Skip to Content

Extracted

Extracted: Daily News Clips 6/10/21

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

By Mark Hefflinger

News Clips June 10, 2021

Subscribe in your inbox daily M-F via Substack:

PIPELINE NEWS

  • Bold NebraskaNebraska Landowners, Tribal Nations, Rejoice as TC Energy Says Keystone XL Pipeline is Terminated
  • Press releaseTC Energy confirms termination of Keystone XL Pipeline Project
  • Facebook: Jasilyn ChargerI will serve no jail time  but six months of probation thank you for the prayers and for the fam that showed up
  • Lincoln Journal-Star: Opponents rejoice as TC Energy gives up Keystone XL pipeline fight
  • KSNBOpponents of Keystone XL Pipeline relieved as the project comes to an end
  • KOLNWhats next: Keystone XL Pipeline canceled, lawsuits remain
  • Canadian PressKeystone XL pipeline project cancelled by TC Energy after over a decade of delays
  • Associated PressKeystone pipeline nixed after Biden stands firm on permit
  • ReutersKeystone pipeline officially canceled after Biden revokes key permit
  • NPRDeveloper Abandons Keystone XL Pipeline Project, Ending Decade-Long Battle
  • BloombergThe Keystone XL Pipeline Has Officially Been Canceled After Opposition From Biden Administration
  • E&E NewsRepublicans Blame Biden, ‘Extremists’ For Pipeline’s Demise
  • E&E NewsKeystone XL Is Dead. Now What?
  • E&E NewsWhat Pipeline Protests Reveal About Biden’s Oil Plan
  • Grand Forks HeraldGrand Forks Customs and Border Protection helicopter team under investigation for rotor washing Line 3 protesters
  • KSTP179 protesters of Enbridge Line 3 Pipeline arrested after ‘extensive damage’ caused to equipment
  • KBJREnbridge to seek prosecution for vandalized equipment
  • InsideClimate NewsThousands Came to Minnesota to Protest New Construction on the Line 3 Pipeline. Hundreds Left in Handcuffs but More Vowed to Fight on
  • The HillJane Fonda: Biden hasn’t done ‘enough’ on oil pipelines
  • GristThe Line 3 pipeline protests are about much more than climate change
  • Facebook: MackinawOde (Heart of the Turtle)The Michigan water Odyssey begins today: A 280 mile run from Mackinaw city to Grand Haven Michigan hopes to raise awareness to shut down EnBridge Line 5

WASHINGTON UPDATES

  • Politico Morning EnergyFACING (POLITICAL) REALITY
  • Inside EPAKerry Rejects Notion Of Gas Pipelines As ‘Stranded’ In Low-Carbon Shift
  • E&E NewsBiden Admin Pushes Back On Oil Leasing Freeze Lawsuits
  • Colorado NewslineAs Biden’s BLM pick awaits confirmation, its Grand Junction headquarters sit empty

EXTRACTION

  • New York TimesShell says a court ruling on greenhouse gases will speed up its plans to cut emissions.
  • BloombergThe Retreat of Exxon and the Oil Majors Won’t Stop Fossil Fuel
  • DeSmogOil Drilling in the ‘Land of Water’: ExxonMobil Hunts for More Fossil Fuels in Guyana Amid Sea Level Rise Fears
  • ReutersExxon’s board shakeup could force review of billions of dollars in spending
  • Wall Street JournalOne Oil Company’s Rocky Path to Renewable Energy
  • Globalnews.ca [VIDEO]Environmental analyst calls Alberta oilsands producers’ net-zero strategy ‘wild cards’

OPINION

PIPELINE NEWS

Bold Nebraska: Nebraska Landowners, Tribal Nations, Rejoice as TC Energy Says Keystone XL Pipeline is Terminated
6/9/21

“Landowners still face ongoing eminent domain litigation with easements not relinquished by TC Energy; Pipeline Fighters, Water Protectors vow to continue until all equipment removed and land returned… Bold Nebraska, Tribal Nations, and Water Protectors around the world rejoiced at the long-anticipated news on June 9 that TC Energy (formerly TransCanada) has “terminated the Keystone XL Pipeline project.” “Pipeline fighters never gave up, even after President Biden stood with us and we knew locally the fight was not over until TransCanada waved the white flag,” said Jane Kleeb, Bold founder. “Now, the Nebraska Public Service Commission must prepare an order revoking the state permit they granted TransCanada. Until the Commissioners act, farmers and ranchers will continue to face TransCanada’s attorneys in court, protecting their property from an eminent domain land grab by a foreign corporation.” “We want to thank Nebraska State Senators Adam Morfeld and Eliot Bostar for urging the PSC to act,” Kleeb added. “Governor Ricketts is on a tour of Nebraska right now, talking about ‘property rights.’ Now is Gov. Ricketts’ chance to back up his words and protect Nebraska landowners.” “On behalf of our Ponca Nation we welcome this long overdue news and thank all who worked so tirelessly to educate and fight to prevent this from coming to fruition. It’s a great day for Mother Earth,” said Ponca Tribe of Nebraska Chairman Larry Wright, Jr. “After a decade, it is a good day that TransCanada has realized that there is no future in tar sands and the Keystone XL Pipeline, but it is imperative that all permits granted in Nebraska be revoked, especially the Nebraska Public Service Commission’s permit,” said Art Tanderup, landowner and farmer on the now-cancelled Keystone XL pipeline route near Neligh, Nebraska and also along the historic Ponca Trail of Tears. “The further taking of easements by TransCanada must stop, and current easements must be returned to the landowners. This action provides proof that the stewards of the earth and the water; the farmers, ranchers, and Tribes know how to respect what the Creator has given us.”

