EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 2/27/24

PIPELINE NEWS

• South Dakota Searchlight: Pipeline bill amended to return rulemaking to counties — unless PUC says otherwise

• KELO: Another amendment keeps alive CO2 pipeline bill

• South Dakota Public Broadcasting: House committee passes controversial carbon pipeline bill

• Globe Gazette: Sierra Club: Summit Carbon Solutions lets unpaid pipeline bills of counties grow

• Ford County Chronicle: One Earth Sequestration’s CO2 pipeline would involve numerous safety features, measures

• The Center Square: Burgum: federal government should pay for ‘disaster’ at pipeline protest

• ecoRI: Burrillville Group Wants Algonquin Pipeline Station Shut Down

• Financial Post: The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion: Who wins, who loses and how did we get here?

• Bloomberg: Trans Mountain Pipeline Seen Driving Canadian Oil to Three-Year High

WASHINGTON UPDATES

• Axios: What an SEC rule change says about the climate fight

• Law360: Alaska Judge Won’t Disturb Oil, Gas Lease Moratorium Order 

• E&E News: FERC urged to give Mississippi LNG project more time

• Politico: EPA Methane Rule Set To Kick In After Lengthy Delay

• E&E News: Hydrogen industry preps legal challenge to Biden tax rules

• E&E News: Cruz says group is trying to influence judges in climate cases

• Wall Street Journal: A Christian Oil Billionaire Upended Texas Politics—and Is Coming for Washington Next

STATE UPDATES

• Energy News Network: Court dismisses appeal to block drilling and fracking under Ohio park and wildlife areas

• Tampa Bay Times: What is carbon capture? And why is Hillsborough County looking into it?

• E&E News: Colorado falls short of emissions target in updated climate plan

EXTRACTION

• Science Alert: Microplastics Found in Every Human Placenta Tested, Study Finds

• Reuters: EU carbon border tax will do little to cut emissions, ADB study says

• Associated Press: Germany plans to enable underground storage of carbon dioxide at offshore sites

• Motley Fool: ExxonMobil Is Exploring More Ways to Capture this $4 Trillion Opportunity

• Law360: Oil Biz Gave Wells To Shell Co. To Skip Cleanup, Suit Says 

• Canadian Press: Crude-by-rail shipments jumped in last half of 2023 as Alberta’s oil output grows

CLIMATE FINANCE

• Houston Chronicle: Big banks back down in climate fight after Texas lawmakers blacklist them for ‘woke’ capitalism

• E&E News: Biden installed a climate council at the Export-Import Bank. It hasn’t worked.

TODAY IN GREENWASHING

• Guardian: ‘A Trojan horse of legitimacy’: Shell launches a ‘climate tech’ startup advertising jobs in oil and gas

OPINION

• Blue Virginia: A Tribute to Bill Limpert: Virginia Tree Protector and Pipeline Fighter

• Dallas Morning News: Giving fossil fuels the edge is a mistake, and these numbers prove it

• The Hill: For Big Oil, deadly childhood asthma is the cost of doing business 

PIPELINE NEWS

South Dakota Searchlight: Pipeline bill amended to return rulemaking to counties — unless PUC says otherwise
John Hult, 2/26/24

“A state House panel updated a high-profile carbon pipeline bill to retain county rights to regulate pipeline locations,” the South Dakota Searchlight reports. “But that change was accompanied by another that would force the state’s Public Utilities Commission to overrule counties if their pipeline rules are too burdensome… “Mortenson’s update, added to the bill on a 7-6 vote by the committee, returns the right to regulate setbacks to counties. The big addition is the word “must,” Mortenson said, to a section on the authority of the Public Utilities Commission. In the past, those commissioners have had the right to strike local pipeline regulations if they deem those regulations unreasonable. The amendment would take away their discretion. If the rules are “unreasonably restrictive in view of existing technology, factors of cost, or economics, or needs of parties,” or if those rules are preempted by federal law, the commissioners would have to overrule the counties. “This approach is intended to present a clear path to permitting if (pipeline companies) meet all their requirements,” Mortenson said… “Brett Koenecke, a lawyer and lobbyist for Summit Carbon Solutions, told the committee that the bill wouldn’t work for his clients in its amended form, but pointed to a conference committee as he expressed hope for a workable final bill… “Brian Jorde, a lawyer who represents landowners, told Searchlight the notion that counties can’t regulate setbacks – and that setbacks themselves amount to safety regulations at all – is “completely and totally and utterly wrong… This isn’t about certainty,” Jorde told Searchlight. “This is about rolling a red carpet over the backs of landowners, property owners and business owners in this state and giving profit certainty.”

