EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 8/14/23
PIPELINE NEWS
WDBJ: Pipeline opponents lock selves to equipment to protest Mountain Valley work
WV Gazette Mail: Federal court clears way for Mountain Valley Pipeline completion as regulators flag potential safety risks
Courthouse News Service: Fourth Circuit blasts Congress for undermining separation of powers
POWHR Coalition: 4th Circuit MVP Cases Dismissed Following Supreme Court Ruling
Roanoke Times: As pipeline construction resumes, inspections are in order
AgWeek: If Dakota Access pipeline doesn’t pass environmental review, oil could derail agriculture transport
DRG News: Like Neighboring States, Carbon Pipeline Scrutiny Ramps Up in SD
Traverse City Record Eagle: ENBRIDGE PIPELINE: Embattled Line 5 marks 70 years
Houston Chronicle: Texas pipeline operators triggered deadly 2021 blackouts while chasing profits, lawsuit alleges
Seven Days VT: Environmentalists Raise a Stink Over a Proposed Gas Pipeline to a Dairy Farm
Glenwood Springs Post Independent: Natural gas, produced water pipelines proposed for federal public lands south of Rifle
Windspeaker.com: Feds snub Indigenous-led groups in phase one of Trans Mountain buy-in
RBN Energy: The Payback - Canadians 'Avenge' Keystone XL Loss With Takeover Of Top U.S. Crude Export Terminals
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Lawyers For Youth Climate Activists Rebuke Biden's Willow Approval
STATE UPDATES
Floodlight: Federal tax incentives create gold rush for nascent carbon capture projects in Louisiana
KYW Newsradio: Environmental groups file appeal to block natural gas compression facility in NJ
LNG Prime: Energy Transfer to file application for new Lake Charles LNG export authorization
Carlsbad Current-Argus: Oil and gas near schools? New Mexico groups hope to protect students from pollution
EXTRACTION
Phys.org: Carbon Capture and Storage projects in Denmark at risk from bitumen formation
CleanTechnica: IEA & Oilprice.Com See Peak Oil Happening This Decade
OilPrice.com: EV Adoption Could Spell Trouble For Oil Exporters
OPINION
Des Moines Register: Editorial: Summit carbon pipeline is not a slam dunk: Pause Iowa's approval process
Common Dreams: It's Time to Cancel the Mountain Valley Pipeline—Just Ask the People of Maui
Tribune-Star: Letter: Seeking truth of carbon capture
Ted Glick: History Repeating? Vietnam Then, Climate Now?
The Hill: Climate complacency is killing us
Washington Examiner: Op-Ed: The Biden Administration's Latest Scheme To End Reliable And Affordable Energy
Motley Fool: Biden's Investing $1.2 Billion to Combat Carbon Dioxide Pollution -- and Occidental Petroleum Stock Could Skyrocket Because of It
PIPELINE NEWS
WDBJ: Pipeline opponents lock selves to equipment to protest Mountain Valley work
Pat Thomas, 8/11/23
“Two opponents of the Mountain Valley Pipeline project locked themselves to construction equipment Friday morning on a pipeline worksite on Poor Mountain in Roanoke County,” WDBJ reports. “The goal, according to Appalachians Against Pipelines (AAP), is to prevent downed trees from being cleared from the pipeline easement… “Protesters have been in the Bent Mountain area for several weeks, according to AAP, with the goal of halting construction on the project.”
WV Gazette Mail: Federal court clears way for Mountain Valley Pipeline completion as regulators flag potential safety risks
Mike Tony, 8/11/23
“A federal court that has repeatedly thrown out key permit approvals for the Mountain Valley Pipeline cleared the way for its completion in a Friday ruling,” the WV Gazette Mail reports. “The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit concluded that Congress had eliminated its jurisdiction over environmental group challenges of the 303-mile gas pipeline project. The court’s ruling Friday came the same day as the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration published notice of a proposed safety order for the pipeline’s lead developer. The PHMSA said it found conditions may exist along the pipeline that “pose a pipeline safety risk to public safety, property, or the environment.” The court cited provisions in the Fiscal Responsibility Act, legislation enthusiastically backed by most of West Virginia’s congressional delegation before President Joe Biden signed it into law in June, designed to force the long-delayed project’s completion. “[R]egardless of the merits of Petitioners’ arguments, this Court is not the one to consider them,” the court held in its 28-page opinion written by Judge James A. Wynn… “Circuit Court Judge Roger Gregory issued a warning in a concurring opinion, calling the section of the Fiscal Responsibility Act designed to force the pipeline’s completion, Section 324, “a blueprint for the construction of a natural gas pipeline by legislative fiat.” Gregory wrote he feared Congress had used the court’s constitutionally directed deference to legislative prerogatives to undermine the Constitution and made the court “an accessory to its deeds.” “If that is so, I wonder if Section 324 is a harbinger of erosion not just to the environment, but to our republic,” Gregory wrote. “That, only our Supreme Court can decide.” “I share Judge Gregory’s real concern for our environment and our democracy,” Monroe County landowner and outspoken Mountain Valley Pipeline opponent Maury Johnson said in a statement… “In the proposed order, the PHMSA said it planned to require Equitrans Midstream Corp., the pipeline’s Cecil Township, Pennsylvania-based lead developer, submit a remedial work plan to analyze all pipe stored on the project right-of-way to assess coating damage using an agency-approved independent third party, and analyze pipeline areas susceptible to excessive external stresses.”
