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Extracted

EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 3/25/24

Mark Hefflinger, Bold Alliance (Photo: Bryon Houlgrave/Des Moines Register

By Mark Hefflinger

March 25, 2024

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PIPELINE NEWS

WASHINGTON UPDATES

  • Politico: Oil and gas execs are unhappy with Biden — but not eager for Trump’s return

  • Bloomberg: Fossil-Fuel Chiefs Unite in Slamming Biden LNG Ban

  • E&E News: Dems join Republicans to pass anti-carbon tax measure

  • E&E News: House passes repeal of ‘green bank,’ methane fee

  • E&E News: Treasury hearing to showcase battle over ‘clean’ hydrogen

STATE UPDATES

  • Energy News Network: Environmental groups appeal court order on drilling under Ohio park and wildlife areas

  • Los Angeles Times: What do Schwarzenegger, Fonda and Newsom have in common? They’re fighting oil drilling

  • WLFI: “…They’ll have to police these things a little more.” Environmental expert weighs in on effects of Petrolia oil spill

  • Colorado Public Radio: Environmental groups file new ballot measures to counter oil and gas industry initiatives

EXTRACTION

  • Reuters: Major oil spills in United States since 1969

  • The Hill: Study: No top oil companies aligned with Paris climate goals

  • Reuters: Ad campaign uses humor to urge Americans to ditch natural gas

  • Reuters: Exxon ahead of schedule on doubling LNG portfolio, exec says

  • S&P Global: Carbon capture costs outweigh incentives, fail to attract hard-to-abate industries

  • Reuters: Freeport LNG says Trains 1, 2 at Texas facility seen shut until May

  • Natural Gas Intelligence: Sustainability Targets, Customer Interest Driving Natural Gas Utilities to RNG

CLIMATE FINANCE

  • Reuters: Challenges to SEC’s climate rules sent to conservative-leaning US appeals court

  • Grist: Santander has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in LNG buildout in the Gulf

OPINION

  • The Cap Times: Enbridge proffers false dilemma on Line 5

  • Bemidji Pioneer: Enbridge’s impact on Minnesota aquifers

  • The Hill: Natural gas is essential to any realistic path toward greenhouse gas reduction

  • The Hill: The US must address more than LNG to mitigate climate change

PIPELINE NEWS

Iowa Capital Dispatch: Groups seek to delay Iowa pipeline decision after expansion announcement
JARED STRONG, 3/22/24

“State regulators should pause their final deliberations over Summit Carbon Solutions’ pipeline permit so they can review how the company’s recently announced expansion plans will affect it, the influential Iowa Farm Bureau Federation says,” the Iowa Capital Dispatch reports. “That expansion will more than double the number of ethanol plants connected to Summit’s carbon dioxide pipeline in Iowa and add about 340 miles of pipe — about a 50% increase… “Whether the announced expansion of the pipeline will be of minimal impact or major impact to the proposed project in this docket is unknown, and the board should require Summit to update the board on the record on the effect the recent expansion announcement will have,” wrote Chris Gruenhagen, a Farm Bureau attorney, in a request to reopen the record for Summit’s initial permit request… “Gruenhagen said the increased volume of the greenhouse gas to be transported annually has the potential to change the diameter of the originally proposed pipeline system in certain places, increase operating pressures, and require more pump stations and valve sites. The changes might require Summit to renegotiate land easements with an unspecified number of landowners… “Groups that oppose Summit’s pipeline system have also asked to pause the IUB’s pending decision on the company’s initial proposal and consolidate it with the permit requests that will be part of the expansion. “This is not a situation where a pipeline is already constructed and years later a single lateral pipeline is proposed,” wrote Wally Taylor, an attorney for the Sierra Club of Iowa. “This is a situation where the original pipeline project has not even been permitted yet, and the 14 additional lines make this an entirely new and different project.” “…The Sierra Club has argued that failing to consider the project in its totality prevents landowners affected by expansions to participate adequately in the permit proceedings for the original proposal, which if approved might make the approvals of the expansions inevitable… “Summit requested the meetings be held from April 22 to May 9. In a split decision, the three-member board rejected the proposed schedule and said the meetings should start in June or later.”

North Dakota Monitor: North Dakota PSC sets Summit carbon pipeline hearings
Jeff Beach, 3/23/24

“The North Dakota Public Service Commission has set a series of public hearings on the controversial Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline,” the North Dakota Monitor reports. “The hearings announced Friday, March 22 are: 9 a.m. Monday, April 22, at the Baymont Inn & Suites in Mandan. The hearing could continue the entire week at this location. 9 a.m. Friday, May 24, at the Harry Stern & Ella Stern Cultural Center on the North Dakota State College of Science campus, Wahpeton. 9 a.m. Tuesday, June 4, Our Club in Linton. The PSC will take public testimony at the hearings, which is the only way to have comments be part of the official record on the case. The PSC can consider public input received outside of the hearings and that input may prompt specific questions to the company during the hearing… “Since the PSC decision, Summit altered its route around landslide areas, and farther away from the city of Bismarck and other changes as it tries again to obtain a pipeline route permit from the PSC.”

