A recent analysis determined the United States sits on a century’s worth of gas supply, but industry experts warn there aren’t enough pipelines to access it.
The report from the Potential Gas Committee, part of the Colorado School of Mines, found that the country had technically recoverable gas resources of 3,353 trillion cubic feet, a 0.5% decrease from its 2020 estimate.
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As two train derailments – one in Ohio and one in Michigan – remain national news, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel continue their crusade to shut down the Line 5 pipeline.
If successful in their efforts, moving the petroleum products would transition from pipelines to tanker truck and rail transportation, according to experts interviewed by The Center Square. This transition would likely drive up prices for consumers, increase carbon emissions, and prove less safe, they say.
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Although there are many telling differences between Michigan’s 2022 gubernatorial candidates, energy policy may be the most significant from an economic perspective for families.
Democrat incumbent Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has led the charge to close the Line 5 dual pipeline that has spanned the Straits of Mackinac since 1953, whereas Republican challenger Tudor Dixon has pledged to keep the hydrocarbons flowing through the five-mile stretch of pipeline positioned on the lakebed of Lake Michigan.
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President Joe Biden may be preparing to make a big ask of the United States’ neighbor to the north, and if he does it will run contrary to the agenda of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and her administration.
According to Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal, the first-term Democratic president is considering asking Canada to boost its oil exports to the United States. However, the president halted construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline on his first day of office. XL would’ve have transported 830,000 barrels of Canadian crude from Alberta to Nebraska each day.
In the meantime, the Michigan governor and Attorney General Dana Nessel – both Democrats like Biden – have been working in the courts to permanently shut down a five-mile portion of the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline which ships 540,000 barrels of Canadian hydrocarbons daily across a five-mile section of the Straits of Mackinac lakebed.
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee – A meeting to hear opponents of a bill that preempts local governments from prohibiting energy infrastructure was held Monday morning by the House bill sponsor. Meanwhile, the Senate version of the bill advanced through the committee process.
Rep. Kevin Vaughan (R-Collierville), sponsor of HB2246, announced that he scheduled the meeting during the March 8 meeting of the House Commerce Committee he chairs. During the same committee meeting, Vaughan bid adieu to the Interstate Compact bill he also sponsored, The Tennessee Star reported.
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A South American energy company was forced to halt operations of a pipeline traveling through the Amazon rainforest after a rupture caused a large leak of crude oil, multiple sources reported.
OCP Ecuador, which generates about $133 million in annual revenue transporting oil in the region, had immediately started a clean up and mitigation effort when the leak was discovered, the company said in a statement Saturday. The rupture was likely caused by a rock fall in the area which damaged the pipeline infrastructure, NBC News reported.
Roberto Grijalva, OCP Ecuador’s Operations Manager, said the company was committed to taking all measures necessary to prevent further damage to the environment. The Ecuadorian government, meanwhile, added that it was closely monitoring the rupture.
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After the cancellation of the Keystone XL Pipeline struck a blow to the oil industry, energy jobs activists are pushing back by warning of increased costs and touting the benefits of transporting oil via pipeline.
TC Energy Corporation announced on Wednesday that it was cancelling the Keystone XL Pipeline less than five months after President Joe Biden rescinded a vital permit for the pipeline. The cancellation ends an over 12-year battle by activists from both sides over the oil pipeline. The pipeline would have started in the Canadian province of Alberta ultimately ending in Nebraska.
In a statement François Poirier, President and CEO of TC Energy Corporation, expressed disappointment.
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Activists from out of state will be coming to Minnesota to protest the Line 3 pipeline. On a Facebook post from Minnesotans for Line 3, they write that “Minnesota will soon be hosting some visitors in early June, including Chris Balch from New Hampshire.”
According to the Monadnock Ledger, “Chris Balch of Wilton and Kai Parlett of Manchester are among New Hampshire residents who are making the trip to Northern Minnesota on the weekend of June 5 to participate in the ongoing protests against the construction of the pipeline.”
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Following a Biden administration move to lift U.S. sanctions blocking completion of Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, critics are charging that the new president — who canceled the Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in office — is more concerned about Russian energy jobs and independence than he is about America’s own.
“President BIden, if [you] can’t put America First, can you at least not put Russia first?” form Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted.
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A 19-state coalition urged President Joe Biden to reinstate the Keystone XL Pipeline and reverse his energy policies because of the recent gas shortages.
