Colorado congressmen continue putting donors before families

May 16, 2012 Leave a comment

Matt Garrington, Denver-based co-director of The Checks and Balances Project, offered the following statement and facts regarding today’s markup of three bills sponsored by Colorado House Republicans that would create more giveaways to the oil and gas industry: H.R. 4381, H.R. 4382 and H.R. 4383.

“Reps. Doug Lamborn, Scott Tipton, and Mike Coffman should have been cast in the Three Stooges remake, because they certainly know how to put on a show for Big Oil.

“Unfortunately, the legislation introduced today is no laughing matter. These bills would cut the public out of controversial decisions on public lands and allow industry to skirt clean air and water protections.

“Politicians should stop joking and get serious about America’s energy future. We should be ending special tax breaks to Big Oil and reinvesting those funds in American energy solutions such as high tech vehicles, requiring oil and gas from public lands and water to stay in America, and cracking down on Wall Street oil speculation.”

WHY THESE BILLS ARE HANDOUTS TO BIG OIL

H.R. 4382, Sponsored by Rep. Coffman (CO-06)

– $198,300[1] in career oil and gas contributions

  • Increases oil and gas company speculation on public lands by requiring the Interior Department to lease at least 25 percent of lands nominated for leasing by the oil and gas industry each year.
  • Ignores the fact that 56% of oil and gas leases – covering 20.8 million acres – lay idle.
  • Prohibits the Interior Department from making common sense decisions about whether leasing decisions should move forward when conflicts arise with other values such as water, wildlife habitat, and outdoor recreation.
  • Eliminates oil and gas leasing reforms which have reduced conflicts and litigation over drilling, ensured stronger conservation measures are implemented alongside responsible energy development, and provided a seat at the table for local government, outdoor recreation businesses, and other stakeholders.

H.R. 4383, Sponsored by Rep. Lamborn (CO-05)

– $137,962[2] in career oil and gas contributions

  • Puts arbitrary deadlines on the permit approval process, especially given the fact that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) continually issues far more drilling permits than the number of new wells industry drills on federal lands.
  • Establishes a $5,000 administrative fee for protests to leases, permits, and right-of-ways as well as creating arbitrary barriers to judicial review effectively cutting the public, state and local governments, and stakeholders wishing to challenge unwise and controversial energy projects.
  • Ignores the fact that industry has failed to develop 6,500 unused drilling permits[3] on federal lands and a total of 7,000 unused drilling permits for both federal and Native American lands.

H.R. 4381, Sponsored by Rep. Tipton (CO-03)

– $113,600[4] in career oil and gas contributions

  • Mandates the Interior Department to develop a new energy development plan every four years – but in doing so may actually set the table against renewable energy by locking-in lands currently available for leasing.
  • Makes energy development the highest use of the land no matter the consequences to scientific, scenic, historical, ecological, environmental, air and atmospheric, water resource, and archeological values.
  • While the bill appears to be “balanced,” it actually requires BLM to “take all necessary actions” to facilitate energy development on the public lands; thus, when viewed as part of the Lamborn and Coffman package, it would roll back oil and gas safeguards and allow oil and gas companies to run roughshod on public lands despite impacts to air quality, water quality, and wildlife habitat.

FACTS ABOUT AMERICAN ENERGY DEVELOPMENT

  • Oil production hit an 8-year high[5] in 2011.
  • Natural gas production was at an all-time high[6].

Drilling activity reached its highest level[7]under the Obama administration than at any point since the Reagan administration.

Filed under Blog, Colorado, Permitting, Statements

Oil & gas industry continues rampant speculation on public lands

May 15, 2012 Leave a comment

Today, the Interior Department released a report which shows that the oil and gas industry continues to hold millions of acres of leased lands and waters where neither production or exploration activities are being conducted. The report comes ahead of a legislative package of land giveaways by three Colorado Congressman which is up for a vote tomorrow in Colorado House Natural Resources Committee.

Following are quotes from organizations, former land managers, and local officials as well as key findings and need-to-know facts about oil and gas development.

“As the oil and gas industry continues its rampant speculation on millions of acres of public lands, Americans should be outraged that politicians backed by oil and gas contributions are pushing for more handouts to industry. As oil and gas companies sit on more than 20 million acres of public lands, more giveaways to Big Oil will do absolutely nothing to address American energy needs.”

-          Matt Garrington, Co-Director, Checks and Balances Project.

“I’ve got a real problem with the oil and gas industry asking for more giveaways like cutting clean water protections that protect agriculture when they don’t use what they already have. If we want a sensibly encourage energy development on public lands, that we need to step up incentives which require oil and gas companies to develop drilling permits and leases which have already been issued.”

-          Bill Eikenberry, third-generation Wyoming rancher and former associate state director of the Bureau of Land Management in Wyoming.

KEY FINDINGS

U.S. Department of the Interior. “Oil and Gas Lease Utilization, Onshore and Offshore.”  May 2012.

“Offshore: As of May 2012, nearly 72 percent of the area on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) that companies have leased for oil and gas development – totaling 26 million acres – are not producing or not subject to pending or approved exploration or development plans.” (Page 3)

“Onshore: As of December 31, 2011, approximately 56 percent of total acres of public land under lease in the Lower 48 States – totaling approximately 20.7 million acres – are not undergoing either production nor exploration activities.” (Page 3)

“As of September 30, 2011, there are over 7,000 approved permits to drill on public and Indian lands that have not yet been acted on by companies.” (Page 3)

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management continues to clear the backlog of drilling permits, issuing more new drilling permits than applications received. In 2011, the BLM processed 5,000 permits compared to 4,278 applications received. In fact, the rate of permitting is at its highest level since 2002. (Page 14)

FACTS ABOUT AMERICAN ENERGY DEVELOPMENT

  • Oil production hit an 8-year high (PDF) in 2011 at 2,070,454 thousand barrels.
  • Natural gas production was at an all-time high (PDF) in 2011 at 28,577,562 MMcf.
  • The BLM approved 4,278 drilling permits on federal lands in FY11, outpacing the number of new wells spudded (PDF) on public lands which was 3,260.
  • As of January 25, 2012, the oil and gas industry had 6,500 unused drilling permits (PDF) for federal lands and a total of 7,000 unused drilling permits for both federal and Indian lands.
  • Drilling activity reached its highest level (PDF) under the Obama administration than at any point since the Reagan administration.

Filed under Colorado, Permitting

Confidential, ‘subversive’ campaign documents show fuel-funded advocacy groups coordinating with local anti-wind groups

May 10, 2012 Leave a comment

On Tuesday, The Guardian newspaper used documents obtained by the Checks & Balances Project to expose coordination between local anti-wind groups and fossil fuel-funded advocacy groups’ attacking clean energy.

On February 1st and 2nd, at least 2 prominent advocacy groups connected to fossil fuel interests (American Tradition Institute (ATI) and Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT)) met in Washington with 32 NIMBY (“Not in my backyard”) organizations to discuss a coordinated “subversion” campaign to wreck wind energy.

As Suzanne Goldenberg of The Guardian wrote, “The strategy session is the latest evidence of a concerted attack on the clean energy industry by think tanks and lobby groups connected to oil and coal interests and free-market ideologues.”

Checks and Balances Project found a “National_PR_Campaign_Proposal (.doc),” via a Google Search, authored by American Tradition Institute Fellow John Droz, Jr. that indicates the meeting was called to discuss plans for a coordinated national disinformation campaign against wind energy.  The document details a series of wind energy attacks ranging from “counter intelligence,” setting up a “dummy business” and steering kids away from science projects on wind because “it doesn’t meet the criteria we set up.” The document also notes that they should coordinate national messaging but make sure the same message “appears to come from as many as a dozen separate sources.”

According to The Guardian, “There is evidence that network is already coming into being. Since the meeting, participants have pooled efforts to make phone calls and send email to members of Congress.”

Click here to read the story and check back here for more updates on this story.

Filed under Uncategorized

After a century’s worth of lessons, government needs to stop picking the same loser

May 10, 2012 Leave a comment

Matt Garrington, Denver-based co-director of The Checks and Balances Project, offered the following statement and facts regarding today’s Subcommittee on Energy and Environment hearing discussing the failed energy source, oil shale.

“Chairman Hall and others have argued against clean energy, saying the government shouldn’t pick winners and losers. Yet today they’re holding a hearing on the all-time loser of energy sources, oil shale.

“For over a century, hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars have been sunk into failed oil shale projects. Still, we have never had a viable commercial oil shale industry in this country.

“If the Science committee doesn’t think government should be in the business of picking winners and losers, they should stop wasting the taxpayer money on hearings to try and generate support for losers like oil shale.”

  • In 1981, the Reagan administration approved a $1.2 billion loan guarantee for Exxon’s Colony oil shale project on Colorado’s Western Slope. One year later, on May 2, 1982 – what became known as Black Sunday – Exxon announced it would abandon its involvement in the Colony project. Overnight, about 2,200 employees and thousands of others who had moved to the state to support a burgeoning oil shale industry were out of a job. The devastation to local communities and economies took decades to recover from.
  • Unocal Corp.’s Parachute Creek project has been called the most successful oil shale venture in U.S. history. In this case, successful meant that over a decade, tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies were sunk into the project until Unocal called it quits in 1991. Parachute Creek’s energy production peaked at 1.5 million barrels, but even then Unocal still lost $7 million on the project.
  • The House passed a bill sponsored by Rep. Doug Lamborn in February to sink more money into oil shale in return for the promise of royalties that would fund highway repairs. The Congressional Budget Office scored the oil shale bill as having “no effect on revenue,” and days after Rep. Lamborn’s bill passed, Chevron announced it was divesting its oil shale research in Colorado.

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It’s summer, time for flip flops

May 9, 2012 Leave a comment

Gas prices have decreased for the past five weeks, in response to the same sort of global economic factors that cause them to increase. But that answer doesn’t work well for oil company politicians and their spokespeople at Fox News.

Media Matters takes a good look at how Fox News is flip flopping and saying that falling gas prices are bad (hear that American families?), and that global factors do affect gas prices.

Note that Fox is now raising how worldwide economic factors are affecting gas prices, after spending weeks blaming Obama for the price increase since the president’s inauguration. Fox won’t explain that the extremely low price in January 2009 was a short-lived drop caused by the massive economic recession. In fact, last week on Fox News, Varney explicitly said with a straight face that the price increase since the bottom of the recession had “everything to do with” Obama, but the recent drop in gas prices “has nothing to do with” him:

Read the story

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New Push For Oil Shale Is Continued Failure

May 3, 2012 Leave a comment

On May 1, 1982, nearly 10,000 people worked at Exxon’s Colony Oil Shale project on Colorado’s Western Slope. Twenty-four hours later, Exxon shut the Colony project down. Thousands of people were left jobless and the region’s economy was devastated. This week marks 30 years since the disaster at Colony; what was to become known as Black Sunday.

While Colony is the most dramatic example of the failure of oil shale as a commercial energy source, it’s far from the only one:

  • In 1991, Unocal closed the country’s “most successful” try at an oil shale project in Parachute Creek, Colo. After a decade of trying, the project had swallowed tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies, and Unocal lost $7 million.
  • In 1981, Chevron and Conoco Shale oil began work on their Clear Creek project, located on a private 25,000-acre site north of De Beque. Construction at the site was halted in 1984.
  • In the 1970s, four companies acquired a federal prototype C-b oil shale lease. The lease was suspended in 1987 and pumping on the production on the lease was stopped in 1991. No oil was ever produced from this lease.

Time has apparently healed oil company wounds for politicians to push this failed resource. There is a new push to drill for this unproven energy source. Spearheading this push is a handful of Congressional heels, Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.), Rep. Scott Tipton (R-Colo.) and Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.). They recently teamed with Speaker John Boehner to push Lamborn’s PIONEERS Act through the House.

The giveaway is a continuation of a 100-year sink of tax dollars and public lands used to develop oil shale. All have failed. Yet today, industry lobbyists, and the politicians that take money from them are trying to throw more good taxpayer money after bad in an effort to distract from rising gas prices and increase government handouts to oil and gas companies.

Oil shale itself is a misnomer. It is actually rock containing an organic substance called kerogen. The rocks haven’t been in the ground for enough time or under enough pressure to become oil. Oil companies need to recreate geological forces to produce any energy from it. Ideas for developing oil shale have included baking acres of land at 700 degrees for three to four years and even detonating an atomic bomb underground.

The lack of an efficient way to create energy from this rock – which has the energy density of a potato – hasn’t stopped oil companies from using it as a reason to spend money to snatch up public land, or politicians from giving it to them.

If Lamborn, Tipton, and Coffman have their dithers, they would create a host of new giveaways to oil companies such as:

  • Over 2 million acres of public lands for oil shale speculation, even though the oil industry has said, on the record, that it will be at least until 2020 before they know whether commercial oil shale is even possible.
  • “Bargain basement” oil shale royalty rates of 5 percent (compared to a rate of 12.5 percent for onshore oil and gas and 18.75 percent for offshore oil) which would slash revenue to the federal treasury and for local governments, who need the funds to offset the associated costs of energy development such as new roads, utility lines, schools, and fire and police services.

Oil companies themselves have admitted that oil shale is an unready energy source. In fact, Shell Oil, which is recognized as a leader in oil shale research, says the earliest that commercial oil shale technology could be available is next decade, and possibly later: “A commercial decision would be in the middle of the next decade and possibly later depending on the sequence and outcome of research activities.”

Far more valuable to these companies than any potential profit they might receive from extracting a non-cost competitive energy source is the ability to increase their claims to Western lands. Oil companies already have permits to drill on 38.4 million acres of public BLM land, an area larger than the state of Georgia. Of that land, 57 percent remains unused. Congressmen Lamborn, Tipton and Coffman should tell their oil industry benefactors to use the land they have before pushing a bill that would give more of our public land to oil companies for a return that is the equivalent of small potatoes.

 

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Coloradans welcome “Flat Earth Society” members of Congress

May 2, 2012 Leave a comment

Groups call for energy reality check, end of excessive taxpayer handouts to Big Oil

DENVER – Several Colorado groups took members of Congress to task today over their failed energy policies, political rhetoric, and ties to industry.

Clean Water Action, Colorado Fair Share Alliance, the Checks and Balances Project and local activists gathered on the steps of the state capitol early this morning in anticipation of a U.S. House Energy and Minerals Subcommittee field hearing on federal oversight of oil and gas fracking operations. Rep. Doug Lamborn chairs the committee, and Rep. Mike Coffman is also a member.

The groups greeted Lamborn and the hearing with a banner that said, “Welcome, Flat Earth Society” – a reference to a recent National Press Club speech by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar where he argued Republicans were out of touch on energy policy and the realities on the ground.

“The hearing is nothing but a Big Oil funded charade put on by Lamborn and Coffman, charter members of the Flat Earth Society,” said Gary Wockner of Clean Water Action.  “Coloradans need to grab their air, water, public lands, and democracy because Big Oil wants to buy them all.”

The groups also called the hearing a waste of taxpayer dollars, especially given the fact that the Interior Department’s new draft fracking rules were actually met with praise by some in industry this week.

“The ‘Flat Earth Society’ members of Congress have fallen flat on doing what’s right – providing relief on gas prices and promoting real energy independence,” said Matt Garrington, co-director of the Checks and Balances Project. “Coffman and Lamborn continue to put Big Oil profits first.”

The groups noted that the oil and gas industry receives $9.4 billion annually in special tax breaks, funds that would be better spent investing in long term solutions such high tech vehicles, the next generation of renewable fuels, and transportation improvements.

Joining the event was David Bouchey of Aurora, who criticized his Representative, Mike Coffman, for supporting Big Oil and moneyed interests over Coloradans.

“As a constituent, I’m not happy that Mike Coffman has supported letting my unemployment benefits expire while supporting tax breaks for the 1% oil companies,” said Bouchey.

One reason for why Republicans Coffman and Lamborn may be abusing their authority to run special interest legislation for Big Oil and hold messaging hearings could be the disparity in campaign contributions Republicans receive from industry.

According the Center for Responsive Politics, the oil and gas industry gave nearly 88% of their campaign contributions to Republicans. So far this cycle, Rep. Coffman has received $55,000 from the oil and gas industry, and Rep. Doug Lamborn has received $29,250.

“Today’s hearing is just another way Rep. Coffman and Lamborn are paying back their oil and gas campaign contributors,” said Wockner. “We should be ending taxpayer handouts to Big Oil and reinvesting in American energy solutions that will provide relief and real energy security.”

FACTS ABOUT COLORADO ENERGY DEVELOPMENT

  • Natural gas production was at an all-time high in 2010 at  1,589,664 MMcf (latest data available).
  • As of May 2012, of the 4.2 million acres leased for oil and gas drilling on federal lands in Colorado only 25% or 1.06 million acres are currently in production. That means the oil and gas industry has more than 3.1 million acres of land leased available right now for energy production.
  • Drilling in Colorado (federal, state, and private lands) was up 24% in 2011:
    • Average number of annual drill rigs under the Bush administration: 67
    • Average number of annual drill rigs under the Obama administration: 60

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES 

Download a jpg of the banner (seen above) and a map (PDF) showing the amount of Colorado’s federal public lands where are leased for energy development but not yet developed.

Filed under Blog, Release

Oil Shale: A Century of Failure

April 30, 2012 Leave a comment

Wednesday, May 02, 2012, marks 30 years since Black Sunday hit the Western Slope of Colorado, putting thousands of people out of work and devastating the region’s economy. Just two days prior, the Checks and Balances Project released a report, which examines 100 years of failed investment in oil shale.  

Executive summary

Since 1917, when a government official persuaded a Nevada parole board to release a prisoner so the inmate could develop his oil shale extraction idea, experts, insiders, executives and the federal government have dumped billions into efforts to tap oil shale, leaving nothing but failed projects behind.

The oil industry has had plenty of help. The federal government crafted oil shale policies that have effectively transferred thousands of acres of public land to oil companies and have created a leasing structure that could potentially transfer billions of dollars of public wealth to the oil companies. Never before have we given this much to an industry that has yet to show commercial success.

Not one single oil shale project since the first attempts in the late 1920s has ever produced commercial fuel from shale rocks. In fact, one of the few direct results of the federal support has been premature oil shale booms that have ultimately busted.

For all the efforts the American taxpayers have made toward developing oil shale for the oil industry, every effort to sustain commercial production of the resource in the last century has failed.

And the optimism for oil shale is here again, especially amid rising oil prices.

Yet oil companies that obtained research oil shale leases atop rich deposits in northwest Colorado still say it might be another decade before commercial oil shale production ever begins, echoing those headlines from the past 100 years.

Download the full report.

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Colorado politicians fast track new giveaways to donor oil companies

April 26, 2012 Leave a comment

Matt Garrington, Denver-based co-director of The Checks and Balances Project, offered the following statement and facts regarding today’s hearing on Colorado House Republicans’ three bills to give away more of the West to the oil and gas industry: H.R. 4381, H.R. 4382 and H.R. 4383.

“Reps. Lamborn, Tipton and Coffman are doing a great job playing the Three Stooges for the oil and gas industry, but the American public isn’t laughing.

“Taking away the public’s right to participate in decisions about land we own is criminal. It’s clear that these representatives are working on behalf of industry groups like Western Energy Alliance (WEA) and not the public.

“Why else would they invite WEA Vice President Kathleen Sgamma to testify about why they should shut their own constituents out of decisions about what happens to their public lands?

“We should be discussing real solutions to gas prices, such as aggressively investing in high tech vehicles and renewable energy, increasing fuel efficiency for cars and trucks, and cracking down on Wall Street oil speculators.

“All this legislation will do is lock the public out of our public lands and put more money in the pocket of oil company CEOs.”

WHY THESE BILLS ARE HANDOUTS TO BIG OIL

H.R. 4383 creates a $5,000 fee for individuals who wish to participate in the decision-making process for oil and gas development on publicly owned lands. That includes families living near drilling sites who could be forced to live with the effects of drilling on their air and drinking water.

H.R. 4382 outlaws the right of public, local governments, and stakeholders to review lease sales, preventing new information from affecting leasing decisions. It also prevents the BLM from revising leasing plants.

H.R. 4381 gives oil companies first crack at all federal lands, rather than creating a level playing field between renewable energy and fossil fuels. It puts drilling über alles – making it the primary use of public lands above scientific, scenic, historical, ecological, environmental, air and atmospheric, water resource, and archeological values.

FACTS ABOUT AMERICAN ENERGY DEVELOPMENT

  • Oil production hit an 8-year high in 2011 at 2,070,454 thousand barrels.
  • Natural gas production was at an all-time high in 2011 at 28,577,562 MMcf.
  • Federal public lands leased in FY11 was 38.4 million acres compared to just 12.3 million acres leased and in production.
  • The BLM approved 4,244 drilling permits on federal lands in FY11 was 4,244, outpacing the number of new wells spudded on public lands which was 3,260.
  • Drilling activity reached its highest level under the Obama administration than at any point since the Reagan administration.

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Bush-era land official at center of coordinated oil shale strategy

April 25, 2012 Leave a comment

NEWS RELEASE

Contact:
Matthew Garrington, (720) 206-4348

Bush-era land official at center of coordinated oil shale strategy
Watchdog group launches new online campaign in response

DENVER – On Tuesday, county commissioners across three western states met again with a Bush-era BLM director to discuss next steps in a coordinated effort to push an extreme plan to hand over 2 million acres of public lands to oil companies for oil shale speculation.

In March, county commissioners from Colorado, Utah and Wyoming held their first meeting in secret and behind closed doors in Vernal, Utah with Kathleen Clarke, the former BLM Director for President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2006.

“Why are local elected officials crossing state lines to meet in secret with a former Bush administration official?” said Matt Garrington, Co-Director of The Checks and Balances Project. “This is politics at its worst. Local officials should be working on behalf of their constituents and not holding secret meetings with absolutely no notice about their intentions.”

In response, the Checks and Balances project today launched a new online campaign www.NoMoreEmptyPromises.com to expose how industry and politicians are using their influence, power, and dollars to push a radical plan to hand over 2 million acres of public lands for oil shale speculation. The website includes a new petition targeting counties that have backed the extreme oil shale plan.

Clarke has a long history of advancing a political agenda for Big Oil. She admitted on the record that politics drove her decisions as Utah’s Director of Natural Resources and gave BP America an environmental stewardship award.

Clarke currently serves as Utah Gov. Herbert’s Public Lands Advisor. According to the National Institute on Money in State Politics, Gov. Herbert took $638,915 from the Energy and Natural Resources industry in 2010.

Since the first meeting, a handful of counties passed resolutions calling for the BLM to hand over 2 million acres of public lands for oil shale speculation – despite the fact that local opposition has been fierce in some counties.

Contrary to the cries of industry proponents, the current Interior Department proposal would actually pave the way for more research and development of oil shale on nearly a half million acres of public lands. Clarke and officials are calling for the reinstatement of President Bush’s 2008 plan.

“When President Bush left office, gas prices were at record highs,” said Garrington. “Oil shale is a cheap gimmick that didn’t help lower gas price then, and it won’t help now. We need our elected officials to stop making empty promises and invest in real solutions to address our energy needs.”

Filed under Release

Doc Hastings likes his Webster’s Abridged

March 17, 2011 1 Comment

Thursday, Doc Hastings is holding yet another, carefully scripted, incredibly slanted hearing to promote his position that the Department of the Interior should return to the rip-roarin’ land grab of the Bush era. The good ol’ days when oil and gas companies could snatch up millions of acres of public land for song – or a few beers, or some cocaine, etc. (*ed note – referring to the MMS employee scandal. see link for more details.)

Hastings has been pushing his pro-oil, pro-gas agenda since becoming chairman of the Natural Resources Committee in January. He’s turned ignoring facts in favor of rhetoric into something of an art form.

hastings and websterIn one very telling – and a little funny – example, Hastings submitted an op-ed to The Hill in February. In his essay, he cited the words of Daniel Webster:

“It would be in our best interest to heed Daniel Webster’s words that are prominently inscribed on the walls of the House Chamber, ‘Let us develop the resources of our land … and see whether we also, in our day and generation, may not perform something worthy to be remembered.’”

The problem is that Hastings deprived Secretary Webster of his First Amendment Rights, because the full quote is:

“Let us develop the resources of our land, call forth its powers, build up its institutions, promote all its great interests, and see whether we also, in our day and generation, may not perform something worthy to be remembered.”

“Build up its institutions, promote all its great interests.” It occurs to me that those words could refer to the need to protect public lands, and promote all their uses, such as the outdoor recreation industry, responsible for 6.5 million jobs. I can only assume that when Hastings performed this little exercise in censorship, he was afraid to clutter the issue with contrary information, or the truth.

(Also, Webster gave this quote during the laying of the cornerstone for the Bunker Hill monument in Charlestown, MA. It has nothing to do with drilling for oil or gas.)

Hastings refused to acknowledge words in a nearly 200-year old quote in order to make his point. He displays that same willingness to censor the facts relevant to Big Oil and Big Gas. For instance:

  • The oil and gas industries have leased over 41 million acres of public land for development, but they’re only actually using 12 million acres. They’re still crying for more though, and Hastings is crying with them.
  • In 2010, 4,090 drilling permits were granted to oil and gas corporations. They only used 1,480 – or about 1/3 – of those permits, but sure enough, today they’re crying for more, and Hastings is crying with them.
  • The five big oil companies – BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell – made nearly $1 trillion over the last decade. Meanwhile, just last year Congress gave oil corporations $11 billion in tax breaks. But oil companies are crying poverty, and Hastings is crying with them.

There’s no reason to believe Doc Hastings will change his stripes. Big Oil and its allies spent more than $146 million lobbying Congress in 2010, and Hastings reports almost $156,000 in campaign contributions from oil and gas corporations during his time in office. As long as Hastings has a pulpit, he will speak loudly for Big Oil and Big Gas. The media and the public will need to be vigilant in examining what he says. Odds are, we’re only getting one side of the story.

Oh, and Hastings ended that op-ed saying, “In recognition of Daniel Webster’s astute words…” Did you mean all of them Mr. Chairman? Or just the ones that make your point.

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Rhetoric vs. Reality: A closer look at WEA’s top 10

March 23, 2011 Leave a comment

This week, Western Energy Alliance (WEA) released what it claims are the, “Top 10 ways the federal government is preventing onshore oil and natural gas production.” The Checks and Balances Project decided to take a closer look WEA’s list and make sense of the lies put out by the oil and gas industry:

Rhetoric

Reality
Permit Approvals: Whether a small project under fifty wells or a large one with thousands, the Department of the Interior (DOI) is simply not approving oil and natural gas projects. Environmental analysis and project approval must occur before companies can even apply for drilling permits. Normally, this process can take over seven years, but companies are currently experiencing indefinite delays. Loaded-phrasing aside, WEA fails to address the reason behind the DOI’s measured approvals pace. Could it be the lack of personnel tasked to addressing each new request? If so, then the GOP must answer to why it denies the Interior’s attempt to add more jobs and improve project approval efficiency.Do the GOP and WEA prefer the DOI put Americans at risk of another Gulf-like tragedy due to quick, un-vetted processing?
EPA Overreach: Recent EPA expansion imposes excessive, redundant regulatory burdens on oil and natural gas production and introduces high levels of uncertainty. EPA has directly prevented project approvals in the West. EPA overreach is having a chilling effect on energy production, diverting precious time and resources away from energy development and into non‐productive regulatory activities. How can the EPA be overreaching when there are countless complaints about the Halliburton loophole, which eliminated its ability to regulate fracking? There isn’t even mandated baseline testing, which is the only real way for the EPA, or the public, to know if damage is being done.The only “chilling effect” is the amount of drillable land already made available to corporations. The same corporations that may be causing earthquakes in Arkansas and refuse to disclose the chemicals used in toxic fracking fluid.
Permitting: Companies are not getting permits to drill in a timely fashion. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) conservatively estimates a 206-day average processing time for permits. Depending on the field office, permits can take over 500 days. Companies cannot start to produce without a permit. On March 16, the BLM stated it plans to approve 7,200 permits in 2011 (an increase of over 40 per cent from 2010). And let’s not forget all the approved wells that go unused. BLM granted 4,090 drilling permits in 2010 to oil and gas corporations but they only used 1,480. It seems like good business practice would implore corporations to get production going on those available wells.
Reduced Leasing: Often producers conduct exploratory work on leases and determine that near‐by areas have the right geology for energy production. DOI frequently defers and delays these offset leases needed to develop the existing leasehold. New policies in 2010 added three additional layers of analysis and regulation, on top of the existing five. These bureaucratic delays have led to anemic lease sales, cancelled sales, and indefinite deferrals. Delays in obtaining offset leases prevent production on existing leaseholds. What WEA conveniently fails to mention is that the Salazar policies are clearing the deck for future leasing. Better planning up front is key to avoiding conflicts during the leasing and permitting process. Plus, the General Accounting Office found that in the past administration there was no scientific review of drilling decisions because in some instances industry was playing a “shell game” with the regulatory process. Think rules don’t matter? The Denver Post reported that over a two-and-a-half year time period in Colorado, there were nearly 1,000 spills from drilling, “totaling 5.2 million gallons of drilling liquids and oil.”
Unissued Leases: DOI continues to hold millions of dollars in unissued leases, despite statutory requirements to issue leases within sixty days of receipt of payment from successful bidders. Unissued leases can hold up production on adjacent existing leasehold. Not only has the BLM stated it will hold 33 lease sales before the end of the year, corporations already control 41 million acres of public land. Only 12 million acres are currently in production, leaving 71 percent untapped. But the real game in town is drilling permits where oil and gas corporations already have a green light to drill, but haven’t made any moves towards development. In FY2010, the BLM issued over 4,090 permits to the industry, but it failed to develop the majority of that land and started only 1,480 new wells. If industry cared about our energy prices, why are they stockpiling public land drilling permits?
Stipulations: DOI has cleared much of the backlog of unissued leases in Wyoming, but in many cases has added more restrictions that were not specified at the time of sale. These new restrictions, such as even preventing development from the surface, reduce the value of leases and may render them uneconomic to develop. Much of the prevention of development is, at least partly, based on testimony obtained from everyday citizens who at public comment sessions stated concerns about drilling in their backyards. To date, Bridger-Teton National Forest officials have received 40,000 comments in response to the drilling proposal. Is WEA suggesting the government should ignore American families? The situation sounds eerily similar to what was happening during the time of King George III.
Withdrawal of Leases: One of the first things Secretary Salazar did after taking office was to withdraw 77 leases in Utah. That has been followed by the intent to cancel existing leases in the Wyoming Range, after the government had already completed the leasing contracts. Existing, adjacent leases are affected. Concerns over the Wyoming Range have been raised by residents, two Governors (Freudenthal, Dem. and Mead, Rep.) and the late Sen. Craig Thomas (R-Wyo.) who was consistently voted the most conservative senator in the U.S. Now, with Thomas gone and the natural gas and oil lobby overwhelmingly funding Sen. Barrasso, corporations are gaining some traction for opening the range to drilling.As for Utah, Salazar’s decision saved 130,000 acres near pristine areas such as Nine Mile Canyon, Arches National Park and Dinosaur National Monument. The state’s oil and gas industry remains among the country’s top producers despite losing those leases. In 2010, Utah’s oil and gas production accounted for $4.7 billion in revenue and over 24,000 jobs. Moreover, Bill Barrett Corporation and environmentalists were able to come to the table and agree on a compromise that protected important ecological and archaeological resources while allowing responsible development to move forward in the Nine Mile Canyon area. The simple truth is that there is a way to responsibly develop resources while protecting the environment and public health.
Wild Lands: New policies for wild lands mean that DOI can unilaterally determine that an area is suitable for wilderness protection, and delay for years any development while they reinventory the lands and update land use plans. In the meantime, DOI treats these areas as de facto wilderness, despite lacking legal authority, which prevents production on many existing leases. Americans deserve better than WEA’s spin on Wild Lands. BLM Director Bob Abbey testified that Wild Lands would not affect the development of existing leases and would be incorporated as part of their normal planning process moving forward. BLM lands are multi-use lands and they include managing some lands for the preservation of America’s $730 billion outdoor recreation industry and the hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in local tax revenue it brings. No wonder more than 200 local officials and dozens of local outfitters support the policy. And Sec. Salazar has managed to put forth a balanced conservation policy while also overseeing a 40 percent increase in the number of green light drilling permits on BLM lands in 2011.
Climate Change Challenge: Environmental lawsuits have caused DOI to delay leases in Montana while additional environmental analysis and climate change study is done. Rather than settling these lawsuits as in the past, DOI should stand by its analysis that showed no significant impact to climate change from leasing in Montana. The Montana legislature already tried and failed to outlaw the use of Climate Change as a mitigating policy for any policy.In a bit of contradictory language, WEA says that it wants lengthy lawsuits “rather than settling these lawsuits as in the past.” This is just another example of the industry, making billions of dollars in profits, wanting policy both ways so it can sit on assets (land leased and permitted for drilling).
Ad Hoc Requirements: BLM field offices are arbitrarily adding new requirements to permits, and requiring producers to conduct new and redundant analysis without a basis in law. These arbitrary delays in the field are another means of “death by a thousand cuts” that prevent energy production, job creation, and economic development. Is the industry really in such dire straits; do they need a bailout? In January, ExxonMobil reported record profits to the tune of $9.3 billion for just the the fourth quarter. ConocoPhillips also reported an increase in revenue demonstrating an industry-wide profit trend for the end of 2010.And according to the BLM, the gas and oil industry generated over 5,400 jobs in Montana, 24,000 in Utah and 93,000 in Wyoming.

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Maybe the Big Bird will set Big Oil Free

March 26, 2011 Leave a comment

Re-posted from www.coloradopols.com

There’s been much ado over Rep. Lamborn’s push to “set Big Bird” free by cutting federal tax dollars to NPR. Just yesterday, the Colorado

Springs Independent reported that a group of local citizens are asking him to pledge to set Big Oil free of the billions of subsidies they get which drive up our federal deficit and oil and gas speculation in the Rockies and elsewhere.

Congressman Doug Lamborn hates the idea of big government spending constituents’ hard-earned tax dollars on socialisms so much that he introduced a (probably unconstitutional) bill into the U.S. House that would shut off the geyser of dollar bills to the “left-leaning” National Public Radio. [...]

So on Monday, a group of Lamborn’s tax-strapped constituents are gonna see if he’ll put an end to another wasteful, socialist giveaway of their hard-earned dollars: the huge subsidies to not-exactly-struggling oil companies.

Will he sign the pledge?

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Clearing up muddy waters on the oil and gas debate

March 29, 2011 1 Comment

Today, the Department of Interior released a report which details the amount of land the Obama administration has made available for drilling, the rate of drilling permits processed, and how little land is actually in use.

It’s time to clear up the muddy waters around the drilling debate, and today’s report by the Obama administration does just that.

While Doc Hastings and Big Oil are out there spinning talking points, Secretary Salazar has been moving forward responsible energy development on public lands.

The simple truth is approval rates for drilling permits are up, and industry lays idle hands on over 21 million acres of public lands. We should put an end to Big Oil’s speculation on our public lands and continue to move forward with responsible energy development.

###

lands leased but not drilled
Map displaying how many acres in states are leased for drilling and how many of those acres are not in use (from DoI report).

