EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 5/25/22
PIPELINE NEWS
The Tyee: Wet’suwet’en Warn of More Damage from Pipeline
Radio Iowa: No moratorium on land seizures in Iowa for carbon pipelines
Fort Dodge Messenger: Supervisors get update on Summit carbon pipeline
U.S. Energy Information Association: FERC approves new natural gas pipeline projects to increase U.S. exports
S&P Global: Major gas pipelines face 1.3 million Dth/d of expiring contracts in Q2
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Politico: CASH IN YOUR POCKET
Politico: CAN’T IGNORE RACE
Politico: SOCIAL COST DWARFS OIL, GAS REVENUES — GREEN ANALYSIS
STATE UPDATES
Bismarck Tribune: Carbon capture projects awarded loans in 2nd clean energy funding round
EXTRACTION
The Intercept: BIG FOSSIL’S DISASTER CAPITALIST RESPONSE TO RUSSIA-UKRAINE
Oil Change International: Updated analysis reveals oil industry climate plans are grossly insufficient to achieve Paris Climate Goals
Electrek: Here’s where Big Oil stands on climate plans – and it’s not good
Vox: An oil industry consultant explains why she’s had enough
Globe and Mail: Cenovus CEO’s mission: satisfying the world’s appetite for oil while closing in on net zero
Bloomberg: In 2007 Redux, Canada’s Oil Heartland Is Running Ferociously Hot
InsideClimate News: New Study Says World Must Cut Short-Lived Climate Pollutants as Well as Carbon Dioxide to Meet Paris Agreement Goals
The Hill: Greenhouse gas pollution trapping almost 50 percent more heat than 30 years ago
Gizmodo: See How Close You Live to the 'Threat Radius' of an Oil & Gas Site
CLIMATE FINANCE
Natural Gas Intelligence: Protests Fail to Derail Shell’s Annual Meeting with Shareholders Strongly Supporting Energy Transition
Bloomberg: ‘Hell no’: Finance firms tell Texas they don’t boycott energy
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
WCYB: Warriors' Path State Park playground receives grant for maintenance and improvements
OPINION
Financial Post: Parker Gallant: Why do we subsidize Michigan while its governor tries to shut down Line 5?
Bakersfield Californian: California’s responsible oil production offers affordable energy supply
PIPELINE NEWS
The Tyee: Wet’suwet’en Warn of More Damage from Pipeline
Amanda Follett Hosgood, 5/25/22
“The Office of the Wet’suwet’en is calling on the province to impose stricter penalties against Coastal GasLink after a recent inspection revealed continuing damage to watersheds in the western portion of the nation’s traditional territory,” The Tyee reports. “Mike Ridsdale, environmental assessment co-ordinator with the Office of the Wet’suwet’en, told the Tyee he visited a section of the pipeline route that’s currently under construction on April 30 with an investigator from B.C.’s Environmental Assessment Office and observed “many violations,” including erosion, sedimentation and several hydrocarbon spills… “He added that snowmelt and spring runoff are exacerbating the issues and impacting the Clore River, a tributary of the Skeena and one of three rivers flagged by the Wet’suwet’en as ecologically sensitive during the pipeline’s environmental approval process. “The thing to remember here is that the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs said that this was not a good project, and they said no to the project,” Ridsdale told the Tyee. “What we’re seeing now is exactly what we were expecting.” The province approved the project despite those concerns but has recently issued two fines against the company for violating its environmental certificate… “In an email to The Tyee following the announcement of the initial fine in February, Coastal GasLink said its issues had been resolved. Days later, the EAO posted new documents showing more erosion and sediment control issues had been identified, this time at the western end of the pipeline route near Kitimat… “In a 25-page report produced by the Office of the Wet’suwet’en following the inspection, Ridsdale expressed frustration that the company doesn’t share more data with the nation, giving its natural resources department limited ability to assess impacts. “As you may have noticed, the biggest concern is that there is no data being supplied to an outside entity, especially Wet’suwet’en people whose territory is being damaged and destroyed,” the report said. “The Wet’suwet’en have lived within our House territories for generations, and this is our legacy. The ability of a company to disregard a Nation’s protection directives, and do harm to their House is irresponsible, and damaging at many levels.” It added that the Office of the Wet’suwet’en believes the project is out of compliance and should be subject to stricter penalties by the province.”
Radio Iowa: No moratorium on land seizures in Iowa for carbon pipelines
O. KAY HENDERSON, 5/24/22
“A temporary moratorium on the use of eminent domain to seize property along carbon pipeline routes passed the House in March, but it was never considered in the Iowa Senate,” Radio Iowa reports. “The plan would have prevented pipeline developers from filing an application with the Iowa Utilities Board before February 1, 2023, in order to acquire land where property owners are refusing to grant access. Representative Bruce Hunter, a Democrat from Des Moines, suggested lawmakers played a type of shell game with Iowans who wanted some assurances their land won’t be seized against their wishes. “We didn’t do anything for the farmers on this pipeline issue,” Hunter told Radio Iowa. “Look what we’ve done: beat our chest and then con ’em.” Republican Representative Bobby Kaufmann of Wilton told Radio Iowa the mere threat of a moratorium got pipeline developers to assure him they won’t seek eminent domain authority until next March… “And Kaufmann said state utility regulators have also told him their review of any eminent domain requests for carbon pipelines won’t start until after the 2023 legislature convenes.”
