EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 7/8/26
PIPELINE NEWS
KCBX: Oil Company asks Trump Administration to seize California land for pipeline operations
Bloomberg: Sable Pipeline Jurisdiction Issue Leaves Appeals Panel Stumped
The Cool Down: Louisiana fishermen sue over pipeline permit, saying state ignored wetlands, climate risks
Verite News: Parents relieved after plans to build CO2 pipeline near elementary school are canceled
The Cool Down: North Carolina landowners push back as Enbridge survey letters stir eminent domain fears
Bloomberg: Trans Mountain Strikes Tolls Deal With Oil Firms After Standoff
The Hub: Can the Port of Vancouver handle supertankers? A closer look at the other megaproject inside Alberta’s pipeline proposal
CBC: Alberta’s pipeline deal could allow Canadian oil to reach new countries. But will they want it?
Canadian Press: Environmental groups wanted to see clear decarbonization commitment in pipeline plan
Harvard Media: Pipeline opponents mobilize days after Carney and Smith announce West Coast project
Timmins Today: Environmental watchdog concerned for land disturbance, spills from proposed oil pipeline
Pipeline Technology Journal: PHMSA Reduces Energy Disruptions for Americans with Improved Standards for Pipeline Repairs
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Green groups lack standing to challenge deepwater LNG port, court says
E&E News: BOEM explores using oil infrastructure for space launches
E&E News: Greens hit Republican districts with energy cost ads
STATE UPDATES
Brownfield Ag News: Ohio Governor signs carbon capture bill into law to expand market opportunities for Ohio corn
Alaska Sporting Journal: Scoping Period Ends For Interior’s National Petroleum Reserve Drilling Plans; Native Community Reacts
Northern Journal: Data center critics flood Alaska land managers with opposition to North Slope project
Courthouse News Service: Wyoming urges court to sever latest sage grouse litigation
Public News Service: Tiny plastic pellets ‘a slow motion oil spill’ in New England waterways
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Opportunity for Public Input on Proposed Restoration Projects for Galveston Bay, Texas
EXTRACTION
International Energy Agency: Global natural gas demand is expected to decline in 2026 amid tighter supply fundamentals
Reuters: LNG tanker at risk of exploding after two vessels struck near Strait of Hormuz
OPINION
The Cap Times: A week of resistance to Line 5
CT Mirror: The methane monster — a threat to us all
Guardian: The great carbon capture con: behold the wasted billions Burnham could claw back
Winnipeg Free Press: What can you do with $200 million?
Denver Post: Three disturbing new ways Trump undermines protections for our national forests and public lands
PIPELINE NEWS
KCBX: Oil Company asks Trump Administration to seize California land for pipeline operations
Gabriela Fernandez, 7/7/26
“The company behind the restart of an oil pipeline along Santa Barbara County’s Gaviota Coast is asking the Trump administration to use eminent domain to acquire state and private land along its pipeline route, according to a letter obtained by Politico,” KCBX reports. “Texas-based Sable Offshore Corp. submitted the June 2 letter to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The proposal comes as the Trump administration considers creating a West Coast Strategic Petroleum Reserve. In the letter, Sable asks the department to condemn three areas crossed by its Las Flores Pipeline System. Those areas include four miles through Gaviota State Park, roughly three miles of state-owned submerged land off the Santa Barbara coast, and a privately owned parcel north of Buellton in the Zaca Preserve… “Legal experts told Politico that if the federal government were to condemn the land, it could reduce California’s ability to regulate portions of the pipeline system by placing them under federal control… “We think that would be an extreme overreach of federal authority and really an assault on state sovereignty, for the government to seize such lands and override safety and environmental laws, which California maintains to protect our precious lands,” Talia Nimmer, a staff attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute, told KCBX.”
