OIL

CURRENT NEWS

Houston Chronicle

Big Oil is making billions, but don’t expect lower gas prices

By Kyra Buckley 02/03/23

Exxon Mobil: $55.7 billion. Shell: $42.3 billion. Chevron: $35.5 billion. ConocoPhillips: $18.7 billion. As expected, oil companies are reporting blockbuster profits for 2022. But directing those profits in a way that shields consumers from chaotic…

Resilience

Oil companies and the windfalls of war

By Joel Stronberg 02/03/23

Putin’s war on Ukraine is approaching its one-year anniversary, with little to suggest it will be stopping any time soon. Looking at the…...

The Wall Street Journal

Biden to Sell More Oil From Strategic Reserve to Keep Gas Prices in Check

By Timothy Puko 10/18/22

The Biden administration is planning to sell more oil from the country’s strategic reserves—and is considering authorizing new sales this winter—as it tries to head off the potential for more market shocks and high prices,…

CNN

Big oil companies are spending millions to appear ‘green.’ Their investments tell a different story, report shows

By Lauren Kent 09/08/22

Big oil companies are spending millions to portray themselves as taking action on climate change, but their investments and lobbying activities don’t live up to their planet-friendly claims, according to a new report.

CNN

Big Oil, flush with cash, is failing on climate pledges

By Allison Morrow 05/25/22

In the peak of 2020 lockdowns, giant oil companies had a wake-up call. Demand had cratered, sapping profits, and it wasn't clear when it would end. That gave environmentally minded investors an in. The pitch:…

The Guardian

How the oil and gas industry is trying to hold US public schools hostage

By Leanna First-Arai 05/04/22

The oil and gas industry wants to play a word-and-picture association game with you. Think of four images: a brightly colored backpack stuffed with pencils, a smiling teacher with a tablet tucked under her arm,…

The Washington Post

Interior Department to resume oil and gas leasing, charge higher fees

By Anna Phillips 04/15/22

As pressure increases on the Biden administration to lower the price of fuel, the Interior Department announced on Friday plans to hold its first onshore oil and gas lease sales since President Biden took office.

The Washington Post

New York shows the challenges of phasing out fossil fuels

By Maxine Joselow 04/12/22

In December, when the New York City Council voted to ban natural gas use in new buildings, environmentalists in the Big Apple barely stopped to celebrate.

Axios

Why aren’t U.S. oil companies increasing production faster?

03/10/22

Gas prices have of $4.318 per gallon as of Thursday morning (not ), with the prospect of going even higher.

AP News

AP Source: Biden to ban Russian oil imports over Ukraine war

By Zeke Miller, Mike Balsamo, and Josh Boak 03/09/22

President Joe Biden has decided to ban Russian oil imports, toughening the toll on Russia’s economy in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Climate Home News

Swap Russian gas for renewables, EU tells member states

By Joe Lo 03/08/22

The EU is urging its 27 member states to use taxes on energy firms and polluters to fund a transition from Russian gas to clean energy sources for heating, cooking and electricity.

Forbes

The Truth About Russia’s War: Our Addiction To Oil Gives Putin Power

By Mark Brownstein 03/03/22

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is alarming and wrong — recognized by governments across the political spectrum as a dangerous assault on peace and stability.

KEY RESOURCES

STEO Current/Previous Forecast Comparisons: U.S. Energy Production and Consumption Summary

10/12/22

Current Forecast: October 12, 2022; Previous Forecast: September 7, 2022

A Report From The National Tribal Air Association And Moms Clean Air Force

08/16/21

The total numberof Indigenous people in the United States is between 2.5 and 6 million, of which 20% live on Tribal lands or in Alaska Native villages. There are 574 federally recognized Tribes, but this…

Urgewald

NGOs Release the First “Global Oil & Gas Exit List” at Glasgow COP

04/11/21

At the UN Climate Summit today, Urgewald and 20 NGO partners launched the “Global Oil & Gas Exit List” (GOGEL), an extensive public database that covers 887 oil and gas companies, which account for almost…

Oil

03/31/20

Oil is a fossil fuel and liquid hydrocarbon used mainly for the production of transportation fuels and petroleum-based products.