KELO: Another amendment keeps alive CO2 pipeline bill
Bob Mercer, 2/26/24

“State permits for transmission pipelines in South Dakota would overrule all local and county regulations, including setback distances and safety standards, under the latest version of a proposal being considered by the Legislature,” KELO reports. “The House Commerce and Energy Committee on Monday voted 8-5 to send SB201 to the full House. The debate could come as soon as Wednesday afternoon… “Several hundred landowners, lobbyists and lawyers packed the hearing room. Many of the pipeline’s opponents wore buttons urging “Keep Local County Control.” “…Opponents, trying to strengthen their case, distributed a letter from the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. The agency’s associate administrator for pipeline safety told Summit Carbon Solutions CEO Lee Blank in the September 15, 2023, letter: “PHMSA continues to support and encourage all three levels of government — federal, state, and local — working collaboratively to ensure the nation’s pipeline systems are constructed and operated in a manner that protects public safety and the environment… Therefore, the responsibility for siting new carbon dioxide pipelines rests largely with the individual states and counties through which the pipelines will operate and is governed by state and local laws.”

South Dakota Public Broadcasting: House committee passes controversial carbon pipeline bill
Evan Walton, 2/26/24

“A bill attempting to keep the carbon pipeline conversation going passes the House Commerce and Energy Committee,” South Dakota Public Broadcasting reports. “…Mortenson said the amendment does not completely satisfy any one party which he said is an example of the bill’s quality… “And I’m not doing this necessarily for Summit Carbon or anybody else, I’m doing this for our state.” Opponents said the amendment hurts local control by stripping counties of pipeline citing oversight. Brian Jorde is a lawyer who represents hundreds of landowners in the state. He was legal representation for landowners in Navigator CO2’s and Summit Carbon Solution’s permit hearings with the Public Utilities Commission. He told SDPB the bill would reverse the state standard of relying on the PUC’s expertise for pipeline safety. “Just respect the counties, respect the people, go around if you have to, and get the dang thing built. This bill, disrespects counties, disrespects people, and has too many undefined terms and too many unintended consciousness. It was rushed, the right people weren’t at the table,” Jorde told SDPB.”

Globe Gazette: Sierra Club: Summit Carbon Solutions lets unpaid pipeline bills of counties grow
2/23/24

“In a news release, the Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club says Summit Carbon Solutions has fallen behind on thousands of dollars in reimbursements to Hancock and other Iowa Counties related to its proposed CO2 pipeline,” the Globe Gazette reports. “The Iowa Sierra Club said its further investigation has uncovered that the Delaware-incorporated company has accrued nearly $60,000 in unpaid bills several months old that are owed to more than half a dozen Iowa counties. Most of the delinquent invoices relate to preparatory work completed by county inspectors, which Summit is required to repay. Citing one example, the Iowa Sierra Club said it found that Summit had an outstanding bill of $15,000 to Webster County. It maintains this failure to compensate local communities appears to contradict Summit’s recently stated claim that its proposed carbon pipeline project would provide economic benefits to Iowa counties, which would “help schools, improve the area, and support the local townships.” “We’ve said all along that Summit lacks ethics and integrity, but this is just another slap in the face,” said Dan Tronchetti, a landowner facing the threat of eminent domain. “During a time where many Iowans are struggling just to survive, there is no excuse for a purported multi-billion dollar corporation to not pay its bills on time. Perhaps if they hadn’t spent so much on purchasing politicians, they could afford to reimburse our counties.” The Sierra Club claims landowners and communities across the state are questioning why Iowa would want to do business with an industry that threatens lawsuits, sues counties for passing common-sense zoning ordinance protections, misleads and conceals safety information, and is delinquent on bills for work completed ahead of the proposed project.”

Ford County Chronicle: One Earth Sequestration’s CO2 pipeline would involve numerous safety features, measures
Will Brumleve, 2/26/24

“To ensure the safe operation of a proposed pipeline that would transport carbon dioxide captured from Gibson City’s One Earth Energy ethanol plant to a sequestration site in McLean County, the company plans to put in place a number of safety measures, including constant monitoring and regular inspections and testing, and a number of safety features, including a series of remote-controlled shutoff valves and leak-detection devices,” according to the Ford County Chronicle. “Concerns about the risk of a pipeline rupture — as happened three years ago in Satartia, Miss. — have been raised recently by groups opposed to the $19 million project in western Ford and eastern McLean counties, which is awaiting the Illinois Commerce Commission’s approval. The rupture of the 77-mile Delta Pipeline on Feb. 22, 2020, released over 31,000 barrels of CO2 into the air and resulted in the evacuation of 300 people and hospitalization of 40 for treatment of C02 poisoning and oxygen deprivation. However, unlike the Delta Pipeline, the 7.34-mile pipeline proposed by One Earth Sequestration LLC — a subsidiary of One Earth Energy — would be equipped with automatic shutoff valves along its 16-inch-diameter main line, among other safety features, to allow for specific segments of the pipeline to be isolated in the event of an emergency.”

