EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 7/16/24
PIPELINE NEWS
National Observer: TC Energy's $15-billion Keystone XL lawsuit gets thrown out
Law360: US Wins $15B Keystone Cancellation Case
Iowa Capital Dispatch: Summit says county pipeline ordinances overstep authority
Bloomberg: US is Set to Expand Global Lead in Capturing Carbon
WXPR: Michigan environmental group responds to Line-5 pipeline enclosure appeal
The Rocky Mountain Goat: Trans Mountain to inspect pipeline near Blue River
RBN Energy: It Won't Be Like This For Long - Will New Crude Export Terminals Spur Another Permian Pipeline?
1012 Industry Report: Williams project clears legal hurdle for Louisiana natural gas pipeline crossings
KMID: Reeves County gas pipeline ruptures, second incident to occur in less than 11 months
WASHINGTON UPDATES
New York Times: J.D. Vance Is an Oil Booster and Doubter of Human-Caused Climate Change
The Hill: What Project 2025 would mean for the fight against climate change
Daily Caller: Ted Cruz Unveils Bill Nixing Biden Regulation That’s Hamstringing Oil Development To Protect Tiny Lizard
E&E News: DOE pressed to advance major LNG project after pause reversal
E&E News: Industry groups sue BLM to stop public lands rule
E&E News: Greens embrace Scalia opinions after Chevron demise
Resources for the Future: American Understanding of Climate Change
Heatmap: The Hydrogen Tax Credit Rules Are Effectively Dead
STATE UPDATES
Canton Repository: State receives requests to conduct fracking in Leesville Wildlife Area in Carroll County
Durango Herald: Southern Utes take federal regulatory authority of minor air pollution sources
CT Insider: Officials call for community alerts at Cromwell natural gas site
Inforum: 84,000 gallons of oil spilled in western North Dakota
Anchorage Daily News: The Exxon Valdez is remembered in infamy. But what about Alaska’s previous largest oil spill?
EXTRACTION
Canadian Press: Oilsands producer fined for not stopping birds from nesting on tailings pond island
Scientific American: New Satellites Alone Won’t Stop the Methane Climate Crisis
CLIMATE FINANCE
Bloomberg: Wall Street Pushes Back After Activists Escalate Protests
MinnPost: ‘For our grandkids’: Seniors take action on climate change, urge bank to divest from fossil fuels
Heatmap: J. D. Vance Loves to Hate on ESG
OPINION
Globe and Mail: Is the oil industry fighting for the right to greenwash?
Edmonton Journal: Carbon capture isn't enough; Alberta must invest in carbon removal
PIPELINE NEWS
National Observer: TC Energy's $15-billion Keystone XL lawsuit gets thrown out
Natasha Bulowski, 7/16/24
“Calgary-based TC Energy recently lost its US$15-billion arbitration case against the U.S. government over the Keystone XL pipeline, much to the relief of environmentalists,” the National Observer reports. “This is going to be a massive relief for climate activists in the United States, for people who've been fighting the Keystone XL Pipeline forever,” Stuart Trew, a senior researcher at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) and director of its trade and investment research project, told the Observer. The decision, with details not yet released, could have an impact on several cases unfolding in Canada, Trew told the Observer. TC Energy argued it should be paid the $15 billion as part of a controversial investor protection mechanism that has since been removed from Canada-U.S. trade agreements… “We are both disappointed and frustrated with the Tribunal’s decision to deny our right to bring a legacy NAFTA claim,” Patrick Keys, executive vice-president and general counsel for TC Energy, told the Observer. Keys told the Observer the ruling does not align with the company’s expectations and views on how to interpret the legacy provision. “TC Energy was treated unfairly and inequitably in the revocation of the Permit, which was driven by political considerations,” Keys’ statement added.
Law360: US Wins $15B Keystone Cancellation Case
Caroline Simson, 7/15/24
“The U.S. has won the $15 billion arbitration case brought by TC Energy over the cancellation of the Keystone [XL] pipeline, with an international tribunal dismissing the claims on jurisdictional grounds,” Law360 reports.
Iowa Capital Dispatch: Summit says county pipeline ordinances overstep authority
JARED STRONG, 7/15/24
“Summit Carbon Solutions argues that the main components of two county ordinances in Iowa that sought to limit the placement of carbon dioxide pipelines are entirely overridden by the authority of state and federal regulators,” the Iowa Capital Dispatch reports. “The company reasserted those arguments in a recent brief in federal court — its response to the appeals by Shelby and Story counties of a judge’s rulings late last year that agreed with Summit. An injunction prevents the counties from enforcing the ordinances. The filings of written arguments by both sides of the case set the stage for oral arguments before a panel of Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals judges. The oral arguments are not yet scheduled. The judges are expected to issue a decision sometime next year… “The American Petroleum Institute, which lobbies for the nation’s oil and natural gas industries, and the Liquid Energy Pipeline Association also recently filed a brief in support of Summit’s positions.”
