CleanTech Focus

How The Fracking Revolution Is Killing the U.S. Oil and Gas Industry

DeSmogBlog

DECEMBER 22, 2020

oil and gas industry is having to deal with years of losses and falling asset values which has dealt the industry a serious financial blow. This is despite the fracking revolution delivering record oil and gas production for the past decade, peaking in 2019. Read time: 16 mins After over a decade of the much-hyped U.S.

Methane

U.S. Public Facing Huge Bill to Clean Up After Oil and Gas Industry

DeSmogBlog

OCTOBER 4, 2020

million unplugged oil and gas wells, according to Billion Dollar Orphans, a new report from London-based think tank Carbon Tracker. million undocumented orphan oil and gas wells. Tags: orphan wells abandoned oil wells Carbon orphaned well

Carbon

Hurricane Laura’s Aftermath: Miles of Oil Sheen in Louisiana’s Wetlands

DeSmogBlog

SEPTEMBER 9, 2020

Read time: 8 mins Almost a week after Hurricane Laura struck Louisiana's coast , which is studded with oil and gas industry pipes, tanks, wells, and rigs, I photographed from the sky oil sheen along at least 20 miles of marsh and bayous that absorbed the full strength of the storm.

Climate change

Big Banks Pull Financing, Prepare To Seize Assets From Collapsing Oil and Gas Industry

DeSmogBlog

APRIL 13, 2020

Read time: 6 mins The finances of the oil and gas industry are so dismal that the major banks that have funded the money-losing fracking boom are now exploring taking the unusual step of taking over the oil companies that can not afford to pay back the bank’s loans. Tags: fracking finance Big Banks

'Disaster Capitalism at its Worst': Report Details Big Oil's Efforts to Cash in on Coronavirus

DeSmogBlog

MAY 12, 2020

Recent lobby filings from major oil and gas paint a picture of “disaster capitalism at its worst.”. So declares a report released Tuesday, May 12 by Friends of the Earth ( FOE ) showing how Big Oil is working to make sure the legislative response to the coronavirus crisis is beneficial to the industry.

Racism and Discrimination in the Oil and Gas Industry

DeSmogBlog

AUGUST 2, 2020

Read time: 10 mins With the recent focus on systemic racism in America, the oil and gas industry is depicting itself as leading on the issue of diversity in the workforce. Tags: racism sexism discrimination oil and gas industry

Fossil fuels

Fossil fuels Organic

This Loophole in New Mexico's Methane Rules Is a Gift to Big Oil and Gas

DeSmogBlog

DECEMBER 4, 2020

Read time: 10 mins In October, New Mexico announced new rules that propose slashing the massive volumes of methane which the oil and gas industry is releasing into the atmosphere. In addition, an Environmental Defense Fund ( EDF ) analysis shows the rules wouldn't make a meaningful dent in emissions of this potent greenhouse gas. .

Methane

Methane Investment

Industry Infighting as Oil and Gas Seek Government Help

DeSmogBlog

APRIL 1, 2020

The oil and gas industry has been no exception, but some of the proposed initiatives are dividing the industry. Tags: coronavirus natural gas prices oil bailout Harold Hamm low oil prices Strategic Petroleum Reserve

Government

Government Natural gas

To Many's Dismay, Permian Produces More Gas and Condensate Instead of Oil and Profits

DeSmogBlog

FEBRUARY 21, 2020

Read time: 8 mins As oil prices plummet, oil bankruptcies mount , and investors shun the shale industry, America’s top oil field — the Permian shale that straddles Texas and New Mexico — faces many new challenges that make profits appear more elusive than ever for the financially failing shale oil industry.

Natural gas

Understanding the Fossil Fuel Industry's Legacy of White Supremacy

DeSmogBlog

MARCH 29, 2021

Read time: 10 mins In December, The New York Times published a story revealing how ExxonMobil and other oil companies had paid a public relations firm named FTI to build “news” and information websites falsely suggesting grassroots support for the fossil fuel industry and its initiatives.

Fossil fuels

Analysis: Some Fracking Companies Are Admitting Shale Was a Bad Bet — Others Are Not

DeSmogBlog

MARCH 5, 2021

But the question is whether the industry will listen — or continue to gamble with shale gas and oil. Tags: shale fracking Read time: 10 mins Energy companies are increasingly having to face the unprofitable reality of fracking, and some executives are now starting to admit that publicly.

