Midland Reporter-Telegram reports. “The project will increase the pipeline’s capacity by nearly 650 million cubic feet per day. A foundation shipper has already executed long-term binding transportation agreements for half of this expansion capacity. Company officials told the Reporter-Telegram by email that customer demand is driving these expansion plans. They also told the Reporter-Telegram they believe expansions should fill up relatively quickly and there will be a need for a greenfield pipeline by late 2025 to 2026. “We expect to see an acceleration of North American liquefied natural gas project final investment decisions this year and in 2023 that will require additional transportation and storage services to support them,” officials wrote. “Our network is located in good proximity to support many of these potential projects through expansion.” The expansion project will involve primarily compression expansions on the pipeline to increase natural gas deliveries from the Waha area to multiple mainline connections, to Katy and various Gulf Coast markets.”
WLBT: Evacuations over after pipeline hit in Lawrence Co.
Jacob Gallant and Quentin Smith, 4/29/22
“Residents were evacuated after a pipeline was hit in Silver Creek, Mississippi,” WLBT reports. “The incident happened Friday afternoon around 1:30. Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office says the main line of a pipeline was hit along Hwy 43 and Stephens Cemetery Road. Anyone within a one-mile radius was asked to evacuate immediately. Sheriff Ryan Everett told WLBT hundreds of people were evacuated, including the entire town of Silver Creek and nearby Hood Industries. Firefighters were able to stop the leak about two hours after it started.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Granholm defends LNG permitting before House panel
CATHERINE MOREHOUSE, KELSEY TAMBORRINO, 4/28/22
“Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told House Republicans that the Biden administration fully backs producing and exporting as much natural gas as possible — but argued the federal government can only do so much to get projects to the finish line,” E&E News reports. “The Energy Department has permitted nearly everything that's fallen under its jurisdiction, giving a green light to plants that together can ship almost three times the volume the U.S. currently exports, Granholm said at a hearing at the House Energy and Commerce Committee. But the companies that have received approvals for several LNG terminals from DOE have not even begun construction, limiting the administration’s ability to maximize exports. “The number one thing is Wall Street; Wall Street is constricting their ability to invest in increased production," Granholm told lawmakers, citing a report polling oil and gas executives that found volatile markets, not the federal government, were preventing them from increasing fuel production. "It is a false statement, with all due respect, to say that the Biden policies have caused production to go down.”
Politico: FIVE-YEAR WHAT NOW?
Josh Siegel, 4/29/22
“Interior says it has no timeline for unveiling a new five-year offshore leasing plan and hints that it may not have any more offshore leases to be held this fiscal year up its sleeve, either,” Politico reports. “In a budget hearing before members of the House Appropriations Committee, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland chalked up the delay to a combination of the department being in the center of a crossfire of lawsuits surrounding its leasing program and the Trump administration’s own on-again, off-again work on a new five-year plan. “There’s a significant amount of work that still needs to be done,” Haaland said at the hearing,” reports Pro’s Ben Lefebvre. “You also know that there is a lot of varying and conflicting litigation that has been a complicating factor for our department.” Almost needless to say, the American Petroleum Institute was not bowled over by Haaland’s lack of details. “At a time of rising geopolitical volatility and global energy price shocks, the lack of progress toward a 5-year offshore program is threatening America’s long-term energy supply and creating significant uncertainty across the industry,” API Senior Vice President of Policy, Economics and Regulatory Affairs Frank Macchiarola told Politico.
