EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 7/11/25

PIPELINE NEWS

• Bloomberg: Oil and Gas Pipeline Safety Cases Plunge in First Months of Trump’s Second Term

• E&E News: Supreme Court’s NEPA ruling will reshape FERC climate fights

• Radio Iowa: Governor predicts some fellow Republicans’ anger over pipeline veto will ebb

• Wisconsin Examiner: Sierra Club breaks record for world’s largest display of origami fish to protest Line 5

• Law360: Sunoco Faces Another Suit Over Jet Fuel Pipeline Leak In Pa.

• Magnolia Tribune: Natural gas pipeline project in Mississippi, Alabama winding its way through approval process

• Delta News: Natural Gas Pipeline to Start in Greenville, Mississippi

• Washington Reporter: TC Energy is bolstering America’s energy dominance through critical investments

• RBN Energy: ExxonMobil's Strategy for Wink to Webster Pipeline Enhances Control of Permian Crude

• Insurance Business: Marsh offices targeted by climate activists over East African oil pipeline

WASHINGTON UPDATES

• E&E News: Interior’s NEPA changes largely cut public out of permitting process

• E&E News: Republicans seek changes to law protecting marine mammals

• Wilderness Society: Map reveals 200+ million acres now open to oil and gas drilling

STATE UPDATES

• Heated: Abbott says megafloods are “just part of nature.” The fossil fuel industry disagrees.

• Politico: How to make oil and enviros talk? Close a refinery.

• Cal Matters: Trump administration may revoke designation for new Chuckwalla National Monument

• Grand Junction Daily Sentinel: BLM reduces oil, gas lease sale size at request of Utes

EXTRACTION

• Reuters: OPEC trims oil demand for next four years, says no peak in sight

• Reuters: Oil falls amid bearish Trump tariff outlook

• New York Times: Trump Threatens Higher Tariffs on Canada in the Middle of Trade Talks

• Alberta Native News: Investigation: Are the Oil Sands killing First Nations? (Part 2)

OPINION

• Globe and Mail: The small-bore view of oil-pipeline critics

• Calgary Herald: Bill C-5 charts a path, but full road map needed to get major projects built in Canada

• Inforum: Carbon capture alarmism and the folly of the herd
  

PIPELINE NEWS

Bloomberg: Oil and Gas Pipeline Safety Cases Plunge in First Months of Trump’s Second Term
Catherine Cartier, 7/10/25

“US regulatory actions to ensure oil and gas pipeline safety have plummeted to a record low for the start of a presidential administration as Donald Trump pushes to streamline the government and cut red tape,” Bloomberg reports. “The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration opened 40 enforcement cases between January 20 and the end of June, according to filings from the regulator. That’s the least for the beginning of any presidential term in data going back two decades and a 68% slide compared with Trump’s first months in office eight years ago… “PHMSA told Bloomberg the slowdown occurred because it was in the midst of issuing two revisions to its pipeline safety enforcement process. The changes, which took effect in May, concerned how the agency calculates civil penalties and discloses records. “We didn’t want to be issuing new cases while we knew that those pretty significant changes to our process were underway,” Emily Wong, PHMSA’s director for governmental, international and public affairs, told Bloomberg… “The low number of cases has stoked concern that a decline in oversight will lead to a ramp-up in pipeline accidents and their severity, putting people living near the conduits at heightened risk and allowing companies to evade accountability for repeat offenses… “Wong told Bloomberg PHMSA took “very swift and very firm corrective action” in addressing the incident in Upper Makefield, as well as an April spill from South Bow Corp.’s Keystone oil pipeline in North Dakota… “But some observers remain skeptical. If pipeline operators sense that there’s no one policing the industry, safety lapses could proliferate, Bill Caram, executive director of the watchdog group Pipeline Safety Trust, told Bloomberg. “I certainly worry that we’re going to see an increase in the amount of failures that happen and the severity of the failures that happen.”

