Heliogenic Climate Change

“The simmering conflict between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Texas officials over air quality requirements has reached the boiling point with EPA seizing control of a key permit governing the Lone Star State’s fifth-largest refinery.

In what could lead to further escalation of the row, a high-level EPA official has threatened to strip Texas of its power to issue such permits, unless the government in Austin bows to Washington’s regulatory demands.

Attention is currently focused on the Flint Hills Resources East Corpus Christi refinery. EPA says the refinery operates under a permit issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) that violates the Clean Air Act.

In a May 25 letter to Flint Hills Resources, which is owned by Wichita, Kansas-based Koch Industries, EPA said the company must submit a permit application to the Washington agency by September 15 or face potential fines. More ominously, the agency threatened to take similar action on more than three dozen other facilities in Texas, most along the Gulf coast where the state’s oil and gas industries are located.

The bone of contention between EPA and TCEQ is Texas’ decade-and-a-half-old practice of issuing “flexible” permits to refineries. Flexible permits place limits on emissions from an entire refinery. EPA claims emissions permits are required for each of the dozens of production units within a refinery. It is not known which of the two systems results in lower emissions, but the route preferred by EPA would undoubtedly lead to more paperwork.  …

Texas Governor Rick Perry (R) blasted EPA’s move.

“The Obama administration has taken yet another step in its campaign to harm our economy and impose federal control over Texas,” he said in a press statement. “With their decision to take control of a permitting process that the Clean Air Act allows to be delegated to the states, the EPA is on the verge of killing thousands of Texas jobs and derailing a program that has cleaned Texas’ air.”  …

John Dunn, M.D., a Texas-based emergency services consultant, says there is more to the fight over air quality than meets the eye. He points out Texas Attorney General Greg Abbot is one of several state attorneys general suing EPA over the agency’s plan to regulate manmade greenhouse gases. According to Dunn, EPA may be seeking payback in its recent focus on Texas air quality.

EPA, Dunn says, has declared Texas a “rogue state” as part of a strategy to “intimidate states into submission.””  “EPA and, Texas Clash Over Air Quality Permits“

“Canada’s oil sands will become the largest single source of imported oil to the United States this year, and could supply more than a third of America’s foreign oil by 2030, under an aggressive growth scenario that would have to overcome labour shortages and environmental concerns, an influential U.S. think tank said Wednesday.

The growing volume of Canadian oil sands imports “emphasizes the importance they have attained as a supply source for the United States,” Daniel Yergin, Cambridge, Mass.-based chairman of energy research firm IHS CERA, said in releasing a new report on the controversial Alberta oil projects.

Canada is already the largest source of imports for the U.S. market. But as conventional Canadian production declines and oil sands volumes grow, those non-conventional supplies are becoming increasingly critical.

In the third quarter of 2009, oil sands imports to the United States hit one million barrels a day for the first time, of total Canadian exports of 1.9 million. This year, IHS CERA expects oil sands producers to average 1.08 million barrels a day in sales to the U.S., eclipsing imports from both Mexico and Saudi Arabia, which will be declining or flat.

In the report, IHS CERA director Jackie Forrest projects production in the oil sands will grow from 1.35 million barrels a day last year, to as many as 5.7 million barrels a day by 2030 – a figure that would represent 36 per cent of anticipated American imports.  …

The IHS CERA report comes as environmental groups continue their campaign against the oil sands. Sierra Club and Natural Resources Defense Council argued in a report released Wednesday that the development of Alberta’s “tar sands” represents … a “global disaster” because it will “all but guarantee the failure of efforts to combat global warming.”  …

The U.S. State Department has approved pipeline expansion from the oil sands into the U.S. market, saying the Alberta source was critical to U.S. energy security and its efforts to reduce dependence on Middle East oil, Mr. Pumphrey noted. However, the administration also backs climate change legislation that could impose significant additional costs on refiners that process heavy-oil imports which produce more emissions when processed.”  “Oil sands on track to be biggest source of U.S. oil imports“

“Pressure from the British government and energy companies has encouraged the European Uniion to drop new regulations that could have led to the closure of Drax and other … coal-fired power stations within six years.