Bloomberg: Sable Pipeline Jurisdiction Issue Leaves Appeals Panel Stumped
Taylor Mills, 7/7/26
“A federal appeals panel appeared unlikely to immediately rule on whether the federal government has jurisdiction over a contested segment of Sable Offshore Corp.’s pipeline system in Santa Barbara, Calif.,” Bloomberg reports. “The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit asked for more records behind the Trump administration’s decision to federalize the Las Flores pipeline system during oral arguments Tuesday. In what the Justice Department’s attorney said is an issue of first impression in the circuit and nationwide, the panel must determine whether oil treatment facilities technically break the interstate flow of oil from the outer continental shelf…”
The Cool Down: Louisiana fishermen sue over pipeline permit, saying state ignored wetlands, climate risks
Leigh Cook, 7/8/26
“A new lawsuit in southwest Louisiana is once again forcing the courts to confront a familiar question: How much damage should coastal communities be expected to absorb for major fossil fuel projects? For fishermen and environmental advocates, the answer cannot continue to be “more,” The Cool Down reports. “A filing in Cameron Parish brought together the Sierra Club, local environmental organizations, and Louisiana fishermen in a challenge to a coastal use permit connected to the proposed 44-mile Marais Pipeline, according to the American Press… “According to the petition submitted to the 38th Judicial District Court, the 48-inch pipeline would disturb more than 800 acres of coastal wetlands, and the plaintiffs said the permit was granted without a full review of the project’s climate and coastal-erosion effects taken together. That argument builds on a ruling from Judge Penelope Richard last October, when the same court said Louisiana regulators must evaluate combined climate effects before approving coastal permits in a separate challenge involving the Commonwealth LNG export terminal… “Robyn Thigpen, executive director of Fisherman Involved in Sustaining our Heritage, or FISH, told the American Press, “The Marais Pipeline is another reminder that our communities are expected to carry the risks while corporations collect the profits.” “...Opponents have said the fight reaches beyond a single pipeline. Because the Marais line would supply CP2 LNG, the permit dispute is tied to a much larger expansion of gas export infrastructure. That means more pollution concerns, more industrial traffic, and more questions about who profits and who is left to live with the consequences.”
Verite News: Parents relieved after plans to build CO2 pipeline near elementary school are canceled
Safura Syed, 7/8/26
“Just a few months ago, Estefanía Aultman was thinking about moving her family away from Ascension Parish, where they’ve lived for seven years. Aultman said she loves her community, and her son’s elementary school, but she worried that a major industrial plant coming to the neighborhood could put their health at risk,” Verite News reports. “But last week, with the release of a brief press statement, those worries vanished. On June 30, Pennsylvania-based Air Products and Chemicals canceled its plans to build out the world’s largest carbon sequestration and storage project in the world, dubbed the Louisiana Clean Energy Complex. The facility would have refined natural gas by splitting hydrogen from carbon dioxide and routing the carbon dioxide through pipelines to inject underneath Lake Maurepas… “Parts of the proposed pipeline would be located just half a mile away from Sorrento Primary School, where Aultman’s son will be in second grade this fall. Aultman and other parents have been speaking out against the project for about two years, because of potential health repercussions of a pipeline leak near the school. High levels of carbon dioxide, like the kind that might come from a leak, can lead to suffocation. And leaks aren’t uncommon. At least three carbon dioxide pipelines leak every year, according to a Massachusetts Institute of Technology report. A 2020 leak in Satartia, Mississippi led to 45 hospitalizations… “We were in the dark for so long that none of us knew what was happening until it felt like it was almost too late,” Aultman told Verite… “Resident and Sorrento Primary School parent Kheri Monks called the cancellation a “victory.” Monks has three children — all born prematurely and with asthma. “So it was just really good news to see that stop come through, like relieve pressure on kind of an already overburdened area,” Monks told Verite.” In a statement to Verite News, Air Products said local pushback was not a factor in its decision. Instead, it is cancelling the project — and another hydrogen facility in Arizona — because of expected low financial returns. Both cancellations will cost the company around $2.9 billion.”
The Cool Down: North Carolina landowners push back as Enbridge survey letters stir eminent domain fears
Aaron Goldstein, 7/7/26
“What began as survey notices for a proposed 28-mile natural gas line in central North Carolina has grown into a broader fight over property rights, industrial expansion, and who gets to influence the future of a fast-changing rural county,” The Cool Down reports. “At a June 24 discussion highlighted by the Chatham Journal, one Chatham County landowner and environmental scientist, John Alderman, told residents not to dismiss letters or calls from Enbridge Gas North Carolina and its agents… “But for landowners along the proposed path between the Siler City area and Moncure, the matter has become deeply personal. Alderman explained that a survey notice can be the start of a longer process that may later bring easement talks, soil borings, and possible use of eminent domain under North Carolina law, per the Chatham Journal. He warned that if Enbridge’s project isn’t challenged, the area could end up being a hub for commercial gas projects paired with data centers. The scientist also raised concerns about the route itself, arguing that Chatham County’s rocky terrain, stream crossings, and proximity to farmland could make the project far more disruptive than it looks on a map. Alderman succinctly said, “Enbridge was basically out of its mind to choose a route like this.”