Courthouse News Service: Fourth Circuit blasts Congress for undermining separation of powers
JOE DODSON, 8/11/23
“The Fourth Circuit issued a scathing opinion Friday that complies with Congress' intent of giving the Washington D.C. Circuit exclusive jurisdiction of challenges to the Mountain Valley Pipeline while questioning the constitutionality of said intent,” Courthouse News Service reports. "I fear Congress has employed this court's constitutionally directed deference to legislative prerogatives to undermine the constitution and, in the process, it has made the court an accessory to its deeds," U.S. Circuit Judge Roger L. Gregory, a George W. Bush appointee stated in the opinion. "If that is so, I wonder if Section 324 is a harbinger of erosion not just to the environment but to our republic." “...U.S. Circuit Judge Stephanie Thacker, a Barack Obama appointee, warned in her concurring opinion of the dangers of passing a provision that strips courts' jurisdiction to obtain a favorable outcome. "Congress has tipped the balance of power in its favor given that this provision requires us to allow another co-equal court to answer questions central to our own jurisdictional inquiry," Thacker wrote. She questioned what future effects the provision will have. "Can Congress, with particular pending litigation in mind, strip a particular court of jurisdiction to hear a certain type of cases when it disagrees politically with the view of the law that court has taken in the past?" Thacker wrote. In his opinion, Gregory outlined the history of the separation of powers as a keystone of the republic. He clarified that the framers of the Constitution would take issue with Congress' provision. "Section 324 is a blueprint for the construction of a natural gas pipeline by legislative fiat," Gregory wrote. "If that provision is likewise constitutionally sanctioned, then Congress will have found the way to adjudicate by legislating for particular cases and for particular litigants, no different than the governmental excesses our framers sought to avoid." Southern Environmental Law Center attorney Spencer Gall, representing the environmental groups, told CNS the plaintiffs may take the fight to D.C. "The Fourth Circuit did not bless this gambit today and simply held that the D.C. Circuit and the Supreme Court must be the ones to confront the constitutionality of the MVP rider. We are evaluating potential next steps."
POWHR Coalition: 4th Circuit MVP Cases Dismissed Following Supreme Court Ruling
Maury Johnson, WV Co-Chair of the POWHR Coalition, 8/11/23
“Today is a very sad day, the very day after Hawaii saw the worst disaster in its history, where dozen, if not hundreds of people perished in a massive climate change driven wildfire that the 4th Circuit Court felt they had no other choice but to dismissed lawsuits designed to protect our environment. Judge Gregory was correct when he stated, “ …that Section 324 is a blueprint for construction of a natural gas pipeline by legislative fiat. If that provision is likewise constitutionally sanctioned, the Congress will have found a way to adjudicate by legislating for particular cases and for particular litigants, no different than the governmental excesses our Framers sought to avoid. For that reason, I fear Congress has employed this Court’s constitutionally directed deference to legislative prerogatives to undermine the Constitution and in the process, it has made the Court an accessory to it’s deeds. If that is so, I wonder if Section 324 is a harbinger of erosion not just to the environment, but to our republic.” I share Judge Gregory’s real concern for our environment and our democracy. And MVP Affected Landowner Russell Chisholm responded: “It is clear to us that the top levers of power in this country do not serve the good of the people of Appalachia, who they have continued to sacrifice for the whims of a corrupt, reckless fossil fuel corporation. As wildfires and heatwaves terrorize our global kin, as President Biden spreads misinformation about his climate commitments, we resolve to protect our communities because we can’t count on so-called ‘leaders’ to do so.”
Roanoke Times: As pipeline construction resumes, inspections are in order
Laurence Hammack, 8/12/23
“As work to complete the Mountain Valley Pipeline ramps up this summer, one of the first tasks is to test the integrity of sections of pipe that have been exposed to the elements for years,” the Roanoke Times reports. “With construction slowed by legal battles, many unconnected segments of pipe have sat along the project’s right-of-way, where sunlight can break down a coating designed to protect the steel pipe from corrosion once it’s buried. If the coating is not properly reapplied, Mountain Valley opponents say, the pipe could fail, releasing high-pressurized natural gas that would spark a calamitous explosion. Since construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline resumed earlier this summer, the company has been inspecting sections of pipe that have been exposed to the elements and, where necessary, reapplying a coating designed to protect the pipe from corrosion once it’s buried. The organizations — which range from environmental heavyweights like the Sierra Club to small community groups — say that running such a massive pipeline across steep mountain slopes raises the risk of landslides that could rupture a weakened pipe… “Project opponents ignore the facts and continue to push this issue to spark fear and further their anti-fossil fuel agendas,” Matthew Eggerding, deputy general counsel for Mountain Valley, wrote in the letter… “Mountain Valley says it is conducting “rigorous inspections” to check the 42-inch diameter pipes for any damage and to ensure the coating still meets specifications. When necessary, the pipe is sandblasted or scrubbed before the coating is reapplied. Asked by The Roanoke Times how many times that has happened, company spokeswoman Natalie Cox did not provide a direct answer in an emailed response… “As workers wearing hard hats began to show up along the pipeline’s linear construction zone, they were soon met by protesters waving signs and shouting “Stop! You need to stop!” At first, gatherings in Montgomery and Roanoke counties disbanded before police arrived. Then on Friday, two people used so-called sleeping dragons — lock-box devices into which they insert their hands — to chain themselves to excavators atop Poor Mountain. After an eight-hour removal process, Roanoke County police charged the protesters, one from California and the other from Washington, D.C., with interfering with Mountain Valley’s property rights. In all, more than 50 people have been charged in a variety of protests along the pipeline’s route through Virginia: sitting in tree stands built to block construction, chaining themselves to bulldozers and walking in large groups onto work sites.”
AgWeek: If Dakota Access pipeline doesn’t pass environmental review, oil could derail agriculture transport
Jeff Beach, 8/13/23
“Any potential shutdown of the Dakota Access oil pipeline could literally derail grain and ethanol shipments in the Midwest, potentially costing the agriculture industry billions of dollars,” according to AgWeek. “For years, a pending environmental impact statement has been hanging over the Dakota Access Pipeline, which takes oil from western North Dakota to a terminus in Illinois. Some fear the outcome of the EIS could affect the operation of the pipeline. A study by Elaine Kub, a commodity market analyst in South Dakota, showed the Midwest agricultural sector could suffer more than $3 billion in annual losses. “A sudden shift like that would be really detrimental to rail congestion,” Kub told AgWeek. Her analysis of the Dakota Access impact came out in July, examining what would happen if the oil flowing through the Dakota Access pipe stopped. But Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., told AgWeek such a shutdown is unlikely. Hoeven told AgWeek he met with representatives from the Army Corps of Engineers, which is doing the review, in early August. He told AgWeek a draft of the much-anticipated environmental review could be filed by the end of the month. “That statement will have a variety of options in it — operate as is, operate with enhancements,” he told AgWeek… “Hoeven told AgWeek because the pipeline has been operating safely for years, a shutdown is unlikely. And when the draft is issued, there will then be a comment period, likely at least 90 days, so it will be months before anything becomes final… “Ultimately, I believe the Corps will pick the option to continue as is, and of course, if they don’t pick that option, obviously it would end up in the courts,” he told AgWeek… “Hoeven told AgWeek that if there were something in the environmental impact statement that had the potential to be impactful, a court battle is likely. And because the courts have allowed the pipeline to operate while the review was being conducted, it would likely be able to continue to operate in the next round of legal sparring.”
