LNG

September 19, 2024

Latest version of energy permitting fast-tracking bill has environmental movement balking

In late July, senators Joe Manchin and John Barrasso, who represent two of the U.S.'s biggest fossil-fuel producing states (West Virginia and Wyoming) announced the latest iteration of their long-sought bill that would accelerate the permitting process for energy projects—including LNG plants, electricity transmission lines, clean energy and fossil fuel power plants. Called the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024, the senators said the legislation would, “strengthen American energy security by accelerating the permitting process for critical energy and mineral projects of all types.” But environmental groups criticize the bill for giving away too much to polluting industries and fast-tracking a review process meant to protect public health and the environment.

Brendan Gibbons

August 1, 2024

Environmental Integrity Project launches updated Oil & Gas Watch database and news site

The Oil & Gas Watch database and news site are being re-launched today (Aug. 1) with new features to make it easier for users to track oil and gas developments in local areas and gather national data on the growing industry. The database features a new “alerts” function to highlight new projects, updates, and public hearings. It also has new search tools; the projected greenhouse gas and related health impacts of projects; new maps; and sharable summary pages for industries. We also redesigned the Oil & Gas Watch News site and email newsletter. We are hosting a free virtual webinar at 1 p.m. Eastern time on Aug. 21 to explain how to use the new database.

Brendan Gibbons

June 27, 2024

Dominion LNG storage site sparks fierce opposition in rural North Carolina

Dominion Energy, a Virginia-based company that owns a natural gas utility in North Carolina, has been clearing away trees, leveling land, and blasting rock as it prepares to build a facility that will store liquified natural gas (LNG) in two massive tanks. The proposed Moriah Energy Center is one of several new natural gas storage projects planned across the U.S. Nationwide, the number of LNG storage facilities has increased about 42 percent since 2010, from 122 to 173, according to federal data. North Carolina regulators recently scheduled a public hearing on the facility's draft air permit for Aug. 1.

LNG

Louisa Markow

June 20, 2024

Corpus Christi, Texas, is ground zero for CO₂ storage buildout in oil & gas region

In January 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded $16.4 million to the Port of Corpus Christi to explore carbon capture, use, and storage within the region and facilitate connections between CO₂ emitters and companies that use or store CO₂. The Port’s project is one of 33 across the U.S. that will get funding under the federal Carbon Storage Assurance Facility Enterprise Initiative, or CarbonSAFE. The 2023 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law also includes a combined $3.5 billion to accelerate the deployment of several regional direct air capture hubs that can suck CO₂ directly out of the atmosphere.

Brendan Gibbons

June 6, 2024

Company’s plans for 690-mile natural gas pipeline would affect thousands of landowners in Texas, Louisiana

With plans for the pipeline to begin operating in 2028, Houston-based Moss Lake Partners is already surveying a 300-foot-wide corridor along the pipeline’s route from west of Odessa, Texas, in the oil-and gas-producing region of the Permian Basin, to Lake Charles, Louisiana. The current route would cross 3,473 tracts of land, according to company filings. The DeLa Express is the latest in a wave of new pipelines transporting gas out of West Texas. The pipeline is one of 35 pending pipeline projects nationwide that are intended to supply gas to liquified natural gas (LNG) terminals for export.

Natural Gas Liquids

Paul MacGillis-Falcon

May 30, 2024

As LNG industry booms, salt caverns converted into massive underground gas storage facilities

Companies are proposing to build or expand three large underground natural gas storage facilities in salt caverns along the Gulf Coast to supply a rapidly-growing LNG industry. The increased storage space is also needed, developers argue, for gas generators being used to back up the expanded use of wind and solar power. One side effect of storing gas underground in salt caverns is the leakage of methane, which is a potent greenhouse gas. These storage projects are also occasionally the sites of explosions and other accidents.

Brendan Gibbons

February 6, 2024

Biden’s LNG pause won’t slow the flow of U.S. natural gas abroad

The Biden Administration's decision to temporarily halt a review of new liquified natural gas (LNG) export permits will do little in the short term to stop the U.S.'s export boom. It will not block exports from the seven LNG terminals currently exporting from the U.S., nor the 16 projects that have already been authorized or are under construction—including 12 new terminals and four major expansions at existing plants.

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.

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.

Alexandra Shaykevich

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

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.

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.

Alexandra Shaykevich

May 2, 2023

Ten long-delayed LNG export terminals could lose approvals under new policy

In a policy statement published April 21, the Department of Energy said that it will no longer consider applications for extensions to the current deadline of seven years between when a company receives government permits to export LNG and when exports must actually begin, or risk losing their permit approvals.