Fort Dodge Messenger: Supervisors get update on Summit carbon pipeline
KELBY WINGERT, 5/25/22
“A representative for Summit Carbon Solutions, one of the two companies planning carbon pipelines through the state, gave an update on the project to the Webster County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday,” the Fort Dodge Messenger reports. “...Fifty percent of the corn produced in Iowa is used for ethanol production. So we are building this pipeline to directly benefit the citizens of Iowa and benefit the citizens of Webster County,” said Paul Phillips, with TurnKey Logistics of Houston on behalf of Summit. During its April 26 meeting, the Board of Supervisors signed a letter to the Iowa Utilities Board to record its objection to the use of eminent domain for carbon capture pipeline projects. Many Webster County land owners who would be impacted by the Summit pipeline — as well as the Navigator CO2 pipeline — have publicly opposed the projects… “According to a factsheet Phillips gave the county supervisors, the project’s total investment in Webster County will be nearly $28 million, with an additional $1 million annually in new property taxes.”
U.S. Energy Information Association: FERC approves new natural gas pipeline projects to increase U.S. exports
5/24/22
“In the first quarter of 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved three projects intended to increase U.S. natural gas exports via pipeline and as liquefied natural gas (LNG),” the U.S. Energy Information Association reports. “FERC approved two projects that connect to LNG terminals in Louisiana. The Evangeline Pass Expansion Project is a 1.1 billion cubic feet (Bcf/d) project owned by Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company. The project includes 13.1 miles of new pipeline and two new compressor stations that will deliver natural gas to the proposed Plaquemines LNG Project in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. The Alberta Xpress Project is a 0.17 Bcf/d project owned by TC Energy that will use existing capacity on the Great Lakes Gas Transmission (GLGT) system and the ANR pipeline and will add a new compressor station in Evangeline Parish, Louisiana. The project expands capacity from the GLGT receipt point at the Minnesota-Manitoba border to delivery points in the U.S. Midwest and U.S. Gulf Coast, increasing the available capacity for LNG export facilities in the region. This project also improves the domestic natural gas infrastructure in those areas. The third project FERC approved expands capacity by 0.5 Bcf/d to transport U.S. natural gas via pipeline to the Energia Costa Azul LNG Export Project in Baja California, Mexico. TC Energy’s North Baja Xpress Project modifies existing facilities and compressor stations along its 86-mile North Baja Pipeline. Two notable projects were completed in Florida and North Dakota this past quarter. The Putnam Expansion Project is a 0.17 Bcf/d expansion project on the Florida Gas Transmission pipeline that facilitates natural gas deliveries to a Seminole Generation Cooperative natural gas-fired power plant in Putnam County, Florida. The North Bakken Expansion Project is a 62-mile extension of the Williston Basin Interstate (WBI) pipeline system. The project provides 0.25 Bcf/d of additional takeaway capacity for natural gas produced in the core production area of the Bakken region in North Dakota and connects to the Northern Border Pipeline. We estimate that over 0.43 Bcf/d of new natural gas pipeline capacity was completed in the first quarter of 2022.”
