EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 6/1/26
PIPELINE NEWS
Reuters: South Bow targets 2027 decision on Canada-US oil pipeline revival
E&E News: ‘Ready to cave’: How liberal governors warmed to Trump’s pipelines
North Dakota Monitor: ‘Time is the enemy’: Oil industry faces uncertainty in what the Bakken’s next era will look like
The LA Local: Who caused the East LA oil spill? What we know about the companies that may be involved
Press release: Environmental Organizations Condemn East L.A. Pipeline Spill, Demand End to Fossil Fuel Expansion
Northern Journal: In setback for oil companies, tax board raises trans-Alaska pipeline value by $3 billion
Delaware News Journal: Delaware City Refinery leak spills oil into the Delaware River
WTVF: Maryville man sentenced for attempting to damage gas pipeline
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Congress set for summer sprint on energy, environment policy
E&E News: Trump targets science in OMB’s grants revamp
E&E News: Energy, AI groups call for expanding streamlined water permits
STATE UPDATES
Quad-City Times: Galva grows divided over proposed carbon capture well
American Press: Carbon capture focus of upcoming community meeting
Scalawag Magazine: LNG’s Quiet Colonization of Southwest Louisiana
WV MetroNews: DEP oversees containment after oil leak McDowell County Friday
EXTRACTION
Reuters: Wildfire season returns to Canada’s oil sands
CBC: Regulator investigating 95 dead birds at Suncor site north of Fort McMurray
Reuters: Chevron won’t pay toll to move ships through Hormuz, CEO tells Bloomberg TV
Carbon Herald: EU CO2 Storage Capacity Falls Short Of 2030 Target
OPINION
Journal-Courier: Greenpeace brand takes big hit in pipeline case
Latitude Media: The direct air capture debate is missing the point
E27: Carbon capture, cyber capture: What CCS really means for oil and gas accounting
PIPELINE NEWS
Reuters: South Bow targets 2027 decision on Canada-US oil pipeline revival
Amanda Stephenson, 5/29/26
“Canada’s South Bow will decide whether to proceed with its proposed partial revival of the Keystone XL oil pipeline by mid-2027, the company said on Friday, as it announced it has secured the shipper commitments it was seeking to advance the project,” Reuters reports. “...U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an order granting a cross-border permit to the new proposal. But South Bow CEO Bevin Wirzba said on Thursday the company cannot proceed unless it has evidence that permit is “durable,” and will not be revoked by a future administration. While the successful open season to secure shipper commitments achieves a significant milestone, there is lingering risk about the U.S. permit, TPH Energy analyst AJ O’Donnell told Reuters. “Without assurances that a new U.S. administration would not revoke the permits in 2029, as Biden did with KXL, the project is likely to be stalled,” O’Donnell told Reuters. South Bow has not publicly put a pricetag on its project, but ATB Capital Markets analysts told Reuters it could cost $2.2 billion (C$3 billion) and take two to three years to build after an investment decision.”
E&E News: ‘Ready to cave’: How liberal governors warmed to Trump’s pipelines
Benjamin Storrow, Scott Waldman, 6/1/26
“Trump administration officials say they have unexpected allies in President Donald Trump’s quest to increase the flow of natural gas into New England: its Democratic governors,” E&E News reports. “Two senior administration officials told E&E several governors have expressed openness to extending pipelines into their states, in a move that would vastly expand the amount of fossil fuels in a liberal stronghold where climate change is a potent political issue… “The mere fact pipelines are being discussed shows just how much the political landscape has changed, as concerns over high energy costs overshadow efforts to cut carbon pollution… “I think there’s a recognition that whether we like it or not, gas is still dominant to keeping the lights on,” Ron Gerwatowski, chair of the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission, told E&E. “I think it’s caused people to start thinking about the fact natural gas will be around longer than we want, and we have to recognize that and start thinking about things.” “...The change puts New England at the center of a nationwide trend. Liberal states are rolling back climate measures due to growing concerns about energy affordability as data centers consume electricity and the Iran war pushes gasoline prices higher… “The governors in the New England states have been very receptive to the idea, and are working with us,” a White House official who was granted anonymity to describe private conversations told E&E. A senior official at the Department of Energy told E&E Healey talks regularly with Energy Secretary Chris Wright and that they are aligned on pipeline issues in the Northeast. The official told E&E Healey recognizes that Massachusetts needs more natural gas and is committed to working with the administration… “Separately, an industry representative simply laughed when a reporter told them the White House had said Healey supports the Constitution project, telling E&E that seems far-fetched.”
