Today’s Key Takeaways: Biden’s BLM locks up AK land – again. ExxonMobil’s view of energy supply and demand through 2050. Small Cook Inlet producers have gas, need help. AIDEA permit for Ambler road suspended.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland will keep in place protections against potential oil and gas development and mining claims on 28 million acres of federal land across Alaska, the federal government said Tuesday.
The lands were protected from such development in the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. The Trump administration took steps to remove the protections, an effort supported by Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy and U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan.
But the Biden administration said it found legal flaws in the previous administration’s effort, leading to a new environmental review to determine the best use of the lands.
Haaland signed the decision Friday, following an environmental review and public input. A new public land order will retain the protections.
“Continuing these essential protections, which have been in place for decades, will ensure continued access and use of these public lands now and in the future,” Haaland said in a statement from the Bureau of Land Management, which oversees the lands.
Dunleavy said on social media Tuesday that the decision is “the latest sanction against Alaska by the Biden-Harris administration.”
“They are attempting to turn Alaska into one big national park,” Dunleavy said. “Alaska is still owed five million acres of land under the Statehood Act. Every one of these sanctions harms Alaska’s ability to prosper.”
One company, Bluecrest, said it will need more support even after a state agency agreed to forgive some $7 million in loans. Another company, HEX, says it needs the state to agree to a royalty reduction before it will drill a well.
With time running out before a shortfall in local natural gas production forces Alaska’s urban utilities to import more expensive supplies from outside the state, two small companies say they have reserves that could help fill the gap.
But executives from the two privately owned oil companies, BlueCrest Energy and HEX, say they won’t be able to drill wells to access the gas on their state-leased lands without government help.
While Bluecrest’s plans are longer-term, Anchorage-based HEX is scrambling to prepare for a drilling effort from its Julius R platform, in Cook Inlet offshore of the Kenai Peninsula, before winter sets in.
But that $12 million expense will only be worthwhile, according to HEX President John Hendrix, if officials from the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, or DNR, grant his company’s request for concessions.
Hendrix said he needs the department to reduce the 12.5% share of HEX’s production that the company is required to pay to the state — what’s known as a royalty. HEX has been pushing for that reduction for months, and Hendrix said he needs an answer by Sept. 3 for the company to proceed with drilling this year.
“DNR’s smart — I think they can put numbers together and be realistic about this. I hope politics doesn’t get involved,” Hendrix said. He added: “I’m trying to save Alaskans.”
Meanwhile, Texas-based Bluecrest isn’t planning to drill before winter. But in the next few years, it hopes to build a new offshore platform in the inlet that could produce huge amounts of gas — if it can secure state loans to match the money it hopes to raise from private investors, said Benjy Johnson, the company’s president.
A previous Bluecrest project went south when Alaska lawmakers slashed the budget for an oil and gas tax credit program — forcing the state agency that loaned Bluecrest $30 million to renegotiate the debt more than a dozen times, and ultimately to agree to forgive millions of dollars in public money that the company owed.
The decision by lawmakers to cut the tax credit payments, nearly a decade ago, has scared off potential investors, Johnson said in an interview.
“No one is going to do a penny unless the state, somehow, is involved,” he said.
Johnson has not yet made a formal application for state support.
The permit would allow a state-owned development agency to fill in over 1,400 acres of wetlands.
The Biden administration has suspended a water and wetlands permit for the proposed Ambler mining road in Alaska, a month and a half after the Bureau of Land Management rejected the contentious project.
In a letter sent this month, the Army Corps of Engineers informed the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority that a previously issued permit to fill in approximately 1,400 acres of wetlands was suspended, “effective immediately.” The authority is a state-owned development bank pursuing the project.
A 211-mile industrial access road, the Ambler Road Project is intended to support the development of new mines for minerals like zinc and copper in northwestern Alaska and benefit the area’s economy.
The average NEPA impact statement takes 4.5 years to complete. That's ridiculous.
Here's a list of things that took less time to BUILD than it takes to complete a 575 page impact statement…
Today’s Key Takeaways: AK’s first steps toward carbon capture storage program. Massive sanctions to halt Arctic LNG 2 project. Interest in AK antimony after China limits worldwide sales. Permitting reform possible in lame duck session.
The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has begun planning for the state’s new carbon sequestration program.
The program, approved by state lawmakers and Gov. Mike Dunleavy this year, will eventually see the state license pipelines and injection wells that allow companies to store carbon dioxide deep underground.