Fossil Fuels: The Dirty Facts

03/31/20

Mining, drilling, and burning dirty energy are harming the environment and our health. Here’s everything you need to know about fossil fuels, and why we need to embrace a clean energy future.

Fuel Oil

03/31/20

Fuel oil is a fraction obtained from petroleum distillation, either as a distillate or a residue. Broadly speaking, fuel oil is any liquid petroleum product that is burned in a furnace or boiler for the…

Fossil Fuel Facts

03/31/20

Coal is an abundant fossil resource that consists mostly of carbon. Energy content (Btu/pound) ranges from 5,000 to 15,000 depending on the type of coal. Coal reserves are located all over the world. Electric utilities…

Fossil Fuels

03/31/20

Fossil fuels, including coal, oil and natural gas, are currently the world's primary energy source. Formed from organic material over the course of millions of years, fossil fuels have fueled U.S. and global economic development…

Oil, Power, and War: A Dark History (2018)

12/26/19

In this sweeping, unabashed history of oil, Matthieu Auzanneau takes a fresh, thought-provoking look at the way oil interests have commandeered politics and economies, changed cultures, disrupted power balances across the globe, and spawned wars.…

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MORE NEWS

Grist

Big Oil is exiting Russia. What does that mean for the climate?

By Emily Pontecorvo 03/03/22

Major international oil companies began dumping their investments in Russian oil and gas this week following the country’s invasion into Ukraine. But experts say it’s unlikely these decisions will mean anything good for the transition…

The New York Times

Bipartisan bill banning Russian oil sets up clash with White House

By Josh Siegel 03/03/22

The White House said it does not “have a strategic interest in reducing the global supply of energy, and that would raise prices at the gas pump for the American people.”

Carbon Brief

Oil majors ‘not walking the talk’ on climate action, study confirms

By Josh Gabbatiss 02/16/22

Four of the world’s largest oil-and-gas companies are failing to back their words and pledges on climate change with genuine action and investment, a new study says.

The New York Times

Big Oil board members decline to testify in U.S. House climate panel

By Valerie Volcovici 02/03/22

Board members of four major oil companies declined to appear at a U.S. House oversight panel hearing scheduled for Feb. 8 to answer questions about their companies' climate change plans, the committee said on Thursday.

The New York Times

Federal court revokes oil and gas leases, citing climate change

By Lisa Friedman 01/27/22

A judge ruled that the Interior Department must consider the climate impacts of oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico before awarding leases.

Inside Climate News

ConocoPhillips’ Plan for Extracting Half-a-Billion Barrels of Crude in Alaska’s Fragile Arctic

By Nicholas Kusnetz 01/23/22

The Biden administration is facing a major test for its climate agenda in the Alaskan Arctic, where an oil company is proposing a 30-year development that would pump more than half-a-billion barrels of petroleum from…

Vice

Shell’s Massive Carbon Capture Plant Is Emitting More Than It’s Capturing

By Anya Zoledziowski 01/21/22

A first-of-its-kind “green” Shell facility in Alberta is emitting more greenhouse gases than it’s capturing, throwing into question whether taxpayers should be funding it, a new report has found. Shell’s Quest carbon capture and storage…

The Washington Post

House panel broadens probe into climate disinformation by Big Oil

By Maxine Joselow 01/21/22

The House Committee on Oversight and Reform has broadened its investigation into the role of fossil fuel companies in misleading the public about climate change, asking members of the boards of directors of ExxonMobil, BP,…

Common Wealth Magazine

Oil powering a big chunk of power grid

By Bruce Mohl 01/19/22

NEW ENGLAND POWER plants are burning a lot more oil to generate electricity, apparently because the cost of natural gas is so high. In January last year, oil accounted for just 0.2 percent of the…

The Guardian

How Exxon is using an unusual law to intimidate critics over its climate denial

By Chris McGreal 01/18/22

ExxonMobil is attempting to use an unusual Texas law to target and intimidate its critics, claiming that lawsuits against the company over its long history of downplaying and denying the climate crisis violate the US…

The New York Times

Oil Producers Aren’t Keeping Up With Demand, Causing Prices to Stay High

By Stanley Reed 01/14/22

Nearly two years ago the world’s oil producers slammed on the brakes and drastically cut production as the pandemic gripped the world’s economies. The sharp pullback came with an implicit promise that as factories reopened…

Reuters

Goldman Sachs expects oil demand to hit record levels in 2022, 2023

By Florence Tan and Gavin Maguire 12/17/21

Goldman Sachs expects average global oil demand to hit record levels in the next two years on the back of rising demand for aviation and transport, as well as infrastructure construction.