Mankato Free Press: Public waters, C02 pipeline impacts and more subjects of water town hall
Holly Marie Moore, 3/23/24

“A bill intended to clarify the definition of public waters was among many water topics presented at the State of the River water town hall on Saturday,” the Mankato Free Press reports. “…And presenters such as Peg Furshong, the director of programs at environmental group Cure, discussed potentially harmful impacts of a recently proposed carbon dioxide pipeline project. The pipeline, proposed by Iowa-based Summit Carbon Solutions, would capture carbon dioxide from the fermentation process of biorefineries, such as ethanol plants, compress the captured carbon dioxide and channel it to North Dakota, where it would be permanently stored underground, according to the group’s website… “Furshong said the pipeline would use a lot of water. “It takes approximately three to three and a half gallons of water to produce one gallon of ethanol,” Furshong said. “If we just do the math, that means they’re using 165 to 192 million gallons of water a year just to make ethanol.” Furshong added that the carbon capture process would increase water usage. “Pretty soon you’re going to be choosing: Do you want to give water to your rural communities for drinking water, or do you want to give your water away to industries that are paying very small amounts for these water appropriation permits?”

West Virginia Public Broadcasting: Remembering And Revisiting Resistance To The Mountain Valley Pipeline, Inside Appalachia
Mason Adams, 3/25/24

“Red Terry’s property in Bent Mountain, Virginia, is in the path of the Mountain Valley Pipeline. She says the place was beautiful, but she’s worried about the dangers of the pipeline not far from her home,” West Virginia Public Broadcasting reports. “…People have been fighting the Mountain Valley Pipeline since it was first announced. The project runs through West Virginia and Virginia, connecting natural gas terminals with a 303-mile pipeline stretching across some of Appalachia’s most rugged terrain. Almost immediately after construction began, protestors tried to block it by setting up platforms in trees along the route and living in them.  In 2018, host Mason Adams interviewed activist and tree sitter Theresa “Red” Terry, as she protested against the pipeline on her own property. Six years later, with the pipeline nearly finished, Adams went back to Bent Mountain to talk with Red Terry and her husband Coles to hear what’s happened since Red came down from her tree sit.”   

Midland Reporter-Telegram: Oil Report: Pipeline constraints reintroducing volatility to WTI Midland prices
Mella McEwen, 3/23/24

“Permian Basin oil producers should prepare for a widening price spread from Midland to the Magellan East Houston market this summer due to pipeline constraints,” according to the Midland Reporter-Telegram. “While we don’t expect spreads to blow out to the $12 a barrel range seen in 2018, East Daley believes the market is underestimating the potential for regional volatility,” Kristy Oleszek, crude oil director at East Daley Analytics, wrote in a recent report… “East Daley expects the spread will eventually increase to $2 per barrel, or 150% above current expectations without new pipe expansion. Permian Basin barrels are primarily heading to Corpus Christi, she told the Reporter-Telegram in a telephone interview, and those pipelines are full, sending crude to the secondary market in Houston. She forecast Houston-bound pipelines will be 90% utilized by year end. East Daley predicts total Permian takeaway capacity will exceed 80% utilization beginning in July… “There are several projects awaiting permits that could significantly ease takeaway constraints, she told MRT. Enterprise Products Partners is planning a 550-mile pipeline to transport up to 600,000 barrels per day of natural gas liquids from the Permian Basin to Houston and could begin operation in the first half of 2025. Energy Transfer has also announced plans to expand its NGL export capacity at Nederland. It, too is expected to enter service in mid-2025. Those projects, once online, could be game changers and make the Houston area the main destination for Permian Crude, Oleszek told MRT, noting those new facilities would have the capability of loading Very Large Crude Carriers.”

TradeWinds: Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion to boost Pacific aframax demand, says Poten
Dale Wainwright, 3/25/24

“The $34bn expansion of Canada’s Trans Mountain Pipeline (TMX) will dramatically change the oil and tanker markets in the region, says Poten & Partners,” TradeWinds reports. “The project is nearing completion, and the volume of crude that will be able to be shipped from Alberta to the west coast of Canada will almost triple to 890,000 barrels per day. “The ability to export an additional 580,000 bpd of crude oil will add a meaningful volume of crude to the Pacific Basin,” Poten said.