Press release: TC Energy confirms termination of Keystone XL Pipeline Project
6/9/21

“TC Energy Corporation (TSX, NYSE: TRP) (TC Energy or the Company) confirmed today that after a comprehensive review of its options, and in consultation with its partner, the Government of Alberta, it has terminated the Keystone XL Pipeline Project (the Project). Construction activities to advance the Project were suspended following the revocation of its Presidential Permit on January 20, 2021. The Company will continue to coordinate with regulators, stakeholders and Indigenous groups to meet its environmental and regulatory commitments and ensure a safe termination of and exit from the Project. Following is a statement from TC Energy’s President and Chief Executive Officer, François Poirier: We value the strong relationships we’ve built through the development of this Project and the experience we’ve gained. We remain grateful to the many organizations that supported the Project and would have shared in its benefits, including our partners, the Government of Alberta and Natural Law Energy, our customers, pipeline building trade unions, local communities, Indigenous groups, elected officials, landowners, the Government of Canada, contractors and suppliers, industry associations and our employees. Through the process, we developed meaningful Indigenous equity opportunities and a first-of-its-kind, industry leading plan to operate the pipeline with net-zero emissions throughout its lifecycle. We will continue to identify opportunities to apply this level of ingenuity across our business going forward, including our current evaluation of the potential to power existing U.S. assets with renewable energy.”

Facebook: Jasilyn Charger: I will serve no jail time  but six months of probation thank you for the prayers and for the fam that showed up.
6/9/21

“I will serve no jail time  but six months of probation thank you for the prayers and for the fam that showed up. Keep on fighting the good fight. Wopila”

Lincoln Journal-Star: Opponents rejoice as TC Energy gives up Keystone XL pipeline fight
6/9/21

“TC Energy, the company behind the Keystone XL pipeline, said Wednesday it is pulling the plug on the contentious project after Canadian officials failed to persuade President Joe Biden to reverse his cancellation of its permit on the day he took office,” Lincoln Journal-Star reports. “…After a decade, it is a good day that TransCanada has realized that there is no future in tar sands and the Keystone XL Pipeline,” said Art Tanderup, who farms along the Keystone XL route near Neligh and organized protests against the project. Tanderup said it is imperative that all permits granted in Nebraska be revoked, specifically the Nebraska Public Service Commission’s permit to TC Energy approved amid legal and legislative battles. Through all of it, Bold Nebraska founder Jane Kleeb and her band of rural landowners and Natives led the fight against the project… ““This is yet another example of the Biden-Harris Administration putting the priorities of radical environmental activists above our national interest,” Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts said in a statement. “Without Keystone XL, the United States will not only be more dependent on overseas sources of oil, but our state will not enjoy the benefit of the jobs and property tax revenue the project would have brought.”

KSNB: Opponents of Keystone XL Pipeline relieved as the project comes to an end
6/9/21

“TC Energy has officially announced they are ending their Keystone XL Pipeline project,” KSNB reports. “The Nebraska Democratic Chair Jane Kleeb and her group of what she calls a mix of democrats, republicans, independents and tribes have been fighting to end the project for about ten years now. Kleeb told Local4 News she started crying when she heard the news it was finally over… “This has been an entire roller coaster of emotions for the past 10 years so to say that not only myself, but farmers, ranchers and tribes are happy that we can finally do this deep exhale that the project is finally over is such a relief,” Kleeb told KSNB. “We are going to go in court to make sure that landowners that are still being dragged into court by TransCanada that we file paperwork for the judge to essentially say that those lawsuits are now null and void,” Kleeb said. “We are going to urge our state senators to finally pass a law that says private corporations, especially foreign ones, cannot use eminent domain for their private gain.”

KOLN: Whats next: Keystone XL Pipeline canceled, lawsuits remain
By Ellis Wiltsey, 6/9/21

“For over a decade the Keystone XL Pipeline has been a point of contention in Nebraska courtrooms and out on the picket lines,” KOLN reports. “Alberta officials said Wednesday they reached an agreement with TC Energy, formerly known as TransCanada, to exit that partnership. The company and province plan to try to recoup the government’s investment, although neither offered any immediate details on how that would happen… “We stand really proud today knowing that a small group of farmers, ranchers, and tribes from Nebraska stopped big oil,” Jane Kleeb with Bold Nebraska told KOLN… “Domina Law is credited with delaying the project, with its ongoing litigation on behalf of Nebraska landowners. “I’m sure my clients, all the landowners who I have shared this with will never be too confident,” said Brian Jorde with the firm. “But at least for now and at least through the Biden administration there is no pipeline.” “…We are modestly optimistic that this means something,” Jeanne Crumly told KOLN. “12 years of experience tells us wait and see.” For landowners like Crumly of Paige, Nebraska there is still legal work to be done. What remains unclear is what will happen to the land taken as part of eminent domain by the Canadian company. “Does that mean our land should not be condemned, cannot be condemned?” Crumly questioned. “That’s logic. Our land should not be condemned for a project that can’t go forward.” Right now, Nebraska lacks laws that give landowners legal protection against the act, and many of the cases still open are working to get farmland back. “We’re entering a fascinating legal question because TransCanada has already taken all of the land in Nebraska,” Jorde said. “We’ve got about 65 active lawsuits on the topic for our clients.”