Some more data from the DoI report:

Region Acres Under Lease Acres w/ Inactive Leases Percent w/ Inactive Leases
Gulf 34,009,660 23,834,317 70.1%
Pacific 241,023 23,534 9.8%
Alaska 3,723,465 3,650,974 98.1%

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Silence of the Lamborn on Pledge to End Fossil Fuel Subsidies

April 4, 2011 Leave a comment

**Update: Our friend Tom Kenworthy from the Center for American Progress breaks down the economic facts behind drilling over at The Wonk Room. The question remains: Will Lamborn, Hastings and their colleagues finally work to end government welfare for fossil fuels?**

On Monday, March 28, a group of 15 residents of the Colorado Springs area visited Representative Doug Lamborn’s district office and ask him to sign a pledge to no longer vote for billions of dollars taxpayer-funded subsidies to the oil and gas industry. The group made their request in the wake of Lamborn’s bill to de-fund National Public Radio (NPR), specifically remarks he made in support of this bill that, “It is time for American citizens to stop funding an organization that can stand on its own feet.”

The group of El Paso County residents asked Rep. Lamborn, Chairman of the Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee, to sign, “Stand on Your Own Feet Pledge.” The pledge’s text states that signers will vote against renewing or creating any government subsidies to the oil, gas and nuclear energy industries. Lamborn received national attention in March when he sponsored a bill in the US House of Representatives to de-fund NPR.

Paul Carestia, the group’s spokesman, cited $97 billion in tax dollars that will be given to fossil fuel and nuclear companies. That number was taken from Taxpayers for Common Sense’s 2010 “Green Scissors” report and is “based on projected subsidies for the oil and gas, coal, and nuclear industries from 2011 through 2015.”

“Rep. Lamborn summed it up,” said Carestia. “The top five oil and gas companies reported profits of $77 billion last year. Meanwhile, $97 billion tax dollars*, our tax dollars, are wrapped up in a nice bow and given to the CEOs of oil, gas, coal and nuclear corporations. If Mr. Lamborn is so determined to cut wasteful, federal spending, he should pledge to end this billion dollar welfare to polluting industries that are making billions in profits.”

“We’re tired of hearing Rep. Lamborn and his colleagues talk about the need to cut federal spending from one side of their faces and then turn around and say that oil, gas and nuke CEO’s need tax breaks and subsidies from the other side,” said Kirby Hughes, a Colorado Springs area businessman. “They’re writing checks to their campaign donors and using our tax dollars to do it.”

According to opensecrets.org, Lamborn has received $107,462 in campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry over the course of his congressional career.

The group has not received a reply from Lamborn’s office. According to the Colorado Springs Gazette, Lamborn’s office released a statement saying simply, “Congressman Lamborn appreciates and considers the views of all his constituents. He respects the right of citizens to peaceably assemble and express those views.”

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There’s nothing like an objective witness…

April 4, 2011 Leave a comment

In the course of some routine research, Checks and Balances came across an interesting piece of information. James Schroeder, President and CEO of Mesa Energy Partners, LLC and President of the Western Energy Alliance is scheduled to be a witness at Rep. Lamborn’s hearing Tuesday.
witness_list

Schroeder contributed $2,000 to the Western Energy Alliance’s PAC in 2010.
schroeder_contribution

WEA PAC then turned around and contributed $2,000 to Lamborn’s re-election campaign.
lamborn_contribution

The question has to be asked, is this transparent government that avoids even the appearance of impropriety?

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THE BALANCE SHEET: APRIL 12, 2011

April 12, 2011 Leave a comment

Our weekly update to unravel the industry and political spin around the energy debate

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

WHAT’S THE DEFINITION OF AN IMPARTIAL WITNESS?

Last week’s Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources Oversight Hearing turned into a good ol’ boys club, when Rep. Doug Lamborn invited his buddy, James Schroeder, to testify. Schroeder gave $2,000 to the Western Energy Alliance PAC, which turned around and gave $10,000 to members of the House Natural Resources Committee, including, $2,000 to Lamborn. http://tinyurl.com/3ojkawm

EVEN THE TEA PARTY CAN’T GET BEHIND THE SUBSIDIES

During a DC rally against government spending, many Tea Partiers went on the record in opposition to the annual squandering of 4 billion taxpayer dollars on Big Oil and Gas tax loopholes. Think Progress released the video last week: http://tinyurl.com/6j9lkbc

KILLER FACT OF THE WEEK

WILD LANDS DEFUNDED, BIG OIL STILL WINNING BIG

While the government shutdown was avoided late Friday night, that doesn’t mean glaring budget issues were resolved. At a time when the oil and gas industry is reporting record profits, and we’re hearing constant talk about the need to cut government spending, Republicans still insist on giving away over $4 billion of American tax every year to Big Oil. Taxpayer subsidies to Big Oil weren’t up for discussion during last week’s negotiations on spending, but Republicans did successfully attack western public lands by defunding Wild Lands implementation.

COMING UP THIS WEEK

HASTINGS & GOP CIRCUS EVENTS FOR BIG OIL

House Natural Resources Chairman, and drilling proponent, Doc Hastings is finally bringing his offshore drilling bills into the light, after keeping them in carefully hidden in the shadows. Two different House committee hearings on Wednesday will mark up the drilling bills that were so secret, Politico reported tha tHastings’s staff refused to discuss them over email or brief Democratic committee members. The only time they would talk about them was with the oil and gas lobbyists who received a private briefing on the bills. Meanwhile, the House Energy and Power Subcommittee will push through a bill that uses the Clean Air Act to expedite the permitting process, leading us to wonder about Republican claims of over-regulating. http://tinyurl.com/4dqbxlh

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Full Committee Markup on H.R. 1229, H.R. 1230 and H.R. 1231
Committee on Natural Resources
1324 Longworth House Office Building
10:00 a.m.

Jobs and Energy Permitting Act of 2011
Subcommittee on Energy and Power
2322 Rayburn House Office Building
10:00 a.m.

THE COST OF FRACKING

Ahead of a Congressional hearing about fracking comes a Cornell study that demonstrates the disastrous effects the process has on the climate. And watch for the Checks and Balances full, fact-checker report after the hearing.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Natural Gas Drilling: Public Health and Environmental Impacts.
Full Committee and Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife
EPW Hearing Room – 406 Dirksen
10:00 AM EDT

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THE BALANCE SHEET: APRIL 18 2011

April 18, 2011 Leave a comment

Our weekly update to unravel the industry and political spin around the energy debate

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

2010 ONSHORE OIL SPILLS EXXON VALDEZ x3
Last Tuesday, CBS News reported that there were over 6,500 spills, leaks, fires or explosions nationwide at onshore drill sites or pipelines. And, at least 34 million gallons of oil or toxic chemicals were spilled – that’s three times the amount of oil spilled in the Exxon Valdez disaster. Read the story for state-by-state oil spill numbers.

WHAT OIL SPILL?
Rep. Doc Hastings would have you forget about the Gulf spill, even as the 1-year anniversary of the accident nears. Leading into the hearing, Hastings told Politico that it was too soon to consider offshore drilling safety legislation but not too soon to speed-up offshore drilling. Why the rush when drilling companies are sitting on 70 percent of offshore leases as well as 57% of onshore leases and over 7,200 onshore drilling permits.

HISTORY FULL OF GAS
During the Natural Resources committee markup of the offshore bills, Hastings claimed that ending the moratorium on drilling in 2008 was the reason for a drop in gas prices. He seems to have forgotten the worldwide economic recession where oil demand crashed and the price of a barrel of oil plummeted 60 percent. At that same hearing, House Republicans shot down an amendment by Ranking Member Markey to end taxpayer-funded subsidies to Big Oil.

DID YOU KNOW?

OIL SHALE IS AS ENERGETIC AS A POTATO
Oil shale, the “rock that burns,” contains one-tenth the energy of crude oil and has the same energy density as a potato. Read more in energy expert Randy Udall’s piece “The Illusive Bonanza.”

COMING UP THIS WEEK

OUR 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY WITH DISASTER
April 20th, 2011 marks the one year anniversary of the BP Gulf oil disaster, but it looks like offshore drilling safety legislation and reforms to stop $4 billion-a-year subsidies to Big Oil won’t be going anywhere this month.

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CONTACT

Tips, Ideas and Feedback
tips@checksandbalances.org

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State regulator admits, but not to Congress, that gas production led to water contamination in Colorado

April 21, 2011 3 Comments

Neslin’s narrow definition of hydraulic fracturing misleads Committee members

**As Pennsylvanians deal with the breaking news that wastewater from a Chesapeake hydraulic fracturing well blowout has entered their drinking supplies, similar stories continue to unfold in Colorado.**

Within minutes after his testimony about the safety of hydraulic fracturing in front of the United States Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works Committee last week, Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission Director David Neslin said that gas production in Colorado has indeed led to groundwater contamination throughout the state. But when testifying, Neslin repeatedly told members of the committee that he had no “verifiable evidence” that fracking had contaminated groundwater supplies or aquifers in Colorado.

Yes, literally moments after the committee hearing ended, Neslin validated what many Coloradans already know: gas development in the state has contaminated Colorado ground water. In an interview with the Checks and Balances Project, Neslin divulged a few details he left out of his testimony. “We have not found a verifiable instance of hydraulic fracturing contaminating ground water, but oil and gas development has contaminated ground water in other ways. Sometimes a pit leaks, sometimes a pit overflows” (emphasis added).

Neslin justifies the contradiction by adopting a blinkered, compartmentalized definition of hydraulic fracturing. By his definition, pit leaks, overflows and even cracks in concrete pipe casings are not considered part of the fracking process, despite being essential components to gas development in Colorado.

Like Neslin, industry also defines hydraulic fracturing using rhetorical tactics. Speaking in April at a journalism lecture, Chesapeake Energy Corp. CEO Aubrey McClendon told his audience that, “We can tear up a road, we can be noisy, we can create dust, we can hurt somebody, and sometimes there is a lack of transparency about operations. All those are legitimate concerns, but fracking is not the story” (emphasis added).

This type of messaging has even penetrated national politics. On Thursday morning, the day after a the Chesapeake gas well blew out, spilling thousands of gallons of toxic fracking fluid, the same senator Neslin addressed during his meeting, James Inhofe (R-OK) said, on record, that, “[There's] never been one case — documented case — of groundwater contamination in the history of the thousands and thousands of hydraulic fracturing” (emphasis added).

It’s true that states vary in how they deal with waste fracking fluid. The state of Pennsylvania, for example, has tried and failed to process its fracking wastewater safely in public water treatment facilities. The failure of treatment plants to remove carcinogens from wastewater and the admission by industry that those toxins had entered drinking supplies has led the state’s governor to order a stoppage to treating the wastewater at public works facilities immediately.

Meanwhile, Colorado stores its waste frack fluid in concrete containment casings and storage pits. Neslin does not consider the disposal of waste produced by fracking a part of the fracking process.

Neslin’s comments raise two questions. First, there is the obvious question of whether or not he was being completely forthright with the Senate committee when he characterized fracking as having never contaminated water supplies. Even if he honestly believes that fracking is not contaminating groundwater supplies, why didn’t the officer tasked with overseeing oil and gas production in Colorado tell the Environment and Public Works Committee that contamination had happened, even if it was, as he suggested, tangentially related to the process.

The second question surrounds his frequent use of the term “verifiable evidence,” when saying that groundwater contamination has not been caused by hydraulic fracturing. Just like his statements about groundwater contamination, Neslin’s use of “verifiable evidence” seems to fall well short of telling the whole truth about gas production in his state.

Dr. Geoffrey Thyne, a geologist tasked with studying contamination in the West Divide Creek in heavily fracked Garfield County, Colorado understands verifiable evidence very well. The geologist is often credited with conducting one of the most conclusive studies connecting ground water contamination with fracking. In fact, Thyne’s West Divide Creek study was deemed so conclusive, and therefore so damning to the gas industry, that many say it led to the loss of his job as a professor at the Colorado School of Mines. Thyne says that gas interests at the university had allegedly pressured Thyne to stop the study. Thyne didn’t stop the study, and he lost his job. But, as Thyne explains in the video below, the verifiable evidence he found while conducting his study suggests that fracking fluids seeped into the West Divide Creek as recently as 2004.

How was Thyne so sure? Just like the situation in Pennsylvania it comes down to salt, which is also found in fracking fluids. When asked about fracking and water contamination during the congressional committee meeting, Neslin did not once bring up the Thyne study.

Despite the contradiction pointed out by the Thyne situation, there still remains the issue of Neslin separating failures in the process associated with fracking from fracking in general. This tactic has become known as compartmentalizing. Community organizer Frank Smith, who advocates for safe drilling procedures in western Colorado happened to be in Washington, D.C. at the same time as Neslin. Smith said Neslin’s selectivity when talking about hydraulic fracking before the Senate committee was a tactic Smith has gotten used to seeing out west. “Too often they don’t want to look holistically at all of it. It’s all one and the same. It’s all part of the same system. If in fact there is a faulty casing, or those fracking chemicals or fluids do in fact end up where they shouldn’t end up that’s all part of the problem,” said Smith.

It should be pointed out that Neslin and all those who answered questions before the Senate Environment and Public Works committee were speaking of their own accord and therefore didn’t have to take an oath before talking. Neslin has returned to Denver where he has been asked to reapply to continue serving as the Director of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

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THE BALANCE SHEET: APRIL 26, 2011

April 26, 2011 Leave a comment

Our weekly update to unravel the industry and political spin around the energy debate

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

WE’RE IN THE WRONG LINE OF WORK

While Americans are suffering from pain at the pump, Halliburton reported last week that its first quarter revenue set a company record at $5.3 billion, which is up from $3.8 billion in the first quarter of 2010. First quarter profits were up 148 percent from $206 million in 2010 to $511 million in 2011.

Halliburton cited increased U.S. onshore drilling activity as the reason for its success, with Chairman Dave Lesar stating, “North America delivered strong performance as margins progressed due to increased activity while Eastern Hemisphere operating income was significantly impacted by geopolitical events in North Africa, delays in Iraq, and typical seasonality.”

ANOTHER EARTH DAY, ANOTHER SPILL

A Chesapeake Energy Corp. well blowout occurred in Northern Pennsylvania Tuesday, spilling up to tens of thousands of gallons of toxic, chemical-laden fluid onto area residential land and contaminating a tributary of the Susquehanna River. The incident may be the most serious fracking accident in the history of the commonwealth’s Marcellus Shale development. DeSmogBlog has the story.

WORD GAMES

Last week, Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission Director David Neslin testified before a Senate committee looking into hydraulic fracturing’s less than spotless track record on safety. Contrary to his testimony, where he asserted that groundwater contamination from fracking has never occurred, Neslin told The Checks and Balances Project immediately following the hearing that oil and gas production in Colorado had indeed led to contamination. Most drilling is fracking, so to say fracking does not cause groundwater contamination is disingenuous at best. Watch how Neslin and industry representatives use rhetorical tactics to excuse corporate responsibility for toxic fracking fluid casing leaks and pit overflows.

PRICE, NOT POLICY, DETERMINES HEALTH OF WESTERN ENERGY DEVELOPMENT

Headwater Economics on Tuesday released a report analyzing the relative success of states and communities to maximize energy development’s benefits and minimize its costs. The report concludes with a series of policy recommendations for communities trying to achieve that goal. In five Rocky Mountain, energy-producing states – Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming – Headwater Economics discovered that common sense standards and protections did not hamper energy production. Price was the ultimate factor in determining whether energy development occurs. Read the full report.

DID WE LEARN OUR LESSON FROM THE GULF OIL SPILL DISASTER?

Checks and Balances Deputy Director Matt Garrington asks that question in his guest-commentary piece for Sunday’s Denver Post. Give it a read and let us know what you think.


DID YOU KNOW?

OIL & GAS NY LOBBY FUNDS UP 400 PERCENT IN TWO YEARS
In New York State last year, the oil and gas industry spent $1.6 million on lobbying to fight common sense protections from oil & gas fracking impacts, up from $400,000 in 2008.


COMING UP THIS WEEK

BLM TO REVIEW COMMERCIAL OIL SHALE LEASING PROGRAM

The Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management will host public hearings in three Western states – Colorado, Utah and Wyoming – beginning today to gather input from residents and experts as they review the federal oil shale leasing program. Find out more about the hearings.

Now that gas prices are hovering around $4 per gallon, risky schemes like oil shale are back in the national debate. Oil shale is pure science fiction, as companies have failed to produce commercial oil from oil shale despite a hundred years of experimentation.

Chairman Doc Hastings (R-WA), Subcommittee Chairman Lamborn (R-CO), Rep. Scott Tipton (R-CO) and Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT) have all been throwing about this fantastic tale. Compare what politicians are saying to those in the oil and gas industry, who believe viable oil shale is a decade out or more.

Furthermore, oil shale today is being conflated with shale gas and shale oil, giving the false impression that oil shale is ready for prime time. This has led to inaccurate rhetoric, and it has the potential to mislead investors, policymakers and other Americans interested in real energy solutions.

Compare what politicians are saying to those in the oil and gas industry, who believe viable oil shale is a decade out or more: Oil Shale Quotes – Congress v Industry


CONTACT US

Twitter: @checksandbals | Email: tips@checksandbalances.org

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Neslin brings his message back home

April 26, 2011 Leave a comment

The man tasked with overseeing the oil and gas industry in Colorado continues to say that groundwater contamination is not an issue when it comes to hydraulic fracturing in the state.

David Neslin (pictured), Director of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) , told a federal forum this week that the COGCC has investigated hundreds of complaints about water contamination related to hydraulic fracturing, “and to date we’ve not found any instances of groundwater contamination.” Neslin reportedly did not offer any comments about the operations associated with fracking that are vital to the practice.

These operations include mixing, transporting and injecting millions of gallons of toxic fracking fluid into the ground, through aquifers via cement casings. Gas companies must also safely dispose of the wastewater produced by fracking that is laced with toxic chemicals and radioactivity.

Neslin has repeatedly omitted these essential processes from of his discussions of hydraulic fracturing and water contamination. Following his testimony at a congressional hearing in the nation’s capitol earlier this month, Neslin spoke on camera to the Checks and Balances Project and said that cracked pipe casings and leaky wastewater pit liners were not considered part of hydraulic fracturing process that he had just promoted to the senators. During the hearing, like yesterday’s BLM meeting in Golden, Colorado, Neslin repeated that the COGCC had no “verifiable evidence” that fracking has lead to ground water contamination in Colorado.

MORE:

-To see the Checks and Balances report on David Neslin’s definition of hydraulic fracturing click here.

-Read the Greeley Tribune’s report on the federal fracking forum in Colorado this week by clicking here.

-To read about Chesapeake Electric’s suspension of fracking in Pennsylvania after a fracking explosion sent chemicals into nearby waterways click here.

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Will Boehner End Oil and Gas Industry Welfare?

April 28, 2011 3 Comments

The price at the pump is hovering around $4/gallon, while oil and gas companies are reporting billions in first quarter profits. So wasn’t a complete shock when Speaker John Boehner said, earlier this week, that Congress should look at ending the fossil fuel industry’s multi-billion dollar tax breaks.

After all, how does Congress plan to explain to American families facing escalating energy prices that BP – responsible for the worst spill in American history – made $7.1 billion in profits in the first three months of 2011, but still needs taxpayer dollars to stay in business.

Some politicians are trying to say that ending the decade-old tax breaks will only increase the price of fuel. But without their taxpayer-funded safety net, oil and gas companies would have to compete more rigorously for consumers, which is likely to drive down prices.

The fact is that American families can’t afford to keep propping up Exxon, Chevron, Shell and other oil and gas companies. The question is whether Speaker Boehner sees that.

Watch the video of Boehner’s interview.

If Speaker Boehner agrees the time has come to end oil and gas industry welfare, it’s a drastic change in course for the House Republican conference. Representative Paul Ryan’s 2012 budget, submitted less than two weeks ago, keeps intact $40 billion in oil subsidies.

Weeks before, in early March, House Republicans voted unanimously against ending tens of billions in taxpayer subsidies to the five largest oil companies.

See what Montana Congressman Dennis Rehberg has to say.

So what’s the answer Mr. Speaker? Are you and your colleagues finally changing your minds about billion dollar tax breaks for an industry making billions in profits?

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UPDATED: Big Oil announces skyrocketing profits, keeps politicians on the dole for big tax breaks

April 29, 2011 4 Comments

Denver, CO – This week, as the top five oil companies announce their first quarter profits, the Checks and Balances Project conducted an analysis of the money oil and gas corporations spent in 2010 on campaign contributions and Congressional lobbyists. The numbers tell the story that oil companies’ armies of lobbyists and contributing power give them a louder voice than American families. For example, the House of Representatives voted in March to protect Big Oil’s multi-billion dollar tax breaks and government subsidies, in spite of polling that shows Americans want them eliminated.

Company[1]

 2010 Lobbying Expenditures

2010 Political Contributions (Dem)

2010 Political Contributions (GOP)

Exxon Mobil

 $12,450,000

 $109,500

 $928,950
Chevron

 $12,890,000

 $122,000

 $473,000
Shell

 $10,370,000

N/A

N/A
BP

 $7,335,000

$31,500

$35,000
ConocoPhillips

 $19,626,382

 $90,000

 $299,000
Total

 $62,671,382

 $321,500

 $1,700,950

According to Public Campaign, the Political Action Committees for BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil donated $285,500 to elected officials and political parties in the first quarter of 2011.

“These profit reports show Big Oil is making big bucks from high gas prices at the pump,” said Checks and Balances Deputy Director Matt Garrington. “Big Oil spent $63 million lobbying Congress and $2 million in campaign contributions last year so politicians would hand out $4 billion every year in taxpayer-funded subsidies.”

Public pressure is starting to sway GOP members of Congress. Speaker John Boehner, Denny Rehberg, Sam Graves, Mick Mulvaney, and Paul Ryan are all on record, stating the need to end oil and gas subsidies.

On the other hand, oil and gas money recipients, including Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (R-WA-04) and Subcommittee Chairman Doug Lamborn (R-CO-05), recently voted against ending  “royalty relief” for offshore drilling companies. Hastings and Lamborn are also leading the charge to open up even more Western lands drilling despite the fact that Big Oil and Gas has failed to develop 57 percent of public lands leased for drilling.

“If Congress is serious about addressing high gas prices, throwing taxpayer money and opening up public lands to drilling speculation won’t work,” said Garrington.

The US Department of Energy reports $3.88 is the average price of a gallon of gas. This week, the “Big Five” oil companies – Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell, ConocoPhillips and BP – reported an average 35.6% increase in profits over first quarter 2010.

Company

 Q1 2010 Profits

 Q1 2011 Profits

Increase in Profits
Exxon Mobil

 $6,300,000,000

 $10,700,000,000

69.8%
Shell

 $4,800,000,000

 $6,300,000,000

31.3%
BP

 $5,600,000,000

 $5,480,000,000

-2.1%
ConocoPhillips

 $2,100,000,000

 $3,000,000,000

42.9%
Chevron

$4,550,000,000

 $6,200,000,000

36.3%

Total

$23,350,000,000

$31,680,000,000

35.6%

[1] www.opensecrets.org

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THE BALANCE SHEET: MAY 3, 2011

May 2, 2011 Leave a comment

Our weekly update to unravel the industry and political spin around the energy debate

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

‘GOUGE-ONOMICS’: PRODUCTION DOWN, PROFITS UP

Despite billion-dollar profits across the board, Big Oil refineries are producing less fuel while making more money. It’s too bad this game of monopoly has real impacts to our pocketbooks. According to the Department of Energy, American refineries’ operations have dropped by eight percent to 81 percent of their total production capacity. Oil and gas corporations are fattening up their wallets at taxpayers expense. Los Angeles Times has the full story.

CRITICS SLAM SO-CALLED ‘OIL SHALE’ AT BLM HEARINGS

During the initial round of hearings hosted by the BLM, critics voiced their concerns over oil shale calling it “the petroleum equivalent of fool’s gold,” and pointing to the fact that oil companies have failed to produce any commercial oil from oil shale in the last 100 years. The economics of the dirty energy source were described as, “a Hail Mary shot from the half court.” The hearings are assessing the use of 1.9 million acres of public land that could be made available for oil shale drilling projects. Read about the hearings in the Deseret News or watch the video from NBC’s Grand Junction, Colorado affiliate KKCO.

THE INCONVENIENT ROOM SIZE: PENNSYLVANIANS SHUT OUT

During a ‘public’ meeting a week after the major fracking wastewater spill in Leroy, Pa., Governor Tom Corbett’s gas advisory commission shut out hundreds of Pennsylvanians who came to express their concerns about the controversial process. It’s no wonder the Commission is less than welcoming to public scrutiny: In 2010, Commission members collectively gave $790, 950 to Corbett’s political campaign and had 514 reported environmental violations between them. C&BP has the full story.

‘R-OIL’ MARRIAGE TO END IN DIVORCE?

Thursday, the launch of RoilWedding.com highlighted Big Oil’s ties with Republican members of Congress. But last week, Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan vocalized his support for the end of taxpayer-funded subsidies to oil and gas companies. Is this the first sign that the honeymoon may be over? Read more about Ryan’s remarks here.


DID YOU KNOW?

FLIPPING OUT OVER OIL

The oil and gas industry gave $180,650 to House Speaker John Boehner for the 2010 election, the most they’ve ever paid into his campaign accounts in one election cycle. Could that be why he flip-flopped on taxpayer-funded subsidies to oil and gas companies after telling Jonathan Karl of ABC News that they could be on the chopping block?


COMING UP THIS WEEK

CONGRESS BACK IN SESSION MEANS IT’S TIME TO ANTE UP

Congress back in session means it’s time for some to put taxpayers’ money where politicians’ mouths are. We will be watching for any action from Chairman Paul Ryan, or the other Republicans we noted who expressed a willingness to end billion-dollar, taxpayer-funded subsidies to the oil and gas industry. President Obama sent a clear signal, in his letter to Congressional leadership, that ending oil and gas subsidies is a priority for his administration. Senator Harry Reid vowed to hold a vote to end the subsidies within the month.


CONTACT

Twitter: @checksandbals | Email: tips@checksandbalances.org

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Shut out and bought out

May 2, 2011 9 Comments

Pennsylvania citizens are unable to be heard during a public gas advisory board meeting, while those on the board get cozy in the Governor’s back pocket.

A week after toxic fluids from a hydraulic fracturing gas well spilled into waterways and onto farmlands in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, the state’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission met in Harrisburg. The hearing seemed to frustrate citizens more than it provided them an opportunity to voice their concerns.

Before the meeting began more than a hundred landowners from across the state expressed their frustration with the Commission.  One man, carrying a giant rubber stamp and using a bullhorn seemed particularly fed up. “What’s going on in the room behind us is Governor Corbett’s bought and paid for Marcellus Shale Commission. This is the group of people that will rubber stamp all the policies that Governor Corbett wants to enact,” said Nathan Sooy of Clean Water Action Pennsylvania.

This message was a constant theme from the frustrated attendees, many of whom drove several hours to be heard at the public hearing. The morning’s analysis of the role the Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission plays in Pennsylvania politics didn’t help matters either.

Of the thirty Commission members, more than a quarter of them have donated to Governor Tom Corbett’s campaign. In 2010, Corbett received $790,950 from eight of the corporations represented on the Commission and each reported between five and 174 violations that year. Chief Oil and Gas, responsible for 174 violations, donated $100,000 to Corbett’s campaign. The largest donation, $411,000, was made by East Resources, with 74 violations in 2010. Clean Water Action has the complete list.

Company 2010 Violations Corbett Conation
Atlas/Chevron

16

$54,500
Chesapeake

132

$11,000
Chief Oil and Gas

174

$100,000
CNX/Consol Energy

5

$56,750
East Resources

74

$411,000
EQT

15

$56,900
Range Resources

32

$80,000
XTO Energy/Exxon Mobile

66

$20,000

Source: Clean Water Action

With the donations report out just a week after the Bradford County spill, the frustrated crowd was eager to be heard at the commission meeting. Unfortunately, the room the 30-member commission held its hearing in was too small to accommodate many of the attendees and was closed off by police officers before the meeting and immediately after the hearing began because of fire code restrictions. When the landowners asked one police officer why a bigger room wasn’t provided for such a high profile meeting, an officer revealed that his staff had alerted the Department of Environmental Quality and the Lieutenant Governor’s office that they should have had a larger room well before the Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission meeting. Members from the crowd also said they had personally made calls to the Department of Environmental Protection days ahead of the meeting.

After being shut out of attending the public hearing in person, the landowners headed up stairs at the Rachel Carson Office Building to watch a video cast of the public hearing in an overflow room. Sensing a growing level of frustration in the building, the Commission decided to move as quickly as possible to the public comment section part of the hearing. Yet, the frustration level of the landowners only grew as the first several names called spoke with high praise for both the commission and fracking in Pennsylvania, just days after the spill in Bradford County. According to several in attendance, the order that the speakers were called in did not match the order in which people signed up to speak.  “I signed on at number five. We were directed up here on the second floor where we were told to sign in. I was number five, no other sheet had signatures on it,” said Jet Miskis who traveled several hours to be at the meeting. Dr. Conrad Volz, of the University of Pittsburgh verified this. “Certainly none of these gentleman that were testifying on this list was on the list that I signed.”

As the meeting continued the Commission did begin to call the names of individuals with concerns about fracking in their back yards and near their water supplies. Outside of the overflow room upstairs Chad Sailor, the Communications Director for the Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor’s office, addressed the concerns surrounding both the small venue for this hearing and the order of speakers. Lt. Governor Cawley chairs the Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission.

“It was recommended that this be the space. It was recommended; we took a look at it and we decided that it was adequate space for what we needed.” Sailor said this after being asked if alternative venues could have been arranged. Sailor replied defensively saying, “what do you mean do you want a laundry list of all rooms available?” Sailor was then asked about the disputed speaking order. He first said that the list was determined by a first come first serve basis. It wasn’t until a woman corrected Sailor saying that, “what they did was they read the list that they had down stairs which were the supporters of the gas industry that they allowed in and the protesters that were outside protesting had to sign this sheet here which is why we were given second dibbs.” When Sailor sarcastically replied, “yes, everything is a big conspiracy,” the woman told the communications director that, “I didn’t say that was a conspiracy. It was the absolute truth, I was here, I signed it. I am speaking from fact.”

The Commission did end up listening to comments from all people who signed up on the various lists around the Rachel Connors Office Building. The comments expressed concerns ranging from aquifer and surface water contamination to concerns about toxic emissions released into the air. But almost all of those worried about fracking at the meeting expressed strong feelings of frustration relating to literally being shut out of the dialogue on Wednesday as well as being bought out by industry interests who control both the Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission and the governor’s office in Pennsylvania.

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Gas patch scientists explain how hydraulic fracturing can permanently contaminate public water supplies

May 6, 2011 5 Comments

Accounts from two experts show there are plenty of opportunities for toxic chemicals to enter drinking water supplies

As gas industry leaders prepare to discuss hydraulic fracturing at a congressional field meeting in California and at a Representatives’ briefing in DC, it will be interesting to hear what is said about the possibility of water contamination from hydraulic fracturing.

As recently as a week ago one contamination expert went on the record explaining exactly how the hydraulic fracturing process could contaminate water supplies.  The expert is Dr. Conrad ‘Dan’ Volz, former director of the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Healthy Environments and Communities, who has testified on hydraulic fracturing before Congress and appeared as an expert as part of water contamination investigations on ABC news.

Volz spoke with Checks and Balances Project director Andrew Schenkel last week at a public hearing on fracking in Pennsylvania.

“[Wells] are going to leak and they are going to leak when the cement shrinks and when the cement shrinks it pulls away from the geological layer that it is sealed from and then it serves as a conduit as straight into ground water aquifers,” Volz said. When asked if the chemicals could travel miles upward towards aquifers that lie well above the bottom of hydraulically fracked wells, Volz replied, “of course” (see video below).

Volz’s comments reveal how fracking, like all industrial processes, is an imperfect process. While many in the industry, like Aubrey McClendon of Chesapeake Energy and T.Boone Pickens have repeatedly said that water contamination from fracking simply doesn’t happen, Volz’s remarks point out that not only has contamination occured, but that there is plenty of potential for contamination because of the very nature of what is involved with fracking. The imperfect integrity of the concrete casings that frack wells are lined with is one obvious part of the fracking process that could lead to contamination. There are also complicated pressure dynamics to deal with at the extreme subterranean depths that fracking wells are drilled into.

These complicated processes don’t even take into account the transporting of chemical-laced fracking fluids above ground and the millions of gallons of toxic wastewater that result from a produced well. The diagram below shows several different points of the fracking process where water contamination could occur.

How Natural Gas Drilling Contaminates Drinking Water Sources

During a visit to Colorado in early 2011, Dr. Geoffrey Thyne, a geologist who studies drilling at the Enhanced Oil Recovery Institute at the University of Wyoming, explained to the Checks and Balances Project that the fracking process is most vulnerable to accidental water contamination at the surface. Like Volz, Thyne did agree that there’s certainly possibility of aquifer contamination based on flaws in the concrete casings of fracking wells as well as the other uncertainties that lie underground. But it is above ground that Thyne is most concerned about.

“You are handling millions of gallons of fluid at the surface. It is easy to spill. It happens all the time. Valves jam up, pipes break, this is not without hazard,” Thyne said.

Thyne is well known for his West Divide Creek Study in Colorado, which is widely considered one of the first studies that conclusively linked fracking chemicals to water contamination in Garfield County, Colorado. When talking about the possibility of handling chemicals without causing any contamination, Thyne pointed out that even the most careful handlers of high amounts of chemicals make mistakes. He points to the United States military, which he says conducts the largest scale industrial processes in the world.

“It has an incredibly good safety record, but still things break, things go wrong, somebody doesn’t do a careful enough inspection, sometimes it’s also an act of nature. It is impossible to assure one hundred percent safety in any of these processes.”

Both Volz and Thyne’s comments and research directly refute much of the rhetoric of the oil and gas industry, and even some regulators, who claim with certainty that the hydraulic fracturing process does not contaminate water supplies. This raises many questions, one of which is what happens once contamination occurs. When asked if contamination to something like aquifers could be completely undone, Volz said, “No, you cannot ‘uncontaminate’ it. Not in the way that we think you can uncontaminate it. If it is a confined aquifer there is no ‘uncontaminating’ it.”

The scientists’ comments suggest that there is plenty to be concerned about when it comes to the large-scale hydraulic fracturing taking place in the states like Pennsylvania, Colorado, Wyoming, Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. In all the fracking states there are different regulations, different ways of dealing with fracking fluids and fracking wastewater. And in all of these states, according to the words of these scientists, there is plenty of potential for water contamination from fracking both above and below the ground.

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Breaking from DeSmogBlog

May 6, 2011 1 Comment

DeSmogBlog today released a comprehensive report on the dangers posed by hydraulic fracturing to public drinking water, land and our health. Based on the findings of the report and recent events, DeSmogBlog is calling for a national moratorium on fracking until further independent research demonstrates that the process does not contaminate drinking water, pollute land or impact the global climate.

See DeSmogBlog’s post below and study here.