DRG News: Like Neighboring States, Carbon Pipeline Scrutiny Ramps Up in SD
Jody Heemstra, 8/11/23
“This month and next (Aug. and Sept. 2023), South Dakota regulators are holding hearings about proposed underground pipelines that would carry carbon dioxide to underground storage. Environmental groups with concerns about the approach are keeping a watchful eye,” DRG News reports. “Guy Larson, with the Sierra Club’s South Dakota chapter, says they remain leery of these large-scale efforts to decarbonize ethanol production. “The Sierra Club sees the whole process as another way to extend the life of fossil fuels.” Opponents also worry about damage to farmland and potential pipeline ruptures. Project officials tout environmental and economic benefits, and insist there will be strong safeguards. Hearings on a similar proposal from Summit Carbon Solutions are scheduled for next month. That project calls for carbon to be stored underground in North Dakota, but regulators there just rejected Summit’s siting permit. Summit plans to reapply, but North Dakota regulators noted in its first application, the company failed to show that key elements of the project would produce minimal adverse effects on the environment and the public. Larson suggests those same questions remain as South Dakota’s proceedings move forward.”
Traverse City Record Eagle: ENBRIDGE PIPELINE: Embattled Line 5 marks 70 years
Mardi Link, 8/12/23
“A signature piece of infrastructure turns 70 this year, a milestone that appears to be passing without celebration,” the Traverse City Record Eagle reports. “Instead, Line 5, a 645-mile oil and gas pipeline built in 1953, has energy experts, environmental advocates, tribal members, state taxpayers and attorneys in a kind of judicial watch party, as lawsuits and countersuits move sluggishly through state and federal courts. “No one case is more important than any other,” environmental attorney Liz Kirkwood, who leads FLOW, a Traverse City-based nonprofit focused on the Great Lakes, told the Eagle. “We’re watching it all.” “...But some say Line 5 has outlived its usefulness. “I like history,” Kirkwood told the Eagle, “and coming out of World War II, and the engineering prowess of that time? I admire engineers. But I don’t think, today, that we should be embracing our energy past. It’s a past that has led to the current climate crisis.” “...On the other side are Michigan officials, Wisconsin and Michigan tribal officials, tourism-related businesses and environmental advocates, who say Line 5 was intended to last 50 years — not 70 — that energy supplies can come from other sources without permanent disruption and that Enbridge’s safety record points to an imminent risk of a rupture in the Straits and near the Bad River… “Approval of the tunnel by MPSC has been contested by environmental groups and others, who’ve argued, in a proceeding much like a trial, that the tunnel is an untested design and counter to climate change goals. Arguments closed in May and, in another closely-watched development, Michigan Public Service commissioners have yet to issue a decision. The Army Corps of Engineers is in the midst of compiling an EIS, or environmental impact statement, related to Line 5’s proposed 4-mile tunnel crossing.”
Houston Chronicle: Texas pipeline operators triggered deadly 2021 blackouts while chasing profits, lawsuit alleges
Chris Tomlinson, 8/11/23
“...Texas has 36,234 miles of intrastate natural gas transmission and storage pipelines, and because they don’t cross state lines, they are exempt from federal regulation. Unlike any other state, Texas allows pipeline companies to own the gas in their pipes, making it easy for the owners to manipulate flows and prices, especially if they know what other pipelines are doing,” the Houston Chronicle reports. “...On Feb. 4, 2021, meteorologists warned state officials a major winter storm was coming, what became Winter Storm Uri. Simpson saw strange behavior in his pipeline data. It looked familiar, much like what he’d seen when Enron caused the California Energy Crisis. After years of collating and confirming the data, CirclesX filed a lawsuit in February against 92 companies and subsidiaries on behalf of all Texans injured by the blackouts. The suit alleges a decades-long pattern of market manipulation that simply spun out of control in February 2021… “Simpson’s data, filed in court papers as part of his suit, suggests frozen wells were not the problem. He alleges pipeline companies trying to goose profits by slowing gas flows accidentally triggered the first blackouts. A cascade of blackouts followed. “Well before the freezing temperatures arrived, Defendants began to decrease production of natural gas to drive up the price in light of the foreseeable surge in demand,” the CirclesX suit alleges. The companies began withholding gas five days before the storm hit and watched prices rise.”
Seven Days VT: Environmentalists Raise a Stink Over a Proposed Gas Pipeline to a Dairy Farm
KEVIN MCCALLUM, 8/11/23
“The last time Vermont’s sole natural gas utility sought to expand its service area, it set off a firestorm. Vermont Gas Systems’ push to build a 41-mile pipeline to Middlebury fueled climate protests against “fracked gas” and spawned multiple lawsuits,” Seven Days VT reports. “VGS is now proposing a more modest pipeline project in Franklin County that has attracted little public attention or outcry from environmental groups. Until now. A small but influential band of critics is pushing to block the proposed eight-mile pipeline between Enosburg Falls and a biogas project at Pleasant Valley Farms in Berkshire, the largest dairy farm in the state. A Michigan company, Novilla RNG, wants to build a 2.5-million-gallon manure digester at Pleasant Valley Farms. The system would collect the waste from the farm’s nearly 6,000 cows, heat it to around 100 degrees in a 92-foot-tall tank and capture the resulting methane. The gas, referred to as biogas or renewable natural gas, would then be injected into the VGS system, which serves about 56,000 customers in northwest Vermont with natural gas mostly from western Canada… “On Friday, however, the Conservation Law Foundation of Vermont delivered a broadside against the project, declaring it a false climate solution and asking regulators to reject it. Elena Mihaly, director of CLF Vermont, said the project “makes no economic or environmental sense.” “Projects like this one generate as much polluting methane as possible, lock farms into industrial dairying, and saddle Vermonters with the bill for expensive, unnecessary gas infrastructure,” she said in a press release. In its filing, the group calls the claimed reductions in greenhouse gas emissions “insignificant and illusory” and argues that there are more cost-effective ways to meet the state’s emission-reduction requirements.” “...Kevin Jones, director of the Institute for Energy and the Environment at Vermont Law & Graduate School, told Seven Days he has seen no evidence that renewable natural gas projects such as the one proposed will help decarbonize the gas industry quickly or completely enough to meet the state’s emission goals. “I share the concern that CLF and others have that this is really an attempt by industry to distract us from the reality that we need to transition away from these fuels expeditiously,” he told Seven Days.