Canadian Press: Keystone XL pipeline project cancelled by TC Energy after over a decade of delays
6/9/21

“Another Canadian oil pipeline has bitten the dust after TC Energy Corp. said it was walking away from the Keystone XL pipeline project, ending a decade-plus battle that pitted the energy industry against environmentalists as oilsands producers sought to export Canadian crude,” according to the Canadian Press. “Construction on the pipeline was suspended earlier this year after newly elected U.S. President Joe Biden fulfilled a campaign promise to cancel its presidential permit in January. TC Energy last month took a $2.2-billion writedown on the cancelled project, which pushed the company to a loss in its most recent quarterly earnings. It approved spending US$8 billion in March 2020 to complete the pipeline after the Alberta government agreed to take a $1.5 billion equity stake in Keystone and provide a $6 billion loan guarantee to ensure work started immediately. The Calgary-based company on Wednesday confirmed its decision to terminate the pipeline after conducting a comprehensive review of its options and consulting with the Alberta government. The government said its final costs are expected to be $1.3 billion… “Kenney, who in January called the permit revocation a “gut punch,” said his province has an important, continued role in the North American energy system… “This victory is thanks to Indigenous land defenders who fought the Keystone XL pipeline for over a decade.“ stated Clayton Thomas Muller, Canada senior campaigns specialist at 350.org. “With Keystone XL cancelled, it’s time to turn our attention to the Indigenous-led resistance to the Line 3 and the Trans Mountain tarsands pipelines.”

Associated Press: Keystone pipeline nixed after Biden stands firm on permit
6/9/21

“The sponsor of the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline pulled the plug on the contentious project Wednesday after Canadian officials failed to persuade President Joe Biden to reverse his cancellation of its permit on the day he took office,” the Associated Press reports. “Calgary-based TC Energy said it would work with government agencies “to ensure a safe termination of and exit from” the partially built line, which was to transport crude from the oil sand fields of western Canada to Steele City, Nebraska… “Alberta invested more than $1 billion in the project last year, kick-starting construction that had stalled amid determined opposition to the line from environmentalists and Native American tribes along its route. Alberta officials said Wednesday they reached an agreement with TC Energy, formerly known as TransCanada, to exit their partnership. The company and province plan to try to recoup the government’s investment, although neither offered any immediate details on how that would happen. “We remain disappointed and frustrated with the circumstances surrounding the Keystone XL project, including the cancellation of the presidential permit for the pipeline’s border crossing,” Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said in a statement.

Reuters: Keystone pipeline officially canceled after Biden revokes key permit
6/9/21

“A $9 billion oil pipeline that became a symbol of the rising political clout of climate change advocates and a flash point in U.S.-Canada relations was officially canceled on Wednesday,” Reuters reported. “Keystone XL, which was proposed in 2008 to bring oil from Canada’s Western tar sands to U.S. refiners, was halted by owner TC Energy Corp (TRP.TO)after U.S. President Joe Biden this year revoked a key permit needed for a U.S. stretch of the 1,200-mile project. North American oil pipelines, including Dakota Access and Enbridge Line 3, have faced steady opposition from environmental groups, which are concerned about spills and want to slow any expansion of oil production.​.. “The Keystone XL pipeline was expected to carry 830,000 barrels per day of Alberta oil sands crude to Nebraska, but the project was delayed for the past 12 years due to opposition from U.S. landowners, Native American tribes and environmentalists.”

NPR: Developer Abandons Keystone XL Pipeline Project, Ending Decade-Long Battle
JEFF BRADY, 6/9/21

“The company behind the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline said Wednesday it’s officially terminating the project,” NPR reports. “TC Energy already had suspended construction in January when President Biden revoked a key cross-border presidential permit. The announcement ends a more than decade-long battle that came to signify the debate over whether fossil fuels should be left in the ground to address climate change. Environmentalists opposed the pipeline in part because of the oil it would carry— oil sands crude from Alberta. It requires more processing than most oil, so producing it emits more greenhouse gases… Keystone XL would have passed through Nebraska, and for years, a coalition of Indigenous tribes, ranchers and local environmentalists demonstrated, lobbied and sued to halt the pipeline’s construction. Its proposed route in Nebraska cut through the Ogallala Aquifer, the groundwater source for millions of Plains States residents. The pipeline’s opponents in Nebraska feared that any leak from Keystone XL would damage the critical aquifer, and they welcomed the end of the project. “On behalf of our Ponca Nation we welcome this long overdue news and thank all who worked so tirelessly to educate and fight to prevent this from coming to fruition. It’s a great day for Mother Earth,” Larry Wright Jr., chairman of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska, said in a statement.

Bloomberg: The Keystone XL Pipeline Has Officially Been Canceled After Opposition From Biden Administration
BY JENNIFER A. DLOUHY, 6/10/21

“TC Energy has ended its 16-year quest to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline, a controversial cross-border project that became a litmus test for climate activism and was blocked by President Joe Biden,” according to Bloomberg. ““The protest over the Keystone pipeline was a massive development in the climate movement,” and the project’s cancellation “is a testament to the effectiveness of collective citizen action,” Robert Brulle, a visiting professor at Brown University who is an expert on environmental activism, told Bloomberg. Opposition to Keystone, he added, amplified action against climate change and “marked the end of the unprotested expansion of oil and gas infrastructure in the U.S.” “…Jane Kleeb, the chairwoman of the Nebraska Democratic Party who has been one of Keystone XL’s most prominent opponents, said other projects should now be shut in the face of the climate crisis and concerns about water pollution. Activists have now turned their focus to Enbridge Inc.’s Line 3 in Minnesota. “We can not meet President Biden’s bold climate goals if we keep approving pipelines,” Kleeb said. “So in this moment, we ask President Biden to pause all other pipelines, like Line 3 in rural Minnesota, to show communities respect and to finally conduct the proper water, cultural resources and climate studies those pipelines never got under the reckless Trump administration.” “…Senator Steve Daines, a Montana Republican, called it “devastating news for our economy, jobs, environment and national security — and it’s entirely President Biden’s fault.”

