EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 7/22/24

PIPELINE NEWS

• AgWeek: South Dakotans will vote on carbon pipeline bill that could determine future of Summit pipeline

• Truthout: Farmers Fight a Hazardous Carbon-Capture Pipeline in Rural Midwest

• Bloomberg: TC Energy’s South Bow Spinoff Readies C$7.9 Billion Debt Sale

• WHRO: Construction begins on pipeline expansion in Hampton Roads

• Arizona Republic: A 200-mile hydrogen pipeline on the Navajo Nation raises safety, environmental concerns

• Midland Reporter-Telegram: ADCC Pipeline opens new outlet for Permian gas

• High Point Enterprise: Public invited hearing on methane pipeline through Kernersville

• Windsor Star: Premier Ford helps Enbridge break ground on $358M gas pipeline expansion in Leamington

• National Observer: Greenhouse gas: A new gas pipeline for Ontario’s greenhouses

• Squamish Chief: FortisBC cited for ‘minor’ non-compliance issues on Woodfibre LNG pipeline

WASHINGTON UPDATES

• Bloomberg: Where Harris and Her Potential Running Mates Stand on Climate Change

• E&E News: Biden’s exit puts spotlight on Harris’ energy record

• Bloomberg: Kamala Harris Seen as Tougher Oil Industry Opponent Than Biden

• E&E News: Greens praise Biden, start lining up behind Harris

• The Hill: Appeals court unanimously sides with Biden administration on updated power plant rules

• The Hill: White House seeks end to government purchase of single-use plastic by 2035

• Dallas Express: Cruz Proposes Bill To Undo Biden Admin Rule Affecting Texas’s Oil And Gas Industry 

• E&E News: House Republicans Move To Block BLM, Energy Rules 

• The Hill: ‘Mr. Secretary’: Burgum won’t be Trump’s VP, but he appears poised to take another role.

• E&E News: Alaska officials accuse BLM of reneging on land promise

STATE UPDATES

• North Dakota Monitor: Finalists named to be North Dakota’s top oil regulator

• Houston Chronicle: Concerns mount over spreading oil sheen, platform leak in Gulf of Mexico

• Los Angeles Times: Millions of Californians live near oil and gas wells that are in the path of wildfires

• Denver Post: Plans to expand Adams County gasoline storage tanks across street from elementary school raise air pollution concerns

EXTRACTION

• Politico: Fossil fuel extraction compatible with climate action, says COP29 host Azerbaijan

• Bloomberg: FTC Eyes Oil Bosses’ Texts for Signs of Collusion With OPEC

• Reuters: Woodside goes all-in on LNG with brave Tellurian buy: Russell

• Reuters: Malaysia coast guard locates oil tanker involved in collision off Singapore

OPINION

• Afro News: Carbon pipelines are a bad deal (for everyone who is not getting rich from them)
  

PIPELINE NEWS

AgWeek: South Dakotans will vote on carbon pipeline bill that could determine future of Summit pipeline
Kennedy Tesch, 7/22/24

“Ed Fischbach and other South Dakota landowners opposed to the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline project have described South Dakota Senate Bill 201 as the “Summit Bill of Rights,” AgWeek reports. “They put a misleading title on it to fool people, calling it the ‘Landowner Bill of Rights,’ which is the furthest thing from the truth,” Fischbach, a fourth-generation farmer in northern Spink County, who played a pivotal role in organizing the movement in opposition to the carbon pipeline, told AgWeek. Now, voters in South Dakota will decide whether the bill — one of three bills that made up the “Landowner Bill of Rights” — will become law… “The vote on SB201 could be a determining factor in the future of Summit’s Midwest Carbon Express, a pipeline that would capture carbon dioxide from 57 ethanol plants in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota and carry it to North Dakota, where it would be stored underground… “Fischbach initially entered the conversation about the pipeline when he received a letter in the mail in July 2021 from the company stating that they would be surveying his property for an easement. At a meeting held by Summit in Aberdeen, South Dakota, that year, he learned the company planned to use eminent domain to secure the land needed to build the pipeline, something he says should not be allowed for private companies to use. “Eminent domain is the main issue here — the abuse of eminent domain and allowing a private, for-profit individual or company to take our land to so they can make more money and put it in their pockets,” he told AgWeek. “Eminent domain has a place as a purpose for public-use projects like water systems, electrical lines and highways.” “…This is a toxic material, and if it leaks, it’s going to endanger people’s lives, and you’re going to transport that 2,000 miles up in North Dakota just to bury it in the ground,” Fischbach told AgWeek. “It serves no public purpose for anybody other than the people that are behind this project that’s coming out of Iowa, and now they’ve got the ethanol industry conned into thinking this is going to be lifesaving for them.” “…Another issue opponents of the pipeline argue is that Summit and those involved will receive billions of dollars in federal tax credits. “Taxpayers should be really concerned about this,” Fischbach told AgWeek. “We’re giving our tax dollars away to private individuals and letting them make millions and billions off the backs of our United States taxpayers.”