Bloomberg: US is Set to Expand Global Lead in Capturing Carbon
Brenna Casey, 7/15/24
“The US leads the global carbon capture industry. Its capacity is expected to jump sevenfold by 2035, aided by the incentives offered by the Biden administration,” Bloomberg reports. “The US will have the capacity to capture as much as 164 million tons of carbon by 2035 — almost equivalent to the next three markets combined — according to BloombergNEF… “The global carbon capture sector attracted more than $11 billion in investments last year – nearly doubling from the 2022 level. The US share was 25%... “The US also remains the global leader in cumulative CCUS investments. It raked in $2.8 billion just last year, thanks to subsidies from the Department of Energy and new projects like Linde’s hydrogen complex in Texas reaching final investment decision… “A lot of activity is tied to the hydrogen hubs coming up in the US. Around 80% of the announced hydrogen capacity is in hub-affiliated states, where the captured carbon will be used for blue hydrogen production. An important nuance is that only 2.6% of all US hydrogen capacity has secured binding offtake agreements, meaning final investment decisions for many of these projects are pending… “Only 6 million tons of new CO2 capturing capacity was proposed in the US over the last six months. This is quite the rude awakening, and a stark contrast from the flurry of announcements through last year, likely attributable to the political ambiguity plaguing the US… “There are also issues to resolve with permitting for CO2 transport pipelines and storage locations. The next two to three years will, therefore, be critical in pushing forward some of the first proof-of-concept projects to make way for the larger projects proposed in the US and globally.”
WXPR: Michigan environmental group responds to Line-5 pipeline enclosure appeal
Chrystal Blair, 7/15/24
“A Michigan environmental group is addressing an appeal challenging the state's decision to approve the enclosure of the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline,” WXPR reports. “...Environmental groups and tribal leaders want the state to reverse Enbridge's permit, citing concerns about a potential catastrophic oil spill. The nonprofit group Oil & Water Don't Mix is dedicated to preventing oil spills and promoting clean energy - and they support the appeal. David Holtz, an international coordinator with the group, discussed the next steps. "And the next big hurdle that the tunnel will have will be during the federal permitting process," Holtz told WXPR, "so we're going to be focusing on that in the coming days." Enbridge spokesperson Ryan Duffy told WXPR that Line 5's safety is exclusively regulated by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration… “Holtz told WXPR his organization will continue its efforts to make the public and the federal government aware of what needs to be done regarding Line 5. "The need for the Biden administration," Holtz told WXPR, "to take a stand in support of its own climate policy by rejecting the tunnel."
The Rocky Mountain Goat: Trans Mountain to inspect pipeline near Blue River
Abigail Popple, 7/15/24
“Trans Mountain will perform a routine integrity investigation near a section of its mainline pipeline 12 kilometres north of Blue River on July 23rd,” The Rocky Mountain Goat reports. “The company will expose the pipe using excavators and hand digging, and use a vacuum truck and air lance tools to clear away loose dirt. The dig site will be reclaimed to pre-disturbance conditions once work is completed, according to the operations and maintenance report the company filed with the Canada Energy Regulator (CER). In order to access the site, Trans Mountain will make use of seven vehicle crossings, says the report. The report does not specify which vehicle crossings will be used, and Trans Mountain did not immediately respond to The Goat’s questions about the crossings. However, a media spokesperson for the company told The Goat that the site is in a non-populated area, and no impacts to vehicular traffic are expected. The integrity dig is a standard process for ensuring pipelines are safe and compliant with CER requirements, the spokesperson added.”
RBN Energy: It Won't Be Like This For Long - Will New Crude Export Terminals Spur Another Permian Pipeline?
Sheela Tobben, 7/16/24
“For a few years now, crude oil shippers out of the Permian have enjoyed a surplus in pipeline takeaway capacity thanks to a slew of new pipes that came online just as COVID crushed demand, prices and production. But Permian production has recovered, and the takeaway situation is changing for some routes,” RBN Energy reports. “For example, the pipelines from West Texas to Corpus Christi are running close to full, and if a new offshore export terminal gets built, Permian-to-Gulf-Coast takeaway dynamics would get far more complicated — and fast… “As we discussed recently in Never Been Any Reason, U.S. crude oil production growth has largely steered pipeline development… “With business, cost efficiency is king, and the winners (so far) in crude exports have been facilities like the Enbridge Ingleside Energy Center (EIEC) and Gibson Energy’s South Texas Gateway (STG; also in Ingleside, TX) that can dock and partially load 2-MMbbl Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), which enable huge quantities of crude to be shipped over long distances at the lowest cost per barrel… “To draw incremental export barrels — and get a leg up on EIEC and STG — some of the biggest names in the oil industry have been working to advance their proposals for deepwater export terminals off the Texas coast that could fully load VLCCs at their facilities.”