S&P Global: Major gas pipelines face 1.3 million Dth/d of expiring contracts in Q2
Corey Paul, Susan Dlin, 5/24/22
“Major U.S. natural gas pipelines have more than 1.3 million Dth/d of firm gas transportation contracts slated to expire during the second quarter,” S&P Global reports. “WBI Energy Transmission Inc. could see nearly 22% of its contracted capacity drop off when a contract with Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. ends June 30. A spokesperson for MDU Resources Group Inc., which owns the 3,800-mile WBI Energy pipeline system spanning the northern Plains and Rocky Mountain regions from Wyoming to Minnesota, declined to comment about whether the capacity had been recontracted… “Kinder Morgan Inc.'s Stagecoach Pipeline & Storage Co. LLC could see more than 6% of its contracted capacity roll off when a contract for 150,000 Dth/d of firm transportation ends June 30… “Tallgrass Energy LP's Rockies Express Pipeline LLC faced a pair of short-term contract expirations that totaled about 5.2% of the capacity of the 1,700-mile pipeline network that spans from Colorado to Ohio… “Pipelines provide gas transportation service to shippers such as producers, utilities, industrial customers, power generators and energy marketers, often under firm contracts. Most of these agreements feature fixed reservation charges that are paid monthly regardless of the actual gas volumes moved or stored, plus a tariff component based on volume to compensate pipelines for their variable costs… “Market observers' expectations for the midstream sector were largely bullish headed into the first-quarter 2022 earnings reporting season, with analysts watching for signs that the sector was pursuing infrastructure growth opportunities unlocked by high commodity prices and favorable sentiment for oil and gas because of the energy crisis in Europe. Midstream executives in a series of earnings calls anticipated that growing demand for new U.S. LNG capacity would drive investment in other midstream expansions.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Politico: CASH IN YOUR POCKET
Matthew Choi, 5/24/22
“Reps. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) and Don McEachin (D-Va.) are introducing a bill today to eliminate 11 tax breaks for oil and gas companies, including for marginal wells and enhanced oil recovery, to fund a $500 direct cash rebate for consumers reeling from high prices,” Politico reports. “This bill comes after the House passed a bill last week that would give the Federal Trade Commission sharper teeth in preventing gas price gouging by oil companies. The price gouging bill is a contentious piece of legislation with hardly any chance of success in the Senate, and industry backers and fossil-friendly lawmakers retort that high fuel prices are largely due to global markets and refinery capacity. TheSenate Commerce Committee has a mark up on its own version of the price gouging bill Wednesday. Casten told ME that his bill would help alleviate immediate pain at the pump by putting cash in people’s pockets rather than attempting to relieve consumer prices through spurring greater investment in domestic production… “We give our domestic oil and gas producers $6 billion a year in tax subsidies and yet they're saying they're going to pay out $12 billion a year in subsidies to their shareholders. So why should we subsidize their profits?” Casten told Politico. “I'm all for private businesses having a profit incentive. But why should we distort the market when the market is saying loud and clear that I don't actually trust you as a place to invest capital?
Politico: CAN’T IGNORE RACE
Matthew Choi, 5/24/22
“Over 70 environmental and activist groups wrote to the White House Council on Environmental Quality urging the inclusion of race in determining what communities should count as marginalized and eligible for environmental justice resources,” Politico reports. “The groups, which include Evergreen Action and the NAACP, made their case as CEQ takes feedback on its draft screening tool for its Justice40 initiative, which takes into account factors such as income, access to traffic and linguistic isolation. While CEQ Chair Brenda Mallory acknowledged the role of racism in environmental justice issues, the White House is concerned including race into the calculus could invite legal challenges. The White House told Politico Monday that the administration has so far put $29 billion into programs focusing on environmental burdens that have disproportionately harmed disadvantaged areas.”
Politico: SOCIAL COST DWARFS OIL, GAS REVENUES — GREEN ANALYSIS
Matthew Choi, 5/24/22
"Oil and gas production likely will be front and center at tomorrow's budget hearing with Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. But Friends of the Earth argues in a new analysis today that it’s not worth it — literally,” Politico reports. “The green group crunched some numbers from DOI and found the social cost of carbon related to oil and gas extracted from federal lands far outstrips the revenue collected. “There is a hidden price when Big Oil profits, and society picks up the tab,” FOE said. The government raised $9.6 billion in revenue from oil and gas production in 2021, but the social cost of burning those fossil fuels totaled $23.4 billion under the current $51 figure, according to FOE’s calculations based on Interior figures… “Bumping the social cost up to just $100 per ton would increase that cost to $46 billion.”
STATE UPDATES
Bismarck Tribune: Carbon capture projects awarded loans in 2nd clean energy funding round
AMY R. SISK, 5/23/22
“North Dakota’s new clean energy board has doled out all of its loan funding and much of its grant money authorized by lawmakers, with the latest round of awards going to three carbon capture projects,” the Bismarck Tribune reports. “The state Industrial Commission on Monday approved a $100 million loan for Minnkota Power Cooperative’s Project Tundra and a $15 million loan for a project to capture and store emissions underground from Midwest AgEnergy Group’s Blue Flint Ethanol plant. The commission also approved a $1 million grant for Enerplus Resources Corp., which seeks to capture carbon emissions from generator engine exhaust in the oil fields and develop an injection well… “Lawmakers established the energy authority to help fund the commercialization of low-emissions projects. They authorized $250 million in loans through the Bank of North Dakota, as well as $45 million in grant money, $20 million of which is to go to hydrogen-related projects. There is $16 million total in grant money left, which could be allocated during a future funding round… “Project Tundra, which involves installing a carbon capture system at Minnkota’s coal-fired Milton R. Young Station, has indicated it may seek additional loans down the road if lawmakers were to approve more money.”