Truthout: Farmers Fight a Hazardous Carbon-Capture Pipeline in Rural Midwest
Nina Elkadi, 7/21/24

“Kathy Stockdale and her husband have spent almost 50 years working the land in central Iowa,” Truthout reports. “…But the operation she has spent a lifetime cultivating now faces a threat unlike any Stockdale has previously faced: Developers are planning to carve through her property with a pipeline carrying hazardous CO2 from ethanol plants, and there is little she can do to stop them… “The farm’s soils and wetlands would be forever altered by the pipeline intrusion, and if the pipeline were to rupture, the damage could be catastrophic, Stockdale fears. “It consumes your thoughts. You don’t sleep. You ask any of the landowners who have been fighting this, it’s been hard, it’s been stressful,” she told Truthout… “Opposition across the rural Midwest has delayed the project, but approval by Iowa officials late last month has breathed new life into the undertaking… “Along with Iowa’s green light, a measure that could speed the pipeline’s approval in South Dakota is set to go before voters there as a ballot item in the Nov. 5 general election. In North Dakota, where Gov. Doug Burgum has announced his support for the project, he and two other members of a state committee are scheduled to vote on the project this fall. Minnesota officials continue to analyze the proposed project and seek public input, while Nebraska officials also continue to wrestle with the company’s plan amid opposition. Opponents say they are unpersuaded by SCS’ promises and by the strong political and industry support attached to the project as they battle to overturn or block state approvals. They also aim to shine a spotlight on what they see as a fundamental problem with US policies that promotes expansion of the ethanol industry as an environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels… “CO2 pipelines require large quantities of water to cool the carbon and keep it in liquid form. The SCS is expected to take 90% of the water needed for the pipeline from Iowa’s already overused aquifers. “We’re essentially creating this massive infrastructure all across the region without really understanding the impacts,” Silvia Secchi, a professor of geographical and sustainability sciences at the University of Iowa, told Truthout. “You can spin the story that corn ethanol is better for the climate, but there is no way that corn ethanol is better for our water quality and our water quantity. This focus on carbon, in some sense, is really kind of like a red herring.”

Bloomberg: TC Energy’s South Bow Spinoff Readies C$7.9 Billion Debt Sale
Chunzi Xu, 7/19/24

“TC Energy Corp.’s liquids pipeline spinoff South Bow Corp., is gearing up to sell around C$7.9 billion ($5.8 billion) of debt in the coming months, according to a filing and people familiar with the matter.” Bloomberg reports. “The financing is expected to be raised in US and Canadian dollars, the company confirmed. It will include C$6.4 billion of senior notes and C$1.5 billion of hybrids with a 50% equity component, according to a July presentation. South Bow will also put in place a C$2 billion, four-year senior unsecured revolving credit facility, according to the company.”

WHRO: Construction begins on pipeline expansion in Hampton Roads
Katherine Hafner, 7/19/24

“TC Energy is replacing and widening about 49 miles of pipeline that ends in Suffolk and Chesapeake. Local environmental groups have fought the project,” WHRO reports. “A project to overhaul and double the size of a natural gas pipeline in Hampton Roads is officially underway. TC Energy began construction Monday on the Virginia Reliability Project, according to a filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The Canadian company plans to replace and widen about 49 miles of existing pipeline that stretches from Surry and Sussex counties through Suffolk and Chesapeake… “But local environmental groups and civic leagues have fought the project as it sought permitting along the way, calling it the “Virginia Ripoff Project.” They oppose continued investment in fossil fuel infrastructure that contributes to climate change, and cite environmental justice concerns. Charles Brown II, then-Hampton Roads organizer with the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, previously told WHRO the construction would be close to farmland and several marginalized communities. “I hate that so many low-income areas, Black and brown communities, have to be impacted by these kinds of things,” Brown told WHRO. “And I hate that the environment is a throwaway in the conversation. There’s little to no consideration for protecting and safeguarding these fragile ecosystems.”