1012 Industry Report: Williams project clears legal hurdle for Louisiana natural gas pipeline crossings
7/16/24
“A second Louisiana court has sided with Williams in its dispute with Energy Transfer LP over natural gas pipeline crossings, clearing another obstacle for the Louisiana Energy Gateway (LEG) system that would supply LNG export terminals,” 1012 Industry Report reports. “The 42nd Judicial District Court in DeSoto Parish ruled that Energy Transfer could not block Williams from constructing LEG pipeline crossings under the ETC Texas Pipeline in DeSoto and Sabine parishes in northwestern Louisiana.”
KMID: Reeves County gas pipeline ruptures, second incident to occur in less than 11 months
Gabriella Meza, 7/15/24
“A gas pipeline in Reeves County ruptured Monday morning, affecting a natural gas pipeline, and is reportedly the second one that has occurred in less than 11 months in the area,” KMID reports. “According to reports, the pipeline ruptured early Monday morning on July 15 and affected a 24-inch natural gas pipeline. Officials reported that the pipelines, which are 50 yards apart and run parallel to each other, have been affected by the latest rupture. The rupture was marked as the second occurrence in the area in less than 11 months. The first incident was reported to involve a 30-inch Northern pipeline located around 300 yards from Monday’s rupture. Reports also showed that the water table at the location was notably shallow, allegedly “raising concerns about potential environmental impacts,” according to officials.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
New York Times: J.D. Vance Is an Oil Booster and Doubter of Human-Caused Climate Change
Lisa Friedman, 7/15/24
“Senator J.D. Vance, Republican of Ohio, is a strong supporter of the oil and gas industry, opposes solar power and electric vehicles, and has said climate change is not a threat,” the New York Times reports. “It wasn’t always that way. Mr. Vance, a fierce critic of Mr. Trump before becoming one of his most loyal MAGA supporters, also appears to have undergone an evolution on the issue of climate change. As recently as 2020, Mr. Vance said in a speech at Ohio State University that “we have a climate problem in our society.” He praised solar energy and he called natural gas an improvement over dirtier forms of energy, but not “the sort of thing that’s gonna take us to a clean energy future.” Fast forward to 2022. As Mr. Vance sought Mr. Trump’s endorsement for his bid for the Senate, his positions on climate change took a sharp turn. “I’m skeptical of the idea that climate change is caused purely by man,” Mr. Vance told the American Leadership Forum that year. He acknowledged that the climate was changing but said that humans had no role in the changes. “It’s been changing, as others pointed out, it’s been changing for millennia,” Mr. Vance said… “Referring to environmentalists, Mr. Vance said, if “they think climate change is caused by carbon emissions, then why is their solution to scream about it at the top of their lungs, send a ton of our jobs to China, and then manufacture these ridiculous ugly windmills all over Ohio farms that don’t produce enough electricity to run a cellphone on?”... “Mr. Vance has celebrated the technology of hydraulic fracturing, commonly called fracking, to help extract vast gas reserves in Ohio… “Last year Mr. Vance wrote an opinion essay saying Ohioans “are lucky to live on top of the Utica Shale oil and gas basin,” a reservoir that contains about 38 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and praised techniques like hydraulic fracturing that he said “have allowed us to unleash these abundant natural resources.”
The Hill: What Project 2025 would mean for the fight against climate change
ZACK BUDRYK AND RACHEL FRAZIN, 7/13/24
“Project 2025, a controversial conservative roadmap that aims to guide the next Republican administration, calls for the elimination of multiple energy- and environment-related offices and rules — moves that would restrict the government’s ability to combat climate change and pollution,” The Hill reports. “Policies promoted under the plan would place political personnel in positions to oversee science at major federal agencies and reduce such agencies’ limitations on polluting industries… “It called for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the nation’s oceans, weather, climate and fisheries science agency, to be “dismantled.” “...The plan would also eliminate offices within the Energy Department that focus on renewable energy, climate technology and energy technology research. And the Energy Department chapter further calls for a “whole-of-government assessment and consolidation of science,” including “a review of all the federal science agencies.” In addition, with the help of Congress, Project 2025 seeks to eliminate energy efficiency standards for household appliances. Such standards have been a target of congressional Republicans, who have made multiple efforts to block or roll back Biden administration restrictions on appliances… “In an interview with The Hill, Western Energy Alliance President Kathleen Sgamma, who co-wrote the Interior Department section of the proposal, said that section is “all about increasing [oil and gas] development and production from federal lands.” Sgamma, who leads a group that lobbies on behalf of the oil industry, told The Hill the raft of proposals are intended to reverse Biden administration policies that restricted fossil fuel development on those lands.”
