EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 8/15/22
PIPELINE NEWS
Roanoke Times: Sen. Joe Manchin's maneuvers for Mountain Valley Pipeline not necessarily certain to succeed
Mountain State Spotlight: Mountain State Spotlight explains: Why does the Mountain Valley Pipeline need Joe Manchin to change the law?
Mountain State Spotlight: Meet the West Virginians in the path of this massive natural gas pipeline
Associated Press: Pipeline break spills 45,000 gallons of diesel in Wyoming
NewsDakota.com: LANDOWNERS CONTINUE MOBILIZATION IN OPPOSING CARBON PIPELINE
Navajo Times: Elder questions Red Valley oil spill cleanup effort
North American Energy Pipelines: Kinder Morgan Acquires North American Natural Resources to Increase RNG Assets
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: House passes landmark climate bill, sending it to Biden
Associated Press: New climate deal spurs hopes of more carbon storage projects
E&E News: ‘A lot more to do’: Lawmakers eye additional climate action
STATE UPDATES
Reuters: Bureau of Land Management to pause oil, gas leasing on 2.2 million acres in Colorado
Seattle Times: Vessel carrying 2,600 gallons of fuel, oil sinks near San Juan Island
Alaska Beacon: As Congress prepares to pass climate bill, Alaska environmentalists see more harm than good
Carlsbad Current-Argus: Oil and gas industry in Permian Basin ups work on air pollution amid tighter requirements
The Detroit News: Oil spill in Rouge River in Wayne sends out hazmat team
EXTRACTION
Reuters: Methane emissions from U.S. shallow offshore platforms exceed those on land, study finds
Reuters: U.S. Offshore Oil Production Restarts after Pipeline Fix
CLIMATE FINANCE
Business Insider: JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon: 'Why can't we get it through our thick skulls?' America boosting oil and gas production is 'not against' climate change
OPINION
The Hill: The Inflation Reduction Act may save the fossil fuel industries
Des Moines Register: Opinion: Kim Reynolds needs to listen to the people, not the money, on carbon pipelines
Time.com: The Inflation Reduction Act Includes a Bonanza for the Carbon Capture Industry
The American Prospect: The Collapsing Clean-Energy Transition
PIPELINE NEWS
Roanoke Times: Sen. Joe Manchin's maneuvers for Mountain Valley Pipeline not necessarily certain to succeed
Laurence Hammack, 8/14/22
“When there’s a legal battle brewing over the Mountain Valley Pipeline, supporters would rather see it play out in the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C. — not one 100 miles to the south in Richmond,” the Roanoke Times reports. “...But should Manchin’s proposed legislation be passed, there’s no guarantee that it would ensure the completion of a litigation-battered and long-delayed natural gas pipeline that passes through the New River and Roanoke valleys. “It would be foolhardy to say that this is a fait accompli now,” Cale Jaffe, a law professor and director of the Environmental Law and Community Engagement Clinic at the University of Virginia, told the Times… “Even if the proposal were to become law, some legal experts said Mountain Valley may not necessarily find a more sympathetic forum in the D.C. Court of Appeals, which in recent years has become more willing to scrutinize FERC decisions. “On the whole, I wouldn’t expect the change of venue to make that much of a difference,” Alison Gocke, an associate professor of law at UVa’s law school, told the Times… “Over the last couple years, the D.C. Circuit has been increasingly willing to scrutinize FERC’s pipeline decisions, and in several important decisions the Court has remanded cases back to FERC for violations of the National Environmental Policy Act and the Natural Gas Act,” Gocke told the Times… “There has been a lot of activity and advocacy by many environmental groups, community groups, and landowner groups over the years — it’s possible this advocacy has encouraged the Court to look more closely at these cases,” she told the Times… “Equally uncertain, it seems, are the details of Manchin’s proposal to streamline the permitting process for energy projects, and how it might fare in Congress… “Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told the Times there is no explicit agreement that Marchin’s support for the Inflation Reduction Act means that his separate legislation will get the backing it needs. “No one’s made a commitment on how they will vote, and I’m certainly not going to make a commitment until I see what’s in the bill,” Kaine said in a recent video session with reporters… “It is possible that Manchin’s permitting package will be included in broader legislation — such as a bill to continue funding the operations of the government — that would be difficult for lawmakers to oppose, according to Arbo, a Washington, D.C., firm that provides legal counseling for large energy infrastructure projects… “Otherwise, it would be difficult to see how the required votes can be obtained because many Democrats will likely oppose aspects of the permitting reform legislation, and it is far from certain that Republicans would be inclined to help Senator Manchin get it passed,” considering his vote that assured passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, the blog post stated.”