Arizona Republic: A 200-mile hydrogen pipeline on the Navajo Nation raises safety, environmental concerns
Arlyssa D. Becenti, 7/19/24

“A proposed hydrogen pipeline that would stretch 200 miles across the Navajo Nation is an environmental threat and a safety concern due to lack of regulations, a Navajo grassroots group argues in an educational campaign about the project,” the Arizona Republic reports. “The group, Tó Nizhóní Ání, hosted an informational summit at the Shiprock Chapter to help the community understand the potential impact of the proposed hydrogen pipeline, which Tallgrass Energy, through its subsidiary GreenView, aims to build. It was information community members may not be privy to. “This will be Tallgrass and Greenview’s first hydrogen pipeline,” Eleanor Smith, Tó Nizhóní Ání community organizer, told the Republic. “They are basically an oil and gas company. This will be their very first hydrogen pipeline they will build, and it will be the longest of any continuous pipeline pretty much anywhere.” Smith told the Republic Tó Nizhóní Ání has always had four main concerns about the project, starting with the pipeline itself, which would be among the longest in the U.S. “It’s going to take up so much land use from grazing people, land use from homesite leases,” Smith told the Republic. “They want to use this land for up to 70 years and we are worried about land encroachment.” “…Jessica Keetso, Tó Nizhóní Ání community organizer, has led the efforts to educate communities on the development and research about the project. She told the Republic hydrogen pipelines are not as common in the United States… “The longest is only about 15 miles,” Keetso told the Republic. “So this 200-mile pipeline is really long, and places like Texas have had regulation on hydrogen for quite a while. The Navajo Nation Minerals Department does not have hydrogen regulation or laws for generating, consumption, or transportation of hydrogen gas.”

Midland Reporter-Telegram: ADCC Pipeline opens new outlet for Permian gas
Mella McEwen, 7/21/24

“Permian Basin natural gas could soon find a new demand point with the opening of the ADCC Pipeline earlier this month,” the Midland Reporter-Telegram reports. “The ADCC Pipeline is capable of providing approximately 1.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas transportation capacity to the Cheniere Corpus Christi Liquefaction facility from markets on Whistler Pipeline’s Agua Dulce Header in South Texas. The receipt points in Agua Dulce provide Cheniere direct access to Permian and Eagle Ford volumes in addition to volumes sourced along the Gulf Coast. “We do not expect the ADCC Pipeline to impact Permian output in the near term,” Andrew Ware, content writer with East Daley Analytics, told the Reporter-Telegram. “The Whistler Pipeline out of the Permian is already running effectively full, so it won’t bring any new supply to South Texas.” But longer-term, the new pipeline will help develop a deeper market at the Agua Dulce hub by connecting directly to the CCL facility, Ware told the Reporter-Telegram. As Cheniere ramps up the Stage 3 expansion, this will create more demand and potentially encourage new pipeline expansions to bring more Permian gas supply to South Texas, Ware continued.”

High Point Enterprise: Public invited hearing on methane pipeline through Kernersville
Tessa Bradshaw, 7/19/24

“Opponents of a proposal to extend a methane pipeline through Kernersville and other parts of the Triad are planning a community information session is planned for Tuesday, July 23,” the High Point Enterprise reports. “The meeting about the about the proposed Transco Southeast Supply Enhancement Pipeline, from 6-8 p.m. at the Paddison Memorial Branch Library in Kernersville, is being organized by 7 Directions of Service and Appalachian Voices. The 10,000-mile Transco pipeline transports methane gas from Texas through the Southeast all the way to New York City, Juhi Modi, the North Carolina field coordinator for Appalachian Voices, told HPE… “Another concern is the possibility of methane leaks. Additionally, burning methane releases carbon monoxide and other toxic air pollutants that can increase the risk or respiratory, cardiovascular and neurological diseases, she said. Although methane explosions and fires are infrequent, they can be catastrophic. The project is currently in the developmental stage. So far, outreach has been made to some elected officials in the area and pre-filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission… “Modi told HPE that although there are environmental concerns, there is also the concern of the cost to Duke Energy customers.”

Windsor Star: Premier Ford helps Enbridge break ground on $358M gas pipeline expansion in Leamington
Millar Holmes-Hill, 7/20/24

“Helping address an increasing demand for affordable and reliable natural gas, Enbridge Gas on Friday broke ground at the site of a new $358-million pipeline in Leamington,” the Windsor Star reports. “Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Energy and Electrification Minister Stephen Lecce joined Enbridge Gas officials to mark the beginning of construction on the Panhandle Regional Expansion Project. “Our government is continuing to secure the reliable and affordable energy that is critical to our plan to rebuild Ontario’s economy, keep costs down for families and build homes across the province,” said Ford. “This project will help deliver that reliable energy supply and, in the process, create good-paying jobs, support our world-leading greenhouse sector and power Ontario’s economic growth for many years to come.” The project is expected to generate around 7,000 jobs and $4.5 billion in new investment opportunities, according to the province.”

