EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 6/24/22
PIPELINE NEWS
Canadian Press: Woodpecker nest halts construction of TMX pipeline near Chilliwack
Chronicle Times: Navigator briefs O’Brien County on CO2 pipeline
Eldora Herald-Ledger: Pipeline resistance: Group holding meetings across the state
MassLive.com: Why Sen. Lesser and advocacy groups don’t want the Eversource backup pipeline
WASHINGTON UPDATES
FOX Business: Granholm meeting with oil industry leaders deemed 'constructive' but no major breakthroughs
E&E News: White House meeting lowers tension between Biden, oil execs
Financial Post: Jason Kenney, oilsands executives present united front in Washington
Politico: API WANTS TO SHOW BIDEN THE WORLD
Politico: MISSED REVENUE
STATE UPDATES
Los Angeles Times: Is a Michigan energy firm using dark money to influence California’s climate plans?
KNOE: Several new Gulf of Mexico natural gas and crude oil fields expected be online by end of 2022
Carlsbad Current-Argus: New Mexico people of color most impacted by oil and gas, study says
EXTRACTION
Canadian Press: ‘Over the top hypocrisy’ of F1 oilsands protest helps Alberta’s case, Kenney argues
CLIMATE FINANCE
CNN: Warren Buffett must really love oil. Berkshire boosts Occidental Petroleum stake
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
The Nation: Stanford’s New School of Sustainability Is a Gift to Fossil Fuel Companies
OPINION
Sacramento Bee: Don’t be fooled, California. Why the fossil fuel industry promotes carbon capture policies
Twin Cities Science for the People: Midwest CO2 Pipelines Climate Impacts
Dragon Pipe Diary: David vs. Goliath: apartment owner takes on Sunoco and wins
PIPELINE NEWS
Canadian Press: Woodpecker nest halts construction of TMX pipeline near Chilliwack
6/22/22
“The discovery of a woodpecker's nest has halted construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline along a 400-metre stretch near Chilliwack, B.C.,” the Canadian Press reports. “A statement from Trans Mountain Corp. says buffer zones around trees and vegetation have been marked with rope signs and flagging tape near Bridal Falls where the red-breasted sapsucker has been seen nesting. The Crown corporation says the area will not be cleared until there's confirmation from a wildlife resource specialist that no nests are active, which would be the end of nesting season. Sarah Ross of the Community Nest Finding Network told CP the group first noticed bird nests in tree cavities in early June and alerted local authorities… “The pipeline expansion was expected to be completed this year, but that date has now been moved up to the third quarter of 2023 after the pandemic and November's floods in B.C. forced the delays.”
Chronicle Times: Navigator briefs O’Brien County on CO2 pipeline
Loren G. Flauigh, 6/21/22
Navigator CO2 Ventures LLC sent Executive Vice President over Engineering, Stephen Lee to the June 14 O'Brien County Board of Supervisors meeting to brief the supervisors on recent progress and developments with Navigator's proposed Heartland Greenway carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) pipeline system,” the Chronicle Times reports. “...Thompson opened her presentation with a brief project update. "In February, Navigator began surveying activities. It's important that these route maps show the half-mile wide pipeline corridor. This wider corridor will be whittled down to 50 foot wide for the placement of the permanent landowner easement. We've been having initial conversations with landowners. We haven't extended any offers yet to landowners in terms of dollars and cents. That outreach process, I believe, will begin in the middle of July.” “...Lee briefly explained how their project timeline has been pushed back. At their initial Sheldon landowners meeting back in December, Navigator reported their intent was to file for their IUB permit application in May. "We're now looking at filing our formal permit application with the IUB sometime in October that will allow us to construct and operate a Hazardous Liquid Pipeline," Lee explained. For the balance of 2022 and throughout much of 2023, Navigator will continue right-of-way surveying activities as needed and negotiating voluntary landowner easement agreements. In the 4th quarter of 2023, Navigator anticipates receiving their Federal and State permits. Construction could then start in the 2nd quarter of 2024 with initial pipeline system commissioning in the 2nd quarter of 2025… “When asked what the potential property tax revenue that could result for all the counties along the 900 miles of pipeline planned for Iowa, Thompson replied, "About $30 million dollars a year, I think, in total."
