News
About
Oil & Gas Watch
Environmental Integrity Project
Contact
Brendan Gibbons
/
March 27, 2024
Thousands of abandoned wells in Louisiana threaten to leak carbon dioxide from storage projects
Louisiana is one of the hotspots int he U.S. for sequestration projects that trap carbon dioxide (CO2) underground to protect the climate. Companies are planning 58 storage wells at 24 sites across the state. However, experts say a century of oil and gas drilling has left thousands of pathways for CO2 to squeeze its way back out into the atmosphere, potentially eroding any climate benefits and creating a safety threat for nearby residents in the event of a massive rupture or leak. Two recent reports examine the threat from the more than 186,000 abandoned oil and gas wells in Louisiana.
Brendan Gibbons
/
January 18, 2024
The U.S. dominated the global oil and gas industry in 2023 despite pledges about clean energy
Overall, 2023 was a year of opposing trends in the U.S. oil and gas industry under a Biden Administration that both launched unprecedented policies to speed the transition to cleaner energy and also opened the door for record-setting fossil fuel production. Last year, the country became the world’s largest producer of oil and maintained its status as the top producer of natural gas, while also becoming the world’s largest gas exporter.
Ari Phillips
/
January 11, 2024
New Mexico wants to recycle fracking wastewater for clean energy. Who stands to gain?
Last month, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced a “first-of-its-kind strategic water supply” program that would invest $500 million in treating produced water, an extremely salty byproduct of oil and gas extraction that can include toxic fracking chemicals, oil droplets, sand, rock fragments, and other gunk picked up along the way. Water experts and environmentalists wonder if the enterprise will do much to address the state’s water woes, or if it will primarily provide more government support for fossil fuel production that is worsening global warming.
Brendan Gibbons
/
January 5, 2024
LNG terminal opens in Puerto Rico without required federal approval
A New York-based company under fire from local groups in Puerto Rico after building a liquid natural gas (LNG) import facility in San Juan Bay without obtaining authorization from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The LNG terminal also makes the territory more dependent on natural gas, even though Puerto Rico has passed legislation urging a move to 100 percent renewable power by 2050. Recent federal studies show renewables would be more cost-effective and reliable than continuing to shore up existing fossil fuel-fired power plants.
Preet Bains
/
December 19, 2023
Report shows oil and gas companies are rushing to establish taxpayer-subsidized carbon storage projects with little monitoring
A new report by the Environmental Integrity Project shows that federal authorities fail to independently verify that “captured” carbon actually stays underground after companies receive their taxpayer subsidies. The analysis of 21 carbon capture monitoring, reporting, and verification plans approved so far by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency shows that the agency allows fossil fuel companies to write their own rules and plans, does not require specific monitoring strategies or technologies, and requires no third-party verification of data self-reported by companies.
Brendan Gibbons
/
December 7, 2023
Biden Administration proposes to allow disposal of carbon waste beneath national forests
The Biden Administration’s U.S. Forest Service recently proposed a regulatory change related to carbon capture and sequestration, a technology meant to remove or keep carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Critics of the proposal say that the Forest Service would be granting fossil fuel and carbon disposal companies access to public property for decades, possibly forever, in support of a technology that has not been proven on a large scale and which some call a false solution.
Brendan Gibbons
/
December 1, 2023
Houston smog worst in 12 years, hitting Latino, Black and lower-income neighborhoods hardest
Air monitoring data show that Houston’s air quality violated health-based standards on 55 days in 2023, more than any other year since 2011. Scorching temperatures combined with emissions, in part from vehicles, oil refineries, chemical plants, and other sources, triggered a rise in ozone across the region. Although smoggy air affects almost everyone, Houston air monitoring data show that Latino and Black neighborhoods and low-income communities were hit the hardest.
Brendan Gibbons
/
November 21, 2023
Report calls chemical recycling a ‘dangerous deception’ meant to shield the plastics industry
A new report by the environmental group Beyond Plastics takes aim at chemical plastics recycling. It's a rapidly-spreading industry with 11 facilities operating across the U.S. that turn plastic waste into fuel or raw ingredients for new plastics. At least 31 more of these facilities are now planned. Chemical recycling leads to energy waste and toxic air and water pollution, often in minority neighborhoods and low-income areas already struggling with a heavy industrial presence, the report states.
Previous
2 / 12
Next
Explore the database
Oil and Gas Watch Database
Subscribe To our NEWSLETTER
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Project Updates
Updates for the week of March 25, 2024
Grand Isle LNG withdraws deepwater port application off Louisiana coast
Union Carbide plans to more than double wastewater discharge from Texas plant
Public meeting planned April 23 on proposed Lake Charles, Louisiana, methanol plant
April 25 public meeting planned on Plaquemines LNG wastewater permit
Company applies to expand natural gas storage site near Jackson, Mississippi
Reports
The surprising reasons why Big Oil may not want a second Trump term
March 26, 2024
When natural gas prices cool, flares burn in the Permian Basin
March 26, 2024
Environmental ruling threatens Wyoming oil and gas drilling leases
March 25, 2024
Carbon capture and storage in Texas
October 25, 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
The Advocate’s Guide to Effective Participation in Environmental Permit Proceedings
April 22, 2022
Recent Media
The surprising reasons why Big Oil may not want a second Trump term
March 26, 2024
When natural gas prices cool, flares burn in the Permian Basin
March 26, 2024
Environmental ruling threatens Wyoming oil and gas drilling leases
March 25, 2024
Carbon capture and storage in Texas
October 25, 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
The Advocate’s Guide to Effective Participation in Environmental Permit Proceedings
April 22, 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
tags
Air Quality
Chemical Feedstocks
Climate
Energy Markets
LNG
Natural Gas Liquids
Oil Refineries
Pipelines
Water Quality
Natural gas
Ammonia
Hydrogen
Wildlife
Carbon Sequestration
Oil
Environmental Justice
Politics
Plastics
Oil and Gas Watch
Newsletter
Articles
News Roundup
Project Updates
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.