Gas shortages along the east coast caused by a cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline prove the need for reliable gas pipelines in the U.S., the 19-state coalition led by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen wrote in a letter to Biden on Monday. The U.S. needs better energy infrastructure if the shutdown of one pipeline leads to such extreme spikes in prices and lines at gas stations, the state attorneys general said.
“A temporary shutdown of one pipeline’s full-capacity operations shouldn’t bring half the country to the brink,” the coalition of states wrote to Biden. “We need more safe and clean energy sources. And that includes the Keystone XL Pipeline.”
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Ohio lawmakers continue to pressure Michigan’s governor to keep open a pipeline that affects more than 20,000 Ohio jobs and nearly $14 billion in state economic activity.
Rep. Brian Baldridge, R-Winchester, who testified before the Ohio Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee earlier this week, said Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer continues to make poor decisions at a time when energy security remains in question after a cyberattack on Colonial Pipeline that continues to leave the Southeast with gasoline shortages and higher prices.
Baldridge also testified recently before Michigan’s Senate Energy Committee and met with the state’s Senate leadership in response to Ohio Resolution 13, which urges Michigan to keep the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline operating.
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The Ohio House has sent a message to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, urging her to abandon her plan to force a company to close a pipeline that could threaten Ohio energy supplies and jobs.
Whitmer, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Michigan Department of Natural Resources Director Dan Eichinger filed a lawsuit Nov. 13 in Ingham County Court demanding Enbridge Inc. cease Line 5 operations by May. The easement has been in place since 1953.
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One of President Joe Biden’s first executive orders drew concerns from U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, who said it will cost jobs and hurt the economy.
On Wednesday, Biden signed an order rescinding the presidential permit that allowed for construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. Before the order, Canadian company TC Energy Corp. announced it had suspended work on the 1,700-mile pipeline.
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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer took legal action Friday to shut down a pipeline that carries oil beneath a channel linking two of the Great Lakes.
Whitmer’s office notified Canadian company Enbridge Inc. that it was revoking an easement granted 67 years ago to extend a roughly 4-mile (6.4-kilometer) section of the pipeline through the Straits of Mackinac. The revocation takes effect in 180 days, when the flow of oil must stop.
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The developers of the long-delayed, $8 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline announced the cancellation of the multi-state natural gas project Sunday, citing uncertainties about costs, permitting and litigation.
Despite a victory last month at the United States Supreme Court over a critical permit, Dominion Energy and Duke Energy said in a news release that “recent developments have created an unacceptable layer of uncertainty and anticipated delays” for the 600-mile project designed to cross West Virginia and Virginia into North Carolina.
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Shutting down the Line 5 pipeline through the Straits of Mackinac – even if only temporarily – will send adverse effects rippling throughout Michigan, other areas of the Midwest and, as well, Ontario and Quebec.
That’s according to not only Enbridge, which operates Line 5, but also the refineries that rely on the pipeline to supply the fuel provided to consumers at the fuel pump and such major customers as Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
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The Supreme Court on Monday paved the way for a critical permit for a proposed natural gas pipeline that would cross under the Appalachian Trail, siding with energy companies and the Trump administration.
The justices ruled 7-2 to reverse a lower court ruling that had thrown out the permit for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. It would bring natural gas from West Virginia to growing markets in Virginia and North Carolina. Its supporters say the pipeline would bring economic development, thousands of jobs and reduced energy costs for consumers.
