Court orders Dakota pipeline shut in latest blow to U.S. fossil fuel projects

[webfact]

Court orders Dakota pipeline shut in latest blow to U.S. fossil fuel projects

By Devika Krishna Kumar and Valerie Volcovici

 

FILE PHOTO: Police vehicles idle on the outskirts of the opposition camp against the Dakota Access oil pipeline near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., February 8, 2017. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester/File Photo

 

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. court ordered the shutdown of the Dakota Access oil pipeline on Monday over concerns about its potential environmental impact, a big win for the Native American tribes and green groups who fought the major pipeline's route across a crucial water supply for years.

 

The decision by U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia followed the cancellation of another high-profile U.S. pipeline project on Sunday and came as a blow to the Trump administration's efforts to lift the domestic fossil fuels industry by rolling back environmental red tape.

 

According to the ruling, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) when it granted an easement to Energy Transfer LP <ET.N> to construct and operate a segment of the oil pipeline beneath Lake Oahe in South Dakota, because they failed to produce an adequate Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

 

The court ordered Energy Transfer to shut and empty the 570,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) line within 30 days, closing off the biggest artery transporting crude oil out of North Dakota's Bakken shale basin to Midwest and Gulf Coast regions.

 

"Given the seriousness of the Corps' NEPA error, the impossibility of a simple fix, the fact that Dakota Access did assume much of its economic risk knowingly, and the potential harm each day the pipeline operates, the Court is forced to conclude that the flow of oil must cease," it said.

 

It is rare for regulators or officials to force an oil pipeline to be drained, unless it is in the aftermath of a spill, oil market sources said.

 

Energy Transfer said it is looking at legal and administrative measures to avoid a shutdown, and was considering an appeal if those efforts fail.

 

Preparing a thorough EIS could take about thirteen months, according to an estimate by the Army Corp.

 

Consultancy Rapidan Energy Group said the ruling casts long-term doubts over the future of the pipeline, which has only been operating for about three years.

 

"With odds of a temporary stay on appeal only 30%, the court-ordered DAPL shutdown on Aug. 5 should last at least 10-12 months if Donald Trump wins re-election and permanently if not," said in a note.

 

The ruling comes a day after Dominion Energy Inc <D.N> and Duke Energy Corp <DUK.N> decided to abandon the $8 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline, meant to move West Virginia natural gas to East Coast markets, after a long delay to clear legal roadblocks almost doubled its estimated cost.

 

Native American and environmental groups cheered the court ruling.

 

"Today is a historic day for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the many people who have supported us in the fight against the pipeline," said Chairman Mike Faith of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, which had led protests and legal efforts against the project.

 

"This pipeline should have never been built here. We told them that from the beginning."

 

Greenpeace USA Climate Director Janet Redman called the pipeline setbacks a victory in the fight against climate change.

 

The Trump administration, Republican lawmakers and industry groups, meanwhile, blamed activists and said the pipeline setbacks would cost the U.S. economy.

 

"I'm not quite sure what they're cheering except for perhaps the loss of jobs all throughout America," U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette said during an interview on Fox Business Network.

 

"Shutting down the Dakota Access Pipeline would have devastating consequences to North Dakota and to America's energy security. This terrible ruling should be promptly appealed," said Kevin Cramer, North Dakota Senator and Trump ally.

 

A U.S. District Court on Monday ordered Energy Transfer LP to shut and empty the largest pipeline from the North Dakota shale oil fields within 30 days, in a big win for the Native American tribes who have fought the line's route across a crucial water supply. Yahaira Jacquez has more.

 

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's campaign declined to comment.

 

The American Petroleum Institute, the nation's main oil and gas industry lobby group, called for urgent reform of the permitting system and the Association of Oil Pipe Lines (AOPL) said that if this decision is not reversed on appeal, American people will be deprived of affordable energy.

 

Energy Transfer shares dropped on Monday by about 8%.

 

Large investors in the pipeline could also be on the hook for hundreds of millions in payments, according to a Reuters review of company disclosures.

 

Refiner Phillips 66 <PSX.N>, an investor in the project, said shutting down the pipeline would throw the country's crude supply system out of balance and jeopardize national security.

 

MARKET IMPACT

Oil prices <LCOc1> <CLc1> have plunged this year as the coronavirus pandemic eroded global demand by nearly 30% in April and restricted travel across the world.