WASHINGTON UPDATES

Politico: Oil and gas execs are unhappy with Biden — but not eager for Trump’s return
BEN LEFEBVRE, 3/23/24

“Oil and gas executives are chafing under President Joe Biden’s attempts to rein in their industry — but sweating at the thought that Donald Trump might replace him,” Politico reports. “Industry executives assembled here for CERAWeek, one of the world’s premier annual energy conferences, disparaged Biden administration regulations on their greenhouse gas emissions and its pause on new gas export permits. But though they’re confident Trump would reverse those policies, many fear a return to the volatile international relations and idiosyncratic management style he brought to his previous four years in office. “…But the sense of ambivalence among the executives this year mirrors the sentiment in the broader electorate, where polls show voters are generally dissatisfied with their choices for the presidency… “But several of his other proposals could pose problems for the companies’ bottom lines… “The heads of the oil giants Exxon Mobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and other companies who took the stage at the Houston conference, which ends Friday, did not mention Trump by name or broach the idea of a potentially major change in government policy come next year. But behind the scenes, interviews with more than a dozen industry executives showed many viewed a possible major realignment of federal energy policy to be part of the new normal — “like a change in the weather,” said one natural gas executive who was granted anonymity to discuss relationships in D.C… “But the uneasiness over Trump’s trade policy would complicate business for an industry that has become the world’s largest oil producer and natural gas exporter… “While the former president has been a strong vocal supporter of the oil industry, his steel tariffs dramatically increased the cost of building new pipelines and other infrastructure, and his trade war with China temporarily took one of the biggest buyers of U.S. natural gas out of the market.”

Bloomberg: Fossil-Fuel Chiefs Unite in Slamming Biden LNG Ban
Ruth Liao, 3/21/24

“There’s been plenty of discussion at CERAWeek about the Biden administration’s pause on new liquefied natural gas terminals. On stage and in interviews, fossil-fuel industry leaders are united in their opposition to the move,” Bloomberg reports. “That’s hardly surprising, since the moratorium hinders their plans to boost exports of US gas and secure the higher prices available overseas. But as the gas lobby is only too keen to point out, more LNG on the global market likely displaces more coal, a dirtier fuel. Plus, US supplies are a key foreign-policy tool — witness the way American shipments kept the lights on in Europe after Russia invaded Ukraine. With this in mind, producers have been on the offensive at this week’s conference in Houston. Freeport LNG boss Michael S. Smith lambasted environmental supporters of the pause as “zealots.” Despite the administration’s stated concern about the impact on the Gulf Coast from new export terminals, Smith said the LNG industry is welcomed by local communities because of the jobs it creates. Toby Rice, chief executive officer of US gas giant EQT Corp., framed the issue as an electoral liability for President Joe Biden. He pointed to bipartisan pushback in Congress and cited recent polling of Pennsylvania voters that showed opposition to the move… “Trans Mountain pipeline executive Mark Maki affirmed that a massive expansion known as TMX will start service in the second quarter.”

E&E News: Dems join Republicans to pass anti-carbon tax measure
Emma Dumain, 3/22/24

“The House voted Thursday on a nonbinding resolution to disapprove of a carbon tax — a messaging measure that came at something of a critical moment for bipartisan lawmakers looking to tie trade policy to climate action,” E&E News reports. “The 222-186 vote for H.Con.Res. 86 showed the extent to which the concept of putting a price on the carbon intensity of U.S. goods and services remains politically toxic, both for Republicans who care about lowering greenhouse gas emissions and Democrats in swing districts and tough election fights. All but one Republican — Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a reliable moderate GOP vote on climate issues — supported the resolution. Ten Democrats, mostly those vulnerable to losing seats this November, broke with their party and voted “no.” The resolution would express “the sense of Congress that a carbon tax would be detrimental to the United States economy.” It was considered as part of the Republican majority’s “energy week,” in which members devoted time in committees and on the House floor debating legislation geared toward fighting back against the Biden environmental agenda.”

E&E News: House passes repeal of ‘green bank,’ methane fee
Emma Dumain, 3/22/24

“The House wrapped up “energy week” by voting to repeal two key climate priorities contained in the 2022 landmark climate bill, the Inflation Reduction Act,” E&E News reports. “Lawmakers on Friday voted 209-204 on the “Cutting Green Corruption and Taxes Act,” H.R. 1023. One Republican opposed and one Democrat voted in favor. It was the only piece of legislation President Joe Biden explicitly threatened to veto from a longer list of political messaging bills and resolutions GOP lawmakers put on the floor this week to take aim at the administration’s environmental agenda. The bill, as originally introduced by Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.), would roll back the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Program, a $27 billion grant program administered by EPA to finance a combination of nonprofits and localities to pursue clean energy projects, including those in underserved communities. Supporters frequently refer to it as a “green bank.”

E&E News: Treasury hearing to showcase battle over ‘clean’ hydrogen
Christian Robles, 3/25/24

“A debate over how to measure emissions from “clean” hydrogen is expected to escalate Monday, as the Biden administration holds its first public hearing on proposed tax credit guidance for the fuel,” E&E News reports. “The Treasury Department hearing comes after 30,000 comments were submitted on the draft guidance, which outlines how companies can obtain hydrogen credits known as 45V under the Inflation Reduction Act. The Washington meeting also follows a letter Friday from a coalition of business and green groups calling for changes to how the guidance counts upstream emissions for “blue” hydrogen made with natural gas tied to carbon capture. Under the proposed rules, which were released in December, Treasury considers about 0.9 percent of the methane used to make hydrogen from natural gas as having leaked into the atmosphere. Under the existin g plan, hydrogen producers can’t change that percentage and other predetermined emissions numbers from a model created by the Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory. “We believe the requirement to use a fixed, national average [on upstream methane emissions] instead of actual emissions data is misguided,” said the letter, which was signed by the Clean Air Task Force, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, ARCH2 hydrogen hub, the National Association of Manufacturers, the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association and the Open Hydrogen Initiative, a consortium looking to define measurement of hydrogen’s carbon intensity.”