E&E News: Supreme Court’s NEPA ruling will reshape FERC climate fights
Francisco "A.J." Camacho, Niina H. Farah, 7/11/25

“A recent Supreme Court ruling could shake up how environmental groups challenge natural gas pipelines by undercutting a seminal lower court decision that required federal regulators to evaluate a project’s downstream greenhouse gas emissions,” E&E News reports. “In May, the high court ruled in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County that agencies are not required to analyze environmental impacts outside of their jurisdiction, or that are too far removed in either time or space from the project under review. A number of legal experts say the 8-0 decision undermines the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit’s 2017 ruling in Sierra Club v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The so-called Sabal Trail decision is often cited by environmental groups and others pushing FERC to more seriously consider how its approval of new gas projects could contribute to rising global temperatures. “What the Supreme Court did was give Sabal Trail a decent burial,” Joe Kelliher, who was FERC chair under former President George W. Bush, told E&E.”

Radio Iowa: Governor predicts some fellow Republicans’ anger over pipeline veto will ebb
O. Kay Henderson, 7/11/25

“Governor Kim Reynolds says she expects rancor from some fellow Republicans over her veto of carbon pipeline regulations will subside by the time the 2026 legislative session begins,” Radio Iowa reports. “Last month, a key GOP lawmaker said he no longer trusts the governor’s judgement and vowed to “work against and kill every bill” Reynolds proposes next year. “There’s just passionate feelings on both sides of this issue,” Reynolds told Radio Iowa. “It’s a really difficult issue and how you move forward with it and, you know, time and separation does a lot of good.” Reynolds, who spoke with reporters after the groundbreaking for the new location Italian-American Cultural Center of Iowa, told Radio Iowa Iowans are tired of the kind of political stalemates they’ve seen in Washington. Reynolds predicted she and Republican legislators will unify around common objectives before the Iowa legislature convenes in January.”

Wisconsin Examiner: Sierra Club breaks record for world’s largest display of origami fish to protest Line 5
Henry Redman, 7/10/25

“The Sierra Club announced Thursday that it has broken the world record for the largest display of origami fish in an effort to bring attention to Enbridge’s Line 5 oil pipeline, which passes through northern Wisconsin and Michigan,” the Wisconsin Examiner reports. “Line 5 has been the target of sustained activism for years, with environmental groups and Native American tribes arguing the pipeline’s continued existence puts the water supply for thousands of residents at risk… “The Sierra Club organized the origami fish project to bring attention to the years of activism against Line 5 and the continued fight against its path through the Bad River reservation and under the Straits of Mackinac between Michigan’s upper and lower peninsulas… “The previous origami fish record was 18,303. With the help of folders from all 50 states, Canada and Mexico, the Sierra Club has created a display of more than 70,000 origami fish. On Thursday, the fish were put on display in the Sierra Club of Wisconsin’s Madison office as staff continued pinning them onto boards. A press conference about Line 5’s effect on Wisconsin’s water was held in front of the boards full of paper fish. State Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison) told the Wisconsin Examiner the fish project was a symbol of people’s ability to work together to fight injustice. “You topple regimes with people power,” she said.”

Law360: Sunoco Faces Another Suit Over Jet Fuel Pipeline Leak In Pa.
Madeline Lyskawa, 7/10/25

“Sunoco has been slapped with another lawsuit in Philadelphia County Court alleging that a leaky pipeline resulted in jet fuel and other petroleum products contaminating residential property, groundwater, soil and air,” Law360 reports.

Magnolia Tribune: Natural gas pipeline project in Mississippi, Alabama winding its way through approval process
Daniel Tyson, 7/10/25

“A proposed 208-mile natural gas pipeline stretching from Mississippi into Alabama is slowly winding its way through the approval process, according to paperwork the company filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in June,” the Magnolia Tribune reports. “Known as the Mississippi Crossing Project, the project is expected to transport 1.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas daily when operational. Tennessee Gas Pipeline (TGP) Company is listed as the owner… “TGP said the pipeline will increase the natural gas supply to the southeastern part of the U.S… “The $1.4 billion project is scheduled for completion in November 2028… “FERC filings show company officials are working to meet federal and state obligations. Of key importance are various surveys. “TGP continued to contact landowners for survey notifications and permissions for civil, biological, cultural, bat, noise, and aquatic surveys. Noise surveys have been completed for the new compressor station locations,” the filings read… “A spokesperson for the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality told the Tribune the state has received a Pre-Construction Notification related to the project, as required by the department’s regulations. She added that for the compressor stations construction, air permits may be required.”

