EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 6/30/22
(Note to Readers: “Extracted” will not be published on Friday or Monday, as we take a break for the Independence Day holiday. The next edition will arrive on Tuesday, July 5.)
PIPELINE NEWS
Media Matters: The zombie Keystone XL pipeline is the embodiment of Fox News’ pro-fossil fuel campaign
E&E News: D.C. Circuit rejects NEPA challenge to Va. pipeline expansion
Iowa Utilities Board: Wolf Carbon Solutions Letter Requesting Info Mtg Dates
Quad City Times: Info meetings set for proposed carbon pipeline
Reuters: Kinder Morgan to move ahead with Texas natural gas pipeline expansion
Houston Chronicle: Pipeline giants Enterprise Products and Energy Transfer consider chemicals business
Wall Street Journal: TSA Eases Pipeline Cybersecurity Rules Issued After Colonial Hack
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Supreme Court’s EPA climate ruling expected tomorrow
Press release: Groups Sue Biden Administration Over Wyoming Oil and Gas Lease Sale
STATE UPDATES
Los Angeles Times: Newsom has a plan to keep the lights on in California — using fossil fuels
E&E News: Calif. may rely on carbon capture to meet 2045 net-zero goal
CBSLA: California State Senator pushes for new bill requiring oil refineries to disclose profits
EXTRACTION
Canadian Press: Clean fuel standards allow companies to get both tax credits and sell carbon credits
Guardian: The gas industry’s new playbook? Advertise to the young and people of color
CLIMATE FINANCE
Press release: CSOs condemn G7 leaders for caving in to gas industry and weakening pledge to end international public finance for fossil fuels
Yahoo Finance: RBC sees ‘the strongest fundamental oil market set up in decades, maybe ever’
OPINION
The Hill: To limit greenhouse gas emissions, improve the way we measure them
PIPELINE NEWS
Media Matters: The zombie Keystone XL pipeline is the embodiment of Fox News’ pro-fossil fuel campaign
ALLISON FISHER & TED MACDONALD, 6/29/22
“Since January 2021, Fox News has repeatedly invoked the canceled Keystone XL pipeline as a symbol for what it claims is President Joe Biden’s failed energy policy and the administration’s deference to a supposedly radical climate agenda,” Media Matters reports. “In the 517 days since Biden issued an executive order canceling the pipeline — from January 20, 2021, to June 20, 2022 — Fox News mentioned Keystone at least 2,036 times. From January 20, 2021, through February 2021, Fox mentioned the pipeline every single day on the network for a total of 596 mentions. Altogether, Fox mentioned the pipeline at least once on 365 of 517 days since its cancellation — despite no other newsworthy events that centered the controversial project. An examination of when the mentions peaked illustrates how Fox used the canceled pipeline during key moments, and to varying ends, to both attack the Biden administration and agitate for increasing our dependence on fossil fuels… “Fox News hosts, anchors, and guests have touted the Keystone XL pipeline as a solution to domestic high gas prices and global energy insecurity, despite multiple fact checks to the contrary… “Regardless of these facts, Fox News has repeatedly invoked the pipeline as the solution to and a cause of rising gas prices. In May 2021, the Colonial pipeline, a major fuel supply line on the East Coast, was shut down in response to a ransomware attack. Fox News used the incident and the resulting increase in gas prices to bludgeon Biden on main fronts, including claiming that the attack was proof that the Keystone pipeline is essential to U.S. energy security… “At the outset of the war in Ukraine, just a few months later, Fox News’ Keystone rhetoric reached a fever pitch. In February and March, Fox mentioned the pipeline a total of 532 times or roughly 26% of all mentions since January 2021. During this period, the canceled pipeline was pinned as a reason for rising gas prices, energy insecurity, and even Russian President Vladimir Putin getting emboldened enough to invade Ukraine… “Keystone is not the panacea that Fox would have its viewers believe. But through repetition and intentional application, it has become a right-wing media buzzword that boils down complex energy and climate issues to a symbol — in this case, a pipeline that never would have accomplished the things Fox News assigned to it.”