Glenwood Springs Post Independent: Natural gas, produced water pipelines proposed for federal public lands south of Rifle
8/13/23
“New natural gas and produced water pipelines are planned to cross federal land south of Rifle, according to a new proposal,” the Glenwood Springs Post Independent reports. “TEP Rocky Mountain LLC is proposing to build about seven miles of pipeline directly north of West Mamm Creek. The proposed pipeline crosses 2.9 miles of U.S. National Forest land, 2.1 miles of land overseen by the Bureau of Land Management and another 2.1 miles over private property. The White River National Forest and Bureau of Land Management Colorado River Valley Field Office seek public comments on the proposal. The pipelines require rights-of-ways from the BLM and a special use permit from the Forest Service for the sections crossing NFS lands. TEP Rocky Mountain LLC and Grand River Gathering LLC’s proposed West Mamm Creek Pipeline Project would deliver produced water into a water management system and collect natural gas from an existing pipeline system for delivery to national markets, the release states.”
Windspeaker.com: Feds snub Indigenous-led groups in phase one of Trans Mountain buy-in
Shari Narine, 8/11/23
“The federal government is inviting the Indigenous nations that have land along the Trans Mountain pipeline to a meeting to discuss a special-purpose vehicle that will allow them to have an ownership stake in the Crown-owned pipeline. However, that same invitation has not been issued to the five Indigenous-led groups that formed in the past few years with the express purpose of helping their members get an ownership stake in Trans Mountain,” Windspeaker.com reports. “The groups—Project Reconciliation Initiative, Western Indigenous Pipeline Group, Nesika Services, Natural Law Energy and Indigena Capital—were formed shortly after Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government purchased Trans Mountain from Kinder Morgan Inc. in 2018. The purchase was made to ensure the Trans Mountain expansion went ahead. This is the only pipeline that moves oil from Alberta to the coast in British Columbia. “None of us (groups) are invited into phase one,” Michelle Goodkey, chief sustainability officer and vice president external relations with Project Reconciliation, told Windspeaker. Project Reconciliation was formed in 2018. “People should understand that we're not at the table. That (invitation) is with the nations directly with the government. So, individuals that are part of those organizations, those nations, are invited, but the actual entities, those five, including us, are not invited to that phase one,” Goodkey told Windspeaker… “Goodkey adds that none of the five organizations have had any input into whatever proposal the government will be putting forward to the 120 Indigenous nations that are located along the Trans Mountain pipeline. “After three to five years of all of us working on the ground with communities, none of us are at the table,” she told Windspeaker.
RBN Energy: The Payback - Canadians 'Avenge' Keystone XL Loss With Takeover Of Top U.S. Crude Export Terminals
Housley Carr, 8/14/23
“Just a couple of years ago, TC Energy finally threw in the towel on its long-planned, long-delayed Keystone XL pipeline project, which would have substantially increased the flow of Western Canadian heavy crude to Gulf Coast refineries and export docks,” RBN Energy reports. “It was a bitter loss. Since then, however, two other companies headquartered north of the 49th parallel have assumed leading roles in the U.S. crude oil market or, more specifically, crude exports. First, Enbridge acquired the U.S.’s #1 oil export terminal — now called the Enbridge Ingleside Energy Center (EIEC) — and related assets for US$3 billion and then, on August 1, Gibson Energy announced that it had closed on the US$1.1 billion purchase of the nearby South Texas Gateway (STG), which is #2 in crude export volumes. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss the increasing role of Canada-based midstream companies along the South Texas coast… “The recent tug-of-war around Enbridge Line 5 in the Upper Midwest is ongoing, with a judge recently ordering the pipeline to be shut down within three years. But perhaps the most frustrating Canadian-American spat in recent memory was the Keystone XL battle between TC Energy (formerly known as TransCanada) and the U.S. government, which for many years made it essentially impossible for the 1,210-mile, 830-Mb/d pipeline project to advance to construction and operation. The fight to build the Alberta-to-Nebraska crude oil conduit was finally lost in January 2021, when newly inaugurated President Biden revoked the project’s Presidential Permit. TC Energy formally canceled it a few months later. Over the past couple of years, it has focused primarily on expanding the natural gas side of its pipeline business, including the construction of the 2.1-Bcf/d Coastal GasLink pipeline in British Columbia (in which TC Energy holds a 25% ownership interest) and development of the 1.3-Bcf/d Southeast Gateway pipeline in Mexico. And finally the last straw: The company in July announced plans to get out of the liquids pipeline business altogether and spin off those assets (with the existing Keystone and Marketlink pipelines) into a separate entity. Those assets may start to look attractive to companies looking to feed crude to Gulf Coast export markets.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Lawyers For Youth Climate Activists Rebuke Biden's Willow Approval
Lesley Clark, 8/11/23
“The law firm that represents young people suing the Biden administration for embracing fossil fuels is siding with opponents of a White House-approved oil project in a remote area of Alaska,” E&E News reports. “In a friend of the court brief, lawyers with Oregon-based Our Children’s Trust — the firm behind the landmark youth climate case Juliana v. United States and a similar lawsuit in Montana — said the administration’s approval of ConocoPhillips Co.’s massive Willow project will worsen the effects of climate change by locking in greenhouse gas production for decades. “Any new fossil fuel infrastructure propels the youth of Alaska and our nation further into climate chaos,” the attorneys wrote. The brief comes as Willow’s legal challengers — the Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic and Earthjustice — suffered a setback when the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in April cleared the way for some initial winter construction on the project to begin. The case is now back before the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska, and environmentalists have raised new arguments that federal agencies ignored the effect Willow’s emissions could have on vulnerable species. Green groups have asked the Alaska District Court to rule on the case by Nov. 10, ahead of the winter construction season. Briefing in the case will be complete in September.”
