Page 8 - NorthAmOil Week 27 2021

NorthAmOil POLICY NorthAmOil

Industry players are not yet sure when or how such as making greater use of renewable energy
to execute carbon capture and storage (CCS) at oil sands production sites and using solvents
projects or whether any agreements will have to to make transportation of synthetic crude a
be signed before the work begins, he remarked. more efficient business, Pourbaix noted. They
Under these circumstances, he added, oil may also shift at some point in the future to
sands developers are reluctant to proceed with- using small nuclear power plants (NPPs) to
out support from Canadian authorities. generate the steam needed for production oper-
Pourbaix spoke similarly, noting that high- ations, he added. ™
level government support was a common fea-
ture of CCS projects around the world. “We
haven’t been able to find any jurisdiction in the
world where carbon capture has been imple-
mented, where the national government or the
state governments are not very significant part-
ners in that investment,” he told Bloomberg. “I
don’t think any of us would ever be in a position
to go at this on our own. It’s just too significant
an undertaking.”
Both Cenovus and Suncor have endorsed
plans for bringing the oil sands industry’s net
carbon emissions down to zero by 2050. Other
supporters of the pledge include MEG Energy
Corp., Canadian Natural Resources Ltd (CNRL)
and Imperial Oil, an affiliate of the US super-ma-
jor ExxonMobil.
All of these companies plan to take measures Suncor and Cenovus aim to cut net GHG emissions to zero by 2050 (Image: Suncor)

Big Oil faces more heat in the US on climate

JUST days after a senior Exxon lobbyist the US oil company, thought were job interviews
described efforts to undercut climate action in for an energy client. The lobbyists boasted of
the US, the heat is being turned up on Big Oil. efforts to undermine climate action. Exxon’s
The US was the largest producer of oil globally CEO has since issued a rare apology.
in 2020, so the stakes are high. The lawmaker referred to Big Oil’s resistance
The chair of a congressional subcommittee to testifying. “I find it mind-boggling, honestly.
now says executives of major oil companies Tech CEOs from my district have showed up.
may be subpoenaed to testify on their efforts to Wall Street executives showed up many times to
undermine US climate policy. Congress. Pharmaceutical executives,” he told
Congressman Ro Khanna, a Democrat who the Times. “We fully plan to issue subpoenas if
serves as the head of the House Oversight and they don’t come voluntarily.”
Reform Subcommittee on the Environment, is Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, another Dem-
to issue letters this week to executives of Exx- ocrat, tweeted: “Exxon got caught red-handed in
onMobil, Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell and other the gap between its public posture & its politics
major oil companies seeking that they testify in Congress. The problem is not the leak, it’s that
on the sector’s disinformation campaign on gap; plus Exxon’s refusal to come clean, disclose
climate. its decades of climate denial and obstruction, &
Khanna will also seek documents, reports prove that it’s over.”
the New York Times. The heat on Exxon and its rivals is important
If the letters are ignored, he says the House because oil companies in North America and
Oversight Committee may subpoena officials to Europe are scrambling to respond to the transi-
appear in hearings that are expected to be con- tion to clean energy. European oil and gas com-
ducted this autumn after the summer congres- panies have generally been more responsive to
sional recess. climate concerns than their US rivals.
“The video was appalling,” he told the Times. Both directly and indirectly, the oil and gas
The fossil fuel industry is still seeking to “engage industry globally comprises 42% of greenhouse
in climate denialism and to manipulate public gas (GHG) emissions, according to McKinsey.
opinion and to exert undue influence in shaping The possible subpoenas on Capitol Hill are
policy in Congress,” he said. the latest effort to put pressure on the indus-
Khanna’s comments follow the publication of try. In late May, it had ratcheted up even more,
secret video recordings made by an affiliate of when three major oil companies received sharp
Greenpeace UK of what two lobbyists for Exxon, rebukes over their handling of climate change.

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 27 08•July•2021