Bloomberg: Trans Mountain Strikes Tolls Deal With Oil Firms After Standoff
Robert Tuttle, 7/7/26
“Trans Mountain Corp. has reached a deal with oil shippers after a prolonged dispute over fees to use its crude pipeline that feeds Asia, helping pave the way for a potential equity sale and a proposed new line to be built,” Bloomberg reports. “The settlement was filed with the Canada Energy Regulator and covers tolling, tariffs and service-related matters, the government-owned company said in a news release on Tuesday… “The agreement on fees, which is subject to CER approval, was reached after 18 months of negotiations with shippers and it “establishes a comprehensive long-term framework” moving forward. The agreement also increases the level of firm contracted capacity on the system to 90% from 80% following an open season earlier this year… “A second open season for shippers to secure contracted capacity is planned for July 13 to Aug. 10 for an additional 90,000 barrels a day of capacity that will be added by year end… “Resolution of the final tolls could facilitate at least a partial sale of Trans Mountain to private investors, including Indigenous communities.”
The Hub: Can the Port of Vancouver handle supertankers? A closer look at the other megaproject inside Alberta’s pipeline proposal
Falice Chin, 7/7/26
“At the southern edge of the Port of Vancouver, the heavily engineered mudflats of Roberts Bank are already the site of a major port expansion more than a decade in the making. Now, Alberta wants to layer on another megaproject—an oil export terminal designed to accommodate some of the world’s largest crude tankers,” The Hub reports. “...The vision begins with an industrial complex covering 260 hectares—roughly two-thirds the size of Vancouver’s Stanley Park—anchored by a tank farm with 15 storage units altogether capable of holding 6.5 million barrels of crude. From there, pipelines would feed a five-kilometre causeway to an offshore loading facility with two berths designed to accommodate “very large crude carriers,” or VLCCs… “Given the aggressive timeline for Alberta’s pipeline plan, with construction expected to commence by as early as 2027 and oil flowing a few years later, it’s unclear how the addition of an oil terminal would affect the planning and procurement currently in the works… “If you can get your oil onto those sorts of ships, it’s very low transportation cost,” Jackie Forrest, executive director of the ARC Energy Research Institute, told The Hub. “You can move your oil halfway around the world for a dollar or two a barrel,” she added. “If you’re in these smaller ships, suddenly it’s $4 or $5 a barrel.” “...For much of its length, the new southern route benefits from following an existing line already familiar to regulators. But the final approach into Roberts Bank—and the proposed marine terminal itself—remain the least-defined and least-understood parts of the vision.”
CBC: Alberta’s pipeline deal could allow Canadian oil to reach new countries. But will they want it?
Inayat Singh, Bridget Stringer-Holden, 7/7/26
“Energy and environmental organizations are reacting with alarm to the recent Canada-Alberta deal to build a new oil pipeline to the West Coast, questioning whether overseas buyers can be found for the oil that may eventually flow through the pipeline,” the CBC reports. “The Alberta government’s proposal estimates the pipeline would cost $35.2 to $43.7 billion, with the federal and Alberta governments remaining majority owners in the project. That’s despite an earlier promise from Prime Minister Mark Carney — enshrined in his government’s memorandum of understanding with Alberta — that the pipeline would be privately financed. “What we’re seeing here is that we’ve got a pipeline that is being built for political reasons rather than economic reasons. And that’s tremendously concerning,” Chris Severson-Baker, executive director of Pembina Institute, the energy think-tank which has been working for decades on decarbonization in Canada’s oil industry, told CBC… “But the governments were only able to get one private company, Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline Corporation — not related to the Pembina Institute — to join the project with a 10 per cent stake… “There is simply no private company that is interested in taking this level of risk. They don’t see a future in that scale of oilsands production in Canada,” Severson-Baker told CBC. That’s because countries in Asia, where Smith wants the oil to end up, are quickly transitioning to electric vehicles and green energy, reducing their future demand for climate-warming oil.”