Fracking the Future: How Unconventional Gas Threatens Our Water, Health and Climate – Report

The United States is at the center of a high profile controversy over the threats posed by unconventional gas drilling, particularly surrounding the industry’s hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and horizontal drilling techniques. Amidst the dirty energy industry’s rush to drill the last of America’s dwindling fossil fuel reserves, a growing number of independent scientists, politicians, environmental organizations and impacted citizens are urging the nation’s lawmakers to adopt a more cautious and informed approach to the fracked gas boom.The oil and gas industry, however, is fighting back against calls for caution, suggesting that it has everything under control – much like it did prior to BP’s offshore drilling disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

In a new report released today, “Fracking the Future: How Unconventional Gas Threatens Water, Health, and Climate,” DeSmogBlog details the concerns that scientists, cancer specialists, ecologists, investigative journalists and others have raised about the unconventional gas boom. Featuring original interviews and unpublicized reports, “Fracking The Future” delves into many of the key issues in the unconventional gas debate.

DeSmogBlog is calling for a nationwide moratorium on fracking, citing the fact that the potential impacts on water, health, and climate appear greater than previously understood. A moratorium is necessary to protect the public while fracking is studied much more thoroughly in order to determine if the risks of this practice outweigh the benefits.

Additionally, since state regulators have failed to safeguard the public from the ill effects of gas fracking, federal health and safety officials must be empowered to hold the gas industry accountable for damage to public health, drinking water and the environment.

The report traces the massive industry lobbying efforts to confuse the public and stifle long-overdue federal oversight of the unconventional gas drilling bonanza. We review the sordid history of industry favoritism by the Bush administration, typified by the infamous Halliburton Loophole, which created a recipe for recklessness that has led to air and water contamination and drilling-related accidents.  But the prioritization of industry greed above public health and safety didn’t start there.

Since the Reagan era, those charged with protecting health and the environment have instead worked with the gas industry to minimize public awareness of its practices, and to hide the early warning signs regarding the inherent dangers of drilling deeper into the Earth for fossil fuels. State agencies have been pressured to accommodate the industry’s increasingly dangerous drilling techniques, and have largely enabled the poor, unmonitored practices common in the industry today.

The gas industry is investing millions of dollars each year to restrict oversight to the state level and thwart all federal involvement. The number of gas industry lobbyists has increased seven-fold in recent years, exhibiting the dangerous political sway the dirty energy industry exercises in Washington and at the local level across the nation.

Industry front groups like Energy in Depth (EID) play a pivotal role in the dissemination of misinformation and efforts to attack and silence those who attempt to call polluters to account.

Despite EID’s claims to represent small, independent “mom and pop” gas producers, internal industry documents uncovered by DeSmogBlog reveal that the group was created with seed funding from Big Oil multinationals. When communicating with its industry friends, EID continues to repeatedly tout the funding it receives from BP, Halliburton, Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and other oil giants that certainly don’t fit the “mom and pop shop” characterization.

With international attention focused on the U.S. experience with unconventional gas, “Fracking the Future” urges a cautious approach and much greater industry transparency.  The public deserves to know the true costs of fracked unconventional gas before allowing the oil and gas industry to carry on with its pursuit of this fossil fuel.

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NYT Editorial: The Return of ‘Drill, Baby, Drill’

May 9, 2011 Leave a comment

With the country again facing $4-a-gallon gasoline, the time would seem ripe for a grown-up conversation on energy. What we are getting instead is a mindless rerun of the drill-baby-drill operatics of the 2008 campaign, when gas was also at $4 a gallon. Then, as now, opportunistic politicians insisted that vastly expanded oil drilling would bring relief at the pump and reduced dependence on foreign oil. Then, as now, these arguments were bogus.

[Read more.]

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THE BALANCE SHEET: May 11, 2011

May 11, 2011 Leave a comment

Our weekly update to unravel the industry and political spin around the energy debate

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

BIG OIL CAUCUS FLIP FLOPS ON SUBSIDIES

House Republicans blocked a vote to end subsidies on Thursday. Meanwhile, politicians continue to call for spending cuts out of one side of their mouth, while defending $4 billion per year in taxpayer subsidies to Big Oil out of the other. Check out what they are saying at C&BP.

BIG OIL EXPOSES THEIR OWN LIES

Yesterday, Fox News commentator Bill Baldwin said, “Gas prices are high for two reasons; number one, the Obama administration is chasing our oil drilling rigs from the Gulf of Mexico down to Brazil.” We can only assume Mr. Baldwin didn’t read the industry report in Friday’s Oil and Gas Journal reporting, “US drilling activity continued increasing…” The number of working drilling units increased to 1,836 from 1,492 at this time last year. Read the story.

BISHOP PLAYS UP OIL CONSPIRACY THEORIES

In what sounded like his own conspiracy theory, Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT) denied the existence of oil subsidies during a convention. When prompted about the subsidies, he claimed it is part of a media conspiracy to fool the public. Think Progress has the video.

BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING CONGRESS

DeSmogBlog on Friday released an expansive report about the oil and gas industry’s overreach and influence in Congress. It is the first of its kind to connect the dots of the industry’s methods of peddling dirty policy and taking American taxpayers’ money. Brendan DeMelle explains at HuffPo.

DID YOU KNOW?

THE U.S. IS NOW AN OIL EXPORTING COUNTRY

Financial Times reported on May 2, “Energy department data show the world’s largest oil consumer in February shipped out 54,000 barrels more petroleum products each day than it purchased on the global market.” This puts former President George W. Bush’s comments on Good Morning America in an interesting light. “I would suggest Americans understand how supply and demand works. And if you restrict supplies of crude, the price of oil is going to go up and it affects gasoline.” Get the real story [subscription required].
COMING UP THIS WEEK

GET YOUR BOXING GLOVES READY

The Senate Finance Committee sits down Thursday to discuss the future of oil subsidies. We’ll be watching to how Big Oil defenders justify sending American oil overseas while American families are paying $4 at the pump.

CONTACT

Twitter: @checksandbals | Email: tips@checksandbalances.org

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Quick Facts: The Obama Energy Agenda & Gas Prices

May 12, 2011 Leave a comment

[Source: WhiteHouse.gov]

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BP and Republican Senator Get Cozy Before Subsidies Hearing

May 12, 2011 1 Comment

Public Campaign Action Fund reports that Sen. Crapo attended a fundraiser hosted by a BP lobbyist just an hour before the Senate Finance Hearing where oil execs, inlcuding BP America CEO Lamar McKary, are set to defend oil subsidies:

Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), a member of a Senate committee holding a hearing today on oil and gas subsidies, was scheduled to attend a fundraiser this morning that was hosted by a lobbyist who represents oil giant BP.

One of the seven hosts for the event is Aleix Jarvis, a lobbyist for DC powerhouse Fierce, Isakowitz & Blalock. Jarvis represents BP for the firm, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics. So far this year, BP has paid the firm $60,000.

[Source.]

As C&BP reported earlier, BP as well as the rest of Big Oil, continues to pump millions in contributions into the Republican House and Senate. Below are the total federal contributions made by Big Oil during the 2009-2010 election cycle:

Company  Political Contributions (Dem)  Political Contributions (GOP)  2010 Lobbying Expenditures
Exxon Mobil  $168,979  $1,211,019  $12,450,000
Chevron  $160,049  $772,000  $12,890,000
ConocoPhillips  $133,141  $323,343  $19,626,382
Shell  $10,370,000
BP  $31,500  $35,000  $7,335,000
Total  $493,669  $2,341,363  $62,671,382

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GOP’s Defense For Oil Subsidies Only Worth Pennies

May 12, 2011 1 Comment

The GOP’s tired defense for shelling out billions of dollars in subsidies to Big Oil is getting some push back this week. Democrats are making the case on Capitol Hill as to why these dirty energy corporations do not need extended welfare from the federal government.

Nicholas Kusnetz of ProPublica reports:

Most experts agree, however, that the tax incentives in question don’t have much effect on gasoline prices, one way or the other.

“The impact would be extremely small,” said Stephen Brown, a professor of economics at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Brown co-wrote a study in 2009 [3] arguing that if the subsidies were cut, the average person would spend, at most, just over $2 more each year on petroleum products.

[Source.]

While Republicans can argue that the extra $2 a year is added cost for the consumer, it is hardly a burden. These are mere pennies compared to the billions Americans shell out each year.

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BREAKING: Checks and Balances Project Video Star Running for Office

May 16, 2011 Leave a comment

Dana Dolney, the woman many in Pennsylvania know for standing up for her right to be heard at a public meeting, says she is going to run for the Democratic nomination for County Executive in Alleghany County. The Checks and Balances Project posted an interview Dolney gave in April, at a fracking information meeting in Harrisburg. Dolney says after that video was replayed on a local news station and various websites, several of her neighbors encouraged her to join the primary race.

“I think that the citizens of Alleghany County have the right to a candidate who is not in the back pocket of the natural gas industry,” said Dolney during an interview with Checks and Balances Project Director Andrew Schenkel. Mark Patrick Flaherty and Richard Fitzgerald are the two other candidates in the Democratic primary, which will be held Tuesday.

Dolney, a breast cancer survivor and community organizer, says she became interested in the fracking issue because of her own health problems.

“After beating breast cancer, I became obsessed with prevention. Then I see that Pennsylvania allows potentially damaging chemicals to just be dumped in our waterways. Anyone who is about preventing health problems would be against this,” said Dolney.

Now, after more than 18,000 people saw her video, Dolney says she sees this as an opportunity to raise awareness about the health risks caused by hydraulic fracturing. While she doesn’t expect to win the primary with so little time before the polls open, Dolney says she may try to run in November as a third party candidate or just inspire someone else to take up her cause.

The video of Dolney explaining to a member of the Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor’s staff exactly how citizens were being shut out of a fracking public hearing in Harrisburg can be seen below.

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THE BALANCE SHEET: MAY 16, 2011

May 17, 2011 Leave a comment

Our weekly update to unravel the industry and political spin around the energy debate

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

CUTTING OIL SUBSIDIES DOES NOT HURT THE CONSUMER

ProPublica brought some much needed attention to a Resources for the Future report showing that cutting taxpayer-funded, corporate welfare to Big Oil would only cost the average American about $2 per year.

BIG OIL AND CONGRESS GET COZY

On Thursday, Public Campaign Action Fund reported that Sen. Mike Crapo (R-KA) was scheduled to attend a BP-hosted fundraiser just an hour before BP America CEO Lamar McKay and other Big Oil executives testified to the Senate Finance Committee. Read more about BP’s influence.

HATCH EQUATES DRIVING YOUR KID TO SCHOOL WITH BUYING A LATTE

In last week’s Senate Committee on Finance hearing, Senator Orrin Hatch proved he’s completely out of touch with the pain American families are feeling from energy prices and proceeded to compare $4/gallon gas with an increase in buying coffee or movie tickets. Has Senator Hatch used a double-pump, half-caf latte to fill the tank when taking the Hummer out for a spin? Jennifer Dhlouy at FuelFix has the story.

MATTERS BUT NOT TO JOE BARTON

Rep. Joe Barton, who famously apologized to BP when they were told they had to pay for the worst oil spill in American history, now wants people to stop referring to oil companies as “Big Oil.” Apparently an industry that pulls in $32 billion in profits in just three months is very self-conscious about it’s size. Wonk Room has the story.

FIND YOUR NEAREST ‘FRACCIDENT’

Earthjustice has created a nifty map of ‘fraccidents:’ sites across the country reporting “poisoned water, polluted air, mysterious animal deaths, industrial disasters and explosions” brought on by hydraulic fracturing. See the map and state-by-state break out.

DID YOU KNOW?

Tea Party website climatechange.org reports Republicans in the House of Representatives are flocking to support a bill to extend and create a number of taxpayer-funded subsidies. Nearly eighty House Republicans (and a hundred Democrats) have signed up as sponsors of H. R. 1380, the New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions Act (or NAT GAS Act).

COMING UP THIS WEEK

COSTLY VACATIONS

Members of Congress are home to explain to their constituents why they continue to support billion-dollar subsidies to the oil and gas industry. Meanwhile, American taxpayers continue to shell out $10.9 million/day in welfare to corporations that recently reported record profits.

CONTACT

Twitter: @checksandbals | Email: tips@checksandbalances.org

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Oil & gas supported senators return the favor

May 18, 2011 2 Comments

Tuesday night’s vote in the Senate was telling. The vote was on a motion to proceed on S. 90, the Close Big Oil Tax Loopholes Act. If the bill had passed, over the next 10 years $21 billion taxpayer dollars would have stopped flowing into Big Oil’s bank accounts. Instead, that money would have been used to help pay down our national deficit.

oil and gas contributions breakdown

It seems like a slam dunk. The top five oil and gas companies made a combined $32 billion in profit the first quarter of this year. In just three months, five companies made so much money that even after they were done paying their employees and their overhead costs and all their bills, they still had $32 billion left. And then those companies turned to the American people, the same people who paid that $32 billion, one $4 gallon of gas at a time, and cried financial distress and said they need billions more.

The American people didn’t believe them. A recent poll shows 74% of Americans want to end Big Oil tax breaks. But some Washington politicians believed Big Oil. To be exact, 48 senators who have received a total of $21 million in campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry believed them. Another 52 senators didn’t believe Big Oil needs billions in tax dollars, maybe that’s because those senators only received $7 million from oil and gas companies.

And no, those numbers aren’t backward. The motion passed by a simple majority, but did not have enough support to overcome a filibuster.

Tuesday night’s senate vote was a sad commentary on the priorities of our elected officials. It shows that even in the face to overwhelming popular opinion, some of them will continue to support the corporate masters who fill their campaign accounts.

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Barrasso continues push for Big Oil handouts, despite cost to health, western landscape

May 19, 2011 Leave a comment

On Thursday, just days after voting to protect $21 billion in corporate welfare for oil and gas corporations, Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) submitted legislation rolling back water, air, and wildlife protections to drilling impacts.

A few key facts about oil and gas drilling on public lands:

  • Oil and gas companies have recklessly polluted our air, creating significant ozone pollution issues in Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado. In fact, drilling activities in rural Wyoming increased ozone pollution to levels in violation of federal standards 13 times this past winter. http://bit.ly/iJ7hop
  • Oil and gas companies have failed to ensure responsible development that respects wildlife resources. In Wyoming’s Pinedale Anticline region, mule deer populations declined by over 50 percent. http://nyti.ms/ltBCMJ
  • Access to drilling is simply not an issue on our public lands:

Onshore drilling permits are expected to increase 40% this year.
Oil and gas companies fail to develop 57 percent of their existing leases.
Oil and gas companies have failed to develop nearly 7,200 onshore oil and gas permits where they have a green light to drill.

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America’s Natural Gas Alliance Targets Cornell Research Professor in Smear Campaign

May 24, 2011 4 Comments

The gas industry has embarked on another discreditation campaign, this time against a research professor at Cornell University.

Robert Howarth is a biogeochemist and ecosystem scientist who recently authored a study that said gas may produce as much greenhouse gas emissions as coal production. Howarth’s study has gained much attention, especially from the America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA), who apparently felt so threatened by Howarth’s work that they embarked on a discreditation campaign.

All one has to do is give ‘Howarth’ a quick Google search to notice that the first thing that pops up is a smear campaign against the professor. The first link from the search result takes you to the ANGA site where several “experts” explain why they think the study is wrong.

“It used to be that if you Googled my name and my boring lab site at Cornell University was the top pick up. Now there’s an ad from the gas industry which has a critique of why my science is wrong. They are trying hard to push back,” said Howarth.

As for the criticisms made by those on the America’s Natural Gas Alliance, Howarth describes them as being “way off base,” and indicative of the fact that the experts may not have even read his report.  “They say things like we didn’t consider the electricity generation and we did. It is in there. You just have to read our paper,” he said.

Others involved in the Cornell study like Anthony Ingraffea, say the attacks on the study and those who conducted it have become personal, which he says he expected. “For the industry to take an approach that attacks Bob and indirectly me, my name is mentioned, is not a good way to conduct a scientific response to what we think is a scientific inquiry. So I am disappointed but not surprised,” Ingraffea said.

Discredidation campaigns have been a frequent concern of citizens who have tried to speak out about fears surrounding gas production. In western Colorado several landowners have described what they call, “economic blackmail” as means of silencing any landowner fears that hydraulic fracturing, or fracking as it is known, is contaminating water supplies and causing other health problems. Another Colorado researcher, who now teaches at the University of Wyoming, says he lost his job at the Colorado School of Mines after doing a study that linked fracking to contamination in the West Divide Creek in Garfield County, Colorado. And as recently as April, citizens in Pennsylvania expressed frustration at the fact they were allowed to speak at a public hearing in Harrisburg, only after several pro-industry voices got speak first.

Now, thanks to some cash from the America’s Natural Gas Alliance, it appears scientists from Cornell University are the latest to have their reputations sullied by the gas industry.

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Issa and committee Republicans received nearly a half-million in Big Oil money prior to ‘oversight’ report

May 24, 2011 1 Comment

Today, the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform released a 40-page report in an attempt to shift blame for the recent increase in gasoline prices away from Big Oil.

Chairman Darrell Issa and his Republican colleagues on the committee took in a grand total of $453,910 dollars from the oil and gas industry during the last election cycle. By contrast, the committee Democrats received $67,400.

“Today, the hundreds of thousands of dollars in Big Oil campaign contributions look a lot more like book royalties for defending Big Oil,” said Matthew Garrington, Denver-based deputy director of the Checks & Balances Project. “After accepting all that money, Chairman Issa and his fellow Republicans have written a grand conspiracy story to defend Big Oil in the face of high gas prices.”

“There’s nothing like a reading a good work of fiction,” continued Garrington. “I’ll have a glass of milk and a small plate of cookies to enjoy while I read Issa and company’s latest attempt to help the oil and gas industry, since obviously protecting $4 billion per year in taxpayer handouts a few weeks ago wasn’t enough.”

2010 election cycle oil and gas industry contributions*:

Name District

Amount
Rep. James Lankford OK-5

 $119,960.00
Rep. Darrell Issa CA-49

 $46,000.00
Rep. Blake Farenthold TX-27

 $41,850.00
Rep. Pat Meehan PA-7

 $40,450.00
Rep. Tim Walberg MI-7

 $30,650.00
Rep. Jason Chaffetz UT-03

 $21,500.00
Rep. John Mica FL-07

 $20,500.00
Rep. Dennis Ross FL-12

 $19,000.00
Rep. Mike Kelly PA-3

 $17,250.00
Rep. Trey Gowdy SC-4

 $15,250.00
Rep. Frank Guinta NH-1

 $14,000.00
Dr. Paul Gosar AZ-1

 $13,000.00
Dr. Scott DesJarlais TN-4

 $10,300.00
Rep. Connie Mack FL-14

 $10,000.00
Rep. Jim Jordan OH-04

 $9,250.00
Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle NY-25

 $8,250.00
Rep. Patrick McHenry NC-10

 $5,000.00
Rep. Todd Platts PA-19

 $4,400.00
Rep. Dan Burton IN-05

 $2,800.00
Rep. Raul Labrador ID-1

 $2,000.00
Rep. Justin Amash MI-3

 $1,500.00
Rep. Michael Turner OH-03

 $1,000.00
Rep. Joe Walsh IL-8

 $-
Total

 $453,910.00

Drilling by the numbers:

The United States is a world leader in oil and gas production:

  • The United States is the world’s third largest producer of oil in the world, producing about 9.1 billion barrels of oil per day. http://1.usa.gov/mLw8yA
  • The United States is the world’s leading producer of natural gas, producing 26.2 billion cubic feet per year. http://1.usa.gov/mtkffZ
  • More drilling rigs are located within the United States than all other countries in the world combined (United States: 1,830; Canada 143; all other countries, 1129). http://bit.ly/iu6n11
  • Oil and gas companies receive over $15 billion in taxpayer subsidies each year. http://bit.ly/lQ80Uk
  • President Obama targeted $43 billion in taxpayer subsidies over 10 years in his FY12 budget proposal. http://1.usa.gov/hzYwLZ


Access to drilling is simply not an issue on our public lands:

  • Oil and gas companies have failed to develop nearly 7,200 onshore oil and gas permits where they have a green light to drill. http://nyti.ms/mpMkVS

*Data from www.opensecrets.org

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Elijah Cummings: GOP attack is Palinesque – Politico 05/24/11

May 24, 2011 Leave a comment

Robin Bravender | May 24, 2011 | Reposted from Politico

Oversight committee Republicans led by Issa this week accused the administration of “pursuing an agenda to raise the price Americans pay for energy” in order to advance its renewable energy agenda. It’s been a familiar theme for Republicans — not just Palin — as prices have spiked amid recent months of turmoil across the Middle East.

Meanwhile, the government oversight group Checks & Balances Project blasted Oversight committee Republicans on Tuesday for raking in more campaign contributions from Big Oil than their Democratic colleagues as they attempt to pin blame for rising prices on the administration.

Issa and other GOP committee members accepted $453,910 dollars from the oil and gas industry during the last election cycle, the group found, compared with $67,400 received by committee Democrats. The group attributed the data to the Center for Responsive Politics’s website, www.opensecrets.org.

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Just another Natural Resources Committee hearing

May 26, 2011 1 Comment

The House Natural Resources Committee met yesterday for a hearing titled, “Harnessing American Resources to Create Jobs and Address Rising Gasoline Prices – Part III: Impacts on Seniors, Working Families and Memorial Day Vacations.”

The hearing seems to have generated about as much interest as another trequel, “Police Academy 3: Back in Training.” The majority invited three witnesses who all did their part to support the hearing’s title by stating that high energy prices do, in fact, affect senior, working families and people traveling for vacation. You can read the committee’s press release for a summation of each of the majority’s witnesses’ remarks.

What you won’t read in that release are the remarks of a rising star on the energy stage, Truman National Security Project Fellow Drew Sloan. Mr. Sloan, a two-tour Afghanistan veteran and winner of a bronze star and a purple heart, works at OPower, a northern Virginia, energy-efficiency company. His remarks on the national security and economic needs to move our nation to renewable energy were reasoned and respectful. Unfortunately, they seem to have been omitted from the committee’s press release. The Checks and Balances Project is looking for the hearing transcript and will publish his remarks as soon as we can locate it.

One of Mr. Sloan’s remarks that had us laughing came in response to Rep. John Fleming’s (R-LA-04) assertion that he’s never met anyone with a green job. Mr. Sloan simply raised his hand and said that he has a green job. There was no response from Rep. Fleming, but that could be because Rep. Doug Lamborn, who was chairing the event, ended the speaking portion halfway through Mr. Sloan’s sentence.

Speaking of Rep. Fleming, he also said that the government doesn’t give any subsidies to Big Oil. This seems strange since the Senate just held a vote on whether or not to end $21 million of those subsidies. It is worth noting Rep. Fleming has taken $248,350 from Big Oil over the course of his 2.5 or so years in Congress. That’s about $99,000 per year.

fleming campaign money

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Unused land leases limit tourism and contribute to high gas prices

May 26, 2011 3 Comments

As we head into the Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial start of the summer travel season, families are feeling the pinch from high gas prices. Unfortunately, instead of pushing for real solutions to help Americans save money and drive our nation toward energy independence, the oil and gas industry lobby continues demanding more government handouts, including reckless development of our public lands and ending common sense protections for the land, water, and air on which American families and businesses depend. Responsible energy development means protecting the land, rivers, and lakes western states need for their outdoor recreation and tourism industries and that Americans enjoy on their Memorial Day weekend and summer vacations.

Outdoor recreation is a significant part of America’s economy, contributing over $730 billion nationally. In 2010, more than 137.9 million Americans, age 6 or older, participated in at least one outdoor activity.

Moreover, access to public lands for drilling is not an issue. The simple truth is that the oil and gas industry has failed to develop 57 percent of its current leases as well as 7,200 permits where they have a green light to drill.

Outdoor recreation business leaders and user groups support responsible energy development. That way we can ensure Americans can continue to visit their favorite vacation spots on future Memorial Days and provide jobs to the of thousands of men and women who work in the outdoor recreation industry.

Outdoor recreation & tourism in the Intermountain West

  Outdoor recreation industry annual state economic contribution[1] Outdoor recreation industry related jobs[2] All direct travel and tourism jobs[3]
Colorado $10 billion 107,000 357,721
Montana $2.5 billion 34,000 71,216
New Mexico $3.8 billion 47,000 119,974
Utah $5.8 billion 65,000 151,334
Wyoming $4.4 billion 52,000 42,429

Drilling by the numbers

Access to drilling is simply not an issue on our public lands:

  • Onshore drilling permits are expected to increase over 40% in 2011. (U.S. Dept. of Interior)
  • Oil and gas companies have yet to develop 57 percent of their existing onshore leases nationally. (U.S. Dept. of Interior)
  • Oil and gas companies yet to develop nearly 7,200 onshore oil and gas permits nationally where they have a green light to drill. (New York Times)

The United States is a world leader in oil and gas production

  • The U.S. is the world’s third largest producer of oil in the world, producing about 9.1 billion barrels of oil per day. (Energy Information Administration)
  • The U.S. is the world’s leading producer of natural gas, producing 26.2 billion cubic feet per year. (Energy Information Administration)
  • More drilling rigs are located within the United States than all other countries in the world combined – U.S.: 1,830; Canada 143; all other countries, 1129. (Baker Hughes)
  • Oil and gas companies receive over $15 billion in taxpayer subsidies each year. (Taxpayers for Common Sense)
  • President Obama targeted $43 billion in taxpayer subsidies over 10 years in his FY12 budget proposal. (White House)
  • While the U.S. does important significant levels of crude oil, the U.S. is now a net exporter of petroleum products and selling refined oil and diesel oil abroad. (Energy Information administration)

[1] “State by State Active Outdoor Recreation Economy Report,” Outdoor Industry Association, http://www.outdoorindustry.org/research.php?action=detail&research_id=52

[2] Ibid.

[3] :EPS-HDT: Socioeconomic Profiles,” Headwaters Economics, http://headwaterseconomics.org/tools/eps-hdt

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Oil and gas spills has negative impact hunting and fishing recreation, local economies

May 26, 2011 1 Comment

On Thursday, the Bull Moose Sportsmen’s Alliance released a report that shows impacts of oil and gas spills on some of America’s most prized areas for hunting and fishing. Hunting and fishing has an enormous impact on the nation’s economy – more than $76 billion per year.

The report analyzed three Colorado counties, Ro Blanco, Mesa and Garfield, that sit in the Piceance Basin, an area with a high level of drilling activity and a popular spot for hunting and fishing.

Some key findings:

  • From 2001 to 2010, there were 992 oil and gas spills reported in the three-county region resulting in at 5.6 million gallons of wastewater, oil and other fluids being spilled into the local waterways.
  • About 91 percent of the oil and gas fluids spilled in the three counties from 2001 to 2010 was waste water, also known as produced water.  That water can contain salt, oil and grease, along with naturally occurring radioactive material and inorganic and organic compounds.
  • Equipment failure was the leading cause for spills in Garfield, Rio Blanco, and Mesa counties. At least 49 percent of the 992 spills were caused by faulty equipment.

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THE BALANCE SHEET: June 02, 2011

June 2, 2011 Leave a comment

Our weekly update to unravel the industry and political spin around the energy debate


IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

INDUSTRY ROYALTIES INFLUENCE OVERSIGHT REPORT

Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa and committee Republicans collected $453,910 from the oil and gas industry during the last election cycle, compared to Democrats’ $67,400. Last week, Issa and his fellow Republicans released a 40-page report that attempted to shift blame for the increase in gas prices away from Big Oil. Committee Democrats released their own report calling on action to address the role of speculation in high gas prices.

NATURAL GAS ASSOC. SMEARS PROFESSOR

Robert Howarth, who recently authored a study that said gas may produce as much greenhouse gas emissions as coal production, has become the target of a Google Ads smear campaign by the America’s Natural Gas Association (ANGA). See the Google ad.

SLOAN VS. FLEMING

Drew Sloan, Truman National Security Project Fellow and decorated war veteran, gave a riveting testimony during another rhetoric-fueled House Natural Resources Committee hearing, sparring with Rep. John Fleming (R-LA-04, $248,35 in Big Oil contributions) over the definition of green jobs.

OIL AND GAS SPILLS HURT OUTDOOR RECREATION

The Bull Moose Sportsmen’s Alliance released a report that shows impacts of oil and gas spills on some of America’s most prized areas for hunting and fishing. Hunting and fishing yields $76 billion annually for America’s economy.


DID YOU KNOW?

Nearly 57 percent of oil and gas land leases across America’s great outdoors went unused over the Memorial Day weekend, as Big Oil clamors for more public land. That same public land houses the outdoor recreation industry, which contributes over $730 billion to the American economy and provides tens of thousands of jobs.


COMING UP THIS WEEK

THE SCIENCE FICTION OF OIL SHALE

On Friday, the House Subcommittee on Energy and Power will discuss “energy legislation” which seeks to expedite 200 new nuclear power plants (Fukishima, what?) and attempts to spin a science fiction tale where oil shale somehow addresses high gas prices – despite nearly a century of failure by industry to produce oil shale commercially in the U.S.


CONTACT

Twitter: @checksandbals | Email: tips@checksandbalances.org

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New white paper highlights a hundred years of quotes where industry, politicians hail new energy source

June 2, 2011 Leave a comment

Oil Shale, a century-old science fiction story


Washington – The Checks and Balances Project today released an analysis of the rhetoric that politicians and oil industry executives have used over the last century to portray oil shale as a viable energy solution. This, in spite of the fact that the oil and gas industry has failed to produce oil shale commercially in the United States under either Republican or Democratic administrations.

“For the last century, politicians and oil industry executives have been telling the greatest science fiction story in America, that oil shale will soon save America from our energy woes,” said Matt Garrington, Deputy Director of the Checks and Balances Project. “Oil shale amounts to one hundred years of empty promises and failures. We need an honest debate on energy policy that looks at the reality and shortcomings of oil shale.”

In their memo entitled “Oil Shale: a century-old science fiction story,” the Checks and Balances Project used Google News Archives and LexisNexis to examine samples from a search turning up more than 84,000 news articles mentioning oil shale, beginning around 1910 and continuing to 1980. The data demonstrates that for the last century politicians and industry have described oil shale production as being “right around the corner” or even just a few years away from production.

In 1917, the Christian Science Monitor reported on the promise of oil shale and that “preparations are underway for the development of the fields this spring.”

In the 1920’s, when new oil shale deposits were being discovered in western states, a December 30, 1922 Berkeley Daily Gazette headline read, “Shale will supply oil to nation soon.”

The Kentucky New Era, in 1946 reported, “Scientists forecast that within three years they can demonstrate a practical method of [oil shale] operation.”

A century of research and billions of investment dollars later, oil shale remains elusive. But as oil prices spike, some politicians are still claiming the “rock that burns” is the answer.

At a March 17, 2011 hearing, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings said, “The U.S. Geological Survey estimates [oil shale reserves] to be greater than one and a half trillion barrels of oil. The best way for the United States to insulate themselves long-term from unpredictable world events and rising gasoline prices is to produce more energy here at home.”

The Checks and Balance Project is calling on Hastings and other leaders to have an honest conversation about the viability of oil shale and acknowledge that it cannot address our current struggle with high gas prices.

[Download Full Report] [Contact] [Short Link: http://bit.ly/oilscific ]

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THE BALANCE SHEET | JUNE 07, 2011

June 7, 2011 Leave a comment

Our weekly update to unravel the industry and political spin around the energy debate


IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

OIL SHALE – A CENTURY-OLD SCIENCE FICTION STORY

After nearly a century of oil shale being ‘just around the corner’ from development, it has failed to become a viable energy resource. In a new report, The Checks and Balances Project dates the science fiction back to the 1910’s as Sen. Barrasso (R-WY), Rep. Bishop (R-UT-01), Chairman Doc Hastings and others continue to push it as a viable solution to current high gas prices.

SPEAKING OF JOHN BARRASSO…

In a new profile on wyofile.com, former Washington Post reporter John Lancaster reviews the handful of years Wyoming’s junior senator has spent on the hill. Lancaster highlights Barrasso’s noticeable change on climate change and environmental policy, including the commitment he’s shown to the oil and gas industries who fund his campaigns.

SALT LAKE TRIBUNE SLAMS SENS. HATCH AND LEE FOR BUYING SNAKE OIL

Utahans have a lot to be concerned about considering both Sens. Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee appear determined to support dirty energy. Utahans alone pay $141 million a year in tax breaks to oil and gas companies. And both Hatch and Lee sponsored Senator Barrasso’s new government public lands handout to oil and gas, the so-called American Energy and Western Jobs Act. The Salt Lake Tribune said they should be “ashamed of themselves for buying the snake oil.”

DID YOU KNOW?

While visiting a coal industry group in Kentucky, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) slammed the Environmental Protection Agency, saying it had “declared war on coal.” The Huffington Post reports that “McConnell is the top recipient in Congress with campaign contributions from the coal-mining industry,” adding up to $485,000 during his time in office.

COMING UP THIS WEEK

THREATS FACING AMERICA’S LAND, WATER AND WILDLIFE 

On Wednesday, June 8, Former Interior Secretary and Arizona Governor Bruce Babbitt will be at the National Press Club to discuss the urgent threats facing America’s land, water and wildlife. According to the announcement from the Conservation Lands Foundation, “At this critical juncture for our public lands, House leaders in Washington, D.C. are working to fundamentally undermine the nation’s environmental laws. Secretary Babbitt will provide a critical take on many recent policy decisions and missed opportunities.”

Secretary Babbitt begins speaking at 1:00 PM. A live webcast is available for those who cannot attend. For more information, contact Danielle Murray at danielle@conservationlands.org.

CONTACT

Twitter: @checksandbals | Email: tips@checksandbalances.org

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Discrepancies between oral, written testimonies on oil shale

June 7, 2011 2 Comments

James Bartis, senior policy researcher for Rand Corporation, testified this morning before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on oil shale. His second appearance before Congress has added to the confusion around the failed energy solution.

Tuesday, June 07

In response to a question from Sen. Joe Manchin about whether the “country could be energy independent if we use the resources we have available,” Bartis said:

“We have so much oil shale, coal, and biomass, that together it is easy to see that we could be using, making, well over 5 to 6 million barrels per day, from these resources alone. Combine that with efficiency measures and I think we could easily make that. But we have, we have to unleash these other fuels.”

Yet, in his written testimony to the ENR Committee, Mr. Bartis’ says oil shale development in the U.S. is still “uncertain” and recommends:

“The prospects for oil shale development in the United States remain uncertain. With regard to oil shale, most of the high-grade shale is on federal lands. Six years ago, when we published our examination of oil shale, we concluded that the prospects for development were uncertain. They remain so today.”

[…]

“It is our understanding that privately-funded research activities are ongoing but that no private firm is prepared to commit to commercial [oil shale] production.”

[…]

“It would not be advisable to develop detailed regulations that would pertain to full-blown commercial development until more information is available on process performance and impacts.”

Despite nearly a century of failed research and trillions of dollars wasted, Bartis told the committee oil shale is a viable energy solution, disputing the facts in his own written testimony.