E&E News: Republicans Blame Biden, ‘Extremists’ For Pipeline’s Demise
Jeremy Dillon, 6/10/21

“The official death of the Keystone XL pipeline drew predictably mixed reactions on Capitol Hill last night as Democrats and their environmental allies praised the outcome and Republicans mourned the missed economic potential of the project,” E&E News reports. “…For Democrats, the pipeline and the oil sands crude it would move represent an affront to climate action. For Republicans, it stands for energy production jobs and the pursuit of energy independence. That rhetoric was on display last night. ‘Great news: the Keystone XL pipeline is finally dead,’ Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), the chairman of the Interior-Environment spending subcommittee, tweeted. ‘Grateful to the activists and allies who worked tirelessly so that we could see this day!’ “…‘The market has spoken,’ Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) tweeted last night. That cross-border approval was the subject of multiple votes across Capitol Hill, passing both the Republican-controlled House and Senate in 2015. Former President Obama vetoed the bill.”

E&E News: Keystone XL Is Dead. Now What?
6/10/21

“The termination of the embattled Keystone XL pipeline yesterday launched a wave of environmental cheers, Republican attacks and new questions about how the move would shift the oil industry and legal cases,” E&E News reports. “…Legal analysts say pending legal fights sparked by the pipeline may continue, with some suggesting the Canadian government could still keep the project alive. Republicans, meanwhile, charged the Biden administration with hypocrisy, considering its recent waiving of sanctions of Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline. But climate activists who spent more than a decade fighting the 1,210-mile conduit said the decision to nix the project is, in their view, a reminder that the project was never needed… “The project has become a ‘symbol for the challenges the sector has faced in getting high-profile projects permitted and built, not just in Western Canada but across North America,’ Gavin MacFarlane, an analyst at Moody’s Investors Service, said in a statement, noting that KXL was nine years past its planned in-service date.”

E&E News: What Pipeline Protests Reveal About Biden’s Oil Plan
Lesley Clark, Carlos Anchondo, 6/9/21

“Protests against two Midwestern pipelines this week signal a challenge for the Biden administration as it navigates a path between federal rules, its climate agenda and the Democratic Party’s left flank,” according to E&E News. “…The unrest occurred as groups launched ads pushing back against both Line 3 and a separate pipeline in Michigan, and as Biden climate envoy John Kerry said that pipelines could be used for low-carbon fuels. The moves highlight how pipelines are emerging as one of the biggest political challenges for an administration that is courting unions and facing pressure from environmentalists who want President Biden to deliver on his campaign pledge to ban oil and gas permitting on federal land. ‘It will be a challenge throughout his administration,’ James Coleman, an associate professor of law at Southern Methodist University, told E&E. ‘It’s a tough balancing act.’ Biden’s decision on his first day in office to cancel a permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, for example, angered labor allies. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, whose union endorsed Biden’s candidacy, told Axios in February that he thought the president’s Keystone XL decision was a mistake that would cost union jobs. Unlike much of Biden’s climate agenda that requires congressional approval, some permitting decisions for pipelines fall squarely on the presidential desk.”

Grand Forks Herald: Grand Forks Customs and Border Protection helicopter team under investigation for rotor washing Line 3 protesters
Hannah Shirley, 6/9/21

“U.S. Customs and Border Protection is investigating the actions taken by a CBP helicopter deployed from Grand Forks to a Line 3 protest in Park Rapids, Minn., on Monday, June 7, where activists had locked themselves to construction equipment, after the low-flying aircraft rotor washed protesters with dust and debris,” according to the Grand Forks Herald. “Official statements say the helicopter responded to a request for assistance from local law enforcement to address the protest, and that the helicopter team promptly left the area after realizing their low-flying maneuvers were kicking up dust and debris near protesters, but video taken by an MPR News reporter at the incident appears to show the helicopter performing the low-flying maneuver multiple times for extended periods of time, and appears to show one passenger in the helicopter filming the proceedings. “CBP’s headquarters is investigating the facts to determine precisely what occurred and whether the actions taken were justified,” CBP spokesperson Kris Grogan said in a prepared emailed statement. “All appropriate actions will be taken based on the facts that are learned, including with respect to the incident itself as well as the agency’s applicable policies and procedures.” Grogan added the agency would release no further information at this time, and he declined to identify helicopter staff or say whether any of them are on leave pending the investigation.” “…Northern Lights Task Force, a group of northern Minnesota county sheriffs created to address pipeline protests, said in a Facebook statement that the helicopter was brought to the protest to order people to disperse. “The idea was to provide the order in a manner that everyone would be able to hear,” the Northern Lights Task Force statement reads. “Unforeseen to local law enforcement and due to extremely dry conditions, dust kicked up in the area. As soon as helicopter staff saw what was happening, they immediately left the area to ensure no further issues would be caused. This was not an intentional act to cause discomfort or intended as a dispersal mechanism.” But Joye Braun, a frontline community organizer with the Indigenous Environmental Network, claims the events do not match up with official statements regarding the incident.”

KSTP: 179 protesters of Enbridge Line 3 Pipeline arrested after ‘extensive damage’ caused to equipment
Tommy Wiita, 6/9/21

“The Hubbard County Sheriff’s Office says nearly 180 protesters were arrested on Monday, noting that they caused an “extensive amount of damage” to Enbridge Line 3 Pipeline equipment,” according to KSTP. “Officers from 31 different law enforcement agencies assisted in the removal and arrest of the protesters. In total, 179 protesters were arrested and charged with trespassing, and 68 additional people were cited with public nuisance and unlawful assembly… “As Hubbard County deputies responded, further reports were made that stated the crowd grew to around 300 people at the Enbridge property. According to a release, there were 43 employees unable to exit the property due to the protesters locking them in behind the front gate… “Additionally, it was noted that they put up barricades across the roadways and dug trenches across the township roads… “Authorities noted these individuals were trespassing and committing acts of criminal damage to property. The sheriff’s office said the protesters left a boat, garbage and feces in the roadway, and caused an “extensive amount of damage” to equipment.”