EXTRACTION
The Intercept: BIG FOSSIL’S DISASTER CAPITALIST RESPONSE TO RUSSIA-UKRAINE
Amy Westervelt, 5/25/22
“BACK IN LATE 2021, as Russian President Vladimir Putin began mobilizing troops at the Ukraine border, the fossil fuel industry got its foot soldiers ready too. With the threat of Russian aggression and subsequent sanctions looming, gas prices were on the rise, and the fossil fuel industry wanted the public to know that there was only one culprit: climate policy,” The Intercept reports. “There are a lot of factors at play as to why energy prices are surging,” Mike Sommers, president of the American Petroleum Institute, or API, told CNBC at the time. “But certainly one of the key factors is that the Biden administration has made an effort to reduce production in the United States. One of their first acts, for example, was cutting off the Keystone XL pipeline. One of their second acts was cutting up leasing and permitting on federal lands, and then they cut off access to ANWR,” referring to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. He gave roughly the same interview every week for months. On March 7, two weeks after the invasion of Ukraine, he repeated it again, telling a CBS reporter, “You know, first they cut off the Keystone XL pipeline. Then they put a moratorium on leasing and permitting on federal lands and on offshore waters. And then they cut off supply from the Alaska natural national wildlife refuge.” “...But the facts don’t matter if you’re the first one to frame a story and you repeat it often enough. A new report out this week shows that consistent messaging, coordinated messengers, and a massive advertising blitz combined to deliver major policy wins to the fossil fuel industry as early as two weeks from the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine… “InfluenceMap teamed up with Media Matters for America and Triplecheck to look into what various fossil fuel interests were saying about Russia-Ukraine and how those messages were being amplified. The organizations’ resulting report pinpoints the top messages and messengers, and how they map to big policy wins. Some of the findings are to be expected. API went big, as did Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The usual suspects amplified the industry’s messaging: Breitbart News, Fox News, conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, and Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn. All told, API placed 651 Facebook ads from the end of January to April 1, reaching more than 19 million people. On February 24, the day of the invasion, API and its network got busy. “There’s a huge peak where we get to 100 fossil fuel misinformation posts that yielded over 5 million likes, comments, and shares,” Arena told the Intercept.
Oil Change International: Updated analysis reveals oil industry climate plans are grossly insufficient to achieve Paris Climate Goals
5/24/22
“Despite an array of new ‘net zero’ pledges released in the past two years, the climate promises of major U.S. and European oil and gas companies still fail to meet the bare minimum for alignment with the Paris Agreement, according to a new study released today. “Big oil and gas companies’ climate pledges and plans appear to be designed to disinform and distract, not to seriously confront the climate crisis,” said David Tong, lead author of the report and Global Industry campaign manager at Oil Change International. “This new analysis shows that not even one of the eight oil majors considered comes anywhere close to aligning their businesses with what’s needed for 1.5ºC.” The report, titled “Big Oil Reality Check,” was released today by Oil Change International in collaboration with over 35 organizations from across the globe. Updating an inaugural 2020 study, the report analyzes the latest climate pledges of BP, Chevron, Eni, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Repsol, Shell, and TotalEnergies against 10 minimum benchmarks for alignment with the 1.5°C temperature goal outlined in the Paris Agreement, including new criteria highlighting the need to uphold human rights and Indigenous Peoples’ rights, including Free, Prior, and Informed Consent. The analysis provides new data on the climate threat from the eight companies’ near-term plans to develop new oil and gas extraction projects – plans that clash with the International Energy Agency (IEA)’s conclusion that new oil and gas development should cease after 2021 to keep global warming below 1.5°C. The report finds the oil and gas majors are involved in over 200 expansion projects on track for approval from 2022 through 2025. If they go forward, these companies’ investments could create an additional 8.6 billion tonnes (Gt) of carbon pollution – equivalent to the lifetime emissions of 77 new coal power plants… “Instead of facing up to the reality of the climate crisis and cutting fossil fuel production, our analysis found that these big oil and gas companies plan to keep adding fuel to the fire,” said Kelly Trout, Research Co-Director at Oil Change International. “The few companies projecting declines in total production by 2030 appear to have a strategy of selling off dirty assets for other companies to keep exploiting, rather than winding them down.”
Electrek: Here’s where Big Oil stands on climate plans – and it’s not good
Michelle Lewis, 5/24/22
“Major US and European oil and gas companies are failing to meet the bare minimum of their promises to reach net zero by 2050 in order to align with the Paris Agreement, according to a new study released today,” Electrek reports. “The report, titled “Big Oil Reality Check,” was released today by Washington, DC-based Oil Change International in collaboration with over 35 global organizations… “The report finds the Big Oil and Gas are involved in over 200 expansion projects on track for approval from 2022 through 2025. If they go forward, these companies’ investments could create an additional 8.6 billion tonnes (Gt) of emissions. Oil Change International reports that that’s the equivalent of the lifetime emissions of a whopping 77 new coal-fired power plants. Oil Change International found that all eight of these companies’ climate pledges and plans are grossly insufficient. Chevron and ExxonMobil in particular are assessed as grossly insufficient on all criteria… “Kelly Trout, research co-director at Oil Change International, told Electrek: Instead of facing up to the reality of the climate crisis and cutting fossil fuel production, our analysis found that these big oil and gas companies plan to keep adding fuel to the fire.”