The sector was facing tougher emissions targets but has been given an extra three years’ grace period to 2019 after Britain argued it faced an “energy crunch” …

The decision follows a vote on the industrial emissions directive in the European parliament’s committee on environment, public health and food safety in Brussels. This has to be endorsed by the parliament in July but is unlikely to be rejected.”  “EU drops energy regulations that could have shut Drax“

Windmills kill tens of thousands of birds every year.  Journos yawn.  But if oil spills they go ballistic:

“What does it say when 11 men who perish on an exploding oil platform, or 30 poor souls who die in a 1,000-year Tennessee flood, get less coverage than two oil-soaked birds? It says news is driven from the left.

It is to the credit of the one media outlet that reported the paparazzi-like scrums of reporters trailing rescue workers as they tried to clean off one oil-soaked gannet caught in the oil spill off Louisiana waters after a rig exploded in the Gulf on April 20. Not only did the U.S. and European media obsess breathlessly about the bird, and later about a brown pelican that followed, they seemed to be panting for more.

That’s because birds are convenient tools for driving the radical green agenda to halt all oil drilling. TV media and the national papers pounded the bird story because it served a political purpose.  …

A look at the Los Angeles Times’ oil spill coverage, for one, shows birds featured daily in its blog and paper while the 11 oil platform workers have barely registered. On the blog, the news of the deaths wasn’t acknowledged until May 5, eight days after the workers’ employer identified them in a memorial Web site.”  “Meanwhile, In Nashville“

“The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is bad — no one would dispute it. But just how bad?  …

[T]he Deepwater Horizon blowout is not unprecedented, nor is it yet among the worst oil accidents in history. And its ultimate impact will depend on a long list of interlinked variables, including the weather, ocean currents, the properties of the oil involved and the success or failure of the frantic efforts to stanch the flow and remediate its effects.  …

The ruptured well, currently pouring an estimated 210,000 gallons of oil a day into the gulf, could flow for years and still not begin to approach the 36 billion gallons of oil spilled by retreating Iraqi forces when they left Kuwait in 1991. It is not yet close to the magnitude of the Ixtoc I blowout in the Bay of Campeche in Mexico in 1979, which spilled an estimated 140 million gallons of crude before the gusher could be stopped.

And it will have to get much worse before it approaches the impact of the Exxon Valdez accident of 1989, which contaminated 1,300 miles of largely untouched shoreline and killed tens of thousands of seabirds, otters and seals along with 250 eagles and 22 killer whales.  …

Engineers said the type of oil pouring out is lighter than the heavy crude spilled by the Exxon Valdez, evaporates more quickly and is easier to burn. It also appears to respond to the use of dispersants, which break up globs of oil and help them sink.  …

The winds are dying down and the seas are calming, allowing for renewed skimming operations and possible new controlled burns of oil on the surface. BP technicians are trying to inject dispersants deep below the surface, which could reduce the impact on aquatic life. Winds and currents could move the globs of emulsified oil away from coastal shellfish breeding grounds.  …

Thousands of gallons of oil flow into the gulf from natural undersea well seeps every day, engineers say …

After the Ixtoc spill 31 years ago, the second-largest oil release in history, the gulf rebounded. Within three years, there was little visible trace of the spill off the Mexican coast …”  “Gulf oil spill is bad, but how bad?“

“• President Obama did not open new lands to offshore drilling – all of these areas were already open for drilling once Congress and President Bush lifted the moratorium in 2008. Instead, President Obama yesterday announced what areas he would CLOSE to offshore drilling (see maps below).

• Under the President’s Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) plan, over 360 million acres are now under a new “Obama Moratorium” that blocks American energy production. This represents nearly 60% of the OCS in the Lower 48 States.

• In total, the new Obama OCS plan puts 13.14 billion barrels of oil and 41.49 trillion cubic feet of natural gas under lock and key.

• The plan includes only two actual lease sales – Virginia and Cook Inlet –both are delayed from 2011 to 2012.