KBJR: Enbridge to seek prosecution for vandalized equipment
Bonney Bowman, 6/9/21

“Enbridge leaders said Wednesday they plan to seek full prosecution after protesters reportedly vandalized equipment at a Line 3 construction site this week,” according to KBJR. “Photos show slashed tires on contractors’ equipment near Park Rapids, MN. Enbridge leaders said construction trailers were also broken into and environmental safeguards, set up to control erosion and protect water quality, were destroyed.”

InsideClimate News: Thousands Came to Minnesota to Protest New Construction on the Line 3 Pipeline. Hundreds Left in Handcuffs but More Vowed to Fight on.
By Sam Palca, Kristoffer Tigue, Phil McKenna, 6/9/21

The trickle of activists began on Thursday but it quickly grew into a stream that filled northern Minnesota campgrounds surrounding the Mississippi River headwaters over the weekend,” according to InsideClimate News. “By Monday night, some 200 protesters had been arrested as they attempted to stop the construction of Enbridge’s Line 3 replacement project. Many had chained themselves to pipeline construction equipment hoping to delay a project that they say would lock Minnesota—and the nation—into decades of continued burning of some of the world’s dirtiest oil and threatens the pristine waterways that many Indigenous people depend on for their livelihoods… “Meanwhile, the Native group Resilient Indigenous Sisters Engaging (RISE) will continue a four-day prayer ceremony that began on Monday near the Mississippi headwaters in the path of the proposed pipeline. “Where the spirits, the Manidog, guide us, [will determine] how much longer we will go from there,” said Dawn Goodwin, an Anishinaabe leader and co-founder of RISE.

The Hill: Jane Fonda: Biden hasn’t done ‘enough’ on oil pipelines
BY OLAFIMIHAN OSHIN, 6/8/21

“Actress and environmental activist Jane Fonda said Tuesday that President Biden has not done “enough” about the oil pipelines crisis, “ The Hill reports. “During an appearance on CNN’s “New Day,” Fonda told host Brianna Keilar that she’s calling on Biden to respond to the current construction of the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline. Fonda cited climate scientists who say fossil fuel emissions have to be cut in half, and have advised against the development of any new fossil fuel projects… “We’re very, very grateful for what he’s been doing. He’s done a lot of very good things. But not enough. Not bold enough. And not fast enough. We’re up against time,” Fonda told Keilar. “The scientists say we have less than nine years to cut our emissions in half. Line 3 is going in the absolute opposite direction, and the news every day is telling us, emissions are going up, not down. So we have to put our bodies on the line and do whatever we can to get our administration to call a halt to these permits.”

Grist: The Line 3 pipeline protests are about much more than climate change
Alexandria Herr, 6/9/21

“Frank Bibeau remembers canoeing on the waters of northern Minnesota with his father on a late summer day in 1996. The sky and placid lake stretched to the horizon all around their red canoe, interrupted only by stalks of delicate grasses protruding through the lake’s surface. Bibeau navigated with a long pole while his father, perched in front, rhythmically knocked grains from the stalks into the boat, harvesting wild rice,” Grist reports. Every year, from the time the maple trees first mottle gold and red in late summer until the first frost, Anishinaabe all across the Great Lakes region embark on the wild rice harvest. Bibeau learned to harvest the grain from his father, who learned from his father before him, and so on — “since time immemorial,” he told me. For Bibeau and the Anishinaabe people, the wild rice harvest is at once tradition, sustenance, and cultural lifeway. According to their oral tradition, the Anishinaabe came to settle in the Great Lakes basin thousands of years ago when they followed a sacred shell in the sky to a place where food grew on water. When they arrived, they found wild rice — one of the only grains native to North America. Wild rice in the Anishinaabe language is manoomin: the good berry. “Wild rice is our life. Where there’s Anishinaabe there’s rice. Where there’s rice there’s Anishinaabe. It’s our most sacred food,” said Anishinaabe activist Winona LaDuke. “It’s who we are.”.. Wild rice is what’s known as an indicator species — meaning it tends to reflect the overall health of an ecosystem — and it requires abundant, clean water in order to grow. The crop is therefore especially vulnerable to oil spills. The new Line 3 is set to pass through the heart of Minnesota’s wild rice lakes — some of the best remainingwild rice waters in the world.”

Facebook: MackinawOde (Heart of the Turtle): The Michigan water Odyssey begins today: A 280 mile run from Mackinaw city to Grand Haven Michigan hopes to raise awareness to shut down EnBridge Line 5
6/10/21

“A run from Mackinaw city to Grand Haven along Lake Michigan hopes to raise awareness to shut down line 5 and keep our pristine Great Lakes pure. The run will also be in memory of the 215 children found in Canada at a boarding school. A separate group of paddle boarders will be making their way along the coast of Lake Michigan, meeting up with the organizers of the Michigan Water Odyssey at the end of July. Once the runners and paddle borders meet and grand Haven Michigan. They will begin traveling by water to Lansing via grand River. A capital rally will be August 21st  in cooperation with Oil and Water Don’t Mix. Opening ceremonies will be today (June 9th) at 11 at Mculpin point in Mackinaw City with Dusty McLeod leading the traditional Anishinabek ceremonies.  All are invited to attend. After the ceremony and a dip into the cold waters of Lake Michigan. MackinawOde founder Nathan Wright will begin the first leg of the run. Running approximately 10 miles by wilderness State Park. Wright says, “We are looking forward to this beautiful run along the shores of Lake Michigan. When we were mapping this out. I was amazed to really see the beauty that you don’t normally see along the lake. Because the main roads don’t go by the beautiful sites and seem to Lake Michigan.” Wright continues, “this is exactly why we are protecting the great lakes from any potential oil spills. We want to keep Lake Michigan and all the Great Lakes pure.” Wright hopes that other runners will join him on the odyssey along beautiful Lake Michigan. Wright was inspired by the youth at standing rock who did a similar run to  raise awareness of the Dakotas access pipeline. Wright, a Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians citizen and a standing rock Nodapl veteran. The event is being organized by MackinawOde and MI solidarity.”