Vox: An oil industry consultant explains why she’s had enough
Rebecca Leber, 5/23/22
“Caroline Dennett was in her 11th year as an operational safety consultant working with the oil giant Shell when she saw a news clip of a climate protest outside of its UK headquarters. One of the protesters, from the group Extinction Rebellion, carried a sign that said “Insiders wanted,” asking employees to get in touch if they had something to say,” Vox reports. “She did. On Monday, Dennett said it as publicly as possible — breaking her contract with the company in an email sent to the executive committee at Shell over its hypocrisy on climate change. In her letter of resignation, she accused Shell of “failing on a massive planetary scale” noting that it is “not winding down oil and gas, but planning to explore and extract much more.” Shell has promised to reach net zero emissions in less than 30 years and touts its support for climate action in press releases and advertising. But the company continues to expand new drilling that all but ensures the world will barrel past 2 degrees Celsius of warming. Her letter of resignation stated, “Shell is operating beyond the design limits of our planetary systems. Shell is not implementing steps to mitigate the known risks. Shell is not putting environmental safety before production.” “...Asked for comment on Dennett’s accusations, a Shell spokesperson told Vox, “Be in no doubt, we are determined to deliver on our global strategy to be a net zero company by 2050 and thousands of our people are working hard to achieve this.” The spokesperson added, “We’re already investing billions of dollars in low-carbon energy, although the world will still need oil and gas for decades to come in sectors that can’t be easily decarbonized.” The oil industry’s role in climate change has led to some notable recruitment problems for the oil giants, and its contractors, including PR agencies, are under increasing scrutiny. A growing number are refusing to work for the industry at all. Last year, an Exxon engineer of 16 years quit because of the company’s inaction on climate change. And Dennett’s email includes a plea for others to reconsider their role working for big oil. “I’m lucky to be able to make this choice, and I recognise many people in Shell may not be in such a position. But the fossil fuel industry is the past, and if you have an option to exit, please walk away and towards a more sustainable career, and help put us all on a path to a genuinely safer future.” “...What prompted your decision today to stop working with Shell? I can’t go on working for, with, or supporting a company that just is blindly ignoring all the alarm bells. It’s a bit like if someone asks you to go and work in the tobacco industry. I’ve continued for as long as I have because of the firm belief that whilst they are operating, people need to be safe. We need to prevent as many leaks as we can. We need to prevent as many major incidents as we can. But there comes a time where it’s just time to divorce. I’ve come to the point where I can’t live with my own conscience for continuing to support a company that just so blatantly doesn’t care about what’s happening with the climate and the people that it will harm.”
Globe and Mail: Cenovus CEO’s mission: satisfying the world’s appetite for oil while closing in on net zero
TREVOR COLE, 5/24/22
“Having come from the world of pipelines, Alex Pourbaix wasn’t fluent in the lingo of the upstream when he became CEO of Cenovus, Canada’s third-largest oil and gas producer,” the Globe and Mail reports. “...So, rising prices, war in Ukraine, climate change, ESG investing, the advance of electric vehicles—is this a good time or a bad time to be in the oil and gas business? Well, in a world that is going to need oil and gas for many, many decades to come, being an industry that has an aspiration to drive our carbon emissions to net zero, I actually think that is a pretty good place to be. Canada is the holder of the third-largest reserves of oil on the planet. We have a commitment to open, transparent regulation, rule of law, a focus on all of the things that are important in ESG, including our work with Indigenous people, clean air, clean water. And we’ve added this focus on decarbonizing the upstream. I think we’re reasonably well positioned over the coming decades… “Whenever production exceeds the takeaway capacity—via pipeline or use in refineries or upgraders—you create a scenario where oil is trapped in the province. As a result, it gets very significant discounts to the value. In my first couple of years at Cenovus, there were times where the differential was over $30 a barrel. That was the result of this lack of pipeline capacity… “You mentioned the lack of investment in new production. Some of that, I think, comes from ESG investors steering money elsewhere. What’s your attitude toward the ESG movement? There is no doubt that has been a bit of an issue. Some of it has been based on a view that really underestimates the challenges of moving to a completely emissions-free environment. Cenovus is now part of the Oil Sands Pathways to Net Zero alliance, which is a mouthful… “You’ve launched three new carbon-capture projects that will roll out over the next five years, costing as much as $3 billion. Do those projects depend on federal CCUS tax credits? It’s really important to remember that almost all of these investments are purely added costs for the industry. They tend not to come with a revenue element. So it’s really important that we’re focused on competitiveness and that we’re not taking steps that other oil-producing countries are not taking. I mean, we’re gonna contribute tens of billions of dollars as an industry. That investment tax credit is very important to help the industry make these investments.” Does everything then hinge on carbon capture? Carbon capture is really important in the initial phases, like the first 10 years or so of this decarbonization quest we’re on. As we get past 2030, other technologies will start to be more meaningful—things like replacing steam in SAGD, in-situ projects with solvents.”