Energy

Energy Energy

Routine Gas Flaring Is Wasteful, Polluting and Under-measured

DeSmogBlog

AUGUST 18, 2020

If you’ve driven through an area where companies extract oil and gas from shale formations, you’ve probably seen flames dancing at the tops of vertical pipes. That’s flaring — the mostly uncontrolled practice of burning off a byproduct of oil and gas production. Over the past 10 years, the U.S. It’s a dubious distinction.

Pollution

Pollution Waste Waste

Major Fossil Fuel PR Group is Behind Europe Pro-Hydrogen Push

DeSmogBlog

DECEMBER 9, 2020

Read time: 7 mins The recent deluge of pro-hydrogen stories in the media that tout hydrogen as a climate solution and clean form of energy can now be linked in part to FTI Consulting — one of the most notorious oil and gas industry public relations firms. Tags: Hydrogen FTI Consulting Bridge Fuel Green hydrogen

Fossil fuels

Fossil fuels Hydrogen Europe Energy

As Fracking Companies Face Bankruptcy, US Regulators Enable Firms to Duck Cleanup Costs

DeSmogBlog

DECEMBER 20, 2019

shale oil and gas firms are now moving from a boom in fracking to a boom in bankruptcies. Tags: oil and gas cleanup well bonding EP Energy Eagle Ford Shale fracking finances bankruptcies Independent Petroleum Association of America Read time: 9 mins In over their heads with debt, U.S.

Energy

Energy Energy

Analysis: Fossil Fuel Tax Programs to Cut Emissions Lead to Lots of Industry Profit, Little Climate Action

DeSmogBlog

APRIL 4, 2021

Read time: 12 mins The fossil fuel industry and its investors have financially benefited from tax policies and subsidies designed to reduce the emissions from oil, gas, and coal — sometimes without taking the action required to tackle climate change.

Fossil fuels

Fossil fuels Climate change Policy Carbon

Hurricane Delta Compounds Oil Pollution Left By Hurricane Laura in Louisiana’s Wetlands

DeSmogBlog

OCTOBER 16, 2020

area packed with oil and gas wells, pipelines, and rigs. Tags: Hurricane Delta Read time: 7 mins Hurricane Delta made landfall in Creole. Louisiana, on October 9, 13 miles east of where Hurricane Laura struck 43 days before. It touched down in an.

Pollution

New Satellite Data Reveals Dangerous Methane Emissions in Permian Region

DeSmogBlog

APRIL 25, 2020

Read time: 6 mins New research based on satellite data confirms that the oil and gas industry in the Permian region of Texas and New Mexico is leaking record amounts of methane. percent of the total methane produced by the oil and gas industry there. percent of all natural gas produced from shale in the U.S.

Methane

Methane Natural gas

Public Ownership of Fossil Fuels a Potential Solution to Multiple Crises, Says New Report

DeSmogBlog

APRIL 17, 2020

Read time: 6 mins At a time of overlapping crises, putting fossil fuel assets into public ownership offers a way to slash carbon emissions and pave the way for a just transition for oil and gas workers who find themselves without a job, according to a new report. Tags: COVID-19 oil bailout fracking finances

Fossil fuels

Fossil fuels Carbon

Analysis: How Exxon Is Being Forced To Accept The Reality Of Bad Fossil Fuel Investments

DeSmogBlog

FEBRUARY 26, 2021

Read time: 8 mins Last August, ExxonMobil warned that it may need to remove 20 percent of its oil and gas proved reserves from its books. While that was a shocking number from the oil major, reality proved to be even more of a shock to the company. Securities and Exchange Commission Canadian tar sands oil

Fossil fuels

Fossil fuels Investment

Hoboken, New Jersey Sues Oil Industry for Climate Impacts From its 'Deceptive Actions'

DeSmogBlog

SEPTEMBER 2, 2020

The city of Hoboken today filed a case against major oil and gas companies and the American Petroleum Institute ( API ) , a powerful industry trade group which has played a major role in promoting “uncertainty” about climate science.

Sea level rise

Sea level rise Fossil fuels Policy

A Look at the Oil Industry’s Favorite Climate Solutions

DeSmogBlog

APRIL 22, 2020

Around the same time, however, the oil and gas major confirmed it would go ahead with its investment in a joint $6.4 billion gas project in Australia. This approach of saying one thing about addressing climate change while doing the opposite has been standard practice for the oil and gas industry for decades.

Earth Day

Earth Day Natural gas Climate change Carbon

Argentina’s Illegal Oil and Gas Waste Dumps Show ‘Dark Side’ of Vaca Muerta Drilling, Says Criminal Complaint

DeSmogBlog

MARCH 15, 2021

Read time: 17 mins On December 21, 2020, environmental crimes investigators in the western Argentine province of Neuquén carried out a raid against a company that handles fracking waste in the heart of the Vaca Muerta shale basin, a booming oil and gas field in northern Patagonia.