EXTRACTION
HuffPost: Gas Giants Have Been Ghostwriting Letters Of Support From Elected Officials
Chris D'Angelo, 5/2/22
“For the past several months, local officials in Virginia and North Carolina, primarily elected Republicans, have been peppering federal regulators with glowing letters in support of gas projects in their states. Internal emails reviewed by HuffPost show that these letters all had something in common: They were ghostwritten by lobbyists and consultants of the two major pipeline firms behind those projects,” HuffPost reports. “The communications show how Williams Companies Inc. and TC Energy Corporation worked to boost political support for a number of natural gas infrastructure projects currently under federal review to fill a void left behind by Dominion Energy and Duke Energy’s canceled Atlantic Coast Pipeline… “On Jan. 10, Robert Crockett, the president of Advantus Strategies and a lobbyist for the Oklahoma-based Williams Companies, emailed Wayne Carter, the administrator of Mecklenburg County, Virginia, a draft letter of support for Williams’ Southside Reliability Enhancement Project. The proposed expansion of the company’s existing Transco natural gas pipeline would allow for more natural gas to be transported into North Carolina. The project includes the construction of a new, electric compressor station in Mecklenburg County. “Attached is a draft letter expressing support to the Williams project that we have reviewed with you and your board previously,” Crockett wrote. “Please feel free to modify.” “...At least three Republican state legislators — state Sen. Frank Ruff and state Delegates Tommy Wright Jr. and Les Adams — submitted letters to FERC that contain language identical to or closely mirroring the language in Carter’s letter, indicating the extent to which the company worked behind the scenes. Ruff and Wright also submitted nearly identical letters to FERC in March in support of Williams’ separate Commonwealth Energy Connector Project, another Transco expansion aimed at increasing natural gas supply to southeastern Virginia… “Ruff did address HuffPost’s specific questions but said via email that “Williams has been a good corporate citizen that has been involved in the region for over fifty years.”
Bloomberg: Gulf of Mexico Oil Drilling Makes Too-Little, Too-Late Comeback
Paul Takahashi, 5/2/22
“A new wave of oil platforms is sweeping into the U.S. Gulf of Mexico as crude prices are riding historic levels and demand for barrels is higher than ever,” Bloomberg reports. “But don’t count on the new production to close the oil-supply gap that has plagued the world’s economies since the pandemic. Even with the new platforms coming online, Gulf oil production won’t grow substantially in the coming years as mature fields decline, according to analysts. BP Plc’s Argos and Shell Plc’s Vito — floating production platforms that are taller than 20-story buildings and have decks the size of football fields — will start pumping crude off the Louisiana shore later this year. They will join Murphy Oil Corp.’s King Quay, a behemoth that started producing oil in April, also off the Louisiana coast. Others from Chevron Corp., Shell and Beacon Offshore Energy are expected to start production in two years. Once all six platforms are online, they could produce up to 560,000 barrels a day. The timing for these new Gulf projects couldn’t be better. The offshore sector has been battered by back-to-back busts and a pandemic that forced mass layoffs and bankruptcies. But even with oil at $100 a barrel, a big comeback is unlikely. After a decade that saw one of the worst oil spills in U.S. history, shale’s ascendance and mounting climate-change concerns, some experts believe that the sun may be setting on the Gulf. “I think it has a future, but it’s not as bright as it once was,” James West, an analyst at Evercore ISI, told Bloomberg. “There’s probably some growth still left in the Gulf of Mexico, but it’s a more modest growth.”
E&E News: Gas flaring emissions drop to 10-year low, analysis finds
CAMILLE BOND, 4/29/22
“Global carbon dioxide emissions from gas flaring dropped to a 10-year low in 2021, but could rebound soon, according to new research from Rystad Energy,” E&E News reports. “Excess gas gets flared — or burned — as a waste product from oil production when companies lack the infrastructure or capacity to capture it. Rystad’s report found that global flaring in the upstream sector shrank last year “due to improved productivity, increased environmental awareness and lower fuel demand caused by Covid-19 lockdowns and travel restrictions.” The shale sector, in particular, experienced its “most striking reduction in recent years,” according to the report, which was released last week. Flaring from this sector dropped by 60 percent between 2019 and 2021. In the U.S., shale production accounted for about 40 percent of total upstream flaring in North America in 2021, down from about 70 percent in 2019, according to the analysis. Gas flaring has also decreased overall in the U.S. upstream sector (which includes not just the shale industry, but also offshore drilling, oil sands production and other onshore activity). The sector cut its CO2 emissions by over 4 million metric tons from 2020 to 2021, and reduced its flaring intensity by about 30 percent, according to the report.”