Eldora Herald-Ledger: Pipeline resistance: Group holding meetings across the state
6/20/22
“A group calling themselves the Iowa Carbon Pipeline Resistance Coalition held an informational meeting last Thursday at the Robert W. Barlow Library in Iowa Falls,” the Eldora Herald-Ledger reports. “Around 20 people – 90 percent being landowners directly affected by a pipeline crossing their property – were in attendance. Caitline Golle with Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (ICCI) opened the meeting and spoke mostly about the proposed Navigator CO2 pipeline, which just recently added the POET ethanol plant in Iowa Falls to provide carbon capture, utilization and storage.”
MassLive.com: Why Sen. Lesser and advocacy groups don’t want the Eversource backup pipeline
Juliet Schulman-Hall, 6/24/22
“Among approximately 100 attendees of the Eversource pipeline site visit was Massachusetts state Sen. Eric Lesser and several activist organizations who have opposed the construction for years now,” MassLive.com reports. “I really just wanted to show my support to the opponents [of the pipeline] and to the residents in the area and to the activists who have been working so hard on on trying to shed light on the project,” Lesser told MassLive. “I also wanted to substantively hear the [Eversource] presentation and learn more about the plans.” The in person meeting on Tuesday was hosted by the Massachusetts Environmental Protecting Act Office to view existing site conditions at the Longmeadow Country Club maintenance facility at 14 Hazardville Road, which is the site proposed for a meter station facility associated with the pipeline project. Attendees also included Springfield School Committee member Maria Perez and advocates from Climate Action Now and Berkshire Environmental Action Team, Michele Marantz, leader of the Longmeadow Pipeline Awareness Group said… “However, Lesser, who is running for Lieutenant Governor, and others weren’t as happy with the site visit. “There certainly was a disconnect [between Eversource and attendees],” Lesser told MassLive. “They could always do a better job at answering people’s questions.” Naia Tenerowicz, member of Springfield Climate Justice Coalition, told MassLive she was similarly frustrated by how Eversource was unable to answer attendees’ questions. “People asked questions about things that Eversource did not have adequate answers or in some cases, any answers at all. We were shocked to find out that when someone referenced this year’s IPCC report, the International Panel on Climate Change ... that Eversource representatives didn’t even know what the IPCC was. So not only their lack of adequate answers, but seemingly their lack of awareness about the climate aspects of this was very concerning to all of us.” “...Lesser told MassLive that he is in the process of submitting a formal letter to the Massachusetts Environmental Protecting Act Office in opposition to the construction of the project.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
FOX Business: Granholm meeting with oil industry leaders deemed 'constructive' but no major breakthroughs
Bradford Betz, 6/23/22
“U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm held a closed-door meeting with oil industry leaders Thursday to discuss ways to combat record-high fuel prices and expand refineries,” FOX Business reports. “The meeting came after weeks of rising tensions between oil companies and President Biden, who has accused the former of profiting off of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Granholm’s office said she reminded the meeting participants – which included executives from Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Marathon and Phillips 66 – that they must "deliver solutions to ensure secure, affordable supply" because their customers, workers and communities "are feeling the pain at the pump because of Putin's price hike." The group reportedly discussed their efforts to keep existing operations safely online and the need to reinvest into current and future technologies… “While the meeting may have been more constructive than the hostility exhibited by President Biden in recent weeks, it did not produce a major breakthrough. A source with knowledge of the meeting told FOX Business the participants discussed suspending the Jones Act, which requires shipping between U.S. ports to be done on American-made ships and with American crews. There was no discussion by Secretary Granholm about possible new oil leases or about helping approve pipeline projects.”