Mountain State Spotlight: Mountain State Spotlight explains: Why does the Mountain Valley Pipeline need Joe Manchin to change the law?
Alexa Beyer, 8/15/22
“The unfinished Mountain Valley Pipeline, a natural gas pipeline across West Virginia and Virginia, has been cast into the national spotlight recently after West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin made it a condition for his support of his fellow Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act,” Mountain State Spotlight reports. “...So what makes the Mountain Valley Pipeline so important, and why hasn’t it been able to cross the permitting finish line on its own?... “Often, media updates about the pipeline’s progress describe delays as the result of litigation that amounts to little more than red tape and needless hurdles. In fact, pipeline developers keep proposing construction plans that federal judges have repeatedly found don’t comply with important environmental protections. Developers have run into problems with the permits they need to cross West Virginia forests and waterways; each time, federal agencies have relaxed the requirements to greenlight the pipeline, but citizens have challenged the permits and courts have ruled in their favor. That’s also what happened when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducted an analysis on the potential threats the pipeline would pose to endangered species: A court ruled that the work was sparse and inadequate… “One major concern for pipeline opponents is that the project will lead to landslides and erosion, and deposit mud and sediment into rivers, streams and wells. According to hydrologist Jacob Hileman, no other pipeline of a similar diameter has been approved across a terrain as steep as the Mountain Valley Pipeline’s path through West Virginia. Such events could contaminate water that residents use to drink, cook and bathe. Already, some people living along the route can no longer use their water, and they blame the pipeline. Maury Johnson, who lives in Monroe County alongside a pipeline segment that has been constructed, now cooks with bottled water, washes his dishes at a friend’s house, and takes micro showers, when he takes them at home at all… “Johnson, who draws his water from a private well, told the Spotlight that water became too dirty to use since Mountain Valley Pipeline construction in 2018 and 2019. He said operators have installed fences and sediment control devices to try and address this, but that they ultimately did not clear his water. He says several of his neighbors are experiencing similar issues.”
Mountain State Spotlight: Meet the West Virginians in the path of this massive natural gas pipeline
Alexa Beyer, 8/14/2
“Maury Johnson stands next to the well on his Monroe County farm. Up until recently, the cinder-block well provided all the water for his house,” Mountain State Spotlight reports. “...He traces his problems back to the moment in 2015 when representatives of the Mountain Valley Pipeline approached him to lay a natural gas pipeline across his land in exchange for a flat rate. Johnson held out for several years, but knowing the company was likely to gain access to his land through eminent domain, he felt he had little choice… “After that, Johnson’s water filled with sediment from the pipeline’s disruption, which made the water too dirty to drink, cook or bathe in. Eventually he gave up and drained the well, and since then he’s had to either buy water from the grocery store or haul it from a spring 40 minutes away. Now, Johnson dedicates the vast majority of his time documenting the pipeline’s land and water violations across Greenbrier, Summers and Monroe counties. For years, he and other pipeline opponents have stalled the project, which is planned to stretch 303 miles across West Virginia and into Virginia… “Now, Johnson and other pipeline opponents in southeastern West Virginia are continuing to fight a project that Manchin is compelling Congress to greenlight… “Kimble’s comment was one of nine that Mountain Valley Pipeline assessed were from landowners in support of the project. In total, more than 570 comments were submitted to regulators about the company’s request, most of them in opposition.”