Delta News: Natural Gas Pipeline to Start in Greenville, Mississippi
Alexcis Stanley, 7/10/25

“A major pipeline project is making its way through the approval process promising to boost natural gas supply in the Southeast, starting in Greenville, Mississippi,” Delta News reports. “A proposed 208-mile natural gas pipeline would begin in Greenville, Mississippi crossing 11 counties before ending near Butler, Alabama. Called the Mississippi Crossing Project, it’s expected to carry 1.5 billion cubic feet of gas daily once complete. Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, a Kinder Morgan subsidiary, is behind the $1.4 billion project… “Environmental surveys are underway, and state air permits may be needed before construction starts.”

Washington Reporter: TC Energy is bolstering America’s energy dominance through critical investments
7/10/25

“Energy dominance is a key pillar of Republican governance that the Trump administration is ardently pursuing. American companies are answering the call, but TC Energy up in Canada is also joining the efforts,” according to the Washington Reporter. “TC Energy president and CEO Francois Poirier caught up with the Washington Reporter to talk about his company’s moves to bolster American energy dominance. Poirier told the Reporter that TC Energy is “a North American company” that has “moved an awful lot of natural gas around all three countries” in the continent… “And I would say, of the next $30 billion over the course of the next five years, so in the early 2030s, even more of that capital and investment wants to be in the U.S.” “...I would say that we have had and our peers have also had all of the access we've needed with the various secretaries to provide input in how to accelerate permitting timelines, how enhance our ability to accelerate the development of infrastructure,” Poirier told the Reporter. “Their teams, whether it's Secretary [Doug] Burgum who's chairing the National Energy Dominance Council or Secretary [Chris] Wright, there's a very strong desire from them to understand what industry needs to accelerate capital investment, and we've benefited as well as our peers in in have and enjoying that access…And so we're looking forward to continuing to help wherever we can to give them feedback to accelerate streamlining our regulation.”

RBN Energy: ExxonMobil's Strategy for Wink to Webster Pipeline Enhances Control of Permian Crude
Lisa Shidler, 7/11/25

“The Wink to Webster Pipeline, operated by ExxonMobil, stands out as the largest crude oil pipeline by capacity exiting the prolific Permian Basin in West Texas,” RBN Energy reports. “What makes it even more of a midstream icon is the company’s hands-on management of the entire process, from the production well to the long-haul run to delivery to ExxonMobil’s refineries. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll examine Wink to Webster’s complicated ownership structure, how it connects directly to terminals run by its owners and its destination flexibility.”

Insurance Business: Marsh offices targeted by climate activists over East African oil pipeline
Kenneth Araullo, 7/11/25

“Global brokerage Marsh found itself in the crosshairs of climate activists with protests focused on the insurance industry’s role in underwriting fossil fuel projects,” Insurance Business reports. “The demonstration outside of Marsh’s Manchester offices, led by supporters of Extinction Rebellion’s Insure Our Survival campaign, was part of a coordinated week of action taking place across the UK. More than a dozen protesters assembled outside Marsh’s premises in Belvedere, Booth Street, distributing materials and reading testimonies from individuals in Uganda said to be affected by the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). The group urged Marsh employees to support calls for the broker to withdraw from the project, which has drawn criticism from campaigners over environmental and human rights concerns. EACOP is a proposed 1,443km pipeline that would transport crude oil from Uganda to the Tanzanian coast. The project has been linked to the displacement of communities and risks to water and food security in the region. Opponents of the pipeline have also pointed to its potential environmental impact on areas such as Lake Victoria and Murchison Falls National Park. Marsh McLennan secured the contract to arrange insurance for EACOP in March 2022. The broker has since faced repeated calls to end its involvement in the project, including sustained pressure from environmental and human rights groups.”

