Article Author:
Associated Press
Matthew Brown And Michael Phyllis
Billings, Mont. (AP) — The U.S. oil industry dismissed his $192 million oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico in January by a judge over future global warming emissions from burning fuel. I ran into a legal hurdle. It's a pivotal time for Chevron, Exxon and others in the industry. The Biden administration has cut new offshore drilling opportunities while raising climate change concerns.
However, the industry's setback was short-lived. The climate action signed by President Joe Biden on Tuesday sidesteps the administration's concerns about emissions and guarantees new drilling opportunities in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska. The legislation was created to secure support from Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, the top beneficiary of oil and gas donations, and was shaped in part by industry lobbyists.
The Reducing Inflation Act focuses on clean energy incentives that can significantly reduce emissions across the United States, but also reduces the leasing of vast public lands and the Mandating land leases promotes oil and gas profits. coast. It also connects renewable energy with fossil fuels. If the Biden administration wants solar and wind power on public lands, it must first offer new oil and gas leases.
As a result, emissions from US oil and gas production and fuel burning may continue to rise, according to some industry analysts and climate experts. Declining domestic demand means more fossil fuels will be exported to growing foreign markets, including the Gulf region, where pollution from oil and gas activity plagues many poor and minority communities. increase.
For the industry, the new law signals Democrats willingness to work with them and abandon the notion that fossil fuels may soon become obsolete. Yes, said Andrew Gillick of energy analysis firm Emberaus. That data is used by industry and government agencies.
"People who think oil and gas will be gone in 10 years he may not be thinking what this means," Gillick said. “Both demand and supply will increase over the next decade.”
As a result, by 2030, up to 110 million tons (100 m tons) of global warming carbon dioxide is produced, most of which comes from fuels burned after export, some economists and analysts say. Others predict smaller increases.
The law will restore his 2,700 square miles (6,950 square kilometers) of suspended Gulf lease within 30 days. This ensures that companies like Chevron have an opportunity to expand their operations, and Rudolph in the U.S. District Court that governments are "moving full speed ahead" without proper consideration of rising global emissions. His Judge Contreras concerns are overruled.
In a recent earnings call, Chevron management emphasized the importance of this move, projecting continued growth in the Gulf region and calling it "additional land." directly tied to being able to "lease and acquire".
The ambitions of the fossil fuel industry are now directly related to the development of wind and solar power. The bill prohibits leasing federal land and water for renewable energy unless the government provides at least 2 million acres (810,000 ha) of public land, up from last year's oil and gas leases. 60 million acres (24 million ha) in federal waters for The law does not require the lease to be sold, it is only offered for sale.
Critics of this measure say it is holding renewables hostage if the fossil fuel industry does not get its way. Some have accused Biden and the Democrats of abandoning their promise to stand up to industry.
"He's 10 years away from the mandatory lease," said Brett Hartle of the Center for Biodiversity. "We do our best, but it's hard to fight them all."
Executive Director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice and member of the White House Advisory Board for Environmental Justice One Beverly Wright said that if the oil and gas industry continues to boom, communities near polluted industrial plants will continue to suffer. She worries that legislative incentives for technologies that capture carbon from industrial processes may also harm these poor, mostly minority residents.
of Louisiana In St. James Parish, where petrochemical plants dominate the landscape, environmental justice activist Sharon Lavigne said the law would allow fossil fuel pollution to continue to harm her community.
"It's like saying they keep poisoning us and they keep causing cancer," said the former high school teacher who founded the Rising St group. said her Lavigne. James.
The lease clause marks the failure of efforts by environmentalists and social justice advocates to impose a nationwide lease ban. That was when it issued an order to suspend lease sales during its first week in office, following an election pledge to halt new drilling.
Republicans complained that the administration was still not making enough sales after a federal judge overruled Biden's order. On Wednesday, a federal appeals court vacated an injunction blocking the lease suspension, but the new law order could have minimal impact.
Wells can take years to develop, and some yield nothing, so companies must The flow of potential drilling sites is essential, said Jim No, an industry lobbyist who worked with Senate officials on the climate bill's lease clause.
"The industry has always needed lease sales, almost like a treadmill," said Holland & Knight, an attorney who has represented offshore oil and gas companies. says Noe. Noe said demand for oil and gas would not decline anytime soon and that Gulf drilling would bring jobs and energy security.
Before Biden took office, a United Nations report said the United States and other countries would slash investments in oil, gas, and coal, causing temperatures to rise above 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit). It warned that it should not rise. industrial age.
Other legislative provisions focused on renewable energy and focused on capturing carbon dioxide from industrial plants would reduce the cost by burning more oil and gas. Analysts say it will result in a net emission reduction that is 10 to 50 times greater than the increase in emissions.
The increase in oil and gas emissions could still be substantial, according to economist Bryan, with new leases contributing 77 to 110 million tonnes per year by 2030. (70 to 100 million metric tons) of carbon dioxide will be added. Join the research group Resources for the Future.
Other experts predicted lower: Energy Innovation, a San Francisco-based climate research group, said new leases could add up to 55 million tons (50 million tons) of carbon dioxide per year. I predicted. Researchers at Princeton and Dartmouth say the impact is negligible or he could be as high as 22 million tons (20 million metric tons) in the United States and much more abroad.
Both rises depended on high global oil and gas prices, which depended on a variety of factors, including the ongoing war in Ukraine. said Robby Orbis of Energy Innovation.
"While it may increase oil and gas production somewhat, it is largely offset by all other parts of the bill," Orvis said.
However, there is uncertainty about how quickly other parts of the bill will result in emission reductions. may face. Also, the technology to capture and store carbon dioxide is still sophisticated and has limited applications.
Other provisions can potentially increase the cost of drilling on public lands and water bodies. Royalties and rental rates have increased slightly, with a new fee of $5 per acre if a company wants to offer a specific parcel for lease. Another fee requires companies to pay for natural gas or methane, which enters the atmosphere as a potent greenhouse gas.
Mark Squilas, a professor of natural resources law at the University of Colorado Law School, said rising costs could reduce corporate interest.
"There will be more oil and gas leasing if the industry wants it, but that's an interesting question. Do they want that?" Squiras asked.
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Phyllis reported from St. Louis.
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