E&E News: D.C. Circuit rejects NEPA challenge to Va. pipeline expansion
Pamela King, 6/29/22
“Federal judges yesterday dismissed environmentalists’ challenge of a key approval for an extension of the embattled Mountain Valley natural gas pipeline,” E&E News reports. “In its ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit found that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission had made adequate determinations on the Southgate extension’s financial and environmental impacts. “Because the Commission’s decisions on both scores were reasonable and supported by substantial evidence, we deny the petition for review,” wrote Judge Robert Wilkins, who was appointed during the Obama administration… “The Sierra Club and environmental challengers had argued — as now-FERC Chair Richard Glick did in an earlier dissent — that FERC should not have granted Southgate, which is an extension of an existing pipeline, a higher rate of return usually given to new projects that require investors to absorb additional risk. Challengers also claimed that FERC fell short of its requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act when it analyzed Southgate’s sedimentation and erosion impacts. The D.C. Circuit disagreed on both counts… “Despite yesterday’s D.C. Circuit decision, Mountain Valley still faces “strong headwinds” inside and outside of the courts, the Sierra Club said in a statement yesterday. “Unfortunately, today’s decision will hit vulnerable communities the hardest and sacrifice our water quality, all for the benefit of wealthy investors,” Caroline Hansley, Sierra Club senior campaign representative, told E&E. “This project is not needed and is years behind schedule — with no completion in sight, billions over budget, and still lacking multiple necessary permits.”
Iowa Utilities Board: Wolf Carbon Solutions Letter Requesting Info Mtg Dates
6/27/22
“Wolf Carbon Solutions US, LLC ("Wolf") has developed a proposal to build and operate a carbon capture pipeline system in Iowa and Illinois ("Mt. Simon Hub"). The project will capture carbon dioxide emissions from local facilities before it reaches the atmosphere, convert it to a liquid form, and transport it via pipeline to a permanent underground sequestration site within the Mt. Simon Sandstone saline reservoir in Illinois. Wolf is committed to transparent, two-way communication throughout this process and is enthusiastic about bringing the economic and environmental benefits of this carbon capture and storage project to Iowa. To begin the process, Wolf is requesting public informational meetings in the counties listed in the chart below, on the dates and times specified. A virtual meeting has been proposed as an alternative to virtual participation and all meetings are designed to take place before the fall harvest to better encourage and enable participation. Linn September 13, 2022 Noon… Virtual September 15, 2022 6:00 p.m… “Wolf is aware that it is customary to provide back-up or alternative dates; however, we are concerned that any later dates will push into the harvest season. The Wolf team is available to accommodate the Board's schedule in the last two weeks of September should any dates need to be adjusted. With this letter, Wolf encloses a current preliminary map of the project for illustrative purposes.”
Quad City Times: Info meetings set for proposed carbon pipeline
6/29/22
“State regulators have scheduled another 13 public information meetings about a proposed carbon pipeline through Iowa,” the Quad City Times reports. “The meetings will be about the Navigator Heartland Greenway proposal, which calls for the company to build and operate a 1,300-mile pipeline across five Midwest states, including Iowa. Navigator announced earlier this month the pipeline no longer would go through Linn, Benton, Cedar, Poweshiek and Clinton counties as proposed last year. In Eastern Iowa, the new route would go through Bremer, Fayette, Buchanan and Delaware counties. The scheduled of public meetings can be viewed on the Iowa Utilities Board’s website at iub.iowa.gov.”