E&E News: White House meeting lowers tension between Biden, oil execs
Scott Waldman, 6/23/22
“Oil and gas executives and Biden administration officials emerged from a White House meeting yesterday saying they had “productive” and “constructive” conversations about how to increase domestic energy production and bring down gasoline prices,” E&E News reports. “But neither side released details on how they would actually work together to achieve their goals amid rising tensions over high gasoline prices. And hours after issuing positive statements, the strains between a climate-focused administration and profit-focused fossil fuel companies reemerged. The Biden administration wants oil and gas companies to use all of the 9,000 leases it has approved for drilling on public lands and to increase their refinery output. The industry wants the administration to ease regulations and to approve more pipelines, refineries and other energy infrastructure. The American Petroleum Institute and American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers issued a statement after meeting with Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm saying they had a “constructive discussion about ways to address rising energy costs and create more certainty for global energy markets.” “...But not long after that statement was issued, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre questioned why oil company profits were so high when Americans were paying more for gasoline. She noted that crude oil prices fell 15 cents in the last week and that companies did not lower prices at the pump. She also pointed out that the companies earned $35 billion in profits in the first quarter… “At the meeting, Granholm pressed the companies to do more to ensure they are passing savings along to their customers, the Department of Energy said in a statement. The meeting was part of an ongoing discussion between the department and the companies, DOE said.”
Financial Post: Jason Kenney, oilsands executives present united front in Washington
Meghan Potkins, 6/23/22
“The oilpatch and Alberta Premier Jason Kenney have disagreed in the past about who should pay for critical investments in emissions-reducing technologies such as carbon capture and storage, but there didn’t appear to be much daylight between the two camps during a visit to Washington on Thursday,” the Financial Post reports. “Kenney was joined by oilsands executives on a trip to the U.S. capital this week aimed at dispelling negative perceptions about the Canadian energy industry south of the border and to promote the sector’s ambitious plan to slash greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to reach net zero by 2050… “To be blunt, we know that there is a view amongst some in Washington and elsewhere, that the Canadian oilsands are not a responsible producer or source of hydrocarbon energy,” Kenney said. “We don’t get enough credit and we don’t demand enough credit for the environmental progress that we’ve made.” Kenney made the comments while flanked by key members of the Pathways Alliance — formerly known as the Oil Sands Pathway to Net Zero Alliance — a coalition of six major oil producers proposing a multibillion-dollar carbon capture and storage system in northern Alberta capable of sequestering 22 million tonnes of GHG emissions annually from the oil sands by 2030; the alliance includes Canadian Natural Resources, Cenovus Energy, ConocoPhillips Canada, Imperial Oil, MEG Energy and Suncor Energy. The oilsands, the group has argued, is particularly well-suited for CCS technology thanks to favourable geology for underground storage and large in-situ operations with concentrated emissions which can be captured and sequestered. Kendall Dilling, Pathways Alliance president and vice-president of environmental and regulatory affairs at Cenovus Energy Inc., said CCS could be deployed at a handful of large operations in the oilsands to capture significant amounts of emissions, whereas targeting equivalent production from other oil fields could potentially involve hundreds of thousands of smaller geographically spread-out facilities.”
Politico: API WANTS TO SHOW BIDEN THE WORLD
Matthew Choi, Ben Lefebvre, 6/23/22
“Refining shimmering splendor! The American Petroleum Institute and several other oil and gas interest groups are inviting Biden to tour some of the country’s key industry sites, from the Marcellus Shale to Gulf Coast refineries, ahead of his visit to Saudi Arabia next month,” Politico reports. “The trade groups offered the invitation in a letter today, where, though supporting the trip to Saudi Arabia as addressing important priorities, they urged Biden to “reconsider the immense potential of U.S. oil and natural gas resources” and focus on domestic energy production.”