North Dakota Monitor: ‘Time is the enemy’: Oil industry faces uncertainty in what the Bakken’s next era will look like
Jacob Orledge, 6/1/26
“North Dakota elected officials are pushing to make rapid progress on the next generation of oil production technology before a change in federal administration, but oil and gas executives say there’s no guarantee of a quick breakthrough,” the North Dakota Monitor reports. “...The technologies under development by the oil industry, collectively referred to as enhanced oil recovery, are billed as a way to double the amount of oil that can be extracted from the Bakken and expand the life of North Dakota’s oil fields by decades… “I think CO2 is probably going to be the best long-term option for full scale up across the basin,” Arvo Buck, director of new ventures at Chord Energy, told the Monitor. “It’s going to take a tremendous amount of volume, and I just can’t say that enough.” “...The best supply is from ethanol plants because it has a high purity, Brad Musgrove, Williston Basin asset manager for Devon Energy, told the Monitor. “But it’s limited supply and not necessarily available in the field.” Summit Carbon Solutions’ proposed CO2 pipeline to North Dakota would have collected CO2 from ethanol plants in five states, but that pipeline project has been rerouted to Wyoming. If a supply of carbon dioxide is available, the next challenge would be developing new CO2 pipelines to deliver it to oil wells. “At scale, the need for CO2 is tremendous,” Brown told the Monitor, adding that North Dakota doesn’t produce enough and will need to import more… “Chevron executive Birlie Bourgeois explained that carbon dioxide will mix with water underground and create carbonic acid. Oil wells were not designed to handle that, and virtually every piece of oil infrastructure would have to be retrofitted, he told the Monitor. “That’s going to eat through pipe really quickly, so it is a huge capital burden if you’ve got to go retrofit every facility and every well to mitigate against that,” Bourgeois told the Monitor.”
The LA Local: Who caused the East LA oil spill? What we know about the companies that may be involved
Alejandra Molina and Laura Anaya-Morga, 5/29/26
“A week after an underground pipeline near East Cesar E. Chavez and North Eastern avenues was punctured, questions remain about who was responsible,” The LA Local reports. “Officials said early reports indicated a boring crew conducting directional drilling for a fiber optic line struck the 16-inch petroleum pipeline, which sent an estimated 2,400 gallons of crude oil onto nearby streets and into storm drains and the Los Angeles River. Streets in the area reopened Thursday after days of closures that disrupted nearby residents, businesses and schools, though more soil remediation remains ahead… “The pipeline is operated by Pacific Pipeline System, which since 2006 has been owned by Plains All American Pipeline. Who was drilling? In the hours after the spill, Boyle Heights Beat reporters witnessed a truck labeled Camarillo Drilling Inc… “It’s not clear if the drilling that led to the pipeline rupture is linked to the Broadband for All effort. Arcadian Infracom has not returned a request for comment regarding any potential involvement with the pipeline puncture… “A state investigation into how the pipe was struck remains ongoing.”
