EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 9/16/21
PIPELINE NEWS
Mlive.com: Michigan seeks end to ‘unproductive’ Enbridge Line 5 mediation
Guardian: A historically Black town stood in the way of a pipeline – so developers claimed it was mostly white
GlobalNews.ca: Liberals say Trans Mountain pipeline could stay open until 2060
CKPG Today: Enbridge responds to Lheidli T’enneh pipeline rerouting request
WUWM: Concerns Over Oil And Gas Pipeline In Northern Wisconsin
Press release: TC Energy to divest remaining 15 per cent interest in Northern Courier Pipeline
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Reuters: Analysis: Biden's lofty climate goals collide with political, economic reality
Colorado Newsline: How the House reconciliation bill targets 4 local plans for oil and gas leasing, mining
The Nation: Progressive Democrats Set Out to Defund the Fossil Fuel Industry
Politico Morning Energy: The Carbon Capture Coalition also expressed its concerns with changes to the 45Q tax credit
E&E News: What a clean electricity payment plan means for gas, CCS
E&E News: Would Biden’s oil freeze increase emissions?
STATE UPDATES
Associated Press: Los Angeles County votes to phase out oil and gas drilling
Politico Morning Energy: VERMONT SUES OIL MAJORS OVER CLIMATE CHANGE
The Hill: Vermont claims in new lawsuit oil companies misled public on climate change
Colorado Sun: A new rule to slash oil and gas emissions appeals to the industry, but Colorado regulators worry it won’t work
Source NM: Oil industry tailored air quality law with help from NM’s top environment official
Bismarck Tribune: Oil refinery developer says work at site to begin next year
EXTRACTION
Reuters: Oil surge gives private equity a window to exit stranded Canadian energy firms
Bloomberg: Chevron CEO Warns of High Energy Prices and Supply Crunches
Politico Morning Energy: CHEVRON’S LOW CARBON BOOST
The Narwhal: No federal party offers clear path on how to wind down fossil fuel production
Williston Herald: Red Trail gets $25 million loan for its carbon capture project
Marietta Times: Update provided on oil leak at Veto Lake
RESEARCH & SCIENCE
CNN: Climate measures in budget bill could cut nearly 1 billion tons of emissions per year by 2030, analysis finds
Bloomberg: Global Warming Set to Pass 1.5° C as Pollution Plans Fall Short
InsideClimate News: The Rate of Global Warming During Next 25 Years Could Be Double What it Was in the Previous 50, a Renowned Climate Scientist Warns
CLIMATE FINANCE
Yahoo News: Student coalition blasts Chamber of Commerce over climate change, opposition to Biden's budget bill
OPINION
Lock Haven Express: Carbon capture and storage: A false solution
PIPELINE NEWS
Mlive.com: Michigan seeks end to ‘unproductive’ Enbridge Line 5 mediation
By Garret Ellison, 9/15/21
“The state of Michigan called talks with Enbridge Inc. over the future of its controversial Line 5 pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac “unproductive” in new filings, which ask a federal judge to bar the court-appointed mediator from disclosing session details,” Mlive.com reports. “On Wednesday, Sept. 15, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel asked U.S. District Judge Janet Neff to consider the sessions “completed without a settlement” following a Tuesday motion asking Neff to prohibit mediator Gerald Rosen from including anything in his pending report beyond the participants and whether they reached an agreement. After the latest mediation session on Sept. 9, the state “unambiguously communicated to the mediator that any further continuation of the mediation process would be unproductive for them, and they have no ‘desire to continue with the mediation process,’” the filing states. Disclosing details of the talks and, potentially, seeking their continuance over the state’s objection violates terms outlined by the court in March, the state argued… “In a statement, Enbridge indicated it wants to continue, saying it has “participated in this mediation in good faith.” “We are committed to continuing to seek resolution, whether through mediation or pursuing diplomatic solutions consistent with the US-Canada Transit Pipelines Treaty and by asserting our rights in the courts,” Enbridge spokesman Ryan Duffy told Mlive. “We understand the stakes in this matter are important not only for Enbridge and the state, but for many others throughout the region who have strong interest in its outcome. Meanwhile, we will continue to safely and responsibly deliver the energy the region relies upon from the Line 5 system.”
Guardian: A historically Black town stood in the way of a pipeline – so developers claimed it was mostly white
Ben Paviour for VPM and Abi Cole for Floodlight, 9/16/21
“As fracked gas fields in West Virginia boomed over the past decade, energy companies jumped at the chance to build massive new pipelines to move the fuel to neighboring east coast markets. The 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline would have been the crown jewel,” the Guardian reports. “But Union Hill, Virginia – a community settled by formerly enslaved people after the civil war on farm land they had once tilled – stood in the way. Residents fought against a planned compressor station meant to help the gas move through the pipeline, arguing that because Union Hill is a historic Black community, the resulting air pollution would be an environmental injustice. But Dominion Energy, one of the pipeline’s two developers, kept pushing. It pledged to invest $5.1m in community services in exchange for the imposition… “Dominion’s campaign split the Union Hill community, dividing church congregations, and in some instances, families. While some residents were for the investment, others saw their resolve to fight the pipeline deepen. In response to mounting opposition, Dominion took an unexpected tack: the company hired outside help to argue that the community around the site was, in actuality, mostly white. “No environmental justice community is disproportionately impacted,” the pipeline project told state officials January 2019, arguing that the communities around the project were “not majority minority or low income”. Dominion did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story. The locals who took on Dominion eventually became the linchpin of a campaign that helped to get the pipeline canceled. But the fight against the Atlantic Coast Pipeline is a familiar story now playing out around the country as gas companies expand a sprawling web of pipelines. Even when minority communities say no, the fossil fuel industry keeps saying yes.”