Reuters: Kinder Morgan to move ahead with Texas natural gas pipeline expansion
6/29/22
“Pipeline operator Kinder Morgan Inc (KMI.N) gave the greenlight to financing expanded capacity on a natural gas pipeline that brings fuel from fields in west Texas to export hubs near Houston, the company said on Wednesday,” Reuters reports. “The expansion comes as several new liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing plants have been proposed along the U.S. Gulf Coast to meet rising demand in Europe and Asia. The proposed LNG plants would require about 3.1 billion cubic feet per day of new gas supply. The 428-mile (689-km) Permian Highway Pipeline, owned by Kinder Morgan, Kinetik Holdings and Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), now carries 2.1 billion cubic feet per day (cfd) from the Permian Basin of west Texas and New Mexico. The expansion would add 550 million cfd with the higher capacity available starting in November, 2023, Kinder Morgan said. The project still requires approvals and permitting… “A separate gas pipeline expansion that carries natural gas from the Permian Basin to points along the south Texas coast, remains under consideration, a spokesperson told Reuters. That project, called the Gulf Coast Express (GCX) expansion, would add nearly 570 million cfd to existing capacity.”
Houston Chronicle: Pipeline giants Enterprise Products and Energy Transfer consider chemicals business
Amanda Drane, 6/30/22
“Two of the nation’s largest pipeline companies are planning projects that would expand their businesses into petrochemical manufacturing,” the Houston Chronicle reports. “Houston-based Enterprise Products has applied for tax abatements on two ethylene manufacturing facilities in East Texas that, if built, would cost a combined $10.5 billion. Energy Transfer of Dallas also plans to build an ethylene manufacturing facility along the Gulf Coast. The potential projects would help meet soaring global demand for ethylene. Chemical-makers buy ethylene to make compounds such as polyethylene, a basic plastic used in packaging, and polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, polymers used in everything from construction to consumer electronics. For pipeline companies, ethylene production is “a natural next step,” analysts said… “More ethylene manufacturing facilities need to come online in order to keep pace with growing demand for plastics, Chris Mudd, managing director for Chiron Financial, a Houston-based energy investment banking firm, told the Chronicle. He said it would take at least one new ethylene manufacturing facility starting up each year. “The way people live now,” he told the Chronicle, “there’s more demand for flexible packaging, which all comes from ethylene.” “...Enterprise also plans to build a $5.25 billion ethylene production facility at its Beaumont Marine East property along the Neches River in Orange County… “Energy Transfer, too, is looking to build a “world-class” petrochemical facility along the Gulf Coast, part of its plan to provide a coastal ethylene system to “connect the dots between Louisiana and Houston,” executives said during first-quarter earnings call in May.”
Wall Street Journal: TSA Eases Pipeline Cybersecurity Rules Issued After Colonial Hack
David Uberti, 6/29/22
“The Transportation Security Administration is loosening pipeline cybersecurity rules imposed after the hack of Colonial Pipeline Co. last year, giving companies a longer window to report cyberattacks and more leeway to design their defenses,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “The first-of-their-kind cyber directives, unveiled after a ransomware attack disrupted the East Coast’s largest fuel conduit for six days in May 2021, drew pushback from businesses that argued the standards were overly prescriptive and in some cases risked disrupting the flow of oil and gas. Lobbyists tell the Journal that updated versions of the two yearlong directives could hint at how the agency intends to write permanent cyber regulations for pipelines and other surface transportation. “We’re encouraged by the changes they’ve made,” Suzanne Lemieux, director of operations security and emergency response policy at the American Petroleum Institute, an oil and gas trade group, told the Journal. “There were a lot of things that weren’t well thought out in the urgency of getting this out [last year].” Designated pipeline operators are now required to report hacks to