Capital and Main

As Oil Drilling Looms in the Gulf, ‘Forgotten’ Native Americans Fear for Their Fragile Community

By Frances Madeson 11/24/21

Three months after Hurricane Ida made landfall in the parish adjacent to Albert Naquin’s home in southern Louisiana, the 75-year-old chief of the Isle de Jean Charles Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw is thankful that the tribe is still…

The Washington Post

Exxon lobbyist questions urgency of climate’s catastrophic risks

By Desmond Butler 11/24/21

Just last month, ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods assured lawmakers his company neither disputed the scientific consensus on climate change nor lobbied against efforts to cut carbon pollution. But a lobbyist for the oil giant struck…

The Washington Post

Biden authorizes use of strategic oil reserves to combat high U.S. gasoline prices

By Jeff Stein and others 11/23/21

President Biden on Tuesday said he was releasing some U.S. oil reserves, part of a multilateral effort the White House is leading to reduce global prices.

Gizmodo

The Real Reason Gas Prices Are So High Right Now

By Molly Taft 11/19/21

On Wednesday, amid a fresh surge in gas prices, the Biden administration announced that it had asked the FTC to investigate whether oil and gas companies were doing anything illegal to manipulate prices. Republicans have…

The New York Times

Oil Executives Testify on Industry’s Role in Climate Disinformation

By Hiroko Tabuchi and Lisa Friedman 10/28/21

In a historic hearing, the leaders of some of the most powerful energy companies in the world are appearing before a House panel to face questioning on climate change.

The New York Times

In Your Facebook Feed: Oil Industry Pushback Against Biden Climate Plans

By Hiroko Tabuchi 10/27/21

The ads appear on Facebook millions of times a week. They take aim at vulnerable Democrats in Congress by name, warning that the $3.5 trillion budget bill — one of the Biden administration’s biggest efforts…

The Washington Post

Despite spills and air pollution, fossil fuel companies award CEOs for environmental records

By Douglas MacMillan and Julia Ingram 10/10/21

It was the worst oil spill Marathon Petroleum had seen in years. A crack in a 60-year-old underground pipeline released 1,400 barrels of diesel fuel into an Indiana creek, staining the banks of the waterway…

TreeHugger

California Oil Spill ‘Environmental Catastrophe’

By Mary Jo DiLonardo 10/04/21

Dead birds and fish are washing up on the shores in Orange County, California, after thousands of gallons of oil leaked from a broken pipeline into the Pacific Ocean over the weekend. The oil spill…

WSJ

California Oil Spill May Have Been Caused by Anchor Hitting Pipeline

By Christine Mai-Duc and Christopher M. Matthews 10/04/21

The oil spill off the coast of Southern California may have been caused by a boat anchor hitting an underwater pipeline and causing it to rupture, the chief executive of the energy company whose equipment…

Wall Street Journal

Oil Companies to Be Sidelined at U.N.’s Climate Conference

By Sarah McFarlene 09/20/21

Some big oil companies say they want to play a key role in reducing carbon emissions, but they are set to be sidelined at the coming United Nations climate conference.