GlobalNews.ca: Liberals say Trans Mountain pipeline could stay open until 2060
By Brian Hill, 9/14/21
“The Trans Mountain Pipeline could remain operational for another “30 to 40 years,” according to Liberal candidate Jonathan Wilkinson,” GlobalNews.ca reports. “Wilkinson, who is also the current environment minister, made the remarks during an interview with Global News on Sept. 13 about the future of fossil fuels and pipelines in Canada. “What you’re going to start to see is declining demand for oil over the coming 30 years — 40 years perhaps in the context of some of the developing countries,” Wilkinson said. “And so, in that context, I would say that the utilization of the Trans Mountain Pipeline is probably in that order of 30 to 40 years.” Wilkinson said building and operating the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion, which will increase the existing pipeline’s current capacity from 300,000 barrels a day to 890,000 barrels, will ensure Canadian energy producers receive “full value” for the oil they extract by opening up foreign markets other than the United States… “The Trans Mountain Pipeline, which the Liberal government bought for $4.5 billion in 2018 during its first term in office, was fiercely contested during both the French and English leaders’ debates on Sept. 8 and 9… “Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said he’d keep the yet-to-be-finished pipeline expansion open until “we don’t need it anymore” when pressed on whether he’d shut it down if re-elected. He said there are Indigenous groups that would like to buy the pipeline from the government and who are interested in operating it. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he’s “always been opposed” to the project during the French debate. But when pressed on what he’d do if the NDP forms government, he refused to say whether he’d terminate the pipeline. Instead, Singh said an NDP government would look at the project and make a determination about what to do at some point in the future.”
CKPG Today: Enbridge responds to Lheidli T’enneh pipeline rerouting request
9/15/21
“Enbridge has responded to the demand from the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation,” according to CKPG Today. “On Tuesday, the First Nation formally requested a ministerial order to reroute the Enbridge pipeline, which lies across 130 kilometers of its territory and 1.5 kilometers of its Fort George No. 2 Indian Reserve. One edge of the reserve is less than 500 meters from the site where the pipeline ruptured and exploded in October 2018, terrifying nearby residents. The First Nation says rerouting the pipeline is good for all involved because Enbridge can continue to move natural gas without addressing costly safety upgrades on the reserve, while the Lheidli T’enneh can again feel safe on their own lands. “Enbridge values our relationship with the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation, and we are committed to continuing to work with leadership and the community on strengthening that relationship,” the company told CKPG. “Following the Shelley incident, we undertook a comprehensive pipeline integrity program on our natural gas pipeline system in B.C. to significantly improve pipeline safety. This was the most aggressive integrity program ever undertaken in B.C. It included increased pipeline inspections, enhanced criteria to evaluate pipeline inspection data, and improvements to the scheduling of proactive maintenance work. At Enbridge, our goal is to continuously improve the safety of our pipeline systems and we are committed to ensuring that happens.”
WUWM: Concerns Over Oil And Gas Pipeline In Northern Wisconsin
Susan Bence, 9/14/21
“Concerns are flaring over a pipeline that carries crude oil and natural gas from western Canada. Enbridge, a Canadian company, owns the 645-mile line constructed nearly 70 years ago,” WUWM reports. “The State of Michigan is worried about a potential leak in the section that crosses under the Straits of Mackinac. In Wisconsin, the pipeline cuts across Ashland County. People there are concerned about the potential risks posed to their water-rich region. Jamie Dunn shared his concerns on a stroll just south of the city of Mellen. He walked along a path through a lush carpet of ferns, under a canopy of old growth trees. Dunn spent a lot of time in this region throughout his 30-year career as a hydrologist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. “We’re in the upper reaches of the Bad River watershed. Many streams all feed into the Bad River, which then discharges into Lake Superior. [A] lot of sensitive environments, wetlands,” Dunn tolw WUWM, “Most of these are very, very high-class trout streams.” “...Over time, storms have eroded and exposed sections of the existing line within the reservation. Enbridge is proposing a 42 mile route that would loop south, skirting the reservation. Hydrologist Jamie Dunn called the proposal untenable… “Philomena Kebec stood nearby as Dunn spoke, watching her young son splash gleefully in the river… “Kebec is a lawyer, a mom and, as she expresses it, belongs to the Bad River. She worries about 42 miles of pipeline cutting through more than 150 wetlands and streams. And Kebec believes a rupture is inevitable. "I’ve worked with Indigenous people in the Amazon and all over this country. If you start to put roads and access points into these special areas, you have more opportunity for intrusion and less opportunity for Indigenous people to protect these spaces,” Kebec told WUWM.
