Before BP Can Cut Methane, It Has To Measure It.
According to Quartz, “On Wednesday morning,
fossil fuel behemoth BP rolled out a suite of new greenhouse gas reduction targets. Overall, the company plans to make its carbon footprint net zero by 2050—in other words, offsetting at least the volume of emissions released by its remaining oil and gas facilities.
The plan also takes aim at a notoriously overlooked kind of emission: methane, a greenhouse gas that is much less common than CO2 but has up to 80 times the heat-trapping power. Overall, methane is responsible for up to one quarter of man-made global warming.
A 2018 study in Science found that the US oil and gas industry emits 13 million metric tons of methane from its operations each year, much of that from leaky drilling and processing equipment. BP first promised to cut its total methane emissions in 2018, to
no more than 0.2% of the volume of its natural gas production, and claimed to reach that target last year. With the new plan, BP says it will cut that level in half by an unspecified date. And it hints at the company’s strategy for getting there: It promises
to install methane measurement and monitoring equipment at ‘all our major oil and gas processing sites by 2023.’ That’s a critical goal, because almost all industry data on methane comes from back-of-the-envelope estimates and not objective real-time data,
said Ben Ratner, a senior director at the Environmental Defense Fund who specializes in methane. Accurately measuring methane is the first step to cutting it, and new technologies are coming online to help, including laser scanners and satellites, with the
help of a range of American and European space agencies, research universities, and private tech companies.” [Quartz,
2/13/20
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Permian Support Grows For Plan To Eliminate Routine
Flaring. According to the Midland Reporter-Telegram,
“Global efforts to clear the air and improve the environment have been embraced by Permian Basin oil and gas producers in recent years. Most recently, the World Bank has launched its Zero Routine Flaring by 2030, an initiative, designed to bring together a
broad consortium of governments, oil companies and development institutions to cooperate in eliminating routine flaring by 2030. Occidental Petroleum last week became the first U.S. oil and gas company to endorse the initiative. ‘It’s an honor to be the first
U.S. oil and gas company to endorse the World Bank’s initiative to reduce routine flaring globally, as we amplify our commitment to eliminate routine flaring in our operations by 2030,’ Vicki Hollub, Occidental president and chief executive officer, said in
a statement provided to the Reporter-Telegram. ‘Support for this important World Bank program is part of our company’s broader commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in our global operations and positions Occidental for success in a low-carbon economy.’
Texans for Natural Gas also endorsed the initiative. ‘Programs like this affirm that flaring and methane emissions are being taken seriously in the Permian Basin,’ said Elizabeth Caldwell, Texans for Natural Gas spokeswoman, in an email to the Reporter-Telegram.
‘As our recent analysis shows, data from the World Bank and other agencies demonstrate that the efforts being made to tackle this issue have resulted in significant reductions in both flaring intensity and methane emissions intensity.” [Midland Reporter-Telegram,
2/13/20
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Restaurant Group Says Berkeley ‘Cut Corners’ In
Novel Natural Gas Ban. According to Inside
EPA, “A restaurant industry group challenging Berkeley, CA’s, novel ban on natural gas in most new or remodeled buildings is urging a federal district court to reject the city’s bid for a quick dismissal, but says similar measures gaining momentum elsewhere
in California could pass muster even if Berkeley’s version is held unlawful. The Feb. 10 brief opposing a motion to dismiss California Restaurant Association (CRA) v. Berkeley says the city’s strict limits on natural gas within its borders has legal flaws
not shared by ‘reach codes’ recently passed in the Golden State, and implies that the Berkeley law could be struck down without unintended consequences elsewhere. ‘Berkeley’s Ordinance is unique; the other cities . . . are passing ‘reach codes’ that are very
different than Berkeley’s Ordinance -- indeed, they are actual reach codes, where the cities did not cut corners, and instead attempted to follow state law for amending state building and energy codes,’ CRA says in its filing with the U.S. District Court for
the Northern District of California. The ordinance at issue is one of several ‘reach codes’ recently enacted by local California governments to limit buildings’ greenhouse gas emissions beyond what the state requires. CRA’s suit, which claims Berkeley’s natural
gas limits tread into territory preempted by both the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) and various state laws, poses a test for the entire class of such codes. Thus, the result could either encourage or stymie future attempts along the same
lines depending on who wins the case.” [Inside EPA, 2/13/20
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Legislation Would Block Natural Gas Bans.