Canadian Press: Environmental groups wanted to see clear decarbonization commitment in pipeline plan
7/8/26
“Environmental groups say they wanted to see a more concrete commitment to decarbonization in the proposal put forward for a pipeline to the B.C. coast backed by the Alberta and federal governments,” the Canadian Press reports. “Representatives from both the Pembina Institute and Clean Prosperity told CP the proposal should have included a solid commitment to finalizing the Pathways carbon capture project. “I think it’s time to completely discount the notion that the Pathways project is an actual real project that’s going to contribute to emission reductions,” Chris Severson-Baker, the Pembina Institute’s executive director, told CP. “I actually think that the prime minister putting as much stock in it without putting any conditions on proponents to actually do it will finally expose it for what it is.” The deal signed between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith last year made a pipeline conditional on advancing carbon capture and storage… “Severson-Baker told CP that in order for a second pipeline to make sense along the existing Trans Mountain route, oil companies will have to dramatically increase production. “The amount of risk that’s being taken on by taxpayers is enormous. It’s really telling that no private proponent is interested after all the effort that the premier and the prime minister have put in to remove every single obstacle that there is,” Severson-Baker told CP.”
Harvard Media: Pipeline opponents mobilize days after Carney and Smith announce West Coast project
Jon Tupper, 7/6/26
“Less than a week after Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith jointly announced plans for a new oil pipeline to Canada’s West Coast, environmental groups and other opponents are beginning to mobilize against the project,” Harvard Media reports. “The Green Party of Canada has described the agreement as a “deal from hell,” while several environmental organizations have raised concerns about greenhouse gas emissions, tanker traffic and the potential consequences of an oil spill along the British Columbia coast. Environmental Defence, West Coast Environmental Law, Nature Québec and the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment are among the organizations opposing the proposal. Criticism has also come from the Pembina Institute, an environmental policy organization, which argues the project lacks a compelling commercial case and says governments should instead focus on expanding existing pipeline systems and investing in electricity infrastructure. The organization has pointed to the absence of a private-sector company prepared to independently finance and build the project as evidence of uncertainty surrounding its economics. Former federal environment minister Steven Guilbeault has also criticized government involvement in the pipeline, arguing taxpayers should not be responsible for financing major infrastructure benefiting profitable oil producers. Some Indigenous communities along the proposed route are seeking additional information and consultation.”
Timmins Today: Environmental watchdog concerned for land disturbance, spills from proposed oil pipeline
7/8/26
“Not everyone is enamoured with the prospect of a crude oil pipeline coursing through Northern Ontario,” Timmins Today reports. “While Northern mayors see the local economic spinoffs of a proposed 3,300-kilometre-long pipeline to move Alberta crude oil to refineries in Sarnia, environmental advocacy group Northwatch sees “all risk and no rewards” based on the uncertainties surrounding such a massive infrastructure project… “In a news release, Brennain Lloyd, project co-ordinator for Northwatch, said such a project would have “huge impacts” on the environment. “First there’s the level of disturbance — to land, water bodies, ecosystems, other land users — along the route if a new pipeline was to be constructed,” said Lloyd “Second, a rupture or failure to the pipeline could result in a catastrophic release of crude oil, which would have serious local and potentially downstream impacts.” Lloyd added Canadians should be concerned about an infrastructure project that’s designed around extracting hydrocarbons – the molecular building blocks of fossil fuels — and shipping them to market.”