Associated Press: Pipeline break spills 45,000 gallons of diesel in Wyoming
8/15/22
“A diesel pipeline in Wyoming owned by a company that’s being sued by federal prosecutors over previous spills in two other states cracked open and released more than 45,000 gallons of fuel, state regulators and a company representative disclosed, Friday,” the Associated Press reports. “Cleanup work is ongoing from the spill that was discovered by the pipeline’s operator, on July 27, Joe Hunter, Emergency Response Coordinator with the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, told AP. The fuel spilled into sandy soil on private ranchland near the small community of Sussex in eastern Wyoming and did not spread very far, he told AP. Contaminated soil was being excavated and placed into a temporary staging area, and it will be spread onto a nearby dirt road where the fuel is expected to largely evaporate, Hunter told AP. The line is operated by Bridger Pipeline, a subsidiary of Casper-based True companies, according to an accident report submitted to the US Coast Guard’s National Response Center… “True and its subsidiaries have a long history of spills. In May, federal prosecutors in Montana alleged that representatives of Bridger Pipeline had concealed from regulators problems with a pipeline that broke beneath the Yellowstone River near the city of Glendive, in 2015. The break spewed more than 50,000 gallons of crude into the river and fouled Glendive’s drinking water supply. In North Dakota, federal prosecutors and the state Attorney General’s Office are pursuing parallel claims of environmental violations against a second True companies subsidiary responsible for a 2016 spill that released more than 600,000 gallons of crude, contaminating the Little Missouri River and a tributary.”
NewsDakota.com: LANDOWNERS CONTINUE MOBILIZATION IN OPPOSING CARBON PIPELINE
Warren Abrahamson, 8/11/22
“Next week, North Dakota landowners will get a chance to hear updates on a proposed underground pipeline for transporting and sequestering carbon dioxide,” NewsDakota.com reports. “The meeting comes as tension builds between landowners and the company behind the project. Dakota Resource Council is hosting next Tuesday’s meeting, and says it wants affected property owners to learn about the latest efforts by Summit Carbon Solutions to secure land for its multi-state pipeline. The company recently submitted paperwork in North Dakota to pursue eminent domain if it can’t obtain enough voluntary easements. The Council’s Eliot Huggins told NewsDakota Summit is placing unnecessary pressure on those not agreeing to contracts… “The Council also urges those concerned to sign up for the grassroots North Dakota Easement Team, which is designed to fight Summit’s efforts collectively, including potential legal options, while informing people of their rights. Attorney Brian Jorde is part of the legal team and says this approach can be more effective than a person taking action on their own.”
Navajo Times: Elder questions Red Valley oil spill cleanup effort
Donovan Quintero, 8/11/22
“A pipeline owned by Capitol Operating Group that helps transport oil and its byproduct, saltwater, has broken, causing a spill,” the Navajo Times reports. “The mixture of oil and saltwater, known as brine in the oil industry, according to Navajo EPA worker Dariel Yazzie, was being pumped to a storage tank. Yazzie told the Times he and his team were told about 50 barrels, or about 2,500 gallons, spilled into a ravine that traveled nearly four miles down the mountain and into the valley… “Lifelong resident, Richard Lee, 88, whose family alerted Delegate Amber Crotty of the spill, told the Times the damage could be permanent. Lee told the Times he was told a chemical agent would be sprayed that would help the oil spill biodegrade… “Lee told the Times the brine probably already soaked deep into the ground and underneath the rocks where the spray would not reach… “Crotty told the Times they needed to talk to the company to find out if they’re monitoring for any potentially deadly or harmful byproduct the company might be extracting. She told the Times she also needed to find out why she had to dig for information and be notified by the family, when it should have been the company and tribal departments in charge of mining regulations who should have contacted her… “To Lee, oil spill cleanup procedures back then, and on Tuesday, do not make sense. “They don’t think,” he told the Times. “They’re not using their head right. I said, ‘I don’t know why you have degree.’ Me, I have zero degree.”