Press release: TC Energy to divest remaining 15 per cent interest in Northern Courier Pipeline
9/16/21
“TC Energy Corporation (TSX, NYSE: TRP) (TC Energy or the Company) announced today that Astisiy Limited Partnership, comprised of Suncor and eight Indigenous communities in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB), will acquire TC Energy’s remaining 15 per cent equity interest in the Northern Courier Pipeline (NCP). “We are pleased that Indigenous communities will be provided the opportunity to participate in and benefit from the ownership of this asset, through Suncor exercising its previously-acquired right to purchase our minority interest,” said Bevin Wirzba, TC Energy’s Executive Vice-President, Strategy and Corporate Development and President, Liquids Pipelines. “At TC Energy, we believe Indigenous communities must realize long-term sustainable benefits from energy projects. Expanding economic opportunities for Indigenous communities is an important way to advance reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. We congratulate Suncor and these communities on this new partnership.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Reuters: Analysis: Biden's lofty climate goals collide with political, economic reality
By Valerie Volcovici and Nichola Groom, 9/15/21
“President Joe Biden campaigned on a promise to restore U.S. leadership in the global fight against climate change and followed up with a dizzying number of executive orders and lofty targets to slash emissions. But nine months into his presidency, political, legal, and economic obstacles have forced his administration to make several moves in support of fossil fuels development at home and abroad, and raised questions about whether the Democrat will be able to meet his commitments to clean energy,” Reuters reports. “Setbacks include a judge overturning the administration's effort to block new oil and gas leasing on federal lands, forcing it to offer millions of new acres for drilling, and rising retail gas prices that have led the White House to publicly ask the global oil cartel, OPEC, to boost production. Most importantly, heavy political opposition has forced the administration to put its centerpiece climate proposals that would help deliver an April pledge to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 into a budget reconciliation bill that has an uncertain future in the closely-divided U.S. Congress. Democrats, who hope to pass the bill by the end of September, are already talking about paring back investments and targets… “At the same time, however, the administration has backed lesser-known oil and gas infrastructure projects like Enbridge's Line 3 pipeline from Canada and sped up processing of oil and gas drilling permits. Government data show the administration has approved more than 2,600 drilling permits on onshore leases, a faster pace than during the Trump administration… “What started as a set of ambitious campaign promises is quickly devolving into a disappointing milieu of fossil fuel development," Taylor McKinnon, a senior campaigner for the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group opposed to oil and gas development, told Reuters.
Colorado Newsline: How the House reconciliation bill targets 4 local plans for oil and gas leasing, mining
JACOB FISCHLER, 9/14/21
“Proposals targeting specific areas for conservation in Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and federal waters off Louisiana’s coast made their way into the gigantic budget reconciliation bill that Democrats are moving through Congress,” Colorado Newsline reports. “The portion of the $3.5 trillion package approved on a party-line vote by the House Natural Resources Committee last week includes nationwide measures meant to combat the climate crisis by limiting oil and gas drilling, improving coastal resilience, adding offshore wind and establishing a national Civilian Climate Corps. But that bill also sought to settle a handful of issues that are more local in scope — several of them aimed at reining in oil and gas development.”
The Nation: Progressive Democrats Set Out to Defund the Fossil Fuel Industry
By Aída Chávez, 9/15/21
“Today, Democratic Representatives Mondaire Jones of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan introduced a bill that would require the Federal Reserve to phase out the financing of fossil fuel projects,” The Nation reports. “The legislation, known as the Fossil Free Finance Act, would mandate that big banks and other financial institutions align their financing with the United States’ obligations under the Paris Agreement, prohibiting the financing of all fossil fuel projects after 2030. “The climate crisis poses an existential threat to every aspect of our society, including our economy and financial system,” Representative Jones said. “The Federal Reserve has failed to acknowledge climate change as the threat that it is. As climate disasters grow in frequency and intensity, we can no longer afford to stand by while big banks and other financial institutions invest trillions in the companies fueling the climate crisis.” The world’s 60 biggest banks have pumped nearly $4 trillion into fossil fuels in the past five years alone, according to a recent report from a group of climate organizations. This financing doesn’t just hasten the climate crisis and the destruction of the planet but also injects all sorts of volatility into the economic system… “Under the proposal, all bank holding companies with more than $50 billion in assets and nonbank systemically important financial institutions (SIFIs) would be prohibited from financing new or expanded fossil fuel projects after 2022 and all fossil fuel projects after 2030. The Federal Reserve would also be required to report its progress on these greenhouse-gas emission targets to Congress. The bill comes amid a broader progressive push for the Federal Reserve to use its authority to mitigate climate risk in the financial system.”
