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Ari Phillips
/
September 27, 2023
Chinese ammonia plant in Louisiana could receive U.S. taxpayer subsidies
Louisiana's Ascension Parish, located along the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, is becoming a focal point of the fast-growing, federally-subsidized carbon capture industry. One proposed plant that would manufacture ammonia from natural gas and inject its waste underground is being developed by a partnership majority owned by the Chinese government. Environmental and public health watchdogs are raising an alarm about the project's potential costs, environmental damage, and misleading claims.
Brendan Gibbons
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September 21, 2023
Biden Administration offers drillers 67 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico – but industry sues over protections for whales
On Wednesday, the Biden Administration plans to offer leases for sale to oil and gas companies allowing drilling on 67 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico. But the oil and gas industry is suing because the Biden Administration plans to block drilling on a small portion of the underwater acres to protect a threatened species of whale: the Rice's whale.
Vincent Bregman
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September 6, 2023
First-ever EPA data show gas processing plants emit thousands of pounds of carcinogens per year
Before natural gas can be routed through the pipelines that fuel power plants, homes, and businesses, it must be processed at a gas processing plant to remove contaminants or to separate raw materials used to make chemicals or plastics. According to data available for the first time this year, 258 gas processing plants reported releasing a combined total of 3.2 million pounds of toxic air pollutants in 2022, including benzene and formaldehyde, both carcinogens.
Lottie Mitchell
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August 29, 2023
Despite Biden climate promises, oil production on federal lands is rising
After a campaign pledge of "no more drilling on federal lands," the Biden Administration approved 8,072 drilling permits on public lands from the month after the president’s inauguration through July 2023, nearly as many as the 8,293 under former President Donald Trump for a comparable period. The total amount of oil produced with these permits is higher so far under President Biden than Trump.
Alexandra Shaykevich
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August 22, 2023
What causes long-delayed 'zombie' projects? The market, not government permit reviews
At least seven oil and gas mega-projects across the U.S. have delayed construction as a result of bankruptcy, financing delays, or market forces. All of these projects -- including an LNG terminal and two fertilizer plants -- were issued permits to allow construction more than seven years ago but have failed to move forward. The reality that often it's economics -- not slow government reviews of environmental permits -- that creates long-stalled "zombie" projects undercuts arguments that Congress needs permitting reform to fast track permit approvals.
Brendan Gibbons
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August 15, 2023
In eastern Ohio, environmental justice fight brews over a tires-to-energy plant
A debate over a proposal to convert waste tires to energy is generating a stir in Youngstown, a former steel hub that's still recovering after the decline of the steel industry in the 1970s. The proposal is one of at least 32 new chemical recycling plants proposed across the U.S. that would convert waste products such as tires and plastics into fuel or ingredients for manufacturing new plastics, chemicals, or other products. Almost two thirds of the residents around the Youngstown project are people of color or lower income.
Brendan Gibbons
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August 10, 2023
Small western PA refinery topped list for most injuries among workers, with 119 over five years, federal data show
After a series of fires and explosions at U.S. oil refineries in the first half of 2023, Oil & Gas Watch News examined records of injuries and deaths at refineries nationwide. From August 2, 2017, to March 3, 2023, 153 refineries nationwide reported a total of 1,539 injuries and seven deaths. A small refinery in western Pennsylvania, the United Refining Company in Warren, had by far the worst safety record, with 119 injuries and no deaths over this period, according to federal records. That was 10 times the average for a refinery.
Brendan Gibbons
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August 2, 2023
New EPA report: Plastics chemical found in drinking water poses elevated cancer risk
1,4-Dioxane is a colorless liquid with a faint sweet odor used as an industrial solvent, ingredient, and byproduct in the production of plastics and consumer products since the 1950s. The chemical is also found in hydraulic fracturing fluid and at plastic plants that produce polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, a common plastic used to make bottles, food packaging, and clothing. The EPA is accepting public comments on its findings on 1,4-Dioxane until Sept. 8, 2023.
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Project Updates
Updates for the week of Oct. 2, 2023
Algonquin Gas Transmission plans to expand existing gas pipeline in New England, New York
Company hits pause on construction of polymer plant in Corpus Christi, Texas
State agency poised to let Houston petrochemical plant continue discharging wastewater to Greens Bayou
Reports
'A setup for disaster': California legislation requiring companies to pay for oil & gas well cleanup in limbo
October 1, 2023
Pipelines touted as carbon capture solution spark uncertainty and opposition
October 1, 2023
They promised 'advanced recycling' for plastics and delivered toxic waste
September 28, 2023
The Fertilizer Boom: America's Rapidly Growing Nitrogen and Fertilizer Industry and its Impact on the Environment and Public Safety
April 17, 2023
The Polluter's Playbook: How Loopholes and Lax Enforcement Harm Air Quality in Texas
March 23, 2023
Oil's Unchecked Outfalls
January 27, 2023
Playing with Fire: The Climate Impact of the Rapid Growth of LNG
June 9, 2022
Benzene Pollution at Oil Refinery Fencelines
May 12, 2022
Recent Media
'A setup for disaster': California legislation requiring companies to pay for oil & gas well cleanup in limbo
October 1, 2023
Pipelines touted as carbon capture solution spark uncertainty and opposition
October 1, 2023
They promised 'advanced recycling' for plastics and delivered toxic waste
September 28, 2023
The Fertilizer Boom: America's Rapidly Growing Nitrogen and Fertilizer Industry and its Impact on the Environment and Public Safety
April 17, 2023
The Polluter's Playbook: How Loopholes and Lax Enforcement Harm Air Quality in Texas
March 23, 2023
Oil's Unchecked Outfalls
January 27, 2023
Playing with Fire: The Climate Impact of the Rapid Growth of LNG
June 9, 2022
Benzene Pollution at Oil Refinery Fencelines
May 12, 2022
authors
Brendan Gibbons
Oil & Gas Watch Reporter
Ari Phillips
Senior Writer and Editor
Tom Pelton
Director of Communications
Alexandra Shaykevich
Oil & Gas Research Manager
Lottie Mitchell
Research Analyst
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