the government within 24 hours, double the previously mandated timeline, according to a new version of the first directive that went into effect on May 29. An update to the second directive, set to be released by July 26, is expected to focus less on forcing companies to install particular security measures, pipeline lobbyists and a TSA spokesperson said… “Following the second directive’s release last July, the TSA said it received more than 380 requests from pipeline operators to fulfill the requirements in different ways than the order outlined. The agency, which called the number unprecedented in a fact sheet reviewed by WSJ Pro Cybersecurity, didn’t respond to a question about how many of those requests it granted.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Supreme Court’s EPA climate ruling expected tomorrow
Pamela King, 6/29/22
“The Supreme Court tomorrow is expected to hand down its biggest climate ruling since Massachusetts v. EPA,” E&E News reports. “In their forthcoming decision in West Virginia v. EPA, the justices could affirm broad agency authority to regulate planet-warming emissions from power plants. Or they could cut back on the scope of rulemaking power at EPA — and possibly all federal agencies. The justices could also choose not to decide the case at all… “This Court will announce all remaining opinions ready during this Term of Court on Thursday, June 30, 2022, beginning at 10 a.m.,” Supreme Court spokesperson Patricia McCabe said in a statement this morning… “Some challengers in the Supreme Court case have asked the justices to go big with their ruling by reviving the long-dormant nondelegation doctrine to say that Congress cannot hand off its legislative powers to federal agencies like EPA. The justices have another avenue for a broad ruling against EPA if they apply the major questions doctrine, which says that courts should not defer to agencies’ statutory interpretations on matters of “vast economic or political significance.” None of the West Virginia challengers has asked the Supreme Court to overturn its 2007 ruling in Massachusetts v. EPA, which said the agency had authority to regulate greenhouse gases as air pollutants under the Clean Air Act. But some legal observers tell E&E they fear the precedent set in Massachusetts may be vulnerable — if not in West Virginia, then in some future case — after the Supreme Court last week overturned the long-standing constitutional right to an abortion.”
Press release: Groups Sue Biden Administration Over Wyoming Oil and Gas Lease Sale
6/29/22
“The Wilderness Society and Friends of the Earth today filed suit over the Biden administration’s decision to offer 123 parcels covering nearly 120,000 acres (approximately 188 square miles) of federal land for oil and gas drilling on June 29 and 30. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is moving forward with the sale despite acknowledging that greenhouse gas pollution from development of the leases could result in billions of dollars in social and environmental harm — the equivalent of adding hundreds of thousands of cars to the road each year. The lease sale will also commit these public lands to oil and gas drilling before BLM completes reforms to the federal oil and gas leasing program that the agency has recognized are needed. “The Biden administration decision to hold this lease sale directly conflicts with the commitments it has made to address climate change,” said Michael Freeman, senior attorney for Earthjustice, which represents the groups filing suit… “The groups, represented by Earthjustice, argue that the Wyoming lease sale violates the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Administrative Procedure Act by locking in extensive oil and gas development rights without grappling with the enormous climate change costs of doing so, and without addressing protection of groundwater and wildlife. The groups also charge that BLM is violating NEPA by failing to consider reasonable alternatives, such as holding a smaller lease sale in Wyoming. At the same time as the Wyoming sale, BLM is holding lease sales in several other western states. In every other state, BLM chose to hold much smaller lease sales. But in Wyoming, BLM declined to consider that approach. In the seven other states where BLM is selling leases this month, BLM is offering a combined total of less than 10,000 acres, while in Wyoming BLM is selling more than ten times that much land.”