Politico Morning Energy: The Carbon Capture Coalition also expressed its concerns with changes to the 45Q tax credit
Matthew Choi, 9/15/21
“The Carbon Capture Coalition also expressed its concerns with changes to the 45Q tax credit for carbon removal,” Politico Morning Energy reports. “The group contested new percentage requirements for captured carbon levied at entire facilities, saying doing so would hinder industrial facilities and power plants from benefiting from the tax credit and deploying carbon capture. “Not only does this essentially re-write 45Q, the requirement runs fundamentally counter to how projects are developed and will block deployment of carbon capture technologies at both industrial and power generation facilities,” Jessie Stolark, Carbon Capture Coalition public policy & member relations manager, told Politico. Stolark did however praise the committee’s extension and direct pay option for the 45Q tax credits.”
E&E News: What a clean electricity payment plan means for gas, CCS
By Carlos Anchondo, Lesley Clark, 9/15/21
“Natural gas could still count as a clean power source under House Democrats’ $150 billion clean electricity proposal, but only with the widespread adoption of technologies like carbon capture and storage, according to analysts,” E&E News reports. “Yesterday, the House Energy and Commerce committee advanced plans for a Clean Electricity Performance Program (CEPP), which would be implemented through the Department of Energy… “While the CEPP under consideration doesn’t bar the use of any electricity source, it defines clean electricity as generation with a carbon intensity of less than 0.1 metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent per megawatt-hour — effectively ruling out natural gas on its own. However, gas producers could get around that by blending in low-carbon fuels such as hydrogen or biomethane, while natural gas plants would need to be outfitted with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to meet the standard, experts told E&E. “It’s not a killer for gas, necessarily, but it is a killer for 1970s gas, the way we did gas 40 years ago,” Michael Webber, an energy resources professor at the University of Texas, Austin, told E&E… “The path for gas to meet the standard at scale would be no small feat: Worldwide, there is currently only one operating carbon capture project on a power plant — at the Boundary Dam coal-fired plant in Canada. Still, carbon capture is popular with both Democrats and Republicans in Congress, and Biden has nominated leading carbon capture advocates to top positions at the Energy Department… “Congress should include a tougher carbon intensity standard to make sure that gas plants don’t qualify for payment under the CEPP, Steve Clemmer, director of energy research for the Union of Concerned Scientists, told E&E. The bill should also adopt language to ensure that “upstream” emissions of methane, which are released during the drilling and transportation of gas, are counted as part of a power plant’s emissions, he said.”
E&E News: Would Biden’s oil freeze increase emissions?
By Heather Richards, 9/16/21
“Oil industry backers are bringing an Obama-era report to their playbook against the Biden administration’s drilling policies, warning that a federal leasing freeze could increase greenhouse gas emissions,” E&E News reports. “The argument, from a 2016 Interior Department analysis, is that if the U.S. doesn’t develop oil offshore, where emissions from production are comparatively low, someone else will — potentially with a dirtier oil and gas drilling record. “[Emissions] could, in fact, increase slightly in the absence of new [outer continental shelf] leasing,” the report said. Analysts from Wood Mackenzie and Rystad Energy have reached similar conclusions about the impact of shuttering offshore oil and gas. But other experts and climate activists tell E&E the Obama-era analysis is based on a debunked narrative and should be rewritten by President Biden’s Interior, which oversees the oil and gas program. Joel Clement, a senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, told E&E the report is “deeply flawed.” “...The spat pits the White House and conservationists against allies of the offshore oil industry and is the latest battle to emerge over Biden’s intent to reform the federal oil and gas program. The differing conclusions about the report stem from different assumptions about factors such as whether demand for oil to fuel cars, planes and power plants will stay constant or decline. Oil and gas interests have amplified the findings in recent months as a defense against perceived plans in the Biden administration to curb federal oil drilling.”.
STATE UPDATES
Associated Press: Los Angeles County votes to phase out oil and gas drilling
DREW COSTLEY, 9/15/21
“Los Angeles County supervisors voted unanimously Wednesday to phase out oil and gas drilling and ban new drill sites in the unincorporated areas of the nation’s most populous county,” the Associated Press reports. “Over 1,600 active and idle oil and gas wells in the county could be shuttered after the 5-0 vote by the board of supervisors. A timetable for the phaseout will be decided after the county determines the fastest way to legally shut down the wells. Among the sites is the Inglewood Oil Field, one of the largest U.S. urban oil fields. The sprawling, 1,000-acre (405-hectare) site, owned and operated by Sentinel Peak Resources, contains over half the oil and gas wells in the county’s unincorporated areas. The field produced 2.5 million to 3.1 million barrels of oil a year over the past decade, according to the company… “The California Independent Petroleum Association, representing nearly 400 oil and gas industry entities, opposed the measure. In a letter to the board, CEO Rock Zierman said a phaseout of oil and gas production would threaten hundreds of jobs, raise gas prices and make California more dependent on oil from foreign countries… “Inglewood Oil Field is adjacent to several Black communities, including Baldwin Hills, Ladera Heights and View Park, where residents have worried about the field’s impact on their health and the local environment for at least a decade. Residents have complained of foul odors from the wells and say they have seen oil bubbling through sidewalk cracks in their neighborhoods.”
