Oil and Gas Watch News
Griffin Bird
/
June 25, 2025

Texas power demand fuels flood of gas plants and air pollution

Spurred by data centers and population growth, demand for electricity in Texas is expected to nearly double by 2034. That increase in demand is leading to a wave of 130 new gas-fired power plant projects, according to a recent inventory and analysis by the Environmental Integrity Project. If built, they could emit greenhouse gases equivalent to those from 26.8 million cars and trucks driven for one year or 30 coal-fired power plants.

News Briefs

June 25, 2025
Republican state AGs seek legal immunity for fossil fuel companies

Attorneys general for 16 GOP-dominated states are asking the Trump Administration to shield fossil fuel companies from lawsuits by states and environmental groups.

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June 25, 2025
Louisiana LNG terminal gets final approval; another terminal paused

Federal authorities have given final authorization to Commonwealth LNG in Southwest Louisiana, while the developer of Delta LNG southeast of New Orleans withdrew its application.

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June 25, 2025
Charges dropped for activists arrested for protesting Formosa Plastics

Prosecutors dropped trespassing charges against four activists arrested while blocking the entrances of the New Jersey offices of a plastic company with a long record of pollution violations.

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In Depth Reports

The Lone Star State’s Gas Plant Boom

A wave of 130 natural gas power plant projects in the Lone Star State, proposed in part to feed the artificial intelligence boom, could release as much greenhouse gas pollution as 27 million cars and trucks driving for a year, according to a report from the Environmental Integrity Project.

Pollution from Oil Refineries with Outdated Boilers and Heaters

The Environmental Integrity Project examined publicly available data and records for the 20 petroleum refineries in the U.S. that reported emitting the most greenhouse gases in 2023. Out of the refinery boilers and heaters with age information, 87 percent of these units (739 of 845) are outdated.

Plastic's Toxic River

The Environmental Integrity Project examined the records of 70 U.S. facilities that make plastics or the main chemical ingredients in plastics and found they discharged almost 12 million pounds in 2023 of total nitrogen and phosphorus.

News Articles

Brendan Gibbons
/
June 12, 2025

Some U.S. oil refineries are still using WWII-era heaters and boilers, leading to excess pollution

The Environmental Integrity Project examined publicly available data and records for the 20 petroleum refineries in the U.S. that reported emitting the most greenhouse gases in 2023. Of the refineries whose boilers had age information, 87 percent of those units (739 of 845) are outdated, the group found. While experts have concluded that boilers and heaters work most efficiently when they are 15 years old or younger, the average age of the heating systems in the largest refineries is more than 40 years old. The oldest refinery boiler that EIP found dated to 1948, with the oldest heater installed in 1939.

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Ari Phillips
/
June 5, 2025

Trump Administration wants to gut protections for endangered animals to boost fossil fuel extraction

The Trump Administration has targeted the Endangered Species Act as an impediment to oil and gas drilling since its first hours in office. On Inauguration Day, Trump's "energy emergency" order paves the way for permit applicants and federal agencies to ignore the possible presence of threatened and endangered species at the sites of proposed constrution projects. The order is not limited to energy projects. It applies to any type of project permitted or funded by a federal agency. Meanwhile, the administration has also found other ways of attacking the Endangered Species Act.

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Ari Phillips
/
May 29, 2025

PA bill would penalize local governments that move fracking away from homes

A bill that passed out of a key Pennsylvania Senate committee on May 7 would withhold funds meant to offset the impacts of oil and gas drilling from municipalities that pass ordinances increases setbacks from homes. These “impact fees” are collected from the fracking industry and typically go towards improvements to roads and other infrastructure, emergency preparedness, and environmental protection programs.

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Brendan Gibbons
/
May 21, 2025

States sue over Trump 'energy emergency' order that fast-tracks wetlands destruction

On May 9, states led by Washington and California sued the administration over the order issued on President Donald Trump’s first day in office. The administration has used the order to speed up hundreds of permit applications to fill streams and alter wetlands for energy, mining, and construction projects, among other environmental reviews. The order came despite record-high oil and gas production in the U.S. under the Biden Administration.

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