Daily Caller: Ted Cruz Unveils Bill Nixing Biden Regulation That’s Hamstringing Oil Development To Protect Tiny Lizard
Nick Pope, 7/12/24
“Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz introduced a new bill to nix the Biden administration’s protections for a lizard species that critics argue will restrict oil and gas development,” the Daily Caller reports. “Cruz unveiled his Congressional Review Act (CRA) bill to walk back the Biden administration’s decision to protect the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard, a species that is indigenous to parts of New Mexico and western Texas, under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Cruz and other critics of the designation have asserted that the lizard’s protections are more likely intended to complicate oil and gas development in the Permian Basin, an oil- and gas-rich region of western Texas and New Mexico. The lizard is less than three inches long, excluding the length of its tail, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). “The Biden administration has used the federal government to suppress American energy production at the exact time when the country and indeed the world needs access to affordable American energy,” Cruz told Daily Caller. “This disastrous rule threatens American jobs and undermines the production of energy in the Permian Basin. I call on the Senate to expeditiously take up and pass my legislation to reverse it.”
E&E News: DOE pressed to advance major LNG project after pause reversal
Carlos Anchondo, 7/15/24
“The developer of a major liquefied natural gas terminal in Louisiana is pushing the Department of Energy to act speedily on its export application following a federal judge’s reversal of the Biden administration’s pause on pending and new LNG export licenses,” E&E News reports. “In a letter last week to DOE, a lawyer for the Lake Charles LNG project said the department’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management should “expeditiously act on its pending application in this docket and issue an order without delay.” The company’s dispatch is one of the first examples of pressure on the department to act on an export application since the end of the pause, which froze consideration of permits to countries that don’t have a free trade agreement with the United States. The project, which is being developed by Energy Transfer subsidiary Lake Charles Exports, already has a license from DOE to export gas to non-free trade agreement countries, but that authorization expires in December 2025. The company submitted a new application to DOE in August after telling the department it’s unable to start shipments by the existing deadline, despite “substantial and substantive efforts” to move the project forward. The proposal seeks to export up to 851 billion cubic feet each year, making it among the largest export facilities planned along the Gulf Coast. In its missive to DOE, Energy Transfer said the Biden administration’s pause — unveiled in late January to widespread condemnation from the oil and gas sector — “has caused considerable angst among companies that have previously entered into long term LNG offtake contracts” with Lake Charles Exports.
E&E News: Industry groups sue BLM to stop public lands rule
Scott Streater, 7/15/24
“A broad coalition of energy, mining, ranching and farming groups are challenging the Bureau of Land Management’s sweeping new public lands rule,” E&E News reports. “The lawsuit filed Friday focuses, among other things, on the rule’s establishment of a mitigation and restoration leasing system that is “flatly inconsistent” with federal statutes governing BLM management of public lands, according to the complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming. BLM has said the leases are meant to be purchased by state and local government agencies, conservation groups and nonprofit groups for up to 10 years to restore degraded rangelands. They are also designed to be used by energy developers and mining companies as part of mitigation to offset project impacts on other lands. But the lawsuit says the rule violates the Federal Land Policy and Management Act — the 1976 law that governs how BLM manages the 245 million acres under its care — by altering it from “a statute for managing the productive use of lands into one of non-use, prioritizing conservation values above, and to the exclusion of, the exclusively productive activities that FLPMA has governed for nearly half a century.”
E&E News: Greens embrace Scalia opinions after Chevron demise
Robin Bravender, 7/15/24
“Now that the Chevron doctrine is dead, some environmental advocates and legal experts are deriving hope about what lies ahead from an unusual place: Old opinions penned by the late conservative Justice Antonin Scalia,” E&E News reports. “The Supreme Court’s late June move to quash the doctrine — which gave agencies leeway in their rulemaking — was widely interpreted as a blow to government agencies, including environmental regulators. But some attorneys tell E&E it’s not entirely clear whether the ruling will ultimately lead to weaker environmental regulations. And they point to opinions from Scalia as evidence that conservative justices might be willing to lean toward rules that are protective of the environment in instances where that’s clearly the intent of the law. “The loss of Chevron deference may even turn out to be a positive,” Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the Center for Biological Diversity, told E&E “No one knows how it’s going to play out for sure. I’m not going to just throw in the towel tomorrow.”
