Oil and Gas Watch News
Brendan Gibbons
/
July 3, 2025

Even with Gulf drilling down, Trump Administration weighs expanding drilling to new coasts

The number of oil and gas drilling rigs operating in the Gulf of Mexico today is about half of what it was a year ago, with 10 rigs working on June 27, compared to 19 a year earlier. In the face of this slump, the oil and gas industry is lobbying the Trump Administration to expand drilling rights into new coastal areas where it has been banned for years. These include the Atlantic Coast from the Carolinas to Florida, and the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, off Florida and Alabama.

News Briefs

July 2, 2025
New liquified natural gas export terminal proposed for Texas coast

A company called Coastal Bend LNG has proposed building a new liquified natural gas (LNG) terminal somewhere along the Coastal Bend region of Texas.

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July 2, 2025
Court rules EPA must consider updating water pollution standards for refineries, plastic plants

A federal appeals court ruled June 18 that the Environmental Protection Agency acted unlawfully in declining to update water pollution control standards for seven major industries.

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July 2, 2025
Environmental groups prevail at Supreme Court in 15-year case against Exxon

The U.S. Supreme Court this week denied a petition by ExxonMobil appealing a loss that requires the company to pay millions for air pollution in Texas.

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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Pollution from Oil Refineries with Outdated Boilers and Heaters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 Out of the refinery boilers and heaters with age information, 87 percent of these units (739 of 845) are outdated.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

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.

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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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