Politico Morning Energy: VERMONT SUES OIL MAJORS OVER CLIMATE CHANGE
Matthew Choi, 9/15/21
“Vermont on Tuesday joined the fraternity of states and localities suing oil and gas companies over climate change,” Politico Morning Energy reports. “In a suit filed in state court , Attorney General T.J. Donovan alleged 11 oil and gas firms violated the prohibition on deceptive acts and unfair business practices of the Vermont Consumer Protection Act for selling fossil fuel products without describing their impact on climate change, echoing claims made by other states in recent years. “For years, these companies have misled the public about the real and significant impacts of fossil fuels on our environment and public health,” Donovan said.
The Hill: Vermont claims in new lawsuit oil companies misled public on climate change
BY JOSEPH CHOI, 9/14/21
“The Vermont state government on Tuesday sued multiple oil companies, alleging they misled the public about the impact that fossil fuels have on climate change,” The Hill reports. “Vermont Attorney General T.J. Donovan (D) announced the move on Twitter, writing, "Today I am suing Exxon Mobil Corporation, Shell Oil Company, Sunoco LP, CITGO Petroleum Corporation, & other related companies for deceptive and unfair practices." "We will not stand by while these companies lie about the dramatic effects of their products on the climate," he added. In the lawsuit, Donovan accused the companies of violating the Vermont Consumer Protection Act (VCPA) by "engaging over a long period of time in numerous deceptive acts and unfair practices in connection with their marketing, distribution, and sale of gasoline and other fossil fuel products to consumers within the State." Donovan alleged that by misleading consumers on the connection between fossil fuels and climate change, these oil companies have denied "Vermont consumers their opportunity to make informed and different decisions regarding fossil fuel purchases and consumption. The Vermont attorney general went on to accuse the companies of "greenwashing" themselves by projecting an image of being environmentally conscious while failing to acknowledge the role that their products have in raising global temperatures.”
Colorado Sun: A new rule to slash oil and gas emissions appeals to the industry, but Colorado regulators worry it won’t work
Mark Jaffe, 9/15/21
“The Polis administration is banking on an untested, first-in-the-nation type of regulation to sharply cut oil and gas sector emissions to meet state greenhouse gas targets — drawing praise from the industry, but roiling environmental groups and some local officials,” the Colorado Sun reports. “The draft “greenhouse gas intensity target” rule, to be submitted to the Air Quality Control Commission on Friday, aims to cut overall emissions from oil and gas production by requiring operators to reduce emissions per barrel of oil equivalent (defined as oil plus natural gas) they produce. It is, however, a complex regulatory approach that has never been used industry wide, and it is based on incomplete data, and it gives companies a free hand in deciding how to cut those emissions — from places such as wells, tanks, motors and valves. “We are concerned about the use of intensity targets as the main way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions because they are novel and somewhat untested,” Kate Merlin, an attorney for WildEarth Guardians, an environmental group, told the Sun. “We are concerned that if they prove ineffective, we will have wasted years.” “...The oil and gas rules already enacted by the Air Quality Control Commission focus on limiting emissions for an activity, such hydrofracturing a well, or for equipment, including tanks and engines. By contrast, the intensity target leaves it up to each company to decide how to meet their required emission cuts. “It gives us the flexibility to do things where it makes sense,” Mike Paules, associate director of API-Colorado, an industry trade group, told the Sun. “I think it is going to result in more reductions sooner than command-and-control regulations.”
Source NM: Oil industry tailored air quality law with help from NM’s top environment official
CODY NELSON, 9/14/21
“Last legislative session, one of the bills that Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham championed was the Clean Fuel Standard Act. Her administration touted it as a market-based approach to climate change that would require fuel companies to reduce the amount of carbon in their fuels in New Mexico,” Source NM reports. “Among those tasked with shepherding the act forward was James Kenney, secretary of the Environment Department. Part of his job was trying to garner support for the measure from oil and gas interests. Kenney’s eagerness to work with industry apparently caught a lobbyist for the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association (NMOGA) by surprise. “Wow, thanks so much for your quick response, Secretary!” the lobbyist, Aimee Barabe, wrote in an email. Kenney replied: “We aim to please with quick responses!” But during Kenney’s talks with industry leaders, the Clean Fuel Standard Act appears to have become a bargaining chip for oil and gas interests, according to a series of emails obtained by Documented, a nonpartisan watchdog group, and shared with Source NM. Over time, the emails show, discussions turned to two other pieces of environmental legislation. While the Clean Fuel Standard never passed, oil and gas industry leaders went through New Mexico’s top environment official to get changes made to bills that are now state law. The records provide a detailed example of how the fossil fuel industry exercises its stranglehold on New Mexico’s government and politics, especially when oil and gas lobbyists get involved. These emails also show fossil fuel representatives have a much easier time accessing and influencing policymakers than environmental advocates or common citizens, Lucas Herndon, energy and policy director of ProgressNow New Mexico, told Source NM.