Resources for the Future: American Understanding of Climate Change
Bo MacInnis and Jon A. Krosnick, 7/15/24
“For over two decades, the Political Psychology Research Group at Stanford University and Resources for the Future (RFF) has been tracking American public opinion on climate change using high-quality scientific surveys. The most striking result of this continued polling has been the overall consistency of the results. Many observers thought that Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Sandy, west-coast wildfires, the unusually cold winter of 2018–2019, as well as numerous other extreme weather events might have convinced people to embrace the existence and threat of climate change… “Likewise, tutorials such as the reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; Al Gore’s movie, An Inconvenient Truth; and relentless news media coverage of natural science research findings seemed likely to have done the same… “Our newest survey allows another test of the notion that shocks might alter public opinion on this issue. In this report, we not only describe the results of the 2024 survey but also compare its findings to those of prior surveys. Although most questions asked in the new survey manifest no notable changes from 2020, a small handful of questions manifested statistically significant change from 2020 to 2024, in the direction of less endorsement of climate change’s existence and less trust in scientists who study the environment. And as compared to 2020, more Americans believe that the federal government is now taking substantial action to address climate change.”
Heatmap: The Hydrogen Tax Credit Rules Are Effectively Dead
EMILY PONTECORVO, 7/15/24
“Few aspects of Biden’s climate law have spurred more controversy than the “three pillars” — a set of rules proposed by the Treasury Department for how to claim a lucrative new tax credit for producing clean hydrogen. Now, it appears, the pillars may be poised to fall,” Heatmap reports. “The Treasury has been under immense pressure from Congress, energy companies, and even leaders at the Department of Energy to relax the rules since before it even published the proposal in December. The pillars, criteria designed to prevent the program from subsidizing projects that increase U.S. greenhouse gas emissions rather than reduce them, are too expensive and complicated to comply with, detractors argue, and would sink the prospects for a domestic clean hydrogen industry. But lately, the campaign to dismantle the pillars has gotten both more forceful and more threatening. There’s the politically challenging hurdle that leaders of another federally-funded hydrogen program — the regional clean hydrogen hubs — have spoken out against the rules, arguing they threaten investment in hub projects and therefore job creation and economic development around the country. Then there’s the recent Supreme Court decision to overturn the precedent known as Chevron deference, which weakened agencies’ ability to defend their own rules and thereby emboldens any aggrieved parties to sue the Treasury if it keeps the pillars in place. Last week, 13 Democratic Senators, 11 of whom hail from states involved in the hubs, sent a letter calling on Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to dramatically revise the rules or risk having them challenged in court. The consequences of losing the three pillars can only be guessed at using models, which are built on assumptions and can’t predict the future with certainty. But proponents say the stakes couldn’t be higher. In their view, the pillars don’t just prevent carbon emissions. They mitigate the risks of rising electricity costs for everyday Americans. And without them, one of the most generous energy credits the government offers could become incredibly easy to claim, ballooning the federal budget.”
STATE UPDATES
Canton Repository: State receives requests to conduct fracking in Leesville Wildlife Area in Carroll County
Grace Springer, 7/15/24
“The Oil and Gas Land Management Commission has received two requests to open the Leesville Wildlife Area in Carroll County to hydraulic fracturing,” according to the Canton Repository. “The requests, which were received by the commission June 24 and posted Wednesday, seek permission to drill for oil or natural gas on 65 acres of public land in Orange Township and 62 acres in Monroe Township. The requests will be reviewed by the commission and go through a public comment period before any development. Under Ohio law, the companies that submit nominations are anonymous until bids are awarded so it's unclear who is seeking to open the Leesville Wildlife Area to fracking… “Cathy Cowan Becker, co-founder and steering committee member of Save Ohio Parks, a group that was formed in response to last year's law change, told the Rep fracking can have harmful environmental impacts. She said fracking uses millions of gallons of water that becomes waste. "That can never be cleaned or put into a water system again," she told the Rep. "That water is gone forever." Cowan Becker said other impacts include air pollution, light pollution and noise. "You're basically industrializing an area that is meant to be preserved for people to recreate in," she told the Rep. Cowan Becker also said it is unfair to Ohioans to keep companies anonymous when they seek to nominate state lands for fracking.”
Durango Herald: Southern Utes take federal regulatory authority of minor air pollution sources
Reuben M. Schafir, 7/14/24
“In a move that highlights the fickle nature of tribal sovereignty, the Southern Ute Indian Tribe has taken over administrative authority of two more permit programs established in the Clean Air Act,” the Durango Herald reports. “The SUIT is the only tribe in the country to regulate major sources of air pollution, air toxics and, now, minor emitters, said Kyle Olson, tribal air coordinator with Region 8 of the Environmental Protection Agency. Minor pollution sources are generally those that emit under 10 tons of a hazardous air pollutant annually. Under terms of a historic agreement, the EPA has delegated administration of the Federal Minor New Source Review program and regulation of emissions from minor sources relating to natural gas and oil production and processing to the tribe. The agreement gives the Southern Utes the power to regulate emitters such as gas stations and dry cleaners, although natural gas producers will be the primary applicants.”