Storage programs, already in use by other states, are seen as a way to avert the environmental consequences of fossil fuel use. They’ve exploded in popularity since Congress and President Joe Biden approved significant tax incentives.
In a public notice published Tuesday, the AOGCC said it is taking public comments on possible regulations for the state program.
As part of the program, the state will assume regulatory authority over carbon injection wells, taking it from the Environmental Protection Agency.
Under federal law, the state must implement drinking-water protections that are no weaker than those currently used by the EPA.
No specific rules have yet been published, and the agency is collecting the public’s thoughts on what should be included. A public hearing has been scheduled for 10 a.m. on Nov. 7.
Written comments may also be submitted to the AOGCC at 333 West 7th Ave., Anchorage, AK 99501 or aogcc.ccus@alaska.gov.
The United States imposed sanctions on over 400 entities and individuals for supporting Russia’s war effort in Ukraine, the State Department said on Friday, including companies supporting the development of Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project and its shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG), as well as other future energy projects.
The Arctic LNG 2 project by Russia’s Novatek (NVTK.MM), opens new tab is subject to Western sanctions over Russia’s conflict with Ukraine. The project had been due to become Russia’s largest LNG plant with eventual output of 19.8 million metric tons per year of LNG from three trains.
Novatek may be forced to scale back the project following the sanctions, but a tanker under U.S. sanctions that picked up a cargo from Arctic LNG 2 has been found to be carrying out a ship-to-ship transfer, suggesting Moscow is managing to continue some exports from the project.
USAC stakes road-accessible copper property; investigating other critical mineral projects in underexplored state.
United States Antimony Corp. Aug. 21 announced that it has staked 69 state claims covering prospective high-grade copper showings in Alaska.
The critical minerals-focused company that owns an antimony refinery in Montana has yet to reveal the location of this 11,040-acre property in Alaska.
“The State of Alaska is under-explored, and we are considering other mining opportunities located in Alaska,” said Joe Bardswich, co-CEO of United States Antimony. “We are currently having initial discussions with other claim holders within the area of interest regarding possible acquisitions, options or joint ventures. Due to these other activities which are ongoing, we are not yet disclosing the exact location of these new mining claims announced today.”
The company, however, did say a geologist can walk to the copper outcrops on its newly staked claims from a 10-mile road leading from one of Alaska’s few highways.
An eight-foot- (2.4 meters) thick outcropping quartz vein with very high copper values is a prime target covered by the claims staked by United States Antimony. Assay values of 13 samples collected from this outcropping vein by state geologists average 16.5% copper with 0.076 ounce per ton (2.6 grams per metric ton) gold and 2.21 oz/t (71.8 g/t) silver.
United States Antimony said it was attracted to this project due to the recommendation of a consulting geologist with many years of experience in Alaska, as well as its own study of historical geological reconnaissance, mapping, sampling, and assaying reports from the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical surveys.
The company’s interest in copper is due to the importance of this metal to the transition to low-carbon energy and transportation. Last year, the U.S. Department of Energy listed copper on its list of materials critical to energy technologies.
“With the recent decision by China to curtail worldwide sales of antimony, we are better understanding the importance of immediate access to critical minerals necessary not only for our military in munitions, but for everyday necessities such as batteries, fire retardants, computer chips, etc.” United States Antimony penned in a statement to its shareholders. “We are not in a free market when China controls so much of these materials around the world and then dictates when and how they will be sold.”
The staking of the Alaska copper property comes one week after United States Antimony finalized a deal to acquire a critical minerals project in Ontario covering high-grade cobalt, nickel, copper, and bismuth outcrops with minor silver and gold values.
“Similar to our recent acquisition of mining claims with high grades of critical minerals located in Ontario, Canada, announced last week, these Alaskan properties continue to expand our in-house strategic mineral reserve options,” said Bardswich.
Much like on Capitol Hill, the chatter among energy policy wonks here at the Democratic National Convention this week has been finding a path for legislation on permitting and the grid.
Lawmakers and energy industry leaders have been talking up the prospects for passing an overhaul of the approval process for projects like transmission and solar farms by the end of the year.
“Certainly I think it could happen,” Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-Texas), who represents a district in the energy-rich Houston area, said at a panel discussion Wednesday hosted by Punchbowl News.