Bismarck Tribune: Oil refinery developer says work at site to begin next year
AMY R. SISK, 9/14/21
“The developer of an oil refinery slated to be built near Theodore Roosevelt National Park says it plans to begin working on the facility's foundations next year,” the Bismarck Tribune reports. “The Davis Refinery project has faced delays amid lawsuits over its permitting process and also due to the coronavirus pandemic, and it's had difficulty attracting investors, but it managed to keep its construction permit active after it entered into a major contract with an engineering firm. The permit was otherwise set to expire this past Sunday… “Environmental groups have twice sued over the project's permitting process, but the North Dakota Supreme Court last year cleared the way for the refinery plans to move forward. The groups were concerned in part over the project's proximity to the national park in the Badlands. Meridian has also faced lawsuits over its ability to pay workers. One suit was settled, and the company has denied the allegations in another.”
EXTRACTION
Reuters: Oil surge gives private equity a window to exit stranded Canadian energy firms
By Shariq Khan and Nia Williams, 9/15/21
“A slew of private equity-backed oil and gas companies have been put up for sale in the Canadian energy patch, as higher crude prices prompt buyout shops to exit and free some of their capital that was locked far longer than originally intended,” Reuters reports. “The sales are providing attractive opportunities for small and mid-cap Canadian oil companies to bulk up their operations, improving their chances to access debt and capital markets and cut costs through economies of scale. An industry source, currently looking for takeover targets, said at least a dozen private equity-backed Canadian oil and gas assets ranging from C$50 million ($39.5 million) to C$500 million are on sale… “The uptick in junior companies for sale underscores how higher oil prices have created the best environment in more than seven years for private equity firms to cash in on Canadian energy investments. After a number of lean years junior companies have trimmed costs and strengthened balance sheets, making them more attractive acquisition targets, Scott Barron, head of Calgary investment banking at TD Securities, told Reuters… “Buyout firms have sold around $2.6 billion worth of Canadian oil and gas producers so far this year, the highest level since at least 2010, according to IHS Markit. Those exits follow a wave of consolidation among Canadian companies after many global oil majors retreated from the Canadian energy patch over the past five years.”
Bloomberg: Chevron CEO Warns of High Energy Prices and Supply Crunches
By Kevin Crowley, 9/15/21
“The world is facing high energy prices for the foreseeable future as oil and natural gas producers resist the urge to drill again, according to Chevron Corp.’s top executive,” Bloomberg reports. “There are things that are interfering with market signals right now that we haven’t seen before. Eventually things work out, but eventually can be a long time,” Chief Executive Officer Mike Wirth told Bloomberg. He expects strong prices for gas, liquefied natural gas and oil, at least “for a while,” without specifying a timeframe. Even though oil and gas prices have surged this year as the world recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic, major producers have been reluctant to invest their cash in new projects, a shift in behavior from previous upswings. That’s leading to concerns of shortages… “One reason executives are wary to plow investment dollars into new supply is shareholders haven’t shown they’re in their corner. They want cash returned to them immediately rather than seeing it re-invested in new developments. Although soaring commodities markets are “signaling we could invest more,” equity prices are sending boardrooms a different sign, Wirth told Bloomberg. “There are two signals I’m looking for and I’m only seeing one of them” right now, he said. “We could afford to invest more. The equity market is not sending a signal that says they think we ought to be doing that.”
Politico Morning Energy: CHEVRON’S LOW CARBON BOOST
Matthew Choi, 9/15/21
“Chevron is planning to spend $10 billion through 2028 on low carbon technology, increasing its previous commitment of about $3 billion,” Politico Morning Energy reports. “That means investments in biofuels, hydrogen production, carbon capture and other technologies. The investment would be about 10 percent of the company’s capital spending, eclipsed by its bread and butter investments in fossil fuels. The investment does not include forays into solar and wind, which Chief Executive Mike Wirth told the Journal were already mature industries with meager yields for the company.”
The Narwhal: No federal party offers clear path on how to wind down fossil fuel production
By Ali Raza, 9/15/21
“None of Canada’s national political parties in the 2021 federal election campaign can say exactly how their platforms would address the findings of a new scientific study that concluded the country needs to keep more than 80 per cent of its oil, gas and coal in the ground in order to respond to the global climate crisis,” The Narwhal reports. “The Narwhal reached out to the Liberal Party, the Conservative Party, the NDP and the Green Party in the wake of the study, published on Sept. 8 in Nature by scientists from University College London. While some listed examples of their climate policies and promises, none would say whether they could meet the target recommended by the peer-reviewed article. Approximately 83 per cent of the country’s oil reserves, 81 per cent of its gas reserves, and 83 per cent of its coal reserves must stay in the ground to achieve climate targets, the study found… “In the federal election campaign, it was not clear how any of the parties intended to wind down oil and gas production, in line with the study’s findings, although all parties have introduced plans that they say would slash pollution from this sector. Liberal Party spokesperson Alex Deslongchamps told The Narwhal in an email statement the party’s focus is getting to net-zero by 2050 by “ensuring emissions from the oil and gas sector only go down from here.” The Liberals will put a cap on emissions and ensure they decline at the required pace to achieve net-zero by 2050, Deslongchamps explained. On subsidies for oil and gas, the party intends to eliminate them by 2023 instead of the previously proposed 2025. Public financing of the fossil fuel sector will also be phased out. The Green Party’s spokesperson Imre Szemen said the party’s proposed policies include cancelling all new pipeline projects, cancelling all new oil exploration projects, end leasing of federal lands for fossil fuel production and retire existing licenses and a ban on fracking. The Conservative Party of Canada did not respond to The Narwhal by publication time, while a spokesperson for the NDP said it was working on a response.”