STATE UPDATES

Energy News Network: Environmental groups appeal court order on drilling under Ohio park and wildlife areas
Kathiann M. Kowalski, 3/22/24

“Four environmental groups filed an appeal Friday challenging an Ohio judge’s order declining to review state regulators’ decisions to allow oil and gas drilling under state park and wildlife areas,” Energy News Network reports. “The Notice of Appeal filed with Franklin County Court of Common Pleas takes issue with Judge Jaiza Page’s Feb. 23 order, which said the groups had no right to challenge rulings by the Ohio Oil & Gas Land Management Commission last November to allow drilling and fracking under Salt Fork State Park, Zepernick Wildlife Area and Valley Run Wildlife Area. “Our appeal continues the fight for legal accountability and oversight of the commission’s decisions,” Earthjustice attorney Megan Hunter, who is one of the lawyers representing groups in the appeal, told ENN… “In this case, the environmental groups claimed the commission didn’t consider all nine factors before reaching its decisions. They also objected to the commission’s failure to hold a hearing and accept public testimony for the proposed parcels at each park and wildlife area… Without judicial review of the commission’s actions, it’s unclear what checks, if any, exist over the commission’s decisions on drilling beneath park and wildlife areas. “The Commission handed over Valley Run Wildlife Area, Zepernick Wildlife Area and Ohio’s largest state park — Salt Fork State Park — to drillers without considering the environmental and geologic impacts of oil and gas development,” Hunter said. “Thousands of state residents and users of these protected public lands demand accountability for this enormous failing.”

Los Angeles Times: What do Schwarzenegger, Fonda and Newsom have in common? They’re fighting oil drilling
TONY BRISCOE, 3/22/24

“As the oil industry wages a multimillion-dollar campaign to repeal California drilling restrictions, the campaign to defend the state’s environmental protections is starting to resemble a Hollywood blockbuster,” the Los Angeles Times reports. “In a showcase of political clout and celebrity influence, former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and actor Jane Fonda joined Gov. Gavin Newsom and environmental advocates Friday in Los Angeles to call on voters to rescue Senate Bill 1137, a state law that intends to ban new oil and gas drilling within 3,200 feet of homes, schools and parks next year. Although Newsom signed the measure into law in 2022, California’s oil industry spent around $20 million to collect enough signatures to put the law on the November ballot. However, the fossil fuel interest groups have been challenged by a well-funded political committee whose biggest sponsors include former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, outdoor clothing retailer Patagonia and a coalition of environmental groups. As a part of their counteroffensive, they enlisted Schwarzenegger and Fonda, two longtime opponents of oil drilling, for a news conference at a Ladera Heights soccer field that neighbors the Inglewood Oil Field — the nation’s largest urban drill site. “They’re spending millions and millions of dollars because they want to tell the California people that it is safe to drill next to a house,” Schwarzenegger said as pumpjacks slowly bobbed behind him. “They’re coming back with the same trick and the same dialog. There will be no difference. They will be terminated again,” he continued, referencing his famed “Terminator” movie franchise… “Oil companies call the frontline communities ‘sacrifice zones,’ ” said Fonda, who has launched her own political action committee to oust fossil fuel supporters from public office. “We have to prove to them that we will not tolerate so many Californians to be considered sacrificeable.” “…Newsom emphasized the importance of transitioning away from fossil fuels to meet the state’s lofty climate goals and stave off the worst effects of warming. “Let’s not mince words: The climate crisis is a fossil fuel crisis. Period,” Newsom said. He added: “It’s the burning of gas, it’s the burning of coal, it’s the burning of oil. And these guys, they played us for fools.” “…In joining Schwarzenegger, California’s last Republican governor, Newsom said the fight to reduce pollution and greenhouse gases is bipartisan, noting President Nixon’s formation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and former California Gov. Ronald Reagan’s creation of the California Air Resources Board.”