Politico: MISSED REVENUE
Matthew Choi, Ben Lefebvre, 6/23/22
“U.S. taxpayers would have received an additional $11.8 billion in revenue over the nine years leading up to 2021 from oil companies drilling on public land if the Interior Department had raised the royalty rates for oil production on federal land, a study from left-leaning advocacy group Public Citizen shows using Interior data,” Politico reports. “Interior has held the royalty rate for onshore production at 12.5 percent for decades. By not raising the rate to what it charges for oil produced offshore — 18.75 percent — it left billions of dollars on the table, according to the report. “The Interior Department must impose rules that end the practice of allowing the fossil fuel industry to pay artificially low royalty rates for the use of public lands,” Public Citizen President Robert Weissman said in a press release. The report comes as Interior is expected to propose a new rule in January that would change the parameters around its leasing program for fossil fuel development on public land.”
STATE UPDATES
Los Angeles Times: Is a Michigan energy firm using dark money to influence California’s climate plans?
SAMMY ROTH, 6/23/22
“For all of California’s groundbreaking climate policies — the 100% clean energy mandate, the goal of ending gasoline-vehicle sales by 2035 — there’s still a lot of uncertainty over how the Golden State will zero out its planet-warming carbon emissions,” the Los Angeles Times reports. “The California Air Resources Board is working on that. The agency is holding a hearing today on its next five-year “scoping plan” — a key document outlining strategies for slashing emissions across the economy, from oil refineries to the electric grid. But many climate activists see the agency’s draft plan as wildly inadequate. Seventy-three groups vented their concerns in a letter this month, saying the plan would allow fossil fuel combustion to continue for far too long — in part by allowing some carbon emissions to be captured at polluting facilities and stored underground. Critics say the technology is largely unproven and would leave front-line communities vulnerable to dangerous pollution. The Air Resources Board expects carbon capture to play a small but useful role in the climate fight. To support that view, the agency cites research from sources including Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a federal research lab in the Bay Area. It turns out, at least some of Lawrence Livermore’s carbon capture research was funded by a dark-money group with ties to an out-of-state energy company — a company that stands to benefit if California incentivizes the technology… “Climate justice activists worry that the Air Resources Board’s scoping plan could lead to new financial incentives for carbon capture, helping polluting facilities such as DTE’s biomass plants stay open indefinitely…. “In my own reporting, I’ve scrutinized the Energy Futures Initiative, a project of Obama-era U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz that has published reports sponsored by fossil fuel companies. Those sponsors include Southern California Gas Co., which has also funded research projects at Lawrence Livermore. Moniz’s initiative, meanwhile, was the other recipient of funding from the DTE-linked CASE Fund in 2020, getting $100,000. None of this means research funded by energy companies is automatically wrong. But when crucial climate decisions are being made, we should know where the money is coming from.”
KNOE: Several new Gulf of Mexico natural gas and crude oil fields expected be online by end of 2022
Matthew Segura, 6/23/22
“The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects to see a total of nine natural gas and oil fields come online in the Gulf of Mexico by the end of this year,” KNOE reports. “The agency released its latest energy outlook report recently and predicts to see oil prices come down over the course of 2022 into 2023. However, they warn there are still some question marks adding volatility to the global market, such as the availability of Russian oil, decisions by Middle Eastern countries regarding their oil output and even the possibility of natural disasters, therefore prices coming down is not 100% certain… “EIA said, “We expect the large development fields of Argos, King’s Quay, and Vito to begin production in 2022. Each has a peak production capacity of 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (MBOE/d) or more, and each is the result of a focused effort to lower the costs of field developments. Offshore producers have made significant progress simplifying and standardizing floating production systems and collaborating with various partners, including overseas construction services companies, to reduce total costs and remain competitive with onshore producers.” “...Finally, EIA notes, “Fields expected to start in 2022 may shift into our 2023 forecast if their start-up dates are pushed back. In addition, fields expected to start in 2024 could begin earlier, resulting in changes to our initial production forecasts.”