Waste

Waste Waste Law

With Bankruptcies Mounting, Faltering Oil and Gas Firms Are Leaving a Multi-billion Dollar Cleanup Bill to the Public

DeSmogBlog

OCTOBER 15, 2020

oil and gas industry is on the verge of defaulting on billions of dollars in environmental cleanup obligations. Even the largest companies in the industry appear to have few plans to properly clean up and plug oil and gas wells after the wells stop producing — despite being legally required to do so.

Carbon

Failed Finances and 'the Demonization of Gas' Are Threatening the Future of US LNG

DeSmogBlog

MAY 14, 2020

liquefied natural gas ( LNG ) market, once the promising golden child of the fossil fuel industry, has a major long-term problem. While it's facing financial disaster due to the current crash in oil and natural gas prices, that's only the short-term threat. Read time: 7 mins The U.S.

Natural gas

Natural gas Fossil fuels Pollution

After a Decade of Fracking, Billions of Dollars Lost and a Climate in Crisis

DeSmogBlog

JANUARY 21, 2020

where the climate benefits of coal power plant retirements were undermined by the rise of natural gas. smashed global records for the production of oil and gas — two of the three fossil fuels most responsible for the ongoing climate crisis. In that time, the U.S.

Natural gas

Natural gas Climate change Fossil fuels Carbon

Report: Push for Renewable Natural Gas Is More Gas Industry 'Greenwashing'

DeSmogBlog

JULY 14, 2020

Read time: 9 mins “Renewable natural gas,” or RNG , is an alternative gas fuel that comes from landfills, manure, or synthetic processes. That's opposed to the fossil gas that drillers traditionally pump out of underground reserves in oil and gas fields.

Natural gas

Natural gas Electricity Energy Energy

The Hunt for Fugitive Emissions in the Permian’s Oilfields

DeSmogBlog

JANUARY 30, 2020

Read time: 10 mins Meaningful regulation of the fracking, industry is a non sequitur to Sharon Wilson, organizer for Earthworks’ Oil & Gas Accountability Project. Tags: Sharon Wilson Permian Basin methane fracking Earthworks TExas Commission on Environmental Quality

Methane

Methane Global warming Organic

‘Fossil Fuel Companies Knew’: Honolulu Files Lawsuit Over Climate Impacts

DeSmogBlog

MARCH 9, 2020

On Monday the City of Honolulu filed a lawsuit against 10 oil and gas companies, seeking monetary damages to help pay for costs associated with climate impacts like sea level rise and flooding. Tags: Honolulu Hawaii climate liability Manufacturers' Accountability Project

Fossil fuels

Fossil fuels Sea level rise

Fire at Oil and Gas Waste Site Raises Safety Concerns Around Possible Radioactive Accidents

DeSmogBlog

FEBRUARY 18, 2021

However, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection ( WVDEP ) confirmed to DeSmog that the facility, which the agency says is owned and operated by Ohio-based company Petta Enterprises , does a lot more than clean trucks: It processes oil and gas waste.

Waste

Waste Waste Transportation

'The Fossil Fuel Industry Is Terrified': Gas Company Sues to Destroy Small Town's Rights of Nature Law

DeSmogBlog

DECEMBER 16, 2020

In a clear signal of how the fossil fuel industry feels about efforts to enact Rights of Nature protections that safeguard communities and the environment from the impacts of coal, gas, and oil development, an energy company has — yet again — filed a federal lawsuit challenging a local law in Grant Township, Pennsylvania.

Fossil fuels

Fossil fuels Law Energy Energy

Father of Teen Killed in Oil Tank Explosion Pushing for New Louisiana Safety Measures

DeSmogBlog

APRIL 2, 2021

Zalee, a vivacious high school freshman who loved singing, died on Feb ruary 28 when oil tanks explo ded near her home in Beauregard , Louisiana. Zalee's body was found across the street from the site of the blast in the Bear Field oil field, just north of Lake Charles.

Is Natural Gas the New Coal?

DeSmogBlog

SEPTEMBER 27, 2019

Read time: 7 mins At a recent natural gas industry conference in Houston, Woodside Petroleum CEO Peter Coleman warned his colleagues to avoid the fate of another fossil fuel, according to trade publication Natural Gas Intelligence. “ Tags: methane natural gas fracking finances UN Climate Summit ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM)

Natural gas

Natural gas Fossil fuels Methane

San Antonio's City-Owned Energy Utility Is Paying a Quarter Million Dollars a Year to Gas Industry Groups

DeSmogBlog

DECEMBER 17, 2020

Read time: 12 mins Deep in the heart of Texas, by far the nation's top oil producer , the city of San Antonio is starting to grapple with its reliance on fossil fuels.