• The Administration will only study the other areas (Mid-Atlantic, Southern Atlantic, Chukchi and Beaufort Sea). It has NOT actually planned lease sales for these areas. There is no guarantee that drilling will ever occur there.

• Drilling in a small portion of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico can only happen if Congress lifts the ban that is in place until 2022. The Administration has not sent proposed language to make this change to Congress yet.

• The entire Pacific Coast is now off limits. The Pacific Coast alone holds an estimated 10.5 billion barrels of oil—almost 75 percent of the total amount available off the U.S. coastline in former moratoria areas – and 18 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

• The Eastern Gulf of Mexico mileage restrictions specifically exclude the “Destin Dome” area. This area contains enough natural gas to supply gas to a million American families for 30 years. It is located close to infrastructure and could be quickly developed, creating jobs and wealth for the American people.”  “Facts & Maps on Obama Administration’s Plan to Lock Up the OCS“

“While many newspapers and cable news pundits cheered [Obama's] announcement [on offshore energy exploration and production] as a positive development, we at the Institute for Energy Research caution lawmakers, the media, and the American people from rushing to conclusions until all the facts are on the table. This is a huge step backward for America’s energy security.

Prior to today’s announcement, the vast majority of OCS areas were open for business. No longer. Today, while President Obama may have stated his support for increased energy development in the Eastern Gulf (which requires congressional action) and the Southern Atlantic (which he’ll study over the next year), he also announced that he would delay the development of the energy resources off Virginia’s coast and lock up vast resources off the Alaskan coast.

Additionally, those who cheer the President’s newfound support for domestic energy resources should remember that the very same President’s FY 2011 budget proposal includes upwards of $36 billion in new oil and natural gas taxes, which will discourage domestic production, especially in areas like the Southern Atlantic that have little to no existing infrastructure. While today’s rhetoric made for a good news cycle, the policy is not a step forward, but a huge leap backward.  …

What the President announced today at-a-glance:

• Cancelled five lease sales off the Alaska coast that were planned over the next 2 years. One of the areas is estimated to hold up to 77 billion barrels of oil, or more than 3 times US reserves.
• A study of the southern Atlantic OCS, with the findings due back next year….no leasing
• Delaying a planned lease sale off Virginia until at least 2012

“Obama Energy Announcement: More Imported Oil, Less Domestic Production, Fewer Jobs“

“Aboriginal groups on Canada’s Pacific Coast vowed on Tuesday to block Enbridge Inc’s proposed Gateway pipeline to carry oil sands crude to export markets including China.

The groups said the environmental danger of oil tankers traveling through the coastal waters of British Columbia is too great, and the announcement could set the stage for a protracted legal and political fight over the pipeline.

“Some people are saying (the pipeline) is a done deal. It’s not,” Art Sterritt, executive director of the Coastal First Nations, a coalition of native Indian communities in the area, often called the Great Bear Rainforest.

The proposed project would carry crude from the oil sands in northern Alberta to a port facility in Kitimat, British Columbia.

Aboriginal leaders said their opposition to the project was strong enough for them to continue the fight, even if Enbridge gets government and court permission to build it — including blockading tankers.

“We are prepared to put boats across the channel,” Gerald Amos, a director of the coalition and a native leader from the Kitimat area, told reporters at a news conference in Vancouver.”  “Native Groups Vow To Fight Enbridge Pipeline“

“The United States should not discriminate against the Canadian oil sands industry, Canada’s ambassador in Washington said on Thursday, warning that trade restrictions could cause the top energy supplier to U.S. markets to seek out other customers.

Canada’s abundant oil sands resources have been threatened in the U.S. market with proposed climate change policies that would place additional costs on fuels that emit higher levels of carbon dioxide.  …

“We absolutely want states and provinces to not discriminate against one sector without looking at the big picture,” [Ambassador Gary] Doer said.  …

California has already adopted a so-called low carbon fuel standard, which attempts to limit the carbon intensity of transportation fuels burned in the state. At least 11 other states are considering similar measures.

Ultimately if the United States becomes less open to oil sands, Doer said the fuel can go elsewhere.