National Observer: Greenhouse gas: A new gas pipeline for Ontario’s greenhouses
Abdul Matin Sarfraz, 7/22/24

“Enbridge Gas is starting construction of its $358-million natural gas pipeline in southwestern Ontario, which critics say “doesn’t even make economic sense” given the need to transition away from fossil fuels,” the National Observer reports. “…Over the past decade, the value of greenhouse-grown products has doubled in value, according to a report by RBC, and two-thirds of the country’s greenhouses are in southern Ontario. RBC reported that energy limitations are a bottleneck for the industry. But advocates criticized the investment in the new gas pipeline, arguing that it contradicts climate goals and is economically unsound. “This is a bad investment,” Keith Brooks, programs director at Environmental Defence, told the Observer.  “The science is clear. In a world that limits climate change to 1.5 degrees, there is no room for new fossil fuel infrastructure like a gas pipeline that costs over a third of a billion dollars. This project doesn’t even make economic sense.” Brooks noted the project relies on a 40-year revenue model, which he believes is unrealistic given the current energy transition. He pointed out that it is being subsidized by $150 million from existing gas users. “It will likely cost all of Ontario’s gas customers even more when it winds up a stranded asset and doesn’t generate the revenue that Enbridge is banking on.” Brooks told the Observer Ontario needs to advance its pursuit of clean energy and energy efficiency options.” 

Squamish Chief: FortisBC cited for ‘minor’ non-compliance issues on Woodfibre LNG pipeline
Jennifer Thuncher, 7/20/24

“FortisBC has been cited for two issues related to its Eagle Mountain-Woodfibre Gas Pipeline Project,” the Squamish Chief reports. “The pipeline, currently under construction, is associated with the liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility being built on the shores of Howe Sound by Woodfibre LNG. It involves installing a 47-kilometre natural gas pipeline between the Coquitlam watershed and the Woodfibre Liquified Natural Gas facility southwest of Squamish. The provincial Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) issued a notice of non-compliance on June 28, related to inspections done by its office on June 18 and 19… “The first notice of non-compliance issued to FortisBC related to a requirement for secondary containments for hazardous substances, such as engine oil, at FortisBC’s yard at the BC Rail site… “The second notice of non-compliance was related to erosion and sediment control measures requiring maintenance on the Coquitlam pipeline part of the Squamish project.”

WASHINGTON UPDATES

Bloomberg: Where Harris and Her Potential Running Mates Stand on Climate Change
Matthew Griffin, Alexander Battle Abdelal, and Leslie Kaufman, 7/22/24

“Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race — bowing to weeks of pressure after a disastrous June debate and polls that showed worsening odds against his Republican rival, Donald Trump — upends the contest only weeks before Democrats meet in Chicago to confirm their nominee,” Bloomberg reports. “…Here’s a rundown of the climate resumes of Harris and her potential running-mates if she clinches the nomination. (Others being talked about for the new ticket include Governor JB Pritzker of Illinois and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear.) As VP, Harris has often acted as spokesperson for her boss’s climate priorities at home and abroad. She was one of several administration officials who fanned out across the country last year to tout the one-year anniversary of the IRA. Harris, 59, stood in for Biden at last year’s COP28 climate summit, where she announced that the US would contribute $3 billion to a climate aid fund for developing countries. Back in 2019, when Harris (then a US senator from California) launched a presidential bid, her climate agenda was more ambitious than Biden’s. She supported a carbon tax and proposed $10 trillion in private and public climate spending. She also said she would work to ban fracking. That prompted Republican attacks when Biden became the Democrats’ nominee and chose her as his running mate… “Harris has a record of fighting oil and gas companies and prioritizing environmental justice in particular. In 2016, as California’s attorney general, she sued Southern California Gas Co. for a methane leak near Los Angeles that led to the evacuation of 4,000 families. She sued BP Plc the same year for violating storage laws at roughly 780 gas stations. Both the utility and BP eventually agreed to pay millions to settle the cases.”

E&E News: Biden’s exit puts spotlight on Harris’ energy record
Heather Richards, Brian Dabbs, 7/22/24

“Vice President Kamala Harris has a more progressive energy record than President Joe Biden, but it’s unclear how that will play with voters if she secures the Democratic presidential nomination,” E&E News reports. “…Some environmentalists are already putting their weight behind Harris, who they expect would largely continue Biden’s effort to slash greenhouse gas emissions as the effects of climate change increasingly ravage the globe. “The president has always recognized what it takes to deliver a better future for the country. And today’s decision is another example of that same forward-looking leadership,” Lori Lodes, executive director of Climate Power, a Democrat-allied group, told E&E. “It’s the same kind of patriotism that animates Vice President Kamala Harris — the next president of the United States.” Harris’ energy record as a senator, and later as a candidate in the Democratic presidential primary of 2020, was to the left of Biden’s on many issues and sharply critical of the oil and gas industry. She called for an end to hydraulic fracturing — a drilling technique in the oil and gas industry that uses chemicals and water to fracture rock and release hydrocarbons. She also urged a ban on plastic straws and called for the end of the filibuster, a Senate legislative tool that ensures some members of the minority party have to sign off on most legislation. Harris was one of the original co-sponsors of the Green New Deal, the nonbinding resolution introduced in 2019 by Democratic progressives like New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey… “She also co-sponsored the Climate Equity Act of 2020, which would have created an arm of the Congressional Budget Office to score legislation based on effects to historically disadvantaged communities… “If Harris becomes the Democratic nominee, her prior positions on hot-button issues like fracking will be used by the Trump campaign to paint her as a more extreme candidate than Biden, Christopher Borick, a political science professor at Pennsylvania’s Muhlenberg College, told E&E.

