Page 10 - NorthAmOil Week 21 2022

NorthAmOil PROJECTS & COMPANIES NorthAmOil

Court rejects ExxonMobil’s attempt

to dismiss climate change lawsuit

MASSACHUSETTS MASSACHUSETTS’ top court rejected a bid assessing its next move.
this week from ExxonMobil to dismiss a lawsuit The lawsuit has progressed further than other
accusing the firm of misleading consumers and pending cases by state and local governments
investors about the fossil fuel industry’s role in intending to hold energy firms accountable for
climate change. climate change. In 2019, ExxonMobil defeated a
The lawsuit was filed by Massachusetts Attor- case in New York which accused the company of
ney General Maura Healey in 2019 after a three- defrauding investors.
year probe. It accuses ExxonMobil of violating Meanwhile, at its annual meeting on May
the state’s consumer protection laws through a 25, shareholders voted in support of ExxonMo-
decades-long cover-up of what it knew concern- bil’s energy transition strategy, rejecting most
ing the impact of burning fossil fuels on the cli- proposals to accelerate cuts to greenhouse gas
mate. The company is also accused in the lawsuit (GHG) emissions.
of deceiving investors about the climate-driven Over 80% of ExxonMobil’s shareholders
risks posed to its business. voted against a resolution filed by environmental
ExxonMobil had sought to have the case group Follow This urging faster action to com-
thrown out, claiming it was politically motivated bat climate change. Similarly, less than 30% of
and a violation of a state law protecting defend- investors supported a proposal for setting and
ants from lawsuits designed to silence them. publishing medium- and long-term targets to
However, the state’s supreme judicial court reduce emissions. A proposal calling for a report
unanimously dismissed the claim, saying that on low-carbon business planning also was not
the statute protecting against strategic lawsuits approved, garnering support from just 10% of
against public participation applied only to pri- voters.
vate lawsuits, and therefore did not apply against The results mark something of a turnaround
government enforcement actions. from last year, when activist investors secured
ExxonMobil has denied wrongdoing, three seats on ExxonMobil’s board for their
claiming that Healey filed the lawsuit against nominees with a goal of putting pressure on
the firm to punish it for its stance on climate the super-major to reduce its carbon footprint
change. The super-major said it was now more quickly.™

South Korean firms line up LNG supply deals

GLOBAL TWO South Korean companies signed sale and wind project,” stated TotalEnergies’ president
purchase agreements (SPAs) this week to buy of gas, renewables and power, Stéphane Michel.
LNG from international sellers. Hanwha’s CEO, Jung In Sub, said it was “sig-
On May 24, France’s TotalEnergies nificant” that his company had secured business
announced that it had agreed to sell 600,000 stability through the long-term supply deal amid
tonnes per year (tpy) to South Korea’s Hanwha a volatile LNG market.
Energy over a 15-year period starting in 2024. A Under the other deal, Cheniere will supply
day later, Cheniere Energy signed an SPA with a LNG to Posco, which is South Korea’s largest
subsidiary of Posco Holdings covering the sup- steelmaker and also owns the country’s first pri-
ply of 400,000 tpy of LNG over a 20-year period vate LNG terminal. This deal supports Cheniere’s
from 2026. planned expansion of its Corpus Christi LNG
The deals were announced as the World Gas terminal in Texas, and is conditional on a final
Conference 2022 took place in Daegu this week. investment decision (FID) being made on that
Under the first of the two deals, LNG will be project. In the announcement, Cheniere’s pres-
sourced from TotalEnergies’ global portfolio and ident and CEO, Jack Fusco, said the FID was
delivered to the Tongyeong regasification termi- anticipated this summer.
nal. This gas will be used to supply Hanwha & The deals follow a number of other SPAs
HDC’s greenfield 1-GW power plant, which is struck between international sellers – often in
currently under construction next to the LNG the US – and Asian buyers in recent months.
terminal. Asian LNG importers will be particularly keen
“Our company is keen to support the coun- to secure long-term supplies given that Euro-
try’s switch away from coal for power generation, pean companies will also be eyeing new LNG
with both LNG supplies and renewables projects, volumes as they seek to cut their dependence
such as our significant ‘Bada’ 2-GW offshore on Russian gas.™

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 21 26•May•2022