STATE UPDATES
Floodlight: Federal tax incentives create gold rush for nascent carbon capture projects in Louisiana
PAM RADTKE, FLOODLIGHT, 8/13/23
“Millions of dollars of investments in new carbon capture projects in Louisiana — with more announced this past week — are unwelcome developments to some environmental activists in the state,” Floodlight reports. “We’ve been trying to fix the oil and gas damage while at the same time trying to push the transition away from it,” Monique Hardin, director of law for the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, told Floodlight. “And now we have carbon capture and sequestration to contend with,” added Hardin, who’s group is a member of Louisiana Against False Solutions, a coalition of environmental and watchdog nonprofits fighting the carbon capture projects. Carbon capture technology, supported by the federal government, the fossil fuel industry and some environmental groups does not yet exist on a meaningful scale. Some climate experts worry the focus on the technology will distract and undermine efforts to phase out fossil fuels. About 30 carbon capture projects have been proposed in Louisiana — all of them spurred by federal subsidies and most supercharged with increased incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act intended to address global warming. A total of 170 projects have been announced nationwide, with only Texas having as many projects as Louisiana. On Friday, the Department of Energy announced $1.2 billion investment in carbon capture projects in Louisiana and Texas. Environmental justice advocates and other opponents of carbon capture and sequestration say the technology is environmentally and economically risky and encourages the status quo for fossil fuel companies. One oil company CEO said earlier this year that carbon capture will help “preserve our industry over time.” “...Projects in the state can’t proceed until the Environmental Protection Agency gives Louisiana the authority to regulate injections of carbon underground. The EPA has proposed giving that authority to Louisiana’s environmental regulators — a decision met with protest from environmental groups during a three-day hearing in June. A final decision has not yet been issued. Several of the projects are being built near polluting industries that line the Mississippi River corridor from Baton Rouge to New Orleans known as “Cancer Alley.” “These are new projects that are putting more pollution in the existing communities that are already overburdened. It’s a new insult to these communities,” Jade Woods, an organizer with the Center for International Environmental Law, told Floodlight… “One hundred percent of everyone I talk with is opposed to this,” Tangipahoa Parish Councilwoman Kim Coates told Floodlight about the Lake Maurepas project… “It was all about putting the money first.”
KYW Newsradio: Environmental groups file appeal to block natural gas compression facility in NJ
Mike Dougherty, 8/11/23
“Environmental groups are working to block the construction of a natural gas compression facility in West Deptford, Gloucester County,” KYW Newsradio reports. “The facility in West Deptford is one component of the plan already approved by The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for Transco, a Williams Company subsidiary Regional Energy Access Expansion. It also includes expansion of two other facilities in Branchburg and Old Bridge in New Jersey and 36.1 miles of pipeline in Pennsylvania. Allison McLeod with the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters thinks this will not only harm the environment but add to utility bills, noting that it could increase New Jersey’s greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 16%. “So by building this project, what it’s doing is tying New Jersey ratepayers to it and keeping us on the hook for the cost.” She told KYW data shows the state already has enough natural gas to last until at least 2030, so environmental groups say this isn’t even needed right now. “And so now it’s in the hands of the court to look at all of the evidence which, as we said, shows that this is bad for our climate, bad for public health, and frankly bad for our wallets,” McLeod added.
LNG Prime: Energy Transfer to file application for new Lake Charles LNG export authorization
8/4/23
“Texas-based Energy Transfer said it plans to file in August an application with the US DOE for a new export authorization for the company’s proposed Lake Charles LNG export facility in Louisiana,” LNG Prime reports. “In April this year, the department declined Lake Charles LNG’s request to extend the deadline to start exports by December 2028. After that, the DOE also declined a rehearing request in June. “We have had discussions with the DOE subsequent to this decision, and we believe the best path forward with the DOE is to file an application for a new export authorization. We expect to file this application in August,” Energy Transfer’s co-CEO, Tom Long, told analysts during the company’s second-quarter earnings call on Wednesday. During the DOE’s review of this application, Energy Transfer intends to continue to work with its existing customers, respective equity investors, and other stakeholders to progress the development of this project, he said.”
Carlsbad Current-Argus: Oil and gas near schools? New Mexico groups hope to protect students from pollution
Adrian Hedden, 8/13/23
“It’s one of the busiest fossil fuel regions in the U.S., making New Mexico second in the nation in oil production,” the Carlsbad Current-Argus reports. “Across the state in the northwest San Juan Basin gas fields, Lybrook Elementary School in Counselor also abuts extraction facilities, leading to similar concerns that students could be susceptible to air pollution resulting from the activity. A report from the Center for Biological Diversity estimated more than 34,000 students in the state attend school about a mile from an oil well, and 24,000 students are within a half mile as they attend classes. That’s why the center and other environmental groups in New Mexico called on the state to enact a ban on any new oil wells within a mile of schools, and to “phase out” wells currently operating within what would be a “health buffer zone,” according to an Aug. 9 letter to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. This followed a similar buffer zone established by the New Mexico State Land Office in June, applying only to wells on State Trust land near schools. It should be expanded to include all New Mexico lands around schools, the letter read, to better protect children from air pollution and other impacts. “Many schools in the southeast and northwest corners of the state are enclosed by dozens and even hundreds of oil and gas wells, endangering the health of all those who attend and work at these schools, especially young people who are more vulnerable to pollution,” the letter read. In the Permian Basin, in Eddy and Lea counties, the report said there were 35 schools with oil wells within a mile, accounting for 16,000 students. About 18,000 students faced similar risks in the San Juan Basin, the report read.”