“This is a commodity that can sold somewhere else. It’s not as if the United States is the only country interested in purchasing oil,” Doer said.

Plans are already in place to build a multibillion-dollar pipeline to Canada’s West Coast, where tankers could ship oil sands-derived crude to refineries in Asia …”  “U.S. mustn’t discriminate against Canadian oil sands“

“A federal judge has approved a first-of-its-kind settlement requiring the government to suspend 38,000 acres of oil and gas leases in Montana so it can gauge how oil field activities contribute to climate change.

At issue are the greenhouse gases emitted by drilling machinery and industry practices such as venting natural gas directly into the atmosphere.

Environmentalists … sued when the Montana leases were sold in 2008 …

[T]he 61 leases in Montana [will be suspended] within 90 days. They will have to go through a new round of environmental reviews before the suspensions can be lifted.

“We view this as a very big deal, if a modest first step, in the BLM addressing climate change in oil and gas development,” said plaintiffs’ attorney Erik Schlenker-Goodrich.  …

Plaintiffs in the case were the Montana Environmental Information Center, the Oil and Gas Accountability Project and Wild Earth Guardians.

A parallel lawsuit challenging 70,000 acres of federal lands leased in New Mexico remains pending.”  “Montana oil leases suspended“

“It could be a boon for the Canadian prairies.

Researchers in Texas say they have found a way of cutting the cost of producing gasoline by two thirds, taking advantage of the lowest grade of coal available – one that is abundant beneath the Canadian prairies.

A new refining process being perfected at the University of Texas at Arlington can turn the low-cost lignite coal, also known as brown coal, into oil at a fraction of the cost of importing crude oil from abroad.

“We’re improving the cost every day,” Rick Billo, the school’s dean of engineering, told a local television station.

“We started off some time ago at an uneconomical $17,000 a barrel. Today, we’re at a cost of $28.84 a barrel.”

As the price of crude oil continues to skyrocket – now overing near $80/barrel – being able to produce a barrel of oil at less than half of that price is an attractive proposition, especially for Canadian producers.

According to the Coal Association of Canada, there are major deposits of lignite coal in Southern Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba, though only the Saskatchewan deposits are currently being mined.

Lignite was the source of up to 70% of Saskatchewan’s electricity last year.

The University of Texas hopes to license their technology in the next few months and start building the first micro-refineries to produce the cheaper oil in the next year.

Germany, Russia and the U.S. are currently the world’s leading producers of lignite coal.”  “Scientists find way to make cheap gas from coal“  h/t Larry Tomasson

“Exxon Mobil (XOM) announced today that in 2009 the company’s proven reserves increased by 133% of the amount of oil produced.

Exxon now has 23.3 billion oil-equivalent-barrels of reserves comprised of about half liquids and half gas. It’s the largest amount in the company’s history.

Amazingly, Exxon, who has been accused in the past of being too conservative in terms of exploration and development, has been finding more oil than it produces for each of the last 16 years, to the dismay of peak oil proponents.”  “Exxon Hits Peak Oil… Reserves“

“Canada, faced with growing political pressure over the extraction of oil from its … tar sands, has begun courting China and other Asian countries to exploit the resource.

The move comes as American firms are turning away from tar sands because of its heavy carbon footprint …

Whole Foods, the high-end organic grocery chain, and retailer Bed Bath & Beyond last week both signed up to a campaign by ForestEthics to stop US firms using oil from Canadian tar sands. The Pentagon is also scaling down its use of tar sands oil to meet a 2007 law requiring the US government to source fuels with lower greenhouse gas emissions.

Major oil companies such as Shell are also coming under shareholder pressure to pull out of the Canadian projects. Earlier this year, Shell announced it was scaling back its expansion plans for the tar sands after a revolt by shareholders. …

In the most significant deal to date, the Canadian government recently approved a C$1.9bn (£1.5bn) investment giving the Chinese state-owned oil company Petro­China a majority share in two projects.  … China’s growing investment in the tar sands is seen in Canada as a useful counter to waning demand for tar sands oil from the US, its biggest customer.  …

Canada is the biggest source of US oil imports, with 65% of tar sands production going to refineries in the midwest. “[US] Companies have been hitting the pause button on projects,” said Simon Dyer, of the Pembina Institute oil sands watch project.

