Message From the Editor

After over a decade of burning through cash and causing “disaster” for many of its investors, fracking companies lately have been forced to get creative while looking for new sources of capital.

Their latest target? Retirement funds, reports Sharon Kelly. [[link removed]]

Meanwhile, in the heart of the Bakken fracking boom, North Dakota and Montana are gearing up for a fight against Washington state, over a new law with big implications for shipping by rail volatile oil to Washington’s West Coast refineries and ports.

Justin Mikulka has the story of the oil states’ “impossible choice.” [[link removed]]

In Colorado, the oil and gas industry has joined forces with car dealers and free market advocates to fight fuel efficiency standards and incentives meant to clean up the state’s persistent air pollution problems. The name of their new group? “Freedom to Drive,” reports Ben Jervey. [[link removed]]

Have a story tip or feedback? Get in touch: [[email protected]].

Thanks,

Brendan DeMelle

Executive Director

As Risky Finances Alienate Investors, Fracking Companies Look to Retirement Funds for Cash [[link removed]]— By Sharon Kelly (9 min. read) —

A year ago, Chesapeake Energy, at one time the nation’s largest natural gas producer, announced it was selling off its Ohio Utica shale drilling rights in a $2 billion deal with a little-known private company based in Houston, Texas, Encino Acquisition Partners.

For Chesapeake, the deal offered a way to pay off some of its debts, incurred as its former CEO, “Shale King” Aubrey McClendon, led Chesapeake on a disastrous shale drilling spree. Shares of Chesapeake Energy, which in the early days of the fracking boom traded in the $20 to $30 a share range, are now valued at a little more than $1.50.

READ MORE [[link removed]] North Dakota, Montana Launch New Fight Over Moving Volatile Bakken Oil by Rail [[link removed]]— By Justin Mikulka (6 min. read) —

The oil industry in North Dakota and Montana — home to the prolific Bakken Shale Formation — faces an “impossible choice.” That's according to a new petition to federal regulators from the attorneys general of North Dakota and Montana, in response to a Washington state law that aims to prevent trains hauling oil through the state from derailing and exploding.

That choice is to either remove the volatile components, such as butane, from Bakken crude oil before being loaded into rail tank cars, or send the volatile oil to other, harder-to-reach markets because — as the petition argues — removing the butane would cut into oil producers' profits, and almost 60 percent of the crude leaving North Dakota by rail goes to Washington refineries.

READ MORE [[link removed]] [[link removed]] Freedom to Drive Coalition Brings the Koch Disinformation Playbook to Colorado [[link removed]]— By Ben Jervey (6 min. read) —

In recent years, the majority of Coloradans have been struggling to breathe clean air, and tailpipe emissions carry much of the blame. Lawmakers have started to take on this threat with a number of clean car standards and incentives coming out of the Governor's office and the state legislature. However, a newly formed coalition of car dealers, the oil and gas industry, and free market advocates are working to put the brakes on clean air policies in Colorado, and they're using a disinformation playbook often used by organizations in the Koch network.

READ MORE [[link removed]] Database Reveals How Much Pollution Big Oil’s Top Execs Are Responsible for Each Year [[link removed]]— By Mat Hope (6 min. read) —

Thanks to recent analysis, we now know how much of global greenhouse gas emissions big oil companies like Exxon and Shell are responsible for. But it’s easy to forget that behind these corporate behemoths are powerful individuals, making decisions about where the companies should drill next.

And thanks to a new database, we can now pinpoint how much of the companies’ pollution each executive is accountable for.

READ MORE [[link removed]] America’s Big Bet on Selling Fracked Gas to China and the World [[link removed]]— By Justin Mikulka (8 min. read) —

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is getting a lot of attention these days, with U.S. producers making major investments in the infrastructure to produce and export LNG to China and the rest of the world for the next several decades.

That's despite LNG looking like a big bet that may not ever pay off.

A common question about the super-chilled, easier-to-ship form of natural gas is whether LNG will become “the next coal.” This is a reference to the U.S. coal market's failure, in part due to climate concerns, but mainly because it can’t compete economically with other sources of electricity, including renewables.

READ MORE [[link removed]] Challenging EPA's New FOIA Rule, Suit Seeks to Stop Trump's 'Shameful Attempt to Keep Americans in the Dark' [[link removed]]— By Andrea Germanos, Common Dreams (5 min. read) —

A new lawsuit seeks to kill a recent Trump administration rule that critics say deals a blow to transparency by giving the Environmental Protection Agency broad authority to shoot down public information requests.

The new rule — put in place without public input — was published on the Federal Register June 26 and goes into effect July 26.

READ MORE [[link removed]] Trump's Drilling Leases on Public Lands Could Release 4.7B Metric Tons of Carbon [[link removed]]— By Julie Conley, Common Dreams (3 min. read) —

A national conservation group revealed Wednesday that President Donald Trump's drilling leases on public lands could lead to the release of more carbon emissions than the European Union contributes in an entire year.

The Wilderness Society estimates that U.S. companies will release at least 854 million and as much as 4.7 billion metric tons of carbon if it develops leases in public waters and lands.

READ MORE [[link removed]] From the Climate Disinformation Database: J [[link removed]] oe Bastardi [[link removed]]

Joe Bastardi [[link removed]] is a weather forecaster who disputes mainstream climate science’s conclusion that carbon dioxide is a major contributor to global temperatures. In a tweet in 2018, Bastardi suggested the connection between extreme weather and climate change is “witchcraft.” This week, he delivered a keynote address at a one-day event hosted by the climate science denying think tank the Heartland Institute. The event’s theme was “Best Science, Winning Energy Policies.”

Read the full profile [[link removed]] [[link removed]]and browse other individuals and organizations in our research database [[link removed]].

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