Energy Monitor: Soaring costs curb enthusiasm for US LNG
Seb Kennedy, 5/2/22
“They say the cure for high prices is high prices. The spectacular global rally in natural gas prices since last summer, which was put on a war footing with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has duly reignited investor interest in liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects,” Energy Monitor reports. “However, that economic maxim holds true only if the extra supply the market is calling for can be brought online – and there are signs that runaway cost inflation could undermine efforts to build new US LNG export projects intended to supply gas-shocked Europe… “Yet there simply isn’t enough spare uncontracted LNG swilling around the global market to satisfy European demand in the event that Russian flows are more widely banned or halted. Cue much speculation that Europe plans to go on an almighty buying spree of future LNG from unbuilt US projects. That might yet come to pass, but only if buyers are comfortable locking in commitments to lift LNG from greenfield projects for a decade or more – and that will happen only if the cost of security of supply justifies the risk of being caught long when markets tank, as inevitably happens in highly cyclical global natural gas markets. Never mind markets that ultimately have to contend with the EU’s plan to be climate neutral by 2050. That risk grows if buyers are forced to accept higher prices – and LNG project developers are facing spiralling costs that they will need to pass on in order to satisfy lenders and unlock project finance to reach final investment decision (FID). This concern is now real enough for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor Bechtel to renegotiate its contract to build Energy Transfer’s Lake Charles LNG project in Louisiana. Bechtel has also added $300m to its original $15.2bn EPC contract with Tellurian. Both of these projects are pre-FID.”
E&E News: Booming offset industry could cut CO2 — or just line pockets
Mike Lee, Corbin Hiar, 5/2/22
“The environmental trading platform Xpansiv came up last year with a novel approach to cut emissions from oil and gas drilling: digitized versions of fossil fuels,” E&E News reports. “The Xpansiv Digital Fuels Program provides detailed environmental data about each cubic foot of natural gas and barrel of crude, enabling the more efficient drillers to market their products as “responsibly sourced gas” or “carbon-neutral oil.” Producers of oil and gas with leak rates below a threshold set by S&P Global Inc. can also sell carbon offsets for their so-called avoided methane emissions. Xpansiv is one of many carbon trading platforms that have sprung up in recent years, backed by venture capitalists hoping to cash in on the proliferation of corporate climate pledges. The privately held company — whose investors include Occidental Petroleum Corp., BP PLC and S&P — argues that markets for digital fuels, emissions offsets and other intangible environmental commodities provide new financial incentives for lower-emission drilling. “It’s better than the alternative, right?” Henrik Hasselknippe, who runs Xpansiv’s exchange operations and services, told E&E. “The alternative is to have our current production.” There are catches, though, according to analysts, nonprofit groups and even some companies that are in the carbon offset business, in which polluters pay other companies to reduce or remove their planet-warming emissions. The booming offset industry has little government oversight. Few of the companies that sell offsets can guarantee that the investments will reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, methane or other greenhouse gases. There’s also uncertainty about how to accurately measure the benefits they claim to provide. And in many cases, no one will know if the investments pay off for years — perhaps even decades. That creates a risk that offsets become a fig leaf that allows companies and policymakers to avoid more aggressive and necessary climate action, according to critics.
CLIMATE FINANCE
FOX Business: Berkshire Hathaway boosts bet on oil ahead of shareholder meeting, makes Chevron 4th-largest investment
Peter Aitken, 4/30/22
“Berkshire Hathaway has increased its stake in oil and gas by investing further in Chevron and Occidental, taking Chevron into the top four stocks in the company’s portfolio,” FOX Business reports. “Berkshire disclosed its regulatory filing, revealing that Chevron now makes up $25.9 billion of the nearly $388 billion portfolio. The other three top stocks are Apple, which makes up almost half the portfolio with a titanic $159.1 billion investment; Bank of America with $42.6 billion and American Express with $28.4 billion. The company also now owns 14% of Occidental Petroleum, indicating strong confidence in oil and gas. Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, said that he decided Occidental was a "good place" to put money after reading an annual report. "We decided it made sense," he said, noting that no one can know the price of gas next year, let alone a few years into the future. "It’s quite apparent now, I think, that we are – we should be very happy that we can produce 11 million barrels a day, or something of the sort, rather than being able to produce none and having to find 11 million barrels a day somewhere else in the world to take care of keeping the American industrial machine working." “...Between the $10 billion investment in Occidental preferred and the substantial investment in Chevron, Berkshire has bet over $40 billion on the oil sector.”