Fletcher said she believed the lame-duck session of Congress represents the best opportunity for a bipartisan compromise to hitch a ride in a must-pass bill, like an omnibus package.
“We have an actual shot,” agreed Jason Grumet, president of the American Clean Power Association, during a separate Punchbowl-hosted event.
Some members, like Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.), have been making the rounds at various receptions and events to reinforce the importance of compromise in any permitting deal between environmental groups and oil and gas interests.
“People who think we’re going to get a deal that gets 60 votes [in the Senate] without dealing with natural gas, I think, are just being unrealistic,” Peters told POLITICO’s E&E News during the mainstream environmental movement’s big off-site celebration Tuesday afternoon.
The renewed interest in a permitting overhaul deal comes almost a month after Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) and ranking member John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) unveiled S. 4753, the “Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024.”
Most progressive activists and Democratic congressional climate hawks only want to streamline the process for transmission lines and renewable generation, while many Republicans are only interested in clearing the way for more oil and gas projects. Manchin and Barrasso’s bill would do both, something many moderate lawmakers consider a breakthrough. It sailed through committee before the August recess
With advancements in technology, the potential for geothermal as a clean, firm power source is massive. The Act would create categorical exclusions (CEs) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for geothermal activities. Critically, by amending the Energy Policy Act of 2005, CEs would also apply to the exploration and development of geothermal, putting it on equal footing with oil and natural gas.
2. Ending the LNG Pause Will Provide More Certainty for Markets
In January, President Biden announced a pause on pending decisions for increased liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. The pause affects countries that do not have a free trade agreement with the United States, which are where most LNG exports go. As we’ve detailed extensively, the administration’s pause is misguided. The economic, environmental, and national security reasons for expanding LNG exports are strong. Rather than hold a project in limbo, the bill would mandate the Department of Energy (DOE) to approve or deny permits for LNG exports within 90 days. Failure to act in that timeframe would deem the projects automatically approved.
Unless there is a national security concern, U.S. companies should be able to freely trade goods around the world, including energy. The government should not limit natural gas exports any more than it should limit exports of cars, clothes, or corn. The 90-day timeline is a marked improvement, but Congress should remove DOE from the process altogether.
3. Improving Renewable Energy Permitting on Federal Lands
Through better coordination and expanded categorical exclusions, the Act would make it easier to permit and develop renewable projects on federal lands. It includes CEs for areas of five acres or less that have already undergone a NEPA review, areas that have had the same activity occurring within the last five years, and previously disturbed or developed land. These are pragmatic fixes that will expedite permitting for renewable projects that have minimal environmental impact.
4. Expanding Hardrock Mining Can Help Meet Mineral Needs
The United States has an abundance of minerals critical to meeting our energy, economic, and national security needs. Yet, development of these resources is painfully slow, which in some instances results in reliance on countries that are hostile to American interests and have far worse environmental standards. A recent report from S&P Global found the U.S. has the second slowest mine development times in the world; it takes nearly 29 years from discovery to production. American mines face more uncertainty and litigation than their counterparts in Canada and Australia. This bill offers a solution to the Rosemont court decision, which affects other mining support activities on federal lands.
The compromise solution of permitting mill sites for mining-related activities on a limited amount of acreage will provide more certainty for the industry while assuaging environmental concerns of expanded operations. More reform is necessary, to capitalize on America’s mineral abundance, but that falls outside the committee’s jurisdiction.
5. Extending Hydropower Licenses is a Commonsense Solution
Often overlooked as a clean, reliable electricity source, extending hydropower licenses is unnecessarily costly and time-consuming. One California dam operator applied for a new permit in 2005 and despite meeting all the requirements, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission still had not approved the permit. While dams could operate on temporary approvals, the high costs and drawn-out process disincentivize re-licensing, which could take clean power off the grid and threaten reliability. As Politico noted, more than 160 hydropower projects will have their respective licenses expire in the next 3.5 years. While more reform is necessary to make it easier to license new hydropower projects and re-license existing ones, the bill’s four-year license extension for covered projects is a step in the right direction.
6. Opening Access to America’s Energy Abundance is Good
The legislation clarifies and requires the Department of Interior to hold onshore and offshore lease sales for oil, natural gas, and offshore wind, and sets a goal of authorizing 50 gigawatts of renewable energy on federal land by the end of the decade. Capitalizing on America’s energy abundance is good and requiring agencies open access is better than the agency stalling. However, agencies have stalled even when there are statutory requirements to hold lease sales. While market signals determine how much interest those lease sales gather from industry, an overhaul of the entire process is necessary. Rather than setting arbitrary goals and holding a fixed amount of lease sales, policymakers should reform the process to be more responsive to market demand.