The Center Square: Burgum: federal government should pay for ‘disaster’ at pipeline protest
Kim Jarrett, 2/226/24

“North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum said a protest over the Dakota Access Pipeline was a “disaster” for the state during a court hearing Monday over whether the federal government should reimburse the state for $38 million in costs related to the pipeline,” The Center Square reports. “…Since the beginning, we have taken the position that the federal government – not North Dakota taxpayers – should shoulder the burden of the enormous costs of law enforcement and other resources expended on the DAPL protests and cleanup,” Burgum told TCS. “Instead of evicting protesters from federal lands, the U.S. government enabled and encouraged protesters to use Corps land as a home base to launch their often violent and illegal protests. As this trial is showing, the federal government knew it wasn’t following its own laws and policies but continued to play politics with the pipeline, turning a deaf ear to North Dakota’s pleas for help and enforcement. It’s time for the feds to pay up and make North Dakota whole.” “…The trial is expected to last through mid-March, according to Burgum’s office.”

ecoRI: Burrillville Group Wants Algonquin Pipeline Station Shut Down
Rob Smith, 2/26/24

“Environmental groups are on alert and in lockstep opposition to a Canadian multinational corporation seeking to continue its energy business in Rhode Island,” ecoRI reports. “Calgary-based Enbridge Inc. owns and operates a natural gas compressor station and pipeline in the northwest corner of the state. The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management opened a public comment period earlier this month as the company seeks to renew its operating air permits. On Feb. 13, B.A.S.E., a group of Burrillville residents opposed to all fossil fuel infrastructure within the town, asked DEM to extend the public comment period to 45 days instead of the original 30, and hold a local public comment hearing. B.A.S.E. has long opposed any expansion of natural gas infrastructure within Burrillville. In 2014 activists blocked the gates of the compressor station in an attempt to stop its expansion, and then embarked on a multiyear campaign to oppose the new power plant proposed by Invenergy in 2015. Members of the group told ecoRI News last month they were keen to oppose any and all expansion of such infrastructure. In September, Enbridge announced a new expansion proposal, Project Maple, of its Algonquin pipeline, which pipes natural gas from New Jersey and supplies it as far as Salem, Mass. “Enbridge is attempting to segment their broader Project Maple expansion into smaller projects in order to skirt regulatory hurdles and quell public opposition,” Kathy Martley, a B.A.S.E. member, said in a statement. “The impacts of Enbridge’s plans must be reviewed collectively, from Burrillville to the Sakonnet River, it’s all connected.”

Financial Post: The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion: Who wins, who loses and how did we get here?
Naimul Karim, 2/26/24

“The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project may still be months away from completion, but industry insiders have already started speculating on how it will impact the oil sector, from a potential increase in the price of Canadian oil to the opening of new export markets,” the Financial Post reports. “…But the move was opposed by environmentalists who pointed out the existing pipeline had a history of spills. There have been 84 spills reported since 1961… “Kinder Morgan in 2017 threatened to cancel the project due to opposition from the British Columbia’s NDP government. Shortly after, the company sold the pipeline and the expansion project to the Government of Canada for $4.5 billion. The cost of the project has since increased to about $30.9 billion… “Tristan Goodman, chief executive of the Explorers and Producers Association of Canada, a national lobby group representing oil and gas entrepreneurs, told the Post the rising cost of the pipeline is due to the government’s “failed” regulatory framework for environment, energy and natural resources projects. He told the Post the entire system needs to be looked at. “The government’s intentions are right to have good oversight, but they haven’t figured out how to get that oversight to be efficient and cost effective,” he told the Post. “It is ridiculous to have this pipeline costing $31 billion — that is obscene.”

Bloomberg: Trans Mountain Pipeline Seen Driving Canadian Oil to Three-Year High
Robert Tuttle, 2/26/24

“Canada’s relatively cheap heavy crude is set to spike temporarily in the coming months as a massive new export pipeline starts operations just as oil-sands companies curtail production,” Bloomberg reports. “Western Canadian Select’s discount to US benchmark West Texas Intermediate may shrink from its current level of about $17.10 per barrel to less than $10 a barrel between May and July, according to Jeremy Irwin, senior oil markets analyst at Energy Aspects. The last time the discount was in single digits was in April 2021.”

WASHINGTON UPDATES

Axios: What an SEC rule change says about the climate fight
Kia Kokalitcheva, 2/26/24

“The Securities and Exchange Commission is said to be scrapping plans to require that public companies disclose carbon emissions from their supply chains and end users as part of its long-awaited disclosure rules,” Axios reports. “Why it matters: Scope 3 emissions, as they’re called, are often the largest source of carbon emissions for companies, and especially in the fossil fuel industry. The regulator’s potential move is part of a broader retreat — or at least rethink — within the financial and corporate sector on environmental and social issues. Politics is playing a major role in the backlash… “Last fall, it hinted to lobbyists that it was headed in this direction.”

