US scraps legal protections for migratory birds
President Donald Trump's administration has finalized a rule that will allow oil companies, wind farm owners and other industries to kill an unlimited number of migratory birds without facing any federal penalties.
The new rule, published today, would re-interpret the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 so that the government could only seek penalties for the illegal hunting of birds, rather than unintentional deaths from industrial activity. The change will save oil producers and other industries money by allowing them to abandon best practices to avoid bird deaths, such as covering open-air oil pits with nets, the US Fish and Wildlife Service said in a study published in November.
The rule is one of the last industry-friendly changes to environmental laws the Trump administration is pushing through in its last weeks in office. If the new policy had been in place in 2010, BP could have avoided paying $100mn in fines for the large numbers of birds killed in the wake of the the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Oil producers feel they have been unfairly targeted under the law, since most migratory bird deaths are caused by buildings and electrical lines. Power lines kill more than 31mn birds each year, while oil pits kill 750,000 and wind turbines kill 230,000. Wildlife officials only investigate about 57 cases each year and prosecute only some of those, according to federal data, typically in cases where birds are killed multiple times at the same location.
The final rule will not go into effect for 30 days, well after president-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office on 20 January. Biden last month vowed to halt or delay "midnight regulations" that have not already taken effect. That would offer a chance for the Biden administration to start legal efforts to stop the regulatory change from taking effect.
A federal judge last year already threw out the Trump administration's first attempt to re-interpret the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, after finding there was "nothing" in the text of the law to suggest the Trump administration's new interpretation was correct. That could offer grounds for activists to challenge the rule in court. The US Congress could also vote to scrap the rule, under a law named the Congressional Review Act, if there is support from a majority of members in the US Senate and the US House of Representatives.
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LNG glut coming and may catch many by surprise: Orsted
LNG glut coming and may catch many by surprise: Orsted
London, 25 September (Argus) — There will be an oversupply of LNG on the global market in the coming years, which may contribute further to "the decade of turmoil", Danish utility Orsted senior vice-president Rune Sonne Bundgaard-Jorgensen told Argus . "The [energy] crisis is absolutely not over. To me, an energy crisis is one of uncertainty and volatility," Bundgaard-Jorgensen said on the sidelines of the Energy Trading Week conference in London. "We are going to see an LNG glut which we all in this [conference] room see is coming but the rest of the world does not necessarily. That is going to catch a lot of people by surprise," he said, adding that "surprises are never good when it comes to energy". According to Bundgaard-Jorgensen, "we are going to see an ongoing decade of turmoil. Who knows where the war in the Middle East with the latest attacks on Hezbollah and Israel is going to take us," he said. Among other concerns, he mentioned "uncertainties in the Far East, around the South China Sea". "So, though the current energy crisis of decoupling from Russian pipe gas is over, the continued crisis of where we are going to get sustainable, long-term energy from is far from over," Bundgaard-Jorgensen said. Commenting on Orsted's long-term gas plans, Bundgaard-Jorgensen stressed that Orsted is "constantly evaluating" its gas portfolio. He refused to say whether Orsted is negotiating another long-term deal with Norwegian state-controlled Equinor after their previous contract expired in April. Orsted entered an agreement with Equinor at the end of 2022, after Russian state-controlled Gazprom halted deliveries to the firm from June 2022 following Orsted's refusal to pay for its supply in roubles . "We are quite happy that we are out of our long-term contract with Gazprom," Bundgaard-Jorgensen said. "As a company we believe in decarbonisation — but I also need to believe in a resilient portfolio. So, we are constantly looking to optimise. Gas is not a strategic core of Orsted but it is a very important tool of securing our portfolio," he said. Bundgaard-Jorgensen refused to comment on whether the firm is planning to appeal a decision made by the Danish Supply Authority in July that the tariff levied by Orsted on the Tyra-Nybro pipeline to Denmark from 2011 to October 2012 was too high. The authority reduced the tariff in the period by almost 30pc to 7.20 Danish kroner/m³ from DKr10/m³. By Alexandra Vladimirova Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Vertex Energy files for bankruptcy, seeks sale
Vertex Energy files for bankruptcy, seeks sale
Houston, 25 September (Argus) — Specialty refiner Vertex Energy has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in a US court following a failed foray into renewable fuels production at its 88,000 b/d Mobile, Alabama, refinery. Vertex has entered into a restructuring support agreement with its lenders and secured $80mn of new funding to finance its day-to-day business operations, the company said late Tuesday. The refiner is also considering a "more value-maximizing sale transaction" and expects to confirm its chapter 11 bankruptcy plan by the end of the year, according to the 24 September press release. Vertex announced in May this year that it would "pause" renewable diesel production at its Alabama refinery and return the unit to producing fossil fuel products. The company later said it would use a third quarter turnaround to return the Alabama plant's converted hydrocracking unit to processing fossil fuel feedstocks and be back online in the fourth quarter. Vertex also operates a re-refinery near New Orleans, Louisiana, that produces low-sulfur vacuum gas oil (VGO) and multiple used motor oil (UMO) processing plants and collection facilities along the Gulf coast. Refiners have faced mixed fortunes in recent years with their investments in renewable fuels after a glut of new supply flooded markets and depressed renewable credit prices. US independent refiner Delek announced in August that it is temporarily idling three biodiesel plants in Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi as it explores alternative uses for the sites. Chevron said earlier this year it was indefinitely closing two biodiesel plants in Wisconsin and Iowa due to market conditions. By Nathan Risser Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Biden touts climate legacy