North American Energy Pipelines: Kinder Morgan Acquires North American Natural Resources to Increase RNG Assets
Brad Kramer, 8/12/22
“Kinder Morgan Inc. announced Aug. 11 it has closed on the acquisition of North American Natural Resources Inc. (NANR) and its sister companies, North American Biofuels LLC and North American-Central LLC,” North American Energy Pipelines reports. “The $135 million acquisition in combined purchase price and related transaction costs includes seven landfill gas-to-power facilities in Michigan and Kentucky. Shortly following close, Kinder Morgan is expected to make a final investment decision (FID) on the conversion of up to four of the seven gas-to-power facilities to renewable natural gas (RNG) facilities with a capital spend of approximately $175 million. Pending FID, these facilities are expected to be in service by early 2024. Once complete, the facilities are expected to generate approximately 2 billion cubic feet (Bcf) per year of RNG… “Kinder Morgan expects the investment to be accretive to its shareholders as the four converted RNG facilities become operational over the next 18 months.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: House passes landmark climate bill, sending it to Biden
Nick Sobczyk, 8/12/22
“The House this afternoon passed sweeping clean energy, tax and health care legislation, sending the biggest climate bill in U.S. history to President Joe Biden’s desk,” E&E News reports. “In a 220-207 vote, House Democrats cleared the final hurdle on the “Inflation Reduction Act,” capping off more than a year of pained negotiations on the budget reconciliation package… “The bill contains $369 billion in climate investments, including long-term extensions of clean energy tax credits and a host of incentives for technologies like nuclear, hydrogen, carbon capture and battery storage. Independent analysts expect it to reduce emissions roughly 40 percent by 2030… “Republicans have spent the day accusing Democrats of increasing taxes on the middle class and punishing the fossil fuel industry.”
Associated Press: New climate deal spurs hopes of more carbon storage projects
MEAD GRUVER, 8/15/22
“The rolling prairie lands of northeastern Wyoming have been a paradise of lush, knee-deep grass for sheep, cattle and pronghorn antelope this summer. But it’s a different green — greener energy — that geologist Fred McLaughlin seeks as he drills nearly two miles (3.2 kilometers) into the ground, far deeper than the thick coal seams that make this the top coal-mining region in the United States,” the Associated Press reports. “McLaughlin and his University of Wyoming colleagues are studying whether tiny spaces in rock deep underground can permanently store vast volumes of greenhouse gas emitted by a coal-fired power plant. This is the concept known as carbon storage, long touted as an answer to global warming that preserves the energy industry’s burning of fossil fuels to generate electricity. So far, removing carbon dioxide from power plant smokestacks and pumping it underground hasn’t been feasible without higher electricity bills to cover the technique’s huge costs. But with a $2.5 billion infusion from Congress last year and now bigger tax incentives through the Inflation Reduction Act passed by Congress on Friday, researchers and industry continue to try… “Critics, however, point out the process is expensive to use at power plants and provides a lifeline of sorts to the coal, oil and natural gas industries when the world, in their view, should stop using fossil fuels altogether… “Some communities that have dealt for years with industrial air pollution also worry that companies will use promises of carbon storage as a way to expand.”
E&E News: ‘A lot more to do’: Lawmakers eye additional climate action
Nick Sobczyk, 8/15/22
“The House ended a yearslong political saga Friday by passing Democrats’ sprawling clean energy, health care and tax package, but the fight over climate policy is far from over on Capitol Hill,” E&E News reports. “...How much Congress can get done in the near future, however, remains an open question. The bill’s $369 billion in clean energy investments and tax credits is the single largest action Congress has ever taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but Democrats and green advocates are eyeing other ways to advance climate policies. Some are looking at annual spending bills and the National Defense Authorization Act as avenues to pump more money into clean energy programs. Progressives are still pressing President Joe Biden to declare a climate emergency. And some lawmakers and activists on the left are gearing up for a fight on a promised vote next month that would ease federal permitting restrictions — a potential boon to fossil fuel interests… “Environmental groups still want to see more action from Congress and the executive branch, even as they pump money into ads promoting the “Inflation Reduction Act.” “...Progressives and environmental groups are continuing to press Biden to declare a climate emergency, which would open up a host of additional executive authorities to reduce emissions… “Among other things, the reconciliation package would mandate oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of Alaska. As part of the deal for his vote on reconciliation, Democratic leadership also promised Manchin a vote on a separate permitting reform bill next month. It’s a sore spot for progressives that promises to induce a fight ahead of the midterm elections. The legislation is still in development, but Manchin has circulated a list of ideas, including completing the Mountain Valley pipeline in his home state, changes to Clean Water Act permitting and time-limited environmental reviews. Democratic leaders plan to attach it to a stopgap spending measure at the end of September. Progressives are preparing to fight it, fearing that more limited environmental reviews would only exacerbate environmental justice issues in polluted disadvantaged communities.”