Carlsbad Current-Argus: New Mexico people of color most impacted by oil and gas, study says
Adrian Hedden, 6/23/22
“People of color, those living in poverty, elderly people and children could be affected by air pollution associated with oil and gas at a higher rate than other groups in New Mexico, recent research showed,” the Carlsbad Current-Argus reports. “Researchers, with the Environmental Defense Fund, studied the demographics of “frontline” communities where people live alongside oil and gas facilities – many less than a mile away… “Nationwide, the study showed 18 million people live within a mile of active oil and gas wells, and a large portion of that population were non-white, elderly, children or impoverished. Researchers looked at population data from the San Juan Basin in northwest New Mexico and the Permian Basin in the southwest corner of the state – both active oil and gas fields the report showed had large populations of “marginalized” communities such as people of color… “The San Juan Basin sits along Native American communities within the Navajo Nation – the largest Indigenous reservation in the U.S. spanning about 27,000 acres in the Four Corners area in New Mexico, Utah and Arizona. This area is largely populated by people who are Indigenous, the study read, and the high-density of natural gas wells and processing facilities puts them at a high risk of health impacts. The Permian Basin region had a high density of Hispanics and those of low education and income levels, per the report, as the area is near the U.S-Mexico Border. About 3.3 million Hispanic Americans, nationwide, live within a mile of active oil and gas wells, per the study, the most of any other group, and about 5.7 percent of the total U.S. population of that group. Research showed about 457,000 Native Americans lived within that same radius. That’s about 8 percent of the nation’s entire Indigenous population… “Ahtza Dawn Chaves of the Native American Voters Alliance Education Project told the Argus federal action must work toward protecting the Navajo Nation and other Indigenous groups and minorities from the impacts of oil and gas. “Navajo communities are located across a patchwork of federal, state and tribal lands where drilling affects public health and climate,” Chavez told the Argus. “We need to ensure that the federal EPA adopts strict, comprehensive air pollution rules that will help protect overburdened communities at the fence lines of oil and gas operations.”
EXTRACTION
Canadian Press: ‘Over the top hypocrisy’ of F1 oilsands protest helps Alberta’s case, Kenney argues
JAMES MCCARTEN, 6/23/22
“The “over-the-top hypocrisy” outspoken Formula One driver Sebastian Vettel displayed on his T-shirt and helmet last weekend in Montreal is just the sort of thing Premier Jason Kenney says he needs to disprove and discredit the critics of Alberta’s oil sands,” the Canadian Press reports. “Kenney visibly relished the chance Thursday to denounce Vettel as a hypocrite after the German driver showed up at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for the F1 Canadian Grand Prix in a T-shirt that described the oil sands as “Canada’s Climate Crime.” Vettel also wore a specially designed helmet during practice and qualifying sessions Friday and Saturday that featured the same slogan, along with pipeline graphics and images of natural forest juxtaposed with a post-industrial wasteland, and the message, “Stop Mining Tar Sands.” “I am happy with what Sebastian Vettel did, because I think … it’s almost like a cartoon caricature of hypocrisy,” Kenney said Thursday during a visit to the U.S. capital, where he’s part of a delegation that’s trying to rehabilitate the public image of Alberta energy… “I think is a perfect learning moment for us to say that the opposition to the oil sands is coming from people who do not have an inkling about what we do, and are often covered in hypocrisy.” “...So I think we can appeal to the vast majority of Americans and people on Capitol Hill, but some of them simply need to know that we are serious about reducing emissions and we respect the environment.” It won’t be cheap: officials say the industry expects a final tab of about $2.5 billion a year between now and 2050, including roughly $20 billion to meet an initial target of storing or otherwise eliminating 20 million tonnes of emissions by 2030. Cenovus Energy CEO Alex Pourbaix said the timeline breaks down roughly into three segments, with the first being dominated by carbon capture and storage.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
CNN: Warren Buffett must really love oil. Berkshire boosts Occidental Petroleum stake
Paul R. La Monica, 6/23/22
“Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is betting that the oil boom isn't going to end any time soon,” CNN reports. “Berkshire Hathaway disclosed in a regulatory filing late Wednesday that it spent about $529 million to buy nearly 9.6 million shares of Occidental Petroleum in the past week. Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB) made the purchases between June 17 and June 22. Buffett's conglomerate now owns a 16.3% stake in Occidental Petroleum (OXY), making it by far the largest owner of the stock. Mutual fund giant Vanguard is the second biggest investor, with a nearly 11% position in the company. Occidental Petroleum is the best performer in the S&P 500 this year, rising 92% as crude prices have soared. Shares were up more than 3% in early trading Thursday… “Berkshire disclosed at its annual shareholder meeting in May that Chevron was one of the company's core holdings as of the end of the first quarter. Berkshire said it owned a nearly $26 billion stake in the oil giant, a position that trailed only its stakes in Apple (AAPL), Bank of America (BAC) and American Express (AXP) at the time… “The oil and energy business is also an important part of Berkshire's overall operating business. The company's energy subsidiary owns leading electric utilities including PacifiCorp and MidAmerican, oil and natural gas pipelines and several renewable power companies.”