Brendan Gibbons

April 19, 2023

Texas lawmakers aim to exempt oil & gas projects from school property taxes, but not clean energy

Texas legislators are considering a bill that would give fossil fuel companies – but not clean energy – huge breaks on the property taxes they pay to local school districts, narrowing a previous tax incentive program for energy projects that expired last year. Under the old program, called Chapter 313, almost three quarters of the $12.3 billion in tax benefits went to manufacturing projects, including for the oil and gas and petrochemical industry, while 26 percent went to clean energy projects.

Brendan Gibbons

April 11, 2023

Permitting reform could still rise from the ashes of 'dead on arrival' House GOP energy package

With Democrats in control of the Senate and White House, most of the provisions in the energy package passed by the Republican-controlled U.S. House won’t make it into law anytime soon. But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democrats have signaled that they could be open to a narrower discussion on “permitting reform” to streamline the process of approving major energy projects such as pipelines, fuel export terminals, and electrical transmission lines.

Alexandra Shaykevich

April 5, 2023

American households could be left in the cold as gas exports skyrocket

The liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry is growing faster than ever. Three new projects to build or expand liquefaction capacity were announced during the first three months of 2023 alone, along with major financial milestones reached in March on another two projects. That’s on top of the 27 new or expanding LNG terminals already in the pipeline. If all these projects materialize, they would triple the sector’s liquefaction capacity to more than four times the amount that Americans used in 2022 to run gas stoves, heat and cool their homes, warm their water, and run other gas-fueled appliances.

Brendan Gibbons

March 1, 2023

Proposed LNG export terminals threaten 21,000 acres of wetlands, many in Louisiana

According to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission data, 27 LNG export terminal construction or expansion projects that are proposed or already underway threaten 21,205 acres of wetlands – or 34 square miles, which is roughly half the size of Washington, D.C. Southwest Louisiana is a hotspot for LNG construction, with 10 LNG terminals built or proposed so far.

Ari Phillips

February 14, 2023

The other big fossil fuel project the Biden Administration is pushing in Alaska

A controversial and much-discussed Alaska drilling proposal known as the Willow Project isn't the only energy project in the state with potentially serious consequences. The Biden Administration is also backing a controversial 870-mile natural gas pipeline that would deliver 3.9 billion cubic feet of gas per day from Alaska’s North Slope to a southern liquefaction and export terminal. From there, the gas would be shipped primarily to Japan and elsewhere in Asia.

Brendan Gibbons

January 17, 2023

What House Republicans have planned for the oil and gas industry

After a messy confirmation process for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Republican leadership signaled a plan to introduce bills that would boost oil and gas production and speed the permitting process for pipelines and other large facilities. In an event last week with the American Petroleum Institute, House Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers said legislators are working on a “package of bills” that would “secure American energy.”

Brendan Gibbons

January 11, 2023

Stalemate at FERC could stall Biden clean energy plan, landowner rights reform

Willie Phillips, who’s served on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission since December 2021, will become the new acting chair of the commission, or FERC, an independent agency that regulates the interstate transmission of gas and electricity. Advocates say FERC need reforms to strengthen landowner rights and accelerate a shift away from fossil fuels. However, Phillips' nomination and the departure of former chair Richard Glick mean the commission is split 2-2 among Republicans and Democrats.

Eric Schaeffer

September 27, 2022

Sen. Manchin pulls environmental permitting 'reform' bill from stopgap funding legislation

With the clock ticking on a possible government shutdown on Friday, Democratic Senator Joe Manchin late today pulled from a stopgap funding bill his proposed legislation that would fast-track permitting reviews of major energy projects. Manchin made the move after failing to receive support from Republicans and some Democrats for his “Energy Independence and Security Act of 2022.”

Brendan Gibbons

September 13, 2022

EPA will restore an Obama-era chemical disaster safety rule halted by Trump Administration

The EPA is planning to reinstate a rule meant to prevent fires, leaks, spills, explosions, and other disasters at more than 12,000 facilities nationwide, including many oil and gas and petrochemical plants. The rule was first proposed by the Obama Administration in 2017 and later rolled back in 2019 under the Trump Administration. It would require more facilities to plan for natural disasters and strengthen public notice requirements. But many safety advocates say it does not go far enough.

Alexandra Shaykevich

July 26, 2022

The market can't handle fast-tracking LNG. Neither can the climate.

In response to Russia’s war on Ukraine and soaring fuel prices, some U.S. politicians have been advocating for faster environmental review and approval of permits for liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals. But there is no need to rush. Neither the market nor the climate can handle a glut of LNG. And building all 20 LNG projects already authorized in the U.S. would consume 37 percent of U.S. natural gas, worsening gas prices and inflation for Americans.

Tom Pelton

July 14, 2022

Welcome to Oil & Gas Watch News

Greenhouse gases are driving profound changes to the Earth’s climate, contributing to record-breaking heat waves and millions of acres of wildfires, among many other problems. Some industry advocates have tried to position natural gas as a “bridge fuel” to a green future. Oil & Gas Watch News examines the data and public records and sets the record straight.