WLFI: “…They’ll have to police these things a little more.” Environmental expert weighs in on effects of Petrolia oil spill
Caitlin Hunt, 3/20/24

“Five days after the initial spill, crews still continue to clean up at the Boyd Facility of Indian Liberty. The Illinois Enviornmental Protection Agency said 1,000 barrels of saltwater and 250 barrels of crude oil leaked from the facility Friday,” WLFI reports. The oil spill was reported Friday and crews have been working for the past five days to clean up. One professor said it could take some time, though, for the facility to get all clear. The company and the EPA have yet to give a cause for the leak. Indiana University professor Gabriel Filipelli told WLFI  a number of different things could have caused the spill… “No matter the fault, it’s critical that all of these materials are removed from the area’s soil and waterways. Filippelli told WLFI these materials can cause major disruptions to local ecosystems. The Illinois Enviornmental Protection Agency said the hazardous materials from the Indian Liberty plant flowed into nearby Muddy Creek, Embaras River, and maybe even the Wabash. While cleanup crews have been using vacuums and booms to remove any of those materials, Filippelli told WLFI the salt-water brine mix can’t be contained by these tools and could travel farther than imagined. “They travel almost along with the water,” he told WLFI. “When you raise the salinity it can cause significant environmental disruption. Those things can travel farther than oil usually.” …If it was just a weird fluke accident,” he told WLFI. “That’s one thing. But, if it’s a part of a systemic system of problems. Then, they’ll have to police these things a little more.” 

Colorado Public Radio: Environmental groups file new ballot measures to counter oil and gas industry initiatives
Sam Brasch, 3/21/14

“It appears Colorado’s reignited oil and gas wars could lead to a crowded and confusing cluster of competing initiatives on the November 2024 ballot,” Colorado Public Radio reports. “A coalition of environmental groups filed a trio of potential new initiatives Thursday to increase pollution consequences and establish a state right to a healthy environment. Representatives say the ballot measures are necessary to safeguard recent climate progress from the state’s oil and gas industry, which has been pushing its own ballot initiatives related to environmental issues. “We have no choice but to utilize every tool available to us,” Jessica Goad, the assistant director of Conservation Colorado, told CPR. “We are filing these measures as a backstop to ensure we can keep moving Colorado forward on the environment and public health.” “…Both environmentalists and oil and gas companies may see the initiatives as a game of political chicken. Goad told CPR the coalition — a political alliance that includes Conservation Colorado, the Sierra Club, GreenLatinos, Healthy Air and Water Colorado, the Natural Resource Defense Council, and the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project — is “very open” to discussing withdrawing its initiatives in exchange for a similar commitment from the oil and gas industry… “The environmental coalition said its new ballot measures are a response to proposals from Protect Colorado, a political action group backed by the state’s largest oil and gas operators, and Advance Colorado, a conservative group that’s championed several tax relief measures.  The industry and its allies have proposed a ballot measure that would restrict the type of energy residents use for heating and cooking. Backers acknowledge the plan is meant to hinder a growing movement to ban fossil-fuel appliances in new buildings… “Both the oil and gas industry, its allies, and the environmental coalition face some of the same practical hurdles to getting their proposals on the November 2024 ballot. All statutory initiatives require 124,238 valid signatures submitted by Aug. 4.”

EXTRACTION

Reuters: Major oil spills in United States since 1969
3/21/24

“Energy major Chevron (CVX.N), opens new tab has agreed to pay $13.1 million in settlement agreements with two California state agencies for its oil spills in 2019, which saw at least 800,000 gallons of oil and water leak into a creek bed in Kern County,” Reuters reports. “The state of California has seen multiple oil spills starting from a devastating oil well blowout in Santa Barbara in 1969 to Amplify Energy’s offshore spill in 2021. Here are some of the major oil spills in the U.S. since 1969: Keystone Pipeline, Kansas – 2022: A progressive fatigue crack, which originated during the construction of TC Energy’s (TRP.TO), opens new tab Keystone pipeline, caused a 14,000-barrel oil spill in rural Kansas. It was the biggest U.S. oil spill in nine years. North Dakota – 2013: Tesoro Logistics LP’s pipeline spilled more than 20,000 barrels of crude oil into a wheat field in North Dakota. Gulf of Mexico – 2010:  An explosion occurred on the BP (BP.L), opens new tab operated Deepwater Horizon oil well drilling platform on April 20, killing 11 workers and releasing 134 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Port Arthur, Texas – 2010:  An oil tanker Eagle Otome, chartered by Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), opens new tab, carrying crude to a refinery, was struck by a barge tow traveling in the opposite direction, spilling an estimated 11,000 barrels (462,000 gallons) of sour Mexican oil into the water. Kalamzoo River, Michigan – 2010: A failure of pipeline operator Enbridge’s (ENB.TO), opens new tab Line 6B near Marshall, Michigan, spilled some 20,000 barrels of oil into a branch of the Kalamazoo River… “Prince William Sound, Alaska – 1989: The oil tanker Exxon Valdez, owned by Exxon Shipping, struck the Bligh Reef in Alaska and spilled more than 11 million gallons of crude oil, spreading over 3,000 square miles…”

The Hill: Study: No top oil companies aligned with Paris climate goals
ZACK BUDRYK, 3/22/24

“None of the 25 biggest oil and gas companies is on track to meet the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, according to research released Friday by the climate finance think tank Climate Tracker,” The Hill reports. “Researchers with the organization scored major fossil fuel companies on five metrics, including investment options, production plans, sanctions on recent products, incentives for remuneration and emissions reduction targets. In each category, the companies scored between 0 and 4, with 4 representing the closest alignment… “The report found the company most aligned with Paris goals was BP, which still received a grade of D-, while ConocoPhillips scored an H, the only company to receive the lowest grade… “Scores were particularly out of alignment with Paris when it came to emissions targets. None of the 25 companies scored a 4 on this metric, and only one, Italian oil company Eni, scored a 3. The majority of companies — 16 — scored a zero on emissions reductions.” 