But not China. PetroChina has taken a 60% stake in two new tar sands projects due to get under way in the MacKay River and Dover areas next year, with plans to produce up to 35,000 barrels a day by 2014, and eventually up to 500,000 a day.  …

But [Peter Tertzakian, chief energy economist at ARC Financial Corporation, an energy-focused private equity firm in Calgary, Alberta] said the move by China could also represent the beginnings of a major shift in control of the tar sands.  …

Japanese and South Korean companies have also begun moving in, opening up potential new markets for Canada …  India’s Reliance Industries is also reportedly bidding on a project.”  “Canada looks to China to exploit oil sands rejected by US“

All of these measures will raise energy prices for consumers and industries, amount to a substantial tax increase, lead to decreased domestic oil production and more dependence on foreign oil, decrease tax revenue, cause more unemployment, and discriminate against oil companies relative to other industries. Altogether a very bad idea, but consistent with Obama’s war on fossil energy:

The Obama administration proposed $36.5 billion of new oil and gas taxes as it released its proposed fiscal 2011 budget. The proposed levies—which it framed as removing tax preferences to help balance the federal budget and promote clean energy—were essentially the same as the ones it presented a year earlier.  …

The single biggest bite would be downstream, with the proposed repeal of the domestic manufacturing tax deduction for oil and gas companies. That would raise $17.3 billion over 10 years if enacted, OMB said. It also would make US refiners the only domestic business not covered by the manufacturing tax credit, which Congress enacted in response to foreign governments’ subsidies of industries in their countries.  …

“Unfortunately, in his search for ‘easy’ revenue, the president appears once again to be endorsing a series of tax change that will result in fewer American jobs, less government revenue, and a tightening of our already dangerous dependence on foreign, unstable energy,” [Independent Petroleum Association of America Pres. Barry] Russell said.  …

“We are disappointed that the administration has again chosen to single out the American oil, gas, and refining community for additional taxes under the guise of leveling the playing field with other corporations,” [National Petrochemical & Refiners Association Pres. Charles T.] Drevna said, adding, “In fact, it accomplishes the opposite and puts our members at a precarious disadvantage with foreign fuel producers.”  …

“For our members—the small businessmen and women of our nation’s oil and gas industry—this is a knockout blow,” Somerlyn Cothran, executive director of the National Stripper Well Association in Tulsa, said on Feb. 2. “Implementation of this budget proposal would mean a significant loss of jobs and a dramatic loss of tax revenues for each of the 35 states where our members are productive, contributing businesses. Plus, the resulting decrease in oil production will serve only to make America even more dependent upon foreign oil.”  …

Marc W. Smith, executive director of the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States in Denver, said on Feb. 2, “… This administration continues to assure us that they are not ‘anti oil and gas,’ and yet every week brings some counterproductive new policy to make developing American energy even more burdensome.”

Smith said the proposed tax hikes came in addition to proposed inspection fees, a nonproducing acreage fee, and a royalty rate increase in the US Department of the Interior’s fiscal 2011 budget request. “Every day, I hear concerns from our members about whether they will be able to continue developing energy in the West,” Smith said, adding, “I have to wonder if shutting down all energy production on public lands is the ultimate goal of this administration. They are forgetting that these are vital energy resources that belong to all Americans.”  “Obama renews call for oil taxes in 2011 budget“

“The US Environmental Protection Agency has created a toll-free tip-line for citizens to report non-emergency suspicious activity related to oil and gas development. Called “Eyes on Drilling,” the number for the tip-line, which EPA’s Philadelphia regional office announced on Jan. 27, is (877) 919-4EPA. Tips may be provided anonymously, it added.

