** Trump administration pumps COVID aid into struggling oil industry bonds
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Friday, October 2, 2020
Natural gas flare in New Mexico's Permian Basin | Blake Thornberry ([link removed])
The Trump administration has used federal coronavirus aid money to buy more than $350 million ([link removed]) in bonds offered by oil and gas companies, propping up an industry that has been struggling for years. A new report ([link removed]) by Public Citizen identified 19 companies in the oil and gas industry that received investment from the Federal Reserve, including Halliburton, a former client of Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, and oil giants like ExxonMobil, BP, and Chevron.
Such an investment in a struggling industry could be risky. Since receiving money from the Fed, 12 of the 19 companies have been downgraded ([link removed]) by independent credit rating agencies that assess bond risk.
The Interior Department has also used the pandemic to deliver royalty reductions and lease suspensions to the oil and gas industry. In Wyoming, a bankrupt natural gas company secured ([link removed]) a 96% royalty reduction on its federal leases, despite owing $4 million in federal royalties and not having paid local royalties in more than three years. Wyoming Senator John Barrasso acknowledged the impropriety in a statement, saying ([link removed]) , "federal funding should not go to any producer delinquent in their taxes."
Quick hits
** Trump issues order to expand mining by weakening environmental reviews
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Associated Press ([link removed])
** Rejection of major joint venture raises questions about future of Powder River Basin coal
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S&P Global ([link removed])
** After Pendley decision, court could oust acting National Park Service chief
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E&E News ([link removed]) | Bloomberg Law ([link removed])
** Denver using parks and trees in bid to fix legacy of environmental racism
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New York Times ([link removed])
** Yosemite National Park to end COVID-related reservation system in November
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Fox News ([link removed])
** Former coal CEO who fought black lung protections files for black lung benefits
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Associated Press ([link removed])
** BLM granted royalty reductions to bankrupt oil and gas company that owes taxpayers millions
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Wyoming News Exchange ([link removed])
** U.S. has bought more than $350 million in oil and gas company bonds as COVID relief
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Bloomberg ([link removed])
Quote of the day
When you're handing out taxpayer-backed bailouts and royalty cuts like candy without doing the due diligence and work necessary to protect the public interest, like the Trump administration has done, it's almost assured that countless bad actors like US Realm will grab a handful, leaving the bill and cleanup for the rest of us.”
—Jayson O'Neill, Western Values Project, Wyoming News Exchange ([link removed])
Picture this
Sunset over the Trona Pinnacles in the California desert
Bob Wick | Bureau of Land Management ([link removed])
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