WASHINGTON UPDATES

Politico Morning Energy: FACING (POLITICAL) REALITY
Anthony, Adragna, 6/9/21

“National Climate Adviser Gina McCarthy acknowledged in an interview with POLITICO that some of the climate change provisions like a clean energy standard might ultimately fall out of eventual infrastructure legislation, but that the administration would be “going for it” to deliver the loftiest climate package possible, according to Politico Morning Energy. “I think a lot of people have concerns,” McCarthy told Politico. “We have concerns about whether we’re going to meet the moment in the kind of bold way in which President Biden knows we have to.” McCarthy made clear the administration would fight tooth and nail for all of its climate change provisions, even if they don’t all make it into the legislation. “While every piece like a clean electricity standard may not end [up] in the final version, we know that it is necessary, we know that the utilities want it, we are going to fight like crazy to make sure that it’s in there. And then we’re going to be open to a range of other investment strategies,” she said. Key quote: “[Biden] continues to support everything that he’s put on the table. I just don’t want people to think that a loss of any one thing, or a reduction in the cost, is going to be the end of the discussion.”

Inside EPA: Kerry Rejects Notion Of Gas Pipelines As ‘Stranded’ In Low-Carbon Shift
6/8/21

“White House international climate envoy John Kerry is rejecting the notion that natural gas pipelines will automatically become ‘stranded assets’ as the economy shifts toward net-zero emissions, arguing such pipeline networks can be repurposed to transport low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia,” according to Inside EPA. ‘People in the industry tell me they can do this,’ Kerry said during a June 8 appearance at the American Clean Power Association’s (ACPA) virtual conference. ‘Some of it will have to be retrofitted, sure,’ Kerry added. ‘But, basically, I am told the ability to be able to transport hydrogen [and] ammonia through pipelines and make this work, not everywhere and not without alteration, obviously, but the point is that the world is moving in this direction.’ He was responding to a question by ACPA CEO Heather Zichal, a former Obama administration climate advisor, about the potential for using existing fossil-fuel infrastructure to transport low-carbon energy sources. Environmentalists and others have been raising concerns that investments in natural gas pipelines could lock-in use of fossil fuels for a decade or more, which could undermine the Biden administration’s push for a net-zero power sector by 2035.”

E&E News: Biden Admin Pushes Back On Oil Leasing Freeze Lawsuits
Niina H. Farah, 6/9/21

“The Biden administration struck back this week on claims that the president acted outside his authority when he ordered a pause on new oil and gas leasing on public lands and waters,” E&E News reports. “ In briefs to two federal courts, Justice Department attorneys argued that Republican attorneys general and the Western Energy Alliance do not have a legal basis to challenge President Biden’s executive order temporarily blocking new leasing. Biden had ordered a pause on new drilling lease sales on his first day in office so that federal agencies led by the Interior Department could study the program’s climate and environmental impacts. The administration asked the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana on Monday to dismiss nearly all the arguments in the case led by Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry (R) and 12 other attorneys general (Energywire, April 1). The 13 legal officials had argued that the pause would hurt state coffers funding coastal restoration projects. But the challengers had not put forward a ‘plausible claim’ for how Biden had acted outside his authority in issuing the executive order, DOJ attorneys argued. ‘The bulk of Plaintiffs’ wide-ranging complaint should be dismissed because the factual allegations, the documents cited, and the relief sought show that their claims fail as a matter of law,’ DOJ attorneys wrote.”

Colorado Newsline: As Biden’s BLM pick awaits confirmation, its Grand Junction headquarters sit empty
By Chase Woodruff, 6/8/21

“On a recent blustery spring morning in Grand Junction, the parking lot outside the small office building at 760 Horizon Drive steadily filled up as the workday began. Employees filed in and headed towards office suites emblazoned with corporate logos: Shaw Construction, ProStar GeoCorp, Moody Insurance Agency, Chevron. None, however, could be seen entering the Robert F. Burford Bureau of Land Management Headquarters, which occupies space on the building’s first and third floors,” according to Colorado Newsline. “The national headquarters of the BLM, which employs more than 10,000 people and manages more than 245 million acres of public land across the country, was, by all appearances, deserted. A security guard told a Newsline reporter that no one from the agency was available, as employees were “mostly teleworking… “The Trump administration and its allies, including former Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner, called the move a “reorganization.” Critics said it was more like an evisceration. “I thought it was a bad idea at the time, and certainly nothing has changed,” Bob Abbey, a former BLM director who led the agency from 2009 to 2012, told Newsline. “It was nothing more than a poorly disguised attempt to destroy the Bureau of Land Management from the inside.” Ex-BLM employees and public-lands advocates paint a dire picture of what happened to the agency following the relocation, which was announced by Gardner and Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, a Colorado native and longtime oil lobbyist, in July 2019. It’s a picture that was backed up by figures released by the Interior Department following President Joe Biden’s inauguration in January; out of hundreds of positions affected by the move, Interior officials said, 287 employees chose to resign or retire from the agency, while 41 accepted relocation. The latter number, however, includes employees who relocated to BLM field offices scattered throughout the West as part of a broader reorganization. The number of employees who relocated to Grand Junction, BLM officials confirmed this week, is three.”