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
The Nation: Stanford’s New School of Sustainability Is a Gift to Fossil Fuel Companies
Celina Scott-Buechler and Ada Statler, 6/21/22
“This summer, Stanford University will officially launch its new Doerr School of Sustainability with the help of a record-breaking $1.1 billion gift from John and Ann Doerr,” The Nation reports. “According to the Doerrs, who amassed their wealth in venture capital, the new school reflects a “bold” commitment to tackle humanity’s greatest challenge. And yet Stanford seems set to replicate the mistakes of past climate research: inviting conflicts of interest by soliciting fossil fuel funding, paying lip service to environmental justice, and forcing a dated and narrow-minded vision of “objective” climate work… “Despite the Doerrs’ sizable investment toward “solving the most complex problems in climate and sustainability,” the school’s incoming dean, Arun Majumdar, told the New York Times that the Doerr School of Sustainability would accept funding from and partner with fossil fuel companies. Majumdar’s day-one declaration summarily rejects demands by youth activists, students, climate advocates, and a growing body of academics who have fought to limit industry obstruction of climate solutions. At the time of publication, almost 700 Stanford students, alumni, faculty and staff have signed an open letter calling for the Doerr School to refuse fossil fuel funds. The letter cited a survey of graduate students in Stanford’s existing School of Earth that ranked refusing funding from polluting industries such as fossil fuel companies as the most important measure for the new school to implement. When we, the authors, met with Majumdar, he admitted that he had not read the open letter, nor looked at the survey results… “With the $1.7 billion granted to an institution already flush with resources, it is hard not to see the Doerr School’s choice to uphold fossil fuel interests while avoiding advocacy about the climate the fossil fuel industry has wreaked as proof of the influence of oil money. We call on Stanford, and the Doerrs, to make a truly bold commitment to climate and environmental justice progress—fossil free.”
OPINION
Sacramento Bee: Don’t be fooled, California. Why the fossil fuel industry promotes carbon capture policies
Dr. Catherine Garoupa White is the executive director of the Central Valley Air Quality Coalition. Mary Creasman is CEO of California Environmental Voters, 6/22/22
“Something truly bizarre is happening in Sacramento. California’s elected officials are considering investing in fossil fuels in a misguided attempt to solve the climate crisis,” Dr. Catherine Garoupa and Mary Creasman write for the Sacramento Bee. “If you think that sounds ridiculous, you’re not alone. It’s part of an effort by the fossil fuel industry to gain political support for “carbon capture, use and storage technology.” In reality, they are trying to further delay climate action, extend fossil fuel use and increase oil production. The California Carbon Capture Coalition, a collection of oil and gas companies, is pushing for policy proposals to accelerate carbon capture projects without the necessary guard rails, and they’re succeeding. The California Air Resources Board, the state’s air quality regulator, recently released a draft plan outlining how the state will deal with a climate crisis that is overly reliant on carbon capture and storage for fossil fuel plants… “Since the 1970s, the only application where carbon capture has truly worked is when it’s used to drill for more oil, a process known as “enhanced oil recovery.” In every other case, the application has overwhelmingly fallen short. Over 80% of projects failed to deliver the promised emissions reductions and most were completely abandoned, wasting millions of public dollars... “At the very least, they should support Senate Bill 1314 — legislation from state Sen. Monique Limón that would ensure carbon capture is not used for enhanced oil recovery in communities that are already dealing with entrenched environmental injustices… “Without these basic protections, carbon capture becomes a Trojan horse for fossil fuel companies to delay a just transition.”