WASHINGTON UPDATES

E&E News: Interior’s NEPA changes largely cut public out of permitting process
Ian M. Stevenson, 7/10/25

“Agencies are rewriting their National Environmental Policy Act regulations, potentially muting public input and curtailing environmental reviews for everything from new railroads to oil wells,” E&E News reports.”The broad changes, enacted by at least four agencies, will narrow the scope of environmental analyses, cut down on public comment periods and speed up environmental permitting. At the Interior Department, the changes include cutting close to one-sixth of the regulations implementing NEPA — and switching most of the remaining rules to less-stringent guidelines. Mark Squillace, who worked at Interior during the Clinton administration, called the changes “outrageous.” “What they’re basically doing is wiping out all of these requirements wholesale,” Squillace, a law professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, told E&E. “The public is being cut out of the process for commenting on major kinds of decisions.’ NEPA, a bedrock environmental law enacted in 1970, requires the government to consider a broad range of environmental impacts for major development projects. At Interior, agencies like the Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management must follow the law when they consider permitting everything from oil wells on public lands to offshore wind farms along the coast.”

E&E News: Republicans seek changes to law protecting marine mammals
Garrett Downs, 7/10/25

“The House Natural Resources Committee is set to discuss legislation to make big changes to the Marine Mammal Protection Act,” E&E News reports. “Advocates told E&E it could be the death knell for dozens of species. The discussion draft, obtained by E&E News, is still in the early stages and could undergo significant changes before it is ever voted on. Nevertheless, the committee will huddle in the coming weeks to consider it, a step toward action sooner rather than later. That action is alarming advocates who warn it would gut the 1972 law. “This punches so many holes in the lifeboat of the MMPA that it might as well be titled “The MMPA Evisceration Act,” Jane Davenport, a senior attorney at Defenders of Wildlife, told E&E it would return the U.S. to the ‘dark days when so many of our marine mammals were really, really in bad shape.”

Wilderness Society: Map reveals 200+ million acres now open to oil and gas drilling
Emily Denny, 7/9/25

“...Even without the public lands sell-off provision, the legislation is one of the biggest public lands giveaways to the fossil fuel industry in history,” the Wilderness Society reports. “...The Wilderness Society with Rocky Mountain Wild worked together to illustrate this reckless giveaway. Below is a map that shows all BLM lands across the Western United States that are open to oil and gas leasing. In addition to giving away control of more than 200 million acres of BLM-administered lands to the oil and gas industry, this legislation makes it both cheaper and easier to do so via several procedural and fiscal giveaways that will have enormous ramifications for the public lands we know and love. Below are several toplines on how the legislation will touch down: The legislation requires quarterly lease sales in every Western state (regardless of industry interest) and resurrects noncompetitive leasing, which allows industry to lease lands for $1.50/acre when parcels don’t receive competitive bids and have virtually no oil and gas potential. The legislation will reduce the revenue paid to the American people from fossil fuel extraction by 25% -- down to a rate established more than 100 years ago, robbing taxpayers and states of billions of dollars of revenue. The legislation will rescind the $5 per-acre lease nomination fee adopted in the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022 (the last time a budget reconciliation bill was passed), a policy that successfully curbed speculative leasing. The legislation strips BLM’s ability to say “no” to leasing, including in response to local concerns. Without this discretion, it doesn’t matter if local communities, counties, states, hunters, anglers, recreationists or ranchers have concerns about drilling… “Proponents of these policies claim that they will lower energy prices for consumers, but there is no evidence that more giveaways to the industry – including lopsided leasing and production incentives on public lands – would reduce gas prices or heating bills. More U.S. drilling isn’t going to help lower prices – it will just deepen our dependence on expensive fossil fuels while destroying our climate, harming our health, polluting communities and cutting off our access to our shared public lands.”

STATE UPDATES

Heated: Abbott says megafloods are “just part of nature.” The fossil fuel industry disagrees.
Emily Sanders, 7/10/25

“Less than a month before deadly flash floods devastated Kerr County, Texas, representatives of the oil and gas industry gathered about 100 miles away to discuss how to protect themselves from increasingly frequent and damaging extreme storms,” Heated reports. “At the Omni hotel along the San Antonio River, the American Gas Association — a trade association and lobbying group for the U.S. gas industry — organized a group of industry and utility representatives, as well as members of the National Governors Association, the Department of Energy, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, to talk about how to prepare pipeline infrastructure and the energy grid “for high demand seasons and severe weather events,” according to a leaked agenda and audio from the event… "It sounds to me more like we may have less extreme mega storms, but a lot more storm tantrums,” reflected Kimberly Denbow, vice president of security and operations at the American Gas Association… “The fossil fuel industry has been taking climate science seriously — at least when it comes to protecting its own operations — for a long time. Major companies including Exxon, Mobil, and Shell began preparing their own infrastructure for big storms and rising seas decades ago, even while battling regulations to curb the use of fossil fuels. But when it came to protecting human lives outside their operations, the industry took the opposite approach. In the years to follow, internal documents show, the companies and their trade associations executed a plan to undermine and discredit those who drew connections between climate change and extreme weather, deploying yearslong PR campaigns and funding academic research to obscure the link.”