Bloomberg: Kamala Harris Seen as Tougher Oil Industry Opponent Than Biden
Jennifer A Dlouhy and Ari Natter, 7/21/24

“As California attorney general, Kamala Harris brought lawsuits against fossil fuel companies, prosecuted a pipeline company over an oil leak and investigated Exxon Mobil Corp. for misleading the public about climate change,” Bloomberg reports. “Now, with the vice president suddenly in contention for the Democratic nomination after President Joe Biden abandoned his reelection bid Sunday, that track record is of deep interest to both the US energy industry and climate activists alike. A potential Harris presidency is seen being more aggressive than Biden in confronting oil companies for pollution and addressing environmental justice.”

E&E News: Greens praise Biden, start lining up behind Harris
Timothy Cama, 7/22/24

“President Joe Biden’s supporters cheered his record on climate change and energy Sunday as he announced he wouldn’t seek another term in office,” E&E News reports. “Many of those supporters are now throwing their weight behind Vice President Kamala Harris or at least touting her strengths as a potential Democratic presidential nominee. In his one term in office, Biden, 81, shepherded through Congress the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest single climate law in history, with an estimated $369 billion in clean energy and climate spending. He also finalized numerous regulations to cut greenhouse gas pollution from cars, power plants, oil and natural gas drilling, and more.”

The Hill: Appeals court unanimously sides with Biden administration on updated power plant rules
ZACK BUDRYK, 7/19/24

“A federal appeals court on Friday unanimously denied a lawsuit from a coalition of Republican attorneys general and the fossil fuel industry seeking to block the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) pollution standards for power plants,” The Hill reports. “The three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit sided with the EPA on the standards, required under the Clean Air Act, which regulate emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants… ”Twenty-seven Republican state attorneys general sued for a stay of the plan, citing the Supreme Court decision. In its ruling, the panel disagreed, writing that “petitioners have not shown they are likely to succeed on [their] claims given the record in this case. Nor does this case implicate a major question under West Virginia v. EPA … because EPA has claimed only the power to ‘set emissions limits under Section 111 based on the application of measures that would reduce pollution by causing the regulated source to operate more cleanly[,]’ a type of conduct that falls well within EPA’s bailiwick.” The Environmental Defense Fund [EDF], which filed an amicus brief in support of the EPA, praised the decision… “West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrissey’s (R) office vowed to appeal the stay to the Supreme Court in a statement to The Hill.”

The Hill: White House seeks end to government purchase of single-use plastic by 2035
RACHEL FRAZIN, 7/19/24

“The White House said Friday that is setting a goal of ending the federal government’s purchasing of single-use plastics by 2035,” The Hill reports. “The Biden administration added that it would try to phase out federal purchasing of such plastic for food service operations, events and packaging by 2027.  “Plastic production and waste have doubled over the past two decades, littering our ocean, poisoning the air of communities near production facilities, and threatening public health,” the White House said in a fact sheet… “Whether the White House’s new goals actually come to fruition could be dependent on who wins the presidency both in November and in years ahead. Nevertheless, environmental advocates praised the move.” 

Dallas Express: Cruz Proposes Bill To Undo Biden Admin Rule Affecting Texas’s Oil And Gas Industry 
Debra McClure, 7/19’/24

“U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz has introduced legislation to reverse the United States Fish and Wildlife Service rule listing the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard as endangered under the Endangered Species Act,” the Dallas Express reports. “The measure argues that the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard (DSL) classification would undermine oil and gas production in the Permian Basin. As of Thursday, the legislation awaits further action by the Committee on Environment and Public Works. With the DSL classification seen as a move that would curb production and development in the oil and gas industry and increase energy costs for American consumers, Cruz said, “The Biden administration has used the federal government to suppress American energy production at the exact time when the country and indeed the world needs access to affordable American energy.” “…Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), and Mike Lee (R-UT) joined Sen. Cruz in introducing the legislation, which has the backing of industry organizations such as the U.S. Oil & Gas Association (USOGA), Heritage Action, and the American Exploration & Production Council (AXPC).” 