Williston Herald: Red Trail gets $25 million loan for its carbon capture project
By Renée Jean, 9/14/21
“Red Trail Energy is among the latest North Dakota recipients of carbon capture funding, but this time the money comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development program,” the Williston Herald reports. “The loan is for $25 million and will be used to build a carbon capture processing and storage facility an existing ethanol manufacturing facility in Richardton, North Dakota. The cost of the project is an estimated $30 million… “Red Trail CEO Gerald Bachmeier told state regulators during a recent public hearing that he was looking for ways to differentiate his company amid a supply glut of ethanol. He settled on removing carbon intensity from the product as a way to achieve premium rates in markets like California. Federal tax credits are also helping the project along… “Red Trail’s project is one of several in the state looking to either capture carbon dioxide, or, as in the case of the Synfuels Plant near Beulah, to capture more carbon, in the wake of a more attractive 45Q tax credit for such projects.”
Marietta Times: Update provided on oil leak at Veto Lake
9/15/21
“After an oil leak was found at Veto Lake in recent weeks, a meeting was held Tuesday evening at Farmer’s Daughter & Son in Marietta to provide an update on the situation,” the Marietta Times reports. “Zak Zatezalo, with Bordas and Bordas Attorneys PLLC, is working with local people from the oil and gas industry to figure out why the leak happened. “Well, all we know now is that there’s been oil found in the distributor that feeds Veto Lake,” Zatezalo told the Times. Zatezalo said he is working with a team including lawyers, engineers and hydrologists that is looking into the issue in Washington County. He said the law practice has extensive experience in dealing with environmental situations and the impact to property rights and environmental rights when dealing with contamination. “We have a team that takes a look at these situations, tries to assess the nature and scope of any problems that are cropping up in communities and tries to assist where we can in terms of legal intervention, if it becomes necessary, as part of trying to maintain everybody’s property rights,” said Zatezalo… “Zatezalo told the Times his understanding of the issue is that the Ohio Department of Natural Resources has been trying to locate the source of the contamination. “Certainly our clients believe it was from an abandoned well that has become over-pressured, from deep water injection produced fluids, but we’re still waiting on answers from the state.”.
RESEARCH & SCIENCE
CNN: Climate measures in budget bill could cut nearly 1 billion tons of emissions per year by 2030, analysis finds
By Ella Nilsen, 9/15/21
“Six major climate provisions in congressional Democrats' massive budget bill could slash US greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 1 billion tons per year by 2030, a new analysis from the nonpartisan Rhodium Group found,” CNN reports. “It would be comparable to removing all passenger vehicles from the road, or the yearly greenhouse gas emissions of Texas and Florida combined, according to the analysis. "This is a really big deal," Rhodium Group President John Larsen told CNN. "It would be the single largest action the federal government's ever taken to deal with climate change." Rhodium's findings are consistent with other analyses that have showed the biggest reductions would come from a combination of Democrats' clean electricity program and tax credits for clean energy, like wind and solar. Out of the six measures the group analyzed, Rhodium estimated a combination of the clean electricity program, tax credits and funding for rural electric cooperatives would have the largest impact on US emissions, accounting for up to 715 million tons per year.”
Bloomberg: Global Warming Set to Pass 1.5° C as Pollution Plans Fall Short
By Jess Shankleman, 9/15/21
“Almost every government in the world isn’t doing enough to cut greenhouse gas emissions, making it likely global temperatures will rise beyond the tipping point of 1.5 degrees Celsius in coming years, a new report said Wednesday,” Bloomberg reports. “Scientists have said keeping the planet’s warming within 1.5° C is key to staving off the worst impacts of climate change. Global emissions must be halved by 2030 to keep that target in sight, but governments are nowhere near that reduction, according to the nonprofit group Climate Action Tracker. Collectively, governments must cut 20 billion-to-23 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide by the end of this decade. The U.S. and U.K. have said they want to keep alive the chance of limiting warming to 1.5° C from pre-industrial levels. But of the countries analyzed, only The Gambia has set ambitious-enough policies, the report said. “An increasing number of people around the world are suffering from ever more severe and frequent impacts of climate change, yet government action continues to lag behind what is needed,” Bill Hare, chief executive of Climate Analytics, a CAT partner, told Bloomberg. Under the terms of the Paris Agreement signed by 197 countries in 2015, governments agreed to develop voluntary action plans to cut emissions. But as they were insufficient at the time, nations promised to come back in 2020 with more ambitious policies. Yet more than 70 countries still haven’t submitted updated targets -- including China, the world’s biggest emitter. Also, a raft of rich and middle-income countries -- including Australia, Brazil and Indonesia -- have submitted new plans that don’t increase their ambitions, the group said.”