The agency, which also is accepting tips by e-mail at eyesondrilling@epa.gov, said it will accept information from people who observe what appears to be disposal or wastes or other illegal activity. “While EPA doesn’t grant permits for oil and gas drilling operations, there are EPA regulations which may apply to the storage of petroleum products and drilling fluids. The agency is also very concerned about the proper disposal of waste products, and protecting air and water resources,” it continued.  …

The information collected may also be useful in investigating industry practices, it indicated.  …

EPA’s regional office in Philadelphia clearly issued the notice because of growing interest in the Marcellus Shale natural gas formation. Production of gas from it will require hydraulic fracturing, which it said results in 20-30% of the fluid used flowing back to the surface with produced brines which contained dissolved materials from the formation, it said in the notice.  …

The service adds another government element to an already complicated situation …  It won’t be surprising if opponents use it to cause trouble.”  “EPA invites citizens to keep ‘Eyes on Drilling’“

The Rudd government may be trying to limit CO2 emissions at home with it’s economy-destroying ETS, but Australian coal is about to greatly increase emissions abroad:

“An Australian firm has signed a $60bn (AUS$69bn; £38bn) deal to supply coal to Chinese power stations.

Clive Palmer, chairman of the company, Resourcehouse, said it was Australia’s “biggest ever export contract”.

Under the deal, the firm will build a new mining complex to give China Power International Development (CPI) 30m tonnes of coal a year for 20 years.  …

The complex in the Galilee basin, to be called China First, is expected to start coal production in 2013 and will churn out some 40 million tonnes a year.

Queensland state premier Anna Bligh anticipates the project will create tens of thousands of jobs and produce multi-million dollar royalty payments for the state government.”  “Australia signs huge China coal deal“

Obama thinks taxing the coal industry more is “cutting subsidies for fossil fuel industries”:

“Coal companies are objecting to an Obama administration proposal that could raise their state taxes to cover the cost of regulating surface mining.

The federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement is floating the idea to help cut its spending by $16.7 million. The agency’s proposed $146.1 million budget for fiscal 2011 would cut the funds given to coal states to regulate surface mines.

Instead, the agency is encouraging states to raise more money from industry with higher fees. The proposal reflects Obama’s commitment to cut subsidies for fossil fuel industries, agency director Joe Pizarchik said.  …

The coal industry says it’s a job-killing idea that will raise energy prices for struggling Americans.

“The more than 375,000 people who work in America’s mines are the backbone of our economy and are essential to our recovery,” National Mining Association President Hal Quinn said in a statement. “Their efforts should not be stopped by new taxes that will cost jobs and hurt our economy.”"  “Coal industry balks at proposal for higher taxes“

“Imagine conditions in the once Great Britain. Ice laden wind turbines sit idle in the still air; solar panels covered in snow; gas reserves down to 8 days; pensioners burning books to keep warm, and a bankrupt government.

This is happening because politicians have been conned by anti-industrial greens to neglect the UK’s reliable and economical coal and nuclear generators, while wasting time and money on pointless climate crusades.

Australia is treading this treacherous path. The Wong energy plan will consume our savings, uglify our headlands with wind turbines, cover our deserts with solar panels and entangle our countryside with a spider-web of costly and poorly used transmission lines. And still we will need coal and gas to deliver power when “the wind don’t blow and the sun don’t shine”.

When this global warming madness passes, future generations will remove this derelict solar/wind infrastructure and return to the only reliable and economical electricity options for Australia – coal, gas, hydro and nuclear.”  “Climate Madness and Electricity Realities“

“Regarding foreign oil, it’s worth noting that the senators do not bother to explain how the oil that comes from such notoriously belligerent terrorist havens as Canada and Mexico – which together provide nearly 30% of US oil imports – poses a threat to American security.  …

According to the Energy Information Administration, just 18% of our oil imports come from the Persian Gulf.

The US produces 74% of all the energy it consumes. The remaining 26% (almost all of which is oil) is imported. And as stated above, only 18% of that 26% comes from the Persian Gulf, Thus, just 4.7% of US primary energy comes from the Persian Gulf.”  “The Persistent Delusion of ”Energy Independence”: Despite the Facts, Democrats, Republicans, and the Neoconservatives Continue To Hype Energy Autarky“  [Prior post on the "energy independence" canard here.]