E&E News: House Republicans Move To Block BLM, Energy Rules 
Scott Streater, 7/19/24

“Utah Republican Rep. John Curtis is leading a coalition of GOP lawmakers in the latest bid to overturn the Bureau of Land Management’s contentious public lands rule,” E&E News reports. “Curtis’ H.J. Res. 188, filed Thursday, seeks to use the Congressional Review Act to nix an administrative rule or policy that advances the Biden administration’s conservation priorities. The resolution was one of several introduced this week. The Curtis measure targets BLM’s conservation and landscape health rule, which places conservation on par with other uses of bureau lands, such as energy development, mining and livestock grazing. Republicans have blasted the rule as an attempt to block energy and mining in the name of fighting climate change. The resolution follows the House Appropriations Committee’s approval last week of a fiscal 2025 Interior-Environment spending bill that includes a rider blocking the administration’s plans. It also comes less than three months after the full House approved H.R. 3397, from Curtis, that would require BLM to withdraw the rule.” 

The Hill: ‘Mr. Secretary’: Burgum won’t be Trump’s VP, but he appears poised to take another role.
RACHEL FRAZIN, 7/21/24

“North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) appears poised to step into an energy-related role in the next administration if former President Trump wins the White House,” The Hill reports. “Burgum, who was reportedly on the shortlist of Trump’s potential running mates, was ultimately passed over in favor of Sen. JD Vance (Ohio). But after he wasn’t selected for that role, Burgum said Trump called him “Mr. Secretary.” And, during a prime-time speech at the Republican National Convention this past week, Burgum gave a speech that focused largely on energy policy… “Burgum said earlier this year that he won’t seek reelection as North Dakota’s governor, a position he has held since 2016. In that role, he has set a goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2030 — not by reducing the use of fossil fuels, but by capturing and storing their carbon emissions.  Carbon capture has met with skepticism from many in the environmental community, who have raised questions about whether it will actually be able to deliver its expected emissions outcomes. Many have also raised concerns about safety related to the pipeline infrastructure used to transport the captured carbon… “Frank Maisano, senior principal at law and advocacy firm Bracewell, whose clients include both fossil and renewable energy companies, told The Hill that industry would likely be pleased seeing Burgum in an energy role like the czar position Cramer described.” 

E&E News: Alaska officials accuse BLM of reneging on land promise
HEATHER RICHARDS, SCOTT STREATER, 7/19/24

“Alaska state leaders say the Bureau of Land Management earlier this year abruptly broke a commitment to consider lifting land-use restrictions along a highway important to the state’s oil industry, sparking their latest rift with the federal agency over public land management policies,” E&E News reports. “The issue involves a public land order covering more than 2 million acres along a significant stretch of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System and a highway used by the oil industry. The state wants those lands, which are critical to the future of its oil economy, turned over to Alaska as part of its ongoing efforts to gain title to millions of acres of land currently under federal ownership. Until this spring, BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning had assured representatives with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources that her agency was poised to launch an environmental review to potentially lift the land order, which would then open the possibility of transferring some land to the state, officials said.”

STATE UPDATES

North Dakota Monitor: Finalists named to be North Dakota’s top oil regulator
JEFF BEACH, 7/19/24

“A search committee to find the next director of the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources on Friday selected two finalists,” the North Dakota Monitor reports. “The finalists, Nathan Anderson and Kevin Connors, both with experience in North Dakota, will be considered by the state Industrial Commission… “Anderson is a Minot native and has a geology degree from North Dakota State University. He is working for Chevron and lists himself as the owner of 3B Investments… “Connors has a geology degree from the University of Montana and works in Bismarck as the assistant director for regulatory compliance and energy policy with the Energy and Environmental Research Center based at the University of North Dakota.  He has previous experience with the Department of Mineral Resources, with eight years in its Oil and Gas Division… “Helms was appointed to lead the Oil and Gas Division in 1998… “In May, Helms publicly advised his successor to “get out of the way” to allow innovation in the industry and called regulation a “necessary evil.”