STATE UPDATES
Los Angeles Times: Newsom has a plan to keep the lights on in California — using fossil fuels
SAMMY ROTH, 6/28/22
“A controversial plan from Gov. Gavin Newsom would reshape how business is done on the California power grid, potentially helping to extend the life of beachfront gas plants and the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant, making it easier for solar and wind farm developers to sidestep local government opposition, and limiting environmental reviews for all kinds of energy projects,” the Los Angeles Times reports. “State lawmakers could vote as early as Wednesday night on the polarizing legislation, whose text was revealed late Sunday. The bill would give the Department of Water Resources unprecedented authority to build or buy energy from any facility that can help keep the lights on during the next few summers — including polluting diesel generators and four gas-fired power plants along the Southern California coast that were originally supposed to close in 2020 but were rescued by state officials. Those decisions would be exempt from the normal public input process under the California Environmental Quality Act — and from approval by agencies such as the California Coastal Commission and local air quality management districts… “But the governor’s proposal startled climate activists, energy developers and local officials. In an opposition letter Tuesday, two dozen groups — including the Sierra Club, the California Environmental Justice Alliance, the National Parks Conservation Assn. and Audubon — said Newsom’s plan has gone through hardly any public review. Alexis Sutterman, energy equity manager at the California Environmental Justice Alliance, called the bill “incredibly dangerous.” “It’s putting billions of dollars into keeping fossil fuel infrastructure online at a time when we should be doing everything we can to move away from fossil fuels, both for equity and the sake of our climate,” Sutterman told the Times. Especially controversial are gas-fired power plants in Redondo Beach, Huntington Beach, Long Beach and Oxnard that were supposed to shut down by the end of 2020 under a decade-old policy requiring coastal power plants to stop sucking up large amounts of ocean water — a process known as “once through cooling” that kills fish and other marine life. In a series of decisions after the August 2020 rolling blackouts, the state water board agreed to let those plants keep operating three more years. If the Legislature approves Newsom’s plan, the Department of Water Resources could buy energy from those plants beyond 2023 — or even buy the facilities outright, critics fear. That possibility has left Redondo Beach Mayor Bill Brand feeling blindsided. “We feel double-crossed,” Brand told the Times. “These retirement dates were set 12 years ago.” Redondo Beach Mayor Bill Brand has fought for years to shut down the gas-fired power plant in his city.
E&E News: Calif. may rely on carbon capture to meet 2045 net-zero goal
Anne C. Mulkern, 6/30/22
“California must capture carbon from factory smokestacks and directly from the air to achieve its goal of carbon neutrality by 2045, according to a draft plan from a key state agency,” E&E News reports. “The plan — from staff at the California Air Resources Board — estimates that about one-third of the needed emissions reductions in 2045 would come from greenhouse gas removal techniques. That assessment is stoking controversy in a state that sees itself as a national leader in fighting climate change, with concerns about the feasibility of carbon capture and whether it harms lower-income neighborhoods… “The “scoping plan” details how the state will hit net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045, and includes both carbon capture and sequestration, or CCS, and pulling carbon from the atmosphere, known as direct air capture… “The plan comes as the federal government prepares to spend $8.2 billion on technologies that catch, transport and store carbon dioxide from industrial facilities. That money was included in the bipartisan infrastructure bill President Joe Biden signed into law last year. More than two dozen CCS projects currently are operating around the world, with over 100 more in development, according to the CARB draft plan… “Some who packed the agency’s board room argued CCS will keep oil refineries and industrial plants running when they should be shuttered. “Only a small portion of CO2 can be captured at refineries,” Julia May, senior scientist at Communities for a Better Environment, told the board. “CCS can’t address thousands of fugitive leaks, explosion hazards nor carcinogens either. … Nothing in the plan requires any refinery phaseout. In fact, CCS encourages long-term refining and green washing.” “...The plan warns that techniques to capture and concentrate ambient CO2 will require building new infrastructure… “CARB’s draft plan also assumes CCS use at petroleum refineries… “CARB board member Dr. John Balmes said that while he might support CCS on cement plants, “I really have problems in terms of both oil and gas extraction CCS,” as well as CCS at oil refineries, and at locations using biomass to generate power.”
CBSLA: California State Senator pushes for new bill requiring oil refineries to disclose profits
TOM WAIT, 6/28/22
“With oil companies raking in record profits, one state senator is pushing a new law that would require refiners to disclose how much they make on every gallon of gas they sell,” CBSLA reports. "Absolutely disclose it. I want to know," Driver Lana Terpaprian told CBSLA Tuesday. "I'm literally so frustrated. A good amount of my money, that I work hard for, just goes to my gas." The national average for a gallon of regular gas is $4.88 nearly $1.50 lower than the California average of $6.30 a gallon. The glaring price gap has spurred a state senator to team up with a group called Consumer Watchdog to push legislation that would require refining companies to disclose their profits in great detail on a frequent basis. "This bill basically says 'Show us the Money. Show us how much you're making, per gallon, per month,'" president Jamie Court told CBSLA. "Unfortunately the evidence we have from the information that's out there on the per-gallon profits are that we are being ripped off in the extreme." The bill would require oil refiners to disclose profit margins monthly. According to State Senator Ben Allen's office, the five oil refiners that control 96% of California's gas reap higher profits of 30-40 cents per gallon.”