InsideClimate News: The Rate of Global Warming During Next 25 Years Could Be Double What it Was in the Previous 50, a Renowned Climate Scientist Warns
Bob Berwyn, 9/15/21
“James Hansen, a climate scientist who shook Washington when he told Congress 33 years ago that human emissions of greenhouse gases were cooking the planet, is now warning that he expects the rate of global warming to double in the next 20 years,” InsideClimate News reports. “While still warning that it is carbon dioxide and methane that are driving global warming, Hansen said that, in this case, warming is being accelerated by the decline of other industrial pollutants that they’ve cleaned from it. Plunging sulfate aerosol emissions from industrial sources, particularly shipping, could lead global temperatures to surge well beyond the levels prescribed by the Paris Climate Agreement as soon as 2040 “unless appropriate countermeasures are taken,” Hansen wrote, together with Makiko Sato, in a monthly temperature analysis published in August by the Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions center at Columbia University’s Earth Institute. Declining sulfate aerosols makes some clouds less reflective, enabling more solar radiation to reach and warm land and ocean surfaces. In Hansen’s latest warning, he said scientists are dangerously underestimating the climate impact of reducing sulfate aerosol pollution. “Something is going on in addition to greenhouse warming,” Hansen wrote, noting that July’s average global temperature soared to its second-highest reading on record even though the Pacific Ocean is in a cooling La Niña phase that temporarily dampens signs of warming. Between now and 2040, he wrote that he expects the climate’s rate of warming to double in an “acceleration that can be traced to aerosols.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
Yahoo News: Student coalition blasts Chamber of Commerce over climate change, opposition to Biden's budget bill
Ben Adler, 9/14/21
“A coalition of over 100 student environmental action groups from universities across the United States will send a letter Wednesday to 54 large companies that belong to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce asking them to push back against the Chamber’s campaign to block President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda, Yahoo News reports. “The umbrella organization Change the Chamber, which was formed last year to combat the Chamber of Commerce’s tendency to defend fossil fuel interests, is joined by leading national green groups the Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters in its request that members of the Chamber pressure the group to stop lobbying against the Democrats’ $3.5 trillion budget bill. The letter will be sent to companies including Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Salesforce, 3M, UPS and United Airlines. “Businesses, by not calling out what the Chamber is doing while they are members of it, are being complacent,”Aaditi Lele, a freshman at Vanderbilt University, who is a student fellow with Change the Chamber, told Yahoo News. “A lot of these businesses have also put out statements about sustainability, and do a lot to appear sustainable and forward in terms of the environment, but in the background are taking these actions like running ads against the budget reconciliation and blocking these important climate policies.” In August, the Chamber of Commerce threatened to score votes for the budget resolution, which includes a range of efforts to combat and adapt to climate change, as antibusiness votes in its annual scorecards. Now, as the budget moves through the reconciliation process, the Chamber is leading an array of business interests, including the Business Roundtable and PhRMA, which represents the pharmaceutical industry, in a coordinated campaign against the proposal. Provisions that have drawn the ire of large corporations include proposed tax increases, fees for carbon pollution and prescription-drug-pricing reform.”
OPINION
Lock Haven Express: Carbon capture and storage: A false solution
Karen Elias is a member of Climate Reality Project, Susquehanna Valley PA Chapter, 9/13/21
“The technology known as Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is currently being discussed in Congress as part of President Biden’s infrastructure bill,” Karen Elias writes in the Lock Haven Express. “ It was also mentioned recently by Senator Casey, who proposed that natural gas — fitted with CCS technologies — be used, along with renewables, to increase clean electricity… “We need to be clear, first of all, about the technology itself. When we hear the term “carbon capture,” many of us imagine an enormous vacuum cleaner — sort of like an industrial-sized Mary Poppins — that goes about cheerily extracting carbon directly from the atmosphere. The realities of what is being called Direct Air Capture (DAC), however, are far from simple and are proving difficult to realize. At this time, developing DAC quickly and on the large scale needed to effectively impact emissions levels within the next decade is not economically feasible due to its high costs… “In addition, recent studies conducted at Stanford University have found that DAC technology does not meet expectations. A plant operating on natural gas that was built to capture CO2 directly from the air was found to capture “the equivalent of only 10-11 percent of the emissions produced, averaged over 20 years.” “...At this time, only 28 CCS plants are in operation across the world, capturing only 0.1% annually of total global fossil fuel emissions. The technology is not only proving to be inefficient at carbon reduction, but it is also technically difficult, less economical than renewables, and possibly risky over the long term… “In addition, since the technology is so new, few long-term studies have been done to assess the impact that large-scale carbon storage might have on the environment. Problems could include leakage, underground spread, contamination of drinking water, and tectonic activity… “Far from being energy panaceas, Direct Air Capture and Carbon Capture and Storage are efforts to distract from renewables and extend the life of fossil fuels indefinitely.”