General
News
Lamb To EPA Chief: You're On The 'Wrong Side' After Methane Rule Rollback.
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “The Trump administration has rolled back environmental standards set by former President
Barack Obama in a sometimes dizzying frenzy, targeting rules governing water pollution, automobile efficiency, power plant emissions, coal ash dumping and pesticides. The campaign, which has sharply divided Republicans and Democrats, was at the center of the
two-hour questioning Thursday of Andrew Wheeler, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It was Mr. Wheeler’s first appearance before the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, Rep. Conor Lamb, D-Mt. Lebanon, joined the chorus
of criticism coming from Democrats — while focusing on how, he believed, regulations actually support an extractive industry. Mr. Lamb, who represents the northwestern Pittsburgh suburbs that include Shell’s ethane cracker plant currently under construction
in Beaver County, praised the economic boost that natural gas drilling has provided for a wide variety of people. ‘It’s been incredible for our area,’ he said. But that boost, he argued, is under serious threat after Mr. Wheeler proposed a rule in August that
could roll back requirements on detecting and plugging methane leaks at oil and gas facilities.” [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,
9/19/19
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First Steps To A Methane Solution.
According to the Santa Fe Reporter, “New Mexico hit record highs in oil and gas production this year. This also means record releases
of methane, a greenhouse gas that is a biproduct of oil and gas production and is 28 times more potent in its warming effects than carbon dioxide. For a state intent on lowering its carbon footprint, tackling the accidental release of methane is a top priority
in moving toward a greener future. The problem is that there’s been no great way to measure how much methane is escaping into the atmosphere, making it incredibly difficult to regulate. Until now. At the 2030 Governor’s Energy and Environmental Technology
Summit held at SITE Santa Fe on Wednesday, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced a partnership with Santa Fe-based data analysis company Descartes Labs to use information from space-based satellites and other public and private sources to create mapping and
modeling tools to detect methane emissions. The news comes after a series of reports published earlier this year in independent scientific journals found the EPA’s estimates for methane emissions in New Mexico likely only account for a fraction of what’s actually
getting released. The state is already known for having the largest methane cloud in the world. This cloud of gas, released by former and ongoing oil and gas production in the Four Corners region, hangs above Farmington and the area of northwest New Mexico.”
[Santa Fe Reporter, 9/19/19
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Op-Ed: A Democratic President Might Try To Ban Fracking In 2021. Is Pa. Ready For This?
According to an op-ed by Will Bunch in the Philadelphia Inquirer, “After a 2016 president race in which the gathering storm of climate
change was shockingly ignored, it was hard to say what was more surprising about the recent 7-hour global-warming extravaganza on CNN. That a rating-driven TV network like CNN would devote so much time to [checks notes] saving the planet? That there was a
mention of Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale formation in a presidential forum, and that former vice president Joe Biden felt compelled to blurt out, ‘I know that!’? Or maybe that the ground underneath the productive but highly controversial oil-and-gas drilling
method known as fracking is shifting faster than an Oklahoma earthquake? ‘We’re coming to the end of the bridge,’ said Julian Castro, who just a decade ago, as then-mayor of San Antonio, Texas, had touted fracking as a way to produce both jobs and energy that
was cleaner than coal. […] That’s not the only issue a President Warren or Sanders would face in seeking to ban fracking in 2021. Ending unconventional drilling on public lands — tried by Barack Obama, blocked by a judge and reversed by Trump — will surely
be tried, as well as other efforts to curb fracking through regulatory rule-making. But federal courts have been unkind to that approach, and the bench has grown much more conservative under Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Congress — which
essentially green-lighted fracking under the sway of ex-oilman Dick Cheney in 2005 — could take steps to ban the practice, but Republicans and pro-fracking Dems like West Va. Sen. Joe Manchin would make that hard.” [Philadelphia Inquirer,
9/19/19
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Campaigners Urge UN To Endorse Global Fracking Ban.
According to The Guardian, “A global campaign backed by 450 activist groups and celebrities, including actors Emma Thompson and Mark Ruffalo, is calling on the UN to endorse a global
end to fracking before the industry torpedoes efforts to tackle the climate crisis. The open letter to the UN secretary general, António Guterres, includes signatures from individuals representing global environmental movements, universities and faith groups.
The campaign also has backing from writer and activist Naomi Klein and fashion designer Vivienne Westwood. The open letter said fracking for fossil fuels ‘torpedoes our global efforts
to tackle climate change and violates basic human rights’. Hydraulic fracturing is more commonly known as fracking and involves pumping water, chemicals and sand underground at high pressure to fracture shale rock and release trapped oil and gas. The open
letter to the UN comes seven years after the UN Environment Programme issued a global alert on fracking, which concluded it may have adverse environmental impacts even if done properly. The letter also points to the ‘overwhelming scientific documenting’ of
the fracking industry’s negative impact on the environment, public health and the climate crisis. The activist signatories include members of Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth.” [The Guardian,
9/19/19 (=)]
Rubio, Rooney Meet To Discuss Florida Drilling Ban.