EXTRACTION
Phys.org: Carbon Capture and Storage projects in Denmark at risk from bitumen formation
Hannah Bird, 8/8/23
“Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is increasingly being cited to help our global warming crisis by reducing greenhouse gas emissions through capturing carbon dioxide and storing deep underground,” Phys.org reports. “In the Danish North Sea, chalk rocks below the sea bed hold depleted oil and gas reserves and are now being considered for storing carbon dioxide to capitalize upon the pre-established infrastructure from the fossil fuel industry. However, new research published in Marine and Petroleum Geology has considered the potential issues arising from interaction of the stored carbon dioxide with oil and gas (hydrocarbon) residues left in the rock, which can be up to 30% in chalk and 60% in sandstones… “Initial results revealed that the supercritical carbon dioxide caused lighter hydrocarbons to move through the rock, while heavier forms, such as bitumen and asphaltene-rich immobile oil, were left behind. This can cause blockages in the mobilization of the carbon dioxide through the rock and hamper the efficiency of the Carbon Capture and Storage system. Importantly, the researchers found that the change in pressure at the exit point of the system resulted in more of the bitumen and other heavy hydrocarbon deposits, comprising up to 10.5% of the total rock volume here, whereas before the experiment this was just 4.17%. There is overall a distinct trend in increasing heavy hydrocarbon deposition through the system up to the exit point, thought to result from absorption of hydrocarbons by the supercritical carbon dioxide changing its solubility. Stenshøj and collaborators term this increasing bitumen from inlet to outlet the Avalanche Effect… “Clearly the accumulation of heavier hydrocarbons at exit points can lead to plugging of the Carbon Capture and Storage system, impacting its efficiency..”
CleanTechnica: IEA & Oilprice.Com See Peak Oil Happening This Decade
Steve Hanley, 8/12/23
“Back in 2019 — before the Covid pandemic hit — the International Energy Agency (IEA) said it had peered into the future and could see no sign of “peak oil” happening any time soon,” CleanTechnica reports. “There was simply no end to the demand for oil and other fossil fuels in sight. A lot has happened since then. Covid brought a sharp decline in economic activity. Then the Russian invasion of Ukraine disrupted Europe’s decades-long dependence on cheap Russian methane gas. In June, the IEA took another look into the future and announced “peak oil” was in fact on the horizon. Here’s what its latest prognostications had to say. “Growth in the world’s demand for oil is set to slow almost to a halt in the coming years, with the high prices and security of supply concerns highlighted by the global energy crisis hastening the shift towards cleaner energy technologies, according to a new IEA report released today. “The Oil 2023 medium-term market report forecasts that based on current government policies and market trends, global oil demand will rise by 6% between 2022 and 2028 to reach 105.7 million barrels per day (mb/d) — supported by robust demand from the petrochemical and aviation sectors. Despite this cumulative increase, annual demand growth is expected to shrivel from 2.4 mb/d this year to just 0.4 mb/d in 2028, putting a peak in demand in sight… “Last week, Oilprice.com came to the same conclusion for different types of assets. In its analysis, it finds that energy demand grows less than half as much as economic growth but slightly faster than an increase in population. “It is difficult to argue convincingly that something will come along big enough to upend these relationships over the short term. After all, the bulk of the buildings, vehicles, machinery and people that account for most of the energy consumption are already in place, and demand patterns change slowly. In 2012–2022, global real GDP grew at 3.0% per year, energy demand at 1.4% per year, and population at 1.1% per year,” it said… “People have been writing about “peak oil” for 50 years, but that tipping point is still elusive. The difference today is that commercial-scale wind and solar power are widely available and electric vehicles are traveling rapidly up the S-curve toward becoming mainstream. No one can say with precision when the high point of fossil fuels will occur, but the certainty that such a time is rapidly approaching gets stronger with each passing day.”
OilPrice.com: EV Adoption Could Spell Trouble For Oil Exporters
Salman Ghouri, 8/13/23
“As of 2022, the global car count stood at approximately 1.474 billion, with electric vehicles (EVs) accounting for 1.76%. The rise of EVs is increasingly being seen as a potential challenge to the future of the oil industry,” OilPrice.com reports. “Asia has the world's largest concentration of cars, accounting for 36.8% (543 million vehicles) and consuming 35.7% of the daily 100.255 million barrels in 2022. Europe and North America follow, with Europe having a car population of 413 million and North America 358 million. Interestingly, while Europe boasts the second-largest number of vehicles, its oil consumption is significantly less than that of North America. Two main reasons account for this: European vehicles are generally smaller and more fuel-efficient, and trips tend to be shorter. North America's cargo vehicles, which traverse long distances, are numerous and guzzle more fuel… “Looking towards 2040, one pivotal question emerges: How will the projected penetration of EVs and consequent fuel displacement impact the global oil sector? If fuel displacement aligns with our reference to high-case scenarios, it could ring alarm bells for the global oil and gas industry. This is especially true for nations heavily reliant on oil export revenues. While these analyses serve as early warnings, they also offer the oil industry ample time to strategize. By 2040, even with the rise of EVs, global oil demand may still hover between 65-78 MMBD, a decline from 100 MMBD in 2022. As a result, intense competition for market share might lead to price wars. In such scenarios, ICE vehicle owners and other industrial consumers stand to benefit the most.”