EXTRACTION

New York Times: Shell says a court ruling on greenhouse gases will speed up its plans to cut emissions.
By Stanley Reed, 6/9/21

“Royal Dutch Shell will respond to a recent defeat in a Dutch court by accelerating its efforts to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions, the company’s leader said Wednesday,” the New York Times reports. “Ben van Beurden, the chief executive of Shell, said that he was “disappointed” by the ruling requiring the oil company, Europe’s largest, to move faster in slashing greenhouse gases, but added that the company was planning to do just that. “For Shell, this ruling does not mean a change but rather an acceleration of our strategy,” Mr. van Beurden said in an article published on LinkedIn. “We will seek ways to reduce emissions even further in a way that remains purposeful and profitable,” he added. Mr. van Beurden said his first reaction to the ruling was “surprise” because Shell had been in the forefront among oil majors in setting out targets to reduce emissions including those of the customers who burn the company’s products in their cars or jet engines. He also said that if Shell decided to stop selling gasoline and diesel today, people would just turn to other providers for fuel. “It would not help the world one bit,” he said. Mr. van Beurden said that Shell still expected to appeal the judgment. After reflection, though, Mr. van Beurden said he and his colleagues also felt “a determination to rise to the challenge” posed by the court.”

Bloomberg: The Retreat of Exxon and the Oil Majors Won’t Stop Fossil Fuel
Rachel Adams Heard, Laura Hurst, Kevin Crowley, 6/8/21

“When Exxon Mobil Corp. decided to get out of a big oil field in Iraq, the government took on the unusual role of salesman. Iraqi officials pitched West Qurna-1 to likely buyers from among Exxon’s supermajor peers, including arch-rival Chevron Corp. There weren’t any takers,” Bloomberg reports.”That left Iraq with narrowed options: sell to one of China’s state-backed oil majors, or else buy back Exxon’s stake itself. The sale process remains unresolved but either outcome would stand as a powerful indicator of what’s become of the global oil market. With supermajors from the U.S. and Europe in retreat around the world, national oil champions are set to fill the void. The supermajors—a group that, in addition to Exxon and Chevron, includes BP Plc, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, TotalEnergies SE, and Eni SpA—are shrinking even while fossil-fuel demand holds strong. These companies are under growing pressure to pay down debt while cutting greenhouse gas and, for some, transitioning to renewable energy. Recent weeks saw Exxon and Chevron rebuked by their own shareholders over climate concerns, while Shell lost a lawsuit in the Hague over the pace of its shift away from oil and gas. National oil companies, or NOCs, are largely shielded from those pressures. When the owners are governments, not shareholders, there aren’t dissident board members like those now sitting inside Exxon. That means state oil producers like those who populate OPEC+ can be the buyers of last resort for fossil-fuel projects cast off by the shrinking supermajors. State companies can also gobble market share by simply producing oil that their private-sector rivals won’t. Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. are spending billions to boost their respective output capacities by a million barrels per day each, and Qatar Petroleum is spending more than $30 billion to increase its liquefied natural gas exports by more than 50%.”

DeSmog: Oil Drilling in the ‘Land of Water’: ExxonMobil Hunts for More Fossil Fuels in Guyana Amid Sea Level Rise Fears
By Sharon Kelly, 6/9/21

“About 100 miles off the coast of Guyana, along the northern edge of South America, the drillship Stena Carron spent Saturday, June 5 drilling a new exploratory well on behalf of ExxonMobil,” DeSmog reports. “The drilling takes aim at a 9 billion-barrel oilfield recently discovered in the waters off Guyana. Exxon is now putting Guyana at the heart of its plans to press on hunting for new fossil fuel supplies despite the climate crisis. Meanwhile, much of Guyana itself was underwater following heavy rains that unleashed historic flooding. Over 25,000 households — in a small country with just over 200,000 homes — have been inundated… “After a dismal financial performance in 2020, ExxonMobil plans to rapidly ramp up oil and gas drilling off the coast of the former British colony near the outer edges of the Caribbean Sea. Those plans would make the rainforest-covered nation, currently a carbon sink, home to one of ExxonMobil’s largest oil developments — and potentially more important to the company’s future fossil fuel production than even Texas’ prolific Permian basin. Opponents of the oil giant’s plans in Guyana have warned that those ambitions are dangerously out of touch with the times — and completely incompatible with a world where climate change is kept below 1.5 degrees C.”

Reuters: Exxon’s board shakeup could force review of billions of dollars in spending
Jennifer Hiller, 6/9/21

“The recent overhaul of Exxon Mobil Corp’s board of directors could shift billions of dollars in spending and strategy over several years, but any changes likely will take time, analysts and investors say,” Reuters reports. “A quarter of directors last month lost their seats to outsiders, and the March appointment of activist Jeff Ubben puts a third of the 12-member board in new and more cost-conscious hands. Investors who rejected Exxon’s view of a slow transition to lower-carbon fuels also want spending to be revisited, they said… “Exxon’s board has been a prestige post for former CEOs, typically without any energy experience. Critics said the practice led Exxon to miss industry shifts and play catch-up at the expense of its balance sheet. Exxon bought in to natural gas near its peak, leading it to reduce the value of properties in the United States, Canada and Argentina by more than $19 billion last year, and paid up to arrive late to the shale oil party. New directors with energy experience likely will address Exxon’s spending “far more vigorously,” Anne Simpson, investment director at shareholder California Public Employees’ Retirement System, told Reuters.

