Oil and Gas Watch

In Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful’ bill, ugly contradictions and giveaways to industry

President Donald Trump campaigned on lowering energy costs, but his "Big Beautiful" spending bill is expected to raise energy costs for households by $280 per year. Rather than cutting carbon capture subsidies, it increases them, as long as that carbon is used to force more oil and gas out of the ground. It also lowered royalty rates paid by oil and gas companies to the federal government, increasing the national debt, along with opening up more public lands for drilling.

Courtney Bernhardt

September 20, 2022

Plastics industry boom brings flood of new ethylene “cracker” plants, despite frequent environmental violations

The plastics industry in the U.S. has grown significantly in recent years, including a massive buildout of chemical plants called ethane crackers that turn fracked gas into ethylene -- one of the primary building blocks of plastics and petrochemicals. By the end of 2022, ethylene will be made at 34 facilities in the U.S., up from 27 in 2015. Eighteen of these 34 plants have been designated by EPA as “high priority violators” of the Clean Air Act.

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.

Paul MacGillis-Falcon

September 7, 2022

Proposed 'green gasoline' plants raise questions about pollution from natural gas fuels

A company called Nacero Inc. plans to build multi-billion-dollar plants in Pennsylvania and Texas to produce vehicle fuels marketed as “blue” and “green” gasoline. What is "green" gasoline? Is it an oxymoron, like "clean" coal? The company argues their liquid fuel, made from natural gas, emits less air pollution than conventional gasoline. But critics say it is far from carbon neutral or Earth friendly.

August 31, 2022

Investigation: Carbon capture tax credits in climate bill riddled with verification failures and other problems

The landmark climate bill signed by President Joe Biden on Aug. 13 includes billions of dollars in tax credits to encourage carbon capture and sequestration projects. But an IRS investigation of the carbon credit program found that more than half of the $1 billion in credits claimed by oil and gas companies and other industries for carbon capture projects over the last decade were revoked by IRS because the companies failed to verify that the greenhouse gas was actually captured, as required by EPA.

Brendan Gibbons

August 23, 2022

On the Texas Gulf Coast, a race to build desalination plants to serve a thirsty oil & gas industry

At least six desalination plants are planned around Corpus Christi, Texas, to serve a rising demand for fresh water from a rapidly growing petrochemical industry and planned LNG export terminals. Local residents fighting the desalination plants say believe the projects will hike residents’ water bills to serve a massive industry expansion, while dumping highly concentrated saltwater with heavy metals into local bays and estuaries, threatening marine life. All told, the six desalination plants – if built – could discharge more than 362 million gallons of brine per day.