House Democrats Seek To Revive Oil And Gas Methane ICR. According to Inside EPA, “Five House Democrats are urging EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to reinstate the agency’s information collection request (ICR) on methane emissions from existing oil and gas operations, citing several developments including a recent scientific report showing methane emissions from the sector are 60 percent higher than EPA’s own estimates. The letter also demands that the agency clarify by July 31 whether it has followed through with an assessment of the issue, after EPA claimed in a May 2017 letter to Capitol Hill that Pruitt needed ‘time to assess the need for the requested information.’ ‘[A] number of events have occurred that highlight the urgent need to reissue the ICR and collect accurate methane emissions data,’ write House Natural Resources Committee ranking member Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) and Reps. Alan Lowenthal (D-NY), Don Beyer (D-VA), Diane DeGette (D-CO) and Jared Polis (D-CO) in a June 27 letter to the agency. ‘We believe the EPA needs to reissue the ICR as soon as possible, or provide a comprehensive explanation of why it will not.’” [Inside EPA, 6/28/18 (=)]

 

Perry Warns Of Looming New York Energy 'Reckoning'. According to Politico, “Energy Secretary Rick Perry today suggested that the federal government should consider preventing New York state from blocking new natural gas pipelines, echoing the national security argument he has put behind his efforts to bail out struggling coal and nuclear power plants. Perry, who has criticized New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for years, didn’t mention the Democratic governor by name, but said political opposition to new gas infrastructure had left the state vulnerable to potential devastating power outages. ‘I think we need to have a conversation as a country, is that a national security issue that outweighs political concerns in Albany, New York?’ he said. New York has blocked the expansion of the Constitution Pipeline by denying the project the water permits it needs to extend the pipeline that would carry gas from Pennsylvania. Perry laid out a scenario to an audience at the World Gas Conference where a major winter storm and cyberattack on the power grid hit the state at the same time. ‘And people literally have to start making the decision about ‘Do I keep my family warm? Do I keep the lights on?’ Does the financial center of New York go dark? Do the hospitals shut down?’ he said.” [Politico, 6/28/18 (=)]

 

Companies Worry About Their 'Attractiveness.' According to E&E News, “Oil and gas companies used a major international conference to publicly grapple with their culpability in warming the planet — and suggest they could be part of the solution. Industry representatives stressed at the triennial World Gas Conference that they understand the gravity of their most significant climate problem — leaks of methane, a potent gas responsible for 25 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. The oil and gas industry accounts for at least one-quarter of methane emissions. Companies huddling in Washington this week posited that countries and environmentalists will not consider natural gas a long-term option for powering the globe if the industry doesn’t confront those facts. ‘Now we have to shift our focus to talk about attractiveness. The problem is, I don’t think we have a license to tell that story — I think our customers are going to have to,’ Greg Guidry, executive vice president of Shell Oil Co.’s upstream Americas unconventionals business, said yesterday on a conference panel. ‘I don’t think we have the time to build the trust for an incumbent fossil fuel company to tell that story because there’s too much in it for us.’ The conference was the first of its kind since nations signed the Paris climate accord. It comes as the Trump administration has sought to unleash the U.S. bounty of natural gas for economic gain — though with little mention of climate change. Oil and gas companies are also facing a rush of litigation for their role in driving global temperatures higher, though they notched a victory as the conference began when a federal court in California tossed such a lawsuit.” [E&E News, 6/29/18 (=)]