STATE UPDATES
Reuters: Bureau of Land Management to pause oil, gas leasing on 2.2 million acres in Colorado
Clark Mindock, 8/14/22
“The Bureau of Land Management will pause oil and gas leasing on 2.2 million acres of Colorado public land after environmental groups alleged its current management plan failed to consider climate impacts, according to a settlement,” Reuters reports. “The agreement was filed Thursday in Colorado federal court and requires the government to conduct a new environmental analysis of the climate impacts of oil and gas leasing on public lands in southwestern Colorado. The government also agreed to consider how the leases may impact the endangered Gunnison sage-grouse and its habitat. The Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity and others said in an August 2020 lawsuit that BLM had violated the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires the government to take a hard look at the environmental impacts of its leasing decisions, when it approved the current 20-year plan… “The settlement pauses all new leasing in the area known as the North Fork Valley. The green groups, represented by Melissa Hornbein of the Western Environmental Law Center, told Reuters the plan puts the local culture revolving around family farms, wineries, recreational opportunities and wildlife at risk. "It's absolutely crazy for the BLM to be considering a management plan that opens up 95% of the available mineral estate in the area ... without really confronting the issue of where we are in the climate crisis," Hornbein told Reuters.”
Seattle Times: Vessel carrying 2,600 gallons of fuel, oil sinks near San Juan Island
Jerald Pierce, 8/14/22
“A 49-foot commercial fishing vessel carrying an estimated 2,600 gallons of diesel and oil sank off the coast of San Juan Island Saturday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard,” the Seattle Times reports. “All five crew members onboard the Aleutian Isle were rescued by a good Samaritan, the Coast Guard said in a statement. Attention has since turned to the pollution impact of the incident, which happened west of Sunset Point… “An allocation of $130,000 for commercial pollution response and salvage operations was authorized by the National Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund and contractors were working Sunday to minimize the impact to sensitive areas of the shoreline, according to the Coast Guard… “The Coast Guard was working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Sound Watch and the Whale Museum in Friday Harbor to monitor the location of southern resident killer whales. On Sunday morning, the whales were transiting near Port Angeles. Although whales were not in the Sunset Point area at that time the vessel sank, the Coast Guard said on Twitter the organizations were prepared to keep whales clear of the impacted area, should that be necessary. NOAA was assessing risks and analyzing spill trajectory in an effort to protect marine mammals in the area… “By Sunday morning, the Coast Guard was working to get a helicopter with pollution experts and members of the Coast Guard in the air for an updated survey of the visible sheen and the potential impact of the vessel sinking, Clark told the Times.”
Alaska Beacon: As Congress prepares to pass climate bill, Alaska environmentalists see more harm than good
James Brooks, 8/11/22
“The $370 billion climate bill that passed the U.S. Senate on Sunday is America’s biggest-ever response to climate change, expected to both reduce the national deficit and significantly cut greenhouse-gas emissions. But here in Alaska, environmental organizers are worried that tradeoffs in the bill will lead to more mining and drilling in the state in order to accomplish national goals,” the Alaska Beacon reports. “Our view on this bill is ultimately, it causes more harm than good,” Emily Sullivan, communications director for the Northern Alaska Environmental Center, told the Beacon. “It does feel like they’re trading — they’re sacrificing Alaska to get climate gains elsewhere,” Rebecca Noblin, an attorney and policy justice lead for Native Movement, told the Beacon… “We’re very concerned that this bill will cause projects like the Ambler mining road to be fast-tracked,” Sullivan told the Beacon. The Ambler road, a project of the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, would link mining projects in northwest Alaska to the Dalton Highway. It’s been challenged by environmental groups who have filed lawsuits to stop it. The bill explicitly calls for an oil and gas lease sale in the federal waters of Cook Inlet. The federal government canceled a sale earlier this year, citing a lack of interest. Liz Mering, advocacy director at Cook Inletkeeper, told the Beacon that section “is just incredibly disappointing and kind of overshadows the bill for us.”