According to Politico, “Florida Republicans Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. Francis Rooney met today to discuss a possible path to extending an offshore drilling ban in the Eastern Gulf
of Mexico that could pass muster with the White House, the lawmakers’ offices said. The discussion touched on Rubio’s bill, S. 13 (116), that would extend the current moratorium against drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico for another five years, Rubio’s
office said. The time span would fall short of the permanent ban that Rooney had sought in his bill, H.R. 205 (116). The current moratorium ends in 2022. In a statement, Rooney pointed out that Florida’s House delegation ‘overwhelmingly supported’ his bill
when it passed the lower chamber last week. ‘Senator Rubio and I have been working together for several years on ensuring the moratorium does not expire in 2022 and he has to deal with the issues specific to the Senate just like I had to concerning the House,’
Rooney said. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) told POLITICO he did not participate in the meeting but supported Rubio’s bill. ‘I think there’s a good chance that the president would sign that,’ he said. A White House spokesperson declined to comment.” [Politico,
9/19/19 (=)]
Trump's DOE Just Agreed With Obama On Climate.
According to E&E News, “The Trump administration is in rare agreement with the Obama administration on climate change, finding that U.S. liquefied natural gas exports used for generating
power won’t boost greenhouse gas emissions on a life-cycle basis. That was the takeaway from an updated report the Department of Energy outlined yesterday in the Federal Register. The analysis from DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory echoed the summary
of an NETL study released in 2014. Gas supporters applauded the new finding, while environmental advocates questioned DOE’s framing of the issue. ‘This analysis has determined that the use of U.S. LNG exports for power production in European and Asian markets
will not increase GHG emissions from a life cycle perspective, when compared to regional coal extraction and consumption for power production,’ the report said. The DOE study comes as the gas industry has sought to position itself as a cleaner alternative
to coal and a complementary resource to renewables. The Trump administration has also pushed an ‘energy dominance’ stance to promote the use of American energy. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Neil Chatterjee, a Trump appointee, said in an interview
with E&E News this week that U.S. LNG exports could help lower global carbon emissions by displacing more carbon-intense fuels in Asia and elsewhere (Energywire, Sept. 17).” [E&E News,
9/20/19 (=)]
Exxon, Shell Among Developers Eyeing Pakistan LNG.
According to E&E News, “Pakistan has given provisional permission to five developers, including partnerships with Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell PLC, to set up LNG import
terminals. The developers are now required to submit technical and financial details by Nov. 5, as well as a $2 million concession fee, according to Ali Zaidi, minister for maritime affairs. Another $8 million will be paid on the signing of so-called implementation
agreements. ‘It’s a great opportunity for private investors to set up their own terminals, import their own gas and develop their own markets,’ Zaidi said in a phone interview. The government is requiring the terminals to be completed in two years, and for
the operators to pay a royalty of $1.90 per ton, according to Zaidi. The companies are also required to disclose if they’re being investigated by any government authority. According to Zaidi, the five prospective developers are: Tabeer Energy Ltd., a unit
of Mitsubishi Corp. Exxon and Energas Ltd., a venture that includes Lucky Group, Sapphire and Halmore. Trafigura Group and Pakistan GasPort Ltd. Shell, Engro Corp., Gunvor Group Ltd. and Fatima. Global Energy Infrastructure Ltd.” [E&E News,
9/20/19 (=)]
BLM Selling Oil, Gas Leases At Bargain Prices — Report.
According to E&E News, “The federal government sold nearly one-third of current oil and gas leases on Western land for less than the minimum bid required in federal auctions, according
to a report from the Wilderness Society and the Center for Western Priorities. The two conservation groups released a story map yesterday showing existing leases across 10 Western states, 32% of which they say were sold for under $2 an acre. High bids in recent
federal lease sales have exceeded $90,000 per acre. ‘These maps show how the federal government’s outdated oil and gas leasing process is allowing industry to lock up our lands across the West for just a couple dollars an acre,’ said Kim Stevens, campaign
manager for the Wilderness Society. The Interior Department did not respond to a request for comment by press time. The Bureau of Land Management is required to hold four lease auctions per year in oil and gas states like Wyoming and New Mexico. The land is
first suggested for lease by the oil and gas industry. But if no one bids on the land, it’s still for sale and at a bargain rate that can fall under minimum bid requirements. According to the environmental groups’ report, prospectors are using this practice
frequently to take advantage of what they say is an ‘outdated’ oil and gas program on federal land.” [E&E News,
9/20/19 (=)]
Chad Ellwood
Research Associate
202.448.2877 ext. 119