Law360: Alaska Judge Won’t Disturb Oil, Gas Lease Moratorium Order 
Tom Lotshaw, 2/23/24

“An Alaska federal judge rejected bids by the state’s development authority to amend or vacate an order upholding a temporary moratorium the Biden administration imposed on an Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Coastal Plain oil and gas program, holding that the case isn’t moot after the government canceled its leases,” Law360 reports. “The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, or AIDEA, and other parties, including the state of Alaska, asked U.S. District Judge Sharon L. Gleason to grant relief from an order dismissing their challenge of the moratorium, which the Biden administration imposed after taking office… “The judge noted AIDEA is challenging the administration’s decision to cancel its leases in a separate suit in the District of Columbia. Court records show that case was transferred to the District of Alaska on Friday at the federal government’s request.”

E&E News: FERC urged to give Mississippi LNG project more time
Carlos Anchondo, Zach Bright, 2/26/24

“The developer of a natural gas export project in southeastern Mississippi is asking federal energy regulators for five additional years to complete the proposal,” E&E News reports. “Gulf LNG Liquefaction wrote to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week, requesting until July 2029 to finish the liquefied natural gas project in Jackson County, Mississippi. The proposal — designed to export up to 10.85 million metric tons of gas per year — is one of 10 FERC-approved LNG export projects that aren’t under construction, according to the agency’s website. Gulf LNG “wishes to move forward with the Project and receipt of the requested extension is a necessary step,” said Patricia Francis, vice president and managing counsel at Kinder Morgan, the Houston-based pipeline operator, said in a letter to FERC.”

Politico: EPA Methane Rule Set To Kick In After Lengthy Delay
Robin Bravender, 2/26/24

“A much-anticipated Biden administration climate rule is set for formal publication in March, following an unusually long delay that worried environmental advocates and surprised regulatory experts,” Politico reports. “EPA’s rule to clamp down on methane emissions from the oil and gas industry is set for official publication in the Federal Register on March 8, according to a notice filed Friday afternoon in the government journal that chronicles agency regulations. The regulation was completed Nov. 30 and announced Dec. 2 by EPA Administrator Michael Regan at the COP28 climate talks in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.” 

E&E News: Hydrogen industry preps legal challenge to Biden tax rules
Christian Robles, 2/26/24

“The Treasury Department’s pending tax rules for low-carbon hydrogen production could soon spark court battles,” E&E News reports. “Treasury’s initial guidance in December for the tax credit known as 45V met pushback from hydrogen producers and congressional Democrats after its release. They argue the Biden administration’s plan would slow industry growth, while supporters say the standards are necessary to ensure that hydrogen fuel is made cleanly. Opponents of the 45V guidance may be emboldened to take tax rules to court if the Supreme Court upends the Chevron doctrine, according to experts such as Barbara De Marigny, a partner at the Baker Botts law firm. The court appears ready to limit that 40-year-old legal tool, which has helped federal agencies defend regulations in court. The hydrogen credit rules could still change after a public comment period ends Monday. But if the regulations become final this year, disappointed hydrogen producers are poised to turn to a different remedy — lawsuits.”

E&E News: Cruz says group is trying to influence judges in climate cases
Lesley Clark, 2/27/24

“Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas is demanding information from a legal education organization that has been criticized by oil and gas industry allies for providing courses on climate science to judges,” E&E News reports. “In a letter Friday to the Environmental Law Institute, Cruz, the top Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee, argues that ELI’s goal in providing the seminars “may be to influence judges to side with plaintiffs in climate change cases.” The letter comes amid an uptick in cases against the fossil fuel industry brought by more than two dozen local governments that are trying to hold oil and gas producers financially accountable for climate change.”

Wall Street Journal: A Christian Oil Billionaire Upended Texas Politics—and Is Coming for Washington Next
Collin Eaton, Elizabeth Findell and Benoît Morenne, 2/23/24

“Drilling for oil made Tim Dunn, a self-described activist Christian, into a billionaire. His second act has been pumping money to Texas Republicans intent on pushing their party to the right,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “His third act, he hopes, will be pulling off something similar on a national level—preferably during a second Trump administration. Brooke Rollins, a former Trump domestic policy adviser, pitched Dunn in 2021 on a new think tank, America First Policy Institute, with a mission to perpetuate Trump-era policies for generations to come. The West Texas oilman, whose efforts in his home state have been both successful and polarizing, responded with both enthusiasm and money… “Dunn is one of many wealthy Republicans jockeying to influence a second Trump administration in accordance with their own political agendas. Besides giving directly to the candidate—Dunn donated about $5 million to Trump’s political-action committee late last year—some of them have funded a handful of new pro-Trump think tanks dedicated to that task.” 

