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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
/
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
/
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.
Ari Phillips
/
July 26, 2023

Factory near Houston would convert garbage into jet fuel. “Green” energy or trash talk?

In Baytown, east of Houston, Fulcrum Bioenergy plans to build facility that converts landfill trash, including single-use plastic, into jet fuel. The company recently opened a similar plant near Reno, Nevada. Proponents see the idea of using garbage to make jet fuel as an environmental win-win and effective way to decarbonize the aviation industry. However, some environmentalists doubt whether the technology is viable and point to the hundreds of tons of air pollution per year the plant would generate.
Tom Pelton
/
July 18, 2023

Temperatures rise over whether EPA should allow Louisiana to permit carbon waste burial projects

This summer, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is expected to rule on a petition by Louisiana for state authority to issue permits for carbon dioxide waste disposal wells that would allow petrochemical companies to capture the climate-warming pollutant from their smokestacks and bury it underground. Encouraged by billions of dollars in public subsidies offered by the Biden Administration, oil and gas companies and other industries are proposing at least 27 carbon capture and sequestration projects in Louisiana, including beneath the Gulf of Mexico.
Brendan Gibbons
/
July 12, 2023

The U.S. LNG export boom is spreading to Mexico, creating new environmental threats

Developers are planning six LNG terminals capable of liquefying and exporting natural gas from Mexico, including three planned for highly sensitive areas of the Gulf of California in the country’s northwest. The LNG terminals would rely on U.S. natural gas, mostly from West Texas, and would export most of their gas to Asian countries. The Mexican terminals could compete for customers with 30 new or expanding U.S. LNG terminals either under construction or proposed but not yet built, mostly in the Gulf of Mexico.
Ari Phillips
/
July 5, 2023

EPA report: Houston plastics plant at risk of explosion

In November 2019, a TPC Group plastics chemical plant in Port Neches, Texas, exploded and burned for more than a month, causing evacuations of nearby residents and forcing schools to close. A TPC plastics plant in Houston has some of the same potential problems as caused the Port Neches disaster: dead-end sections of pipe called "dead legs," according to an EPA inspection. A similar explosion at the Houston facility could be even more catastrophic, because 8,000 people live within a mile.
Brendan Gibbons
/
June 28, 2023

Outdated safety rules at LNG terminals include measure meant to prevent accidents

The amount of natural gas sent abroad from the U.S. more than quadrupled since 2015. However, experts say that safety regulations for liquified natural gas (LNG) terminals are lagging. Eight of the nine LNG safety standards overseen by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration are outdated, including one meant to protect against explosions from the refrigerant gases uses to liquify the methane gas.
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Project Updates

Updates for the week of Dec. 4, 2023

Environmental assessment issued for gas pipeline expansion in Alabama and Georgia

FERC conducting scoping on proposed East Texas pipeline capacity expansion

Liquified natural gas storage site proposed in southern Virginia

Application submitted to increase plastic resin production near Houston

Enbridge announces plans to expand capacity along major Texas crude pipeline

Reports

North Carolina county commissioners vote to approve Dominion natural gas facility despite community's protest

December 5, 2023

Hydrogen industry raises alarm over leaked U.S. tax credit rules

December 4, 2023

Louisiana carbon capture project on Lake Maurepas draws increasing opposition

December 3, 2023

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

North Carolina county commissioners vote to approve Dominion natural gas facility despite community's protest

December 5, 2023

Hydrogen industry raises alarm over leaked U.S. tax credit rules

December 4, 2023

Louisiana carbon capture project on Lake Maurepas draws increasing opposition

December 3, 2023

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

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