EXTRACTION
Canadian Press: Clean fuel standards allow companies to get both tax credits and sell carbon credits
6/28/22
“Canada's new emissions standards for gasoline and diesel will allow oil companies that get a federal tax break for installing carbon capture and storage systems to generate credits based on those systems, which they can then sell to refineries and fuel importers,” the Canadian Press reports. “Cabinet approved the final regulations for the Clean Fuel Standard last week and The Canadian Press obtained them Monday ahead of their intended publication July 6. Gasoline and diesel suppliers can meet the new emissions standards for the two fuels in multiple ways, including buying credits from other companies that produce renewable fuels, build electric vehicle infrastructure or reduce emissions when fuels are extracted. Oil companies that get a new federal tax credit of up to 60 per cent of the cost of installing carbon capture and storage systems can also generate and sell credits for use within the clean fuel standard credit system… “Greenpeace Canada's senior energy strategist Keith Stewart told CP the clean fuel standard isn't going to generate any new emissions cuts and will instead create new revenue sources for big oil producers.”
Guardian: The gas industry’s new playbook? Advertise to the young and people of color
Taylor Kate Brown, 6/30/22
“American energy corporation the Williams Companies was facing yet another setback in its attempts to build a natural gas pipeline in New York. After a years-long battle, state regulators and pushback from protesters had forced the company to cancel its previously proposed Constitution pipeline from Pennsylvania to New York. And in May 2020, another major Williams project – a nearly $1bn gas pipeline that would run underwater from New Jersey to the Rockaway peninsula in Queens – was rejected for a second time,” the Guardian reports. “Williams, which handles about 30% of the natural gas in the US, needed a dramatic turnaround. So in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election the company, along with at least six other fossil fuel pipeline and utility companies, invested in a strategy to rebrand natural gas through a new industry group they named Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future. Its focus: convince younger, liberal and non-white audiences that gas is a “clean” energy solution. “If we replace coal with renewables partnered with natural gas,” a Black actor in a white lab coat says in one digital advertisement, “[the result will be] reliable, affordable energy for all Americans.” She ends by saying, “Natural gas: accelerating the world’s clean energy future.” Versions of that advertisement were seen more than a million times across Facebook and Instagram from February to May 2022, according to public data. The ads are part of a larger public opinion and influence effort being led by Natural Allies, which has grown from a nascent pilot campaign to a fully fledged industry group with a two-year, $10m budget. In the group’s words, that investment “would redefine the role of natural gas in fighting climate change and protect the social license to operate”, according to internal documents obtained and analyzed by Floodlight and the Guardian. “Success for the natural gas industry will be rooted in whether we can message to the left and the Democratic base of Black and Latino and age 18-34 voters as effectively as we have messaged to the right,” read one early strategy document. Natural Allies is backed by Williams and at least five other fossil fuel companies – including pipeline giants TC Energy and Kinder Morgan and the gas utility Southern Company. The known companies who support the group as of 2022 made $78bn in revenues last year.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
Press release: CSOs condemn G7 leaders for caving in to gas industry and weakening pledge to end international public finance for fossil fuels
6/28/22
“Today, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other G7 leaders watered down a commitment made in May by their energy, climate and environment ministers to end international public finance for fossil fuels by the end of this year, drawing a swift rebuke from climate and development campaigners. Civil society leaders had been urging the G7, and specifically Germany and Japan, to stand by the ministerial commitment and fully redirect their fossil fuel finance to clean energy and energy efficiency solutions that are best positioned to deliver on energy security, development, and climate goals. Six out of seven G7 members had already adopted a near-identical commitment to shift public finance at the 2021 UN climate conference. The ministerial commitment was notable for adding Japan. This is significant as Japan is the second largest provider of international public finance for fossil fuels, pouring $11 billion into dirty overseas fossil fuel projects each year. Today’s G7 leaders’ statement adds new loopholes to the commitment and says that “with a view to accelerating the phase out of our dependency on Russian energy … investment in [LNG] is necessary” and that “publicly supported investment in the gas sector can be appropriate as a temporary response”. Soon after the G7 ministerials, signals already emerged of countries backsliding on their commitment. Japan claimed it could continue financing upstream oil and gas projects despite the G7 pledge, and Germany’s Chancellor Scholz stated that Germany wants to “intensively” pursue gas projects in Senegal — a stance of particular concern as they are this year’s G7 host… “Today’s statement risks jeopardizing the opportunity to shift at least USD 33 billion a year in influential fossil fuel support from the G7 governments.”