STATE UPDATES

Energy News Network: Court dismisses appeal to block drilling and fracking under Ohio park and wildlife areas
Kathiann M. Kowalski, 2/24/24

“An Ohio judge has dismissed environmental groups’ appeal from commission decisions to lease parts of a state park and two wildlife areas for oil and gas drilling,” Energy News Network reports. “Judge Jaiza Page’s Feb. 23 order effectively denies the emergency stay the environmental groups had sought to stop the Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commission from acting on Monday to accept bids from companies to drill and frack under Salt Fork State Park, Zepernick Wildlife Area and Valley Run Wildlife Area… “Judge Page’s eight-page decision agreed with the commission that the court lacks jurisdiction over the appeal. She also agreed with the commission’s argument that the groups have no standing to contest its rulings… “A key part of the environmental groups’ challenge was that the commission failed to consider all nine factors the law required it to consider. Those include environmental impacts, effects on visitors or users of state-owned lands, public comments or objections, economic benefits and other considerations.”

Tampa Bay Times: What is carbon capture? And why is Hillsborough County looking into it?
Jack Prator, 2/26/24

“Florida politicians have recently debated creative solutions to combat climate change, from electric cars to lab-grown meat. While not as shiny or controversial as other initiatives, carbon capture has shored up increasing political support over the past few years,” the Tampa Bay Times reports. “…With the help of fossil fuel lobbyists, the emerging technology has attracted investors and government incentives in recent years… “And in the Tampa Bay area, local leaders are exploring their options. A Tampa company was awarded $400,000 by the U.S. Department of Energy last year to build a carbon capture terminal at Port Tampa Bay… “But many environmentalists say we’ve been down this road before. Oakley Shelton-Thomas, a researcher with Food and Water Watch, told the Times carbon capture is inefficient, doesn’t make good on its promises to cap emissions and distracts from goals to move off dirty energy sources and toward renewables. It benefits fossil fuel companies and utilities who own existing power plants that can be retrofitted with the technology, Shelton-Thomas told the Times. ”Carbon capture exists as a promise that if they build a new power plant now, they’ll be able to magically make it clean at some point in the distant future,” he told the Times. “It’s doubling down on fossil fuels.” “…At a Hillsborough county commission meeting on Jan. 17, Chair Ken Hagan motioned for county staff to look into implementing a carbon capture facility in Hillsborough County. He was met with resistance from half a dozen clean energy advocates… “Hagan said the motion comes at the behest of LowCarbon, a South Korean company that pledged $100 million to a Polk County hydrogen production plant that broke ground last year.”

E&E News: Colorado falls short of emissions target in updated climate plan
Adam Aton, 2/27/24

“Colorado Gov. Jared Polis released an updated climate plan Monday that acknowledges the state could miss its 2030 goal to halve planet-warming emissions,” E&E News reports. “The second-term Democratic governor, who has clashed with progressives over how heavily to regulate polluting businesses, said almost all the policies from his 2021 climate road map are already underway. Polis said the new plan for his remaining three years in office — nicknamed Roadmap 2.0 — is “ambitious but achievable.” “…While the art-of-the-possible continues to shift below our feet, we remain committed to leading the nation on climate action,” Polis wrote in an introduction to the plan. “Colorado should embrace these changes and carefully weigh the benefits and downsides of many climate solutions — both mature and emerging — and this Roadmap establishes a framework to do just that.”

EXTRACTION

Science Alert: Microplastics Found in Every Human Placenta Tested, Study Finds
CARLY CASSELLA, 2/26/24

“It’s been over three years since scientists first found microplastics swimming in four different human placentas, and as it turns out, that was just the tip of the iceberg,” Science Alert reports. “…Using a new technique, researchers have now identified tiny particles and fibers of plastic less than a micron in size in the largest sample of placentas yet. In all 62 tissue samples studied, the team found microplastics of various concentrations in every single one. These concentrations ranged from 6.5 to 685 micrograms per gram of tissue, which is much higher than levels found in the human bloodstream. No one yet knows what this plastic pollution is doing – if anything – to the health of the fetus or the mother. While microplastics have been found in every major organ of the human body, including the brain, it’s unknown if these pollutants are temporary visitors or permanent and accumulating threats to health… “Dose makes the poison,” explains biologist Matthew Campen from the University of New Mexico. “If the dose keeps going up, we start to worry. If we’re seeing effects on placentas, then all mammalian life on this plant could be impacted. That’s not good.”