According to E&E News, “Arizona cities and counties would not be allowed to ban new natural gas hookups under legislation moving through the Arizona Legislature, an effort to prevent
the spread here of gas bans being adopted by California cities to help combat climate change. The measure cleared the House in a 35-25 vote yesterday, and similar legislation is advancing in the Senate. All Republicans were joined by a handful of Democrats
in support. The bill’s supporters say homeowners should be able to decide for themselves what kind of energy they want to use in their homes. They also say restaurants would suffer if they couldn’t cook on gas stoves. ‘It’s ridiculous that any government will
get down to that level that they’d tell someone how they can heat their house,’ said state Rep. Bob Thorpe, a Republican from Flagstaff. Democrats say the state shouldn’t tie the hands of cities and counties to do what they think is best. Rep. Kirsten Engel,
a Tucson Democrat, said no gas bans have been proposed in Arizona. ‘Our utilities are very localized, and I think this is a matter we should leave to our local governments,’ Engel said.” [E&E News,
2/13/20 (=)]
Cheniere Safety Fixes Not Finished 2 Years After LNG Leaks.
According to E&E News, “Two years after leaks led federal regulators to shutter a pair of liquefied natural gas storage tanks at Cheniere
Energy Inc.’s Sabine Pass export terminal in Louisiana, the company has met fewer than half the conditions for reopening. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) set 16 conditions for reopening the two giant tanks, and Cheniere has
completed only five to the agency’s satisfaction. Company officials had said they expected to reopen by the end of last year (Energywire, May 30, 2019). The process has been shrouded in secrecy. PHMSA won’t say which five conditions have been met. And federal
regulators have allowed Cheniere to withhold most details of the repairs as ‘privileged and confidential.’ Cheniere, which has downplayed the risk of the leaks that spurred the closure, says the duration of the shutdowns is not concerning. ‘Analysis and repairs
take time, and we will not rush to put a tank back into service,’ Cheniere spokeswoman Jenna Palfrey said. ‘We will bring each tank back into service safely and expeditiously upon approval of our regulators.’ But there have been signs of friction with those
regulators. The terminal, on the banks of Sabine Pass across the water from Port Arthur, Texas, was the first to export LNG, making it a pioneer in the drive to expand the country’s shale gas boom to the world.” [E&E News,
2/14/20
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Republicans Slam 'Ignorant' Attempt To Block ANWR Drilling.
According to E&E News, “The CEOs of nearly a dozen banks are getting mixed messages from Washington on whether to fund drilling in the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, where oil and gas development may soon be possible. The Alaska delegation penned a letter to bank leadership Tuesday as a clap back to a letter Democrats sent in late January opposing the industrial development of ANWR’s coastal
plain. Sixteen members of Congress, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (I) and California Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D), pleaded with big banks to block investment dollars for drilling in the virgin refuge (E&E News PM, Feb. 3). Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski
and Dan Sullivan and Rep. Don Young wrote Tuesday that ‘unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the arguments laid out in that letter are willfully ignorant of the reasonable program we enacted to guide safe production in [ANWR’s coastal plain], Alaska’s strong
environmental record, and the preferences of the Alaska Natives who actually live in ANWR.’ The GOP letter targeted the same executives who received the earlier Democratic correspondence, including Bank of America Corp. Chairman and CEO Brian Moynihan, Citigroup
Inc. CEO Michael Corbat and Wells Fargo & Co. President and CEO Charles Scharf. A Republican-led Congress opened ANWR’s 1.6-million-acre coastal plain for potential development as part of the 2017 tax overhaul. Exploration and production in the plain had been
barred for decades, despite repeated attempts from Alaska politicians to open the area for potential development.” [E&E News,
2/13/20
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Alaska Lawmakers Respond On ANWR. According to Politico, “The Alaska congressional delegation
pushed back on letters Democrats sent earlier this month to banks that urged them to refuse to finance oil and gas development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. In their own letter, Alaska Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan and Rep. Don Young call
Democrats’ arguments ‘willfully ignorant of the reasonable program we enacted to guide safe production in the 1002 Area, Alaska’s strong environmental record, and the preferences of the Alaska Natives who actually live in ANWR.’” [Politico,
2/14/20 (=)]
Chad Ellwood
Climate Action Campaign
202.448.2877 ext. 119