Oil and Gas Watch

Brendan Gibbons

Billions in Venezuelan oil revenue draw Congressional scrutiny as Iran war reshapes U.S. energy strategy

Three months after U.S. special forces extracted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from Caracas in a nighttime raid, the Trump Administration’s handling of billions of dollars in Venezuelan oil revenue has become the subject of Congressional scrutiny. Questions are being raised as the administration scrambles to unlock Venezuelan crude to offset a fuel crisis driven by the U.S. attack on Iran. The administration last month lifted sanctions on Venezuela’s oil put in place in January 2019, during Trump’s first term.

Brendan Gibbons

September 26, 2024

A debate over $100 billion in taxpayer subsidies could set the fate of the U.S. hydrogen industry

When hydrogen is burned, it releases only water vapor and no greenhouse gases, making it a potentially climate-friendly fuel for uses like steel production and cement manufacturing depending on how the hydrogen is made. But hydrogen is expensive to produce, which is why the Biden Administration and Congress provided up to $100 billion in taxpayer subsidies for hydrogen production in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. Those proposed rules have ignited a debate over how strict those rules should be, with some energy companies lobbying for subsidies for hydrogen made from natural gas.

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

September 12, 2024

The outlook for the oil and gas industry under President Harris vs. President Trump

Under a Democratic administration led by Vice President Kamala Harris, federal climate policy would likely continue down the Biden Administration’s path – which has meant both billions of dollars invested in clean energy while also allowing for record-breaking oil and gas production. By contrast, former President Donald Trump and his allies have vowed to repeal Biden’s clean energy policies, abandon the country’s climate goals, slash regulations, and speed up oil and gas permitting and leasing. In short, “drill, baby, drill!” as Trump frequently proclaims on the campaign trail.

Courtney Bernhardt

September 5, 2024

EPA’s failure to regulate laughing gas is deadly serious for the climate

Nitrous oxide is an incredibly potent greenhouse gas. When released into the air, it is 273 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at warming the atmosphere. On July 23, the Biden-Harris Administration announced new voluntary actions by industry to reduce emissions of climate-warming “super-pollutants,” including nitrous oxide. But the announcement included no regulations for nitrous oxide and no requirements for industry to control this super-pollutant. This isn’t the first time that EPA has passed on the opportunity to curb nitrous oxide emissions from industry.

Brendan Gibbons

August 29, 2024

New research revealing high levels of mercury in Texas bay raises alarms about dredging for oil tankers

Lavaca Bay is contaminated by decades of mercury pollution by Alcoa, which owns a former aluminum refinery on the bay’s northeastern side. In response, EPA mandated cleanup work in the bay under the agency’s Superfund program in the 2000s, but even after the cleanup efforts, the heavy metal remains in the sediment. Local fishermen and environmental advocates are worried that a dredging project planned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and local port authority will stir up mercury and allow it to be released into the bay, threatening wildlife and humans who eat fish and shellfish from the bay. The dredging project would allow larger and more heavily laden oil tankers to access the Seahawk oil terminal, whose owner is planning a major expansion.