Carlsbad Current-Argus: Oil and gas industry in Permian Basin ups work on air pollution amid tighter requirements
Adrian Hedden, 8/13/22
“Oil and gas industry leaders in New Mexico’s Permian Basin said they were taking steps to curb air pollution amid tighter regulations from the State of New Mexico and potentially the federal government,” the Carlsbad Current-Argus reports. “Three of the region’s largest oil and gas producers, Devon Energy, Pioneer Natural Resources and ConocoPhillips announced they were joining an international consortium of companies and government agencies intending to reduce the impacts of air pollution from fossil fuel development. The Oil and Gas Methane Partnership (OGMP) 2.0 is made up of energy companies, environmental groups and is supported by the governments of Norway and United Kingdom… “Member companies will adopt emission reporting standards defined by the initiative, per a news release, and receive guidance and suggested practices from other members to reduce their impact on air pollution. ConocoPhillips Chief Executive Officer Ryan Lance told the Argus the company hoped, through the initiative, to eliminate its overall emissions from operations around the world by about 2050… “The industry’s redoubled efforts to curb pollution came amid tightening emission restrictions from both state regulators in New Mexico – which shares the Permian Basin with Texas – and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. New Mexico last year enacted requirements at its Oil Conservation Division that banned routine flaring, the burning of excess gas, outlawed spills of liquids or gases, and required operators in the state to capture 98 percent of produced gas by 2026. Earlier this summer, the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) puts its new rules into effect, requiring oil and gas companies reduce their emissions of volatile organic compounds and other pollutants known to form ground-level ozone through increased leak detection, reporting and repair requirements.”
The Detroit News: Oil spill in Rouge River in Wayne sends out hazmat team
Sarah Rahal, 8/14/22
“The Western Wayne Hazmat team is responding to an oil spill in the Rouge River in the city of Wayne on Sunday, state environmental officials told The Detroit News. “As of Sunday afternoon, a hazmat team was continuing cleanup after a 55-gallon drum with used oil overturned in the river, said Jeff Johnson, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy… “The incident was first reported to state officials at 8:41 p.m. Saturday, when it appeared as an oil sheen in the river, Johnson told the News. The local fire department was called and placed booms on the river and at the outfall of the property to try and contain the spill.”
EXTRACTION
Reuters: Methane emissions from U.S. shallow offshore platforms exceed those on land, study finds
8/11/22
“Measurements of methane emissions from shallow water oil and gas platforms in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico found they were substantially higher than those from drilling on land, according to research published on Thursday,” Reuters reports. “The study, by researchers at non-profit Carbon Mapper, the University of Arizona, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the University of Michigan and Arizona State University, is among the first to measure methane leaking from offshore facilities, which account for about 30% of global oil and gas production but are difficult to study because they are so remote. The researchers found a methane loss rate, a measure of emissions relative to production, of 23% to 66% from the offshore platforms compared with 3.3% to 3.7% in previous studies of drilling activity in the Permian basin in Texas and New Mexico, the largest U.S. oil field… “The study also found that the offshore emissions were more persistent than those onshore. That means they were detected frequently over multiple flights in 2021. A small number of sources, typically tanks, pipelines and vent booms, were responsible for most of the emissions.”
Reuters: U.S. Offshore Oil Production Restarts after Pipeline Fix
Laila Kearney, 8/15/22
“A damaged oil pipeline component that disrupted output at several offshore U.S. Gulf of Mexico platforms was repaired late Friday, a Louisiana official said, with producers moving to reactivate some of the halted production,” Reuters reports. “A failed flange connecting two onshore pipelines operated by Shell Plc in Louisiana leaked an estimated two barrels of oil. The oil, which spilled onto an area covered with gravel, has been removed, Chett Chiasson, executive director of the Greater Lafourche Port Commission, told Reuters, and the flange had been repaired by Friday evening. The spill halted operation of two pipelines that bring oil from several production facilities off the Louisiana coast, curtailing about 600,000 barrels per day of output from Shell, Chevron Corp, and Equinor, according to two people familiar with offshore operations. On Friday evening, the Amberjack and Mars pipelines that were stopped by the leak were back online and returning to normal service, after crews completed the repairs at the Fourchon booster station, Shell spokesperson Cindy Babski told Reuters.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
Business Insider: JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon: 'Why can't we get it through our thick skulls?' America boosting oil and gas production is 'not against' climate change
Hannah Towey, 8/14/22
“JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said this week that US natural gas production does not conflict with long-term emission reduction targets, Yahoo Finance first reported,” according to Business Insider. “We should focus on climate. The problem with that is because of high oil and gas prices, the world is turning back on their coal plants. It is dirtier," Dimon said on a client call Tuesday, per the Saturday report. "Why can't we get it through our thick skulls, that if you want to solve climate [change], it is not against climate [change] for America to boost more oil and gas?" he continued. JPMorgan Chase was ranked as the world's top "fossil fuel financier" in a report published by environmental groups last year, who said the bank contributed a total of $317 billion to the industry between 2016 and 2020. The bank has pledged to achieve net-zero emissions throughout key sectors of its financing portfolio by 2050 in accordance with the Paris Agreement. A spokesperson for JPMorgan did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment… “In his 2021 letter to shareholders, Dimon said "national security demands energy security for ourselves and for our allies overseas," noting that "using gas to diminish coal consumption is an actionable way to reduce CO2 emissions expeditiously." “...This March, Dimon urged the Biden administration to develop a modern-day "Marshall Plan" to boost energy production within the US in order to decrease dependence on foreign oil imports against the backdrop of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He also pushed for investments in green tech like hydrogen power and carbon capture, according to Axios.”