Reuters

Vermont AG takes on Exxon, Shell over climate change in new lawsuit

By Sebastien Malo 09/15/21

Vermont Attorney General T.J. Donovan sued Exxon Mobil Corp and the Shell Oil Co in Vermont state court on Tuesday, alleging the companies misled Vermonters for decades with marketing that conceals the contributions to climate…

CNN

Divers discover a dislodged and broken pipeline that likely triggered Gulf of Mexico oil spill

By Keith Allen 09/06/21

Divers using underwater sonar discovered a 12-inch oil pipeline Sunday that had become dislodged and is possibly the source of an oil spill discovered off the coast of Louisiana, officials said.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Oil Industry Surveys Damage After Hurricane Ida Slams Louisiana

By Collin Eaton and Jennifer Hiller 08/30/21

Energy companies were assessing the health of refineries, pipelines, petrochemical plants and offshore oil platforms along the central Gulf of Mexico on Monday, the day after Ida struck Louisiana as a powerful Category 4 hurricane.

E&E News

Exxon sting surfaces in climate litigation

By Maxine Joselow 08/26/21

A group of academics and climate activists cited the video in a "friend of the court" brief filed late yesterday in Minnesota’s climate lawsuit against Exxon and other fossil fuel companies in the 8th U.S.…

Houston Chronicle

More than two-thirds of observed Permian wells flaring without permit, report says

By Paul Takahashi 08/19/21

Texas environmental group Earthworks on Thursday said at least 69 percent of 227 wells viewed in the Permian Basin were burning off natural gas without permits from the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the oil…

The Washington Post

Federal judge rejects Trump-era permits for major Alaska oil project

By Joshua Partlow 08/18/21

Wednesday’s decision is a setback for ConocoPhillips’s Willow project, which aims to produce more than 100,000 barrels a day on the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.

Huffpost

Biden Faces Mounting Pressure To Yank Line 3 Oil Pipeline Permits

By Alexander C. Kaufman 08/18/21

Eight Democratic senators and nearly two dozen House members criticized the Biden administration for allowing pipeline giant Enbridge to continue building Line 3 across wetlands in a letter sent Monday that HuffPost viewed. The lawmakers…

TreeHugger

Big Oil Spent Millions on Facebook Ads to Spread Fossil Fuel Propaganda

By Olivia Rosane 08/06/21

Facebook ads promoting the use of oil and gas were seen more than 431 million times during 2020, in the U.S. alone. That’s the startling figure from a new analysis conducted by think-tank InfluenceMap, which…

The New York Times

Winona LaDuke Feels That President Biden Has Betrayed Native Americans

By David Marchese 08/06/21

Right now in northern Minnesota, the Canadian oil-and-gas-transport company Enbridge is building an expansion of a pipeline, Line 3, to carry oil through fragile parts of the state’s watersheds as well as treaty-protected tribal lands.…

The New York Times

Yet another major heat wave is set to roast the western U.S. and Canada by the weekend

By Lisa Friedman 08/04/21

Under a draft plan Democrats are circulating, the Treasury Department would tax a handful of the biggest emitters of planet-warming pollution to pay for climate change.

Desmog

House Committee Seeks Interview with Exxon Lobbyist Caught On Tape

By Nick Cunningham 07/26/21

A congressional committee is requesting an interview with the ExxonMobil lobbyist who was revealed by an undercover Greenpeace investigation in June admitting that the company has misled the public on climate change and continues to…

Financial Post

North America about to turn into a graveyard of mega pipeline projects

By Yadullah Hussain 07/21/21

After a remarkable period of pipeline expansion, primarily in the United States over the past decade, North America is expected to become an increasingly inhospitable place for new projects, according to a new report.

Inside Climate News

Thawing Permafrost has Damaged the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and Poses an Ongoing Threat

By David Hasemyer 07/11/21

Thawing permafrost threatens to undermine the supports holding up an elevated section of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, jeopardizing the structural integrity of one of the world’s largest oil pipelines and raising the potential of an oil…

TreeHugger

Viral ‘Eye of Fire’ Video Draws Ire From Environmental Groups

By Eduardo Garcia 07/09/21

Environmentalists say that a massive blaze near a Gulf of Mexico oil platform captured in a viral video represents an “ecocide” and warned that unless we move away from fossil fuels, this type of accidents…

WSJ

Oil Companies Are Ordered to Help Cover $7.2 Billion Cleanup Bill in Gulf of Mexico

By Christopher M. Matthews 07/06/21

Some of the world’s largest oil companies have been ordered to pay part of a $7.2 billion tab to retire hundreds of aging wells in the Gulf of Mexico that they used to own, capping…