 

The collapse forced oil producers across the United States to shut in production and curtail new drilling. North Dakota is one of the costliest spots in the United States to produce crude, and its output has dropped by about one-third from last year, more than most other oil-producing states.

 

Bakken crude prices in Clearbrook, Minnesota, <WTC-BAK> slumped to their weakest since early May on news of the shutdown order, traders said. Shutting down the pipeline will cause significant disruption to DAPL, the North Dakota oil industry, and potentially other states, the court said. But clear precedent favoring a decision for the pipeline to be emptied and the seriousness of the Corps' deficiencies outweighs the negative effects of halting the oil flow for the thirteen months to create an EIS, the court said.

 

The court did not specify the method DAPL must use to empty the line.

 

Market sources in the Bakken said the ruling will likely divert some oil flows onto railcars but that a long-term closure of the pipeline would force producers to shut in more output.

 

"There's going to be a scramble for rail cars," said one person familiar with rail operations out of the Bakken.

 

The loss of DAPL shipments will result in more Bakken crude traveling by rail to the U.S. West and East coasts for refining instead of down to the Gulf Coast for exports, the source said.

 

(Reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar in New York, Valerie Volcovici in Washington DC and Laila Kearney; additional reporting by Liz Hampton in Denver; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Marguerita Choy)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-07-07

 

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[Tug]

Well get the impact study done if it’s a safe and nessary thing to do then get her done!but make sure it’s nessary and safe first!

[nobodysfriend]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

The collapse forced oil producers across the United States to shut in production and curtail new drilling

That's a good thing .

Need to get away from fossile fuels .

Urgently .

[fxe1200]

23 minutes ago, nobodysfriend said:

That's a good thing .

Need to get away from fossile fuels .

Urgently .

Who is not convinced may read this:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oil_spills

[Susco]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

The ruling comes a day after Dominion Energy Inc <D.N> and Duke Energy Corp <DUK.N> decided to abandon the $8 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline, meant to move West Virginia natural gas to East Coast markets, after a long delay to clear legal roadblocks almost doubled its estimated cost.

 

So I wonder why Buffett paid $4 billion for the whole lot of abandoned pipeline.

 

Scrap metal can't be worth that much

[newatthis]

All this whinging and whining about losses here and losses there etc; why the hell didn't they do an EIS in the first place?

Edited July 7, 2020 by newatthis
spelling

[johnpetersen]

14 minutes ago, Susco said:

 

So I wonder why Buffett paid $4 billion for the whole lot of abandoned pipeline.

 

Scrap metal can't be worth that much

That's just a small part of Dominions holdings in natural gas transmission.

[Susco]

1 minute ago, johnpetersen said:

That's just a small part of Dominions holdings in natural gas transmission.

Buffett paid $4 billion for the pipeline assets only, not for the company, so why would he pay for a pipeline that has no future

[johnpetersen]

9 minutes ago, Susco said:

Buffett paid $4 billion for the pipeline assets only, not for the company, so why would he pay for a pipeline that has no future

Dominion has lots and lots of pipelines. That was just one of many.

What Berkshire Will Get

The deal would transfer more than 7,700 miles of natural gas transmission lines from Dominion to Berkshire, including about 20.8 billion cubic feet per day of transportation capacity, 900 billion cubic feet of operated natural gas storage with 364 billion cubic feet of company-owned working storage capacity, plus partial ownership of a liquefied natural gas export, import and storage facility.2

 

Additionally, Berkshire Hathaway Energy will acquire 100% of Dominion Energy Transmission, Questar Pipeline, and Carolina Gas Transmission, plus 50% of the Iroquois Gas Transmission System. The deal does not include Dominion's Atlantic Coast Pipeline. However, it does include 25% of Cove Point LNG, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export, import and storage facility in Maryland that is one of only six LNG export facilities in the U.S. Dominion will retain a 50% ownership stake in Cove Point, while Brookfield Asset Management will continue as a 25% owner.2

https://www.investopedia.com/buffett-s-berkshire-buys-dominion-natural-gas-assets-for-usd10-billion-5070491#:~:text=Berkshire Hathaway is buying natural,is scheduled for Q4 2020.