CT Insider: Officials call for community alerts at Cromwell natural gas site
Jesse Leavenworth, 7/16/24
“State and local leaders representing Cromwell are seeking community alerts from a natural gas supplier that was fined for emitting toxins above approved thresholds,” CT Insider reports. “Sen. Matt Lesser and Mayor James Demetriades, both Democrats, have asked the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to amend a proposed consent order for improvements to a compressor station along the Algonquin natural gas pipeline, which runs through Connecticut. In 2014 and 2016, the facility released excessive amounts of volatile organic compounds into the air and Algonquin Natural Gas Transmission LLC was ordered to pay a $190,000 fine to the state, Lesser said. The company has installed new emission controls at the station on Shunpike Road, which are described in the consent order. But Lesser and Demetriades say community notification requirements are missing from the order. “The current consent order has no reporting requirement and we find that alarming," Lesser said in a news release following his testimony last week at a DEEP public hearing… “The compressor station, one of three along the pipeline in Connecticut, is located within a 1-mile radius of Cromwell Middle School, the Cromwell Intermediate School, several day care facilities and about 100 homes, Demetriades wrote.”
Inforum: 84,000 gallons of oil spilled in western North Dakota
7/12/24
“Around 84,000 gallons of crude oil spilled out from a storage tank into a secondary containment area near the storage site, according to a release from the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality,” Inforum reports. “Savage Services Corporation's spill occurred on Thursday, July 11, 6 miles southwest of Trenton, according to the release. Trenton is roughly 14 miles southwest of Williston. "Currently, there is no known impact to waters of the state," the release said. State employees from Environmental Quality are monitoring the investigation and remediation, the release said, as well as helping the "responsible party" clean up the spill.
Anchorage Daily News: The Exxon Valdez is remembered in infamy. But what about Alaska’s previous largest oil spill?
David Reamer, 7/14/24
“Nothing — no training or safety equipment — truly prepares a person to be suddenly tossed upside down inside a ship on a stormy Christmas morning. On Dec. 25, 1979, the 30-man crew aboard the M/V Lee Wang Zin were thrown about as the freighter suddenly capsized,” the Anchorage Daily News reports. “...The M/V Lee Wang Zin was a Panamanian-registered, Taiwanese-owned, Japanese-chartered 741-foot ore freighter. She left Prince Rupert that 1979 Christmas morning, a Tuesday, bound for Japan with nearly 60,000 tons of iron ore pellets. The ship immediately encountered winds of 45 to 60 miles per hour and waves running 15 to 25 feet high. Shortly after 9 a.m., the ship capsized within the Dixon Entrance… “Apart from the 30 dead sailors and a recalcitrant carcass of a ship, there was also the pollution. When the wreck was first sighted that Christmas day, it was already leaking large quantities of oil. Canadian Coast Guard reported an oil slick 10 miles long and two miles wide. By Friday, three days after the freighter capsized, the oil had spread 18 miles from the wreck, covering about 100 square miles of open water. That same day, Alaska State Troopers reported oil along the coast of Prince of Wales Island from Kendrick Bay to Cholomondeley Sound. The Lee Wang Zin carried two types of fuel. During normal service, the freighter burned heavy oil that was not much different from crude oil. Andy Spear of the Department of Environmental Conservation described the bunker fuel as “thick and gooey. It doesn’t break up easily in heavy seas, it forms globules and coats things.” Winds from the south and southeast prodded the oil north; there were no reports of oil on the Canadian side of the border. On Dec. 31, Petersburg gillnetter reported “coffee-mug sized black globules spun streaks into a sheen” in the islands above Thorne Head. Reports of oil came from as far north as Port Alexander. In all, the wreck of the freighter released somewhere between 2,400 to more than 7,000 barrels of bunker fuel and diesel oil into the waters of Alaska, contaminating 350 miles of shoreline. Cleanup efforts lasted four months at Kendrick Bay and Caamano Point, as more than 100 individuals from a collection of agencies labored on the oiled beaches. Per Coast Guard Lt. Jim Curtain, “It all had to be done manually. We used everything, rakes, shovels, and our hands.” There was no attempt to recover oil from the water. The federal government sued the Lee Wang Zin owners and charter company for the $2.2 million in cleanup costs, not that they would recover it. The freighter’s owners went so far as to claim there were no adverse impacts from the spill, only perhaps some cosmetic infringements upon Southeast Alaska.”
