Page 10 - NorthAmOil Week 09 2021

NorthAmOil PROJECTS & COMPANIES NorthAmOil

Jordan Cove LNG project in doubt

OREGON THE future of Pembina Pipeline’s proposed Jor- Last week, Pembina said it had taken a
dan Cove LNG export terminal in Oregon looks CAD1.6bn ($1.3bn) write-down on investments
increasingly in doubt, with the company taking a in the CKPC petrochemical joint venture, the
write-down on its investment in the project. Ruby pipeline and the Jordan Cove project.
Calgary-based Pembina now says it can no “We believe these opportunities remain in
longer predict when the facility may be built, strategy, make economic sense when de-risked,
and is evaluating the path forward for the project. and are aligned with Pembina’s ESG [envi-
The news marks the latest setback for Jordan ronmental, social and governance] priorities,”
Cove, which Pembina acquired via its takeover of Pembina stated. “We believe the time for these
Veresen in 2017. Both Veresen and Pembina have projects may come; however, we can sadly no
struggled with obtaining regulatory approvals longer predict with certainty when that time
for the project. In 2016, the US Federal Energy will be and hence were compelled to reflect their
Regulatory Commission (FERC) rejected Ver- impairments in our 2020 financial statements
esen’s application to build the terminal and the through a non-cash charge.”
gas pipeline that would serve it. This latest development for Jordan Cove
The FERC subsequently approved a revised comes just as the idea of LNG exports from
application for Jordan Cove in 2020, but other North America’s Pacific Coast is gaining traction.
regulatory battles continued, with state regula- One LNG export terminal is under construction
tors in Oregon denying several permits that are in Mexico, with two more proposed, and the
necessary for the project to proceed. In what was LNG Canada mega-project is being built in Brit-
described as a potentially fatal blow to the pro- ish Columbia. Bottlenecks in the Panama Canal
ject, in February 2021, federal authorities upheld over the winter may have bolstered the case for
the State of Oregon’s finding that the project was exporting LNG from the Pacific Coast as well.
not consistent with its coastal zone management However, in Jordan Cove’s case, local oppo-
plans. Pembina had appealed against the state’s sition and regulatory obstacles look more likely
finding to the US Department of Commerce. than ever to kill off the project.™

ENERGY TRANSITION

Chevron invests in energy

transition initiatives

US SUPER-MAJOR Chevron announced a series $40mn funding round held by the latter.
of moves related to the energy transition over Most recently, Chevron announced this week
the past week. On February 25 it launched the that it was partnering with Schlumberger New
Future Energy Fund II, worth $300mn, via its Energy, Microsoft and Clean Energy Systems
Chevron Technology Ventures (CTV) business. to develop a bioenergy with carbon capture and
The fund will focus on low-carbon technology sequestration (BECCS) project. The project,
investments, building on the first Future Energy which Chevron described as “ground-breaking”
Fund, which was launched in 2018. in its March 4 statement, is designed to produce
The first fund was used to invest in more than carbon-negative power in Mendota, California.
10 companies with over 150 other investors to The BECCS plant will convert agricultural
support innovations in carbon capture, emerg- waste biomass into a renewable synthesis gas
ing mobility and energy storage. that will be mixed with oxygen in a combustor
On February 28, Chevron made a separate to generate electricity. More than 99% of the car-
announcement that it was investing in Base- bon dioxide (CO2) from the BECCS process is
load Capital, a Sweden-based private invest- expected to be captured for permanent storage,
ment company focused on development and Chevron said.
operation of low-temperature geothermal and The moves come as major oil and gas players
heat power assets. The investment is aimed at increasingly attempt to invest more in low-car-
expanding the super-major’s capacity to gain bon or renewable businesses in an effort to clean
insight into geothermal innovations such as up their public image and complement their
low-temperature power generation and closed- traditional operations with green initiatives.
loop geothermal technologies. US-based super-majors Chevron and Exxon-
This came after Chevron was one of the com- Mobil have lagged their European counterparts
panies to invest in Canadian geothermal player in this area, but both are now trying to be seen to
Eavor Technlogies earlier in February during a be doing more.™

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 09 04•March•2021