Edited July 7, 2020 by johnpetersen

[chilli42]

I really love the way they toss out the head nod lines to get people angry with the decision and manage the narrative “energy self sufficiency”, “lost jobs”, “jepordize national security” etc.  What axxholes the only thing they care about is money. Should have been fines levied as well for granting access without proper approvals, since both parties understood what they were doing was breaking the law.

[AgMech Cowboy]

https://www.worldoil.com//news/2020/7/6/api-calls-for-pipeline-permit-reforms-following-shutdowns?id=1812179

 

California went down the road of shutting down petroleum growth and they suffered severe brown outs. You can regulate petroleum out of you state or country, but the people will suffer. You keep building solar farms means cutting down trees or taking up more farm land. Then you've got all the disposal problems when the panels and batteries need to be replaced. Build all the wind farms you want and then those turbines need to have the generators need to replaced every 10 to 15 years. Big money there, too. Maybe you should watch "Planet of the Humans".

[Dap]

Absolutely Outstanding!!

 

[Dap]

5 hours ago, newatthis said:

All this whinging and whining about losses here and losses there etc; why the hell didn't they do an EIS in the first place?

Because they don't give a Sh*T and prefer to take their chances with the current favorable U.S. Administration.

[Dap]

3 hours ago, chilli42 said:

Should have been fines levied as well for granting access without proper approvals, since both parties understood what they were doing was breaking the law.

Exactly! Should have been, but unfortunately, in this day and age, I actually feel lucky and surprised that the ruling was this conclusive.

Edited July 7, 2020 by Dap

[stevenl]

1 hour ago, AgMech Cowboy said:

https://www.worldoil.com//news/2020/7/6/api-calls-for-pipeline-permit-reforms-following-shutdowns?id=1812179

 

California went down the road of shutting down petroleum growth and they suffered severe brown outs. You can regulate petroleum out of you state or country, but the people will suffer. You keep building solar farms means cutting down trees or taking up more farm land. Then you've got all the disposal problems when the panels and batteries need to be replaced. Build all the wind farms you want and then those turbines need to have the generators need to replaced every 10 to 15 years. Big money there, too. Maybe you should watch "Planet of the Humans".

Of course Api calls for reforms, not following regulations has now twice resulted in big projects shutdowns. Solution is easy, follow regulations.

 

And yes, renewables are far from perfect, but that is where improvements can be made and where the future lies. 

 

Moaning about life being made difficult for fossil fuel companies is a fight for an already lost cause.

Edited July 7, 2020 by stevenl

[johnpetersen]

1 hour ago, AgMech Cowboy said:

https://www.worldoil.com//news/2020/7/6/api-calls-for-pipeline-permit-reforms-following-shutdowns?id=1812179

 

California went down the road of shutting down petroleum growth and they suffered severe brown outs. You can regulate petroleum out of you state or country, but the people will suffer. You keep building solar farms means cutting down trees or taking up more farm land. Then you've got all the disposal problems when the panels and batteries need to be replaced. Build all the wind farms you want and then those turbines need to have the generators need to replaced every 10 to 15 years. Big money there, too. Maybe you should watch "Planet of the Humans".

Please. Right now, if you were just to use solar power to provide all of the USA's energy needs, an area roughly 10000 square miles would be needed. The Mojave desert alone is almost 50,000 square miles.

"Assuming the use of 24% efficient modules across the entire project, researchers at University College London found that even under conservative figures (100×100 kilometers instead of miles), projection would feasibly work. 10,000 square kilometers, multiplied by 0.24 GW per square kilometer, multiplied by 0.21 comes out to around 500 gigawatts. By comparison, the country’s annual electricity consumption rate was 425 gigawatts as of 2013, when this test was conducted."

https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2019/12/12/a-way-to-achieve-100-solar-power-in-the-u-s-without-sacrificing-arizona/

But of course you wouldn't need all that area. Rooftop solar combined with battery storage is becoming a very important source of power.

And the life of wind turbines is currently more like 20-25 years.

Battery storage is also a crucial part of this. A company called Zinc 8 has come up with a battery storage system for power  that looks like it's going to break the $100 per kwh cost. Once that happens, natural gas is finished. By the way, the zinc 8 system is almost fully recyclable.