Reuters: Ad campaign uses humor to urge Americans to ditch natural gas
Nichola Groom, 3/23/24

“When environmentalists talk about climate change, it’s typically in stark terms, describing it as a crisis that threatens the future of the planet. A scrappy group of filmmakers and activists think it can also be funny,” Reuters reports. “The Gas Leaks Project, a group formed by climate advocacy veterans, launched a $1 million campaign this week that uses humor to push back against oil and gas industry messaging that natural gas, which is lower emitting than coal, is a critical “bridge fuel” in the transition to renewable energy… “Called “Hot & Toxic,” the campaign’s trailer is a riff on a reality television show in which 21 irritating housemates symbolizing pollutants associated with natural gas descend on an unsuspecting homeowner. The message is clear: Using natural gas inside your home is not safe. “I did not come here to make friends,” the actor playing Carbon Monoxide, or C.Mo, says directly to the camera as if being interviewed. “I came here to cause chest pain, nausea and vomiting.” In addition to the trailer, the campaign includes social media content and billboards in Los Angeles and Washington. It is sponsored by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, a nonprofit that advises and manages charitable giving.”

Reuters: Exxon ahead of schedule on doubling LNG portfolio, exec says
Sabrina Valle and Curtis Williams, 3/21/24

“Exxon Mobil is ahead of schedule with its plan to double the size of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) portfolio to 40 million tons per annum (mtpa) by 2030 and will focus on selling its own gas rather than trading that of third parties, the company’s LNG chief said on Thursday,” Reuters reports. “Exxon is revamping its LNG trading strategy amid growing production of the fuel and as part of a wider corporate reorganization that began in 2022. The oil major is relatively small in LNG trading compared to TotalEnergies and Shell PLC. Shell is one of the industry leaders and made $2.4 billion from trading LNG in the fourth quarter 2023. Unlike Shell and Total, Exxon plans to mainly trade its own gas, Peter Clarke, Exxon senior vice president for global LNG, told Reuters… “Exxon’s volumes will increase through the Golden Pass LNG project, where it has a 30% stake with QatarEnergies as a partner… “The company said in a December presentation it expected to make a final investment decision for its PNG Papua LNG project in Papua New Guinea this year and begin engineering and design for a Mozambique project by year end.”

S&P Global: Carbon capture costs outweigh incentives, fail to attract hard-to-abate industries
Binish Azhar, 3/18/24

“Operators are committed to reaching net zero goals outlined in the Inflation Reduction Act by tackling carbon emissions through large scale storage projects, but current incentives have failed to rally industries behind the proposed carbon solution. Challenges in scalability and commercial appeal persist, with cost remaining a primary barrier to widescale deployment, company executives said March 18,” S&P Global reports. “The jury is still out” on the subsidies for carbon capture projects in the IRA, said Tak Ishikawa, CEO of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America during a panel at CERAWeek by S&P Global. “Ever since the IRA was introduced in August of 2022, there has not been once single carbon capture project that has seen a final investment decision.” The expansion of the 45Q tax credit to $85/t, while significant, has done little to move hard-to-abate sectors on its own. “It’s just not enough” to cover capital expenditure, debt servicing and providing a return, Ishikawa said, suggesting that the incentives outlined in the IRA were lackluster compared to the costs required for scaling these projects. Unless the market was willing to pay a premium for a clean product, “it’s really difficult to justify a carbon capture project just on the 85 dollars.” Funding large-scale clean energy projects should require a more “holistic” approach, Joanne Salih, a partner at Oliver Wyman’s energy and natural resources practice, told S&P. “If we are talking about CCS, I don’t actually believe that the challenge is inherently in the project, but it’s the fact that it is being phrased as project and project finance to the institutional investors, which makes it very difficult,” Salih told S&P. “The returns profile for carbon capture projects…in the traditional sense of what return is, is right now unknown and/or zero or negative, and potentially minimal moving forward,” Salih added. “We have to stop looking at things as individual projects,” Salih told S&P, adding that a proper investment portfolio would include upstream and downstream asset bases. For instance, the inclusion of hydrogen and carbon capture.

Reuters: Freeport LNG says Trains 1, 2 at Texas facility seen shut until May
3/20/24

“Freeport LNG on Wednesday said its Train 2 liquefaction unit at the Texas plant has been shut down, while Train 1 will be taken down imminently as it expects inspections and any subsequent repairs at both the units to be completed by May,” Reuters reports. “It was during the January freeze that damage occurred in one of the Train 3 motors. Once we understood the cause of the damage, we knew it would be prudent to take proactive steps to inspect our other two trains,” a company spokesperson told Reuters in an email.