Biden touts climate legacy
New York, 25 September (Argus) — US president Joe Biden made the case for his climate legacy on Tuesday, casting the Inflation Reduction Act as part of a "new economic playbook" and warning of environmental and economic repercussions if former president Donald Trump returns to the White House. The 2022 law, which included a raft of tax credits to subsidize clean energy technologies, was the "most significant climate law passed in the history of the world," Biden said in a speech at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum, an event on the sidelines of the UN general assembly and Climate Week NYC. The market for clean energy is "booming" because of the law, Biden said, pointing to investments made after its passage in battery technology, nuclear energy, hydrogen, and what the administration terms "climate-smart agriculture." Most of those benefits are flowing to Republican-led states, he noted. While analysts see some provisions in the law as less vulnerable than others, including tax credits for hydrogen and carbon capture popular among oil and gas companies, Republicans have said they want to repeal much of the law. Trump-era tax cuts are set to expire in 2025, teeing up a major legislative fight over tax policy next year regardless of which party controls the US Congress and the White House. Although Biden argued that his climate policies have already had substantial impacts, he also said that Trump could halt much of that progress. Manufacturing facilities and businesses that have started up because of the law's incentives would "shut down" if it was repealed, he said. The US shifting course on energy policy could also have spillover effects on other countries' climate ambitions, Biden said, pointing to his administration's support for language agreed to at last year's UN Cop 28 climate summit around transitioning away from fossil fuels. "If we didn't lead, who the hell leads? Who fills the vacuum without America leading?" he said. By Cole Martin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Helene shuts in about 16pc of US Gulf oil: Update 2
Helene shuts in about 16pc of US Gulf oil: Update 2
Adds daily spot market crude pricing information. New York, 24 September (Argus) — Tropical storm Helene, which is expected to develop into a hurricane on Wednesday before coming ashore in Florida Thursday, has shut in about 16pc of US Gulf of Mexico oil output. Around 284,000 b/d of US offshore oil output was off line as of 12:30pm ET, according to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), while 208mn cf/d of natural gas production, or 11pc of the region's output, was also off line. Operators have so far evacuated workers from four offshore production platforms. Helene was last about 175 miles east-southeast of Cozumel, Mexico, according to a 2pm ET advisory from the US National Hurricane Center, with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph. The current forecast has the center of Helene entering the eastern Gulf of Mexico Wednesday morning and moving north-northeast toward a possible landfall near the Florida panhandle region late Thursday. By then it will have strengthened into a major hurricane, with winds of at least 111mph, according to forecasts. While the storm will largely pass to the east of most offshore oil and gas production areas, companies started suspended some operations on Sunday. Chevron began evacuating workers and shutting in its Blind Faith and Petronius platforms. "While we are also transporting nonessential personnel from our four other Chevron-operated Gulf of Mexico platforms, production there remains at normal levels," the company said. Shell said Monday it had shut in output from its Stones facility and curtailed production from the Appomattox platform, both off the coast of Louisiana. The company was also relocating non-essential workers from its assets in the Mars corridor, and suspending some drilling operations. Equinor said it was shutting down the Titan oil platform as a precaution. BP had started to shut in production at its Na Kika and Thunder Horse platforms, southeast of New Orleans, and was curtailing output from its Argos and Atlantis facilities, as well as removing non-essential staff. Offshore spot prices rise slightly The Na Kika platform is connected by pipeline to the Shell-operated Delta pipeline system, which carries Heavy Louisiana Sweet (HLS) crude to shore. During trading on Tuesday, October HLS rose by 20¢/bl relative to the light sweet crude benchmark in Cushing, Oklahoma, to an 80¢/bl discount. The October US pipeline trade month ends Wednesday. The Thunder Horse platform production is marketed as part of a sour crude stream by the same name that is priced at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Pipeline's (LOOP) facility in Clovelly, Louisiana, where it has dedicated underground cavern storage, as does Mars. On Tuesday, Thunder Horse traded at a 50¢/bl discount to the Cushing benchmark, after wide discussion circled a 40¢/bl discount in the prior session. Medium sour secondary benchmark Mars tightened its gap to the Cushing basis by 30¢/bl to a volume-weighted average discount of roughly $1.55/bl. Crude production from the 140,000 b/d capacity Argos platform feeds into the Cameron Highway Oil Pipeline System (CHOPS), which carries Southern Green Canyon (SGC) crude to the Texas Gulf coast. Argos platform serves the Mad Dog 2 field development that came online last year. Atlantis production also feeds into SGC. No SGC transactions were reported on Tuesday. It was offered as low as $1/bl under the Cushing benchmark, lower than trade at a 50¢/bl discount in the prior session. US offshore production was disrupted earlier this month when Hurricane Francine made landfall as a category 1 storm. Up to 42pc of production was offline at one point. The offshore Gulf of Mexico accounts for around 15pc of total US crude output and 5pc of US natural gas production. By Stephen Cunningham Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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