Lithium ion batteries cost has declined 90 percent since 2010. In 2019 the average cost per kwh was $156.  Tesla is supposedly coming out with a battery in September of 2020 that will come very close, if not break the magic number of $100 per kwh. Once that happens, electric vehicles will be cheaper to own than a fossil fuel powered automobile. Already tesla vehicles are starting to beat fossil fuel powered vehicles for fleet purchases.

And this says nothing of the subsidies to fossil fuels estimated by the IMF to be about 5 trillion dollars a year. A large part of that is the health costs associated with fossil fuel pollution.

[rudi49jr]

7 hours ago, chilli42 said:

Should have been fines levied as well for granting access without proper approvals, since both parties understood what they were doing was breaking the law.

Couldn't agree with you more. I am very surprised, however, that the usual suspects (i.e. the Trump devotees and anti-environmentalists) on this forum are not out in force and haven't jumped on this topic to bitch and moan about how the bleeding-heart liberals and snowflakes are hurting the economy and causing people to lose their jobs.

[johnpetersen]

49 minutes ago, rudi49jr said:

Couldn't agree with you more. I am very surprised, however, that the usual suspects (i.e. the Trump devotees and anti-environmentalists) on this forum are not out in force and haven't jumped on this topic to bitch and moan about how the bleeding-heart liberals and snowflakes are hurting the economy and causing people to lose their jobs.

If there's been less of them it's because the facts are now overwhelming. Oil companies are writing down the value of their assets in recognition of the fact that the reserves that are more expensive to access are probably never coming out of the ground. The cost of renewables has been plunging way ahead of what was expected just a few years ago. Capitalism is making fossil fuels obsolete.

[riclag]

On 7/7/2020 at 5:06 AM, webfact said:

 

The Trump administration, Republican lawmakers and industry groups, meanwhile, blamed activists and said the pipeline setbacks would cost the U.S. economy.

Time and time again Mr. Trump has exposed the radical left and the Washington swamp resistance.

All kinds of activist since 2014 were involved in undermining this project Greenpeace ,The Science & Environmental Health Network and the reverend jackson . Jackson expressed his baiting opinion this way!

 

"This decision was described by some activists like Jesse Jackson as environmental racism".

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakota_Access_Pipeline#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20USACE's%20data,on%20any%20Native%20American%20property.

Just another setback,stayed tuned

Edited July 8, 2020 by riclag

[mtls2005]

Always interesting that they route this pipeline, and others presumably, around predominantly white cities and towns (Bismarck, for example), but when it comes to Native Americans, meh.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 8, 2020 by mtls2005

[johnpetersen]

1 hour ago, riclag said:

Time and time again Mr. Trump has exposed the radical left and the Washington swamp resistance.

All kinds of activist since 2014 were involved in undermining this project Greenpeace ,The Science & Environmental Health Network and the reverend jackson . Jackson expressed his baiting opinion this way!

 

"This decision was described by some activists like Jesse Jackson as environmental racism".

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakota_Access_Pipeline#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20USACE's%20data,on%20any%20Native%20American%20property.

Just another setback,stayed tuned

The fact is that rapidly falling prices of renewable energy and storage means that fossil fuel is on its way out.

[riclag]

6 hours ago, johnpetersen said:

The fact is that rapidly falling prices of renewable energy and storage means that fossil fuel is on its way out.

Only if the far left dems get back into control. And if  it happens thats when all those judicial appointees from this administration comes back to haunt the far lefts agenda, through shopping for judges! 

[Morch]

8 hours ago, riclag said:

Time and time again Mr. Trump has exposed the radical left and the Washington swamp resistance.

All kinds of activist since 2014 were involved in undermining this project Greenpeace ,The Science & Environmental Health Network and the reverend jackson . Jackson expressed his baiting opinion this way!

 

"This decision was described by some activists like Jesse Jackson as environmental racism".

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakota_Access_Pipeline#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20USACE's%20data,on%20any%20Native%20American%20property.

Just another setback,stayed tuned

 

Apparently, the so-called swamp and swamp dwellers mean different things for Trump supporters. I daresay most people would identify these with henchmen, lobbyists and representatives of Corporate America and Big Business, but could be wrong.

[unblocktheplanet]

"Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's campaign declined to comment."

Yep, old Joe will sure be an improvement over Bozo, eh!