Press release: Environmental Organizations Condemn East L.A. Pipeline Spill, Demand End to Fossil Fuel Expansion
5/2926
“Environmental justice advocates, climate organizations, and community leaders are sounding the alarm following the rupture of a crude oil pipeline in East Los Angeles, operated by Plains All American — the same company responsible for the 2015 pipeline spill off the coast of Santa Barbara, one of the worst oil spills in California history… “This spill is not an isolated accident—it is the predictable outcome of maintaining and expanding dangerous oil infrastructure in densely populated communities already burdened by pollution,” said Ivan Ortiz, Field Investigator and Information Analyst with the Central California Environmental Justice Network. “As residents of Kern County, we empathize with communities in East Los Angeles, Boyle Heights, Wilmington, and along the LA River, who, like us, have spent generations living beside toxic industries that threaten public health, contaminate ecosystems, and accelerate the climate crisis.” The organizations emphasized that the spill highlights the continued risks posed by California’s fossil fuel industry, including aging pipelines, urban drilling operations, and oil transport systems running through residential neighborhoods, schools, parks, and waterways. Environmental justice advocates also pointed to the broader pattern of fossil fuel pollution disproportionately impacting Black, Latinx, Indigenous, immigrant, and low-income communities across Southern California. “For decades, frontline neighborhoods have been treated as expendable,” said Maro Kakoussian, Director of Climate & Health Programs at Physicians for Social Responsibility – Los Angeles. “We cannot continue sacrificing public health and environmental safety to protect oil industry profits. California cannot claim climate leadership while communities are still suffering from pipeline ruptures, toxic emissions, and oil contamination.” “...The groups are calling for a full independent investigation into the pipeline rupture and environmental impact, and immediate transparency regarding contamination levels and cleanup efforts, long-term monitoring of ecological and public health impacts along the LA River corridor, and an accelerated phaseout of urban oil drilling and fossil fuel infrastructure across the state.”
Northern Journal: In setback for oil companies, tax board raises trans-Alaska pipeline value by $3 billion
Max Graham, 5/28/26
“Alaska and three of its municipalities could be in line for an extra $60 million in oil industry tax revenue after a new ruling in a long-running feud over the value of the trans-Alaska pipeline system,” Northern Journal reports. “A state appeals board this week determined the property tax value of the enormous 50-year-old pipeline system, which moves crude 800 miles from the North Slope’s oil fields to the port town of Valdez, to be $13 billion. That’s some $3 billion more than an initial 2026 assessment from Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration — meaning the pipeline’s owners would owe $60 million more under the state’s 2% property tax regime… “Far more money could be at stake if, as anticipated, the oil companies that own the pipeline and pay the taxes — or the municipalities that collect a share of the taxes — appeal the decision in state court… “Robin Brena, an Alaska attorney who has long represented the municipalities in pipeline property tax matters, told the Journal he expects both parties to appeal the decision.”
Delaware News Journal: Delaware City Refinery leak spills oil into the Delaware River
Krys’tal Griffin, 5/28/26
“Delaware City Refining Co. spilled oil into the Delaware River just after the holiday weekend,” the Delaware News Journal reports. “The refinery issued an oil spill notification on May 26 sharing “evidence of an oil spill and sheen in the vicinity of our pier on the Delaware River” was observed by refinery personnel at around 7:15 a.m. on Dock 3. It said the spill occurred following the completion of a transfer of oil to a marine vessel… “DNREC’s report said gasoline blending stocks – a hydrocarbon material that is not finished gasoline but can be blended with other components to become so – or specifically reformates, continuously leaked into the Delaware river due to a leak in the refinery’s supply pipeline from landside to the rack used for loading and unloading ships… “The report did not include the estimated quantity of oil spilled, though the leak was contained.”