Friday, June 03

In his written testimony to a House Energy and Power subcommittee, Bartis said:

“none of these [oil shale development firms] has gathered enough technical information adequate to support a decision to invest hundreds of millions, and more likely billions, of dollars in first-of-a-kind commercial oil shale production facilities.”

[…]

“I see no reason to promote oil shale as above other promising areas for advancing technology and creating jobs.”

Bartis’ oral testimony continues the nearly 100 years of false promises of oil shale, while his written testimony affirms that we still do not know how or whether the U.S. will ever develop oil shale.

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Please sir, I want some more

June 9, 2011 1 Comment

Wednesday, American Petroleum Institute (API) President (and the oil industry’s chief Oliver Twist impersonator) Jack Gerard held a conference call to announce, “a new API advertising and grassroots campaign to address solutions to a struggling economy.” Gerard claimed if the government opens millions of acres of American land for drilling, then Big Oil can meet 92% of America’s fuel needs by 2030 with North American oil.

Checks and Balances Deputy Director Matt Garrington joined API’s call in hopes to ask Mr. Gerard about the more than 7,000 drilling permits Big Oil is letting languish, or why Americans should be forced to consider Medicare cuts while Big Oil evades $15 billion a year in taxes, or at least how the U.S. became a petroleum exporter this year, if access to drilling is such a problem. Unfortunately, after learning that Matt is with the Checks and Balances Project, API refused to let him ask a question.

Here are our questions:

  1. In light of the facts that oil and gas companies are already sitting on 7,200 onshore permits with a green light to drill, and in the last year the U.S. Department of Interior has approved 55 shallow-water permits, 40 deepwater drilling permits approved for 15 wells that require subsea containment and 40 permits for deepwater activities not requiring subsea containment as well as a projected 40 percent increase in onshore permits, how can oil companies claim that over-regulation is stopping development and driving up gas prices?
  2. The EIA reports that the U.S. is now a net exporter of petroleum products. If oil and gas companies are trying to use lack of dependency on imports from foreign countries as a justification for increased drilling, aren’t they being hypocritical by turning around and selling domestically produced gasoline and diesel fuel to Canada and Mexico?
  3. If you want to talk about solutions for a struggling economy, after reporting profits totaling $32 billion in the first quarter, that’s profits and not revenue, how can oil companies claim to still need billions in taxpayer funded, corporate welfare?
  4. Why are you calling for increased access to drill on public lands when oil and gas companies already have 41 million acres of used land out West? If you’re not using the land you have already leased, why do you need more?

“It is amazing the type of snake oil the API is willing to sell to the American public,” said Garrington. “Right now they are using high gas prices to take political advantage of the public and ask for more handouts.”

Gerard also mentioned the U.S. has enough oil shale in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah to triple the amount of Saudi Arabia’s oil reserves.

We discovered the Christian Science Monitor said something similar, “Thousands of acres of land in the rich oil shale area in western Colorado, productive of unlimited combustible and munitions material, have been filed on recently by Colorado and eastern syndicates, and preparations are underway for the development of the fields this spring.” The problem is that the Monitor published that news in 1917. Oil shale is a century-old fairytale where industry has hailed it as our savior to high gas prices.

Gerard had nothing new to say on yesterday’s call and threw out a bunch of numbers with little to no foundation in fact. Maybe next time he’ll let us ask a question.

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From The Hill: Smart energy choices are the key to the future

June 10, 2011 1 Comment

[This op-ed was originally featured on The Hill.]
By Randy Udall

Americans love panaceas. We want thinner thighs in thirty days, a pill to cure baldness, an ultrasonic gizmo to double our mileage. Cheap gasoline isn’t guaranteed by the Constitution, but each time oil prices spike, politicians squirm as if it was.

Unfortunately, energy is an IQ test they tend to fail. For example, a recent bill introduced in the House of Representatives would require the Department of Defense to buy a $1 billion coal-to-liquids plant. If DOD is going to waterboard the climate, put Rumsfeld in charge.

Smart energy choices are the key to the future. With oil trading for $100, the biggest threat to middle-class prosperity is parked in the garage. U.S. fleet efficiency has barely budged since 1990, rising just 2 miles-per-gallon. With a typical family now spending one in every 11 dollars it earns on fuel, guzzlers are driving us to the poor house, tipping the economy towards a double-dip recession.

The same House bill hopes to jumpstart oil shale development. Oil shale is the world’s most misunderstood resource, the petroleum equivalent of fool’s gold. Although there are trillions of tons of it around the globe, oil shale currently provides only one-ten-thousandths of global energy, less than cow manure.

Oil shale has been “just around the corner” for a hundred years. A solid fuel, with just one-fourth the energy content of coal, it is much different than, but sometimes confused with, the shale gas and shale oil that are being produced in Texas, Pennsylvania, Arkansas, and elsewhere. Shale oil production in North Dakota alone is now about 25-times larger than global production of oil shale.

Half the world’s oil shale is in Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah, but locals are not holding our breath waiting for its arrival. Like a mirage on the highway, oil shale recedes as you approach it. When a barrel of oil was selling for $1, oil shale promoters said we’ll be ready when it hits $3. When petroleum was $10, oil shale would make sense at $30. It’s been “ten years away” for a century.

“Scientists forecast that within three years they can demonstrate a practical method of [oil shale] operation,” said one Kentucky newspaper in 1946.

Before too many years, oil shale will “undoubtedly” play an important role in meeting growing fuel demands, said a U.S. Department of Interior official in 1953.

“The oil shale reserves in Utah and Colorado are going to be a lifesaver,” said Reese Taylor, chairman of Union Oil Company in 1956.

Drill, baby, drill? We are drilling, like crazy. More than half the drilling rigs in the world are at work in North America. With oil exports peaking, we need to get real about energy conservation.

An aggressive national commitment to fuel efficiency-not the token on-again, off-again policies of the past—is not optional, it’s urgent and inevitable. With billions in taxpayer handouts and government support, oil shale might provide 100,000 barrels a day ten years from now, but that’s as much as we now consume every eight minutes. Increasing the woeful fuel efficiency of America’s automobiles by just two more miles per gallon would save twenty times as much fuel each year, saving consumers more than $50 billion at the pump.

A century of hype aside, oil shale seems destined to remain the poorest of the fossil fuels, containing far less energy per ton than hog manure, peat moss, household garbage, or Cap’n Crunch.

Randy Udall of Carbondale, Colorado is a consulting energy analyst and one of the nation’s leading activists in promoting energy sustainability. He is the former Director of the Community Office for Resource Efficiency (CORE) in western Colorado.

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THE BALANCE SHEET | June 14, 2011

June 14, 2011 Leave a comment

Our weekly update to unravel the industry and political spin around the energy debate

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

WHAT’S YOUR ENERGY IQ?

Energy analyst and cofounder of the Association of Peak Oil & Gas USA, Randy Udall, challenged industry representatives and pro-oil shale politicians on their knowledge of energy production in America in The Hill’s Congress Blog. He said locals out West are not holding their breath for oil shale production, which has clocked over 100 years of failure to commercially produce oil.

CHECKS & BALANCES ATTEMPTS TO UNTWIST API ENERGY SOLUTIONS

Wednesday, American Petroleum Institute (API) President (and the oil industry’s chief Oliver Twist impersonator) Jack Gerard held a conference call to pickpocket the American public out of more taxpayer handouts and public land giveaways. The Checks and Balances Project joined the call hoping to get to the bottom of why industry needed more handouts when it failed to develop over 7,000 existing drilling permits, or why tax subsidies are still needed when the top five oil companies reported $32 billion in 2011, first-quarter profits. Sadly, we were denied an opportunity to ask questions on the call. Read our list of questions.

CLOUDY WITH A SIDE OF OIL SHALE

James Bartis, senior policy researcher for Rand Corporation, testified twice before Congress on the possibilities of oil shale. Oddly, his testimonies contradicted his own research and written statements, which clearly show that oil shale is a failed effort: “No private firm is prepared to commit to commercial [oil shale] production.”


DID YOU KNOW?

Speculators now own about 70 percent of oil delivery contracts or futures markets, up from just 30 percent prior to 1990. Even Goldman Sachs analysts admitted that speculation probably added at least $27 per barrel, and last week ThinkProgress reported that Koch Industries, the nation’s largest, privately owned oil interest, is actively involved in oil speculation.


COMING UP THIS WEEK

DOC ON DECK

Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (R-WA-04) continues play the blame game on oil production in an upcoming House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources hearing, this time accusing the Obama administration of blocking development in Alaska. It seems Doc has a case of selective memory loss. Just last month, The New York Times reported that President Obama intended, “to hold annual auctions for oil and gas leases in the Alaska National Petroleum Reserve, a 23-million-acre tract on the North Slope of Alaska.” This looks like Doc wasting more taxpayer dollars to try and score points against the Obama administration.


CONTACT

Twitter: @checksandbals | Email: tips@checksandbalances.org

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THE BALANCE SHEET | June 21, 2011

June 21, 2011 Leave a comment

Our weekly update to unravel the industry and political spin around the energy debate

 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

BROWN ADS BANNED

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority last week banned a set of ads from 350.org for being too controversial. The ads demonstrate the influence dirty energy corporations have over members of Congress. In this case, Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) received $1.9M in dirty energy campaign funds. Blue Mass Group pulls together an interesting round of ads MBTA also finds unacceptable.

AN OPEN LAND USE POLICY

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) officials in Cody, WY announced a series of public hearings to determine the region’s land use for the next 20 years. BLM’s open and transparent process is exactly how western land use should be decided, so that the people who live there have a say. Public comment is open until July 20, so anyone in the Cody area with concerns or input should be sure to show up.

UNCLEAR DISCLOSURE

Robert Bryce penned an op-ed for The New York Times, which failed to disclose that Koch Industries funded Bryce’s organization, The Manhattan Institute. Bryce used his submission as an attempt to discredit wind and solar while promoting drilling with chemicals (fracking) as an environmentally sound option. DeSmog Blog has the full story.

PLAY IT AGAIN SAM…

Oil shale supporters continue to use the same rhetoric they have for a century, with still no results to support their words. In this case, The Big Oil shill team of Matt and Jared Barber repeated the hopeful phrases we have heard for over 100 years in Thursday’s Washington Times. To learn just how many times these same promises have been made over the last century, check out our white paper on oil shale rhetoric through the ages.

 

DID YOU KNOW?

The Department of Energy, on May 20, quietly gave approval for Cheniere Energy Inc. to export 2.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day from its Sabine Pass, La., port terminal — the first time the government granted permission to export American-produced gas overseas from the lower 48 states. The action allows exports to all countries except those to which the United States bans trade, such as North Korea. If claims by Rep. Lamborn and Chairman Hastings were true that more drilling would lead toward energy independence, then why is industry making plans to export natural gas and currently selling gasoline and diesel to our neighbors making us a net petroleum exporter.

 

COMING UP THIS WEEK

REPORTS OF INDUSTRY DEMISE ARE GREATLY EXAGGERATED

This week, Montana-based Headwaters Economics released an analysis of drilling activity in the U.S. According to their research, “After a mid-recession slump, drilling activity in the United States recovered to levels that were, as of the last week of May, 91 percent of a twenty-year high last reached in 2008.”

 

CONTACT

Twitter: @checksandbals | Email: tips@checksandbalances.org

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THE BALANCE SHEET | June 29, 2011

June 29, 2011 Leave a comment

Our weekly update to unravel the industry and political spin around the energy debate


IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

ON THE ROSY SIDE OF SHALE GAS
This week, The New York Times uncovered serious skepticism within the Energy Information Administration (EIA) about the actual potential for shale gas development in the United States. In one internal email, a staffer described an EIA shale gas primer written by a group with industry ties as “on the rosy side.”

THE BLUNDERING BISHOP
ThinkProgress has Congressman Rob Bishop (R-UT-1) on tape admitting that Big Oil had received “special giveaways.” A historical denier of the existence oil subsidies, who has coincidentally received thousands in Big Oil campaign contributions, Bishop raked in a handsome $19,750 during the 2010 election cycle. We wonder if he gives refunds.

FRESH TOWEL JUSTICE SCALIA?
Over the weekend, oil billionaires and shadowy powerhouses Charles and David Koch collected the usual cast of ultra-conservatives at their semi-annual retreat in Vail, Colorado to decide where they will funnel millions of dollars to influence Congress. Similar events in the past have attracted talking heads, politicians and Supreme Court Justices. Read about the Common Cause and ProgressNow Colorado protest first mentioned in the Los Angeles Times and reported in the local Vail Daily.

TURNS OUT THE DRILLING INDUSTRY IS DOING JUST FINE
Headwaters Economics published a new report last week suggesting that “Obama administration regulations and land-use policies have not hampered onshore oil and gas development.” This dispels the faulty – and often fact-free –  rhetoric that Big Oil and right-leaning politicians have been using for the past six months. E&E News has the full story.


DID YOU KNOW?

BREAKING: OIL EXECUTIVES GET PAID A LOT
A recent profile of American Petroleum Institute President Jack Gerard showcased what appears to be a difficult road ahead to repair Big Oil’s tainted image. In fact, his industry’s reputation may be tougher to clean than a dolphin near BP’s Deep Horizon rig. With the hard-earned money Americans are spending at the pump, Jack rakes in  $1.6 million to find new ways to spin.


COMING UP THIS WEEK

CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Yesterday, LCV launched a new TV ad targeting Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI-1) for his conflict of interest with Big Oil. A Newsweek investigation revealed that Rep. Ryan, his wife and father-in-law have made hundreds of thousands off the oil companies whose tax breaks he continues to support.


CONTACT

Twitter: @checksandbals | Email: tips@checksandbalances.org

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Polls show overwhelming support for environmental protection in the West

June 29, 2011 Leave a comment

Despite what Big Oil and their allies in Congress would have you believe, westerners support protecting our environment. In fact, a Colorado College poll recently presented to members of Congress in June shows that two-thirds of westerners believe that protections for our land, air, and water should be strengthened or that environment laws should be better enforced.

The poll also shows that 77 percent of westerners believe that we can have a strong economy and protect our environment at the same time.

David Metz of FM3 explains how westerners overwhelmingly support conservation. Metz says the noise opposing conservation is loud, but small:

Lori Weigel of Public Opinion Strategies, the nation’s largest Republican polling firm, explains this majority of voters in the West say they favor protecting the environment:

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A few facts about July 4th gas prices and energy development

June 30, 2011 2 Comments

American families will be heading to the beaches, barbecues and national parks this weekend to celebrate the birth of our nation. Unfortunately, more families will likely be sticking closer to home due to lingering high gas prices. Meanwhile Big Oil will celebrate the close of another quarter of billion-dollar profits.

Second quarter profits won’t be released for a couple of weeks, but all indicators say it’s been another banner quarter for Big Oil. They and their politician friends in Washington have continued to work together to blame everyone else for high gas prices. Even when President Obama had to release 30 million barrels from the strategic petroleum reserve last week, Congressman Doc Hastings still refused to call on Big Oil CEOs to use all the permits and lands that belong to them and are standing idle. Instead, Hastings lobbied on behalf of his Big Oil bosses to secure more government handouts.

Here are a few facts Big Oil and politicians like Hastings don’t want Americans to know when they go to gas up their cars this weekend:

  1. The number of active drill rigs in the country has nearly returned to pre-recession levels. Non-partisan Headwaters Economics reports that in May 2011, the number of active rigs was 1,847, less than 200 fewer rigs than were operating in September 2008, at the end of George W. Bush’s term in office.
  1. Big Oil is crying for more government handouts while thousands of drilling permits sit idle. Oil and gas companies haven’t developed nearly 7,200 onshore oil and gas permits where they have a green light to drill. The same goes for 57 percent of their existing onshore leases, nationally.
  1. Big Oil has even more permits coming. According to the Department of the Interior, onshore drilling permits are expected to increase over 40% in 2011. So how many permits will litter taxpayer land one year from now, when oil companies’ CEOs are still whining they need more acres and permits to impress shareholders?
  1. The U.S. is a net exporter of petroleum products. According to the Energy Information Administration, the U.S.’s petroleum imports have actually decreased over the last few years. In November and December of 2010 and in February and March of 2011, we actually exported more petroleum products than we imported. The same is true for natural gas where producers are eyeing new markets and looking to ship American natural gas to overseas. The Energy Department recently approved a new export facility in Louisiana.
  1. American taxpayers are paying Big Oil at the pump and on tax day. Big Oil politicians like Doc Hastings and Doug Lamborn voted in May to protect the $18 billion in corporate welfare companies like Exxon and BP will receive over the next 10 years.

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The Hanger Rule: How many times can one plug pro-industry talking points?

July 1, 2011 Leave a comment

Isaac Newton taught us that for every action there is an equal or opposite reaction, and in John Hanger’s case that means answering in pro-industry talking points anytime something bad is said about the gas industry. We call it  ‘The Hanger Rule.’

Hanger is the former head of Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection and now works in Harrisburg as a lawyer with Eckert Seamans law firm as an advisor on energy and environmental issues. While he is mostly out of public life, Hanger emerges with blog posts within hours of almost any negative report about hydraulic fracturing that hits the mainstream media.

In February, Hanger responded to Ian Urbina’s piece in The New York Times that identified concerns about lax regulation of hydraulic fracturing in Pennsylvania with a series of posts to his blog, These concerns included such facts as: The Pennsylvania waste treatment facilities were ill- equipped to remove radioactive material from fracking wastewater before it was discharged into rivers and waterways throughout the Keystone State. This rapid reaction led Checks and Balances Project Director, Andrew Schenkel, to pay a visit to Hanger’s Harrisburg office to gain a better understanding of his perspective.

Hanger is a proud man who touts the numerous regulations he helped to impose on the gas industry while in office. It was perhaps natural that a man who dedicated so much of his life to improving regulations in Pennsylvania may be a bit defensive about allegations that his work was ineffective or simply did not go far enough. However, what was perhaps most striking was Hanger’s tone throughout the interview. He wasn’t combative. He wasn’t defensive. Instead, he maintained a friendly nature while talking in sound bites. Almost all of his answers mimicked the familiar rhetoric of the gas industry. In fact, Hanger touched upon almost 30 industry talking points.

As you can see in the video, Hanger uses key gas industry messaging, that gas is a cleaner alternative to oil and coal, 15 times.

Hanger’s comments are in line with the words of energy tycoons T. Boone Pickens and Aubrey McClendon of Chesapeake Energy.

-“Natural gas is about 30 percent cleaner than petroleum and produces no particulate emissions.” -Pickens

-“Natural gas has already achieved significant market share gains in the electrical generation market at the expense of coal largely on the basis of price, but also because of environmental issues.” –McClendon

Weeks after the first Urbina story, Hanger reemerged during the release of a new study that suggested that gas may not be a cleaner alternative to coal. The study, which was conducted by scientists at Cornell University, simply suggested that more research should be devoted to finding out if gas is as clean as many in the industry suggests. Following the release of that study, the gas industry embarked on a campaign to discredit the study’s authors including lead scientist Robert Howarth. A Google search of Howarth’s name generates a top search result as a link (paid for by the America’s Natural Gas Alliance [ANGA]), which casts doubt on his study. The link takes readers to quotes from John Hanger who says, “Professor Howarth does want the result to which he gets. He is a committed opponent of gas drilling and fracking, a position to which he is entitled in this free country.”

Following ANGA’s ad campaign, the Checks and Balances Project caught up with the Howarth. The scientist had no problem explaining that his conclusion, that more data is needed to find out if gas is on par with coal in terms of emissions, was not out of line. What was out of line, according to Howarth, was the lengths to which pro-gas advocates had gone to ruin his reputation. “It used to be that if you Googled my name… my boring lab site at Cornell University was the top pick up. Now there’s an ad from the gas industry, which has a critique of why my science is wrong. They are trying hard to push back,” said Howarth.

The latest news about gas broke in late June when Urbina filed another report for the Times that quotes an industry insider saying that rhetoric about the supply of gas is comparable to a “Ponzi scheme.” Since this story focused more on economic concerns rather than environmental ones it seemed unlikely Hanger would weigh in. But he did. “Would anyone imagine more sensationalistic narratives than radiation, Ponzi, and Enron?” asked Hanger. He continued, “Consistent with this reporter’s method, today’s article uses often anonymous statements to paint a sensational narrative and leaves out or underplays critical information that is inconvenient to establishing the credibility of the dominant anti-gas narrative.”

These comments led the Checks and Balances Project to go back and review its interview with Hanger from earlier this year. The point was to see if Hanger had weighed in on the economics of drilling for gas in Pennsylvania. It turns out Hanger did – using pro-industry talking points 13 times throughout the conversation.

Once again Hanger sounds a lot like McClendon, except with no soft background music as you can observe in this video.

-“CNG costs about 40& less than gasoline. Natural gas is abundant, American shale basins contain an ocean of natural gas”

During the initial interview, Hanger was asked if he was currently working for the gas industry or if Eckert Seamans was planning to assign Hanger any gas industry clients. At the time Hanger said he had no gas clients but added he wouldn’t rule out working for them. While the industry is not currently paying Hanger, what you hear in his interviews  certainly sounds like he is.

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Yes. $77 billion.

July 6, 2011 Leave a comment

Think Progress has a new report on corporate welfare for Big Oil. The next time you watch the dollar figure at the pump increase a lot faster than the gallons pumped amount, think $77 billion. Read more to find out what we mean.

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THE BALANCE SHEET | July 6, 2011

July 7, 2011 Leave a comment

Our weekly update to unravel the industry and political spin around the energy debate

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

SPECULATING THE PRICE OF GAS

According to a new report from the University of Massachusetts, “speculative commodities trading” has inflated the price of gas cost the consumer ” an extra 83 cents a gallon in May, amounting to a more than $1 billion premium across the country.” The New York Times’ Deal Book has the story, calling for the need for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to create and enforce trading limits.

THE WEST WANTS PROTECTION FROM BIG OIL

Polling confirms that westerners support protecting America’s air, land and water. A Colorado College poll that was presented to members of Congress in June shows that two-thirds of westerners believe that environmental protections should be strengthened or that environment laws should be better enforced.

COFFMAN BILL NOT GROUNDED IN REALITY

Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO-6) pushed a new piece of legislation, “with no basis in reality,” on a Friday afternoon right before a recess week, and then left town before it was publicized. Nearly half of the Coffman drilling bill mimics rhetoric from the oil and gas industry and completely ignores the fact that drilling permits are already expected to increase 40 percent in 2011.

BACKING THE FRACKING

Mother Nature Network noticed that Chesapeake Energy CEO, and Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton’s cousin-in-law, Aubrey McClendon “isn’t one to stay out of a public relations fight.” McClendon is girding his loins to try and dispute what The New York Times revealed to be a ‘ponzi scheme’ surrounding shale gas. We’re assuming the disputing will come after McClendon’s annual July 4th cookout at his palatial home in St. Joseph, on the shores of Lake Michigan.

DID YOU KNOW?

NUMBERS DON’T LIE

According to the Energy Information Administration, the U.S.’s petroleum imports have decreased over the last few years. In November and December of 2010 and in February and March of 2011, we actually exported more petroleum products than we imported. The same is true for natural gas where producers are eyeing new markets and looking to ship American natural gas to overseas. The Energy Department recently approved a new export facility in Louisiana. (See the full numbers at Checks and Balances Project.)

COMING UP THIS WEEK

DANCE WITH THE GIRL THAT BRUNG YA’

Wednesday, a House Appropriations Subcommittee will consider the GOP budget that includes drastic cuts to environmental agencies and numerous riders to exempt polluters from science-based regulation. The legislation includes major cuts in funding for the Department of the Interior, the EPA, the Forest Service, and various independent and related agencies. It does not, cut corporate welfare to Big Oil. Think Progress has a breakdown of the bill.

FYI, Big Oil contributed $5,372,505 to Congressional Democrats in the 2010 cycle. Congressional Republicans came in at about triple that, with $16,062,360 in Big Oil contributions.


CONTACT

Twitter: @checksandbals | Email: tips@checksandbalances.org

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Five things to consider about the Yellowstone Pipeline leak

July 8, 2011 1 Comment

Nearly a week has passed and thousands of gallons of crude oil have poured into the Yellowstone River in Montana. The spill has placed attention on America’s often overlooked and aging pipeline system. As the media continues to cover ExxonMobil and its ruptured pipeline, here are a few things to consider about pipelines in the United States.

Leaky past

Over the last eighteen months the United States has seen a steady flow of pipeline accidents that have resulted in the spilling of millions of gallons of oil, the destruction of homes from coast to coast and several deaths and injuries. Between January 2010 and February 2011 nine major pipeline explosions resulted in 18 deaths, 13 injuries and 85 destroyed homes in the United States.

A full list of all pipeline accidents in the United States, including the Yellowstone River incident, can be found here. The list also includes the estimated 800,000 gallons of crude that spilled into the Kalamazoo River last year, as well as the 600,000 gallons of crude that made it into a Chicago suburb just months later. Both spills were the result of pipeline failures.

Regulating the flow

The management of pipelines is a bureaucratic nightmare. Six seemingly unrelated federal agencies, including the Department of Transportation, Mineral Services Management and U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, have a share in the responsibility as the Agencies of The Joint Pipeline Office dealing with concerns over safety, regulation, transportation and access of oil and gas from interstate pipelines. The agencies are responsible for thousands of miles of aging pipelines, some of which have been around since the 1860s. Yet, spills continue to happen causing leaks into our precious natural resources.

Exxon’s lies

In the wake of the Yellowstone River spill, ExxonMobil is increasingly going on the defensive for not telling the truth to federal officials and Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer. The Associated Press reports that an ExxonMobil said the oil spill had been contained within 30 minutes of the rupture. That reports shows that it was actually nearly an hour before the pipeline had been fully turned off. This was not the first discrepancy between ExxonMobil’s rhetoric and the reality of the Montana disaster.

Before giving federal officials and Schweitzer false information about how long crude flowed into the Yellowstone, ExxonMobil had been sticking to their story that ten miles of the Yellowstone River could be affected by the spill. By the time Schweitzer spoke on television on Tuesday night, the governor knew that the dynamics of the flowing Yellowstone River meant that ExxonMobil’s ten-mile claim was bogus. “At seven miles per hour, some oil is already in North Dakota. That’s a given,” Schweitzer said. That same day, the same transportation officials who were told that oil wouldn’t go beyond a ten-mile stretch, acknowledged that oil had been observed in Terry Montana, more than 240 miles downstream.

Keystone concerns

The Yellowstone River disaster comes at a critical time for America’s pipeline and energy industry. The Secretary of State’s office is currently considering approval for what would be a major pipeline that would connect crude oil reserves in the Alberta Tar Sands to refineries in the United States. This proposed expansion of the existing Keystone pipeline has raised concerns for several reasons. First, the pipelines will come close to existing waterways and aquifers. Modern pipelines can be buried as much as 25 feet beneath bodies of water; Exxon Mobil’s Silvertip line was 5 to 8 feet below the bottom of the Yellowstone. In Nebraska, several state legislators have expressed concerns that if a disaster like the spill in the Yellowstone River were to happen near the Oglala Aquifer, the damage done to a critical water supply to one of the nation’s leading agricultural states could be catastrophic. The same concern has been echoed by Nebraska’s two United States Senators who despite being members of different political parties, are both skeptical of the project’s potential harm to drinking water.

Of course this raises the question of the likelihood of spill from an expanded Keystone XL pipeline. According to a report by the National Resources Defense Council, spills from the existing Keystone XL pipeline occur at a rate of about one per month. Over the last eleven months eleven spills have occurred at pumping stations along the pipeline. This includes a May 7 spill of 500 barrels in North Dakota, which sent a geyser of oil spurting 60 feet into the air and shutdown the pipeline for a week.

Another reason for concern surrounding plans to expand the Keystone XL comes down to ties between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and TransCanada. TransCanada is the company that owns the existing Keystone XL pipeline. TransCanada’s main Washington, DC lobbyist is Paul Elliot, who served as the Secretary of State’s national deputy director for her failed presidential run in 2008. This cozy relationship has resulted in several organization filing requests to see the discussions between Clinton and Elliot throughout this process. Currently, the Secretary of State’s office is in the review stages of the approval process for the pipeline, which if given the go-ahead would allow for 900,000 barrels of crude to be pumped into the United States every day.

Clean up costs

Not only does ExxonMobil make $5 million per hour, the company is a beneficiary of $21 billion in tax breaks (over the next five years) to the top five oil corporations.

Yet the “richest company in the world is using oil spill technology that is at least 40 years old,” said Eric Pica, president of Friends of the Earth during an appearance on MSNBC. ExxonMobil has not invested any funds into the ‘technological innovation’ of clean up equipment even though the Yellowstone Pipeline “has leaked at least 71 times on tribal lands, including one failure that resulted in a 163,000 gallon spill into a reservation creek.”

ExxonMobil will mostly be able to write off the clean up costs as a classic business deduction. Like Americans did during the BP spill (which reportedly cost $5 billion to clean up), they will accrue most of the financial costs of this leak. And who knows how much the tab will end up costing this time.

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Safety in pipelines: The fracking truth

July 12, 2011 Leave a comment

“People die from these things and the people who run the infrastructure for these cities know it they are scared of these systems.” — Dr. Robert Howarth, Cornell University speaking about the pipeline system that carries oil and gas around the United States.

As clean up efforts following the Yellowstone River Oil Spill continue, Congress is preparing to take a closer look at pipeline safety across the United States.

Pipelines, as the Checks and Balances Project pointed out in a recent report, criss-cross most of the United States. And while the Yellowstone River spill in Montana gushed thousands of barrels of oil downstream, many pipelines carry an equally dangerous material: natural gas. And as companies like ExxonMobil, which is responsible for the oil spill in Montana, continue to push for more natural gas production by using hydraulic fracturing, the pipeline issue isn’t going to vanish.

A recent interview, Cornell University professor Robert Howarth underscored the seriousness of America’s pipeline situation.  “People die from these things and the people who run the infrastructure for these cities know it. They are scared of these systems,” said Howarth. The Cornell University researcher is most well known as of late for penning a report that said there needs to be more study on the emissions of natural gas because of leakages in pipelines. This report led to a smear campaign against Howarth from the natural gas industry. Still, in the wake of another pipeline disaster, the professor refuses to be silenced because, as he put it, no one is talking about the pipeline situation.

“So is nobody looking at this?” asked Checks and Balances Project Director Andrew Schenkel.

“No, there is distressingly little attention given to this issue,” replied Howarth.

Below is an excerpt from the Howarth interview about pipelines and fracking:

Given the growing list of oil and gas pipeline mishaps, which over the last 18 months includes 18 deaths, 13 injuries and 85 destroyed homes, the question is how many natural gas pipelines are there in the United States?

Natural Gas Pipeline and Facilities By the Numbers:

  • There are more than 210 natural gas pipeline systems.
  • More than 1,400 compressor stations that maintain pressure on the natural gas pipeline network and assure continuous forward movement of supplies. (Compressor Map)
  • More than 11,000 delivery points, 5,000 receipt points, and 1,400 interconnection points that provide for the transfer of natural gas throughout the United States.
  • 24 hubs or market centers that provide additional interconnections (see map).
  • 400 underground natural gas storage facilities (see map).
  • 49 locations where natural gas can be imported/exported via pipelines (see map).
  • 8 LNG (liquefied natural gas) import facilities and 100 LNG peaking facilities (see map).

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Oil and gas industry “sitting pretty”

July 20, 2011 1 Comment

New analysis shows more than 6,500 drilling permits undeveloped, 97 percent in the Interior West

Denver, CO – The oil and gas industry has failed to develop 6,573 federal drilling permits issued by the Bureau of Land Management, even though the agency has given these oil and gas operators a green light to drill. Over 97 percent of those permits are located in the Rocky Mountain region.

Top five states with permits issued not drilled

Rank

 State Permits issued not drilled Percentage of national total

#1

 Wyoming 3,528 53.7%

#2

 New Mexico 1,307 19.9%

#3

 Utah 775 11.8%

#4

 Colorado 571 8.7%

#5

 Montana 203 3.1%

Total

 n/a 6,384 97.1%

The numbers come in stark contrast to claims made by Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) who introduced legislation in May 2011 that would weaken current environmental and public health protections, opening-up public lands in the West to reckless development.

It is anticipated that Sen. Barrasso may attempt to add amendments to offshore resource assessment or offshore drilling safety legislation, the “American Energy and Western Jobs Act,” being heard on Thursday in the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

“Sen. Barrasso clearly has his sights set in the wrong direction. Rather than making improvements, he wants to go back to the days of ‘lease first, think later’,” said Bill Eikenberry, a former director of the Bureau of Land Management in Wyoming.

Eikenberry can speak from strong experience. He was responsible for 1,000 employees and managed 18 million acres of public land in Wyoming.

Wyoming data stood out in the analysis, showing that over 53 percent of undeveloped permits nationally are located in the state.

Eikenberry believes that energy development can occur in conjunction with the common sense reforms that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar implemented in 2010 to bring about better planning and proper scientific review.

“Sec. Salazar is right that we can both develop American energy resources and protect water, land, and wildlife habitat. Senator Barrasso should join in that pursuit, not fight against it,” said Eikenberry.

The analysis, conducted by The Wilderness Society and entitled “Sitting Pretty,” also highlights an earlier U.S. Department of Interior report that the oil and gas industry is failing to develop 57 percent of its current onshore leases and even onshore permits where there is a green light to drill.

Sportsmen such as Oscar Simpson of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers in New Mexico affirmed that “Drill, Baby, Drill” rhetoric by politicians and industry failed to take into account the facts on the ground and would lead to needlessly sacrificing land, water, and wildlife resources.

“Industry is demanding we hand over more public lands despite the millions of acres of leased land not being developed or thousands of unused drilling permits.” said Simpson. “We’re told that we have to choose between energy development and protection for water and wildlife. That’s simply unacceptable.”

The analysis also shows that oil and gas drilling development in the West and nationally is now back to pre-recession levels and nearing a 20 year high thanks to oil development in places like the Bakken shale oil play in North Dakota.

“We have high levels of production and drilling, while oil and gas companies are holding on to even more leases and permits than they can use, yet this industry continues to push for more of our public lands, more permits, and shortcuts or full-on exemptions from environmental laws, as do some in Congress,” said Nada Culver, Director of The Wilderness Society’s BLM Action Center, who authored the analysis.

“These statistics tell a compelling story: Oil and gas companies don’t need more giveaways,” continued Culver.

Please read the full analysis by The Wilderness Society for additional statistics by state on oil and gas development and access.

###

Filed under Release, Statements

More handouts to Big Oil? How Barrasso is pushing their agenda

July 20, 2011 2 Comments

Tomorrow, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) is bringing two bills before his committee for markup, S. 916 and S. 917. It’s supposed to be a hearing on ways to prevent another Deep Horizon spill and the loss of life and economic and ecological devastation it caused. Also, to determine methods by which America can safely and responsibly assess the petroleum reserves off our coasts.

Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming may very well use this opportunity to attach amendments that will directly attack the drilling reforms Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. In May, Barrasso introduced S. 1027, a bill intended to remove water and air protections and standards for oil and gas companies drilling on public lands. He did this about a week after voting to protect $21 billion in government handouts to the oil and gas industry, against the wishes of 70 percent of Americans.