The Guardian

The scientists hired by big oil who predicted the climate crisis long ago

By Emma Pattee 07/02/21

As early as 1958, the oil industry was hiring scientists and engineers to research the role that burning fossil fuels plays in global warming. The goal at the time was to help the major oil…

Greenpeace Unearthed

Inside Exxon’s playbook: How America’s biggest oil company continues to oppose action on climate change

By Lawrence Carte 06/30/21

ExxonMobil continues to fight efforts to tackle climate change in the United States, despite publicly claiming to support the Paris climate agreement, an undercover investigation by Unearthed has found. A senior lobbyist for Exxon told…

channel4.com

Revealed: ExxonMobil’s lobbying war on climate change legislation

By Alex Thomson 06/30/21

A senior ExxonMobil lobbyist has been captured on camera revealing how the oil giant is using its power and influence to water down US climate legislation. The explosive footage was obtained by Unearthed, Greenpeace UK’s…

The Guardian

Big oil and gas kept a dirty secret for decades. Now they may pay the price

By Chris McGreal 06/30/21

Via an unprecedented wave of lawsuits, America’s petroleum giants face a reckoning for the devastation caused by fossil fuels

Los Angeles Times

Column: Oil firms and others face unprecedented pressure to come clean on climate change

By Michael Hiltzik 06/25/21

Chevron, one of the world’s leading oil companies, got a major wake-up call on climate change from its shareholders May 26. At its annual meeting that day, a stunning 60.7% of shareholders voted for the…

Reuters

Exxon must face Massachusetts lawsuit alleging climate change deceit

By Jonathan Stempel 06/24/21

A Massachusetts state judge has rejected Exxon Mobil Corp's (XOM.N) bid to dismiss a lawsuit by state Attorney General Maura Healey accusing the oil company of misleading consumers and investors about its role in climate…

The Hill

Biden admin backs Trump-era approval of controversial Line 3 pipeline permit

By Rachel Frazin 06/24/21

The Biden administration is backing the Trump administration’s approval of a controversial pipeline project in Minnesota in a new legal filing.In a legal brief filed Wednesday, the Justice Department argued that the Army Corps of…

The New York Times

Big Oil Takes a Beating, but Its Investors Are Riding High

By Jeff Sommer 06/18/21

It has been a terrible several weeks for big oil companies like Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Royal Dutch Shell, which have been rebuked in proxy fights, the courts and a landmark public report, all pressuring…

Heated

All the times Keystone XL was inevitable

By Emily Atkin 06/17/21

I couldn’t let another week come to a close without doing something about the final cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline. I wrote my first article about the tar sands oil project in 2014. Later…

Grist

Keystone XL is history. What about the other pipelines?

By Alexandria Herr 06/14/21

TC Energy announced last week that it was finally pulling the plug on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline extension. The project would have carried 830,000 barrels of tar sands oil from Alberta to Nebraska every…

Bloomberg Green

The Retreat of Exxon and the Oil Majors Won’t Stop Fossil Fuel

By Rachel Adams-Heard, Laura Hurst and Kevin Crawley 06/09/21

When Exxon Mobil Corp. decided to get out of a big oil field in Iraq, the government took on the unusual role of salesman. Iraqi officials pitched West Qurna-1 to likely buyers from among Exxon’s…

The New York Times

Police Make Mass Arrests at Protest Against Oil Pipeline

By Hiroko Tabuchi, Matt Furber, and Coral Davenport 06/07/21

Late Monday, police arrested activists and appeared to use a crowd-dispelling sonic device at the Line 3 pipeline in Minnesota, which would carry oil across sensitive waterways and tribal lands.

Insideclimate News

Dawn Goodwin and 300 Environmental Groups Consider the new Line 3 Pipeline a Danger to All Forms of Life

By Audrey Gray 06/07/21

Leeches love Northern Minnesota. The “Land of 10,000 Lakes” (technically, the state sports more than 11,000, plus bogs, creeks, marshes and the headwaters of the Mississippi River) in early summer is a freshwater paradise for…

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