7. Fixing Excessive Litigation and NEPA Remains a Priority
Two of the biggest obstacles that inhibit project development are judicial review and, generally speaking, the entire NEPA process. NEPA is woefully outdated as a tool to protect the environment, as evidenced from the constant issuances of categorical exclusions. NEPA has disproportionately harmed clean energy production and frivolous lawsuits led largely by national environmental activist organizationshave stalled everything from critical minerals and wind projects to transmission expansion and more effective forest management. The Act would establish a 150-day statute of limitations to seek judicial review from an agency, but that still leaves plenty of time for activists to sue. More comprehensive judicial reform and NEPA reform are necessary but are outside of the Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee’s jurisdiction.
8. Transmission Reforms Should Bolster Grid Reliability and Lower Costs
There is consensus that transmission bottlenecks exist and relieving those bottlenecks through some combination of upgrading existing infrastructure and building out new lines can help lower costs, improve grid reliability, and reduce emissions. How much transmission expansion we need is subject to debate.
The legislation proposes reforms to improve interstate and interregional transmission planning and permitting. The bill would create efficiencies in these processes and further bolster FERC’s authority by eliminating the DOE’s National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor designation process. However, two of the major sticking points for any bipartisan agreement on transmission policy have been cost allocation (who pays versus who benefits) and the relationship between federal and state authority. While the section-by-section of the bill emphasizes that “customers receiving no benefit or benefits that are trivial in relation to the costs shall not be made to pay”, there is also some broad language for the construction permit to be consistent with the public interest and with “sound national energy policy and will enhance energy independence.” Well-defined benefits that center around improving affordability and reliability while restricting cost socialization among other consumers is a must. Any vague, more subjective considerations can muddle that picture.
9. Giving More Weight to Grid Reliability Assessment
By law, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) conducts periodic reports on the reliability and resource adequacy of the bulk power system. With power plant regulations that could prematurely close existing firm power generation, subsidies for mature technologies that distort energy markets and investment in new generation, and overbearing regulations that make it increasingly difficult to increase supplies, NERC is already sounding the alarm with warnings of future power outages and inadequate resource capacity. This Act would require that NERC assessment of proposed regulations “identify reasonably foreseeable adverse effects of the proposal on grid reliability, consider available ways to mitigate the effects of its proposal, and account for input from affected transmission organizations (e.g., Regional Transmission Organizations).”
The bill would also require NERC’s assessment to be submitted to FERC and the public docket for any federal agency regulation, standard, or rule. Grid reliability assessments are an important tool for grid operators, policymakers, and the general public. Having their knowledge included as part of future regulations will help give them even more weight in the process. There may be legitimate reasons for why these assessments would only apply for proposed regulations after the date of enactment (of the Energy Permitting Reform Act) but having them for regulations like the Clean Power Plan 2.0 would be very useful.
10. On Net, Reforms Will Benefit Consumers, Grid Reliability, and the Environment
More analysis of the bill is necessary to fully understand the potential impacts of the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024. There is much more to digest – both additional benefits and potential drawbacks and unintended consequences. Further, additional, ambitious reform is necessary to fix other systemic policy and regulatory problems that thwart new energy supplies, which must emanate from outside the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. But an initial quick read of the bill suggests there’s a lot to like including streamlining the permitting process to help lower energy bills and emissions and improving electric reliability and America’s competitive advantage as an energy superpower.
While more reforms will be needed, the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 is a good start.
Today’s Key Takeaways: The collapse of clean fuel startups. AK’s oil and gas industry a “boon for the state economy.” Contango ORE expands in Alaska. U.S. LNG project updates. All eyes on AK congressional primary.
Start-ups promising to power planes, ships and trucks with clean fuel are sputtering before they get off the ground, showing how hard it will be to wean many industries off oil and gas. A venture backed by United Airlines that raised hundreds of millions of dollars to turn trash into jet fuel appears to have shut down. Another, backed by Airbus, JetBlue, and GE Aerospace, that was working on using hydrogen to power planes, went bust. Chevron, BP and Shell, meanwhile, are scaling back projects to make biofuels from cooking fats, oils, greases and plant material.