E&E News: Oil is soaring. Will the majors stick with net zero?
Benjamin Storrow, 5/2/22
“Weeks after BP PLC declared it would go net zero in February 2020, oil prices plummeted to $18 a barrel because of the pandemic. Some analysts wondered if oil demand would ever recover, making it easier for other oil giants, like Equinor ASA and Shell PLC, to follow suit with net-zero plans of their own. Instead, the opposite has happened,” E&E News reports. “Demand has come surging back to pre-pandemic levels, sending oil prices soaring to around $110 a barrel and offering a potential test of oil majors’ climate commitments. The clamor for oil has become more acute since Russia invaded Ukraine, with Western companies limiting purchases of Russian crude. It’s against that backdrop that the three European oil majors will report first-quarter earnings this week. Analysts expect all three — BP, Equinor and Shell — to boast substantial profits… “One of the big questions entering this week is whether the majors unveil plans to increase oil production. Like many companies, the trio entered 2022 cautiously. Oil prices were already climbing at the start of the year, but companies were initially hesitant to increase investment in new drilling. Equinor initially targeted a 2 percent increase in production this year. BP predicted output would be flat while Shell said it expected production to fall in the first three months of the year… “America’s oil majors have been reluctant to reduce oil output and embrace renewables, like their European counterparts, focusing instead on technologies like hydrogen and carbon capture and sequestration.”
TheEnergyMix: Insurance Giant Allianz Sets Oil and Gas Exit Strategy
Mitchell Beer, 5/1/22
“The world’s fifth-largest insurance company, Munich-based Allianz, is withdrawing coverage and investment dollars from a wide swath of fossil fuel projects as of next year, and will stop insuring its existing fossil clients when their policies come up for renewal,” TheEnergyMix reports. “The company’s Statement on Oil and Gas Business Models draws the line on upstream oil and gas projects, new “midstream” facilities for oil and gas processing, transportation, and storage, and new oil-fired power plants, as well as Arctic and Antarctic exploration, coalbed methane, extra-heavy oil, tar sands/oil sands, and ultra-deep sea projects at depths below 1,500 metres. The new policy applies to the biggest fossil producers, each extracting more than 60 million barrels of oil or equivalent in 2020, that account for 85% of global production. It also singles out [pdf] companies that get at least 10% of their revenues from tar sands/oil sands operations… “The statement cites the company’s participation in the UN’s Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net-Zero (GFANZ) and includes links to Allianz research papers on energy decarbonization in Europe, the transition to solar and wind in the utility sector, transport in a zero-carbon EU, tar sands/oil sands business models, and the company’s approach to environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance… “We warmly welcome Allianz’s oil and gas policy,” Insure Our Future European Coordinator Lindsay Keenan told EnergyMix. “As one of the world’s largest insurance companies and a major oil and gas insurer, Allianz has sent a clear signal to the oil and gas sector and governments that new oil and gas developments are not compatible with the 1.5°C climate target. Allianz has also just raised the bar for all other insurers, which now need to follow suit.”
OPINION
Tennessean: Pipeline legislation leaves local Tennessee leaders powerless | Opinion
Dean Rivkin is an emeritus professor at the University of Tennessee College of Law, 4/29/22
“Tennessee communities deserve the ability to protect themselves, but a bill working its way through the Tennessee Capitol would strip local leaders of that power,” Dean Rivkin writes for the Tennessean. “A recent opinion piece in The Tennessean by Bradley Jackson, CEO of Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry, praised this hastily-written bill, which will prevent city and county officials from having a say in where pipelines and other oil and gas infrastructure can be built. In short, this undemocratic bill takes power away from Tennessee communities and hands it over to out-of-state pipeline companies, allowing them to build pipelines near homes, parks, schools, and hospitals, without any input from people living nearby. The broad scope of this industry-backed legislation will lead to unintended consequences that impact Tennesseans across the state – including myself… “Senate Bill 2077/House Bill 2246 passed this past week in the Tennessee General Assembly. My local elected officials will have little input on where this polluting pipeline can and can’t be built, leaving me with few meaningful avenues to bring my concerns… “Renewable energy options don’t carry the same dangerous risks as fossil fuel pipelines and, because of the falling costs, could result in lower monthly power bills for utility customers. Lawmakers should focus on fostering the state’s clean energy transition – which creates jobs and helps utility customers save money – instead of propping up outdated fossil fuel companies.”