Reuters: EU carbon border tax will do little to cut emissions, ADB study says
David Stanway, 2/26/24

“A European Union plan to impose tariffs on high-carbon imports could hurt developing countries in Asia but is unlikely to lead to big reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in a report published on Monday,” Reuters reports. “The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) was introduced to address concerns that the outsourcing of manufacturing had put large parts of the EU’s supply chain beyond the reach of its emissions trading scheme (ETS), a situation described as “carbon leakage”… “But any small reduction in emissions would quickly be offset by the continuing increase in carbon-intensive production throughout Asia, and mechanisms to share emission reduction technology would be more effective, it said.”

Associated Press: Germany plans to enable underground storage of carbon dioxide at offshore sites
GEIR MOULSON, 2/26/24

“Germany plans to enable underground carbon storage at offshore sites, pushing ahead with a much-discussed technology in an acknowledgement that time is running out to combat climate change, the country’s vice chancellor said Monday,” the Associated Press reports. “…Habeck’s proposed “carbon management strategy,” which still needs to be turned into detailed legislation, foresees enabling the transport of carbon dioxide and its storage under the sea in Germany’s exclusive economic zone, except in marine conservation areas. It doesn’t foresee allowing storage sites on land, but Habeck said that could be considered later if German state governments approve. Opponents maintain that so-called carbon capture and storage is unproven at scale and has been less effective than alternatives such as solar and wind at decarbonizing the energy sector… “Habeck said it will be “a few years” before Germany can store CO2 under the sea, and that it would be wise to coordinate European initiatives… “That is expensive, not sustainable and encumbers future generations with further long-term liabilities,” Karsten Smid, an energy expert with Greenpeace’s German branch, told AP.”

Motley Fool: ExxonMobil Is Exploring More Ways to Capture this $4 Trillion Opportunity
Matt DiLallo, 2/27/24

“ExxonMobil firmly believes oil and gas will play a vital role in fueling the global economy in the decades ahead. One factor driving that view is the emergence of carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) as an increasingly economically viable solution to reducing carbon emissions. Exxon believes that CCS could become a $4 trillion global market by 2050,” the Motley Fool reports. “That massive market potential is leading ExxonMobil to explore new CCS opportunities. It recently expanded its strategic relationship with pipeline company EnLink Midstream to develop new solutions in the Gulf Coast region as the oil giant looks to expand its ability to capture this immense opportunity… “The two companies signed a transportation service agreement to utilize existing and new pipelines owned by EnLink to transport carbon dioxide from the Mississippi River corridor in southeastern Louisiana to a 125,000-acre carbon dioxide storage site Exxon is developing in Vermilion Parish… “While the Denbury deal made Exxon the country’s largest carbon dioxide pipeline operator, it will need more pipelines in the right places to enhance its ability to capture the CCS opportunity… “CEO Darren Woods stated at the event, “The addressable market now could be in the trillions of dollars, and our business potentially measured in the hundreds of billions, and quite possibly larger than ExxonMobil’s base business is today as the world approaches net zero.” Further, long-term contracts would underpin this business. Because of that, this income would be more stable than its more volatile oil and gas business.”

Law360: Oil Biz Gave Wells To Shell Co. To Skip Cleanup, Suit Says 
Daniel Ducassi, 2/23/24

“Oil and gas company HRM Resources has been accused in Colorado state court by landowners of fraudulently transferring roughly 200 oil and gas wells to a shell company that soon turned around and declared bankruptcy in order to dodge cleanup obligations,” Law360 reports. “The landowners said they’ve been stuck with abandoned equipment on their property through this alleged scheme to extract value from low-production wells by foisting the cleanup costs on the state. “These defendants kept any profits obtained from operating the oil and gas wells while jettisoning the liabilities, leaving plaintiffs with unplugged, dangerous wells and simultaneously saddling taxpayers and Colorado’s Orphaned Well Program with cleaning up their mess,” the lawsuit read. The lawsuit identifies a series of sequentially named HRM entities as “mere continuations of each other,” adding that HRM “displays a pattern of forming entities, divesting from them, and starting again.” 

Canadian Press: Crude-by-rail shipments jumped in last half of 2023 as Alberta’s oil output grows
Amanda Stephenson, 2/26/24

“Canadian crude-by-rail shipments nearly doubled in volume in the last six months of 2023, as oil output from Alberta surged to all-time highs and the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion remained under construction,” the Canadian Press reports. “Data from the Canada Energy Regulator released Monday shows oil-by-rail export volumes jumped from 78,747 barrels per day in May of last year to a high of 167,006 in November… “For the full year, Canadian crude-by-rail exports averaged 119,077 barrels per day, a seven-year low and down 17 per cent from 2022. But the sharp uptick in the last half of the year shows the impact of surging oil output in Alberta that has filled Canada’s oil export pipelines close to capacity… “When the Trans Mountain project does come online and begins to fill with oil, the recent increase in crude-by-rail shipments should reverse, said BMO Capital Markets analyst Ben Pham in a recent report… “He added that even with the addition of the Trans Mountain expansion, Canada’s oil output is growing so quickly that exportable supply could exceed pipeline capacity as early as 2026. “This puts the country’s producers in a vicarious situation as the [Trans Mountain] project took over a decade to complete, raising doubt of another major export pipeline ever being constructed,” he told CP.