“The excitement of the early days has not lived up to the hype,” said Andy Marsh, chief executive of Plug Power, a start-up that recently opened one of the country’s first plants making green hydrogen, a potential replacement for fossil fuels in industries such as steel making and chemical production. Shares of Plug Power have tumbled more than 90% since the passage of the U.S. climate law two years ago. Shares of biofuels start-up Gevo, where Marsh is a board member, are down about 80% in that span.
The failures and delays are all but extinguishing the early optimism after the climate law passed. Rising costs have delayed timelines and made it more difficult for companies to raise money. Government delays in completing tax credits are adding to the challenges. Without clean fuels, emissions at many companies could keep climbing, threatening climate targets. Industries including aviation and shipping are counting on the new fuels because wind and solar power and batteries can’t meet their energy needs.
“It’s really challenging to get new technology to do what the fossil-fuel industry has been doing for 80-plus years,” said Jimmy Samartzis, CEO of LanzaJet, a start-up backed by Shell, Southwest Airlines and Microsoft. LanzaJet will soon start production at a Georgia plant, one of the first for sustainable aviation fuel in the U.S. Construction ended up being a lot more expensive than expected. The company’s fuel, which is made from ethanol, costs about twice as much as conventional jet fuel without subsidies.
The Alaska Oil and Gas Association is optimistic about the industry’s future in the state. That was a theme of an update the trade group gave during a luncheon at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center last week. The presentation came on the heels of a meeting with member companies, including several Cook Inlet developers.
Kara Moriarty is the association’s president and chief executive officer. She said oil and gas production is up from where it was expected to be at this time ten years ago.
“Our production last year ended up 488,000 barrels a day,” she said. “That is 160,000 barrels a day, more than the forecast in 2013.”
She says those numbers are good for the industry, but also for Alaska’s economy. That’s because more production by developers means more money contributed to the principle of the Alaska Permanent Fund.
In 2022, for example, Moriarty said the industry paid more than $4.5 billion in state and local taxes. That includes more than $15 million in property taxes on the Kenai Peninsula, representing about a fifth of the borough’s total property tax base. She said almost 70,000 jobs in Alaska are supported directly, or indirectly, by the oil and gas industry.
“Our industry continues to be a significant source of jobs throughout the state,” she said. “We do have the highest economic impact. … No other industry has that level of economic generation than we do, and we’re clearly part of Alaska’s future.”
ExxonMobil, in partnership with QatarEnergy, is developing the Golden Pass LNG project in Texas. This project faced a six-month delay due to cost disputes and contractor issues. ExxonMobil also faces challenges due to the U.S. federal permitting freeze impacting the LNG industry.
Glenfarne Group’s Texas LNG project in Brownsville, Texas, is affected by a temporary federal permitting pause. Despite this, the project has secured preliminary supply agreements and is on track for a final investment decision later this year.
NextDecade’s $18 billion Rio Grande LNG project in Texas faced a legal setback when a court revoked a key regulatory approval. Despite this, NextDecade plans to proceed with the project, which is expected to be operational by 2027.
Contango ORE buys the Golden Zone and Amanita exploration projects held by Avidian Gold Alaska.
Avidian Gold Corp. Aug. 7 announced that it has finalized the sale of its Alaskan subsidiary, Avidian Gold Alaska Inc., to Contango ORE Inc. for $2.4 million (C$3.3 million), plus a potential future payment of $1 million (C$1.4 million) if Contango decides to develop a mine at the mineral exploration projects that came with the sale.
With the purchase, Contango ORE gains ownership of three properties – the Golden Zone gold-silver-copper project midway between Fairbanks and Anchorage; and the Amanita and Amanita NE properties adjacent to Kinross Gold Corp.’s Fort Knox mine north of Fairbanks, Alaska.
With just a handful of states left to hold their primaries in 2024, Alaska, Florida, and Wyoming are up next on Tuesday to see who will win the Democratic or Republican nominations for House and Senate seats.
In Alaska, eyes are on the sole House seat as vulnerable Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) seeks to defend her seat as the first House Democratic representative in five decades. In Wyoming and Florida, top GOP senators are hoping to defend their seats, while eyes will also be on Rep. Matt Gaetz‘s (R-FL) House race as he faces a challenger backed by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Today’s Key Takeaways: 40% of IRA projects have been put on hold. Sullivan blasts BLM for abandoning land conveyance beneath TAPS. U.S LNG shaken by setback. Proposal to ban open-pit mining advances in Mexico. Swing state voters support domestic drilling.
