Today’s Key Takeaways: Oregon tribe sues Biden Admin over offshore wind. Fracking ban and the price of oil Nova Minerals- focus on Alaska’s future. Senators file bill to stop court revocation of LNG permits. Alaska resource projects featured in presidential election.
NEWS OF THE DAY:
Oregon Tribe Sues Federal Government Over Offshore Wind
Institute for Energy Research, September 27, 2024
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Indian Tribes are suing the Biden-Harris administration over an offshore wind lease sale scheduled next month they argue will impact their way of life and the environment.
- Biden-Harris’s environmental review concluded there would be no impacts, but the Tribes say the head of the government agency involved admitted in meetings that she was pressed by the White House to complete offshore wind projects.
- The deep waters off Oregon would require floating wind platforms, which are even more expensive than wind turbines secured to the sea floor, both very expensive options for electricity generation.
- The Tribes want the Court to grant a temporary restraining order, postponing the sale while proper studies and consultations are continued.
- The Biden-Harris administration’s rush for expensive offshore wind energy is running into problems, cutting corners, and failing to adequately consult with those affected.
OIL:
What Would a USA Fracking Ban Mean for the Oil Price?
Andreas Exarheas, Rigzone, September 30, 2024
What would a U.S. fracking ban mean for the oil price? That’s the question Rigzone posed to Matt Willer, Managing Director of Capital Markets at Phoenix Group Holdings.
Responding to the query, Willer told Rigzone that such a ban would “put oil over $100 a barrel, or well beyond, very quickly”.
“If you ban fracking, you are squelching horizontal drilling,” Willer said, noting that “this is a considerable part of the U.S. energy mix with all the shale basins, etc., and it is the most efficient technology for oil recovery.”
“If you ban fracking, you would drastically tighten supply without addressing demand. The result will be an elevated oil price market, likely over $100 a barrel, based solely on supply-demand economics,” he added.
When Rigzone asked Willer what a fracking ban would mean for U.S. oil and gas, Willer said it “would mean the technology and innovation that has built the most efficient energy production in the world would be essentially discarded.” He warned that it “would also drastically slow the green energy movement the democrats are pushing.”
“It takes energy to make energy – it takes energy to make solar panels and wind turbines.” Willer said.
“If the cost of conventional energy is through the roof due to a fracking ban, energy costs will skyrocket; we will force an energy-fueled recession, a prospect that should concern us all, all while slowing all forms of energy evolution,” he added.
In a previous statement sent to Rigzone, Willer warned that a fracking ban “could pull 12 million barrels off the global market, almost 12 percent of global production”.
GAS:
Texas senators file bill to prevent courts from revoking LNG permits
Sandra Sanchez, WWLP.Com, September 30, 2024
After recent court rulings overturning federal authorization permits for liquified natural gas projects on the South Texas border, two Texas senators have filed legislation that would prevent courts from revoking permits.
Republican U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn on Friday announced they have filed the Protect LNG Act of 2024. If passed, it would ensure that courts cannot vacate previously authorized LNG permits issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
A “court shall not set aside or vacate the permit, license, or approval issued to the covered facility but instead remand the matter to the relevant federal agency to resolve the violation,” the bill says. Exceptions are made for rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The legislation also mandates that courts grant expedited decisions in relevant cases.
This would help to maintain Texas’ “energy dominance,” Cornyn said.
“This legislation will help crack down on frivolous lawsuits by left-wing climate activists who seek to weaponize our courts and threaten American energy,” Cornyn said in a statement.
Nova Minerals releases 2024 sustainability report with focus on Alaska’s future
Susanna Nelson, Proactive, September 30, 2024
Nova Minerals Ltd (ASX:NVA, NASDAQ:NVA) has delivered its 2024 Sustainability Report, which showcases the company’s abiding commitment to environmental, sociocultural, and economic sustainability at the Estelle Gold Project in Alaska along with its other endeavours.
The report outlined the company’s approach to balancing mineral exploration and development with long-term benefits for local communities and ecosystems.
Sustainable production
The company has a multi-pronged approach to its business, with gold, antimony, lithium, and other critical minerals, along with eco-friendly transport-related plays in the mix – all of which are geared towards sustainable production and clean technology end markets.
The Estelle Gold Project in Alaska positions it as North America’s next major gold and critical minerals district with the ability to leverage both the emerging gold and antimony bull markets.
Along with a global 9.9-million-ounce gold resource, Nova has also discovered significant deposits of stibnite (antimony) at multiple locations across its claims.
Antimony is used as a hardening component in almost all batteries and solar panels, is a flame retardant and an important component in munitions.
Nova CEO Christopher Gerteisen was invited to both Washington DC and Juneau, Alaska’s state capital, numerous times in 2024 to meet with Alaska’s congressional delegation, along with several federal departments, divisions, and senate and congressional committees to discuss how the Estelle project could help shore up the US critical minerals supply chain.
Unique Alaskan landscape
Nova CEO Christopher Gerteisen stressed the company’s focus on three core pillars of sustainability: environmental, sociocultural, and economic.
“Our natural surroundings must continue to support clean air and water, healthy habitats for fish and wildlife, and the beautiful landscapes that all Alaskans enjoy,” he said, recognizing the importance of preserving the unique Alaskan wilderness that is home to the Estelle Gold Project.
On sociocultural sustainability, the company says it prioritizes respecting and maintaining the cultural heritage of local communities.
“Ultimately, the relationship between people and the land must be maintained,” Gerteisen said.
The report also emphasizes the company’s economic impact on the region, with Nova committed to providing local employment opportunities and supporting regional economic growth through hiring and contracting preferences for Alaska Native Corporations and businesses.
“We will strive to provide living wage jobs close to home that will support families in our region,” Gerteisen explained.
The report reveals new discoveries of gold and critical minerals essential for national defense and clean energy technologies.
These developments have drawn attention from Washington, DC, due to their potential contribution to national security and the global transition to clean energy.
“Sustainability continues to be our goal, working in lock step with our project partners and neighboring communities for the good of Alaska, our country, and our world,” Gerteisen concluded.
POLITICS:
Alaska resource projects and landscapes are again in the crosshairs of a presidential election
Alex DeMarban, Anchorage Dailly News, September 29, 2024
Major Alaska resource projects, and the land they could be built on, may be at stake in the presidential election.
They include drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and elsewhere in Alaska, logging in the Tongass National Forest, and cutting a 200-mile road through Alaska wilderness to access the Ambler mining district.
President Joe Biden’s administration has put the brakes on those and other major Alaska resource development projects, reversing efforts by former President Donald Trump to advance those initiatives.
Trump, with his aggressive focus on resource extraction, can be expected to renew his efforts in Alaska if he wins office, former officials say. But they add that it won’t be easy to reverse many of Biden’s actions, especially if Trump overhauls the federal workforce needed to properly make changes, they say.
If Vice President Kamala Harris wins, she’ll likely retain many of Biden’s actions in Alaska, they say. But her administration could still be dealing with major Alaska issues, such as a second oil and gas lease sale in the 19.6-million-acre Arctic refuge, they say.
The election also raises questions about the fate of other perennial Alaska projects, such as the Pebble mineral prospect that was stopped by the Environmental Protection Agency last year, or the giant Willow oil field that was approved by the Biden administration.
For years, Alaska’s big projects and land battles have been subject to shifting politics, depending on which party’s candidate occupies the White House. The back-and-forth has a chilling effect on investment in the state, making it difficult for companies to know whether a prospect has any chance of winning federal approval, resource advocates say.