Wall Street Journal: One Oil Company’s Rocky Path to Renewable Energy
By Sarah McFarlane, 6/8/21

“For years, Danish Oil and Natural Gas Co. did what many other big oil companies do: pumped hydrocarbons out of the North Sea. Today, it’s the world’s largest developer of offshore wind energy, and exceeds the market value of oil giants Occidental Petroleum Corp. and Eni SpA,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “Renamed Ørsted AS , it’s one of a handful of once-small energy companies that have grown after pivoting from fossil fuels to renewables, including Spain’s Iberdrola SA, Italy’s Enel SpA and America’s NextEra Energy Inc. As many oil companies now seek to follow suit, Ørsted is a case study on how hard the shift is. It took government intervention, years of subsidies and a wide-open competitive landscape for Ørsted to succeed. Shareholders and board members repeatedly questioned the strategy shift, and the costs ballooned the company’s debt, nearly derailing it. Today, subsidies are falling, if they exist at all. Competition for new wind and solar projects is fierce. And returns are lower than most big oil developments. A big reason for Ørsted’s eventual success is that it doubled down on a single industry—offshore wind—where it already had a first-mover advantage. BP PLC and Royal Dutch Shell PLC, two of the big oil companies with the biggest ambitions for going green, are instead investing in a wide array of low-carbon pursuits, from solar and wind to carbon capture. These are technologies they have dabbled in for years, but never pursued with the focus Ørsted applied to offshore wind. Ørsted said last week it planned to invest $57 billion by 2027 in wind energy.”

Globalnews.ca [VIDEO]: Environmental analyst calls Alberta oilsands producers’ net-zero strategy ‘wild cards’
6/9/21

“Canada’s largest oilsands producers have announced a joint strategy to attain net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from operations by 2050. But as Jenna Freeman reports, environmental analysts say the plan misses the mark,” Globalnews.ca reports.

OPINION

Billings Gazette: Leasing report is an important roadmap for reform
Marne Hayes is the Director of Business for Montana’s Outdoors. Frank Szollosi is the Executive Director of Montana Wildlife Federation. Margie MacDonald is a Billings community leader, former lawmaker, and conservationist, 6/9/21

“For far too long, Montana has been subjected to federal oil and gas leasing policies that do not serve our communities’ best interests,” Marne Hayes, Frank Szollosi and Margie MacDonald write for the Billings Gazette. “The leasing program, which has not undergone comprehensive review and reform in decades, treats Montana’s public lands as a mere commodity to be sold to oil and gas speculators at the expense of our communities and businesses that rely on public lands. But recent common-sense actions from the Biden administration have outlined a new future that would better serve us all. When the administration paused on all new oil and gas leases on federal public lands, it set out to review the broken system and work with Congress to pass sensible, bipartisan reforms. Recently Dan Bucks, former Director of the Montana Department of Revenue, released a report analyzing in detail just how ill-suited the current leasing system is for Montana and the West. The report also provides recommendations for reforming the system to restore balance to our public lands, just as the Biden administration aims to do now. As business and conservation leaders in the state, we were pleased to see Bucks’ report and digest his recommendations. His goals for the federal leasing program revolve around the overarching mandate for the Interior Department to “return full and fair value to the public from federal public lands.” To do this, the department and Congress must work together to ensure that the government collects sufficient revenue from oil and gas activities on public lands, protects the public’s ability to hunt, hike, fish, and graze on public lands, and prioritizes transparency and public participation at every stage of the leasing process.”

Marshall Independent: Editorial: Keystone canceled; is Enbridge next?
6/10/21

“Those protestors who are trying to stop the Enbridge Energy Pipeline 3 replacement may be taking some reassurance from the cancellation, once and for all, of the Keystone XL project,” the Marshall Independent Editorial Board writes. “…The protesters who are blockading the Enbridge pipeline project, which would replace an aging oil pipeline across northern Minnesota to Superior, Wis. This is a different kind of project from the Keystone pipeline. This pipeline has been there since the 1960s. As it deteriorates it poses a greater threat of a devastating breakdown and oil spill. Replacing the line is the safest, most efficient way to move the oil across the state. Protesters may be hoping that by delaying the Enbridge project, they can bring Biden to oppose it as well. We don’t think America is ready yet to be weaned from fossil fuels. The Enbridge project will allow for safer transportation across the state and should be allowed to continue.”

National Observer: Why you should take oilsands giants’ net-zero pledge with a barrel of skepticism
By Kathryn Harrison, Martin Olszynski & Patrick McCurdy, 6/10/21

“It has been a tough few weeks for the global oil industry,” National Observer reports. “Exxon and Chevron’s shareholders are demanding stronger climate action. Royal Dutch Shell was ordered by a Dutch court to reduce its emissions by 45 per cent by 2030. And the International Energy Agency (IEA) concluded that the Paris Agreement goal to limit global warming to 1.5 C demands a 75 per cent reduction in oil consumption by 2050, with no investments in new fossil fuel supply starting today. Within days, oilsands heavyweight Suncor announced new targets to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 30 per cent below its 2019 level by 2030 and to achieve net-zero by 2050. This week, five Canadian oil companies joined forces in a new Pathways to Net Zero initiative, the goal of which is to achieve net-zero in oilsands operations by 2050. While we applaud emissions reductions by any sector, we weigh oil and gas industry climate commitments with considerable skepticism. The industry has a history of rhetorical strategies that understate its contribution to climate change and overstate its progress. Let’s consider four of those strategies.”

Pipeline Fighters Hub