Politico: How to make oil and enviros talk? Close a refinery.
Alex Nieves, 7/10/25

“What does it take to get oil companies and environmental groups on the same page? A pair of refinery closures is a good starting point,” Politico reports. “Players on all sides of the fight over California’s energy future struck a rare tone of consensus during a California Energy Commission meeting Thursday, heaping praise on Vice Chair Siva Gunda for spearheading a plan that would slow the state’s transition away from gasoline to tamp down on price spikes. Those recommendations — bolstering in-state crude oil production, increasing imports of refined oil and pausing a profit cap on refineries — could become reality fast. Gunda said at the hearing that the commission plans to adopt them quickly to ease uncertainty in the market, putting the impetus on Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers to get involved soon… “That environmentalists are not up in arms over what’s essentially a road map for pumping the brakes on the fossil fuel transition illustrates the harsh reality that California faces after the recently announced refinery closures in Benicia and Wilmington — moving too fast and breaking stuff could mean thousands of lost jobs and higher gas prices that will curdle public sentiment. “These are the things that, as an environmentalist, are going to make my stomach hurt,” Daniel Barad, Western states policy senior manager for the Union of Concerned Scientists, told Politico. “But we need to do it in an extremely responsible and targeted manner to minimize impacts to communities and make sure we’re not undermining our long-term climate and clean air goals.”

Cal Matters: Trump administration may revoke designation for new Chuckwalla National Monument
Deborah Brennan, 7/9/25

“One of former President Joe Biden’s last official acts was declaring the Chuckwalla National Monument on almost 625,000 acres of ‘canyon-carved mountain ranges’ in Riverside County,” Cal Matters reports. “This spring President Donald Trump asked the Department of the Interior to consider removing those protections. In May the Department of Justice concluded that Trump “can and should” reverse the monument designations. But this week, the White House Press Office told CalMatters that nothing is set in stone: “We would not get ahead of the President on any policy changes that may or may not be planned” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told Cal Matters. Janessa Goldbeck, CEO of Vet Voice Foundation, which lobbied for the Chuckwalla National Monument designation, told Cal Matters the administration might be thinking twice about reversing that status after blowback from a recent proposal in the House Budget Bill to sell off public lands.”

Grand Junction Daily Sentinel: BLM reduces oil, gas lease sale size at request of Utes
Dennis Webb, 7/10/25

“After consultation with Ute tribes, the Bureau of Land Management plans to offer some 4,200 acres less than previously proposed in a Colorado oil and gas lease sale in September,” the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reports. “...The BLM decided to defer offering several thousand acres after consultation with Ute tribes. They have nominated acreage in the area for designation as the Yellow Creek area of critical environmental concern to protect its cultural and landscape values. Deferring leasing in that area “would avoid or minimize potential future impacts to areas of known Native American religious concern or places of traditional cultural importance,” the BLM says in an environmental assessment. While the tribes have asked that new oil and gas development be restricted or limited in the nominated acreage, deferring leasing there doesn’t necessarily mean leasing won’t occur there in the future. The BLM says the deferred acreage would remain open to future leasing and oil and gas development unless it is designated otherwise.”

EXTRACTION

Reuters: OPEC trims oil demand for next four years, says no peak in sight
Alex Lawler, Ahmad Ghaddar and Maha El Dahan, 7/10/25

“OPEC cut its global oil demand forecasts for the next four years on Thursday as Chinese growth slows, even as it lifted its longer-term view due to rising oil needs in the developing world and said there was no evidence demand had reached its peak,” Reuters reports. “The OPEC+ producer group comprising the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plus allies including Russia is pumping more barrels to regain market share after years of cuts to support the market. Lower medium-term demand could make it harder for the group to unwind its other cuts, which remain in place until the end of 2026. World demand will average 105 million barrels per day this year, OPEC said in its 2025 World Oil Outlook published on Thursday. It expects demand to grow to average 106.3 million bpd in 2026 and then climb to 111.6 million bpd in 2029… “At the same time, OPEC expects demand to grow for a longer period than other forecasters, including BP and the International Energy Agency, which expect oil use to peak this decade. "Oil underpins the global economy and is central to our daily lives," said OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais in the foreword to the report. "There is no peak oil demand on the horizon." “...By contrast, the International Energy Agency expects global demand to peak at 105.6 million bpd by 2029 and then fall slightly in 2030, the adviser to industrialised countries said last month.”