Pipeline Technology Journal: PHMSA Reduces Energy Disruptions for Americans with Improved Standards for Pipeline Repairs
Constantin Schreiber, 7/8/26
“The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) today published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that will reduce energy service disruptions for Americans and generate $390 million in savings that will get passed down to American families,” Pipeline Technology Journal reports. “The NPRM will update federal safety standards around the repair of gas and hazardous liquid pipelines for the first time in two decades. “Thanks to cutting-edge inspection technology and data, pipeline operators understand their systems better than ever before. PHMSA is modernizing our safety regulations to match this new landscape,” said PHMSA Administrator Paul Roberti. “Prioritizing repairs to target actual threats–rather than sticking to prescriptive, one-size-fits-all timelines–will improve safety and unleash American energy.” “...Key new elements within the proposed framework include: Three-Tiered Response Schedules: Streamlines complex compliance timelines into three clear and consistent categories across all systems: immediate, near-term (1 year for high-consequence areas), and other conditions; Prioritizes remediation based on how long pipes can safely remain in service and avoids costly, unnecessary grid outages; Gas transmission operators are projected to save over $200 million annually, while hazardous liquid and carbon dioxide pipeline operators will experience approximately $148.5 million in cost savings each year.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Green groups lack standing to challenge deepwater LNG port, court says
Niina H. Farah, 7/8/26
“An appeals court on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit that challenged the federal approval of a deepwater natural gas export terminal off the Louisiana coast, in a win for the Trump administration,” E&E News reports. “The Maritime Administration issued a license last year to Delfin LNG for its floating liquefaction facility. A three-judge panel on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the environmental groups behind the lawsuit had failed to demonstrate that the MARAD decision harmed any of their members — a key procedural step to determine if they have legal standing. “Because Petitioners have not shown an injury in fact fairly traceable to MARAD’s licensing decision, we lack power to reach the merits,” said Judge Don Willett, a Trump appointee writing the opinion for the court. “We therefore DENY the petition for review.”
E&E News: BOEM explores using oil infrastructure for space launches
Ian M. Stevenson, 7/7/26
“A federal agency is exploring using retired offshore oil and gas infrastructure to launch rockets into space,” E&E News reports. “The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, part of the Interior Department, on Tuesday requested public input on whether it would be useful to repurpose offshore drilling platforms — or build new structures — to boost the commercial space industry. “The Outer Continental Shelf presents a significant opportunity to support the future of America’s space economy,” BOEM acting Director Matt Giacona in a statement told E&E. “Offshore launch, re-entry, and recovery infrastructure could expand operational flexibility, increase capacity, reduce constraints on growing launch demand, and strengthen the nation’s commercial and national security space capabilities.” Set to be published Wednesday in the Federal Register is a 30-day comment period notice asking for input on whether the idea would contribute to a “vibrant commercial space economy” and how the process would be managed by various federal entities.”
E&E News: Greens hit Republican districts with energy cost ads
Timothy Cama, 7/6/26
“The League of Conservation Voters Victory Fund — a super political action committee affiliated with the League of Conservation Voters — is putting $4 million into an advertising campaign targeting ‘energy bill voters,’ the term greens are using for voters whose positions could be changed by messaging that blames Republicans for high energy costs,” E&E News reports. “The campaign includes the earliest paid advertising the group has done in House elections. It’s an ambitious strategy, with new digital and television ads going in five districts represented by Republicans, and where the GOP incumbent is slightly favored to win in November… “We know that they are more likely to support candidates committed to lower energy costs by increasing clean energy production, and we’re making sure they know which Republican House candidates oppose clean energy production.” “...LCV and other green groups are looking to flip the Republican narrative that Democrats and their focus on climate change have been to blame for energy price spikes.”
STATE UPDATES
Brownfield Ag News: Ohio Governor signs carbon capture bill into law to expand market opportunities for Ohio corn
Erin Anderson, 7/7/26
“A new Ohio bill could help improve carbon capture and sequestration across the state,” Brownfield Ag News reports. “Luke Crumley with Ohio Corn and Wheat told Brownfield the legislation recently signed into law by Governor Mike DeWine could help expand market access for Ohio-grown corn. “Many of our ethanol plants can take advantage of this new technology to set themselves up to produce lower carbon fuels,” he told Brownfield. “The more markets we create for that ethanol product, the better the performance in the market for our grains.” “...Crumley told Brownfield the Ohio Department of Natural Resources is now working with other state agencies to develop the regulations needed to implement the law.”