NEWS OF THE DAY:
IRA DELAYS: Roughly 40% of the projects announced in the first year of the implementation of President Joe Biden’s largest industrial and climate infrastructure spending bills have been put on hold, according to a new analysis that illustrates the difficulty of translating major subsidies into physical construction.
During the 117th Congress, Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act, which together offered more than $400 billion in subsidies for clean technology and the domestic buildout of semiconductors.
Of projects worth up to $100 million, however, $85 billion have been put on hold for several months or years or paused for an unspecified period of time, according to a Financial Times investigation. The total valuation of these projects was $227.9 billion.
This poses a complication for the Biden administration, which has said that its spending measures would reshore industries and bring back manufacturing jobs to the United States. The delays are also a setback for Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign as she looks to attract support from blue-collar workers.
It also highlights the failure of the Biden administration to enact permitting reform to facilitate the construction of major projects. As part of negotiations for the Inflation Reduction Act, Sen. Joe Manchin struck a deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to put a permitting reform proposal on the floor, arguing it was essential to realizing the potential of the law and its subsidies. Biden endorsed the reform measure, but it failed to advance thanks to opposition among Democrats. A new proposal from Manchin, along with Republican Sen. John Barrasso, has reignited hope that a bipartisan effort could gain traction in the upper chamber. Read more on that here.
From the Washington Examiner, Daily on Energy, August 15, 2024
U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska wants top officials in the Interior Department to hand over texts, emails, and other communication they’ve had with conservation groups.
Sullivan made the request in a four-page letter to Tracy Stone-Manning, director of the Bureau of Land Management, this week.
Sullivan told reporters Tuesday that he wants to know why the Bureau of Land Management has dropped an effort to open the door for the federal government to convey the land beneath the 800-mile trans-Alaska pipeline to the state.
He said he’s concerned the agency’s lack of action comes in response to conservation groups who have filed a petition with the Interior Department calling for a plan for the decommissioning of the 47-year-old pipeline.
Earlier this summer,Stone-Manning abandoned a process to lift a land order that would have enabled the conveyance of the land to the state, Sullivan said in the letter.
“Your decision to abruptly abandon the public process associated with lifting (Public Land Order) 5150, without notice, at the same time that far-left environmental groups are trying to shut down the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) raises questions regarding potential collusion between the Biden Administration and the Lower-48 radical environmentalists that want to shut down Alaska,” Sullivan writes.
NextDecade Corp.’s $4.3B Rio Grande LNG project in Texas faces uncertainty after a court ruling invalidated its federal permit.
The decision raises concerns about the viability of other multibillion-dollar LNG projects in the U.S., as legal and regulatory challenges mount.
Despite setbacks, some LNG companies have seen favorable rulings, such as a Louisiana judge’s decision to halt the Biden administration’s pause on natural gas export permits.
A committee in Mexico’s lower house of Congress approved two constitutional reforms that would prohibit open-pit mining and fracking, as well as restrict the use of genetically modified corn.
The proposals, passed on Wednesday, will be taken up for discussion by the full lower house after lawmakers return to session in September.
The changes would also prevent the exploitation of water in areas with water scarcity, with the exception of extraction in populated areas for domestic use, according to a statement released Wednesday night.
The changes are part of a package of constitutional reforms presented in February by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, which contains other proposals, including one to restructure the judiciary.
Voters in several key swing states this November support domestic oil drilling, according to new polling data.
The American Petroleum Institute commissioned the poll, but it was conducted by the reputable pollster Morning Consult.
According to the poll, more than 90% of voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are concerned about inflation.
“Voters in electoral battleground states are concerned about inflation and are experiencing financial pain, and they see a role for domestic natural gas and oil production in helping consumers and small businesses,” the poll said.
The poll found that in the same seven states, 80% or more of voters agree that “producing more natural gas and oil here in the United States could help lower energy and utility costs for American consumers and small businesses.”
About 70% or more of voters in the same states “oppose government mandates that would ban gas stoves, gas furnaces, or new gasoline, diesel and hybrid vehicles.”
Had a productive visit with Alyeska who manages the TransAlaska Pipeline System. TAPS continues to be a beacon of safety and efficiency in oil transport. We must cut the red tape that stifles such essential infrastructure. pic.twitter.com/6ggZ6GOxOy