OPINION
Des Moines Register: Editorial: Summit carbon pipeline is not a slam dunk: Pause Iowa's approval process
Lucas Grundmeier, on behalf of the Register editorial board, 8/13/23
“The North Dakota Public Service Commission has shattered any remaining illusion that building carbon capture pipelines is both an obvious win for the public and a slam dunk for government regulators to approve,” the Des Moines Register Editorial Board writes. “The panel on Aug. 4 denied Ames-based Summit Carbon Solutions a siting permit for 320 miles of pipeline in that state. The Iowa Utilities Board is scheduled to take up Summit’s plans for 687 miles of pipeline in this state beginning in just over a week, on Aug. 22 in Fort Dodge. The Iowa regulator will make an independent judgment under our state's law, of course, but North Dakota concluded that Summit has not satisfactorily addressed a wide range of concerns. Those concerns are relevant enough in Iowa, and familiar enough, to warrant pushing back the entire timetable. To start with the most obvious issue: North Dakota is the last stop for carbon dioxide in Summit’s plans; if the company doesn’t have permission to get climate-altering CO2 from ethanol plants all the way to the locations where it wants to inject it into the ground, then its plans for Iowa and three other states are moot. The North Dakota commission’s unanimous ruling notes potential problems that pipeline opponents in Iowa have raised repeatedly, including damage and ongoing risk to land where the pipeline is buried… “That diplomatic legalese reflects a common thread in much of the technical and scientific debate over Summit’s plans: a predilection for secrecy, even though the project proposes to make use of hundreds of millions of dollars of federal tax credits annually and might require approvals to seize private property through eminent domain… “Summit has a right to protect its business strategy and other proprietary information and a right to advocate against disclosure. But on the whole, Iowans can and should expect more cooperation from a business proposing a project this reliant on public financing and access to private property… “If that’s true, Summit’s leaders can demonstrate their commitment to these goals by making a more compelling case for this project’s necessity to the general public. That has not happened to date; promotion of the pipelines centers almost exclusively on supposed financial benefits for corn farmers and ethanol plants (Summit’s own profits aren’t mentioned). Would tunneling CO2 across the region be a net benefit for the environment? On this point, pipeline advocates seem to default to noting that the government will generously subsidize carbon sequestration projects. That’s not the same thing. Many Iowans are rightly skeptical that more public spending to prop up corn ethanol’s viability is, in the long run, the best policy, even though the ethanol industry has commissioned studies depicting dire economic consequences if pipelines aren’t built. While the Iowa hearing could last for months, there is no public indication that Summit is prepared to start being more candid about its plans, either in the next two weeks or the next two months or two years. Summit should ask Iowa regulators for a delay, at least until the company is ready for a new try in North Dakota. If it won’t do that, the Iowa Utilities Board should rethink its aggressive hearing schedule and commit to thorough, careful consideration, however long it takes.”
Common Dreams: It's Time to Cancel the Mountain Valley Pipeline—Just Ask the People of Maui
Maury Johnson is a southern West Virginia landowner, whose organic farm has been impacted by the Mountain Valley Pipeline, 8/12/23
“In late 2014, hundreds of landowners were thrust into a nearly decadelong fight against a conglomerate of megacorporations who wanted to build two fracked gas pipelines from the fracking fields of northern West Virginia across Virginia and ultimately end in North Carolina,” Maury Johnson writes for Common Dreams. “...Both of these projects were met with fierce opposition by those living along their nearly 1,000 miles of collective proposed pathways, as well as allies and organizations across the nation. The resistance from this coalition proved to be too much for the larger, 600+ mile ACP project and in July 2020 the developers canceled the project. Suddenly the fossil fuel companies realized that their power over the people was being threatened like never before. It was only about just a few months earlier that they had seen the cancellation of the Constitution Pipeline in New York and the Keystone XL pipeline across the central part of the U.S. In 2021 they also saw the cancellation of the Penn East pipeline in Pennsylvania and New Jersey as well as the Pacific Connector Pipeline and Jordan Cove LNG project in Oregon. They also witnessed mass resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock. Panic must have set in for the corporations that make up the American Petroleum Institute… “Unfortunately on Friday, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals concluded they had only one recourse and dismissed the MVP opponents’ challenges to the already pending permit challenges. But they did not do it quietly… “Judge Gregory was correct when he stated, …Section 324 is a blueprint for construction of a natural gas pipeline by legislative fiat… “I share Judge Gregory’s real concern for our environment and our democracy. Where does this leave us? The MVP is a climate time bomb. It is literally a public safety hazard and an enormously corrupt and democracy-ending project. If it is allowed to be built under these circumstances the entire nation will suffer from the precedent-setting way it was legislated to competition by “legislative fiat.” Exempting any single project of any kind from long-held environmental rules is a slippery slope down the road toward oligarchy. That is why partisan politics must be set aside and the courts and Congress must put a halt to such practices. They must act quickly because our survival depends upon it. Just ask the people on Maui.”
Tribune-Star: Letter: Seeking truth of carbon capture
Deb Sitarski, Terre Haute, 8/14/23
“Vigo & Vermillion Counties may house one of the largest carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects in the United States. The EPA has issued a draft permit to authorize Wabash Valley Resources to inject millions of tons of toxic supercritical CO2 under our businesses, farms, homes, and schools in those counties,” Deb Sitarski writes for the Tribune-Star… “Wabash Valley Resources plans to repurpose the former Duke Energy coal gasification plant in West Terre Haute to make ammonia fertilizer and hydrogen at the site. The company plans to capture the carbon dioxide waste produced by this facility, and inject up to 1.67 million tons of carbon dioxide waste underground every year for twelve years. Wabash Valley Resources claims that the facility will be "green" and will make our "world cleaner and safer". Nothing could be further from the truth. WVR intends to use coal and pet-coke as the feedstock to make the ammonia and hydrogen. Not only are those the dirtiest fuels in the world responsible for wreaking havoc on our climate and poisoning our air and water, storing and transporting toxic supercritical CO2 poses enormous risks.The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is still attempting to determine whether CCS is safe. Injecting, transporting, and storing toxic, highly pressurized carbon dioxide waste raises serious concerns for water quality, seismic activity, public health, and property rights. Potential risks include: The possibility of carbon dioxide leaking into our aquifers, poisoning our water; The possibility of carbon dioxide, migrating to the surface, causing asphyxiation; The possibility of long-term underground storage of carbon dioxide increasing seismic activity; and The possibility of leaks from pipelines similar to what occurred in Sartartia, Mississippi in 2020.”
Ted Glick: History Repeating? Vietnam Then, Climate Now?