Natural Gas Intelligence: Sustainability Targets, Customer Interest Driving Natural Gas Utilities to RNG
MORGAN EVANS, 3/22/24

“Natural gas utilities are growing renewable natural gas (RNG) programs to meet sustainability goals and customer interest. At the other end of the supply chain, producers are working to complete projects and boost supplies of the low-carbon fuel,” Natural Gas Intelligence reports. “NGI reviewed the fourth quarter 2023 results for some of the top players in the RNG industry and discussed with utilities what is driving interest in the fuel.  Rapid City, SD-based Black Hills Corp., which distributes natural gas to 1.1 million customers in six states, announced earlier this year an acquisition of an RNG production facility as it works to expand its nonregulated RNG business…”

CLIMATE FINANCE

Reuters: Challenges to SEC’s climate rules sent to conservative-leaning US appeals court
Clark Mindock, 3/22/24

“A U.S. judicial panel on Thursday consolidated at least nine lawsuits challenging the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s new rules requiring public companies to report climate-related risks in a venue favored by Republican-led states and a business group,” Reuters reports. “The St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was chosen randomly via a lottery and will consider the legal challenges to the landmark rule, which aims to standardize public company disclosures about greenhouse gas emissions, weather-related risks and how they are preparing for the transition to a low-carbon economy. The court, which has 10 Republican-appointed active judges and one appointed by a Democratic president, was the venue where nine Republican-led states including Iowa, Montana and North Dakota and the business lobbying group American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce filed their challenge… “The consolidated lawsuits include challenges filed by at least 25 Republican-led states, energy industry companies and business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the nation’s largest business lobby, seeking to overturn the rules.”

Grist: Santander has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in LNG buildout in the Gulf
Nimra Shahid & Rob Soutar, 3/21/24

“Santander exploited loopholes in its own climate policy in order to help raise billions for facilities relying on fracked U.S. gas. The bank then quietly watered down the same policy, making it easier to finance fracking directly in future, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, or TBIJ, can reveal,” Grist reports. “The financing was for projects relating to liquified natural gas, or LNG, terminals, huge industrial plants that take gas — much of it from the region’s many fracking sites — and cool it into liquid form before loading it on to tankers to be shipped around the world. If all the Gulf Coast’s numerous LNG projects are completed, they would form a “carbon bomb” with associated annual emissions of over a billion metric tons of CO2, more than that of Russia. Local residents have complained of air pollution, dirty water, and serious health risks for their families. Last year, Santander was one of the banks involved in raising at least $28 billion for LNG terminals on the Texas and Louisiana coastlines. At the time, its policy prohibited the financing of projects involved in the expansion of oil and gas extraction from fracking. While the LNG projects did not directly involve fracking, they rely on fracked gas and form an essential part of the production and distribution process. Earlier this year, Santander then changed its policy without announcing it publicly. A footnote was added to its “prohibited activities” section, stating that exceptions in relation to fracking “may be considered” subject to factors including energy security and local development… “The news follows TBIJ’s revelations that Santander helped coordinate a billion-dollar bond to expand the operations of PetroPerú, a national oil company with a major pipeline slicing through vital wetlands supposedly protected by the bank’s climate policy.”

OPINION

The Cap Times: Enbridge proffers false dilemma on Line 5
Julie Gutmanis, 3/23/24

“Dear Editor: Click on “Line 5 In Wisconsin: Consider the Alternative” on the website of the Canadian pipeline company Enbridge for a shocking map featuring an ant line of traffic, mostly tanker trucks, moving east on US-2. This false dilemma fallacy — erroneously limiting options — appears throughout the site: Line 5, or else no heat in the winter, no energy for your farm and no jobs,” Julie Gutmanis writes for The Cap Times. “Enbridge seeks to limit our perception of possibilities to those it provides and profits from. But what if we truly did consider the alternatives and, finally, put all our money, ingenuity, hard work and will into developing a less destructive energy system? Do not forget that as Enbridge boasts of its renewable energy investments, it continues to invest in and profit far more from pipelines transporting fuel from Alberta’s tar sands, among the world’s most carbon-intensive, polluting oils. This speaking out of both sides of the mouth is jaw-droppingly captured in Enbridge’s March 2024 “Open Letter to the Bad River Band”: “Let’s talk about how we could bring our extensive experience with renewable power projects to help the Band green its electricity as part of any settlement.” This is from a company that for years has fought the band’s demand to remove a tar sands pipeline from reservation lands; from a company that then proposed a reroute still within the Bad River watershed, just upstream from the reservation borders. Enbridge’s PR can seem persuasive at first glance, but look more closely, and you will soon find the cracks.”