WTVF: Maryville man sentenced for attempting to damage gas pipeline
Holly Lehren, 5/29/26
“A Maryville man has been sentenced to federal prison after admitting to attempting to damage an interstate natural gas pipeline facility in Blount County,” WTVF reports. “...Federal prosecutors said Duke pleaded guilty to one count of knowingly and willfully acting in a manner intended to damage and attempt to destroy an interstate gas pipeline facility used in interstate or foreign commerce… “Investigators said he climbed over chain-link and barbed wire fencing surrounding the facility before releasing multiple gas valves, causing a high-pressure emergency release of natural gas that shook the ground… “As part of his sentence, Duke was ordered to pay more than $38,000 in restitution, including $23,236.27 to Enbridge, Inc. and $15,456.12 to Atmos Energy.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Congress set for summer sprint on energy, environment policy
Andres Picon, Josh Siegel, Marc Heller, 6/1/26
“Lawmakers’ return to Capitol Hill this week marks the beginning of a two-month sprint in which permitting reform, government spending bills and party-line budget packages will make up just a fraction of Congress’ jam-packed agenda,” E&E News reports. “...Key Senate leaders in both parties hope to close a deal this summer on a long-sought push for comprehensive legislation to ease permitting rules for building energy production, transmission and pipeline projects… “But President Donald Trump is making the process more difficult because of his continued attacks on solar and wind projects, which Democrats say undermine their trust that the administration would adhere to the terms of any deal meant to benefit all energy sources. “I have some members coming to me and being like, ‘Why should we give them permitting reform if they’re not going to actually follow the law?’ And I understand that perspective,” Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), the ranking member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and a leading negotiator, told E&E. “So, a little good faith in the administration would go a long way toward improving the prospects of getting to a final deal.” Democrats are skeptical that Trump’s agencies would faithfully implement any changes to environmental laws. To get around that, negotiators are looking to include measures to limit executive branch authority to revoke approved permits or stall over reviews. “We have to make sure that there’s certainty so that we don’t pass something, and then Trump can still rip up permits,” Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona, an Energy and Natural Resources Committee Democrat, told POLITICO. “What he’ll do is he’ll just do gas, but not do renewable permitting, and we’ll just wind up looking like we’re idiots by dealing with them that way.” Even as Trump threatens their progress, negotiators told E&E they are aligned on the broad contours of a potential deal. They are confident that Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) would prioritize floor time for permitting reform during a busy summer should a deal materialize, given the bipartisan urgency around building more energy projects — and fast. Also saving time is that Environment & Public Works and Energy & Natural Resources committee leaders are likely to forgo holding markups on any big permitting bill, people familiar with the situation told E&E, because of jurisdictional challenges. The White House, meanwhile, is insistent it wants to see a deal — particularly to impose restraints on lawsuits that often stall or kill projects — and on measures to ease pipeline approvals under the Clean Water Act.”
E&E News: Trump targets science in OMB’s grants revamp
Kevin Bogardus, 5/29/26
“The Trump administration’s effort to shake up federal grantmaking has begun sending shock waves through the scientific community,” E&E News reports.”...The OMB effort is part of President Donald Trump’s larger campaign to exert political control over the federal scientific enterprise that spans across the government and flows into public and private universities… “Under the rule, one or more senior political appointees designated by their agency head must conduct ‘a pre-issuance review’ of all discretionary grants, making sure they follow several principles, including to ‘demonstrably advance the President’s policy priorities.’ Career officials typically have the final say on awards… “Further, the proposal would give the green light to agencies to cancel grants even after they are awarded, including if they are ‘inconsistent with program goals or agency priorities’ or determined to be ‘no longer in the Federal Government’s interest.”
E&E News: Energy, AI groups call for expanding streamlined water permits
Miranda Willson, 5/29/26
“Lobbyists for AI data centers, mining companies and other major industries are urging the Trump administration to expand the use of streamlined permits under the Clean Water Act,” E&E News reports. “The Army Corps of Engineers is soliciting feedback on ways to make the Nationwide Permit Program more efficient and to limit ‘unnecessary review.’ Although the agency in December authorized the permits for the next five years, it is now considering additional changes… “Since 2000, the agency has limited nationwide permits for projects that pollute or destroy no more than a half-acre of regulated wetlands and streams. But industry groups are calling on the agency to expand that threshold, which would open up more projects to the streamlined process that environmentalists say fails to provide adequate review… “The National Association of Homebuilders argued that increasing the eligibility threshold for nationwide permits and the threshold for when companies need to mitigate for adverse impacts would also help build more housing.”