EXTRACTION
Canadian Press: Oilsands producer fined for not stopping birds from nesting on tailings pond island
Bob Weber, 7/15/24
“A major oilsands producer has been fined after 411 birds died at one of its tailings ponds,” the Canadian Press reports. “Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. has been assessed the fine of $278,000 by the Alberta Energy Regulator for not stopping birds from nesting on an island that emerged at the site. "CNRL's contravention had a direct and severely negative effect on wildlife," said the regulator's report. "Living animals were killed and euthanized due to the contravention. There can be no more serious effect on wildlife." The report says that in the spring of 2022, Canadian Natural workers discovered an island had emerged in one of its tailings ponds. Although the company normally levels such islands to keep animals from being attracted to them, it didn't do so in this case… “By mid-July, workers were noticing gull chicks fouled with oil… "In the summer of 2022, a combination of certain circumstances led to process-affected mortalities of California Gulls at Horizon's External Tailings Facility," CNRL spokesperson Julie Woo told CPt. "We regret this unfortunate situation and we have applied learnings to mitigate the potential for reoccurrence."
Scientific American: New Satellites Alone Won’t Stop the Methane Climate Crisis
JUSTIN MIKULKA & SHARON WILSON, 7/15/24
“In March, a SpaceX rocket launched MethaneSat, a joint U.S.-New Zealand endeavor, which joined a satellite network already detecting methane emissions from oil and gas production on Earth. The new satellite circles the Earth 15 times a day, detecting releases of the greenhouse gas from drilling sites and pipelines worldwide. However, on the ground in the oilfields of Texas, we see that the promise of this technology will fall short of the rapid reductions of methane emissions needed to slow climate change,” according to Scientific American. “America leads the world in using natural gas, burning almost twice as much as Russia, the second leading user. Natural gas is 85 to 90 percent methane, which is primarily produced by hydraulic fracturing cracking deep shales underground to release gas. Fracking’s success has made the U.S. the world’s leader in exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG). But it has a downside: in addition to releasing carbon dioxide when it is burned, methane itself is a much more powerful greenhouse gas as it produces 80 times the warming impact of carbon dioxide (albeit over a much shorter atmospheric lifetime). That explains why methane has contributed at least 30 percent of total global warming since the industrial revolution began. The U.S. oil and gas industry is the top emitter of methane, making it a major contributor to this global methane emergency.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
Bloomberg: Wall Street Pushes Back After Activists Escalate Protests
Alastair Marsh, 7/15/24
“Against a backdrop of intensifying climate protests targeting Wall Street, the heavyweights of US finance are pushing back against what they characterize as a fundamentally flawed debate,” Bloomberg reports. “For more than a month now, scores of activists have mounted near-daily protests outside the Manhattan headquarters of Citigroup Inc., with video footage showing tense scenes and a memo to staff urging employees to stay cool. The campaign — dubbed “Summer of Heat” — promises a steady escalation of disruptions and says its ultimate goal is to “shut down Wall Street.” Far from caving in to such pressure, Wall Street is coalescing around a clear message: Private money will only invest in the clean-energy transition to the extent that it makes economic sense. “Finance has a big, big role to play,” Emmanuel Lagarrigue, a partner at KKR & Co. who’s also its co-head of climate, told Bloomberg. But, “if you really want this to succeed, if you really want private capital to come in” and support the green transition, “it has to create returns at the same time as it decarbonizes. It’s not either or, it’s both.” Ultimately, “if we subsidize our way through the transition, it’s going to stall at some point,” he told Bloomberg. Versions of the same message are being repeated across the global finance industry… “On the other side of the climate debate, activists warn that the planet is reaching dangerous tipping points as rising emissions trigger increasingly deadly floods, wildfires and droughts. Continued bankrolling of the fossil fuels that directly add to those emissions is contributing to a climate catastrophe, they say. To underline their position, organizers of the “Summer of Heat” campaign have added slogans such as “hot people hate Wall Street” and “eat the rich” to their website. There’s so far little to indicate that the two sides are anywhere close to finding common ground.”
MinnPost: ‘For our grandkids’: Seniors take action on climate change, urge bank to divest from fossil fuels
Mohamed Ibrahim, 7/12/24
“Dave Mann, 74, decided to retire in 2019 following decades of organizing around issues from racial and economic equity to renewable energy. But as Mann consumed more news articles and studies about the globe continuing to get warmer, and the disastrous effects a changing climate will have on future generations, he felt compelled to make a comeback,” MinnPost reports. “I have a 26-year-old son who has his own anxiety about where we’re headed,” Mann said. “I didn’t feel like I could keep looking him in the eye if I wasn’t doing something.” For Mann, and a few dozen other like-minded retirees, that meant taking to the Wells Fargo corporate building in downtown Minneapolis Wednesday morning and picketing outside, attempting to disrupt employees from entering and demanding that the banking giant divest from fossil fuels. Their group is called Third Act, which is a community of activists each over the age of 60 – in the third act of their lives – who advocate for a more sustainable future in which they’ll have no part. The action on Wednesday was part of a larger national campaign called the Summer of Heat, described as a series of sustained, nonviolent civil disobedience movements targeting CitiBank, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase – four of the five largest investors in the fossil fuel industry.”