Ted Glick has been a progressive activist, organizer and writer since 1968, 8/13/23
“The work I have been doing the last two months helping to organize a massive March to End Fossil Fuels September 17 in NYC has brought back memories of something that happened from April 19-24, 1971 in Washington, DC,” Ted Glick writes. “Over the course of that week, while the war in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos raged, the then-newly-formed organization, Vietnam Veterans Against the War, camped out on the DC Mall and each day engaged in anti-war actions that received a ton of press coverage. The culmination was an action at the US Capitol on the 23rd where 700 or more veterans threw away medals they had received for their Vietnam actions over a high fence and onto the steps of the Capitol… “Will the actions planned for the week leading up to, after and including the September 17th mass demonstration, and the September 20th United Nations “Climate Ambition Summit” which is the reason for all of this mobilizing, be ultimately seen as a key turning point in humanity’s efforts to end the era of fossil fuels and shift rapidly to wind, solar and other truly clean renewable energy sources? Only history will answer that question, but I think it is a real possibility… “Another reason is the positive response to a coalition organizing nonviolent direct actions in the week before September 17th, beginning on September 12th. Throughout that week and then on September 18th, many hundreds, possibly thousands over the course of those days, will be taking action at some of the myriad number of corporate and financial targets in Manhattan: oil and gas companies, and the big banks and insurance companies which are propping them up. September 17th itself is building a lot of momentum. There are now over 370 organizations which have endorsed, from local frontline groups fighting new fossil fuel infrastructure to major national groups like the NAACP, Sierra Club and Third Act… “A lot can happen in a month, an awful lot. We need to do something every day over the coming month, no matter how small or big, to make these September days of action all that they can be. History and a realistic hope for a truly new world are calling!”
The Hill: Climate complacency is killing us
William S. Becker is executive director of the Presidential Climate Action Project (PCAP), a nonpartisan climate policy think tank unaffiliated with the White House, 8/11/23
“Americans remain remarkably passive while the fossil energy industry steals our quality of life and prospects for the future. It’s happening in plain sight and with our full cooperation,” William S. Becker writes for The Hill. “...But rich and poor families alike are willingly paying big oil and gas companies billions in profits to produce the fuels that cause global warming. In 2021, scientists concluded that the “vast majority” of the world’s proven fossil fuel reserves must remain in the ground to have a 50 percent chance of preventing catastrophic climate change. And yet, the U.S. remains the world’s largest oil and gas producer, and the Biden administration is encouraging the industry to produce more… “Unfortunately, there is no commercially viable way to remove carbon dioxide from the fossil fuels burned by power plants and factories. There is no market-ready technology to take CO2 pollution directly from the air. Climate change has reached so critical an inflection point that we can’t wait for speculative technical fixes. Several oil and gas companies plan to pay others to reduce emissions – an arrangement called carbon offsets – but problems “pervade every major offset program,” according to Joseph Romm, a former U.S. Department of Energy official. He points out that there is no reliable substitute for polluters eliminating their own emissions, and for rich countries to help less developed countries do the same… “The major oil companies earned record profits last year, but they used the money to increase shareholder earnings and buy back their own stock to raise its value. Four U.S. senators recently urged Attorney General Merrick Garland to take legal action against the fossil fuel industry “over its deliberate efforts to mislead consumers and discredit climate science in pursuit of massive profits.” At last count, 26 U.S. states and municipalities have sued major oil companies for damages attributed to climate change… “What should people be doing? We can take advantage of the clean-energy tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act, but we should also be politically active. We should not elect any public official who denies climate change or remains on the sidelines of the debate.”
Washington Examiner: Op-Ed: The Biden Administration's Latest Scheme To End Reliable And Affordable Energy
Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO-05), 8/11/23
“The Biden administration is systematically removing every acre of working land that it can,” Doug Lamborn writes for the Washington Examiner. “Historically, preservationists have been pleased with national parks, wilderness areas, and national monuments, while conservationists have relied on U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management land for their needs. If the current administration has its way, this balance will not last long. In my home state of Colorado , the Bureau of Land Management has proposed removing 1.6 million acres of federal land from oil and gas leasing and is designating tens of thousands more acres as ‘Areas of Environmental Critical Concern’ that will no longer be available for use. This rule would kill thousands of jobs, obliterate an entire industry, and spike energy prices for people across the country. Unfortunately, this draconian decision is not unprecedented for this administration.”
Motley Fool: Biden's Investing $1.2 Billion to Combat Carbon Dioxide Pollution -- and Occidental Petroleum Stock Could Skyrocket Because of It
Matthew DiLallo, 8/13/23
“The Biden administration announced plans to invest up to $1.2 billion to kick-start the country's carbon capture and storage industry,” Matthew DiLallo writes for Motley Fool. “...Occidental Petroleum (OXY 3.31%) subsidiary 1PointFive will receive one of those grants. The company will use the money to help fund the development of its South Texas DAC hub. It's one of several carbon capture-related solutions the company is developing. It sees a massive opportunity in the sector, which could be a major upside catalyst for its stock… “The Occidental Petroleum arm started building its first DAC facility last year in the Permian Basin region of Texas. The company expects to spend around $1.1 billion to build the world's first large-scale DAC facility… “That's the first of many plants the company hopes to build. It's already advancing additional facilities, including the South Texas DAC project that the Biden administration is now supporting with a grant… “The company sees the potential of developing 100 DAC facilities by 2035, driven partly by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). That legislation makes CCUS more economical, incentivizing Occidental to invest capital into developing facilities. Occidental Petroleum believes CCUS will become a major commercial market in the coming decades. The company estimates it could eventually become a $3 trillion to $5 trillion global industry. It could eventually make as much money from CCUS as it currently generates from producing oil and gas. It's not alone in this assessment. ExxonMobil (XOM 1.55%) sees CCUS growing to a $4 trillion industry by 2050. The oil company believes it could be a multibillion-dollar revenue stream for it in the future. Those earnings would be a lot less volatile than its oil and gas income because they'd be from stable, long-term, fee-based contracts. This market potential is driving Exxon's acquisition of Denbury Resources to accelerate its ability to develop carbon solutions… “Occidental Petroleum is betting heavily on carbon capture. It believes this technology is the key to reducing carbon emissions and can be a highly lucrative business. This wager is getting a boost from the Biden administration, which is helping kick-start the development of its next DAC plant. These investments put the company in an excellent position to capture a meaningful portion of the potentially massive CCUS opportunity. It represents an enormous upside catalyst for the stock, which could skyrocket if CCUS takes off.”