If Barrasso or any other Big Oil investment on the committee attacks drilling protections they will be presenting the nation with a legislative solution in search of a problem. The oil and gas industry in this country is booming. Last quarter, the top five American oil and gas companies raked in $32 billion in profits – their highest total since 2008. Drilling is back to pre-recession levels and nearing a 20-year high. Oil and drilling companies don’t need any more handouts in either tax dollars or our public lands.

Not only that, but Big Oil is not being prevented from drilling in the west, no matter what Barrasso and his colleagues say. The truth is that the number of available drilling permits is expected to increase 40 percent this year, and oil and gas companies have failed to use more than 7,000 onshore drilling permits. The resources are at their disposal. Oil and gas companies simply don’t have the market imperatives to use them.

So, you might ask, if things are looking so up for Big Oil, why is Sen. Barrasso attacking drilling reforms? The answer is simple: Enough is never enough.

John Barrasso has taken over $300,000 in oil and gas industry contributions in the four years he’s been in the U.S. Senate. That works out to about $75,400 per year, when $47,851 is the median income in Wyoming. So when Big Oil needs its agenda pushed, they know where to go.

So what happens if Barrasso pushes his and Big Oil’s anti-drilling reform agenda?

Well, last winter drilling in rural Wyoming increased ozone pollution to levels violating federal standards 13 times this past winter. And that’s with Sec. Salazar’s protections in place. Imagine if they were gone.

Tomorrow we’ll find out whether or not Sen. Barrasso’s going to make an opportunity to push his corporate sponsors’ agenda.

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The Balance Sheet | July 18, 2011

July 18, 2011 Leave a comment

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

WHAT DOES $1.2 MILLION GET THESE DAYS?

Last week, former BLM director and Forestry Service Chief Mike Dombeck explained how Interior Secretary Salazar’s leasing reforms are crucial to air and water quality and responsible energy development. His remarks came in response to a letter challenging those common sense reforms signed by Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), John Barrasso (R-WY), Mike Enzi (R-WY), John Hoeven (R-ND) and Rep. Rob Bishop (R-01-UT). Those six politicians have taken a total of more than $1.2 million in Big Oil campaign contributions.

WHATEVER SHALE WE DO?

Energy expert Randy Udall appeared on the Fox News piece “Will Oil Shale Ever Be Viable?” last week to talk about the fool’s gold that is oil shale. For more information, check out our history of oil shale rhetoric over the last 100 years.

TALLYING THE TALKING POINTS

John Hanger, former head of Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection, is mostly out of public life except when any negative report about hydraulic fracturing hits the mainstream media. Watch him rack up more points than LeBron in favor of gas, in our exclusive interview and tell us he isn’t a paid spokesperson.

DID YOU KNOW?

BUDGET CUTS

A breakdown of the budget cuts in the 2012 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill:

  • Total Budget Allocation: $27.47 billion, which is $2.09 billion below the FY2011 enacted level and $4 billion below the President’s request.
  • EPA: The bill provides $7.1 billion, which is $1.5 billion below the FY2011 enacted level and $1.8 billion below the President’s request.
  • DOI: The bill provides $9.85 billion total, which is $720 million below the FY2011 enacted level and $1.2 billion below the President’s request.

The $15 billion in taxpayer-funded handouts to Big Oil remain untouched.

COMING UP THIS WEEK

OFFSHORE DRILLING COMPROMISED

This Thursday, the long-awaited deal between Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Lisa Murkoswki (R-AK) may lead to the mark-up of Bingaman’s offshore drilling oversight reform legislation. The question is: Will Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) derail the deal by running an amendment for his “Great Outdoors Giveaway” legislation which would gut common sense protections for water, air, and recreation resources on public lands? Senator Barrasso seems poised to try and pay back his Big Oil campaign contributors ($254,150) with more handouts, and this time it’s with our public lands.

CONTACT

Twitter: @checksandbals | Email: tips@checksandbalances.org

Filed under The Balance Sheet

Connecting the dots between gas industry tycoons and the NAT GAS Act requires ink by the barrel load.

July 26, 2011 Leave a comment

A recent investigation by DeSmogBlog and PRWatch exposes just who stands to benefit from the NAT GAS Act and the expensive tactics being used to ensure it flies through congress. The most recent tactic is a public relations campaign by Chesapeake Energy, which included the gas giant’s “Declaration of Energy Independence.”

Chesapeake Energy’s CEO, Aubrey McClendon, is joined by T. Boone Pickens, when it comes to who will benefit from NAT GAS Act. The legislation calls for the government to cut checks to any company that transfers its fleet of vehicles to methane gas and to have citizens shell out their taxes so that methane gas fueling stations can be constructed throughout the country.

According to the DeSmog report, Chesapeake, “will pour $150 million into Clean Energy Fuels Corporation (CEF). Energy tycoon and hedge fund manager T. Boone Pickens sits on CEF’s Board of Directors and owns a 41 percent stake, according to the company’s March, 2011 10-Q filing. That money will go toward funding methane gas fueling stations along federal highways spanning the country.

The timing of Chesapeake’s launch of the “Declaration of Energy Dependence” is no coincidence. The NAT GAS Act is at a critical stage. It currently has 183 co-sponsors, but it is also being considered at a time when the United States is trying to reduce handouts from America’s taxpayers. But with the help a public relations army that even includes a methane gas funded television network, McClendon and Pickens are betting they can buy another handout for the fossil fuel industry.

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Steve Pearce working hard for oil and gas companies

July 26, 2011 Leave a comment

On Tuesday, Rep. Steve Pearce (R-NM) proved again that he’s one of the hardest working politicians on Capitol Hill when it comes to the oil & gas agenda. Rep. Pearce incorrectly claimed that wilderness protection is preventing the state from making money. Unfortunately for the congressman, New Mexico media reported just yesterday that the state is collecting record revenues from the oil and gas industry.

Rep. Pearce’s latest interesting interpretation of facts came during a House Natural Resources Committee meeting. The committee was debating GOP Whip Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) new legislation attacking wilderness study area designations. Republicans argue that protections for air, water and land block energy development and impede upon Big Oil profits.

Not surprisingly, Rep. Steve Pearce argued in favor of the legislation. He said New Mexicans couldn’t make money because of a lack of oil and gas production in protected areas.

Incidentally, Pearce has taken $1,280,901 in oil and gas campaign contributions over his career. Oil and gas companies have also invested $181,600 in McCarthy.

The Durango Herald reported that New Mexico’s government pulled in $17.2 million from drilling lease revenues in June, and $19.5 million in the first week of July.

Just as Big Oil is about to announce their second quarter profits, the oil-and-gas-funded politicians continue to try to secure more and more government handouts for this billion-dollar industry.

Rep. Pearce, how much will be enough for your oil and gas sponsors?

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Barrasso and Hastings turn energy discussion into a pro-industry spin zone

July 27, 2011 3 Comments

The energy debate continued to get more contentious when wildly illogical arguments were tossed out during roundtable discussion hosted by Politico.

The voices, from all sides of the energy debate, included Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), Rep. Dianne DeGette (D-Colo.), former head of the EPA Carol Browner and Doug Holtz-Eakin formerly of John McCain’s presidential campaign.

While DeGette and Browner pushed back on pro-industry, energy policies, Barrasso and Hastings mostly defended the dirty energy sources that fund their campaigns. Not surprisingly, the discussion took a heated turn when both were asked to vote against energy subsidies.

A time to kill subsidies?

Carol Browner wasn’t going to let Hastings and Barrasso get away with flip-flopping on their feelings over government handouts. Barrasso, who earlier in the debate made the claim that green job created in America come at the expense of two non-green jobs, got oddly squeamish when Browner asked him why he wouldn’t eliminate the subsidies to the oil industry. Barrasso who has been pushing pro-industry legislation over the past six months said Congress needed to revisit the whole tax code before focusing on just a portion of it.

The hypocrisy was immediately pointed out: “So your okay with focusing on just ethanol subsidies, but when it comes to oil subsidies you simply say you want to deal with the entire tax code? If that’s your argument, I happy to have it with the American people,” said Browner.

Hastings got dizzy on his own spin when he tried to address the issue. “Subsidies should be eliminated over time. The question is when is that time? When the market plays its role,” said Hastings to a surprised audience. If Hastings is willing to let the market decide then the record profits posted by Big Oil in the first quarter should be a clear indicator to get rid of oil and gas subsidies.

Spinning the high gas prices

While the subsidies debate was a ‘he said, she said,’ the panel appeared to run amok with solutions to high gas prices. It was even suggested that the United States should drill its way out of the problem. “It is short sided to ignore the abundance of oil in the Western lands,” he the industry-backed Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee. Since assuming the role (and collecting nearly $100 thousand in oil and gas campaign contributions during the 2010 cycle) has tried several times to open up land for drilling. It would also be short sided for the oil and gas industry to continue to let the 21 million leased acres go undeveloped.

Hastings’ solution was undercut by Holz-Eakin, who acknowledged that gas prices are set on a global market and that getting more fuel into the market won’t have any affect on prices in the short term. Holz-Eakin used this logic to lampoon President Obama’s deployment of the strategic oil reserve, but drifted away from the idea when compromised on Hastings spin.

Fuzzy economic memory

During a brief question and answer session from the audience Brooks Yeager of the Clean Air Cool Planet pressed Holtz-Eakin why he was not focused on reducing demand when America produces five percent of the oil and uses 25 percent of the global supply. Holtz-Eakin simply replied that he wants to get more energy out there but added no analysis to Yeager’s economic inquiry.

“He seemed to forget about economics all of a sudden, funny how that works,” said Yeager when asked by The Checks and Balances Project if he was satisfied with Holtz-Eakin’s answer.

 

A job over clean air

Among the most unsatisfying answers was Barrasso’s job attack against climate change policies. “I’d rather have a job than clean air,” he said when discussing the economics of cleaning up the atmosphere. Still no clarity on how that supports the clean energy debate. One thing is clear: During the 2012 election the GOP’s stance is to push jobs at the cost of everything else.

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Gas-Industrial Complex Series – Colorado

August 9, 2011 2 Comments

Since 2008 more than 6,000 natural gas drilling permits have been issued for gas drilling in Garfield County, Colorado. Almost all of these permits have been approved under the supervision of Garfield County’s governing body, the Board of County Commissioners. Two of the three current commissioners have overseen this proliferation in its entirety. Commissioner Tresi Houpt, who was considered to be the one commissioner who wasn’t a rubber stamp for the gas industry was defeated in 2010. Now all three commissioners in Garfield County are free to continue giving the green light to the industry. Here are the green-lighters and their histories.

NAME: John “Wyatt” Martin, Garfield County Commissioner

GAS RECORD: In four terms as on the Board of County Commissioners, Martin has overseen more than 16,000 drilling permits be approved in Garfield County. This includes the county’s largest drilling year, 2008, when 2888 drilling permits were issued.

ELECTION BACKGROUND: Martin’s most recent election in 2008 was a close contest. He won, but many pointed to a litany of questionable tactics used in the days before the election as the deciding factor. Many of the so called, “dirty tricks,” which included a fake newspaper that spread lies about his opponent, was later proven to be connected to the gas industry, but Martin’s connections to the gas industry go far beyond the newspaper incident.  A simple campaign finance search with the Colorado Secretary of State’s office reveals that several gas industry interests bankrolled Martin’s campaign, and have been handsomely rewarded.

FOLLOW THE MONEY:

In the 12 months leading up to the 2008 election the Committee to Reelect John Martin received just under $14,000 from individuals, political action committees and business. Of the donations the vast majority came from individuals and companies that directly benefited from the hydraulic fracturing industry that Martin has allowed to thrive unchecked. Of the donations, here are some of the most blatant examples of Martin scratching the gas industry’s back after it got him reelected.

-Mike Fattor, the President of Western Petroleum Co, wrote a $500 check to Martin in 2008. Western Petroleum Co. is in hydraulic fracking in Garfield County and according to a company profile, Western has estimated revenue of $67,080,000.

-David Moore, the Mayor of Silt, CO gave Martin $300 in the 2008 campaign. Moore has made headlines in Garfield County, not just because of his position as mayor, but because he has been accused of using his own office for personal gain.

-Frontier Paving, owned by Charlie Ellsworth, also contributed $1,000 dollars to Martin. In 2011 Frontier was awarded a $1 million contract by the Garfield County Board of County Commissioners.

-Eric Schmela, an attorney and real estate developer, gave Martin $1,000 during his 2008 campaign. Less than a year later Garfield County approved a deal between Antero Resources and the Battlement Mesa Company, where Schmela serves as president. The deal between Antero and the Battlement Mesa allowed for 200 wells to be drilled. According to the Denver Post, “One pad would be just 100 feet from the sixth hole on the public golf course. Another would be 500 feet from the nearest home. Many more of the 1,000 single-family houses in the development east of Parachute would look down on the well.”

NAME: Mike Samson, Garfield County Commissioner

GAS RECORD: Since winning a narrow electoral contest in 2008, Samson has allowed more Garfield County to approve more than 4,500 gas drilling permits. His tenure has included 2037 permits being approved in 2010 alone. In the spring of 2011 Samson joined John Martin and newly elected Commissioner Tom Jankovsky in a decision that refused to authorize a health impact study on hydraulic fracking in Garfield County, after the county spent years researching and analyzing the affects of drilling in the area.

ELECTION BACKGROUND: In 2008 Sampson narrowly defeated local judge Steve Carter to become a member of the Board of County Commissioners. The election was riddled with what several reports described as “dirty tricks,” including allegations that natural gas workers were told if they didn’t vote for Samson and Martin that they would be fired.  The Samson campaign took thousands of dollars in 2008 from natural gas interests. Many of these donations came from companies or individuals who directly benefited from the Board of County Commissioners green lighting of the industry in the boom years between 2008 and 2010.

FOLLOW THE MONEY:

-Curtis & Janna Ercanbrack, each donated $1,000 to the Samson campaign. Curtis is identified as the president of CEO Operating Inc., which while it has no official website or online presence, is identified by several business websites as a crude and natural gas extraction company.

-Lane Bates of Denver Colorado wrote Sampson a check for $500. Bates is identified as working with the Oilfield Supply Chain Solutions Company, which works in the fracking fluids and cementing process of the hydraulic fracking process.

-Eric Schmela, see above. Schmela gave $1,000 to Samson, just like he did to the Martin Campaign, and directly benefited from drilling approvals in real estate developments he was involved with.

-Kaye Williams of Silt, Colorado gave $200 to the Committee to Elect Mike Sampson. Williams works for Dalbo, a Utah based trucking company that specializes in delivering fracking fluids and providing other services to the hydraulic fracturing industry in Garfield County, Colorado. As hydraulic fracturing has expanded in Garfield County under Samson Dalbo has continued to grow.

NAME: Tom Jankovsky. Garfield County Commissioner 

GAS RECORD: While the slowing of the national economy has slowed the amount of drilling permits approved in Garfield County, the numbers granted is still on of the highest in the country. Since Janovsky defeated Tresi Houpt in the 2010 election, decisions involving the natural gas industry generally result in 3-0 votes for the gas industry. This included a recent decision from Jankovsky where the county refused to authorize a Health Impact Study for hydraulic fracturing in Battlement Mesa, Colorado. This was done despite the county spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on the study before Jankovsky got into office. This action and the fact that more than 600 drilling permits have been approved in Garfield County in a so-called “down year” for the industry, have been the main issues for Jankovsky regarding gas drilling.

ELECTION BACKGROUND:

Election records show that Jankovsky was heavily funded by the gas industry during his campaign against incumbent Tresi Houpt. Nearly fifty percent of Jankovsky’s campaign contributions were from gas interests, including a donation from an out-of-state gas company.

The natural gas industrial complex’s support of Jankovsky was stricktly about business.. As a County Commissioner and member of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC), Houpt was known for her caution when it came to opening up Garfield County to more drilling. A campaign finance search shows exactly how the industry interests mobilized in this local election.

FOLLOW THE MONEY:

-Lester Smith of Houston, Texas gave Jankovsky a $5,000 just days before the 2010 election. Smith is described to work for Texas-based S.G. Interests. While the company has no official website, the image below is from the Colorado Secretary of State’s office and describes S and G interests as a company that deals with, “Mining, energy and producing natural gas.”

-Don Vandervander of Glenwood Springs and his $250 donation is one of the more interesting finds in out campaign contribution investigation. In the report filed by Jankovsky’s campaign, Vandervander’s description literally went as follows: “We really do not know who he is.”  The Checks and Balances Project found that Vandervander owns a waste treatment company called Mountain Roll-off Inc. (MRI).  MRI is a waste disposal company that built its business on renting out porta-potties and has expanded into the industrial waste business. This includes the treatment of waste-water, a major part of the hydraulic fracturing process. As county commissioner, Jankovsky is now being lobbied by MRI to let it take over a Carbondale building to expand its waste treatment capabilities.

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Flawed EIA Report: Checks and Balances to File FOIA Request

July 29, 2011 5 Comments

On Monday, the Checks and Balances Project, Greenpeace, and Oil Change International will file this Freedom of Information Act request to determine if there were budgetary threats applied by members of the House of Representatives to force the release of a deeply flawed report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA).  We are filing this request because the public must know if Acting Administrator of the EIA, Howard Gruenspecht believed the report’s production was unduly influenced by demands placed by elected officials, who receive significant campaign contributions from the fossil fuel industry.

Yesterday, the Energy Information Administration released the controversial report that its Congressional “requestors” –  Representatives Jason Chaffetz (UT-3), Marsha Blackburn (TN-7) and Roscoe Bartlett (MD-6) – had basically designed to defend government handouts to fossil fuel interest in the middle of the current budget fight.

Earlier this week, Climate Progress reported that Acting Administrator Gruenspecht might have attempted to postpone the release due to “quality assurance” concerns relating to the rigged nature of the study.

The release is an update to a 2007 report originally requested by Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN). The earlier version had been used to distort the debate around the massive government handouts for oil, coal and gas companies.  If it’s true that Acting Administrator Gruenspecht called this report a “piece of garbage,” he was right. This is little more than a propaganda exercise because it deliberately leaves out several other ways in which coal, oil and natural gas get government handouts: pollution clean-up, low-cost insurance, tax breaks, low-interest loans, access to federal loans, and government agencies dedicated to fossil fuels.

And that is just the start of how this report distorts the truth on federal energy subsidies in order to favor fossil fuels. Take what a former Senior Economist and Team Leader at the EIA, Lowell Feld of Scaling Green noted:

“According to Table ES2 in the EIA report, “renewables” received about $8.5 billion in non-ARRA (one time only)-related “quantified energy-specific subsidies” in 2010. Of this, however, about $7.6 billion went to biomass or biofuels. Which means that only about $525 million of non-ARRA-related subsidies in 2010 went to solar ($346 million), wind ($134 million) and geothermal ($45 million).  This is down about $140 million from 2007, when about $669 million in subsidies went to solar ($179 million),wind ($476 million) and geothermal ($14 million).  And while subsidies for solar/wind/geothermal were falling, production was rising sharply (e.g., wind went from 34,450 thousand megawatt hours in 2007 to 96,647 thousand megawatt hours in 2010, and solar went from 612 thousand megawatt hours in 2007 to 1,299 thousand megawatt hours in 2010).”

Furthermore, by using “BTU” models, the report fails to show the vast extent of welfare for the fossil fuel industry – which is tens or hundreds of times greater than the cost of pro-renewable policy support.

If there was Congressional influence in the production or release of this misleading report, then the American public deserves to know.

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THE BALANCE SHEET | Aug 01, 2011

August 1, 2011 Leave a comment

Our weekly update to unravel the industry and political spin around the energy debate

 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

BARRASSO AND HASTINGS TURN ROUNDTABLE INTO SPIN ZONE

During Politico’s roundtable discussion on Wednesday, Sen. Barrasso (R-WY) and Rep. Hastings (R-WA) strenuously defended their Big Oil campaign contributors in the face of facts they didn’t like. Oddly enough, Barrasso stated on-the-record that it was A-okay to address ethanol subsidies to American farmers, but Congress couldn’t cut Big Oil subsidies unless it was part of a package addressing the entire tax code. What?

PEARCE WORKING HARD FOR THE (OIL) MONEY

On Tuesday, Rep. Steve Pearce (R-NM) again demonstrated why oil and gas companies have invested $1.2 million in his campaigns. Pearce incorrectly claimed that wilderness protection is preventing the state from making money. Unfortunately for the Congressman, New Mexico media reported the day before that the state is collecting record revenues from the oil and gas industry.

CONNECTING THE DOTS BEHIND THE NAT GAS ACT

A recent investigation by DeSmogBlog and PR Watch revealed just who stands to benefit from the NAT GAS Act and the expensive tactics being used to ensure it flies through congress. Chesapeake Energy’s CEO, Aubrey McClendon, joins T. Boone Pickens among notable beneficiaries of the legislation.

DID YOU KNOW?

YOU’RE SERIOUSLY STILL ASKING FOR A HANDOUT?

Oil powerhouse ExxonMobil reported a 41 percent increase in profits for the second quarter, when compared to Q2 2010. But their total revenues increased 36 percent. So not only is ExxonMobil making more money, more of it is profit.

COMING UP THIS WEEK

WE’RE HAPPY TO HELP

Two House Ways and Means subcommittees are holding a joint hearing Wednesday on “the intersection of energy policy and tax policy,” with a special look at how the NAT GAS act fits in. We recommend Chairmen Tiberi (R-OH) and Boustany (R-LA) read our in-depth look at who’s behind this legislation so they know whether or not their witnesses stand to financially benefit from this legislation.

 

CONTACT

Twitter: @checksandbals | Email: tips@checksandbalances.org

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Update: Flawed EIA Study Coverage

August 1, 2011 Leave a comment

The Checks and Balances Project helped uncover the story behind the flawed report released by the Energy Information Administration last week (see our post here).  Over the weekend and today, the story was picked up by a number of blogs and outlets covering the energy debate.  Today, the Checks and Balances Project, Greenpeace, and Oil Change International submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to find out what really happened this week at the EIA around the release of this report.  The coverage so far is below:

EE Daily/Greenwire/NYTimes: Energy Subsidy Battle Reignites as Debt Deal Preserves Tax Breaks, by Elana Schor http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2011/08/01/01greenwire-energy-subsidy-battle-reignites-as-debt-deal-p-79083.html

The EIA study at issue is an update of a 2007 analysis that found $17.9 billion in quantifiable subsidies for various energy sectors that year. But the terms of that report and the current GOP-requested sequel included only energy-specific benefits with a measurable budget impact, which excludes many of the oil and gas tax benefits unsuccessfully targeted this year by President Obama and many in his party.

Climate Progress: EIA Admits its Review of 2010 Energy Subsidies is Limited, But Still Releases Skewed Report to Congress, by Stephen Lacey
http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/08/01/283959/eia-review-energy-subsidies/

As the EIA admits in both reports, looking simply at yearly energy expenditures does not accurately show how much each sector is getting in subsidies.

Also on Grist: http://www.grist.org/energy-policy/2011-08-01-eia-releases-skewed-energy-subsidies-report-to-congress

Politico’s Morning Energy:

STOP! FOIA TIME – Environmental groups want more information about a Republican-ordered study from the Energy Information Agency comparing federal subsidies for renewable energy and fossil fuels. The study found higher per-kilowatt federal support for renewables, but environmental groups argue that House Republicans Jason Chaffetz, Marsha Blackburn and Roscoe Bartlett required the EIA to use assumptions that warped the study in the fossil fuel industry’s favor.

Hoping to bolster their case, the Checks and Balances Project, Greenpeace and Oil Change International have filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the EIA’s communications with the three Republicans. The request: http://politico.pro/nXyHfz

DeSmogBlog: EIA’s Politically Dictated “Garbage” Subsidy Report Obtained and Released Publicly, By Brendan DeMelle http://www.desmogblog.com/eia-s-politically-dictated-garbage-subsidy-report-obtained-and-released-publicly

By excluding a lot of the other avenues of direct federal support given disproportionately to fossil fuel interests, as well as financial tools designed to assist dirty energy companies, the report is just plain faulty, or “fuzzy math” as some guy once said.

Also on Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brendan-demelle/energy-information-administration-report-_b_913794.html

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The market has spoken; it’s time to end Big Oil subsidies

August 3, 2011 2 Comments

The release of oil and gas companies’ 2Q profits has shed light on some elected officials’ true positions on deficit relief. During the debt ceiling debate, Big Oil-backed politicians like Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) and Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA) consistently protected their corporate sponsors, instead of American families. When everyone was looking for ways to reduce deficit spending, these politicians went out of their way to defend oil and gas subsidies. This, as opposed to cutting them and saving Americans nearly $45 billion over the next 10 years.

Last Wednesday, Hastings said the market should determine when subsidies should go away.  Sen. Barrasso said that it was okay to address ethanol subsidies, but that taxpayer handouts to his Big Oil campaign contributors could only be addressed as part of a larger tax deal.

Well, it seems that the markets have spoken and the time is ripe for getting rid of oil and gas subsidies. ExxonMobil’s 41 percent increase in profits from 2010 and Dutch Royal Shell’s 97.7 percent, multi-billion dollar increase from 2010 prove it is time to end their corporate welfare.

2010

2011

Percentage Increased
Oil Company  Q1 Q2 Q1 Q2 Q1 Q2
ExxonMobil 6.3 7.6 10.7 10.7 69% 40%
Royal Dutch Shell 4.9 4.5 6.9 8.0 40% 93%
ConocoPhillips* 2.3 4.2 3 3.4 30% -19.0%
BP** 5.6 -17 5.5 5.3 -1% N/A
Chevron 4.6 5.4 6.2 7.7 34% 42%
TOTAL 23.7 4.7 32.3 35.1 174% 115%

(All amounts in billions)

*ConocoPhillips said its earnings would have been 38 percent higher than 2010 Q2 earnings if the 2010 Q2 results for the Russian investments had been stripped out.

**BP’s 2010 Q2 earnings reflected a pretax charge of $32 billion to cover costs relating to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster. The company’s earnings for the Q2 of 2011 was $22.6 billion.

The top five oil companies have made nearly $67.4 billion in profits so far this year – that’s almost double of their 10-year welfare package from the U.S. taxpayers.

When American families are being asked to take cuts in Medicare and Social Security in the debt and deficit debate, it is unconscionable to pay over $4 billion a year in taxpayer subsidies to Big Oil. It’s time politicians realize that and protect the people who they represent, instead of the companies who support them.

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U.S. increases natural gas export capabilities

August 5, 2011 Leave a comment

This just in from the AP: The federal government granted permission to Lake Charles Exports LLC to export domestically produced natural gas to other countries. This is the second time the US has allowed a company to export liquiefied natural gas. Coupled with the Energy Information Administration¹s announcement earlier in the year that America was exporting more petroleum products than it was importing, this makes 2011 the year the US become an energy exporter to the world.

This does call into question oil and gas companies’ claims that they need billions in government handouts to stay in business. And that Americans are paying high prices at the pump because of supply problems, which would be fixed if only oil and gas companies could have all the public land for drilling.

The fact that we have high enough domestic energy production to ship it to other countries is a fact that oil company CEOs and the politicians who represent them in Washington will have to face.

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Little victory in permitting lawsuit

August 16, 2011 Leave a comment

The Department of Interior’s (DOI) effort to overhaul public land drilling was setback when the court sided with the Western Energy Alliance (WEA) in a suit against the limited use of categorical exclusions to expedite onshore drilling. According to The Hill, WEA “alleged the policy ran afoul of a 2005 energy law that required the exemptions.”

The limited use of categorical exclusions was meant to insure fewer permits came under litigation from environmental groups, thereby delaying the approval process for Big Oil. In fact, the reforms were protecting the permits from unnecessary protests. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) reports there are fewer protests today compared to the past six years.

The court’s decision means Bureau of Land Management (BLM) cannot rely on its 2010 guidance, but it does not require BLM to return to a practice of endangering our natural and cultural resources to permit drilling without any common sense limitations.

While WEA may praise the court decision – they have set the industry up for more time spent in court rather than drilling. The categorical exclusion program continues to be misapplied and out of compliance with BLM policy.

In a 2009 report on the use of categorical exclusions, Government Accountability Office (GAO) “found numerous examples—in 85 percent of the field offices sampled—where officials did not correctly follow guidance, most often by failing to adequately justify the use of a categorical exclusion.”

Between 2006 and 2008, the BLM permitted more than 6,100 permits to drill – 28% of the total handled by BLM – were issued using categorical exclusions, according to a GAO analysis.

Even the Western Governor’s Association (WGA), which at the time included Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal, was concerned about the use of exclusions in the permitting process.  In 2007, WGA passed a resolution calling for Congress to prohibit the use of categorical exclusions to permit oil and gas projects in wildlife migration corridors and crucial habitat. The resolution was meant to thwart the same energy laws WEA sited in its suit.

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THE BALANCE SHEET | Aug 16, 2011

August 16, 2011 Leave a comment

Our weekly update to unravel the industry and political spin around the energy debate

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

LITTLE VICTORY IN PERMITTING LAWSUIT

The Department of Interior’s (DOI) effort to make public land drilling more predictable was setback when the court sided with Big Oil in a suit over the use of a bureaucratic tool known as “categorical exclusions” to expedite drilling. The court’s decision means Bureau of Land Management (BLM) cannot rely on its 2010 guidance, but it does not require BLM to return to a practice of endangering our natural and cultural resources to permit drilling without any common sense limitations.

WHAT IF YOU GAVE A RALLY AND NOBODY CAME?

The Koch brothers-funded front group Americans for Prosperity brought their efforts to distract Americans from the billions in government handouts to oil and gas companies to Florida last week. Unfortunately, only a handful of people came out to watch their show. Good thing for AFP, since National President Tim Phillips acknowledged that a number of factors contribute to gas price fluctuation. According to Goldman Sachs, a big factor is oil speculation. Want to know who are big oil speculators? Phillips’ sponsors the Koch brothers. Uh oh…

WHAT’S A GAS-POWERED BOARD?

Since 2008, more than 6,000 natural gas drilling permits have been issued in Garfield County, Colorado. Almost all of these permits have been approved under the supervision of Garfield County’s governing body, the Board of County Commissioners. The Checks and Balances Project profiles the commissioners who continue to give the industry the green light.

DID YOU KNOW?

IS THE SUPER COMMITTEE SUPER BIASED?

Now that the Super Panel has been established, it is clear who the big winner is: Big Oil. According to OpenSecrets, the six Republicans on the committee have collected a total of $1,029,024 in oil and gas contributions in the 2010 and 2012 cycles. The six Democrats have taken in $308,950 in oil and gas money. Let’s see who wants to cut billions in government handouts to Big Oil and who fights to protect them.

COMING UP THIS WEEK

DEFINE IMPARTIAL

Los Angeles Times reports that prices at the pump are expected to fall next week – a  welcome reprieve for American families even late in the summer. It’s too bad it’s only the result of unsteady stock market and not the result of Big Oil turning their record profits into savings for their consumers.

CONTACT

Twitter: @checksandbals | Email: tips@checksandbalances.org

Filed under The Balance Sheet

Obama: Oil and gas corporations are not people

August 17, 2011 2 Comments

Last night on CNN, President Obama responded to Mitt Romney’s position that “corporations are people,” and singled out oil and gas corporations – identifying them as companies and not people who deserve government handouts.

“Well, if you tell me that corporations are vital to American life, that the free-enterprise system has been the greatest wealth creator that we’ve ever seen, that their corporate CEOs and folks who are working in our large companies that are creating incredible products and services and that is all to the benefit of the United States of America, that I absolutely agree with,” the president said.

“If, on the other hand, you tell me that every corporate tax break that’s out there is somehow good for ordinary Americans, that we have a tax code that’s fair, that asking oil and gas companies, for example, not to get special exemptions that other folks don’t get, and that if we’re closing those tax loopholes somehow that that is going to hurt America, then that I disagree with. “

These are the same loopholes that Big Oil has been lobbying to protect. The industry has done a good job of influencing Congress to preserve the $15 billion in corporate welfare they get while programs that help everyday Americans, such as Medicare, are starving for government support.

Even as a deficit spending crisis loomed over the nation, closing tax loopholes and ending subsidies to Big Oil were a non-starter for Congress. As we previously reported, at the height of the deficit ceiling debate – when asked, Sen. Barrasso (R-WY) would not vote down government handouts to oil and gas. Instead, he called for mass overhaul of the United States tax code.

The market has demonstrated it is time for subsidies to end. Contrary to its claims of needing corporate welfare, Big Oil has enough cash to invest heavily in the newly formed Super Committee. According to OpenSecrets, the six Republicans on the committee have collected a total of $1,029,024 in oil and gas contributions in the 2010 and 2012 cycles. The six Democrats have taken in $308,950 in oil and gas money.

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Public health voice absent from fracking study

August 17, 2011 Leave a comment

Shutting out public health perspectives is becoming common place, this time its being done by the federal government

On Monday the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board’s (SEAB) Natural Gas Subcommittee issued several recommendations to, “improve environmental safety and performance from extracting natural gas from shale formations.”

Initial reaction to the report is mixed and that’s no accident considering the split membership of the subcommittee. The seven-member committee is made up of scientists, researchers and experts who have ties to both the fossil fuel industry and the environmental community. But absent from the committee’s membership was someone from the public health community. This exclusion has become commonplace as communities from coast to coast try to get to the bottom of hydrofracking.

Click here to see those on the subcommittee.

This latest omission was pointed out during public conference call shortly after the report was issued.

“I find it very interesting that this report contained absolutely no input from medical professionals. But on page eight of your report it outlines that public health is one of the four areas that you are trying to address,” said one of the first callers on Monday.

Between other prepared statements from callers on both the pro-fracking and anti-fracking sides another citizen pointed to the absence of a focus on public health.

“We are concerned and I am concerned, as a health care professional, about the health impacts of this practice. Why would you let a practice like this continue without knowing what the chemicals can do once they are placed underground,” said Ernie Hernandez of West Virginia.

It seems public health is where the line is drawn when it comes to studying fracking. Earlier this year, Garfield County, Colorado, wrestled with this very same issue after elected officials refused to recognize a health impact study that the county directed $250,000 of taxpayer money towards.  The three members of the Garfield County Commissioners, who are heavily funded by the gas industry, unanimously pulled the plug on the report. The report’s findings were believed to be damning to the industry. The second draft of the executive summary stated, “The principal findings of the HIA are that health of Battlement Mesa residents will most likely be affected by chemical exposures, accidents/emergencies resulting from industry operations, and stress-related community changes.”

This was hardly the first time a professional assessment of the public health concerns associated with hydrofracking had come back to reflect poorly on the gas industry. Just before the Garfield County health scandal, Dr. Sandra Steingraber, a biologist, well-known author and Scholar in Residence at Ithaca College, reported that chemicals used in hydrofracking could be an “enormous” risk that could cause complications with pregnancies.

“Do we want introduce into the environment more chemicals for which we have demonstrable evidence can harm pregnancies. They are reproductive toxins,” said Steingraber in an interview with the Checks and Balances Project in May.

Despite these well-documented findings and reports, the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board’s Natural Gas Subcommittee contained no voices from the public health community. This isn’t to say the board’s recommendations were entirely beneficial to the gas industry. The board’s call for the industry to disclose the toxic chemicals it injects into the ground was received well by those in the environmental community. On Monday’s call the chairman of the Natural Gas Subcommittee John Duetch said, “while our recommendations were all unanimous, I think each member of the committee would have done it very differently it were up to the individual.” Even if there were true, it’s hard to imagine public health getting more attention considering the lack of representation.