Fossil fuels

Fossil fuels Natural gas Energy Energy

Exclusive: 2020’s Hurricane Zeta Nearly Caused 'Another Deepwater Horizon Catastrophe' in Gulf of Mexico

DeSmogBlog

APRIL 5, 2021

But the Asgard, which was drilling an oil well in the waters about 225 miles south of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, had other pressing matters to deal with. That same day, the oil well it was drilling more than a mile below the water’s surface experienced a kick — an eruption of oil, gas, or other fluids from deep underground up the drill pipe.

Whistle-blower Reveals Flawed Construction at North Dakota Gas Plants Where Massive Spill Was Downplayed

DeSmogBlog

OCTOBER 1, 2019

Read time: 11 mins Two North Dakota gas processing plants in the heart of the Bakken oil fields have shown signs of an eroded safety culture and startling construction problems, according to Paul Lehto, a 54-year-old former gas plant operator who has come out as a whistle-blower. history had occurred. history had occurred.

Construction

Construction Natural gas

Will the Fracking Revolution Peak Before Ever Making Money?

DeSmogBlog

OCTOBER 3, 2019

oil and gas shale industry, already struggling financially, is now facing “core operational issues.” Tags: fracking fracking finances Read time: 7 mins This week, the Wall Street Journal highlighted that the U.S.

COVID-19 Fears Intensified for New Mexico Family Living in Fracking Industry’s Shadow

DeSmogBlog

APRIL 6, 2020

Read time: 10 mins Penny Aucoin and her husband Carl Dee George have worried about living near oil and gas producing sites in New Mexico's Permian Basin since the sites began springing up near their home six years ago. Tags: COVID-19 New Mexico Permian Basin fracking industry fracking health impacts coronavirus

Health

Health Pollution

Chicago Takes Big Oil to Court, Adding Another Heavyweight to the Fight

DeSmogBlog

FEBRUARY 28, 2024

Chicago last week brought the newest lawsuit against Big Oil companies for spreading disinformation about the climate-warming hazards of burning fossil fuels — adding the third largest city in the U.S. to the growing list of state and local governments pushing for oil and gas majors to be held accountable in court.

Fossil fuels

Fossil fuels Climate change Law Policy

From the BP Spill to a Disappearing Island: A Decade of Covering Climate and the Environment in Louisiana

DeSmogBlog

DECEMBER 30, 2019

The state's role in the oil and gas industry impacts both global markets and global climate change. The decade started with the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. Tags: BP oil disaster Isle de Jean Charles Louisiana cancer alley Read time: 7 mins What happens in Louisiana doesn’t stay in Louisiana.

Sea level rise

Sea level rise Global warming Climate change Health

Texas Regulators Failing to Act on Pollution Complaints in Permian Oilfields, New Report Finds

DeSmogBlog

OCTOBER 21, 2020

Read time: 10 mins Over the past five years, environmental advocates with the nonprofit Earthworks have made trips to 298 oil and gas wells, compressor stations, and processing plants across the Permian Basin in Texas, an oil patch which last year hit record-high methane pollution levels for the U.S.

Pollution

Pollution Methane

Did North Dakota Regulators Hide an Oil and Gas Industry Spill Larger Than Exxon Valdez?

DeSmogBlog

AUGUST 19, 2019

Read time: 15 mins In July 2015 workers at the Garden Creek I Gas Processing Plant, in Watford City, North Dakota, noticed a leak in a pipeline and reported a spill to the North Dakota Department of Health that remains officially listed as 10 gallons, the size of two bottled water delivery jugs.

Health

Oil, Gas, Petrochemical Financial Woes Predate Pandemic — And Will Continue After, Despite Bailouts, Report Finds

DeSmogBlog

APRIL 16, 2020

Tags: petrochemical development COVID-19 Center for International Environmental Law fracking finances oil bailout

Law

Argentina Wants a Fracking Boom. The US Offers a Cautionary Tale

DeSmogBlog

DECEMBER 12, 2019

Argentina has some of the largest natural gas and oil reserves in the world and “possibly the most prospective outside of North America,” according to the U.S. Declining conventional production from older oil and gas fields has meant that Argentina has become a net importer of fuels over the past decade.

