Methane Clips: March 30, 2023

 

Exxon Extends Permian Methane Monitoring From Its New Houston-Area Base. According to the Houston Chronicle, “The Permian Basin has a virtual place in Houston, thanks to a host of new technologies allowing Exxon Mobil to track methane leaks in West Texas from inside a control room at its soon-to-be-headquarters in Spring. The new hub, called the Center for Operations and Methane Emissions Tracking (COMET), is overseeing Exxon’s rollout of methane monitoring devices in the Permian Basin, funneling data tracked there into the control room outside Houston. The company said it is gradually adding monitoring devices such as ground-level sensors and infrared cameras across its roughly 1,000 production sites at the rate of four sites per day. The $20 million effort is part of the the company’s pledge to reduce emissions at its sites in the Permian Basin to net zero by 2030 as the world works to fight climate change. The technology tested in Texas is a pilot that the company plans to launch globally.” [Houston Chronicle, 3/29/23 (=)]

 

EPA, New Mexico Settle With Oil Company Over Emissions. According to Associated Press, “A Texas oil company has reached a $6.2 million settlement with the federal government and the state of New Mexico to resolve air pollution violations. State and federal environmental regulators announced the settlement with Matador Production Co. on Monday. They say the company agreed to comply with clean air regulations at all of its 239 oil and natural gas well pads in New Mexico, which is home to part of the Permian Basin, one of the most productive oil and gas regions in the world. Regulators had accused the company of failing to capture and control emissions from its storage tanks. They also say the company failed to obtain required permits at more than two dozen of its production operations in the state.” [Associated Press, 3/30/23 (=)]  

 

Capital & Main Reporting Leads To Fines For Oil And Gas Polluters. According to Source NM, “NMED Secretary James Kenney says the fines are a result of two earlier stories reported by Capital & Main showing that the EPA was closing out CAA cases without fines for air pollution violations found in New Mexico during annual flyovers looking for methane leaks at oil and gas facilities in the Permian Basin. Capital & Main ‘pointed out to me EPA was settling these cases without a penalty for a while until we said, ‘That’s unacceptable,’’ Kenney says. While both cases happened in New Mexico and were the result of illegal emissions found during oilfield overflights looking for methane leaks in 2019 and 2020, they differ in how they were enforced and by whom. Chisholm Energy was handled entirely by the EPA, while NMED and EPA teamed up on the Matador case.” [Source NM, 3/30/23 (+)]

 

House Republicans Poised To Pass Marquee Energy Bill In Rebuke Of Biden. According to Politico, “House Republicans are poised to pass a sprawling energy bill Thursday, delivering their biggest legislative win since they took control of the chamber in January and setting up a clash with Democrats by pitting fossil fuels against President Joe Biden’s climate change agenda. The bill won’t advance in the Democratically controlled Senate, but Republicans can use it as a cudgel ahead of the 2024 election, furthering their accusations that Biden’s opposition to fossil fuels helped produce last year’s record spike in gasoline prices, stoked inflation and continues to threaten voters’ pocketbooks.” [Politico, 3/30/23 (=)]

 

Who Is Most Supportive Of The Inflation Reduction Act? According to Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, “However, many Americans have not heard much about the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). In our most recent Politics & Policy report, most registered voters (57%) say they have heard either ‘a little’ (24%) or ‘nothing at all’ (33%) about it. After learning about the IRA, however, most registered voters (68%) say they support it. To fully achieve the goals of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), it will be critical to raise public awareness of the IRA’s potential benefits (e.g., incentives for clean energy technologies and household electrification) and to promote public engagement and support.” [Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, 3/30/23 (=)]

 

House GOP To Pass Energy Package With Eye On Gas Prices, 2024. According to the Washington Post, “House Republicans are expected to pass legislation Thursday that would increase oil drilling and mining on public lands and waters, defying President Biden’s climate agenda and fulfilling a campaign promise to focus on lowering gasoline prices ahead of the 2024 election. The sprawling 175-page package, known as the Lower Energy Costs Act, would slash some environmental regulations and reinstate suspended oil and gas leases. It also would repeal parts of the Democrats’ landmark climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act. While the House is poised to approve the measure along party lines, it is not expected to become law. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) has said the package will be ‘dead on arrival’ in the Democratic-controlled Senate, while Biden has said he would veto the measure if it reached his desk.” [Washington Post, 3/30/23 (=)]