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Coloradans blame oil companies, market speculation for high gas prices

August 23, 2011 Leave a comment

Eight out of 10 Coloradans would crackdown on speculation and market manipulation to fight high oil prices.

DENVER – Coloradans blame market speculation and oil companies for high gas prices, and the vast majority say the best way to bring prices down is to crackdown on market manipulation, according to an internal poll released today.

The Checks and Balances Project commissioned Colorado pollster Chris Keating to conduct research that shows that 79 percent of Coloradans favor a crackdown on oil price speculation and market manipulation to reduce gas prices. The survey showed 77 percent of Colorado voters think reducing oil consumption through efficiency would be an effective way to reduce prices.

“Coloradans are tired of paying for their gas twice: once at the pump and again through their taxes,” said Matt Garrington of the Checks and Balances Project. “It’s clear car and truck drivers in this state want solutions to this problem now, including a crackdown on market manipulation, a balanced approach to energy development and an end to taxpayer handouts for oil companies.”

Coloradans strongly favor ending taxpayer subsidies for oil companies. Seventy-two percent of Coloradans say ending oil company subsidies and transferring them to companies that are developing wind and solar power would be an effective strategy for the nation.

“It’s time for oil and gas companies to stand on their own two feet,” said Garrington. “Coloradans understand that we simply can’t afford to pay billions in taxpayer subsidies to Big Oil. It is simply immoral to continue the Big Oil gravy train when Americans have been asked to sacrifice billions in cuts to Medicare.”

To reduce gas prices seven of 10 Coloradans favor diversification of the sources of energy by creating a national renewable electricity standard that requires 20 percent of electricity to come from sources like solar, wind and geothermal power.

The live telephone poll conducted May 24-26, 2011 by Keating Research, Inc. as an internal messaging survey. It was released to the public on the eve of the Americans for Prosperity “Running on Empty” Colorado tour stops that promote increased oil drilling. The Checks and Balances Project criticized the group as a front for Big Oil and noted that billionaire oil refinery tycoons David and Charles Koch fund the organization.

“The Americans for Prosperity tour is running on empty ideas. Instead of investing our energy dollars into drilling deeper and putting Colorado land and water at risk, we need to build cars that can go further on a gallon of gasoline and to tap into the clean energy of the wind and sun – energy sources we have right here in Colorado that never run out,” said Garrington.

Results of the survey were based on 603 interviews with registered Colorado voters statewide. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent.

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Another oil shale hearing? Let’s play Bingo

August 23, 2011 Leave a comment

On Wednesday, the House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources will host a field hearing on oil shale in Grand Junction, Colo.

For nearly a century, oil shale has been promoted as the miracle fuel, but it has yet to become commercially viable, let alone become a realistic option to meet America’s growing energy needs.

However, we don’t expect those details to stop Reps. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) and Scott Tipton (R-CO) and industry witnesses from repeating the nearly century old rhetoric about the vitality of oil shale.

So, the Checks and Balances Project created an Oil Shale Bingo Card (click to download) to track the sound bites you might hear about oil shale during the hearing. As you follow along, you can witness history be repeated as politicians and industry representatives use talking points, which are as true today as they were in 1910.

 

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THE BALANCE SHEET | Aug 24, 2011

August 24, 2011 Leave a comment

Our weekly update to unravel the industry and political spin around the energy debate

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

RUNNING ON EMPTY IDEAS

Koch Brothers front group Americans for Prosperity brought their latest attempt to distract Americans from the billions that oil and gas companies – like the one the Kochs’ own – receive every year in government handouts. Checks and Balance Project associate Cari Bohm was on the scene with some friends to let AFP know that their smokescreen efforts aren’t working. Watch the NBC news affiliate video.

SORRY MITT BUT CORPORATIONS ARE NOT PEOPLE

In an interview on CNN, President Obama used oil and gas corporations to explain the difference between companies and people. Mainly, that many politicians fight to protect the $15 billion in corporate welfare Big Oil gets while programs that help everyday Americans, such as Medicare, are starving for government support.

PUBLIC HEALTH MISSING IN FRACKING REPORT

On Monday the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board’s (SEAB) Natural Gas Subcommittee issued several recommendations to, “Improve environmental safety and performance from extracting natural gas from shale formations.” Initial reaction to the report is mixed and that’s no accident considering the split membership of the subcommittee. The seven-member committee is made up of scientists, researchers and experts who have ties to both the fossil fuel industry and the environmental community. But absent from the committee’s membership is someone from the public health community. This exclusion has become commonplace as communities from coast to coast try to get to the bottom of hydrofracking.

BIG OIL’S SUPER CONGRESS

The Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction has turned out to be a coup for Big Oil. Oil Change International reports that eight members of the Super Congress have voted “to allow oil companies to keep more than $4 billion annually in taxpayer subsidies.” And protecting those handouts continues to be a top priority for Big Oil – during the last election cycle, the oil industry gave more than $13.6 million to members of Congress.

DID YOU KNOW?

ARE KEYSTONE’S JOB CLAIMS JUST SNAKE OIL?

Since pushing for the Keystone XL pipeline’s development in 2008, the jobs created by the pipeline continue to be inflated. The National Wildlife Foundation reports that TransCanada first claimed in 2008 that 4,200 construction jobs would be created. Since then, the number has risen to 13,000 in 2010 and 20,000 in 2011. As the debate continues to grow so do the job claims by TransCanada.

COMING UP THIS WEEK

OIL SHALE BINGO

Reps. Scott Tipton and Doug Lamborn will host a field hearing on everyone’s favorite science fiction topic – oil shale. We wanted to use this occasion to recognize the nearly 100 years of oil shale rhetoric that politicians and oil and gas industry representatives have subjected us to. And so the Checks and Balance Project is proud to present Oil Shale Bingo. If you have nothing better to do than follow Tipton’s and Lamborn’s hearing, be sure to download a bingo card and mark off every time someone uses one of the same, tired phrases that we’ve heard for a century to describe oil shale.

CONTACT

Twitter: @checksandbals | Email: tips@checksandbalances.org

Filed under The Balance Sheet

Bingo! We win nothing; Oil shale still a failed idea

August 24, 2011 1 Comment

During Wednesday’s fielding hearing led by Reps. Lamborn and Tipton, both the Congressmen and witnesses repeated century-old rhetoric in an effort to promote oil shale as a “environmentally responsible” energy option.

And while we managed to fill up our Bingo sheet, we hardly won anything – the hearing resulted in the same failed ideas on energy policy and a lack of leadership for real solutions to our growing energy problems.

Below is a recap of the day’s testimony:

 

 

 

Oil shale reserves are going to be a lifesaver. (10/11/56)

  • Gary Aho, Board Member of National Oil Shale Association: Developing oil shale in the western US would create tens of thousands of high paying jobs, reduce the nation’s dependency on foreign oil, improve the balance of trade, enhance national security, provide a stimulus to the economy, and generate tax revenues for all levels of government.

The U.S. could be producing oil shale in 10 to 15 years. (06/08/79)

  • Dan Whitney, Oil Development Manager for Shell Exploration and Production Company: The road to commercialization is likely to be measured in decades not years.

The American petroleum industry seems once again to be turning its attention to the development of shale oil resources… (08/09/80)

  • Anu Mittal, Director, Natural Resources and Environment Division of the Government of Accountability Office (GAO): The federal government as spent $22M on oil shale research.

…As foreign petroleum prices continue to rise and political situations create new doubts about the availability of Middle East oil. (08/09/80)

  • Michael Hagood, Director, Program and Regional Development for Idaho National Laboratory: In the meantime, the U.S. will need to pursue securing access to reliable supplies of energy and at the same time lessen its dependence on politically and economically unstable sources of oil imports.
  • Dan Whitney: Shell has pursued the technical and commercial development of the In situ Conversion Process (ICP) for oil shale since the early 1980s as a means to produce from oil shale.
  • Brad McCloud, Executive Director of Environmentally Conscious Consumers for Oil Shale: There is even more unrest in the Middle East

A committee hearing looking toward development of fuels from oil shale. (04/02/51)

  • Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources Oversight Field Hearing on “American Jobs and Energy Security: Domestic Oil Shale the Status of Research, Regulation and Roadblocks.”

The shale covered a large area. (10/06/16)

  • Rep. Lamborn: “The United States is blessed with tremendous oil shale resources.”
  • Rep. Lamborn: “Nearly 75% of the world’s recoverable oil shale is estimated to be located in this country and we have appropriately been called the ‘Saudi Arabia of oil shale’.”
  • Rep. Lamborn: “Most of that shale is located right here around us, where according to the U.S. Geological Survey, the Western United States may hold more than 1.5 trillion barrels of oil.”

Thousands of acres of land rich with oil shale. (04/30/17)

  • Anu Mittal: The thickest and richest oil shale within the Green River Formation exists in the Piceance Basin of northwest Colorado and the Uintah Basin of northeast Utah.

Oil shale hailed as future source of oil. (09/26/23)

  • Michael Hagood: As world oil demand and prices continue to rise there will be increasing efforts to develop more of the unconventional fossil energy resources, such as oil shale.
  • Anu Mittal: As you know, being able to tap the vast amounts of oil locked within U.S. oil shale could go a long way toward satisfying our nation’s future oil demands.

Commercial oil shale development seems assured. (09/28/80)

  • Dan Whitney: Shell has often said, we intend to develop oil shale in a manner that is economically viable.

Shale oil will undoubtedly play an important role in meeting growing fuel demands. (10/31/53)

  • Dan Whitney: Properly developed, they could be a major component of US energy security.

Oil shale is believed to hold promise as a reserve supply of petroleum. (09/01/26)

  • Brad McCloud: The U.S. is sitting on a massive reserve of oil.
  • Rep. Lamborn: “Enough [oil shale] to provide the United States with energy for the next 200 years.”

A new era in oil production of the country. (10/06/16)

  • Brad McCloud: Companies like Shell, Chevron, American Shale Oil and Red Leaf Resources are continuing to develop exciting and new technologies that may lead to commercial viability and meet growing national and international energy needs.

Nearing a commercially feasible level. (04/02/51)

  • Thomas Sladek, Director of Ockham Energy Services: Enefit American Oil has acquired the Oil Shale Exploration Company project in Utah, which could, in time, produce 57,000 barrels of shale oil per day.

Scientists forecast that within three years they can demonstrate a practical method of oil shale operation. (10/18/46)

  • Michael Hagood: Realizing a sizeable oil shale industry can contribute significantly to U.S. energy security, but its establishment and impact could take several years.

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Americans for Prosperity creates jobs in China

August 30, 2011 Leave a comment

by Matt Garrington

Last week, Americans for Prosperity (AFP) wrapped up their tour to push Big Oil’s agenda under the guise of more jobs and lower energy prices in an effort to weaken protections for our air, water, public lands and oceans.

Ironically, it turns out that the AFP tour did help promote jobs … in China. Part of the free giveaways to the few who actually showed up to the “Running on Empty” tour stops, included $20 gas cards to Diamond Shamrock and small foam gas station pumps.

It turns out the toys were a made in China (see photo). Talk about a rookie campaign mistake.

The gaffe says everything about what AFP is all about … lining the pockets of their funders like the oil refinery magnates the Koch Brothers and Big Oil companies like ExxonMobil, Shell and BP… while ignoring what is actually important to western states and American families.

If AFP is going to be shilling for multinational oil companies and conservative political operatives, the least they could do is make sure the props are made in America.

The props and gifts didn’t do much for turnout. Most of the events had less than 50 people and were accompanied by an equal or greater number of opposition voices (the notable exception being the conservative stronghold of Colorado Springs).

And the $20 Diamond Shamrock gas cards seems like a paltry consolation prize to the $67.4 billion in profits oil and gas companies have made in the first half of 2011 thanks to the high prices Americans have been paying them at the pump.

Even Diamond Shamrock’s parent company, Valero, continued its climb away from junk bond rating status with $744 million in Quarter 2 profits, a 28 percent increase over last year.

The facts behind AFP’s tour were also a little thin. They blamed President Obama for a doubling in gas prices. The problem is that it’s just not true. The Denver Post’s political blogger, Lynn Bartels, pointed out that gas prices topped $4 per gallon under George Bush in May 2008. The Denver Post piece also covered ProgressNow’s counter effort which pointed to the tradeoff Republicans such as Reps. Doug Lamborn and Scott Tipton have asked Americans to make between funding Social Security and Medicare and Big Oil tax breaks.

When it comes down to it, the “Running On Empty” tour is about more giveaways to oil and gas companies – only this time it is in the form of the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the treasured landscape of the West.

Credit should be given where credit is deserved, however. Jeff Crank of AFP did tell Coloradans that he “couldn’t be more against subsidies to Big Oil companies.” (Video courtesy of Colorado Eyes on Congress.) It’s just too bad that they are spending their money from the Koch Brothers supporting the dismantling of air, water, and land protections instead of ending $15 billion a year in special tax breaks to Big Oil which they purport to support.

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THE BALANCE SHEET | Aug 31, 2011

August 31, 2011 Leave a comment

Our weekly update to unravel the industry and political spin around the energy debate

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY CREATES JOBS … IN CHINA

As part of their “Running on Empty” tour which wrapped-up this week, Americans for Prosperity tried to gin up attendance by handing out $20 gas cards to Diamond Shamrock and toy gas station pumps. It turns out that the toys were made in China. The gaffe shows AFP’s refusal to focus on issues that would actually help working Americans like ending the $15 billion in special tax breaks to the oil and gas industry.  They instead shill for Big Oil and weakening of protections for our water, air and public lands.

BINGO! WE WIN NOTHING – OIL SHALE STILL FAILED IDEA

During a House Natural Resources field hearing led by Reps. Lamborn and Tipton, Checks and Balances Project developed Oil Shale Bingo as a way to track the century-old rhetoric used by industry and their allies to promote oil shale as a energy option. While we managed to fill up our Bingo sheet, we hardly won anything – the hearing resulted in the same failed ideas on energy policy and a lack of leadership for real solutions to our growing energy problems.

A STRONG FINISH

Tar Sands Action will embark upon its last week of protests, ending Labor Day Weekend. As of today, over 500 people have been arrested in front of the White House as they urge President Obama to take a stance against Big Oil and dirty energy solutions that would endanger hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands and American families who live around the proposed pipeline. DeSmogBlog and TckTckTck created a Keystone pipeline infographic, which demonstrates the environmental risk of the pipeline.

DID YOU KNOW?

COLORADANS TO BIG OIL: YOU’RE TO BLAME

The Checks and Balances Project commissioned Colorado pollster Chris Keating to conduct research that shows that 79 percent of Coloradans favor a crackdown on oil price speculation and market manipulation to reduce gas prices. Coloradans strongly favor ending taxpayer subsidies for oil companies. Seventy-two percent of Coloradans say ending oil company subsidies and transferring them to companies that are developing wind and solar power would be an effective strategy for the nation.

COMING UP THIS WEEK

OIL FOR EXPORT, NOT FOR U.S. ENERGY SECURITY 

In pushing for the approval of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, Big Oil and its political patrons argue that the pipeline is necessary for American energy security and its construction will help wean America of dependence on foreign oil. However, in a closer look by Oil Change International at the new realities of the global oil market and at the companies who will profit from the pipeline reveals a completely different story: Keystone XL will not lessen U.S. dependence on foreign oil, but transport Canadian oil to American refineries for export to overseas markets.

CONTACT

Twitter: @CandBP | Email: tips@checksandbalances.org

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3 Security Concerns with the Keystone XL Pipeline

August 31, 2011 Leave a comment

As protesters continue to urge the Obama administration to stop the construction of a 1,600-mile crude oil pipeline, national security issues should be considered.

Canada is often considered the United States’ most peaceful and friendly ally. Our neighbors to the north are held in such high acclaim that many have used national security concerns to support the proposed construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. However an examination of the pipeline plan reveals three serious national security issues.

1-The Keystone XL as a terrorist target

Photo: MATEUS_27:24&25 / flickr

It’s hard to think of a larger target for our enemies to take aim at than a 1,661-mile pipeline measuring 36-inches thick and filled with flammable crude oil. To put this in perspective, consider that the entire length of the border between the United States and Mexico spans 1,989 miles. To guard the border, the United States government spends the money to arm, train, support and employ more than 20,000 border patrol agents. Whether this government program is able to effectively prevent illegal immigrants and contraband from coming into the United States has been hotly contested for decades.

The Keystone, which is just 300-miles shorter than the border, will travel through or near several of the United States’ major population centers. New Orleans, Houston, Oklahoma City and Lincoln, Nebraska all have populations of more than a million and are near the proposed pipeline. These population centers, along with Austin, Texas, Topeka, Kansas, Cushing Oklahoma and those living in North and South Dakota, would each be vulnerable to attacks if the wrong people decided to mess with enormous pipeline.

In 2005 Gal Luft, the Executive Director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security (IAGS) proclaimed that pipeline sabotage is becoming a “weapon of choice” for terrorists. Luft explained that the ease and large impact of messing with pipelines was behind attacks in India, Turkey and Colombia. The threat of terrorist attacks on pipelines has become so strong that Luft has said there are clear economic implications for consumers. Whether perpetuated for political or criminal reasons, assaults on oil infrastructure have added a “fear premium” of roughly $10 per barrel of oil.

2-The Keystone makes the United States no less dependent on foreign oil

Image: Oil Change International

Proponents of the Keystone XL have argued that the pipeline will make the United States less dependent on oil that comes from unfriendly parts of the world. While this claim is designed to resonate with those concerned about our foreign relations, the facts are that the Keystone XL will not lessen U.S. dependence on foreign oil, but instead transport Canadian oil in American refineries for export to overseas markets.

As reported this week, the Keystone XL is an export pipeline. “The Port Arthur, Texas, refiners at the end of its route is focused on expanding exports to Europe, and Latin America. Much of the fuel refined from the pipeline’s heavy crude oil will never reach U.S. drivers’ tanks.” Furthermore, information obtained from the U.S. Energy Information Administration and the Canadian National Energy Board points out that Valero, the customer for crude from the Keystone XL has developed a strategy to refine the Canadian crude in the United States and export it to foreign markets without paying taxes in the U.S. “Because Valero’s Port Arthur refinery is in a Foreign Trade Zone, the company can carry out its strategy tax-free.”

3-The Keystone XL is a threat to water and food security

Image: Human Resource Development Group

Beyond the concerns protecting the Keystone XL from terrorists and allowing it to pump oil to countries friendly to them, there are fundamental concerns about what could happen to our domestic security if the Keystone XL is developed.

The Keystone XL pipeline will travel directly over the Ogallala Aquifer, which has been vital to the United States’ as well as global food supplies since the 1950’s. Scientific America has already said serious damage to the aquifer would damage “one fifth of the total annual U.S. agricultural harvest.” Losing the Ogallala, according to that investigation would mean that, “more than $20 billion worth of food and fiber will vanish from the world’s markets.”

This damage is not something that is out of the realm of possibility. Heavy taping of the Ogallala has lead many to say the supply is already threatened.  Moreover, the fact that the giant water supply to America’s breadbasket is remarkably shallow (anywhere between zero and 400 feet according to the USGS) means the level of exposure to a crude leak is only heightened.

Pipeline leaks have become more abundant in the United States in recent years. Before the well-documented failure of an Exxon pipeline in Montana sent tens of thousands of gallons of crude into the Yellowstone River this summer the U.S. had already been seeing a steady dose of pipeline issues. Between January 2010 and February 2011, there were nine major pipeline explosions that resulted in 18 deaths, 13 injuries and 85 destroyed homes in the United States. One of those accidents included the spilling of 800,000 gallons of oil into the Kalamazoo River. If a similar accident, or a series of them were to compromise the Ogallala the damage would be catastrophic according to a report in the Telegraph. “If it does, the impact on the world’s food supply will be far greater. The irrigated Plains grow 20 per cent of American grain and corn (maize), and America’s ‘industrial’ agriculture dominates international markets. A collapse of those markets would lead to starvation in Africa and anywhere else where a meal depends on cheap American exports.”

These are the facts that make the Keystone XL expansion proposal a national security issue. In a world where oil and food markets are global and the threats to keeping these markets free come in many forms the Keystone XL expansion provides a lot to consider.

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The threat to air quality in the West

August 31, 2011 Leave a comment

Don Hooper, Interim Executive Director of the American Lung Association in Utah, and Curt Huber, Executive Director of the American Lung Association in Colorado, wrote an interesting opinion piece for the Salt Lake Tribune.

While the West is home to beautiful, open-air landscape, it is be threatened by oil, gas and coal refineries. “For the first time ever, health officials issued a high-ozone alert in rural Rio Blanco County in northwestern Colorado, where emissions from oil and gas wells are cooked by the sun into hazardous pollution.”

They went onto say:

To preserve the lung health of our residents, we must find a better way to balance energy needs with the economic necessity of clean air. If we want to maintain our one-of-a-kind quality of life, we need to better manage how we drill for oil and gas.

The individual oil and gas companies that have voluntarily begun to address air pollution are to be commended, but their efforts will only go so far. Protecting public health and welfare and safeguarding our air and land should not be left to chance. They should be guaranteed through better planning and management policies as well as enforceable drilling safeguards on public lands.

Interior Department Secretary Ken Salazar is working to foster more protective energy development on public lands through “Master Leasing Plans,” which will take a more inclusive look at the cumulative impacts of drilling and determine how we can better mitigate air pollution impacts. We support this approach and we believe it can make a difference.

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Video outlines industry influence over State Department and Keystone XL

September 1, 2011 Leave a comment

As protestors continue to make their voices heard outside the White House, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s connections to the proposed Keystone XL pipeline have become a hot button issue with those opposing the project.

Clinton’s State Department gave the okay for President Barack Obama to rubberstamp the proposed pipeline, which would connect refineries in the Gulf Coast of the United States with Tar Sands reserves in the forests of northern Alberta. The latest connection for Clinton comes in the form of a cartoon parody thanks to some creative minds at the DeSmogBlog.com. The video, which is posted below shows Clinton in the presence of some “friends” from the fossil fuel industry, who just happened to make large donations to her failed presidential campaign in 2008.

 

 

Clinton and the State Department play a critical role in the in the approval process of the 1,600-mile crude pipeline because the pipeline crosses an international boundary. Though her diplomatic role in the process is a matter of governmental protocol, her ties to the companies involved with the Keystone XL have frequently been called into question. TransCanada, the company that owns the existing Keystone pipeline, hired former Clinton campaign operative Paul Elliott as their lobbyist to negotiate with the State Department. This has resulted in lawsuits from ethical organizations and calls for Clinton to recuse herself from the approval process. Clinton ignored those calls, and last week her State Department approved the proposal.  Now, only Barack Obama can halt the project.

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Protesters highlight Clinton’s connection to Keystone XL

September 2, 2011 Leave a comment

The connection between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the proposed Keystone XL pipeline was not missed by the thousands of protesters who staked out territory in front of the White House over the last two weeks.

On Thursday several protesters brought up the connection between lobbyists with TransCanada, which owns the Keystone, and the former presidential candidate. Clinton, whose State Department gave the green light to TransCanada just a week ago, was actually dealing with familiar faces in the approval process. As pointed out in this video, as well as several other reports, the chief lobbyist working for TransCanada is Paul Elliot, who just so happens to have been a high level campaign operative for Clinton during her failed campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination against Barack Obama.

“TransCanada‘s lobbyists, of you look at how much money they are pouring into public relations and advertising it’s clear they are running the show and calling the shots, which is a sad state of affairs in Washington, DC.,” said Steve Horn of the DeSmogBlog, who was covering the protests in front of the White House on Thursday. Environmentalist and author Bill McKibben, who has been at the protests for a full two weeks pointed out that he still supports President Obama, though he says he is getting more skeptical by the hour that the administration will not step in to block the expansion of the Keystone XL.

“We are hopeful we are all wearing out Obama ’08 buttons on the other hand we are sitting outside his house and we know that too many tomes energy lobbyists have won out on these things,” said McKibben.

The video posted above shows protesters making their voices heard during Thursday’s demonstrations. Despite the passion of the crowd almost ever protester made a point to mention the connection between Hilary Clinton and TransCanada.

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Is Rep. Lamborn promoting unsafe CX?

September 7, 2011 Leave a comment

On Friday, Rep. Doug Lamborn’s Energy & Minerals Subcommittee is holding a hearing to examine categorical exclusions, or CX. During the Bush years, BLM officials used CX to avoid conducting comprehensive environmental impact studies prior to green lighting drilling permits. In May of 2010, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar reformed the use of CX in drilling permitting to avoid its abuse. Naturally, the oil and gas industry was unhappy to have to play by the rules. So enter Big Oil investment Rep. Lamborn to claim that a lack of CX is hurting the oil industry.

Originally used for streamlining low impact developments like safety fences or wildlife perches, five years ago CX changed. President Bush signed a law expanding the types of CX to cover oil and gas drilling projects. For the duration of the Bush administration, Bureau of Land Management officials applied these shortcuts with increasing frequency. According to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report from October 2010, from 2006 to 2008 the Bush BLM used CX in 61,000 cases, or 28 percent of all onshore drilling permits granted.

That same report stated that in 85 percent of the cases sampled, the CX were applied illegally, and drilling permits were improperly issued. In some cases, the GAO wrote, the CX, “may have thwarted (the National Environmental Policy Act)’s twin aims of ensuring that BLM and the public are fully informed of the environmental consequences of BLM’s actions.”

Rep. Lamborn’s hearing is titled, “Impacts to Onshore Jobs, Revenue, and Energy: Review and Status of Sec. 390 Categorical Exclusions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.” One statistic that probably won’t be brought up, at least not by Rep. Lamborn or his fellow Big Oil investments on the committee, is that onshore drilling activity is back to pre-recession levels and nearing a twenty-year high in the United States. Another is that the Interior Department expects to issue more than 40 percent more drilling permits in 2011 than it issued in 2010.

Finally, according to the Bureau of Labor Standards, the energy industry is adding an average of roughly 6,000 jobs per month so far this year.

The moral of this cautionary tale about CX is that BLM’s efforts to ensure common sense protections of our water, air and wildlife over the last year hasn’t hurt the oil and gas industry. After all, the oil and gas industry is already sitting on more than 6,500 unused drilling permits and idle leases covering millions of acres.

With that in mind, what will Focus on the Family have to say about Rep. Lamborn’s support of unsafe CX?

*Editor’s note: All credit for first thinking up “unsafe CX” goes to Sarah Gilman of High Country News.

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Tip Sheet: Industry and House members push for drilling shortcuts despite legacy of pollution

September 9, 2011 Leave a comment

**BREAKING NEWS** While testifying at Rep. Lamborn’s hearing BLM deputy director Mike Poole announces a rulemaking plan to, “set guidelines for use of categorical exclusions from detailed National Environmental Policy Act analysis for drilling certain wells.” Ben Geman at The Hill has the story  **BREAKING NEWS**

Industry groups and Washington politicians including Western Energy Alliance, Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO), Chairman of the House Energy & Minerals Subcommittee, and Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) are trying to use obscure, bureaucratic tools known as “categorical exclusions” to weaken air and water protections in an effort to hand over more public lands to oil and gas company CEOs. Earlier this year, Sen. Barrasso introduced legislation to eliminate May 2010 leasing reforms, and last month Western Energy Alliance was able to put the reform on hold when they won an initial lower federal court ruling. Today, Rep. Lamborn’s subcommittee will hold a politically charged hearing on the subject.

“It’s unfortunate that Rep. Doug Lamborn is using his power as chairman of the Energy & Minerals Subcommittee to create political theater on behalf of the oil and gas industry,” said Checks and Balances Deputy Director Matt Garrington. “We saw what happens under a ‘see no evil, hear no evil’ approach to energy development when these same sort of shortcuts led to the BP Gulf oil spill disaster.”

The use of “categorical exclusions” – which exempt drilling permits from scientific review – has a legacy of pollution that includes the BP Gulf oil spill disaster, air pollution levels in the Rocky Mountains that rival Los Angeles and huge declines in western wildlife populations.

Oil and gas companies already receive more than $15 billion each year in special tax breaks. These efforts to rollback protections are about more taxpayer-owned public land giveaways to oil and gas company CEOs, who use the lands to drive up share prices and get bigger bonuses.

Background

Five years ago, President Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005 into law. This sweeping legislation systematically removed a number of air, water, resource and wildlife protections for oil and gas development on public lands. Specifically, Section 390 of that bill expanded the use of “categorical exclusions” allowing the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to avoid scientific review when granting drilling permits to oil and gas companies.

Here are some findings in a 2009 study by the bipartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO):

  • The Bush administration applied these shortcuts with increasing frequency, using them in 28 percent of all onshore drilling permits granted from 2006 to 2008.
  • In 85 percent of the cases sampled, these shortcuts were applied illegally, and drilling permits were improperly issued.

This “see no evil, hear no evil” approach to public lands management led to unchecked pollution and development. Here are a few examples:

In May 2010, Interior Department Secretary Ken Salazar began cleaning up the mess by issuing a series of leasing reforms that included curtailing the abuse of “categorical exclusions” in the permitting process. The reforms have been a huge success. Drilling permits that have been subject to proper scientific review are expected to increase 40 percent this year. The Interior Department is on the right track and should stand strong in the face of Lamborn and Barrasso’s purely political attacks.

 

SUPPORT FOR REFORMS

The reforms to “categorical exclusions” and oil and gas leasing reforms that were announced in May 2010 were met with sweeping support from sportsmen, conservation groups, and several editorial boards, including the Los Angeles Times, the Denver Post, the Grand Junction Sentinel and the Salt Lake Tribune. And just last month, former agency officials including U.S. Forest Service Chief and BLM Acting Director Mike Dombeck, U.S. Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth and BLM Director Jim Baca sent a letter of support to President Obama.

 

INDUSTRY ACCESS TO PUBLIC LANDS FOR DRILLING

The oil and gas industry is already sitting on more than 6,500 unused drilling permits and idle leases covering millions of acres. If Rep. Lamborn and Sen. Barrasso really cared about developing American energy, they would support “Use it or lose it” legislation to encourage development of drilling leases already issued to oil and gas companies.

TIMELINE

August 2005 President George Bush signs the Energy Policy Act of 2005, weakening air, water, and wildlife protections from drilling, and expanding the use of “categorical exclusions.” These would later be illegally used under his administration to allow industry to avoid scientific review of drilling permits.
May 2010 Secretary Ken Salazar issues two critical oil and gas leasing reforms, including:
October 2010 The Government Accountability Office issues a scathing, 72-page report outlining the Bush administration’s illegal use of “categorical exclusions.”
March 2011 The Interior Department releases a report showing industry has failed to develop or even conduct exploration on 57 percent of existing onshore leases covering 21.6 million acres.
May 2011 Sen. Barrasso introduces S.1027, The American Energy and Western Jobs Act, which is intended to rescind the Salazar leasing reforms.
July 2011 Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and other Republican legislators launcha partisan attack on the “Master Leasing Plans” oil and gas leasing reform in a letter to Sec. Salazar, despite the fact that the policy will reduce conflicts on public lands and pave the way for future energy development.BLM data is released showing the industry has failed to develop over 6,500 onshore drilling permits, primarily in western states.
August 2011 The oil and gas industry wins a lower court ruling to block implementation of IM 2010-118, the “categorical exclusion” drilling reform.

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Kenya’s pipeline disaster opens eyes about Keystone XL expansion

September 12, 2011 Leave a comment

4 Reasons why we should learn from the deadly accident in Africa

Image: CNN

As the death toll rises following a pipeline explosion in Kenya, the proposed Keystone XL pipeline awaits final approval in the United States.

Initial reports out of Nairobi say at least 68 residents of a densely populated part of the city died after Kenya Pipeline Company workers failed to contain a leak. The concern in the United States is that this disaster could become commonplace once TransCanada’s Keystone XL expansion is put into place.

1-Comparing infrastructure failures and the death tolls

While the Kenyan explosion is the first of its kind in the unstable nation, it is the tenth reported explosion in the African continent since 1998. Most of the reported incidents since 1998 happened in Nigeria where an estimated 2,000 lives have been lost because of pipeline related accidents. Still, the number of explosions in Africa over the last 13 years is far fewer than the number of pipeline accidents in reported by TransCanada’s existing Keystone pipeline in the past year alone. That number happens to be 12. Other reports reveal that between 2010 and 2011 nine different explosions in the United States caused 18 deaths, 13 injuries and 85 destroyed homes in the United States.
Read more of this post

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The Balance Sheet for September 14, 2011

September 14, 2011 Leave a comment

THE BALANCE SHEET                                                                                 Sept 14, 2011
Our weekly update to unravel the industry and political spin around the energy debate

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

IS REP. LAMBORN PROMOTING UNSAFE CX?
On Friday, Rep. Doug Lamborn’s Energy & Minerals Subcommittee held a hearing to examine categorical exclusions (CX). During the Bush years, BLM officials used CX to avoid conducting scientific review prior to green lighting drilling permits. In May of 2010, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar reformed the use of CX in drilling permitting to avoid its abuse and protect air quality, water quality and wildlife. Naturally, the oil and gas industry was unhappy to lose the ability to take reckless shortcuts on public lands. So enter Big Oil campaign contribution recipient Rep. Lamborn who claims that a lack of unsafe CX is hurting the oil industry.

BLM PLAYS OFFENSE
During the same hearing, the Bureau of Land Management went on the offensive, announcing it would proceed with a rulemaking procedure to solidify Sec. Salazar’s reform. “[Interior] Secretary [Ken] Salazar should be applauded for continuing to ensure we have responsible energy development in the West,” Matt Garrington, Deputy Director of the Checks and Balances Project, told The Hill. “We have seen what happens when oil-and-gas companies take shortcuts, and it’s not pretty.”

PROTESTERS HIGHLIGHT CLINTON’S CONNECTION TO KEYSTONE
The thousands of protesters staked out in front of the White House didn’t miss the connection between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Keystone XL pipeline. The Checks and Balances Project captured video interviews of protesters making their voices heard during one of the final days of demonstrations.

DID YOU KNOW?

API JOBS REPORT: STRONG ON HYPE, WEAK ON FACTS
Last week, Colorado-based Headwaters Economics issued a rebuttal to the American Petroleum Institute jobs report. Headwaters Economics’ research highlighted a few areas where the facts didn’t uphold API’s hype:

API hype

  • Increasing regulatory burdens on the oil and gas upstream sector will result in higher development costs, which can potentially hinder the growth of production, tax revenues, and job creation.
 The facts

  • According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2011 the energy industry has boomed, adding roughly 10,000 jobs a month, and drilling activity is approaching a thirty-year high.
  • When it comes to land-based oil and gas drilling in the United States, there is little evidence that state and federal regulations are hampering industry’s ability to respond to market signals such as price, the “primeness” of a resource play, and technology.
  • The energy sector remains highly volatile, and a   review of its history would suggest future repetition of boom-bust cycles.