Twin Cities Science for the People: Midwest CO2 Pipelines Climate Impacts
6/24/22
“As of June 2022, three large CO2 pipeline systems are proposed for the Midwest. The map below is speculative based on the facilities currently signed on, because the pipeline corporations have not finalized their routes yet. There is a clear lack of central planning and regulation for these systems overlapping each other across the region,” Twin Cities Science for the People writes. “...Captured CO2 is most commonly used for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). EOR has been used at or very near the proposed sequestration sites of each project, in both North Dakota and Illinois. The International Energy Agency (IEA) and industry groups claim that this process can produce “carbon negative oil”. However, their own methodology indicates that conventional EOR results in 1.8x more carbon emitted than is sequestered… “.In reality, there is a finite amount of oil on Earth, and much of it is only accessible by using EOR. While CO2 injection is not the only major method of EOR, any restriction in supply of CO2 used for EOR would increase the likelihood of more oil remaining in the ground… “Regardless of how advanced the EOR process is, there are better ways to do carbon sequestration (i.e. chemical storage or mineral storage) that don’t involve oil, and also have less risk of CO2 leakage… “Ethanol plant owners and operators who have signed on with a CO2 pipeline corporation have said that these CCS tax credits are necessary for them to continue to compete and operate in today’s markets. Ethanol producers are literally trying to stay in business by partaking. A Summit executive stated a goal of providing “longevity for the community’s ethanol plant.” Yes, an ethanol facility can lower its carbon footprint by doing CCS via CO2 pipelines, but if those systems enable the continued existence of the ethanol industry, then they will overall be bad for the climate… “Both EOR and ethanol lifecycle emissions on their own are reason enough to declare that CO2 pipelines are very likely to cause a net increase in GHG emissions. When we combine those two main factors, and add the electricity sector emissions from pipeline compressor stations, it’s not even close. Obviously, anyone in the Midwest who cares about climate change should oppose these CO2 pipeline systems.”
Dragon Pipe Diary: David vs. Goliath: apartment owner takes on Sunoco and wins
Guest post by Lora Snyder, 6/22/22
“Many residents in the Philadelphia suburbs have suffered from Sunoco’s arrogant disregard for their quality of life and safety during the construction of Mariner East,” Lora Snyder writes for Dragon Pipe Diary. “Few have suffered more than the residents of Glen Riddle Station apartments in Middletown Township, Delaware County. But their landlord worked hard to protect their rights, and he recently won a significant victory in a case before the Public Utility Commission… “The pipeline was not only being constructed directly through the center of a 124-unit apartment complex but also in extremely close proximity to inhabited apartment buildings, two of which were a mere 15 feet from the construction easement. Sunoco constructed a 48 inch diameter direct bore drill staging area. The company brought in vacuum trucks to control groundwater coming into the bore, and they were a major source of continuous, ear-splitting noise. Sunoco erected sound walls, but they were largely ineffective… “Given the nature of this construction site, Sunoco should have done more to mitigate noise levels. Judge Cheskis agreed with Glen Riddle’s expert witness that Glen Riddle residents and employees were at increased risk of hearing loss according to various federal regulations and studies and that the noise levels created an overall unhealthy environment that should have been prevented by Sunoco… “This ruling was precedent-setting because Sunoco, although the court ruled it met its obligation to communicate with the Township and the owner’s of Glen Riddle Apartments, failed in its primary responsibility, which was to effectively communicate with the most vulnerable parties, the residents. A ruling of this nature had never been made against Sunoco / ET prior to this decision… “This PUC ruling is a momentous victory for the community, and most particularly the residents at Glen Riddle Apartments… It also confirms that if everyday citizens and community businesses can document and present legally persuasive findings it makes a clear significant difference.”