Heatmap: J. D. Vance Loves to Hate on ESG
MATTHEW ZEITLIN, JEVA LANGE, 7/15/24
“On Monday afternoon, following a flurry of leaks ruling out North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum and Florida Senator Marco Rubio as Donald Trump’s pick for vice president, the former president announcedHillbilly Elegy author and Ohio junior senator J. D. Vance as his 2024 running mate,” Heatmap reports. “A favorite of Trump’s son Don, Jr. who has molded himself into a populist on the intellectual vanguard of conservatism, Vance has taken on aggressive, culturally inflected views on climate change. While just four years ago he was saying that the United States has a “climate problem,” he has since tacked hard to the right and become a champion of the fossil fuel industry, especially in his home state of Ohio, where his 2022 Senate campaign received generous backing from the oil and gas industry… “Vance claimed in the op-ed that “in an effort to discourage investment in oil and gas companies, President Biden has weaponized the Securities and Exchange Commission to mandate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores on publicly traded companies.” Even if ESG-bashing is kind of old news, it has the sort of culture-war zest to it that Rubio’s China hawkishness and Burgum’s carbon sequestration enthusiasm lack.”
OPINION
Globe and Mail: Is the oil industry fighting for the right to greenwash?
Hugh Helferty is a former ExxonMobil executive. He is now president and co-founder of Producer Accountability for Carbon Emissions, a non-profit advocating net-zero by 2050, 7/16/24
“Last month’s passage of anti-greenwashing Bill C-59 has caused an extremely strong reaction in the oil industry. As a former industry executive with more than 30 years of experience leading major research and engineering at ExxonMobil, I struggle to understand what the fuss is about,” Hugh Helferty writes for the Globe and Mail. “Bill C-59 includes an amendment that requires corporations to provide evidence to support their environmental claims. In response, the Pathways Alliance, a consortium of Canada’s six largest oil sands companies, removed all content from its website and social-media channels. Many oil and gas companies urgently took down claims or added disclaimers to their sites… “But if, on the other hand, the oil industry cannot support their environmental claims with evidence, why are they making such claims in the first place? And, most importantly, how are they to be believed? Lack of transparency seeds distrust, and the new legislation will offer much-needed protection against false, unfounded, or misleading advertising… “Environmental accounting for large corporations with elaborate supply chains may be complex. However, given that the fossil-fuel sector is the single largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in Canada, its accountability for rigorous environmental management is not merely optional – it’s essential. If they can’t keep track of their pollution what does that say about their duty of care to those affected? A requirement for truth-in-advertising for environmental claims is long overdue. The oil industry should stop whining and get on with complying with the new law. It is the least that people in Canada deserve.”
Edmonton Journal: Carbon capture isn't enough; Alberta must invest in carbon removal
Damien Steel is the CEO of Deep Sky, a tech-agnostic carbon removal project developer aiming to remove gigatons of carbon from the atmosphere and permanently store it underground, 7/5/24
“Wildfires in recent years have burned 46 million acres in Canada, and the country is warming more than twice as fast as the rest of the world. Why? Because over the last 150 years, we’ve released more than 800 gigatons of CO2 into the atmosphere,” Damien Steel writes for the Edmonton Journal. “So far, Alberta has been a pioneer and global leader in reducing industrial emissions for oil and gas extraction to support the developing world in its decarbonization. But there is more to be done. Permanent carbon removal is the solution we need to tackle global warming head-on. The carbon-removal industry is finally ready to scale. We must commercialize carbon removal and storage solutions if we want to have any chance of preserving our planet for future generations, while leveraging this multitrillion-dollar industry to bolster our economy for decades to come… “It’s also inherently measurable and verifiable. This is especially relevant given the new federal anti-greenwashing bill that threatens to crack down on companies by requiring them to back up their environmental claims with solid proof… “Our neighbours to the south recognize the opportunity, with the U.S. investing over $3 billion in carbon removals via its direct air capture (DAC) hubs… “The promise of carbon removal, and the opportunity for Alberta to lead, is clear. Now it is up to our government, industry leaders, and all Albertans to work together and invest in scaling the industry in our province. Let’s not squander it.”