Alaska Sporting Journal: Scoping Period Ends For Interior’s National Petroleum Reserve Drilling Plans; Native Community Reacts
7/6/26
“A 45-day Department of the Interior scoping period received plenty of public comments, as the department hopes to create new drilling opportunities In Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve. Here’s Grandmothers Growing Goodness and Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic with a statement,” the Alaska Sporting Journal reports. “...This proposal would fundamentally change how oil and gas projects are approved in the National Petroleum Reserve- Alaska and ultimately silence the communities most impacted by abandoning the project- and place-specific review processes that the law requires… “New drilling pads, gravel roads, pipelines, and supporting infrastructure could be built across the 23-million-acre Reserve without the site-specific environmental review when impacts on caribou, subsistence hunting, clean water, and permafrost are normally evaluated.”
Northern Journal: Data center critics flood Alaska land managers with opposition to North Slope project
Nathaniel Herz, 7/6/26
“Opposition is pouring in against a large data center and power plant proposed for Alaska’s North Slope, as Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration considers whether to approve a 50-year lease of state land to the project’s developer,” Northern Journal reports. “...The company is planning a major development that would use abundant natural gas from nearby North Slope oil fields to run power plants that could support artificial intelligence and cloud computing, according to documents it submitted to the state… “Others, meanwhile, made factually supported assertions — among them that data centers running on fossil fuels would accelerate climate change, and that the pad that Stak plans to build on the tundra would require huge quantities of gravel, a scarce resource on the North Slope that’s also used by villages and oil developers.”
Courthouse News Service: Wyoming urges court to sever latest sage grouse litigation
Monique Merrill, 7/6/26
“A federal judge in Montana must determine whether or not to split up two cases challenging the Bureau of Land Management’s reduction of protections to the greater sage grouse across millions of acres in the West and transfer the claims to Wyoming,” Courthouse News Service reports. “...In both cases, the plaintiffs accuse the Bureau of Land Management of weakening prior protections for sage grouse habitat by removing key restrictions and expanding oil and gas leasing… “Michael Freeman, Earthjustice attorney representing the trio of conservation groups, implored the court to consider the case as a continuation of a recently decided sage grouse case in which Morris tossed oil leases on sage grouse habitat. “Rather than conserving sage grouse by complying with prioritization, BLM has responded to this court’s decisions by attempting to just eliminate prioritization from its plans altogether,’ Freeman told CNS. “And just as this court found in the leasing litigation that national decisions need to be properly adjudicated together in a single court, and this court represents a proper venue for doing so.”
Public News Service: Tiny plastic pellets ‘a slow motion oil spill’ in New England waterways
Kathryn Carley, 7/6/26
“Environmental groups said tiny plastic pellets are increasingly showing up in U.S. waterways, threatening wildlife and human health,” Public News Service reports. “The pellets, also known as nurdles, are about the size of a lentil and serve as the building blocks of plastic products. They are often spilled in transit or released through permitted factory discharges. Chelsea McDonald, clean water defense campaign manager for the nonprofit Waterkeeper Alliance, told PNS a recent count by volunteers around the world found more than 1 million pellets. “These pellets are really just like a slow-motion oil spill into our waterways that aren’t going away unless it’s being cleaned up,” McDonald told PNS. She pointed out the fossil fuels needed to make plastic are a major driver of climate change… “Anyone who finds plastic pellets in their area is encouraged to report them through NurdlePatrol.org to add to the global count.”
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Opportunity for Public Input on Proposed Restoration Projects for Galveston Bay, Texas
7/6/26
“The Trustees for the Texas City Y Natural Resource Damage Assessment are seeking public review and input on a series of proposed restoration projects designed to restore resources injured by the 2014 Galveston Bay oil spill. Funding will come from a $15.3 million settlement(link is external) with Kirby Inland Marine Limited Partners (Kirby), which resolved federal and state natural resource damage claims under the Oil Pollution Act.”