Houston Chronicle: Concerns mount over spreading oil sheen, platform leak in Gulf of Mexico
Timothy Malcolm, 7/20/24

“An oil sheen 12 miles from Bolivar Peninsula in the Gulf of Mexico and spreading by the second is a growing cause for concern, according to a report Friday by KPRC,” the Houston Chronicle reports. “The sheen, which has been identified by the Texas General Land Office (GLO) as “natural gas and condensate” leaking from an offshore drilling platform, was first caught last weekend over social media. “On Sunday, July 14, 2024, at 8:00 p.m., the Oil Spill La Porte Response Officer received notification of a natural gas/oil discharge off the coast of Crystal Beach, Galveston County,” started a Facebook post written by Texas State Representative Terri Leo-Wilson, a Republican from Galveston. She continued that GLO personnel visited the drilling platform and pinpointed the source of the leak. “Although the leak can be seen from the water, no recoverable oil was visible,” Leo-Wilson wrote, adding that there have been “no injuries reported, no impact to commerce and no impact to wildlife.” “…In November 2023, a possible corroded pipeline ruptured in the Gulf of Mexico likely near the Mississippi River, leading to a spill of around 1.1 million gallons of petroleum.”

Los Angeles Times: Millions of Californians live near oil and gas wells that are in the path of wildfires
Hayley Smith, 7/21/24

“As firefighters continue to battle more than two dozen active wildfires in California, new research has found that millions of people are living in close proximity to oil and gas wells that are in the potential path of flames,” the Los Angeles Times reports. “More than 100,000 wells in 19 states west of the Mississippi River are in areas that have burned in recent decades and face a high risk of burning in the future, with the vast majority in California, according to a study published recently in the journal One Earth. What’s more, nearly 3 million Americans live within 3,200 feet of those wells, putting them at heightened risk of explosions, air and water pollution, infrastructure damage and other hazards. “One of the things that surprised me was just the extent of how many oil wells had been in wildfire burn areas in the past, and how much this was impacting people in California — and is likely to in the coming century,” David J.X. González, the study’s lead author and an assistant professor of environmental health sciences at UC Berkeley, told the Times.”

Denver Post: Plans to expand Adams County gasoline storage tanks across street from elementary school raise air pollution concerns
Noelle Phillips, 7/21/24

“A pipeline company is seeking approval to enlarge its gasoline storage facility north of Denver, an expansion that would increase the pollution spilled into the air near an elementary school in a neighborhood already considered one of the most polluted in Colorado,” the Denver Post reports. “Many in the community — including elected officials and leading environmental advocates — told the Post they didn’t know about Magellan Pipeline Company’s proposed expansion across the street from Dupont Elementary School in unincorporated Adams County. They’re frustrated about a lack of communication about the plans from the company and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Air Pollution Control Division, which is charged with assessing the permit and either approving, rejecting or modifying it. Multiple people interviewed by The Denver Post said they were not aware of the project until they were contacted by a reporter. “Not only has Magellan failed to reach out to us, but CDPHE — the regulatory agency — has not reached out to us. Quite frankly, that’s disgusting,” Joe Salazar, chief legal counsel for the Adams 14 School District, which includes Dupont Elementary, told the Post. The Magellan project is one of three proposed or completed expansions by oil and gas facilities in Adams County, and all three fall under Colorado’s Environmental Justice Act, meaning an assessment of community impact must be performed as part of the application process. The applications will be a major test of the new law, passed by the state legislature in 2021. People already are worried the requested expansions will be approved, allowing more pollution to be released. Environmental advocates were critical of how the state crafted the environmental justice rules when they were finalized in 2023.

EXTRACTION

Politico: Fossil fuel extraction compatible with climate action, says COP29 host Azerbaijan
ZIA WEISE, 7/20/24

“Azerbaijan, the host of this year’s global climate talks, has suggested that continued fossil fuel extraction is compatible with the Paris Agreement,” Politico reports. “With four months to go until COP29 kicks off in Baku, the Azerbaijani presidency on Friday announced a flurry of “initiatives” — a set of 14 non-binding pledges and partnerships that countries are encouraged to sign up to at the summit. At the same press conference, the summit’s chief executive Elnur Soltanov suggested that the Paris climate accord — under which countries agreed to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius and ideally to 1.5C — does not necessarily mean reducing fossil fuel production. “To be 1.5C-aligned is the goal,” said Soltanov, who also serves as Azerbaijan’s deputy energy minister, when asked if Baku believed that countries’ climate plans could include continued expansion of oil, gas and coal.  But he added: “We should somehow delineate between a 1.5C alignment and this view about hydrocarbons.” Citing projections that some fossil fuels will still be needed for energy and other uses even if the world reaches climate neutrality by mid-century, Soltanov said: “There is a certain compatibility between them.” He added: “I think we should be talking more about emissions, which is really what causes global warming. So in that sense, I really believe that you can still be 1.5C-aligned and also — as I said, according to different models … hydrocarbons will continue to be the key.” 