STATE UPDATES
Quad-City Times: Galva grows divided over proposed carbon capture well
Nina Baker, 5/31/26
“A growing number of Galva residents are resisting a proposed carbon capture project they claim could endanger the city,” the Quad-City Times reports. “...In February, Big River Resources and the carbon capture company Lapis Carbon Solutions submitted a permit to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to construct a carbon capture well that would prevent industrial carbon dioxide emissions from entering the atmosphere… “For the past two months, residents of Galva have filled city and county meetings, voicing concerns with the project. Homeowners around town have stuck “NO CO2 INJECTION” signs in their yards. Residents say the project could endanger Galva’s water aquifer, which overlaps with the proposed injection zone. Residents also say Galva would be unprepared for an emergency were the well or above-ground tanks to rupture. Trains regularly cross on railroad tracks that bisect the city, and Lapis’ project would bring about 50 trucks of carbon dioxide from West Burlington to Galva and back every day. Residents say those trucks would congest roadways, and that trains would block ambulances in the case of an emergency. In 2020, a pipeline carrying carbon dioxide ruptured in Satartia, Mississippi, hospitalizing 45 people, though no one was killed. In 2023 and 2024, a carbon capture company detected leaks at its carbon dioxide injection site in Decatur, Illinois. The following year, the EPA alleged that the company involved, Archer Daniels Midland, violated the Safe Drinking Water Act.”
American Press: Carbon capture focus of upcoming community meeting
Doris Maricle, 6/1/26
“A community meeting planned for June 4 aims to educate residents, particularly farmers and landowners, about the potential risks and impacts of carbon capture and sequestration projects proposed across Louisiana,” the American Press reports. “The meeting, scheduled for 6 p.m. at the William Broussard Event Center, 814 South Lake Arthur Ave. in Jennings, is being organized in coordination with the Jeff Davis Parish Police Jury and advocacy group Save Louisiana. Organizers say the event will focus on concerns surrounding underground carbon dioxide injection wells and the possible effects on the region’s water supply and agricultural industries. “Our biggest concern is the aquifer,” Save My Louisiana President Gary Musgrove told the Press. “The Chicot Aquifer supplies drinking water to nearly half the state and supports rice farmers, crawfish farmers, nurseries and other agricultural businesses throughout southwest Louisiana.” Speakers at the meeting plan to discuss how carbon dioxide, once injected underground, could potentially mix with groundwater and create carbonic acid, which they fear could leach metals and contaminants into the aquifer system… “Organizers also plan to discuss the group’s ongoing lawsuit challenging the use of eminent domain for carbon sequestration projects. The lawsuit argues that private companies should not be allowed to use eminent domain powers to store carbon dioxide beneath private property.”
Scalawag Magazine: LNG’s Quiet Colonization of Southwest Louisiana
Margaux Blanchard, 5/28/26
“Cameron Parish, Louisiana, once known for its expansive wetlands and tight-knit fishing communities, now sits on the edge of a transformation it did not ask for. From the shattered remains of homes destroyed by back-to-back hurricanes, the silhouettes of new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals rise—monuments to a future shaped not by the people who live here, but by those who see the Gulf Coast as an energy corridor to be exploited,” Scalawag Magazine reports. “In the past decade, Southwest Louisiana has become ground zero for the LNG boom, marketed by industry and policymakers alike as a “cleaner” bridge fuel for the world’s energy transition. But for many in this region, particularly Black and Indigenous communities along the coast, the costs have been anything but clean. The buildup of LNG terminals in Louisiana is not a story of energy innovation. It is a story of systemic neglect, environmental racism, and the continued erasure of frontline communities… “LNG is just petrochemicals in a new outfit,” Monique Verdin, a member of the United Houma Nation and a longtime environmental advocate, told Scalawag. “They’ve dressed it up in green language, but for those of us down here, it’s the same old story. More fences, more flares, more sickness. And still, no evacuation routes.”