OPINION
The Hill: The Inflation Reduction Act may save the fossil fuel industries
Paul Blackburn is an attorney specializing in pipeline law who has represented community and environmental groups including Bold Alliance for over a decade on pipeline projects. He previously worked for a number of environmental organizations, as well as in renewable and fossil fuel energy project, 8/14/22
“The Inflation Reduction Act moved through Congress quickly, passing the Senate last week and the House on Friday — allowing for little time to understand the importance of tax credits for fossil fuel companies,” Paul Blackburn writes for The Hill. “...By indiscriminately ramping up the 45Q program’s carbon credits by 70 percent across the board, the bill threatens to hand out tens of billions of dollars in windfall tax credits to oligarchs and provide decades of public subsidies to all fossil fuel industries. After a review of this program’s potential impacts on specific CCUS projects, it appears it would serve as a means for carbon dioxide (CO2) emitting industries and their oligarch investors to claim to be reducing greenhouse gas emissions — while simultaneously subsidizing the fossil fuel industry and supporting the next wave of oil development, at taxpayer expense, while bulldozing pipelines through local communities across America using eminent domain.”
Des Moines Register: Opinion: Kim Reynolds needs to listen to the people, not the money, on carbon pipelines
Emma Schmit is a lifelong Iowan and senior Iowa organizer with the national advocacy group Food & Water Watch, 8/13/22
“From the start, Iowa’s dangerous carbon pipeline proposals have been all about the money. And now we know how much,” Emma Schmit writes for the Des Moines Register. “Recently filed lobbyist declarations revealed that carbon pipeline companies spent a collective $92,600 lobbying the Iowa Legislature this year. That’s more than three times the amount that Dakota Access Pipeline developers spent on annual lobbying for their controversial pipeline… “Backed by wealthy interests from billionaire oil drillers to factory farm barons, private equity speculators to Texas refiners, these carbon pipelines stand to make the ultra-rich a whole lot richer. Carbon capture operations are eligible for serious cash, all coming out of your and my pocket. A Food & Water Watch analysis found that the Summit, Navigator and ADM/Wolf carbon pipelines could cost taxpayers $23 billion, thanks to generous federal tax credits. US Sen. Joe Manchin’s latest deal in Congress proposes to increase those tax credits by as much as 70% for new projects. All this, despite the fact that the carbon capture technology feeding these pipelines has been proven ineffective at actually reducing emissions, time and time again. Assured private profits at the public’s expense, carbon pipeline corporations are pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into rigging our political process. Bruce Rastetter, CEO of the group behind Summit’s pipeline, has donated $188,902 to Gov. Kim Reynolds. But ultimately, it is our public institutions and processes that will determine whether or not the pipelines can break ground… “Governor: Listen to the people, not the money. Tell your IUB that it should deny permits for the carbon pipelines, and pressure the Legislature to restrict the use of eminent domain for the projects.”