EXTRACTION
International Energy Agency: Global natural gas demand is expected to decline in 2026 amid tighter supply fundamentals
7/6/26
“The Middle East crisis has dealt a major supply shock to global natural gas markets,” according to the International Energy Agency. “The gradual easing in market balances that had been underway since the second half of 2025 was significantly disrupted by the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz following the outbreak of the war in the Middle East at the end of February 2026. The disruption of liquefied natural gas (LNG) flows through the Strait – which had accounted for almost 20% of global LNG supply – resulted in strong price volatility… “The transit of LNG carriers has been on the rise since the announcement of the agreement, yet volumes are only at a fraction of pre-conflict levels. This report’s forecast assumes that the Strait fully reopens in the third quarter of 2026 and that operations at undamaged facilities in the region are fully restored by early in the fourth quarter, with LNG deliveries from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates ramping up progressively between July and October… “Global gas demand is expected to fall by around 0.5% (or 20 bcm) in 2026, the third annual decline this decade following previous decreases in 2020 and 2022. The impact of the conflict varies across regions. In the Middle East, where local gas production and processing facilities have been damaged and the output of gas-intensive industries such as fertiliser production has decreased, gas demand is projected to contract by around 4% in 2026 – the region’s first annual decline in consumption since 1993… “In Asia, natural gas demand is forecast to decline by 0.5% in 2026 as higher LNG prices spur gas-to-coal switching in the power sector and lead to lower operating rates across gas- and energy-intensive industries. In Europe, a combination of strong growth in power output from renewables and higher natural gas prices is expected to reduce gas demand by more than 2% in 2026.”
Reuters: LNG tanker at risk of exploding after two vessels struck near Strait of Hormuz
Andrew Mills, Maha El Dahan, Jonathan Saul and Marwa Rashad, 7/6/26
“A Qatari LNG tanker was at risk of exploding and a Saudi-flagged crude oil tanker was damaged near the Strait of Hormuz, sources said on Tuesday, after reports that Iran fired missiles at ships in the waterway overnight,” Reuters reports. “The Al Rekayyat, loaded with liquefied natural gas, sent out distress signals seeking assistance after it was hit on its port side, one of the sources said. Another source briefed on the matter told Reuters the vessel was at risk of exploding due to a fire in its engine room.”
OPINION
The Cap Times: A week of resistance to Line 5
Marc Rosenthal, Madison, 7/7/26
“On July 25, we mark the anniversary of Enbridge’s catastrophic 2010 Kalamazoo River spill — one of the worst inland oil disasters in U.S. history. Yet, on that same week, July 20–26 we find ourselves resisting another Enbridge project: the Line 5 reroute through the Bad River Reservation watershed,” Marc Rosenthal writes for The Cap Times. “This is more than coincidence. It’s a stark reminder of institutional failure. Wisconsin’s DNR, the Army Corps of Engineers and state leadership have abandoned their duty to protect the land… “First, this is about Indigenous sovereignty. The Bad River and Red Cliff Bands have the right to defend their home. Second, the environmental risk is immense. Our watershed, which sustains so much life, is at stake. Third, there’s the undeniable reality of global warming… “The week of July 20–26, a broad coalition of neighbors and water protectors will gather in Ashland, Wisconsin. We stand together. The institutions may have failed, but we will not. This week of resistance is our collective responsibility — to honor Indigenous rights, protect our water and fight for a livable future.”
CT Mirror: The methane monster — a threat to us all
Jolie Malo is a 17-year-old high school senior from Bethel, 7/8/26
“TC Energy, with their subsidiary Iroquois, is pushing for the expansion of the Brookfield Compressor Station, a project that will put the community and environment at risk,” Jolie Malo writes for the CT Mirror. “...Methane has 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period and is responsible for one-third of the global warming we experience today. TC Energy is one air permit away from expanding the Brookfield Compressor Station; or as the permit decision date, July 10, approaches, we are one approval away from condoning a project with little to no long term benefits for the environment or economy and that poses a health risk for Brookfield and the surrounding communities. As a 17-year-old living 20 minutes from the Brookfield Compressor Station, I am concerned about the damage that expanding the compressor station will have on my community and the environment… “There are 2,000 residents living within a mile of the station, 674 of which are children under 18 and 239 are over 65. According to experts, compressor stations should be at least 1.8 miles away from any occupied buildings for safety and health reasons… “TC Energy cannot be allowed to receive their final air permit on July 10, allowing them to expand the Brookfield Compressor Station. For the sake of a healthy community, a better economy, and a thriving environment, we need to stop the use of methane gas. The first step is stopping the expansion of the Brookfield Compressor Station.”