WV MetroNews: DEP oversees containment after oil leak McDowell County Friday
5/29/26
“The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection is on-site Friday following an oil leak in McDowell County,” WV MetroNews reports. “According to a DEP release, approximately 100 gallons of used oil leaked out at a Diversified Energy compressor station near the Eckman area. The release said the leak was caused by a valve failure on a storage tank. Officials said that the leak has been stopped and crews have contained the spill, however out of caution, they have deployed additional downstream control measures to protect the surrounding environment. They said that most of the released material was captured within existing control structures at the site, however some material reached Coalbank Branch… “The release said while there are no reported impacts to public water system, they did notify downstream public water utilities as a precaution.”
EXTRACTION
Reuters: Wildfire season returns to Canada’s oil sands
Amanda Stephenson, 5/31/26
“Wildfire season has returned to Canada’s oil sands region, with seven active blazes in the area on Sunday raising risks for communities, workers, companies and investors,” Reuters reports. “Canada is the world’s fourth-largest oil producer, and the bulk of its production is clustered in northern Alberta’s boreal forest. Wildfires, which have always occurred in this environment but are more common now due to climate change, have become a perennial threat to Canadian oil output… “Last year, fires forced Canadian oil companies to temporarily shut in some 344,000 barrels per day of oil sands production, or about 7% of the country’s overall crude oil output… “The most extreme example occurred in 2016, when thousands of oil sands workers were evacuated as a monster wildfire destroyed part of the community of Fort McMurray. At the height of the disaster, companies were forced to reduce their oil output by a million barrels per day.”
CBC: Regulator investigating 95 dead birds at Suncor site north of Fort McMurray
Vincent McDermott, 5/29/26
“The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) reports that 95 birds were found dead at an oilsands site in the province’s northeast,” the CBC reports. “The bird carcasses, which included warblers, grosbeaks and sparrows, were discovered on May 24 during normal operations at Suncor’s Firebag operation, about 60 kilometres northeast of Fort McMurray.. .”Suncor has notified Indigenous communities in the region, the statement added… “In a statement to CBC News Thursday, Chief Raymond Powder said leadership is communicating with industry partners about protecting wildlife during spring and fall migrations. “Protecting the land and wildlife in our traditional territory is a priority we all share.”
Reuters: Chevron won’t pay toll to move ships through Hormuz, CEO tells Bloomberg TV
Vallari Srivastava, 5/29/26
“U.S. oil and gas major Chevron will not consider paying a toll to move ships through the Strait of Hormuz, CEO Mike Wirth told Bloomberg TV on Friday,” Reuters reports. “Wirth also said several vessels that transit through the Strait of Hormuz have been attacked in recent days… “Wirth also told Bloomberg TV that ship owners and insurers would have to feel comfortable to move oil through the Strait again. They also have to be willing to send ships back into the strait for trade to get back to normal, but they may not be willing to move all of their vessels back in, he said.”
Carbon Herald: EU CO2 Storage Capacity Falls Short Of 2030 Target
Violet George, 6/1/26
“The European Commission’s first assessment of progress toward the EU target of 50 million metric tons of annual CO2 storage capacity by 2030 has concluded that current plans from obligated oil and gas companies would deliver less than two-thirds of the required capacity,” the Carbon Herald reports. “...According to the Commission’s analysis, Member State plans indicate that around 33 million tons of annual injection capacity could be delivered through currently announced storage projects. However, industry groups argue that the shortfall reflects a lack of implementation rather than a lack of technical potential… “Toby Lockwood, Director of Carbon Management Practice at Clean Air Task Force, told the Herald that while reaching the full 50-million-ton target would likely require additional projects or accelerated expansion of existing sites, obligated entities should still be capable of delivering significantly more capacity than current submissions indicate… “According to the report, more than 100 carbon capture projects representing over 80 million tons of annual captured CO2 are currently seeking support through the Innovation Fund, suggesting that storage availability is now the primary bottleneck.”