Time.com: The Inflation Reduction Act Includes a Bonanza for the Carbon Capture Industry
ALEJANDRO DE LA GARZA, 8/11/22
“Thanks to Senator Joe Manchin (D., W. Va.), there isn’t much in the way of consequences for big CO2 emitters in Democrats’ new climate bill. But there are huge new rewards for high-emitting companies to pump their greenhouse gasses underground, and for facilities that propose to remove emissions directly from the atmosphere,” Alejandrao de la Garza writes for Time.com. “Those provisions have the startups, investors, and legacy oil companies proposing to provide that service over the moon. “We’re definitely going from a curiosity to a priority,” Steve Lowenthal, chief commercial officer of Frontier Carbon Solutions, a carbon capture startup, told Time. “This changes the game.” The Inflation Reduction Act, which passed the Senate on Monday and is poised to pass the House on Friday, includes a dramatic change in a crucial tax credit for the carbon capture industry—increasing the government subsidy for capturing CO2 from polluting sources from $50 to $85 per metric ton. Developers say that raising that incentive could tip many projects that once weren’t worth the investment over the financial finish line. The new bill also simplifies the process for receiving those tax credits, and opens the subsidy to smaller carbon capture projects, which together essentially fulfill a full industry wishlist for new carbon capture legislation. “The fact that [the legislation] actually happened isn’t a big surprise,” Adrian Corless, CEO of CarbonCapture, a direct air capture startup, told Time. “The fact that it actually came out in such a good form and actually came out [so soon] is much better than we expected.” “...It’s going to make it easy for us to raise the capital to build the project earlier and to build it faster,” Corless told Time… “Jim Walsh, policy director at Food and Water Watch, told Time the new legislation relies too heavily on carbon capture… “It creates incentives that may drive up private investment, and it delivers billions to fossil fuel corporations based on the notion that their climate pollution can be somehow captured,” he wrote in an Aug. 11 statement. “This is a dangerous bet.” “...The genesis of Summit’s project goes back to a 2018 change in the 45Q tax credit, which raised the payment from about $24 per ton to $50, giving the developers an economic incentive to start building the pipeline. Speaking with TIME in February, Summit executives said another increase in 45Q, like the one the Senate just passed, might push them to look at building even more pipelines to capture emissions from farther-flung ethanol plants. That would seem likely to throw even more fuel on the fire in Iowa—potentially the first of many such clashes as federal funding helps the industry scale up in the years ahead.”
The American Prospect: The Collapsing Clean-Energy Transition
GABRIELLE GURLEY, 8/11/22
“In March, the Bureau of Land Management submitted its fiscal year 2021 report on “Public Land Renewable Energy” to Congress extolling the Biden administration’s goal to site 25 gigawatts of solar, wind, and geothermal energy on public lands. Public lands, the report noted, have a unique role to play in meeting the administration’s goal of a carbon-free sector by 2035,” Gabrielle Gurley writes for The American Prospect. “Five months later, President Biden’s embrace of renewable energy project siting on public lands is on life support. The danger signs began flashing last year, when the administration started backing away from a seamless clean-energy transition. Biden’s campaign promise, widely celebrated in climate and environmental circles, to end fossil fuel leasing on public lands (a pledge punctuated with three periods no less), went poof, finally sacrificed as a gift to Joe Manchin in exchange for reviving the president’s sputtering climate agenda… “So the administration had already veered way off a clean-energy transition course on public lands, whether because of the threat of lawsuits or the scarcity of oil and gas as the Russian attack on Ukraine raged. The Inflation Reduction Act codified that climate-averse decision-making. Under the bill, if the federal government fails to offer at least two million acres onshore and some 60 million acres offshore for gas and oil production annually for leasing for the next ten years, rights of way cannot be granted for any utility-scale renewable-energy project on public lands or waters… “The Indigenous Environmental Network called the IRA “a distraction from the need to declare a climate emergency, while allowing polluting industries to continue business as usual.” The NDN Collective, an Indigenous philanthropic group, blasted the linkage of clean energy with fossil fuels in a letter to President Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: “When it comes to offshore drilling, the coupling of the expansion of oil and gas with the development of renewables, is not only morally unsound but a betrayal of this Administration’s pledge to combat environmental racism and destruction.” Renewable-energy supporters have grudgingly accepted the IRA as the price of doing business.”