Yahoo Finance: RBC sees ‘the strongest fundamental oil market set up in decades, maybe ever’
Jeff Lagerquist, 6/29/22
“Fear of a looming recession has not shaken RBC Capital Markets’ expectation for oil prices to push higher in 2023,” Yahoo Finance reports. “The bank says the oil market is currently caught between “the strongest fundamental oil market set up in decades, maybe ever,” and a deteriorating macroeconomic backdrop threatening the outlook for demand. In a note to clients on Wednesday led by global energy strategist Michael Tran, RBC called for the price of North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) (CL=F) crude to average US$114 per barrel next year. That’s up from the bank’s forecast of US$96.50 in mid-February… “Recession or not, we believe that the oil complex remains in a structural, multi-year tightening cycle that will go as far as demand will take it,” Tran and his team wrote. “Absent a recession, the tightening cycle clearly points higher, potentially significantly higher. US$150/bbl, US$175/bbl, US$200/bbl? Pick a number.” “...Given recessionary scenarios in which demand is taxed at a similar rate as previous downturns, we could see a scenario in which prices retreat into the mid US$70/bbl range in the back half of this year,” he added.”
OPINION
The Hill: To limit greenhouse gas emissions, improve the way we measure them
Marian Van Pelt is a senior vice president of climate and clean energy, as well as a Climate Center Senior fellow at ICF consulting firm, 6/29/22
“The need to address climate change has reached a new level of global urgency,” Marian Van Pelt writes for The Hill. “...To measure climate action commitments across nations, the UN collects volumes of data from countries to calculate the global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that contribute to climate change. When the UN notes that countries need to trim 55 percent of their GHG emissions by 2030 to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, for example, that request is based on country-reported emission estimates, and related commitments to reduce their emissions… “However, there is no single arbiter to certify that the total global emissions are being accurately calculated. This remains a challenge for meeting climate goals — put simply, we can’t manage what we don’t measure. GHG accounting is particularly challenging for emerging economies. Emissions monitoring and reporting by industry or other emitters is limited… “In addition, unfortunately, some countries may intentionally misrepresent their emissions, making it tougher for global GHG accounting efforts to be accurate. It’s important for international organizations to identify where the in-country gaps and inaccuracies in reporting are, and help fill them in with science, guidelines, policies and steps supported by local organizations and experts that can validate GHG estimates. With recent technological advancements, such as satellite monitoring designed specifically for GHG accounting and powerful data-sharing platforms, better carbon accounting is possible… “It will be challenging, but not impossible to make sure GHG measurement and reporting helps us understand how to protect against the most dire predictions of climate change. We must ensure that investments directed toward greenhouse gas management really do bend the curve to lower global emissions. Meeting ambitious climate goals and achieving the vision set out by the Paris agreement requires it.”