CLIMATE FINANCE

Houston Chronicle: Big banks back down in climate fight after Texas lawmakers blacklist them for ‘woke’ capitalism
Chris Tomlinson, 2/27/24

“The world’s largest financial services firms promote themselves as fighters against climate change, which has given Texas politicians a priceless opportunity to crusade against so-called woke capitalism,” the Houston Chronicle reports. “…Texas GOP lawmakers passed a law in 2021 banning state and local governments from doing business with financial institutions that boycott fossil fuel firms, which contributed $26 billion in state tax revenues last year. They ordered the state’s elected chief financial officer, Comptroller Glenn Hegar, to draft a blacklist. Hegar’s office, which refuses to explain the evaluation process in detail, has banned 11 financial firms, including the world’s largest banks: BlackRock, BNP Paribas, HSBC Holdings, UBS and Credit Agricole. He’s also blacklisted 350 investment funds that boycott fossil fuel companies… “Wayne Christian, a member of the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the oil and gas industry, met with BlackRock executives and called out the company’s hypocrisy. “It was nice to hear that BlackRock didn’t mean — or no longer believes — many of the disagreeable things the company and its CEO Larry Fink have said about the oil and gas industry,” Christian wrote in a post-meeting email obtained by the nonprofit Bureau of Investigative Journalism… “Climate change-denying politicians across the country, led by Patrick, Hegar and Paxton, have succeeded in slowing the fight against global warming. But the CEOs are still waiting to see if it’s enough to get off the Texas blacklist or if they must offer more concessions.”

E&E News: Biden installed a climate council at the Export-Import Bank. It hasn’t worked.
Sara Schonhardt, 2/27/24

“President Joe Biden embedded climate advisers into America’s export credit agency to increase scrutiny over its investments. But their work has mostly been stymied by the agency’s continued pursuit of fossil fuel projects,” E&E News reports. “Five people with firsthand knowledge of the climate council’s work at the U.S. Export-Import Bank described a sense of frustration over investments into projects such as oil and gas development in Bahrain and an Indonesian oil refinery that received a $100 million loan… “Several council members repeatedly voiced concerns over the incongruity between the bank’s financing of fossil fuel projects and U.S. climate policy, according to several of the people who were granted anonymity to speak about sensitive information. Some advisers have also argued during council meetings that the bank is assuming that investments in fossil fuel infrastructure will lead to long-term benefits, such as jobs, at a time when the U.S. and other countries have agreed to shift away from oil, natural gas and coal. “I think it really comes down to transparency about the jobs created and the opportunities for long-term exports,” one person told E&E. “Can you look at the public information and be able to justify that? I don’t think so, and that’s the real frustration.”

TODAY IN GREENWASHING

Guardian: ‘A Trojan horse of legitimacy’: Shell launches a ‘climate tech’ startup advertising jobs in oil and gas
Molly Taft, 2/26/24

“A sleek new startup promising to ‘advance the energy transition’ launched earlier this month promising to “[connect] thousands of innovators across the globe to tackle difficult energy and climate challenges”. The venture, Onward, is owned by Shell, a company that brought in $28bn in profits from oil and gas last year,” the Guardian reports. “The company’s website says it is “accelerating pathways to energy innovation”, serving as a “hub for innovation, collaboration and entrepreneurialism”, and creating a “compelling, evidence-based picture of the benefits of a net-zero future”. Team bios include descriptions of an ideal day “in our clean energy future”: kitesurfing, snorkeling and hiking. However, despite an abundance of green imagery and language, much of the Onward platform’s existing content appears to focus on improving oil and gas outcomes, an analysis by Drilled and the Guardian has found. The site’s “Projects” section is a short-term job board hosting dozens of jobs in oil and gas exploration (the hiring companies are kept anonymous). Of the five projects with available descriptions, all but one are explicitly for oil and gas production, while many more of the archived jobs on the platform also appear to be for oil and gas… “Projects like Onward “[allow] Shell to pretend it’s helping find solutions instead of just accelerating the climate crisis”, Paris Marx, a technology critic and host of the Tech Won’t Save Us podcast, told Drilled… “It’s a Trojan horse of legitimacy,” she told Drilled. “You’re under cover of the idea that the climate movement is an all-hands-on-deck situation, but what you’re really doing is bringing in players who have very different ideas of what it means to ‘solve’ the climate crisis.”