COMING UP THIS WEEK

WAS THERE A PROBLEM WITH OFFSHORE DRILLING?
On Thursday, the House Energy and Minerals Subcommittee is meeting to review proposed legislation concerning the Interior Department’s overhaul of offshore drilling policy. Our prediction – Rep. Lamborn and others will attempt to downplay the seriousness of the BP spill and try to get the words “regulations” and “jobs” in the same sentence as many times as possible. This hearing comes as  evidence is mounting regarding a potential new oil spill at BP’s Macanda oil well. The hearing is at 10 a.m. in 1324 Longworth.

CONTACT

Twitter: @CandBP | Email: tips@checksandbalances.org

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Coal reality vs. rhetoric and the money behind the lies.

September 16, 2011 Leave a comment

A utility report reveals that without coal the lights stay on

For years the rhetoric from coal country is that the United States doesn’t have enough energy to replace its coal plants, but recent events debunk these claims. In reality coal power plants are being shut down and utility insiders say there’s plenty of energy left for everyone.

Reality

PJM Interconnection, the nation’s largest transmission operator, has released a report saying system reliability is not threatened by coal-fired power plant retirements.

“Even with almost 7,000 MW less coal capacity clearing for the 2014/2015 Delivery Year, PJM estimates the RTO will carry a reserve margin of 19.6 percent for the Delivery Year, including the demand and capacity commitments of [Fixed Resource Requirement] FRR entities.”

The report comes in the wake of GenOn’s announcement that it would be shutting down the Potomac River Generating Station, a coal fired power plant in Alexandria, Virginia in 2012. Several other plants have been retired in recent years, in all cases the lights stayed on. In fact, PJM, which is also known as the utility provider that “kept the lights on” in the 2003 northeast blackouts said in its report that energy conservation and technological advancements in energy storage are playing a strong role in reducing the nation’s need for coal power.

“Add into the mix the potential for new entry from Demand Resources [demand response and storage], as has been the trend in recent years, and resource adequacy does not appear to be threatened,” read the report.

Rhetoric

The reality of the coal plant shutdowns and the PJM report directly contradicts the messaging framed by those working, in with and for the coal industry.

  • In 2010 William O’Keefe, the former head of the American Petroleum Institute, wrote a Washington Post editorial where he claimed, “The bulk of our electrical power comes from fossil energy and nuclear. It is going to take decades for that mix to change significantly and efforts to limit greenhouse gas emissions should be based on that reality.”
  • A columnist with the Lexington Herald-Leader wrote in 2011, “We will be burning coal for decades, because we must. No other energy source can replace coal any time soon.”
  • In 2009 Entergy Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Wayne Leonard told a Times-Picayune reporter, “The U.S. cannot afford to shut down its existing coal plants.

The dirty millionaires club

While this rhetoric is not based in reality, substantial funding from the coal industry backs it. In fact the most recent financing reports reveal that at least three major coal companies have contributed more than a million dollars to congressional candidates.

Still, no matter the price paid by the industry and the number of politicians purchased, the more the lights stay on the more the industry’s rhetoric fails to pass the truth test.

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Eight facts about oil and gas development and why it should matter to Rep. Scott Tipton

September 16, 2011 Leave a comment

With oil and gas booming, Rep. Scott Tipton should use his position as Chairman of the House Small Business Committee Subcommittee on Agriculture, Energy and Trade to protect small businesses and communities once the wells run dry – such as the outdoor recreation industry which contributes $730 billion nationally and $10 billion in Colorado to the economy.

Instead, he will hold a field hearing on Monday, September 19th in Grand Junction, Colo. to attack protections for air and water quality, wildlife, and public lands, all to advance the interests of the mining and oil and gas industries that donate to his campaigns.

Our tourism and recreation industries depend on responsible energy development and clean air, clean water, and healthy lands to thrive. Advancing one industry at the expense of another is bad policy and lacks common sense. We can both develop our energy resources while maintaining strong protections for our environment.

The oil and gas industry does not need any more government handouts. Here are eight facts about energy development that should matter to Rep. Tipton and be included during Monday’s debate. Since no public testimony is allowed these facts are not likely to be presented.

 

1.  Oil and gas companies receive $15 billion in special tax breaks.
Taxpayers for Common Sense outlined over $15 billion each year in special tax breaks to the oil and gas industry.

According to their analysis, Coloradans contribute over $251 million annually to federal oil and gas subsidies.

2.  About 57 percent of lands leased to oil and gas companies for development – covering 21.6 million acres – are idle.
Industry has plenty of access to public lands. The U.S. Department of Interior released a report earlier this year outlining the unused leases.

In Colorado, that report showed that industry had yet to develop 68 percent of its leases.

3.  Industry has yet to develop 7,000 drilling permits.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management recently testified in committee that the oil and gas industry has about 7,000 undeveloped permits where industry has a green light to drill.

The same is true in Colorado. Last year, for every three drilling permits issued for public lands in Colorado, industry started only one new drilling well.

4.  For the last two years, the BLM has approved more drilling permits than applications it has received.
The BLM has actually been clearing the backlog of permits not processed by the Bush administration and processing those permits at its highest rate in nearly a decade.

5.  Business is booming for the oil and gas industry.
The top five oil and gas companies made over $67 billion in profits the first half this year.

Colorado operator, Anadarko Petroleum, posted a $562 million profit compared to a $28 million net loss just one year ago.

6.  Drilling activity is reaching record levels in the U.S.
Oil and gas activity is back to pre-recession levels and actually nearing a 20-year high. In fact, there are more active drill rigs in the United States than all other countries combined. The national boom is being driven by higher prices at the pump, encouraging development of shale oil plays like the Bakken in North Dakota.

Analysis by the Checks and Balances Project of Baker Hughes data from January 1990 through May 2011 shows Colorado drilling activity is 60 percent above its 20-year average.

7.   The oil and gas industry is adding 10,000 jobs a month.
Despite the reported jobs slowdown last month, in 2011 the oil and gas industry has been adding roughly 10,000 jobs per month on average. In fact, The Wall Street Journal reported that energy jobs are at a two-decade high and that industry is worried about a shortage of skilled workers.

The Denver Post reported “from the recession’s end in July 2009 to July 2011, the Colorado energy sector added 5,100 jobs.”

8.   The United States is a net-exporter of petroleum products.
While it may sound unbelievable, over the last six months the United States has exported more petroleum products than it’s imported. That includes the crude oil we important abroad and the refined gasoline and diesel we sell to neighboring countries. Experts attribute this to reduced demand for oil in the United States to the economic downturn and increasingly fuel-efficient cars on the road.

Download: Tip sheet – Truth about Tipton’s energy claims – 2011.09

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ThinkProgress blogs on Tipton’s field hearing

September 19, 2011 Leave a comment

The team over at ThinkProgress posted a well researched, thoughtful article on Rep. Tipton’s field hearing today to review drilling standards. It turns out there is evidence that drilling near groundwater supplies can have negative effects on people’s health.

Click to read the full story.

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Advisory: Udall and Grijalva Ask for a Price Check on Behalf of American Families

September 21, 2011 Leave a comment

Update: Read Rep. Grijalva and Sen. Udall’s letter to the Comptroller General.

Rep. Raùl Grijalva and Sen. Tom Udall are announcing proactive steps they’ve taken to determine if American families are receiving what they deserve from the oil and gas companies that lease public lands. Grijalva and Udall have officially requested the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct an, “investigation of corporate profits and public financial benefits from mineral and oil extraction on federal lands.”

At a time when the five largest oil and gas companies are reporting $67 billion in profits over six months, while collecting $15 billion per year in government handouts, it’s fair to ask whether or not the industry owes their landlords – the American people – a little more rent.

“A GAO report is a great step in finding out how much the American public is losing in fair returns on the lands they’ve lent to oil and gas and mining companies,” said Checks and Balances Project Deputy Director Matt Garrington. “Americans are already paying oil companies near-record high prices at the pump, and then paying again through billions in taxpayer-funded corporate welfare. I commend Sen. Tom Udall and Rep. Raùl Grijalva for working to protect the American taxpayer by making sure some of the wealthiest corporations are paying their fair share.”

Thursday morning, Grijalva and Udall will hold a press conference to publicly release their request and explain why they’re concerned that Americans aren’t being fairly compensated for the billions in resources that oil and gas companies pull out of publicly owned land.

The Checks and Balances Project will continue to cover this story. For now, here’s the press conference information:

Grijalva Press Conference Details

Where: 1629 Longworth House Office Building

When: Thursday, Sept. 22, 9:00 a.m.

What: Public release of Grijalva/Udall GAO study request letter and media Q & A

Click to read Rep. Grijalva’s media advisory.

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Andrew Morriss: Bought and Biased Pundit on MSNBC

September 21, 2011 Leave a comment

On Monday, Andrew Morriss of the Mercatus Institute was a guest on the Dylan Ratigan Show. In a recent profile of the Industrial Wind Action Group, the Checks and Balances Project highlighted Mr. Morriss one of the many “experts” using disinformation to attack renewable energy.

The Mercatus Institute has received millions of dollars from the fossil fuel industry, and like most front groups, uses folks like Mr. Morriss, a Mercatus senior fellow, to promote fossil fuel talking points while posing as unbiased experts.

In addition, Mr. Morriss’ most recent book, The False Promise of Green Energy, was published by the Cato Institute, which received over $15 million of fossil fuel funds. In the book, he bashes the clean energy industry, claiming he wants a “free market.” True to form, he is quiet on the fact that the fossil fuel industry not only receives billions of dollars more in direct subsidies every year, but total fossil fuel subsidies could be as high as $52 billion per year (.pdf).

Fortunately, Mr. Ratigan and his panel were able to hit back on the true cost of fossil fuel subsidies. Watch the excerpt below as Professor Morriss tries to dodge the question as Dylan Ratigan and his guests ask about subsidies for the dirty energy industry. Click here to watch the full video.

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Standing Up for Our Western Lands and Heritage

September 25, 2011 Leave a comment

Third generation Wyoming rancher and former director of the Bureau of Land Management in Wyoming Bill Eikenberry is on Huffington Post with a unique perspective on the dangers caused by abusing categorical exclusions to create shorcuts to development.

Check out the piece.

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9 FACTS ABOUT THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY

September 26, 2011 Leave a comment

In a news release earlier today, the Western Energy Alliance claims that “Colorado BLM offered a shockingly low four parcels in 2011” for oil and gas leasing.

They failed to mention that Colorado BLM is set to auction an additional 54 parcels covering more than 41,700 acres. And, there are several million acres leased in Colorado for development that have not yet been developed. In FY2010, for every three drilling permits issued for public lands in Colorado, industry started only one new drilling well.

Here are a few other pertinent facts:

1. Oil and gas companies receive $15 billion in special tax breaks.
Taxpayers for Common Sense outlined over $15 billion each year in special tax breaks to the oil and gas industry.

2. About 57 percent of lands leased to oil and gas companies for development – covering 21.6 million acres – are idle.
Industry has plenty of access to public lands. The U.S. Department of Interior released a report earlier this year outlining the unused leases.

3. Industry has yet to develop 7,000 drilling permits.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management recently testified in committee that the oil and gas industry has about 7,000 undeveloped permits where industry has a green light to drill.

4. The Salazar leasing reforms are creating more certainty for industry, and the number of protested leases is down nearly 40 percent from just two years ago.
According to the BLM, the number of protested leases dropped nearly 40 percent from 1,108 in FY08 to 665 in FY10. As of September 15, just 105 parcels had been protested in FY11. (BLM fact sheet available upon request)

5. For the last two years, the BLM has approved more drilling permits than applications it has received.
The BLM has actually been clearing the backlog of permits not processed by the Bush administration and processing those permits at its highest rate in nearly a decade.

6. Business is booming for the oil and gas industry.
The top five oil and gas companies made over $67 billion in profits the first half this year.

Colorado operator Anadarko Petroleum (who sits on the board of Western Energy Alliance) posted a $562 million profit compared to a $28 million net loss just one year ago.

7. Drilling activity is reaching record levels in the U.S.
Oil and gas activity is back to pre-recession levels and actually nearing a 20-year high. In fact, there are more active drill rigs in the United States than all other countries combined. The national boom is being driven by higher prices at the pump, encouraging development of shale oil plays like the Bakken in North Dakota.

8. The oil and gas industry is adding 10,000 jobs a month.
Despite the reported jobs slowdown last month, in 2011 the oil and gas industry has been adding roughly 10,000 jobs per month on average. In fact, The Wall Street Journal reported that energy jobs are at a two-decade high and that industry is worried about a shortage of skilled workers.

9. The United States is a net-exporter of petroleum products.
While it may sound unbelievable, over the last six months the United States has exported more petroleum products than it’s imported. That includes the crude oil we important abroad and the refined gasoline and diesel we sell to neighboring countries. Experts attribute this to reduced demand for oil in the United States to the economic downturn and increasingly fuel-efficient cars on the road.

Click to read a new Bureau of Land Management fact sheet.

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THE BALANCE SHEET | Sept 28, 2011

September 28, 2011 Leave a comment

Our weekly update to unravel the industry and political spin around the energy debate

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

WHITE HOUSE CONTINUES PUSH FOR BIG OIL TO PAY FAIR SHARE

On Monday, the White House unveiled the “President’s Plan for Economic Growth and Deficit Reduction” which included cutting billions in wasteful taxpayer-funded subsidies to the oil and gas industry. The proposal also included measures for responsible energy development such as a fee on non-producing oil and gas leases as well as permanent funding for oil and gas permitting. The measures would help ensure companies develop existing leases and greater certainty for future oil and gas production.

REP. GRIJALVA AND SEN. UDALL REQUEST GAO INVESTIGATION

Rep. Raul Grijalva and Sen. Tom Udall sent a letter to Comptroller General Gene Dodar asking the Government Accountability Office to investigate whether or not Americans are receiving fair returns on the oil, gas, and hardrock minerals extracted from public lands. With a $14 trillion dollar deficit, it makes no sense to continue billions in taxpayer subsidies – including public lands giveaways through below-market royalty rates or even royalty-free development. If oil and gas companies are making money on land owned by taxpayers, those taxpayers should get a fair return.

SENS. JOHNSON AND VITTER’S ‘SHOCK DOCTRINE’

A classic example of a shock doctrine, DeSmogBlog reported Sens. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and David Vitter (R-LA) co-sponsored the Federal Accounting of Renewable Energy Act of 2011 (FARE) in an attempt to weaponize Congressional audit power with the intent to, “to hold the renewable industry to a far different standard than that of the fossil fuel industry.”

EIGHT ISN’T ENOUGH TO STOP TIPTON

Rep. Scott Tipton, who holds hundreds of thousands of dollars in oil stock, held a field hearing last Monday to talk about oil and gas regulations. Not surprisingly, there were a number of facts that were not entered into the record. The Checks and Balances Project compiled “Eight facts about oil and gas development and why it should matter to Rep. Scott Tipton.”

THOSE WHO DON’T LEARN FROM HISTORY… YOU KNOW THE REST

Over 60 people died when a pipeline exploded as Kenya Pipeline Company workers failed to contain a leak in the densely populated city of Nairobi. There is concern in the U.S. that this sort of disaster could become commonplace if TransCanada’s Keystone XL expansion is put into place. The Checks and Balances Project outlines four lessons Americans should learn before the pipeline moves forward.

DID YOU KNOW?

CLEAN AIR, CLEAN WATER, OPEN SPACES CREATE JOBS

Recreation and tourism account for 388,000 jobs nationwide, 247,000 of them at national parks. This according to a report titled The Jobs Case for Conservation that the Center for American Progress released last week. The report lays out fifteen sustainable policies to boost conservation job creation, jobs that will be around long after oil and gas booms and then busts.

COMING UP THIS WEEK

IT’S DÉJÀ VU ALL OVER AGAIN

Congress has to vote on another Continuing Resolution this week in order to keep American government funded. In what’s become a familiar story, Democrats and Republicans are both pushing their own philosophy for getting our deficit under control. The White House continues to call for ending billions in special tax breaks to the oil and gas industry, but nobody in House leadership seems to be talking much about making sure oil and gas pays its fair share. Let’s see if Congress thinks an industry that made $67.4 billion in the first six months of 2011 can’t afford to do their part to grow the economy.

CONTACT

Twitter: @CandBP | Email: tips@checksandbalances.org

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CAP sheds light on Big Oil’s books

September 28, 2011 Leave a comment

The Center for American Progress (CAP) posted an article today that takes a good look at the top five oil and gas companies’ financial shape. Here are a few highlights from what they discovered:

  • BP and Shell, the two largest foreign oil companies that operate in the United States, had combined cash reserves of nearly $32 billion at the end of last year (the latest data available). Added together, these five companies are sitting on cash resources of $59 billion, which is 30 times more than the estimated $2 billion in annual tax breaks that these companies receive.
  • [Big Oil] companies made more than $900 billion in profit from 2001 to 2010.
  • ExxonMobil had a lower effective tax rate than the typical middle-class family.

Click for even more information and a truckload of supporting data.

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Money Trumps Citizens in Keystone Pipeline Debate

September 28, 2011 Leave a comment

New info-graphic shows that Keystone’s support is small but heavily funded

By Andrew Schenkel

Icongraphic: TckTckTck/TarSandsAction

A recent info-graphic posted to the Huffington Post’s Green section shows the disproportionately large amount of opposition to the proposed Keystone XL pipeline compared to the support for it.

The graphic shows that there are literally seven major supporters for the pipeline. Compare that to the hundreds of thousands of individuals, elected officials, spiritual leaders and non-governmental organizations who are on the record opposing the plan. So how could a pipeline proposal facing such strong opposition continue to fly though the United States federal government’s approval process as easily as it has so far? The answer lies in the deep pockets of those seven supporters and supporting organizations.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Koch Brothers, ExxonMobil, the American Petroleum Institute and Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal are among the seven organizations that have advocated for the construction of the pipeline. Thus far the multi-billion dollar arsenal of this small group has trumped the mass of citizens opposing the pipeline. This small group of high priced dirty industry barons have also purchased the support of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper as well as the Alberta provincial government.

As you can see below, the info-graphic did still leave a question mark for President Obama’s position on the pipeline. This is a head scratcher since Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been directly tied with lobbyists with TransCanada, the company who will own and run the KeystoneXL. Still, the question mark shows that the president could still step in to block the pipeline, but given the deep pockets of those listed on the left of the info-graphic its getting harder and harder to envision Obama’s name being added to the right.

 

 

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3 More Sketchy Connections between Hillary Clinton and the KeystoneXL Pipeline

September 29, 2011 Leave a comment

New developments suggest former Clinton staffer dodged rules while lobbying Congress

New developments from Washington, DC reveal that lobbyists for TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline acted inappropriately while trying to gain support for the crude pipeline that would connect the Alberta Tar Sands with the Gulf of Mexico. Recent reports show that a chief lobbyist for TransCanada tried to influence American energy policy without filing under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). The reports also show a “cozy” relationship between Hillary Clinton’s State Department and TransCanada, as well as direct contact between the unregistered lobbyists and several members of congress. This news comes as the State Department continues to give every indication that it will allow the pipeline to be built, despite outcries from both the environmental community as well as those outraged about the ethical bankruptcy coming from Hillary Clinton’s department.

FARA violations

The FARA requires that any foreigners attempting to influence the United States Congress must register with the FARA Registration Unit of the Department of Justice. Emails between the State Department and TransCanada’s government relations employee Paul Elliott show that contact between the two had taken place form more than a year before he first registered as a lobbyist. This activity has resulted in questionable actions calling for a full investigation according to a report filed on September 27th. “Paul Elliott, a government relations employee of TransCanada, has acted as agent of a foreign principal and therefore violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act. We respectfully request that you immediately open an investigation of this matter,” Friends of the Earth attorney Gail Harmon wrote in a letter to Heather Hunt of the FARA Registration Unit of the Department of Justice.

The “cozy” relationship

Paul Elliott’s connections to Hillary Clinton are well documented. Elliott was a high-level campaign advisor to Clinton when she was running for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination in 2008. When her campaign fizzled, Elliott jumped aboard TransCanada’s lobbying team as the company geared up to convince the Obama administration that a pipeline carrying millions of barrels of crude oil across the country was a good idea. Emails obtained by Friends of the Earth reveal that while Elliot was contacting members of the United States government illegally, the State Department was providing, “insider information and coaching to Mr. Elliot and TransCanada.”

“Friends” in Congress

Even though TransCanada can face “serious penalties” for failing to immediately disclose their lobbying activity in the United States, it didn’t keep the multinational corporation from reaching out to members of both political parties. Some of the members that discussed the pipeline with Elliott’s team include Sens. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Ala.).

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Grijalva and Udall request GAO investigation

September 29, 2011 Leave a comment

Last week, Rep. Raul Grijalva and Sen. Tom Udall released a copy of their request for a Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation to determine if Americans are receiving a fair return on the oil, gas, and hardrock minerals extracted from public lands. This could prove to be an important step to shining the spotlight and shutting down one type of corporate welfare to oil and gas companies.

The top five oil and gas companies raked in $67.4 billion in profits in the first six months of 2011, with much of the oil they sold coming from public lands. That’s in addition to the $15 billion they receive annually through a variety of government handouts. The American public should receive a fair share for the development of publicly-owned lands.

Unfortunately, Big Oil isn’t paying their fair share and, in fact, are enjoying “royalty free” development of public resources. Here’s what Taxpayers for Common Sense outlined in their 2011 “Subsidy Gusher” report:

“Annual reports of the Minerals Management Service (MMS) from 1998‐2009 report $2.14459 billion in “royalty free” oil and gas production and estimate the royalty free production for 2011‐2015 will total $4.365 billion for oil, $159.867 million for gas (deep gas) and $2.384 billion in gas (deep water).

Grijalva and Udall asked the GAO to make two determinations:

  1. The amount of minerals extracted from public lands and the Outer Continental Shelf, and the value of those minerals.
  2. How much the federal government collected for these minerals – including royalties, rents and bonuses – and how this amount was determined.

Checks and Balances Project Deputy Director Matt Garrington had this to say:

“Oil and gas companies are robbing American taxpayers blind. ExxonMobil and BP are making billions and can pay a fair price for developing publicly owned oil and gas resources. The report requested by Rep. Grijalva and Sen. Udall is an important step to stopping the giveaway of our public lands to Big Oil.”

Lauren Pagel, policy director for Earthworks, also weighed-in:

“With record high metals prices and skyrocketing industry profits, it’s time for mining companies to pay their fair share. When it comes to our public lands, we need sound fiscal policies, not an outdated mining law that lets mining companies fleece taxpayers out of millions.”

Read Rep. Grijalva and Sen. Udall’s letter to the GAO.

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Info Graphic shows the BIG FIVE FRACKING THREATS

October 4, 2011 Leave a comment

From earthquakes to poisoning drinking water this image spells out all the concerns

 An info graphic posted on CleanTechnica outlines the concerns that people around the world are raising about hydraulic fracturing. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking – as it is commonly called, is an industrial process where poisonous chemicals are mixed with water and injected into the ground at high pressures to get to natural gas supplies. As the practice has become more common in Colorado, Wyoming and Pennsylvania it has been met with an outcry of concerns. This latest info graphic outlines the totality of the concerns. Below the Checks and Balances Project breaks down the info graphic and the five major threats fracking presents to both people and the planet. Read more of this post

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THE BALANCE SHEET for Oct 4, 2011

October 4, 2011 Leave a comment

Our weekly update to unravel the industry and political spin around the energy debate

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

FUNNY NUMBERS FROM WESTERN ENERGY ALLIANCE

The Western Energy Alliance chose to ignore market forces in its analysis of public lands leasing data. According to the EIA, the wellhead price of natural gas has been fluctuating wildly. Maybe that’s why there are tens of million of acres leased in the West to oil and gas companies that have not yet been developed.

The industry trade group pointed to low leasing numbers in states such as Colorado. However, they neglected to mention that the Colorado BLM is set to auction 54 parcels covering more than 41,700 acres this November. And in FY2010, for every three drilling permits issued for public lands in Colorado, industry started only one new drilling well. The only thing dictating drilling rates in the West is supply and demand.

A COZY RELATIONSHIP WITH KEYSTONE

New information revealed that lobbyists for TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline acted inappropriately while trying to gain support for the project. Recent reports show that a chief lobbyist for TransCanada tried to influence American energy policy without filing under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). The reports also show a “cozy” relationship between Hillary Clinton’s State Department and TransCanada, as well as direct contact between the unregistered lobbyists and several members of congress.

MONEY TRUMPS CITIZENS IN PIPELINE DEBATE

TckTckTck and TarSandsAction released an info-graphic illustrating the disproportionately large amount of opposition to the proposed Keystone XL pipeline compared to the support for it. The graphic shows that there are literally seven major supporters for the pipeline. Compare that to the hundreds of thousands of individuals, elected officials, spiritual leaders and non-governmental organizations who are on the record opposing the plan.

DID YOU KNOW?

LOOKING AT BIG OIL’S BOOKS

The Center for American Progress (CAP) took a closer look at the top five oil-and-gas companies’ financial shape. Here are a few highlights from what they discovered:

  • BP and Shell, the two largest foreign oil companies that operate in the United States, had combined cash reserves of nearly $32 billion at the end of last year (the latest data available). Added together, these five companies are sitting on cash resources of $59 billion, which is 30 times more than the estimated $2 billion in annual tax breaks that these companies receive.
  • [Big Oil] companies made more than $900 billion in profit from 2001 to 2010.
  • ExxonMobil had a lower effective tax rate than the typical middle-class family.

COMING UP THIS WEEK

  • Tuesday, October 4th, 10am:  SENR To receive testimony on the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board’s Shale Gas Production Subcommittee’s 90-day report.

CONTACT

Twitter: @CandBP | Email: tips@checksandbalances.org

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Potential Conflict of Interest for National Association of State Fire Marshals

October 5, 2011 Leave a comment

Yesterday, The Checks and Balances Project sent a letter to Jim Narva, the Executive Director of the National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM) and a for-profit consultant on fire issues, to inquire about potential conflicts of interest.

Based on a tip that clients from Mr. Narva’s private consulting firm have hired him because of his position with the NASFM, we reached out to Mr. Narva, as well as fifty state fire marshals who have placed their trust in him, to clear up any improprieties.

Because fire marshals have one of the most important jobs in the nation – protecting lives and property – they are rightly held to the highest standards of integrity. We simply want to ensure that Mr. Narva’s private sector consulting does not affect the important public safety duties our state fire marshals perform everyday. Narva Letter.

 

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Disclosing the ‘true ties’ of op-ed writers

October 6, 2011 Leave a comment

Today, 50 current and former journalists, media professors and media professionals joined The Checks and Balances Project to ask the New York Times to end the pervasive practice of industry-funded pundits placing opinion pieces that favors their funders, without these financial ties being disclosed to readers.

Through http://www.trueties.org, petitioners can ask the New York Times to end the masquerade of bought and biased pundits by ensuring that op-ed submission finalists disclose their financial ties – and reveal those conflicts to readers.

Here’s how this masquerade works. Earlier this summer, the New York Times ran an op-ed piece by Robert Bryce – an increasingly prominent proponent of fossil fuels and an aggressive critic of clean energy technologies – under the byline of “senior fellow” at the Manhattan Institute. Here’s the problem – Mr. Bryce’s employer, the Manhattan Institute, has received nearly three million dollars in funding from fossil fuel interests like ExxonMobil and Koch Industries. Nowhere was Bryce’s ties to fossil fuels told to readers.

The Trueties.org campaign asks the New York Times to set the industry standard and ensure their readers get the full story. By implementing better disclosure standards, the New York Times can stop the “Bryce Masquerade” and ensure better transparency.

Bought and biased pundits have the right to be heard; but we should know their true ties.

Go to www.trueties.org to see the full list of journalists who’ve signed the petition, to sign the petition and to learn more.

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THE BALANCE SHEET | Oct 12, 2011

October 12, 2011 Leave a comment

Our weekly update to unravel the industry and political spin around the energy debate

 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

DISCLOSING THE ‘TRUE TIES’ OF OP-ED WRITERS

Fifty current and former journalists, media professors and media professionals joined The Checks and Balances Project to ask The New York Times to end the pervasive practice of industry-funded pundits penning opinion pieces that favor their funders, without these financial ties being disclosed to readers. Through http://www.trueties.org, petitioners can ask The New York Times to end the masquerade of bought and biased pundits by ensuring that op-ed submission finalists disclose their financial ties – and reveal those conflicts to readers.

END FOSSIL FUEL SUBSIDIES, RESTORE FAITH IN CONGRESS

On Tuesday, 52 national and state organizations sent a letter to the Super Committee to demand the elimination of $122 billion in subsidies to fossil fuels industries and to make sure subsidies part of the part of the deficit reduction plan. “Americans of all political orientations strongly favor ending these subsidies to the oil, gas and coal industries” they wrote, adding that “[M]ost Americans feel that Members of Congress are more responsive to their campaign donors than their constituents.” Check out the results of the Checks and Balances poll from May asking Americans in an energy-producing state how they feel about billions in government handouts to oil and gas companies.

BIG FIVE FRACKING THREATS

An info-graphic posted on CleanTechnica outlines the concerns that people around the world are raising about hydraulic fracturing. As the practice has become more common in Colorado, Wyoming and Pennsylvania it has been met with an outcry of concerns. The Checks and Balances Project breaks down the info-graphic by the five biggest threats fracking presents to both people and the planet.

DID YOU KNOW?

KEYSTONE XL’S GROWING LOBBY PROBLEMS

It has been a rough week for Keystone XL. Friends of the Earth released a FOIA of emails that revealed close ties between Hillary Clinton, the State Department and Keystone XL lobbyist (and former Clinton staffer), Paul Elliott. Even more damning, DeSmogBlog uncovers seven other lobbyists with ties to Clinton spread out over three firms. And this all becomes public alongside the exposure of Koch Industries’ push for the pipeline following the Bloomberg Markets article.

COMING UP THIS WEEK

Following the lift of President Obama’s moratorium on the Gulf of Mexico one year ago, the House Natural Resources committee will waste taxpayers dollars to examine effects to the oil drilling industry. “Domestic oil production and energy jobs are actually higher now under Obama than when Bush left office. In fact, oil and gas companies are worried about a skilled labor shortage to handle all the new jobs,” says Matt Garrington of The Checks and Balances Project.

CONTACT

Twitter: @CandBP | Email: tips@checksandbalances.org

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Big Oil politicians to ignore facts: U.S. oil production higher under Obama than when Bush left office

October 13, 2011 Leave a comment

by Matt Garrington

On Wednesday, Rep. Doc Hastings led a full oversight hearing focused on President Obama’s now-lifted Gulf of Mexico moratorium to examine “lingering impacts on jobs, energy production and local economies.” Meanwhile, Hastings continues to waste taxpayer money on oversight hearings for problems that don’t exist. Domestic oil production and energy jobs are actually higher now under Obama than when Bush left office. In fact, oil and gas companies are worried about a skilled labor shortage to handle all the new jobs.

The hearing yesterday is just another pay-to-play hearing from Hastings where he uses taxpayer money to give air time to his Big Oil campaign contributors.

Key facts ignored during the hearing:

  • Domestic crude oil production is higher now under President Obama than when President Bush left office (see figure below).
  • Oil and gas activity is back to pre-recession levels and actually nearing a 20-year high. In fact, there are more active drill rigs in the United States than all other countries combined.
  • The Wall Street Journal reported that energy jobs are at a 20-year high and that industry is actually worried about a shortage of skilled workers.
  • On April 20, 2011, ATP Oil & Gas CFO Al Reese who is testifying at today’s hearing contributed $1,000 to Rep. Hastings re-election campaign.

Chart data from the Energy Information Administration

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Oil drilling is doing so well they’re burning natural gas …

October 14, 2011 Leave a comment

by Matt Garrington

Apparently, oil drilling is doing so well, oil and gas companies are burning off nearly one-third of the natural gas they produce in North Dakota. Now, House Democrats are calling for a congressional investigation into these oil and gas drilling companies’ practice of wasting a viable energy resource.

The request follows an article in The New York Times exposing the process. According to the Times, loose regulations in North Dakota has led to the widespread practice of deliberate burning off natural gas, commonly known as gas flaring.

Reps. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Bobby Rush (D-IL) criticized the practice in a recent letter to House Republicans and Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI): “These wasteful practices appear to be a result of high oil prices and low prices for natural gas.  Investments in infrastructure to capture the natural gas associated with oil drilling are not keeping up with the rapid pace of oil exploration and development.”

The New York Times also reports the gas flaring is wasting enough “energy every day to heat half a million homes for a day” and dumps “two million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year.”

The reason oil and gas companies are burning off the excess production is due to lack or storage capabilities and lack of access to a gas pipeline, which has a widely covered, troubled past. Yet, these corporations continue to extract and waste America’s energy supply with little regard to the trouble created.

“Our goal should be to utilize domestic energy resources responsibly to reduce our dependence on imported energy, not to squander vast quantities of natural gas,” writes Reps. Waxman and Rush.

In North Dakota, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages approximately 1,700 oil and gas leases, which generated $12.3 million in revenue in 2006. The BLM returned $6.2 million to the state. There is no doubt that North Dakota residents will not be happy to learn oil companies are squandering hundreds of thousands of dollars in potential revenue for the state.

These are also the same oil and gas companies who have been complaining about drilling regulations on public lands. In Washington, executives continue to ignore the facts when testifying before Congress – misrepresenting the truth about energy production. In fact, oil and gas activity is actually nearing a 20-year high. So it is wild that these corporations continue to get away with wasting energy, demanding more taxpayer handouts, and double-down on American families hard-earned wages.

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More drilling happening under Obama than last three administrations

October 14, 2011 Leave a comment

It’s official. There is now more oil and gas drilling occurring under the Obama administration than under the administrations of George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and the second half of the Reagan administration.

Salem Gebrekidan at Reuters has the story:

“The number of rigs drilling for oil in the United States this week reached a record high in at least 24 years as producers scrambled to tap resources in unconventional oil fields in North Dakota, Texas and other states, data from an oil services firm showed on Friday.

“U.S. oil rigs rose to 1,080, the highest number on Baker Hughes’ data, which goes back to 1987. The oil-directed rig count this week is 55.4 percent higher than a year ago, when 695 rigs were operating.”

Read the full story.

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5 Sketchy ties between Herman Cain and Koch Brothers

October 18, 2011 Leave a comment

Several new reports show Cain is in the back pocket of dirty industries

By Andrew Schenkel

Herman Cain’s quick rise up the political latter is raising eyebrows in the energy community. On the campaign trail Cain loves touting his business background. He likes to cast himself as the ultimate outsider but his rise appears to be an inside job. Enter Charles and David Koch. Yes, the same Koch brothers who have been profiled by The New Yorker and 60 Minutes for working behind the scenes of the American political system to manipulate environmental policy for the betterment of their chemical companies. And yes, the same David and Charles Koch who recently came under fire for secret dealings with the Iranian government. These two men are also behind Herman Cain’s climbs in GOP and Cain isn’t even hiding it for one second.

1-Herman Cain says Koch Brothers are Patriots

It doesn’t get any more apparent than the video posted by ThinkProgress (watch below): When a reporter asked Cain what he thought of the Koch brothers. Cain asked for the question again, thought for a moment and then put it right out there, “David Koch is a patriot and David Koch cares about the future of this country, his brother Charles is also a patriot and cares about the future of this country.” Okay well now we know how he really feels. As for those people who say the Kochs have too much power over policy in the United States, Cain has some choice words for them: “Typical liberal way. They are of conservative and they are attacked because they are rich.”