Guardian: The great carbon capture con: behold the wasted billions Burnham could claw back
George Monbiot, 7/8/26
“The new prime minister will be looking for money? Well, here’s £21.7bn lying on the ground. The government could cancel its deranged, disastrous carbon capture and storage (CCS) programme at no cost to public welfare: in fact, it would greatly reduce the harm we will suffer,” George Monbiot writes for the Guardian. “Sorry, did I say £21.7bn? That’s the figure the government has been putting in its press releases for spending on this programme between now and 2050. But this covers only the first phase of the project. The climate experts Dr Andrew Boswell and Simon Oldridge worked through the data produced by the government’s Climate Change Committee, which was scattered across different spreadsheets, and discovered that the projected cost of the full CCS programme between now and 2050 is £264bn. Yes, £264bn. More than a quarter of a trillion. This cost will be divided between the public and private sectors. Given the record of CCS programmes so far, we can expect the public to carry most of it. An investigation by the House of Commons public accounts committee found that roughly 25% of the public costs of CCS will be borne directly by the government, while the remainder will come from extra levies on our energy bills. The government should explain to the electorate that it intends to slap up to £198bn on our bills. Then see how that lands… “But surely CCS is essential for cutting carbon emissions? That’s how the government has pitched it. On the contrary, this programme will massively increase them… “If the real aim were to cut emissions, we would push fossil fuel use in the electricity sector down to zero, and scale up renewables and battery storage instead. The net effect? Much lower climate impacts and much lower bills. Instead, the programme will greatly ramp up both. Why?... “Because they know it’s the only way they will be permitted to keep burning gas… “From cradle to grave, this programme appeases the world’s most antisocial and destructive sector. The wasted money, the lost years, the lost lives: for how much longer will this farce continue? And how many more warnings will the government ignore?”
Winnipeg Free Press: What can you do with $200 million?
Ed Lohrenz is founder of GEOptimize Inc., a Winnipeg based engineering firm, and has worked in the geothermal heat pump industry for over four decades, 7/8/26
“Let’s see if I’ve got this right. In the article Carbon capture project gains support (June 30). Julia-Simone Rutgers writes that the direct carbon capture facility proposed by Deep Sky for construction in southwestern Manitoba will cost $200 million to build,” Ed Lohrenz writes for the Winnipeg Free Press. “...The project will be financed by selling carbon credits. To put this into perspective, the Canadian industrial carbon price is set at $130 per tonne. At that price, Deep Sky will have to sell more than 1.5 million tonnes of carbon just to cover the upfront cost of building the plant. That’s over 51 years’ worth of carbon credits. And that doesn’t even cover the everyday operating costs, such as the electricity needed to run the plant… “Is there something else $200 million could be used for that would help reduce carbon in the air?... “Replacing your gas furnace with a geothermal heat pump in a typical home reduces carbon emissions by about six tonnes annually… “The article suggests the proposed carbon capture project will create about 750-1,000 jobs during construction and about 100 permanent jobs during operation. The two billion trees program was projected to create 4,300 jobs. The design and installation of 7,250 geothermal heat pump installations would create about 800 full-time positions, not including the service and maintenance jobs for the life of the system… “Injecting CO2 into the ground only costs money — and it sits there doing nothing.”
Denver Post: Three disturbing new ways Trump undermines protections for our national forests and public lands
Tracy Stone-Manning is president of The Wilderness Society and The Wilderness Society Action Fund, 7/6/26
“As we mark our nation’s 250th anniversary, it’s worth celebrating what we the people have in common. What we literally have in common – own in common – are our public lands, our national parks and forests,” Tracy Stone-Manning writes for the Denver Post. “...Which is why it is so unsettling that the administration continues to try to hand those places over to the highest bidder. And why it’s so disturbing that they are pushing deeper into our forests, threatening future generations’ freedom to experience what we have been lucky enough to know. It’s hard to keep up, but the direction is clear: sacrificing our wild public lands… “Meanwhile, the media reported that the administration plans to direct the Forest Service to open lands recommended for wilderness designation to development and other damaging uses. Through an ongoing review, the administration has also signaled it plans to take a similar approach to more than 100 million acres of wildlands managed by the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service… “Most troubling of all is the largest proposed rollback of conservation protections in American history. The administration has announced it intends to remove protections on 45 million acres of national forests and instead allow roads to be punched into some of our wildest public lands.”