OPINION

Blue Virginia: A Tribute to Bill Limpert: Virginia Tree Protector and Pipeline Fighter
Mike Tidwell, executive director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, 2/26/24

“The first time I met Bill Limpert he was 71 years old and standing outside the Virginia General Assembly in Richmond. He was holding a photograph of a 300-year old tree, a sugar maple, one of the biggest trees I’d ever seen. Dominion Energy, Bill said that spring of 2018, wanted to cut the tree down for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline,” Mike Tidwell writes for Blue Virginia. “…I don’t intend to let it happen,” Bill said. “I’m no spring chicken but I have every intention of stopping this pipeline and outliving the fossil fuel era.” Bill did stop the pipeline, giving tours of his land to reporters, raising awareness across the state, and joining thousands of other activists and authorities — land owners, retired teachers, lawyers, green advocates, federal judges, high school kids — who forced Dominion to cancel in 2020 its $8 billion, 600-mile abomination for shipping fracked gas from West Virginia to North Carolina. But sadly Bill’s second dream did not come true. Bill passed away on February 5th in Maryland, where he had moved to take care of his aging mother. He did not live to see the end of the fossil fuel era. The cause of death was blood cancer. He was 76… “Bill lived to see the pipeline cancelled on July 5th, 2020, a day none of us will forget. He then went on to fight the ACP’s evil twin, the Mountain Valley Pipeline, till just months before his death. I’m glad Bill saw, too, the passage of the Virginia Clean Economy Act in Richmond and the Inflation Reduction Act on Capitol Hill. Both bills are hastening the day, not that far away, when wind farms and solar energy and electric cars bring definitive closure to the fossil fuel era. And while Bill didn’t live to see that era end, the old trees on his property – now set to become a conservation easement – will see it. Many of those trees started life as forest seedlings in the early 1700s, before the start of the fossil fuel era. And many will be here, thanks to Bill, when it is no more.”

Dallas Morning News: Giving fossil fuels the edge is a mistake, and these numbers prove it
Dallas Morning News Editorial, 2/26/24

“There’s good news in a recently released dashboard that estimates Texas’ energy production demand through 2050,” the Dallas Morning News Editorial Board writes. “The dashboard, developed by the think tank Texas 2036, analyzed four scenarios: status quo (meaning no major advances in any energy technology), a transition to renewables, advancing fossil fuels only, and expanding energy production from a variety of sources. Energy expansion means a diversified portfolio that includes renewables and fossil fuel production, also known as the all-of-the-above approach. This is what several energy analysts, along with this editorial page, have advocated for. This dataset offers a compelling argument for that. The Texas 2036 models show that while the state’s energy industry would grow under any of the scenarios, Texas would perform best across several metrics if it pursues energy expansion. This data-based analysis has an implicit message: Picking favorites, like the legislative attempts we saw last year to favor fossil fuels over renewables, will ultimately hurt consumers. “What these data tell us is that, if you think you can win the energy war by just going all oil and gas, you’re wrong,” Jeremy Mazur, policy adviser with Texas 2036, who led this project, told the News… “Our energy market must be affordable and our electric grid reliable. This means boosting wind and solar production along with battery storage, but also dispatchable energy like natural gas to support the overall stability of the system.”

The Hill: For Big Oil, deadly childhood asthma is the cost of doing business 
William Becker is executive director of the Presidential Climate Action Project (PCAP), 2/26/24

“If you ask children who have asthma what a severe attack feels like, they will compare it to suffocating, drowning or struggling to get oxygen through a straw. Some say it’s as if their internal organs expand and leave no room for air. Some have near-death experiences. Far too many die,” William Becker writes for The Hill. “…Fossil fuel pollution is a primary cause of childhood asthma. The fuels’ emissions also cause lung cancer, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), heart attacks, strokes, impaired cognitive functioning, premature births and deaths, impairments in mental functioning, and greater susceptibility to infection… “The industry’s officers, shareholders and financiers remain calloused or complacent about the human costs of fossil fuel addiction. Their profits are untouched by the nearly $80 billion that oil and gas cost Americans annually (based on a study last year of health impacts in 2016).  Too many elected officials won’t stand up to the industry and sacrifice its contributions to their reelection campaigns. The pathology of fossil-fuel addiction is the corruption of politics, leading to the corruption of morality, the environment and human health, all while harmless types of energy are readily available and less expensive. The human cost is highest among children and adults who live near oil refineries, oil and gas wells, and highways traveled by gas-burning cars and trucks. They most often are people of color, older people and families without the means to move. The industry calls these places “sacrifice zones.” Those who are aware of the injustice call it “environmental racism.”