US to revive broad reviews of pipelines, leasing
President Joe Biden's administration is seeking to reinstate wide-ranging reviews of climate effects when federal regulators are deciding whether to authorize new oil and gas pipelines, expand federal fossil fuel leasing or make other major decisions.
The proposed changes, issued today, would formally undo a sweeping rollback to regulations under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) that former president Donald Trump issued in 2020 that are not fully in effect. The move has won praise from environmentalists but revived complaints about increasing "red tape" during the construction of highways and other infrastructure.
"At a time when our country is desperately trying to build, why announce these changes now and throw states and private builders into limbo?" US Senate Environment and Public Works Committee ranking member Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia) said.
Federal agencies tasked with reviewing highway projects, authorizing pipelines and managing oil leasing must take a "hard look" at the potential environmental effects by preparing reviews under NEPA. Decades of court rulings and on-the-ground implementation guide what regulators must evaluate, resulting in reviews that can take years to finish and exceed hundreds of pages for complex projects.
Trump tried to reset implementation of NEPA and focus on near-term effects, while halting the review of effects such as climate change that are geographically distant and remote in time. But many agencies have yet to implement the 2020 changes. Biden's proposal would undo the rollback, while a subsequent "Phase 2" rule would pursue broader changes.
"The basic community safeguards we are proposing to restore would help ensure that American infrastructure gets built right the first time and delivers real benefits — not harms — to people who live nearby," White House Council on Environmental Quality chair Brenda Mallory said.
The White House proposal would reinstate a requirement for federal agencies to consider direct, indirect and cumulative effects of their actions, reversing the 2020 changes that virtually eliminated the need to look into potential effects on climate change. The proposal would set baseline standards under NEPA but instruct federal agencies they could prepare more robust reviews when warranted.
The proposal is unlikely to affect the Biden administration's work on high-profile reviews where work has already started, such as reviews of the 750,000 b/d Dakota Access crude pipeline, a planned rerouting of the 540,000 b/d Line 5 crude and NGL pipeline, and a supplemental review of oil leasing within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.
The $1.5 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, which is awaiting a final vote in the US House of Representatives, includes language to fast-track environmental reviews under NEPA for a subset of highways and other projects funded under the legislation.
Related news posts
Brazil's Gerdau eyes special steel mill in Mexico
Brazil's Gerdau eyes special steel mill in Mexico
Sao Paulo, 3 May (Argus) — Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau is considering building another steel plant in Mexico as it seeks to expand its footprint in the country. The company started a feasibility study for the construction of a special steel unit that would have a production capacity of up to 600,000 metric tonnes (t)/yr, chief executive Gustavo Werneck said today. The move follows an optimistic outlook for the country's automotive industry and increased nearshoring — where companies move production closer to the US to tackle supply chain snarls seen during the pandemic. "Important players in the automotive industry, including current Gerdau customers, are expanding their operations to Mexico, which is becoming one of the most relevant countries in the production of automotive parts," Werneck said on a LinkedIn post. He did not give financial details. Gerdau's first quarter crude steel production in North America fell by 2.8pc , but it posted 3.3pc output growth in its special steel business — which includes operations in Brazil and US — mainly driven by automobile production in Brazil, it said. Mexico's auto sales to the US were 0.9pc higher year-on-year in March and first quarter auto exports rose by 1.9pc from the same period of 2023. Gerdau operates two mills in Mexico with a combined nameplate capacity of 1.5mn t/yr. By Carolina Pulice Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Chevron’s oily DJ basin buy boosts gas output
Chevron’s oily DJ basin buy boosts gas output
New York, 3 May (Argus) — Chevron's US natural gas production has surged in recent quarters due to its crude-focused acquisition of Denver-based PDC Energy last August, increasing the oil major's exposure to the US gas market months after that market entered an extended price slump. Chevron's US gas production in the first quarter was 2.7 Bcf/d (76mn m3/d), up by 53pc from the year-earlier quarter and the highest since at least 2021, according to company production data. Chevron's total US output rose by 35pc year-over-year to 1.57 b/d of oil equivalent (boe/d), while US crude output increased by 21pc to 779,000 b/d. The acreage Chevron picked up last year in the DJ basin of northeast Colorado and southeast Wyoming has higher gas-oil ratios than the rest of its US portfolio. Chevron mostly focuses US production in the crude-rich Permian basin of west Texas and southeast New Mexico. Since Chevron closed its acquisition of PDC on 7 August, US gas prices have mostly languished in loss-making territory. Prompt-month