OPINION
Journal-Courier: Greenpeace brand takes big hit in pipeline case
Randall Bloomquist, 6/1/26
“Before the turn of the century, Greenpeace occupied the cultural space somewhere between a pirate crew and a rock band. The environmental group’s members zipped around in Zodiac boats confronting whaling ships, scaled smokestacks for banner drops, and sailed directly into nuclear test zones as celebrities, college students and documentary filmmakers cheered them on,” Randall Bloomquist writes for the Journal-Courier. “Then, Greenpeace was the cool kids’ table of protest politics. Today, however, the once-swaggering “good guy” rebels of environmentalism find their reputation sullied by their actions. A recent court ruling limiting Greenpeace’s attempt to get a European Union court to intervene on its behalf against the American justice system is one more bad look… “On the eve of the North Dakota trial, Greenpeace International filed related legal action in the District Court of Amsterdam, an effort under a European Union law designed to protect people and entities facing lawsuits over protest speech… “For Greenpeace, the jury verdict and North Dakota Supreme Court ruling represent more than a financial and legal headache. They are the culmination of a decades-long transformation from outsider provocateurs into an institutional entity increasingly vulnerable to the same legal, political and reputational consequences that Greenpeace once excelled at inflicting on its opponents.”
Latitude Media: The direct air capture debate is missing the point
Yannai Kashtan, PhD is an air quality scientist at PSE Healthy Energy; Jonathan Buonocore, ScD, is an assistant professor of environmental health at Boston University School of Public Health, core faculty at the Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability, and a member of the Science Roundtable on Carbon Capture and Storage, 5/29/26
“As Occidental Petroleum and BlackRock prepare to bring Stratos — the world’s largest direct air capture plant — online in the Permian Basin, a familiar debate has reignited: Does direct air capture actually remove more carbon than it emits?,” Yannai Kashtan and Jonathan Buonocore write for Latitude Media. “But that question, while important, isn’t the right one for policymakers and investors to ask. The more instructive questions are: For a given amount of money, which technology delivers the greatest public health and climate benefit? And how efficient does direct air capture need to be, and how clean does the electrical grid have to be before direct air capture investments outperform wind and solar?... “We modeled deployments of direct air capture, utility-scale wind, and utility-scale solar across the U.S. through 2050, and asked which delivers the most health and climate benefit per dollar. Under realistic assumptions about DAC’s current cost and energy requirements, wind and solar won in nearly every region, in every year. The technology approached competitiveness only under a cost and efficiency “breakthrough” scenario requiring electricity usage and costs to plunge far below anything demonstrated today. Even then, direct air capture barely edged out renewables nationally and still lost to wind in the Upper Midwest. The comparison looks even worse for DAC when we consider the health of people living near power plants that produce the electricity it requires… “Before committing billions to large-scale direct air capture deployment, policymakers, climate investors, and philanthropists should ask: Would this money deliver greater climate and health benefits if it were invested into wind and solar? For now, and until the grid gets vastly cleaner, the answer is yes. If your sink is overflowing, turn off the tap before you begin mopping the floor.”
E27: Carbon capture, cyber capture: What CCS really means for oil and gas accounting
Niharika Ray, 6/1/26
“Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is often discussed as an engineering challenge, a permitting challenge, or a capital allocation challenge. All three matter. But as CCS moves from pilot thinking to real infrastructure, another issue is moving to the centre of the conversation. It is becoming an accounting integrity challenge,” Niharika Ray writes for E27. “...CCS projects depend on a chain of measurement, transfer, monitoring, verification, and reporting that runs across capture plants, pipelines, compression systems, wells, subsurface models, monitoring networks, and enterprise reporting platforms. Currently, there are more than 700 projects in development and around 45 commercial facilities in operation, even while deployment remains well short of what net-zero pathways require. That gap between ambition and delivery is exactly why the quality of accounting will matter so much. In the next phase of CCS, the real question will not simply be whether a project can capture carbon. It will be whether the operator can prove, with operational credibility, what was captured, what was transported, what was injected, what stayed contained, and what assumptions sat behind each number. In other words, CCS turns carbon into a custody problem… “CCS should not be run as a narrow sustainability initiative with cyber bolts on later. It should be run as a controlled industrial chain where cyber architecture, OT instrumentation, monitoring design, and carbon accounting are all part of the same trust model. The companies that get this right will not just be more secure. They will be more believable.”