Page 11 - NorthAmOil Week 24 2021

NorthAmOil POLICY NorthAmOil

Judge blocks Biden’s oil and

gas leasing moratorium

US A federal judge has blocked US President Joe oil and gas leasing upon taking office in Janu-
Biden’s moratorium on new oil and gas leasing ary. The moratorium was brought in to allow
on federal land and in federal waters. The move the US Department of the Interior (DoI) to
represents a setback to the Biden administra- carry out a “comprehensive review” of its leas-
tion’s plans for combatting climate change by ing programme. Biden instructed the agency to
shifting away from fossil fuels. consider its “broad stewardship responsibilities”,
US District Judge for the Western District of including the impact of climate change.
Louisiana Terry Doughty issued a preliminary The moratorium was – unsurprisingly –
injunction against the leasing moratorium, rul- opposed by the energy industry, which has now
ing that the Biden administration cannot stop welcomed Doughty’s ruling.
leasing without congressional approval. His rul- The ruling requires the DoI to immediately
ing came in a lawsuit filed in March by Louisiana restart its leasing programme, even as the agency
Republican Attorney General Jeff Landry and continues its review and litigation continues. The
officials in 12 other states that are contesting the DoI said it was reviewing the ruling and would
pause in federal leasing. Doughty also said that comply with it, though it did not say when leas-
the states involved in the lawsuit had “demon- ing might resume. The review, meanwhile, is
strated a substantial threat of irreparable injury”. expected to be completed in the coming weeks.
Doughty wrote that millions – or possibly The ruling applies nationwide and will
billions – of dollars were at stake, adding that the remain in effect until the case is over, pending
states involved had a “substantial likelihood of orders from higher courts. A similar challenge to
success” with their lawsuit. the leasing pause by oil and gas industry groups
Biden had moved quickly to freeze federal is pending in Wyoming.™

ENERGY TRANSITION

Pembina, TC Energy partner on carbon

transport and sequestration system

ALBERTA CANADIAN midstream firms Pembina Pipe- deal, Inter Pipeline’s assets would be incorpo-
line and TC Energy announced this week that rated into their plan to redeploy, retrofit, recapi-
they were joining forces to develop a carbon talise and optimise surplus capacity across their
transportation and sequestration project in collective pipeline systems.
Alberta. News of the project comes as both Canada
The companies said in a June 17 statement and various companies in the country – includ-
that the Alberta Carbon Grid (ACG) project ing oil sands producers – step up their efforts
would have the capacity to transport more than to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The two companies are 20mn tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2). They are Canada is targeting net-zero GHG emissions
planning to redeploy, planning to retrofit existing pipelines, as well as by 2050, and has talked up carbon capture and
retrofit, recapitalise build new ones, to connect Alberta’s oil sands to storage (CCS) as being a key component of the
and optimise surplus a new sequestration hub as part of the project. decarbonisation push. Indeed, Pembina and TC
capacity across their The scheme will connect the Fort McMurray Energy’s announcement included a statement
collective pipeline region, the Alberta Industrial Heartland and the from Canadian Minister of Natural Resources
systems. Drayton Valley region to key sequestration loca- Seamus O’Regan welcoming their project.
tions and delivery points across the province, the “This is how we get to net zero,” O’Regan
companies said. It is designed to be an open-ac- said.
cess system and is aimed at helping industries in The announcement also comes just over a
Alberta to decarbonise. week after Canada’s five leading oil sands pro-
Pembina is currently in a takeover battle with ducers announced that they were forming an
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners to acquire alliance that will collaborate on pursuing net-
Inter Pipeline (see NorthAmOil Week 23). In this zero emissions from oil sands operations by
week’s statement, Pembina and TC Energy said 2050. Their plan is also underpinned by a CO2
that subject to Pembina being able to close the trunkline and carbon sequestration hub.™

Week 24 17•June•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P11