Reuters: Oil falls amid bearish Trump tariff outlook
Katya Golubkova, 7/10/25

“Oil prices dropped on Thursday as the latest tariff announcements by U.S. President Donald Trump were perceived by market participants to threaten global economic growth and demand for the resource,” Reuters reports. “Brent crude futures were down 22 cents, or 0.31%, at $69.97 a barrel by 0052 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude lost 27 cents, or 0.39%, to $68.11 a barrel. On Wednesday, Trump threatened Brazil, Latin America's largest economy, with a punitive 50% tariff on exports to the U.S., after a public spat with his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Earlier, Trump announced plans about tariffs on copper, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals and his administration sent tariff letters to the Philippines, Iraq and others, adding to over a dozen of letters issued earlier in the week including for powerhouse U.S. suppliers South Korea and Japan.”

New York Times: Trump Threatens Higher Tariffs on Canada in the Middle of Trade Talks
Ana Swanson and Ian Austen, 7/10/25

“President Trump threatened on Thursday to impose a 35 percent tariff on Canadian imports, upending negotiations between the countries that had Canada’s representatives hopeful that a trade deal could be reached in a matter of weeks,” the New York Times reports. “...Tariffs of 35 percent, if applied widely, could harm Canada’s export-dependent economy, which relies heavily on the United States, its biggest trading partner… “Earlier this year, Mr. Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on imports from Canada but then exempted most products that qualify as North American under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the trade pact he signed in his first term. The exceptions were for steel and aluminum, which now have a 50 percent charge, and vehicles, which take into account American components. Mr. Trump also set a lower tariff rate for oil, fertilizer and energy products from Canada. As a result, the new 35 percent tariff may not affect all Canadian goods. According to a Trump administration official, the higher tariffs are expected to apply to those goods that currently have a 25 percent tariff, but the official told the Times that no final decisions have been made.”

Alberta Native News: Investigation: Are the Oil Sands killing First Nations? (Part 2)
Jake Cardinal, 7/10/25

“On December 3, 2024, representatives for the First Nations of Mikisew Cree, Fort Chipewyan Metis Nation, and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) provided testimony to the House of Commons. They alleged that the Governments and Departments of Canada were engaging in environmental racism against their Nations,” Alberta Native News reports. “Most notably, they claimed that the Government of Canada had attempted to offload ownership of a “dock” — and therefore fiscal responsibility and liability — onto the Nations without notifying them of the potential/confirmed environmental risks associated with the surrounding waters… “While not made aware of the toxicity levels during their negotiations, the Nations were offered ownership and $25 million in funding to fix up the dock themselves… “While this testimony goes on for some time, there is a single matter of importance: the allegations of an institutional cover-up regarding claims of toxic waste spillage. To determine whether or not these allegations could be proven false, a general overview of the history and position of major players in the oil sands industry is needed.”

OPINION

Globe and Mail: The small-bore view of oil-pipeline critics
Editorial Board, 7/11/25