Blue Virginia: Virginia Legislators: Mountain Valley Pipeline is an “Environmental Catastrophe”
Jon Sokolow, 5/2/22
“Mountain Valley Pipeline has had a very bad few months,” Jon Sokolow writes for Blue Virginia. “Since December, the project has suffered a series of disastrous legal and regulatory losses. These are just the latest blows to the partially built 303-mile pipeline, first proposed in 2014 but already years behind schedule and billions over budget, that would transport fracked natural gas from West Virginia to Virginia… “On Earth Day, seventeen Virginia legislators, joined by two dozen grassroots organizations, wrote letters to Senator Mark Warner and Senator Tim Kaine, calling the Mountain Valley Pipeline an “environmental catastrophe with no certainty of completion.” “...The letters pointed to recent efforts by Senator Joe Manchin to convince the Biden Administration to invoke the Defense Production Act to complete what the legislators refer to as “this flawed project.” They noted that Senator Manchin relied on “developers’ false claims that MVP is 90%-95% complete.” In fact, the letters pointed out, MVP’s own figures show that the project is only 55% complete and MVP “has yet to install pipeline through hundreds of water crossings, a project phase considered to be the most difficult, time consuming, and most likely to lead to detrimental environmental impact.” “...For all of these reasons, the letters urged the Senators “to reject any efforts to push this project through using the Defense Protection Act or other legislative means that sidestep the regulatory process or undermine recent court rulings as it pertains to this project’s clear impact to water quality and sensitive endangered species.” The movement to stop Mountain Valley Pipeline is strong and growing. The legislators are right. It is time to end this irresponsible and destructive environmental catastrophe.”
TheEnergyMix: May 3 Day of Action Pushes Canada to End Fossil Fuel Subsidies
Dr. Jason MacLean is professor in the Faculty of Law and the School of Environment and Sustainability at the University of New Brunswick, 5/2/22
“It has become easier to imagine the end of the world,” a cultural theorist once observed, “than the end of capitalism.” In Canada, it’s become easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of fossil fuels,” Jason MacLean writes for TheEnergyMix. “I recently testified before the House of Commons Standing Committee on the Environment and Sustainable Development as part of its study on fossil fuel subsidies… “Most Canadian politicians still don’t understand the most important thing about fossil fuel subsidies: Eliminating all financial support for the fossil fuel industry, I told the committee, is a necessary first step in completely phasing out fossil fuel production and consumption in Canada… “There’s no global carbon budget loophole for Canada. The world has to get off fossil fuels, and rich countries like Canada that have contributed disproportionately to climate change are obligated to lead the way. Canadian government agencies remain completely captured by the fossil fuel industry. Export Development Canada (EDC) also testified before the committee, describing the preferential financial support it continues to provide fossil companies, even as the industry rakes in record profits… “I concluded my testimony before the committee by spelling out the three most important implications for Canada’s climate and energy policy. First, the government must cancel the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion and the Bay du Nord offshore oil project, and say no to any additional fossil fuel production in Canada. Second, the government must close the loopholes in the federal carbon price for heavy industrial emitters, which amount to a significant fossil fuel subsidy. According to the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development’s recent independent audit, heavy emitters are paying only a fraction of the federal carbon price. Third, the government must rescind its investment tax credit for carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration (CCUS) technology, the largest single piece of “climate policy” spending in the recent federal budget. These and all other fossil fuel subsidies should be redirected to renewable energy, electrification, energy efficiency, and nature-based solutions to climate change. Tuesday, May 3, is the National Day of Action on Ending Fossil Fuel Subsidies. I urge all Canadians to attend the virtual town hall meeting and demand that our elected officials and government agencies like EDC align our laws and policies with independent climate research.”
