Climate Change

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, who oversees some of the richest oil and natural gas resources in the Lower 48, on Wednesday set the Pelican State on a path toward net zero-carbon emissions by 2050, which the energy industry is backing. Two executive orders (EO) were issued to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and enhance…

A coalition of environmental groups has filed a lawsuit to jettison a federal plan that would allow oil and gas drilling on public lands in southwestern Colorado. The six western U.S. groups filed the lawsuit against the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in U.S. District Court in Denver. The plaintiffs claim that…

Recently announced rollbacks of Obama-era methane controls for the oil and gas industry appear destined for a legal and political onslaught, particularly if Joseph R. Biden Jr. is elected president. In a two-part rulemaking, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week rescinded the regulations enacted under the 2016 Oil and Natural Gas New Source Performance…

Alberta oilsands plants have slowed the growth rate of their carbon emissions by becoming more efficient in their role as Canada’s top natural gas user, according to IHS Markit.  An updated production survey released Wednesday showed a 20% reduction of average oilsands greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions since 2009 on a scale known as “intensity.” Instead…

Texas oil and gas regulators are looking for ways to reduce natural gas flaring, a particular problem  in the Permian Basin, by providing incentives and requiring operators to justify why they need exemptions. Draft rules were approved Tuesday by the three-member Railroad Commission (RRC), and will now undergo a 30-day comment period. Chairman Wayne Christian…

A possible breakthrough in technology that could capture more than 90% of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted from industrial sources has been announced from scientists at ExxonMobil, University of California, Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.  Laboratory tests on the patent-pending material, tetraamine-functionalized metal frameworks, could be used to capture CO2 emissions up to six times…

New Mexico authorities on Monday published two separate sets of draft rules aimed at curbing methane emissions from oil and natural gas operations. The Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD) unveiled what it called “New Mexico’s first comprehensive methane regulations,” which propose 98% natural gas capture from the oil and gas industry by the…

Exelon Corp. and the Exelon Foundation plan to spend a combined $1 million for 10 startups working to develop technologies to mitigate and build resilience to the effects of climate change. The utility and its philanthropic group’s funding are part of a $20 million Climate Change Investment Initiative (2c2i) planned over 10 years for early…

A federal judge has vacated the Trump administration’s attempt to rescind an Obama-era rule governing associated natural gas flaring and venting on public and tribal lands, citing “myriad inadequacies” on which the rescission was based, including violating National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations.  A coalition of environmental and citizens’ groups had argued that the move…