Bemidji Pioneer: Enbridge’s impact on Minnesota aquifers
Jami Gaither, Alida, 3/23/24

“Aquifer health is critical to both well owners and farmers dependent on irrigation. Michael Johnson’s March 11 piece “Minnesota aquifer health depends on location and perspective” argued farmers are not excessively draining aquifers,” Jami Gaither writes for the Bemidji Pioneer. “…Less well known are long-term aquifer damages created by Enbridge’s Line 3 Pipeline Replacement Project. State regulators have failed to assess construction damage and report to the public. Northern Minnesota is full of surficial aquifers. Communities near the pipeline route might consider whether Enbridge’s construction affected local hydrology, bringing problems usually blamed on drought or excess irrigation. Enbridge’s expert, Barr Engineering’s Ray Wuolo, testified during permitting, “Limiting the depth of sheet piling to approximately 20 feet should prevent penetrating into the underlying pressurized deposits.” Enbridge went deeper anyway, pounding 30-foot steel pilings deep into the ground to support their pipeline trench during construction. These pilings were subsequently found responsible in each of four aquifer breaches reported to date: Clearbrook, LaSalle, MP 1102.5 (Fond du Lac Reservation), and Moose Lake (Aitkin County). More than two years post-construction, damages are still being found… “In October 2022, Enbridge was criminally charged for illegally appropriating state waters at Clearbrook… “In July 2023, community science group Waadookawaad Amikwag revealed evidence of the Moose Lake aquifer breach forcing Enbridge and the Minnesota DNR to admit a fourth breach… “Eight suspect damage sites have been provided to state agencies and the Attorney General of Minnesota, yet the group documenting them, and those who sued to prevent the dismissal of Enbridge’s criminal charges, continue to hear no response. Learn more at www.WaadookawaadAmikwag.org and watch videos of the damages and impacts at the Waadookawaad Amikwag YouTube channel.”

The Hill: Natural gas is essential to any realistic path toward greenhouse gas reduction
Ryan Lance is chairman and CEO of ConocoPhillips and vice chair of the National Petroleum Council, 3/22/24

“Natural gas was at the top of the agenda this week when global and energy leaders convened in Houston for CERAWeek, an annual gathering to advance solutions to the biggest challenges facing the future of energy and the environment. This timely discussion occurred against a backdrop of federal actions at the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy that could affect permitting, regulation and reporting for the U.S. oil and natural gas industry,” Ryan Lance writes for The Hill. “A vital part of the energy mix here in the U.S. and across the globe, natural gas will continue to be needed for decades to come… “That’s why reducing operational emissions from America’s natural gas is a priority for all of us… “Over the last two years, the council’s team has conducted a comprehensive analysis of how we can work together to mitigate operational emissions across the natural gas supply chain… “For the first time, societal considerations and impacts were included as a focus area. Notably, the recommendations for meaningful community engagement build upon our industry’s commitment to being a good neighbor by striving to understand local perspectives and address community concerns… “Several studies have found those shipments of gas can also potentially reduce emissions due to coal substitution. Natural gas is already well positioned to meet global demand in a way that balances economic needs with environmental stewardship.”

The Hill: The US must address more than LNG to mitigate climate change
Philippe Benoit is the managing director at Global Infrastructure Advisory Services 2050; Anne-Sophie Corbeau leads the research on natural gas and hydrogen at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University’s School for International and Public Affairs, 3/23/24

“Earlier this year, the Biden administration paused action on pending approvals for U.S. liquefied natural gas exports to countries without a U.S. free-trade agreement, with President Biden citing ”the urgency of the climate crisis.” The decision was hailed by climate activists and criticized by oil and gas industry representatives,” Philippe Benoit and Anne-Sophie Corbeau write for The Hill. “While the Biden administration intended to send a message about addressing climate change, it is important to place the LNG story within the broader emissions context. LNG exports are a significant and visible part of the natural gas emissions landscape, but ultimately achieving international climate goals will require more actions that target domestic gas and global fossil fuel consumption… “Importantly, these figures do not include natural gas-related methane emissions, a powerful greenhouse gas that substantially increases the climate impact of gas use. In 2022, the IEA estimated that global methane emissions from the energy sector were 135 million tons in addition to combustion emissions. Oil and gas — often produced together — accounted for 58 percent of these methane emissions globally, with the U.S. responsible for around 12 percent of the global total… “These figures demonstrate that while LNG exports represent an important and growing use of domestically produced gas, natural gas consumption within the U.S. and its related emissions represent a bigger climate challenge. What can and will be done to address these emissions?… “Without strong U.S. leadership, emissions from several countries can be expected to remain well above what is needed to avoid dangerous climate change. Understanding and addressing the potential emissions generated by US LNG exports is part of setting that tone, and it carries significance beyond the actual size and share of the LNG-related emissions… “Addressing emissions relating to the domestic use of natural gas and other fossil fuels and encouraging action abroad by China and other countries, should take up the bulk of our efforts. LNG-related emissions are important, but the weight of the climate change challenge lies beyond it.”  

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