Globe and Mail: Suncor’s safety record helped make it a target for activist investors
Andrew Willis, 5/1/22
“Suncor Energy’s board of directors is making it easy for activist Elliott Investment Management LP to win support for a shakeup at one of Canada’s largest energy companies,” Andrew Willis writes for the Globe and Mail. “Going into last year’s annual meeting, the Calgary-based oil and gas producer was on notice that institutional investors were unhappy with weak operational performance versus peers, including Suncor’s woeful safety record. After three workplace fatalities at Suncor’s Alberta operations in December, 2020, and January, 2021, Britain’s largest pension plan manager went out of its way to explain why it voted against the board’s decisions on executive compensation. Ahead of Suncor’s 2020 annual meeting last May, Royal London Asset Management, which invests a total of £159-billion for its clients and owns three million Suncor shares, said: “Given company fatalities, we have concerns over the discretionary adjustment to awards in relation to safety performance.” “...After building a 3.4-per-cent stake in Suncor, worth more than $2-billion, Elliott launched a campaign last week to put five new directors on Suncor’s 10-member board. “Due to operational and safety issues, Suncor’s former premium valuation has given way to a deep discount,” said Elliott in a 45-slide presentation that detailed plans for each arm of the company. Across industries – from oil to logging, autos or construction – there’s a direct link between worker safety and financial performance. To ensure this is the case at one of the country’s dominant energy companies, Elliott said: “Suncor must properly account for safety in management compensation metrics.”
The Hill: Oil and gas industry waste opens door for methane mitigation
Isaac Brown is the executive director of the Center for Methane Emissions Solutions, 4/30/22
“Right now, energy security is at the top of everyone’s mind, as the demand for natural gas and the influence of Russia on European energy markets is all too real. That global instability is also creating a surge in energy prices to record highs, which hits all of us in our pocket books,” Isaac Brown writes for The Hill. “Despite the pressure on energy markets and consumers right now, inefficiencies in the oil and gas industry lead to the needless waste of $2 billion dollars worth of natural gas through the venting, flaring and leaking of methane. This wasted gas represents enough to heat 10 million homes in America for a year. Taxpayers bear a heavy burden as methane waste on federal lands alone costs taxpayers $50 million in federal revenue each year — funds that are sorely needed for infrastructure investments and other priorities… “Earlier this month, New Mexico approved rules that will increase required monitoring and reporting at oil and gas sites and drastically reduce methane emissions. The new safeguards require commonsense standards like regular inspections of small, leak-prone wells and build on protections enacted last year which banned routine flaring… “EPA, utilizing its air authority, must follow Colorado’s and New Mexico’s lead by finalizing the strongest possible protections against methane pollution by banning flaring and including inspections of small, leak-prone wells in its next supplemental rule making. This could protect public health and expand job growth across the country. BLM must also take action to fulfill their duty to cut the needless waste of our natural resources and ban routine flaring on public lands. Given everything we are facing on energy both foreign and domestic, our country needs bold, decisive action to stop the needless waste of our resources now.”
Ted Glick: The Walk for Appalachia’s Future
4/2922
“From May 24th to June 4th, climate justice and social justice activists will be walking and riding from Charleston, West Virginia into southwest Virginia, down to Rockingham/Alamance counties in North Carolina, ending up in Richmond, Virginia. For most of the time the Walk for Appalachia’s Future will take place along the route of the planned but deeply troubled, 303 miles long, fracked gas Mountain Valley Pipeline,” Ted Glick writes. “This action is happening first and foremost to kill the MVP, but it also calls for jobs with justice, for renewable energy, and for mobilizing the resources so that the people of Appalachia can exercise control over their lives and communities. In the words of West Virginia farmer, activist, and one of the Walk leaders Maury Johnson, “There is no reason to build new pipelines. We have far too many destructive pipelines already. We need to fully electrify our energy sector with renewable energy and build a smart, modern electrical grid. Senator Joe Manchin, MVP supporter and coal plant owner, is not only wrong, he is DEAD wrong, and the human race will be too if we continue down the path that he is pushing.” The primary purpose of the Walk is to amplify the voices of frontline Appalachian communities and others in their fight for environmental justice and renewables... “Hopefully, this Walk will come to be seen as an important part of what put the final nails in the coffin of the MVP, as well as advancing the urgently needed, justice-grounded, community-involving transition from fossil fuels to a jobs-creating, renewable energy economy, toward thriving and prosperous Appalachian communities.”