North America

North America Natural gas Politics Energy

Transportation Fairness Alliance Revealed: Behind the Oil Industry's Latest Attack on Electric Cars

DeSmogBlog

JUNE 18, 2020

oil and gas industry quietly launched a new coalition using messaging that invokes “transportation fairness.” Tags: transportation fairness alliance electric vehicles FTI Consulting American Petroleum Institute American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers

Transportation

Transportation Electricity Electric vehicle Policy

How The Fracking Revolution Is Killing the U.S. Oil and Gas Industry

U.S. Public Facing Huge Bill to Clean Up After Oil and Gas Industry

Trending Sources

Hurricane Laura’s Aftermath: Miles of Oil Sheen in Louisiana’s Wetlands

Big Banks Pull Financing, Prepare To Seize Assets From Collapsing Oil and Gas Industry

'Disaster Capitalism at its Worst': Report Details Big Oil's Efforts to Cash in on Coronavirus

Racism and Discrimination in the Oil and Gas Industry

This Loophole in New Mexico's Methane Rules Is a Gift to Big Oil and Gas

Industry Infighting as Oil and Gas Seek Government Help

To Many's Dismay, Permian Produces More Gas and Condensate Instead of Oil and Profits

Understanding the Fossil Fuel Industry's Legacy of White Supremacy

Analysis: Some Fracking Companies Are Admitting Shale Was a Bad Bet — Others Are Not

Routine Gas Flaring Is Wasteful, Polluting and Under-measured

Major Fossil Fuel PR Group is Behind Europe Pro-Hydrogen Push

As Fracking Companies Face Bankruptcy, US Regulators Enable Firms to Duck Cleanup Costs

Analysis: Fossil Fuel Tax Programs to Cut Emissions Lead to Lots of Industry Profit, Little Climate Action

Hurricane Delta Compounds Oil Pollution Left By Hurricane Laura in Louisiana’s Wetlands

New Satellite Data Reveals Dangerous Methane Emissions in Permian Region

Public Ownership of Fossil Fuels a Potential Solution to Multiple Crises, Says New Report

Analysis: How Exxon Is Being Forced To Accept The Reality Of Bad Fossil Fuel Investments

Hoboken, New Jersey Sues Oil Industry for Climate Impacts From its 'Deceptive Actions'

A Look at the Oil Industry’s Favorite Climate Solutions

Argentina’s Illegal Oil and Gas Waste Dumps Show ‘Dark Side’ of Vaca Muerta Drilling, Says Criminal Complaint

With Bankruptcies Mounting, Faltering Oil and Gas Firms Are Leaving a Multi-billion Dollar Cleanup Bill to the Public

Failed Finances and 'the Demonization of Gas' Are Threatening the Future of US LNG

After a Decade of Fracking, Billions of Dollars Lost and a Climate in Crisis

Report: Push for Renewable Natural Gas Is More Gas Industry 'Greenwashing'

The Hunt for Fugitive Emissions in the Permian’s Oilfields

‘Fossil Fuel Companies Knew’: Honolulu Files Lawsuit Over Climate Impacts

Fire at Oil and Gas Waste Site Raises Safety Concerns Around Possible Radioactive Accidents

'The Fossil Fuel Industry Is Terrified': Gas Company Sues to Destroy Small Town's Rights of Nature Law

Father of Teen Killed in Oil Tank Explosion Pushing for New Louisiana Safety Measures

Is Natural Gas the New Coal?

San Antonio's City-Owned Energy Utility Is Paying a Quarter Million Dollars a Year to Gas Industry Groups

Exclusive: 2020’s Hurricane Zeta Nearly Caused 'Another Deepwater Horizon Catastrophe' in Gulf of Mexico

Whistle-blower Reveals Flawed Construction at North Dakota Gas Plants Where Massive Spill Was Downplayed

Will the Fracking Revolution Peak Before Ever Making Money?

COVID-19 Fears Intensified for New Mexico Family Living in Fracking Industry’s Shadow

Chicago Takes Big Oil to Court, Adding Another Heavyweight to the Fight

From the BP Spill to a Disappearing Island: A Decade of Covering Climate and the Environment in Louisiana

Texas Regulators Failing to Act on Pollution Complaints in Permian Oilfields, New Report Finds

Did North Dakota Regulators Hide an Oil and Gas Industry Spill Larger Than Exxon Valdez?

Oil, Gas, Petrochemical Financial Woes Predate Pandemic — And Will Continue After, Despite Bailouts, Report Finds

Argentina Wants a Fracking Boom. The US Offers a Cautionary Tale

Transportation Fairness Alliance Revealed: Behind the Oil Industry's Latest Attack on Electric Cars

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