Bloomberg: In 2007 Redux, Canada’s Oil Heartland Is Running Ferociously Hot
Randy Thanthong-Knight, 5/24/22
“Rob Hryszko’s phone is ringing off the hook. The calls pour in from executives in Calgary’s oil industry who want to know if he can build them a multimillion-dollar luxury home,” Bloomberg reports. “...For Hryszko, it all brings back memories of the go-go days of the mid-aughts, when oil was soaring toward a peak of about $140 a barrel and Calgary, in his words, “was on fire.” The boom in Canada’s energy capital today is not quite the same as that one -- it’s less drill-baby-drill, more cautious salting away of windfall profits -- but Hryszko can barely notice the difference. “This feels a lot like 2006, 2007,” he told Bloomberg. So high is his optimism that he’s making plans to almost double his home-building capacity. At a time when post-Covid economic expansions are cooling across much of the globe, Canada’s is rolling right along… “And Calgary, surrounded by fields of oil, natural gas, wheat and barley that make Canada a global exporting powerhouse, is at the epicenter of it all. Its employment rate is one of the highest of any large Canadian city and home sales were up 58% in the first quarter. Job creation in the province of Alberta is expected to top the nation this year (though it wasn’t enough to save Premier Jason Kenney’s job)... “There’s a dark side to all of this, too, though. Not only is the boom generating the same acute shortages and runaway inflation that are rocking governments across the globe, but it highlights a reality that some Canadians would prefer to ignore: Commodity exports are still the engine that propels the economy. In March, the fossil-fuel industry represented 27.4% of merchandise exports -- matching a record… “Canada could be supplying more energy to the world if we’d gone ahead with a few projects. And that’s one of the things that frustrates people in Alberta quite dramatically,” Deborah Yedlin, chief executive officer at Calgary Chamber of Commerce, told Bloomberg. “We should be more of a global player, and we’re not because we don’t have enough infrastructure.” “...Sit down in C-suites with energy executives across Calgary and it becomes evident that they’re acutely aware of the contradiction between Canada’s economic and environmental policies. Without fail, they all are quick to accentuate the greener elements of their business plans. Some of this is genuine. As high as crude prices are now, peak oil, they know, isn’t too many years away. What’s more, Trudeau has given them an order to cut emissions 42% from 2019 levels by 2030. But a lot of it sounds like a 2022 version of the same embrace-the-future message they’ve been giving for decades -- the claim that energy riches will pay for diversification and innovative methods for cleaner energy production.”
InsideClimate News: New Study Says World Must Cut Short-Lived Climate Pollutants as Well as Carbon Dioxide to Meet Paris Agreement Goals
Phil McKenna, 5/23/22
“Climate policies that rely on decarbonization alone are not enough to hold atmospheric warming below 2 degrees Celsius and, rather than curbing climate change, would fuel additional warming in the near term, a study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences concludes,” InsideClimate News reports. ‘The study found that limiting warming in coming decades as well as longer term requires policies that focus not only on reducing emissions of carbon dioxide, but also of “short-lived climate pollutants”—greenhouse gases including methane and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)—along with black carbon, or soot. “We’re simultaneously in two races to avert climate catastrophe,” Gabrielle Dreyfus, chief scientist for the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development and lead author of the study, told ICN. “We have to win the sprint to slow warming in the near term by tackling the short-lived climate pollutants, so that we can stay in the race to win the marathon against CO2.” The study used climate models to assess how the planet would respond if countries addressed climate change solely through decarbonization efforts—namely transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy—without reining in methane and other short-lived but potent climate pollutants. The authors found that decarbonization-only efforts would actually result in increased warming over the near term. This is because burning fossil fuels emits both carbon dioxide and sulfates. Unlike carbon dioxide, which warms the planet and remains in the atmosphere for centuries, sulfate particles reflect sunlight back into space but only remain in the atmosphere for several days, so they have a powerful, but short-lived cooling effect. The continual release of sulfates through the ongoing burning of fossil fuels currently offsets roughly half a degree of warming that the planet would otherwise experience from the carbon dioxide emissions of fossil fuel combustion, Dreyfus told ICN. Transitioning to renewable energy will quickly remove the short-term curb on warming provided by sulfate emissions, and the planet will continue to heat up for a couple of decades before the longer-term cooling from cutting carbon dioxide emissions takes hold, she added.”
The Hill: Greenhouse gas pollution trapping almost 50 percent more heat than 30 years ago
RACHEL FRAZIN - 5/23/22
“Planet-warming gases are trapping more and more heat in the atmosphere, holding in significantly more heat than they were in previous decades, a new assessment has found,” The Hill reports. “The Monday assessment from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) found that human-caused greenhouse gas pollution trapped 49 percent more heat in 2021 than in 1990. “Our measurements show the primary gases responsible for climate change continue rising rapidly, even as the damage caused by climate change becomes more and more clear,” said Ariel Stein, the acting director of NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory, in a statement… “NOAA found that carbon dioxide, the most common greenhouse gas, which can last more than 1,000 years in the atmosphere, is the biggest contributor. It also found that carbon dioxide levels are responsible for 80 percent of the increased heat tracked by the agency’s Annual Greenhouse Gas Index since 1990. The 2021 increase in the second-biggest greenhouse gas, methane, was the largest increase recorded since the early 1980s.”