“Anyone who has used a garden hose knows you don’t wait for one bucket to fill before fetching another. Recognizing what’s plainly ahead is key. That ability appears to elude David Eby, the Premier of British Columbia and Steven Guilbeault, the former federal environment minister, now the heritage minister. Both Mr. Eby and Mr. Guilbeault insist that there is no need for a new oil pipeline from Alberta’s oil sands because existing pipelines are not yet fully utilized,” the Globe and Mail Editorial Board writes… “Their critiques are of course disingenuous – both are longtime opponents of oil pipelines. But they are also wrong on the numbers. Just over a year after a tanker hauled the first shipment from the expanded pipeline to China, the Trans Mountain expansion is operating at about 85- to 90-per-cent capacity. In Mr. Eby’s view, that leaves “significant additional” space to handle a surge in production. That view is wrong, or at least short-sighted. For one, producers – and Alberta – benefit from a small capacity buffer that preserves flexibility. And the “significant” space left in TMX is projected to be filled by next year. S&P Global, which has revised its oil-sands production forecast upward four times in a row, now projects that Canada’s pipelines will hit capacity by 2030… “The window is closing to build a pipeline before capacity maxes out again… “But even if an oil pipeline is fast-tracked, it would take at least two years to clear regulatory hurdles and secure financing – and at least as long for building and more permits, said Heather Exner-Pirot of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. “If everything went well and we made the decision this summer, then it would be 2030. It would be just on time.” “...In all their criticisms, pipeline opponents are exploiting this country’s endemic lack of ambition – an affliction we’ll explore more tomorrow. Those willing to invest are the people who should decide whether to shoulder the risk – whether there is a business case. Those are the people who will weigh whether Canada is able to get necessary – and profitable – investments to “yes.”

Calgary Herald: Bill C-5 charts a path, but full road map needed to get major projects built in Canada
Chris Varcoe, 7/10/25

“How do you create a Canadian energy superpower? Prime Minister Mark Carney has some ideas, as do many others within industry. For the prime minister, part of it is tied to his government’s new Bill C-5 legislation and advancing multiple nation-building projects, not just looking at a single development in isolation,” Chris Varcoe writes for the Calgary Herald. “...While the government wants to fast-track major projects and Carney told the Herald it’s “highly likely” an oil pipeline will be on the list — and suggested a carbon capture network in the oilsands could also be included — there won’t be a single fix to remove the obstacles facing the export of Canada’s natural resources. A new report by the Business Council of Canada details those issues… “The problem is clear. Canada lacks the export infrastructure — both physical and regulatory — to fully leverage its natural assets and deliver to allies and trading partners the commodities they need and want,” states the report, released Thursday. “But unlocking natural resources in Canada is no easy task due to myriad challenges driven by regulatory and policy uncertainty, slow and cumbersome project approvals and permits, supply chain disruptions and a lack of consensus among policy-makers about which projects to support.” “...The report by the council says provinces should be in charge of leading the environmental assessments for projects under their jurisdiction, including mines, oilsands facilities, refineries and power-generating facilities… “There are other issues that need to be clarified, such as how to get major energy projects built with the federal Impact Assessment Act and the tanker ban off the northern B.C. coast still in place.”

Inforum: Carbon capture alarmism and the folly of the herd
Rob Port, 7/10/25

“Last summer I wrote about a sparsely-attended rally against a proposed carbon capture pipeline, noting it was a manifestation of the horseshoe theory of politics,” Rob Port writes for Inforum. “...In the context of the debate over carbon capture, the right-wingers think it's a waste of time and money to control carbon emissions because climate change is a hoax, etc, etc. The left-wingers, meanwhile, are so knee-jerk against any industry that emits carbon that they're opposed to anything that could help those industries, even if the help in question lowers carbon emissions. Proving my point, made a year ago, is a recent letter to the editor authored by far-right state Sen. Jeff Magrum, a Republican, and far-left state Sen. Tim Mathern, a Democrat… “Taking that at face value, we might be inclined to believe Magrum and Mathern, who are of opposing political parties and at odds in many policy areas, coming together in opposition to carbon capture infuses their arguments with a degree of credibility. It does not. This is a "folly of the herd" situation… “Even if the situation isn't as dire as shrieking nitwits like Greta Thunberg make it out to be, it still behooves us to develop the capacity to control our emissions… “With tax credits, the government is creating an incentive, and the market is responding to it. That's why companies like Summit Carbon Solutions want to build carbon pipelines. There may one day be a market for captured carbon — our state's oil industry says they'll need it in the future for enhanced oil recovery — and if that turns out to be the case, we can ease back on the credits or eliminate them. But as things stand now? If we want to capture carbon, we need the credits… “Carbon pipelines have a strong safety track record. The Souris Valley Pipeline, which runs more than 200 miles from Beulah to Weyburn, Saskatchewan, has been operating for roughly 25 years without incident… “Carbon pipelines are safe.”