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Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) announced Tuesday morning that he would refile an appeal against the controversial Enbridge Line 3 replacement project. Minnesota’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC) unanimously approved of granting Enbridge a certificate of need to move forward with the project last summer. But former Gov. Mark Dayton (D-MN) made a last-minute appeal of the project through his Department of Commerce before leaving office. Dayton’s appeal was dismissed by the Minnesota Court of Appeals on February 5 because the court found that his petition was made “prematurely.” That decision granted Walz 20 days to decide between refiling the appeal or allowing the project to move forward. On Tuesday, Walz announced that he would follow his predecessor in petitioning the project. “Today, [Department of Commerce] will petition the PUC to reconsider its decision on the Enbridge Line 3 Pipeline Replacement Project, continuing a process begun by the Dayton administration,” Walz said in a statement. “Projects that impact our environment and economy must follow the process, the law, and the science.” Walz went on to say that projects “like these don’t just need a building permit to go forward, they also need a social permit.” “Over the past month, my administration has…
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Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) has less than 20 days to make a decision on the highly controversial Enbridge Line 3 pipeline project, according to the Minnesota Court of Appeals. On February 5, the Minnesota Court of Appeals dismissed a last-minute appeal of the project made by former Gov. Mark Dayton’s (D-MN) Department of Commerce. The court has given Walz a 20-day window to refile the appeal or allow the project move forward. The court’s decision was mostly based on procedural reasons, saying the appeal was filed “prematurely” since it was made before the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) issued a final order for the project. Now, groups on both sides of the issue are pleading with Walz to support their cause. A group of bipartisan lawmakers sent a letter to Walz Friday morning urging him to support Line 3. “We strongly encourage you to support the project and direct state agencies to complete the permitting process that would allow this critically important project to move forward,” the letter states. “We believe after more than 3 ½ years of review and evaluation of the project by state and federal experts, 65 public meetings by state agencies, three weeks of evidentiary hearings by…
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A group of four protesters seemingly affiliated with the Catholic Workers Movement were arrested Monday after video showed them disabling an Enbridge pipeline in northern Minnesota. The protesters, calling themselves “Four Necessity Valve Turners,” say they were left with no choice but to take “direct action” in the ongoing fight over reconstructing Enbridge’s aging Line 3 pipeline. In a live-stream of their demonstration, the protesters claim that they “succeeded in shutting down Enbridge Line 4.” Enbridge wouldn’t confirm whether or not this is true in a statement to Duluth News-Tribune, but video of the incident clearly shows the protesters using wrenches to tamper with a pipeline in a fenced-off area. “We’re back on. We heard some sirens but they weren’t for us. We’re going to keep trying to get this thing off,” one of the protesters says in the video while another asks if it seems “too dangerous to wedge something in here.” Duluth News-Tribune reported that the four were ultimately arrested and an Enbridge spokeswoman later said that the company supports “the prosecution of all those involved.” “The recent scientific study on climate change presented to the UN indicates that the threat of irreversible damage and destruction to our…
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by Jason Hopkins Law enforcement ended a lingering standoff with an anti-pipeline camp site, arresting five protesters and destroying all the makeshift homes that were built. Intense opposition has centered around the Trans Mountain pipeline project, an expansion proposal that will ultimately stretch from Alberta to British Columbia’s west coast. Construction workers for Kinder Morgan, North America’s largest infrastructure company, have been subjected to numerous environmental protests as they continue to work on the $7.4 billion-dollar crude oil pipeline. A group of environmental protesters have long congregated in a camp near a Kinder Morgan tank farm in Burnaby, British Columbia. For the past several months, Camp Cloud — the name of the protest camp site — had grown in size. Starting with a single trailer in November, Camp Cloud had grown to include numerous vehicles and trailers, a cabin, an outdoor shower, a two-story wooden “house,” and numerous tents. [ RELATED: Full-Time Work: North Dakota Pipeline Protesters Are Now Protesting In Michigan ] For months, the camp site served as a hub of local protest against the Trans Morgan pipeline. However, law enforcement finally put an end to the camp on Thursday. Workers are bulldozing a two-storey wooden structure at the camp. pic.twitter.com/JQbP7vpQQj —…
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by Jason Hopkins People who spent their time protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline are now nearly 1,000 miles away protesting the operation of an entirely different pipeline. Resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline attracted a massive amount of people. Thousands of protesters in 2016 congregated at the Standing Rock Native American reservation to voice their opposition to the crude oil line that runs across the Midwest. Their efforts, however, proved fruitless after President Donald Trump green-lighted construction of the pipeline immediately upon entering office. With their cause now over in North Dakota, some protesters have set up shop in Michigan, where another pipeline has drawn the ire of environmental activists. Enbridge — an energy transportation company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta — owns and operates Enbridge Line 5, a pipeline that cuts through the Great Lake states as it transports petroleum from western Canada to the eastern part of the country. Given its presence between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, environmentalists have long called for Enbridge Line 5 to end. [ RELATED: The Dakota Access Pipeline Is One Year Old And All We Got Was This Awesome Economic Growth ] “The goal is to shut it down,” Nancy Shomin stated to The Detroit Free…
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