Gizmodo: See How Close You Live to the 'Threat Radius' of an Oil & Gas Site
Molly Taft, 5/24/22
“More than 17 million Americans, including nearly 4 million children, are currently living within half a mile (0.8 kilometers) of an active upstream oil and gas facility and could be at risk of health impacts, an exhaustive new geospatial analysis released Tuesday finds,” Gizmodo reports. “An updated interactive map, called the Oil and Gas Threat Map, released in conjunction with the analysis, allows people to view specific data on facilities that may be near their homes or their children’s schools… “This map gives the president 17 million more reasons—living, breathing reasons—to make sure that his EPA finalizes the strongest rules possible under the Clean Air Act to cut oil and gas methane and to work to end the extraction of fossil fuels,” Josh Eisenfeld, a campaigner at Earthworks, told Gizmodo. The analysis finds that this half-mile radius for possible health impacts encompasses 212,747 square miles (551,012 square kilometers)—bigger than twice the size of the state of Colorado—and includes an estimated 17,295,499 people, including 5,723,805 people of color, living within this radius. That huge swath of the country also includes 12,445 schools, enrolling some 3,185,097 students… “The half-mile radius used in the tool, which researchers call the “health threat radius,” was developed based on an analysis of several different peer-reviewed studies that link proximity to oil and gas sites with health impacts like birth defects, infant mortality, preterm births, blood disorders, and elevated cancer risks… “It’s important to note that the radius does not necessarily mean that health impacts will occur within a half-mile of oil and gas facilities… “What’s more, many of these studies used in the analysis focus on leaks, blowouts, and other accidents; there’s less peer-reviewed research on the direct impacts of routine air pollution that comes merely from living near a site. Even with these caveats, using the map is a mindfuck. There’s a pretty clear and heavy concentration of facilities in swathes of the country like the Permian Basin and chunks of Pennsylvania and Appalachia. My own home in New York City is free of the yellow radius, but it’s especially jarring to zoom in on Texas, where my friends are planning to raise children near Houston and Austin, to see the huge chunks of the state that fall into these danger zones.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
Natural Gas Intelligence: Protests Fail to Derail Shell’s Annual Meeting with Shareholders Strongly Supporting Energy Transition
CAROLYN DAVIS, 5/24/22
“Shell plc’s energy transition strategy got a thumb’s up Tuesday from shareholders during an annual general meeting that was disrupted for hours by protestors,” Natural Gas Intelligence reports. “During a live feed of the proceedings in London, demonstrators shouted insults and sang protest songs, which led Chairman Andrew Mackenzie to formally delay the event. Before police arrived, some protestors screamed obscenities and a few were glued – literally – to their seats. Others were singing “We will, we will stop you!” to the tune of Queen’s “We Will Rock You.” Stalled for around four hours, the meeting resumed. Shareholders then approved, by an 80% margin, Resolution 20 regarding the ongoing transition to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Last year shareholders had approved the strategic progress report by nearly 89%... “Still, most capital spending remains tilted to natural gas and oil. Shell is planning to increase spending on low-carbon energy projects to around 25% by 2025. It now spends about 15% of the capital on energy alternatives. While it is continuing to produce gas and oil, “at the same time, our investments in the energy system of the future will increase significantly,” the CEO said. “By 2025, we expect around half of our total expenditure (cash capital expenditure and operating expenses) to be on low- and zero-carbon products and services including biofuels, hydrogen, power, charging for electric vehicles, carbon capture and storage, nature-based solutions, chemicals and lubricants.”
Bloomberg: ‘Hell no’: Finance firms tell Texas they don’t boycott energy
Shelly Hagan, Amanda Albright and Danielle Moran, 5/20/22
“As Texas officials hunt for financial firms hostile to the energy industry, Wall Street is rolling out its fossil fuel bona fides to convince officials not to bar them from doing business with the state,” Bloomberg reports. “Twenty firms, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and HSBC, have so far replied to requests from state comptroller Glenn Hegar over the past two months to disclose whether they restrict or prohibit doing business with energy companies by explicitly saying they do not. Bloomberg obtained the letters through a public-records request. One small Dallas-based firm replied “Hell no.” Hegar has to devise a list of companies deemed to be boycotting the energy industry by Sept. 1 after a new bill enacted last year limits governments from entering into certain contracts with firms that have curtailed ties with oil and gas companies. The responses offer a window into how Wall Street is navigating the political landscape that Texas has thrust on the financial services industry. The headache for banks and asset managers may not stop in the Lone Star State. Republican lawmakers around the country have taken up bills that are similar to what Texas passed. JPMorgan said that its credit exposure to oil and gas as an industry totaled $42.6 billion as of December 2021. In its letter to the comptroller the bank said it recognizes the importance of balancing the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions with the need for policies that ensure the availability of energy resources. “We would like to note at the outset that we provide financial products and services to many companies that engage in the exploration, production, utilization, transportation, sale, or manufacturing of fossil fuel-based energy (“energy companies”), and intend to do so in the future,” wrote Stacey Friedman, executive vice president and general counsel for JPMorgan in the letter… “The comptroller has stated that companies receiving the letters must provide a written response before the 61st day after receipt or they will be “presumed to be boycotting energy companies.”