Nymex gas settlements at the US benchmark Henry Hub from 7 August 2023 to 2 May 2024 averaged $2.46/mmBtu, down from an average of $4.999/mmBtu in the year-earlier period. In a May 2023 conference call over Chevron's acquisition of PDC, chief executive Mike Wirth expressed optimism for the long-run outlook for natural gas, despite the more immediately dim outlook. "There's going to be stronger global demand for gas growth than there will be for oil over the next decade and beyond as the world looks to decarbonize," Wirth said. Despite lower US gas prices, Chevron has captured $600mn in cost savings from the PDC acquisition between capital and operational expenditures, the company told Argus . Crude prices have also been more resilient. Chevron's profit in the first quarter was $5.5bn, down from $6.6bn in the year-earlier quarter, partly due to lower gas prices. US gas prices have been lower this year as unseasonably warm winter weather and resilient production have created an oversupplied US gas market. A government report Thursday showed US gas inventories up by 35pc from the five-year average. By Julian Hast Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Dutch FincoEnergies supplies B100 biodiesel to HAL
Dutch FincoEnergies supplies B100 biodiesel to HAL
London, 3 May (Argus) — Dutch supplier FincoEnergies has supplied shipowner Holland America Line (HAL)with B100 marine biodiesel at the port of Rotterdam for a pilot test. This follows a collaboration between HAL, FincoEnergies' subsidiary GoodFuels, and engine manufacturer Wartsila to trial blends of B30 and B100 marine biodiesel . HAL's vessel the Rotterdam bunkered with B100 on 27 April before embarking on a journey through the Norwegian heritage fjords to test the use of the biofuel. The vessel will utilise one of its four engines to combust B100, which will reportedly cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 86pc on a well-to-wake basis compared with conventional fossil fuel marine gasoil (MGO), according to GoodFuels. There is no engine or fuel structure modification required for the combustion of B100, confirmed HAL. The B100 marine biodiesel blend comprised of sustainable feedstock such as waste fats and oils. The firms did not disclose how much B100 was supplied, or whether this is the beginning of a longer-term supply agreement. Argus assessed the price of B100 advanced fatty acid methyl ester (Fame) 0°C cold filter plugging point dob ARA — a calculated price which includes a deduction of the value of Dutch HBE-G renewable fuel tickets — at an average of $1,177.32/t in April. This is a premium of $410.20/t to MGO dob ARA prices for the same month, which narrows to $321.68/t with the inclusion of EU emissions trading system (ETS) costs for the same time period. By Hussein Al-Khalisy Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
UN carbon market enshrines appeal, grievance processes
UN carbon market enshrines appeal, grievance processes
Berlin, 3 May (Argus) — The much-debated procedure for appeal and grievance processes for people negatively affected by carbon mitigation activities was finally passed this week by the regulator of the future UN carbon market. The supervisory body of the Paris agreement crediting mechanism, under Article 6.4 of the Paris climate agreement, called the appeal and grievance procedure a "crucial step towards developing a new international carbon market that sets the benchmark for high integrity carbon credits". The mechanism is expected to be passed at the UN climate summit Cop 29 in November in Azerbaijan. The appeal and grievance procedure sets the fee for filing an appeal at $30,000, compared with the $5,000 fee suggested in earlier iterations, which was seen by some supervisory body members at this week's meeting in Bonn, Germany, as "too low for project developers, but too high for vulnerable groups". The fee will be waived for appellants who are appealing for vulnerable groups, such as local communities and indigenous peoples. But the supervisory body failed to pass the mechanism's long-awaited sustainable development tool, instead launching a call for input. Members had criticised the lack of a validation and verification process for the tool, and its unclear delimitations, given that some of its objectives will be addressed in future rules on carbon removals activities or the carbon reduction methodologies under the mechanism. Making the tool mandatory was demanded by both countries and non-governmental organisations at recent Cop summits, with the lack of a grievance process and sustainable development tool part of the reason why the pricing mechanism was not finalised at Cop 28 in Dubai last year. The sustainable development tool of the Kyoto Protocol's clean development mechanism (CDM), which the new mechanism broadly aims to replace, was never made mandatory. A total of 1,796 carbon mitigation activities have now requested to transition from the CDM to the new mechanism, of which more than 300 have not yet provided full details and could miss the 31 August deadline, the UN's climate arm said in Bonn. The supervisory body called for an extension of the transition period to 4 November. Work on the new mechanism's registry is also advancing, with the supervisory body agreeing to launch a consultation on the "legal, technical and financial implications of providing functionality for the treatment of financial security interests in Article 6.4 emissions reductions within the mechanism registry". By Chloe Jardine Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Business intelligence reports
Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.
Learn more