Bloomberg: FTC Eyes Oil Bosses’ Texts for Signs of Collusion With OPEC
Mitchell Ferman, Leah Nylen, and Jennifer A Dlouhy, 7/19/24

“The US Federal Trade Commission is investigating whether executives at major oil companies including Hess Corp., Occidental Petroleum Corp. and Diamondback Energy Inc. improperly communicated with OPEC officials,” Bloomberg reports, “FTC investigators are looking for evidence of executives attempting to collude with OPEC officials on oil market dynamics, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not be named discussing non-public information. Such communications, particularly on pricing and output, could be illegal under US antitrust laws.”

Reuters: Woodside goes all-in on LNG with brave Tellurian buy: Russell
Clyde Russell, 7/21/24

“Australia’s Woodside Energy wants to become one of the world’s largest independent producers of liquefied natural gas (LNG). In itself this is not a bad ambition. But choosing to do so by taking over a troubled U.S. LNG project is certainly a brave way of going about it,” Reuters reports. “Woodside said on Monday it has agreed to acquire all of Tellurian for a total value of $1.2 billion, including a cash payment of some $900 million, or $1 per share, a premium of 75% to the U.S. company’s last closing price. The purchase price is largely irrelevant. What’s important is whether Woodside can take Tellurian’s Driftwood LNG project in Louisiana from its early stages of development to its full potential of producing 27 million metric tons a year of the super-chilled fuel. Woodside Chief Executive Meg O’Neill told an investor briefing on Monday the transaction positions Woodside to be a “global LNG powerhouse”. That is true, because if Woodside does successfully develop the Driftwood project it potentially will become the second-biggest independent LNG producer in the world, overtaking super majors such as Shell and Exxon Mobil… “U.S. LNG plants tend to be tolling operations, where their revenue is largely derived from a fixed price for converting natural gas into LNG, which is then marketed by off-takers. This often means long-term off-take deals are required before projects can get sufficient funding to be developed. This was largely the problem Tellurian faced in advancing Driftwood, with preliminary deals with buyers such as Shell, TotalEnergies, Vitol and others failing to be converted into firm agreements.”

Reuters: Malaysia coast guard locates oil tanker involved in collision off Singapore
7/21/24

“Malaysia’s coast guard said on Sunday it had located and intercepted a large oil tanker that was involved in a fiery collision with another vessel two days ago off Singapore,” Reuters reports. “The coast guard said on Saturday that the Sao Tome and Principe-flagged tanker Ceres I had left the location of the collision that caused a fire and injured at least two crew members. The ship was also believed to have turned off its tracking system, the coast guard said… “Meanwhile, aerial surveys conducted by the coast guard found minor traces of an oil spill at the location of the collision between the Ceres I and the Singapore-flagged Hafnia Nile, the coast guard said in the statement on Sunday.”

OPINION

Afro News: Carbon pipelines are a bad deal (for everyone who is not getting rich from them)
Ben Jealous is the executive director of the Sierra Club and a professor of practice at the University of Pennsylvania, 7/20/24

“Isn’t it sad that money controls everything?” That is what Kim Junker says, as she laments the iron grip wealthy pipeline interests seem to have over some of Iowa’s most powerful lawmakers. What she is referring to is a years-long fight against a massive carbon dioxide (CO2) pipeline project planned to run through the state,” Ben Jealous writes for Afro News. “Junker and her husband own farmland in both Grundy and Butler Counties where they grow corn and soybeans. She describes a “David vs. Goliath” fight. The irony is that in this case, David – at least in terms of the number of people on that side of the fight – is bigger.  The Iowans fighting the pipelines, and the use of eminent domain to seize people’s land for the projects, are a wide-ranging coalition of farmers and landowners, environmentalists, county supervisors and attorneys and others. It is a coalition that crosses all party lines. Junker herself identifies as a Republican-raised conservative who is also a conservationist… “There are many reasons why CCS pipelines are not a good solution for curbing carbon emissions. Not the least of which is that the pipelines themselves are dangerous… “The CO2 pipelines also harm the soil and reduce crop yields – a major concern for farmers. And for people like the Junkers, who have worked hard to own and maintain their land, the threat of losing their land is perhaps the worst dagger in the heart. Junker says if these eminent domain claims to Iowans’ land were for a public good, it might be a different story – “if it was a road or bridge, or something that was a necessity … but it’s not. It’s not for the public good.” She calls it a “scam.” “They’re going to use our tax dollars to steal our land from us… they’re getting all these tax credits and subsidies to do this. We pay for that.” Perhaps the clearest lesson from this fight goes back to Kim Junker’s point about money and power. People across this country are consistent that they want more examples of bipartisan agreement and progress. Well here it is. But Big Money’s influence in our politics will not let us have it.  Yet, in a battle between organized people and organized money, when the people are truly organized, the people can win. And the Iowans fighting the pipelines and the use of eminent domain for their construction are extremely organized. They are making progress. And they are growing their movement across different communities and viewpoints. It is for these reasons I believe they will ultimately win.”