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
WCYB: Warriors' Path State Park playground receives grant for maintenance and improvements
5/24/22
“A state park in our region is getting a grant for a playground that includes space for children with mental and physical challenges,” WCYB reports. “The support group, Friends of Warriors' Path State Park, accepted the grant for more than $7,000 Tuesday. The money will go toward maintenance or improvements for the Darrell's Dream Boundless Playground at the park. Enbridge Incorporated's Charlie Newman and Don Keen told WCYB, "So our Fueling Futures program really just got started a few years ago and we had been making efforts to raise awareness about the program, and reached out to Warriors' Path State Park. And we're just ecstatic that they applied to our program and we're happy to help here at the playground." The grant was given by Enbridge Incorporated, an energy company that operates in East Tennessee on natural gas.”
OPINION
Financial Post: Parker Gallant: Why do we subsidize Michigan while its governor tries to shut down Line 5?
Parker Gallant is a retired Canadian banker who blogs at Parker Gallant Energy Perspectives, 5/24/22
“Saturday, May 7th, the day before Mother’s Day, was a typical spring day in much of Ontario, mild but windy. Ontario’s peak demand for electricity occurred between seven and eight p.m., reaching 14,439 MW (megawatts). That entire demand could have been supplied by nuclear and hydro, which during the following hour generated 14,353 MWh (megawatt hours), clearly demonstrating that wind generation was unneeded as hydro could have easily ramped up to produce the additional 96 MW,” Parker Gallant writes for the Financial Post. “...Working through the numbers for 2020, I estimate that Michigan paid roughly $137 million for electricity exports that cost Ontarians a little over $1 billion. Over 10 years, Ontario’s total energy subsidy to Michigan may well have been in the range of $10 billion, which is carrying neighbourliness to an extreme. What does Ontario get from Michigan in return for this generosity? Its governor, Gretchen Whitmer, is bound and determined to shut down the Line 5 pipeline that carries light crude oil and natural gas liquids south into Michigan via a tunnel under the Mackinac Straits joining Lakes Michigan and Huron and then eastward to Sarnia. If she gets her way, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Ontario and Quebec would experience a 14.7-million-US-gallons-a-day supply shortage of gas, diesel, jet fuel and propane… “The same ratepayers may also be wondering why the Ford and Trudeau governments, which seem to be working so well together on so many projects these days, don’t tell Governor Whitmer that if Line 5 is cancelled, they will instruct IESO to stop shipping Michigan clean and cheap Ontario electricity, which will drive up its emissions and electricity costs.”
Bakersfield Californian: California’s responsible oil production offers affordable energy supply
Assemblyman Vince Fong, R-Bakersfield, represents the 34th District. He is the vice chair of the Budget and Transportation Committees, 5/25/22
“Family trips changed. Consolidating errand runs. Topping off their tanks every day in fear of overnight price increases. Soaring gas price have Californians upending their daily routines, contributing to economic anxiety and financial hardship,” Assemblyman Vince Fong writes for the Bakersfield Californian. “...Due to a lack of pipeline infrastructure and shipping costs, our state is extremely limited in its ability to import oil from other states to support energy needs for transportation, businesses, and everyday way of life. Californians currently consume over 1.8 million barrels of oil a day yet produce only 370,000 barrels each day. This results in an increased reliance on foreign sources of oil, shipped to the U.S. in tankers from places such as Ecuador, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. The question we must answer at this moment of uncertainty is: Where do we want our energy to come from? “...Despite their appalling environmental record, California imports 15 percent of its oil usage from Iraq — nearly doubled the amount over the last three years. Why? Because Gov. Gavin Newsom refuses to allow for more domestic production of oil and natural gas. Thousands of permits are stalled awaiting approval. Newsom halted oil production so he can tout his agenda while turning a blind eye to the environmental assault committed by countries that export oil to the state… “Tens of thousands of jobs and careers have been provided by Kern’s oil industry; many of whom are individuals without a college degree or those needing a second chance after incarceration. These skilled men and women earn an average salary of $123,000 a year allowing them and their families to live the American Dream. Californians are demanding reliable, affordable, and stable energy supplies — a need that can be met domestically right here in California. Supporting domestic energy production is good for our economy, good for the environment, and it is good for the pocket books of California families.”