Read more of this post

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Having your cake and eating it too…

October 18, 2011 Leave a comment

Ted Zukoski at unEarthed compares the oil and gas industry to a hungry, angry baby in his blog post today examining Secretary Salazar’s and the BLM’s latest decision to protect Colorado’s Vermillion Basin while allowing drilling on the vast majority of lands in the area.

“Meet the oil and gas industry in Colorado, the crybaby of the West’s public lands debate,” is his line following a metaphorical intro involving cake that made us briefly think he was recreating the old Bill Cosby parenting bit. Ted delivers a clear view of the facts surrounding the oil and gas industry’s insatiable appetite for land.

In spite of a 24-year high in drilling activity and the availability of 7,000 unused drilling permits with a green light to drill, the oil and gas industry still says that allowing drilling on 90 percent of a 2.4 million acre parcel is a “conservation-only approach.”

We recommend giving Ted’s post a read.

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Hydraulic Fracturing undermining mortgages

October 20, 2011 Leave a comment

Agreements to frack on private property could cause defaults and plummeting home prices.

By Andrew Schenkel

 

For the more than one million Americans who have been offered cash for the right to hydraulically fracture their property, an investigation by The New York Times outlines their biggest fears: devalued property and potential defaults.

Image: arimore/flickr

Ian Urbina’s investigation, which went to print on October 20th, points out that deals offered to landowners for drilling rights may be in direct conflict with the mortgage agreements between banks and citizens. According to Urbina’s report, “bankers are concerned because many leases allow drillers to operate in ways that violate rules in landowners’ mortgages.” Banks have traditionally stayed out of the deals made between the gas industry and landowners, which has caused countless families to be living in violation of the terms of their home mortgages without even knowing it. This, needless to say, could cause citizens to contractually default on their loans and for the bank to demand full payment

The recent investigation notes that the technical default situation has not yet occurred on a widespread level, but the fears that the gas industry could be on the cusp of causing another mortgage crisis has created an atmosphere where more red tape would be added to mortgage procedures. From the investigation: “In terms of litigation, there is a real potential for a domino effect here if lenders at each step of the way made guarantees that are invalid,” said Greg May, vice president of residential mortgage lending at Tompkins Trust Company, headquartered in Ithaca.

Another part of the investigation included a presentation given by the Pennsylvania Credit Union Association, which compared getting drilling procedures in line with mortgage regulations to “solving a Rubik’s Cube.” The presentation outlines the basic questions of how this can be done, while minimizing risk for local lenders.

In recent years, landowners in heavily ‘fracked’ parts of the county, like Garfield County Colorado, have seen property values plummet. Retirees, like Dee Hoffmeister and Lisa Bracken, have experienced this first hand. Both of their families have found themselves powerless to pursue any recourse at recovering the damage done to their personal assets.

 

 

 

Related Articles:

The Silent Treatment: Why those out west are watching the fracking reports from the east.

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Gingrich attacks oil and gas subsidies

October 25, 2011 Leave a comment

At yesterday’s Iowa Faith and Freedom conference, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich called for a level subsidies playing field. He pointed out how politicians claim to be looking for every way to cut the deficit, but many in the GOP steadfastly refuse to touch the billions in tax dollars that go to oil and gas companies every year. The same companies that make profits in the billions.

Read the full story at ThinkProgress.

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THE BALANCE SHEET | Oct 25, 2011

October 25, 2011 Leave a comment

Our weekly update to unravel the industry and political spin around the energy debate

 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

NEXT API AND EXXONMOBIL WILL BE COUNTING LEMONADE STANDS

The Washington Post’s Steven Mufson and Jia Lynn Yang looked at API’s questionable use of “induced” jobs in their claims of job creation. For instance, API includes valets, day-care providers and librarians in their reckoning. It’s a great example of why, according to economist, consultant and retired professor of management at the University of Calgary’s business school Philip K. Verleger, “The API is the best there is at lying with statistics.” Read the story.

TIDAL WAVE OF CAMPAIGNS HIT WESTERN STATES ON OIL AND GAS SUBSIDIES

Grassroots groups across the political spectrum from budget watchdog Taxpayers for Common Sense to Environment Washington have been working feverishly for the last few months to see an end to government handouts to the oil and gas industry. Last week, Taxpayers launched radio ad campaigns in Washington and Colorado calling for an end to government handouts. Meanwhile, Environment Washington toured the Puget Sound area – including Olympia, Tacoma and Seattle – with a mobile billboard reading, “Big Oil gets tax break$ – We get the pollution.”

HOW TO MAKE FRACKING COOL

Just a few short weeks ago the Colorado Oil & Gas Association was described as having its collective “ass kicked” when it came to hydraulic fracturing. The head of the state industry association said its problem is that it is not on Facebook and not watching enough South Park. Really. The Checks and Balances Project imagined what a fracking insider’s Facebook profile might look like. As you can see it may solve all of the industry’s public relations nightmares.

FRACKING UNDERMINES MORTGAGES

For the more than one million Americans who have been offered cash for the right to hydraulically fracture their property, The New York Times investigation highlights their biggest fears: devalued property and potential defaults. Ian Urbina’s story, which went to print on October 20th, points out that deals offered to landowners for drilling rights may be in direct conflict with the mortgage agreements between banks and citizens.

 

DID YOU KNOW?

DOMESTIC ENERGY PRODUCTION AT RECORD HIGH

Oil and gas politicians are trying desperately to avoid mentioning the facts about our current, domestic energy production.

  • There are now more active drill rigs than under the last three Presidents and more than the second half of President Reagan’s second term.
  • Domestic crude oil production is higher now under President Obama than when President Bush left office.

Read more.

 

COMING UP THIS WEEK

BIG OIL ANNOUNCES Q3 PROFITS

Big Oil has amassed $67.4 billion in profits the first six months of this year. Now it’s time to find out how they did in the third quarter. The question is what effect these numbers will have on the Super Committee’s decision regarding the billions in government handouts these same companies collect every year.

Schedule

  1. BP (BP): Tuesday, Oct. 25
  2. ConocoPhillips (COP): Wednesday, Oct. 26
  3. Royal Dutch Shell (RDS): Thursday, Oct. 27
  4. ExxonMobil (XOM): Thursday, Oct. 27
  5. Chevron (CVX): Friday, Oct. 28

 

CONTACT

Twitter: @CandBP | Email: tips@checksandbalances.org

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Pattern of congressional influence in production of EIA reports

October 26, 2011 Leave a comment

On Monday, the Energy Information Administration (EIA), at the behest of Congressman Ralph Hall (R-TX) released a report on a proposed clean energy standard. The parameters for this study, as set by Congressman Hall, were so flawed that the EIA had to develop new nomenclature to distance itself from the report’s findings. Fittingly, EIA named it the “Hall Clean Energy Standard” to distinguish it from reality.

In March 2011, Representative Hall, who has received over $500,000 in campaign contributions from the fossil fuel industry, asked the EIA to analyze a clean energy standard using policy scenarios that were so limited, the results would be little more than talking points for the dirty energy industry (See a .pdf of Rep. Hall’s request letter here).

Congresswoman Johnson (D-TX) summed up this flawed analysis by saying that the Hall Clean Energy standard “…is altogether very different from the policy envisioned by the President and Congressional leaders.”  In fact, it is so outlandish that it is nowhere near “…what would likely ever be developed or implemented.”

Thankfully, later this month, the EIA will release a report requested by Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) based on sound analysis rather than speculation that benefits the fossil fuel industry. The Bingaman report includes a more thorough, scenario-based analysis with specific policy mechanisms that could mitigate the potential economic effects of the President’s plan (See a .pdf of Senator Bingaman’s letter and an update to his request).

Congressman Hall is unfortunately not the first fossil fuel-funded Member to rig a report by handcuffing the EIA with the limited parameters. For more on this pattern of report rigging, the Checks and Balances Project is releasing a set of emails from the EIA, obtained via the Freedom of Information Act, that shows this disturbing pattern.

Read more of this post

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Industry Insider Says It’s Time to Make Fracking Cool

October 26, 2011 Leave a comment

Facebook, “South Park” and perhaps an image makeover are what the dirty gas industry needs to clean up its reputation.

by Andrew Schenkel

Just a few short weeks ago the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission was described as having its collective “ass kicked” when it came to hydraulic fracturing. A Colorado natural gas executive said the problem with the industry is that it is not on Facebook and not watching enough South Park… Really.

During the conference, “Enhancing Shale Oil & Gas Development Strategies” in Denver, Tisha Conoly-Schuller the president and CEO of the Colorado Oil & Gas Association (COGA) outlined the reasons why the public has turned against hydraulic fracturing and ways to fix this public relations nightmare.

The solution, in her mind, was simple: Make fracking cool. Among the many recommendations was to “[reposition] the industry to appeal more broadly to young people.”

NaturalGasWatch.org, which was the “official blogger” of the event, quoted Conoly-Schiller in saying, “people that like South Park are our audience.” She then went on to say that one way of tapping into that audience is through social media. “Conoly-Schuller closed her remarks by urging each of the executives to get on Facebook,” reported Natural Gas Watch.

It is quite interesting to suggestion that fracking is just not hip or edgy enough to be a winner in the eyes of the 18 through 35-year-old demographic. Perhaps the industry’s next move can be a living social deal… or better yet they could give image makeovers to their talking heads: T. Boone Pickens could simply be the T. Boone, Chesapeake Electric CEO Aubrey McClendon shall hence forth be known as A-McClizzle, and the Williams Corporation could appeal to the hipster crowed dressing its CEO Steven J. Malcolm in some skinny jeans, thick glasses and a tasteful flannel. Malcolm will keep his name the same, but he will listen to some music that you have never heard of and make sure you know that everything you listen to is too main stream.

The Checks and Balances Project imagined what a fracking insider’s Facebook profile might look like. As you can see below, it may solve all of the industry’s public relations nightmares.

Originally posted on The Huffington Post.

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THE BALANCE SHEET | November 08, 2011

November 8, 2011 Leave a comment

Our weekly update to unravel the industry and political spin around the energy debate

 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

HUNTSMAN GETS IT HALF RIGHT

During a stump speech on the campaign trail, former governor and current Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman failed to address the facts of domestic oil and gas production. Huntsman didn’t mention that drilling activity is at the highest it has been since the Reagan administration, or that the U.S. has been a net exporter of petroleum products for the last year. The Checks and Balances Project’s Matt Garrington told the Salt Lake Tribune, “It’s unfortunate though that Huntsman calls for weakening air and water protections from drilling,”

PATTERN OF CONGRESSIONAL INFLUENCE FOUND IN EIA REPORTS

In the last week of October, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) released a report commissioned by Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX) on a proposed clean energy standard. The parameters Rep. Hall set for this study were so flawed that the EIA had to develop new terms in order to distance itself from the report’s findings.

Unfortunately, Rep. Hall is not the first oil and gas investment to rig a report by handcuffing the EIA with limited parameters. The Checks and Balances Project released a set of emails from the EIA, obtained via the Freedom of Information Act, that demonstrates this disturbing pattern.

$540K SPENT ON LOBBYING FOR KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE

DeSmog Blog reports that TransCanada spent $540,000 to lobby politicians during 2011’s third quarter. The money flowed through TransCanada’s in-house lobbyist, Paul Elliott, and two lobbying firms that have ties to Hillary Clinton.

 

DID YOU KNOW?

BIG OIL Q3 PROFITS

The Big 5 released their third quarter profits at the end of October, bringing their total to $100 billion dollars so far this year. Keep in mind, these same companies are crying about having to pay their fair share in taxes and spending millions campaigning against efforts to convince the Super Committee to cut $15 billion a year in special tax breaks.

Company 2011 Q3 Profits 2010 Q3 Profits
ExxonMobil $10.33 billion (+41%) $7.35 billion
Royal Dutch Shell $6.98 billion (+101%) $3.46 billion
BP $4.9 billion (+172%) $1.8 billion
ConocoPhilips $2.62 billion (-14%) $3.06 billion
Chevron $7.83 billion (+49%) $3.8 billion

 

COMING UP

EXXONMOBIL WANTS TO RAISE YOUR HEATING AND ELECTRIC BILLS

On Tuesday, the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on the concerning trend of new facilities being developed for exporting natural gas. Oil and gas companies stand to benefit big by exporting American natural gas to markets in China and elsewhere, raising natural gas prices and increasing heating and electric bills here at home.

 

CONTACT

Twitter: @CandBP | Email: tips@checksandbalances.org

Filed under The Balance Sheet

Meet the friends of fracking: John Hickenlooper

November 8, 2011 Leave a comment

A closer look at those in power who are friendly to the fracking industry (Part 1 of 3)

 

When Tisha Conoly-Schuller of the Colorado Oil & Gas Association said the way to make fracking cool was to get the fracking community on Facebook, it served as a reminder that there are some interesting friends of fracking out there. While the general Facebook page for the frackers is making its way around the Internet, thanks to our friends over at the Huffington Post, when you look closely at it you may find familiar names.

 

Today, in the first of three profiles, we take a closer look at fracking friend John Hickenlooper who serves as the Governor of Colorado. The popular Hickenlooper is not exactly on of fracking’s BFFs. On the surface Hickenlooper has been a steady supporter of the aggressive development of gas supplies through fracking. As recently as mid October Hickenlooper went out of his way to defend the practice of hydraulic fracturing in Colorado.

During an interview with The Daily Sentinel, Hickenlooper touted fracking in the Centennial State.  He acknowledged that the practice causes accidents but said he’s okay with it as long as the state can levy fines. “If they keep doing it, we should raise the fines. At some point it will get their attention,” he said. Hickenlooper’s trustworthy approach to the gas industry goes back a bit further than his recent interview with the Sentinel. In August, a right-leaning website, ColoradoPeakPolitics.com, showcased the democratic governor as a fracking champion after Hickenlooper proclaimed it was “inconceivable” for fracking to cause ground water contamination. This fact directly contradicts findings in Garfield Colorado where a scientist found measurable amounts of methane in the West Divide Creek, near several fracking sited. After Hickenlooper’s comments, ColoradoPeakPolitics.com could not have been clearer about the blow Hickenlooper was delivering to the pro-safe drinking water community. “Take that New York Times. Take that Gasland. Take that radical tree-hugging anti-drilling environmental wackos,” wrote the site.

Now, Hickenlooper hasn’t been all pro-fracking all the time. Even though he has been heavily funded by the gas industry, including a party thrown for him shorty after his inauguration by Encana, the governor has steadfastly supported disclosure rules for the toxic fracking fluids used in the process.

So perhaps if Hickenlooper and fracking were to be in a Facebook relationship it would be filed under “it’s complicated.” Nonetheless, the two are clearly friendly.

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Meet the friends of fracking: Tom Ridge

November 9, 2011 Leave a comment

A closer look at those in power who are friendly to the fracking industry (Part 2 of 3)

 

Facebook isn’t just a social network it’s a great way to tell stories. When our friends over at the Huffington Post posted our fracking Facebook post, it didn’t just serve as a social commentary on the connection between the gas industry and those regulating it, it showed that there are some big names connected to the practice of hydraulic fracturing.

Today, we take a closer look at former Pennsylvania Governor and Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge who has never been bashful about his pride within the industry. Ridge is perhaps best known for his admirable service to this country in the years after the September 11th terrorist attacks. Now he has become known for what many are calling shameless support for the hydraulic fracturing process.

Ridge currently makes a reported $75,000 per month working for a Washington, DC based lobbying firm. However, here is where things get a bit complicated for Ridge who refuses to acknowledge that he is a lobbyist for the gas industry. Despite the fact he is paid to influence policy makers with pro-fracking rhetoric, Ridge won’t say the “L” word.

When grilled on the Colbert Report (video below) Ridge wouldn’t say it. But that’s okay, he doesn’t have to say that he is a lobbyist because he has already filed the paperwork to become one.  The paperwork shows that Ridge filed to be a lobbyist in August of 2010. At almost the exact time Ridge filled out his lobbyist paperwork, the Marcellus Shale Commission, a Pennsylvania oversight committee tasked with regulating hydraulic fracturing, hired Ridge as an “advisor.” Following Ridge’s statements on the Colbert Report, the Checks and Balances Project emailed Ridge’s secretary for an explanation about his definition of lobbying. To this date, Ridge nor his office has responded.

Ridge is not the only member of the commission with direct ties to the industry. Many of the members of the commission are representatives of the gas industry. Earlier this year, the Checks and Balances Project reported on blatant underhanded influence over the commission on behalf of the industry. A concerned citizen even caught the Lieutenant Governor’s assistant on camera as he lied about how the way members of the public were allowed to address the commission.

Now, Ridge is amongst friends as a member of the Marcellus Shale Commission. Ridge gets to wear two hats there: part regulator and part lobbyist – he just won’t admit the latter.

–

Read Part 1 (of 3): John Hickenlooper

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Meet the friends of fracking: David Neslin

November 10, 2011 Leave a comment

A closer look at those in power who are friendly to the fracking industry (Part 3 of 3)

Picking your friends is an important task and for the hydraulic fracking industry. It means selecting folks to be part of a close nit group. When the Huffington Post published our Facebook fracking graphic, it showed that there are some tight connections between energy companies and those tasked with regulating the hydraulic fracturing process. Hydraulic fracturing is a process where chemicals and water are mixed and injected underground at a high pressure to get to previously inaccessible natural gas supplies.

Because there have been some serious concerns about fracking and water contamination a microscope has been places on those who regulate it. In the heavily fracked state of Colorado, David Neslin, the head of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC), is someone many are taking a closer look at. And the closer one looks at the COGCC and Neslin, the easier it is to see that their relationship is quite friendly.

Neslin who was reappointed to head the COGCC this summer by fellow fracking friend John Hickenlooper (include link) decided to take a field trip this spring to Washington, DC. Before a congressional committee, Neslin repeatedly painted a rosy picture of the hydraulic fracturing process. He said water contamination had never happened in the state and continuously went on to mention the jobs created by fracking in Colorado. But this was a bit different from what he told the Checks and Balances Project just five minutes after his committee hearing ended. (Video posted below).

Neslin admitted that cracks in cement casings, and failures in containment wells had indeed led to toxic fracking fluid making its way into water supplies. He also admitted that he was aware of Geoffrey Thyne findings that methane from fracking had indeed made its way into the West Divide Creek. It seems Neslin just decided to not mention this to the Senate committee. Perhaps he was just protecting industry interests. Neslin has refused to respond to friend requests from the Checks and Balances Project since the encounter.

–

Read Part 1 (of 3): John Hickenlooper
Read part 2 (of 3): Tom Ridge

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It’s Déjà vu all over again

November 16, 2011 Leave a comment

The Public Lands Team at Think Progress posted a great report last night on today’s House Natural Resources Committee meeting today to discuss drilling. It turns out this is the committee’s 20th meeting on this topic. Again they’re ignoring the fact that U.S. drilling activity is higher now under the Obama administration than at any time since Reagan was in office, and Big Oil has made a cool $101 billion in just the first three quarters of this year.

Why are they ignoring this you may ask? Maybe it’s because, as Think Progress shows us, the oil and gas industry is giving a lot of money to committee members. So far Republican committee members have scooped up $485,506 in oil and gas dollars for the 2012 election, and Democrats have $79,000 in oil and gas contributions.

“Tomorrow, less than a week after issuing the most recent five-year leasing plan for offshore oil and gas development, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar is slated to testify in front of the House Natural Resources Committee on “The Future of U.S. Oil and Natural Gas Development on Federal Lands and Waters.” As part of the committee’s 19 previous hearings, members of the committee have accused the Obama administration and the Secretary of “dramatically declined permitting,” imposing “constant obstacles,” and putting “the brakes on” American energy development.”

Read the rest of the Think Progress article.

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The Balance Sheet for November 16, 2011

November 16, 2011 Leave a comment

Our weekly update to unravel the industry and political spin around the energy debate

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

TELLING THE REAL STORY ABOUT OIL SHALE

Last week, a former elected official and representatives of sportsman and conservation groups flew into Washington, DC. Their mission was to educate members of Congress and the administration about the damage that continued oil shale speculation can have on jobs, drinking water and air quality in the West.

FRACKING INDUSTRY USES MILITARY TACTICS ON CITIZENS

Earthworks uncovered the psychological warfare tactics oil and gas companies are using on Pennsylvania residents who have spoken out about concerns over hydraulic fracturing in their backyards. In one meeting, Matt Carmichael (manager of external affairs for Anadarko Petroleum) went as far as to call these concerned citizens an ‘insurgency.’ Read the full story at CNBC.com.

MEET THE FRIENDS OF FRACKING

When the Huffington Post published the Facebook profile for the fracking industry, it showed that there are some tight connections between energy companies and those tasked with regulating the hydraulic fracturing process. The Checks and Balances Project profiled three individuals who have been friendly to fracking and who have helped green light its use across the nation.

DID YOU KNOW?

EXXONMOBIL, SHELL STILL AREN’T PRODUCING COMMERCIAL OIL FROM OIL SHALE

Despite the fact that companies such as ExxonMobil, Shell, and Chevron have leased upwards of 200,000 acres for oil shale development. None of these companies are able to turn this proto-petroleum rock into commercial oil.

A WELL-FUNDED SUPERCOMMITTEE

According to a new report from Oil Change International and Public Campaign Action Fund titled, Payback Time? The Supercommittee & Fossil Fuel Subsidies, the 12 members of the supercommitee received at least $4.2 million in dirty energy campaign contributions over the past 11 years.

Other key findings show:

  • Supercommittee members have at least 35 former or current staffers with revolving door ties to dirty energy interests.
  • Subsidies to fossil fuels can be conservatively estimated at $10 billion a year or $100 billion over the last decade.

COMING UP

Friday, Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) continues to push for more taxpayer-funded subsidies to industry, this time for oil shale. His bill will be heard in the Energy & Minerals Subcommittee, which he chairs, and aims to throw more money at companies like Shell and ExxonMobil for oil shale speculation. Despite the hype, industry has failed to produce oil from oil shale rock for a hundred years. Join us as we play “Oil Shale Bingo” and listen for the same rhetoric to appear that has been told over the last century.

CONTACT

Twitter: @CandBP | Email: tips@checksandbalances.org

Filed under The Balance Sheet Tagged with , , , , , , ,

Oil Shale Bingo hits DC

November 16, 2011 Leave a comment

On Friday, Rep. Doug Lamborn’s Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources will again meet to discuss energy’s “fool’s gold,” oil shale. For a century, the oil and gas industry, and the politicians they support, have turned to the rock that burns whenever they want to distract from high oil prices or tout a new “jobs solution.” And over the course of that hundred or so years, the rhetoric around oil shale has neither changed much, nor ever produced viable results.

Oil shale is simply an opportunity to fuel Wall Street speculation on our public lands. It creates zero energy and zero jobs.

That led The Checks and Balances Project to create the Oil Shale Bingo game. It’s easy to play. Simply follow along during Friday’s hearing, and every time you hear one of same phrases that have been repeated countless times in support of oil shale, mark it off on your card. Then let us know when you get a Bingo by tweeting us @CandBP and use hash tag #oilshalebingo.

Click to download your Oil Shale Bingo card.

Filed under Blog, Colorado Tagged with ,

THE BALANCE SHEET | November 23, 2011

November 23, 2011 Leave a comment

Our weekly update to unravel the industry and political spin around the energy debate

 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

OIL SHALE PROFESSOR SAYS LAMBORN’S BILL TOO MUCH, TOO SOON

Phil Taylor wrote a preview piece about oil shale for E&E News, ahead of Friday’s hearing on Rep. Lamborn’s Black Sunday Bill. In the piece, Phil quotes Professor Jeremy Boak, head of the Colorado School of Mines’ Center for Oil Shale Technology and Research – which is supported by the oil and gas industry – as saying: “It may be too soon to offer new leases before current research projects bear fruit.” And “It isn’t obvious to me yet that we need to be putting a bunch of commercial leases out there because no one has a commercial process yet. And [industry] admits that… I don’t see anybody eager to go out and lease land now when they’re still running experiments.”

E&E News is behind a paywall, so we can’t link to it, but if you have access it’s a great read.

HASTINGS MARCHES TO HIS OWN DRUMBEAT

The Public Lands Team at Think Progress posted an analysis of just how many times Doc Hastings and House Natural Resources Committee meeting have met to talk about drilling in and around the U.S. It turns out last week saw the committee’s 20th meeting on this topic.

Anyone want to hazard a guess on how many times during these 20 meetings in 11 months Hastings has acknowledged that U.S. drilling activity is higher now than at any time since Reagan was in office? Or that Big Oil has reported a whopping $100 billion in profits so far in 2011?

AFP: DISMANTLE THE EPA

DeSmogBlog reports that Charles and David Koch, the conservative ideologues who helped start AFP, “are the ones pulling the strings of the American elected officials who keep clamoring for an end to all environmental protections[.]”

DID YOU KNOW?

BLACK SUNDAY – TALK ABOUT A BAD ENERGY LOAN GUARANTEE

In 1981, the Reagan administration approved a $1.2 billion loan guarantee for Exxon’s Colony Oil Shale Project in western Colorado. One year later, on May 1, 1982 – Black Sunday – Exxon pulled the plug on the project. Overnight, more than 2,100 people lost their job and $85 million in local revenues dried up. Tens of thousands of people would later leave the region, devastating local economies.

Rep. Doug Lamborn’s “Black Sunday” Bill would fuel oil shale speculation on over 2 million acres of public lands, leaving more communities vulnerable to this sort of boom and bust impact.

COMING UP

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

CONTACT

Twitter: @CandBP | Email: tips@checksandbalances.org

Filed under The Balance Sheet

THE BALANCE SHEET | December 06, 2011

December 6, 2011 Leave a comment

Our weekly update to unravel the industry and political spin around the energy debate 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

U.S. IS EXPORTING OIL

According to The Wall Street Journal, the United States is set to become a “net exporter of petroleum products in 2011 for the first time in 62 years.” The report comes at time when oil and gas activity is the highest any point since the Reagan Administration. This calls into question that more domestic oil production means more energy independence. Right now, excess supply is going to our neighbors and not lowering gas prices here in the U.S.

INDUSTRY-BACKED CANDIDATES FOR THE WIN

Checks and Balances Project has been investigating the gas-industrial complex of Garfield County, Colo. As E&E News reports those political ties have made Judy Jordan a victim of the industry. Her bosses at Garfield County told her to be neutral but it become apparent that the gas industry ran the show. When it become clear that she was not meeting gas companies’ expectations she was replaced, and industry-backed candidate filled her seat.

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER PIPELINE LEAK

In what is becoming an all-too-common trend, another pipeline is leaking. This time, it is a Suncor pipeline in Denver, Colo. The pipeline is leaking “black goo” into the Sand Creek and posing a dangerous threat to the environment and local citizens. The Checks and Balances Project has been following pipeline accidents over the past year and it is clear that the thousands of miles of aging pipelines crisscrossing the country are unstable. And now that a cleanup has been ordered, the tab will no doubt fall on the taxpayers to cover it.

BIG OIL BATS A THOUSANDS, AMERICANS PAY MORE AT THE PUMP

As The Hill puts it, the “oil industry is batting 1.000.” Despite budget debates, deficit concerns, the oil industry managed to preserve all of the tax breaks and subsidies handed out by Congress. It’s a wonder too, this year the big five oil companies raked in more than $100 billion in just the first three quarters of 2011. Meanwhile industry analysts are predicting gas prices could reach a record high in 2012, which means more cash in the pockets of the oil and gas industry.

DID YOU KNOW?

OIL SHALE A GAMBLE ON WATER SUPPLIES

Oil shale speculation in western states has long been heralded as the savior to our energy woes – despite 100 years of failure and billions in taxpayer subsidies to turn oil shale rock into commercial oil. But the rock is also a gamble on water supplies. Should there ever be a technological breakthrough, there might not be the water for development. The BLM estimated that industrial scale oil shale could take as much 150% the amount of water currently used by the Denver Metro region. With western water supplies such as the Colorado River already stretched beyond their limits, it calls into question whether the water exists to ever make oil shale viable.

COMING UP

Speaking of water, on Thursday, December 8 the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on challenges to domestic and global water supply. We think the committee should consider the huge strain that energy development puts on our water – whether it be oil and gas fracking water demands, threats from oil shale speculation, or pollution occurring from poorly managed well sites on public lands in the Rockies.

CONTACT

Twitter: @CandBP | Email: tips@checksandbalances.org

Filed under The Balance Sheet

Energy Independence and the West

December 6, 2011 Leave a comment

Drilling activity is at its highest level in 24 years, and the U.S. is about to become a net exporter of gasoline for the first time in 62 years. So naturally some energy companies are worried about their government handouts. According to Wyofile, Chesapeake Energy and other oil and gas companies are now talking about their own domestic energy plans. Their plans, though, seem to be a little shaky on facts. Luckily, Matt Garrington was available to set the record straight on a few points:

Domestic oil and gas drilling is more vigorous than ever; in October drilling peaked at a level not seen since the early Reagan administration. The U.S. rig count was 2,000 at the end of November, compared to 1,687 the same time a year ago, according to Baker Hughes.

That leaves little room to complain that the Obama administration is blocking the development of domestic oil and gas, said Matt Garrington, deputy director of Checks and Balances. Even in the West where the industry is closely regulated, some 7,000 permits to drill federal minerals still sit idle, and more than half of the federal minerals currently under lease by the industry still are not under development.

“I think it’s about a land grab,” Garrington told WyoFile. “They don’t have enough rigs to ramp up drilling in the Rockies like the Bakken (shale oil play in North Dakota). Really, this is about using the political climate to make a land grab and sit on millions of acres. It’s good for their books, it’s good for their investors.”

You can read the full story by Dustin Bleizeffer.

Wyofile is a nonprofit news service focused Wyoming people, places and policy.

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A misrepresentation of our nation’s energy infrastructure

December 7, 2011 Leave a comment

On November 28, The Wall Street Journal published an editorial that misrepresents facts about our nation’s energy infrastructure. Here’s our response:

The Wall Street Journal’s Nov. 28 editorial, “The Non-Green Jobs Boom,” misrepresents the truth about America’s energy industry.

The simple fact is that energy development is not a zero sum game between oil and drinking water, natural gas and clean air. President Obama has proved that we can have a thriving energy industry alongside increased protections for our land, air, and water.

The oil and gas industry is booming under this administration. Baker Hughes reported that U.S. drilling activity is at its highest level in 24 years. On Nov. 30, your paper reported that the U.S. is set to become a net exporter of petroleum products “for the first time in 62 years.”

While your editorials are quick to blame Obama for our struggling economy, you are not willing to give him praise for the healthy energy industry we have now. That stinks of high partisanship.

President Obama has wisely looked for a balanced, pro-American energy strategy. Last year, the solar industry employed more than 100,000 Americans, and solar jobs climbed 6.8 percent over the last year, (compared to a national increase of just 0.7 percent).

This President has the most pro-American energy record in recent memory. He deserves the credit.

Matthew Garrington
Checks and Balances Project

Filed under Blog

THE BALANCE SHEET | December 14, 2011

December 14, 2011 Leave a comment

Our weekly update to unravel the industry and political spin around the energy debate

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

ENERGY INDEPENDENCE AND THE WEST

Drilling activity is at its highest level in 24 years, and the U.S. is about to see a full year of net oil exports for the first time in 62 years. So naturally some energy companies are worried that their arguments for cutting red tape might start falling on deaf ears. According to a story by Wyofile and Standford’s Rural West Initiative, Chesapeake Energy and other oil and gas companies are now talking about their own domestic energy plans, which include shipping American energy overseas. The Checks and Balances Project’s Matt Garrington set the record straight that the current push to end common sense land, water, and air protections is all about a western land grab.

ANOTHER PIPELINE, ANOTHER REASON TO TAKE A SECOND LOOK

In a surprise decision late Tuesday evening, the joint review panel charged with the fate of the controversial Enbridge Northern Gateway oil pipeline extended the schedule nearly a year. According to the Vancouver Sun, the three-member panel is waiting the release of an environmental assessment report coming out in the fall of 2013. The added time is an important step for protecting the health of North American families and our environment, especially following the recent second take of the Keystone XL pipeline.

DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPE

This Saturday, the Checks & Balances Project made the case for why Rep. Doug Lamborn’s PIONEERS Act and Speaker John Boehner’s plan to fund our nation’s transportation infrastructure from oil shale are full of hot air. Joining us was local energy analyst and co-founder of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas-USA Steve Andrews. Read their guest column in Rep. Lamborn’s hometown paper, the Colorado Springs Gazette.

 

DID YOU KNOW?

A NEGATIVE MEANS POSITIVE – WHEN IT COMES TO OIL IMPORTS

The Wall Street Journal writes that the United States is on track to become a net oil exporter this year for the first time in 62 years. According to the Energy Information Administration, net imports of petroleum products have steadily declined from September 2010 to September 2011:

COMING UP

In the wake of the Super Committee’s failure, with a government funded bill on the line and a middle-class tax cut at stake, oil-and-gas funded members of the House and an army of 42 lobbying firms are holding hostage the economic welfare of millions of Americans in order to push forward the Keystone Pipeline proposal. This week we’ll get to see what’s most important to Washington politicians – that American families can afford to keep a roof over their heads or that Big Oil can bring oil down from Canada and then export North American energy out of the country.

 

CONTACT

Twitter: @CandBP | Email: tips@checksandbalances.org

Filed under The Balance Sheet

Behind the Scenes: American Petroleum Institute’s Commercial Shoot

December 18, 2011 Leave a comment

Recently, the Checks and Balances Project responded to an open casting call from the American Petroleum Institute (API) to be a part of their multi-million dollar ad campaign targeting the 2012 elections.  API’s Energy Citizens campaign sent an email asking for “all ages and races to express their views in a Commercial Spot on American Made Energy!” Deputy Director Gabe Elsner answered the casting call and got an inside look at how the oil and gas industry communicates with the American public through the creation of public-facing materials. Read about our experience and listen to audio of Mr. Elsner on the set of API’s ‘Vote 4 Energy’ commercial shoot.

The Checks and Balances Project’s look behind the scenes at API’s commercial shoot was covered by the Washington Post. Steven Mufson and Juliet Eilperin write:

Elsner shows up as instructed with three wardrobe options, ranging from a suit to weekend wear. The API and Edelman staffers pick the suit and steam it, pick out a tie, usher him into the makeup room, then send him for the audition. One says he has “a nice, young professional’s look.” Elsner hears Edelman executive Robert McKernan say, “I think we’re done with people in suits after this.”

After being ushered onto the set, Mr. Elsner was asked to repeat a script “written by the agency” instead of “go[ing] on camera and stat[ing] [his] beliefs,” as the casting email described. The Washington Post quoted Mr. Elsner:

“They’re using deception to talk to Americans about the oil and gas industry,” he says. “These multi-million dollar campaigns are clearly being crafted to give the appearance that it’s ordinary people talking. What we experienced was that it was well scripted and totally set up to be the perfect commercial.”

Mr. Elsner’s experience was also covered by National Journal’s Influence Alley, which is a blog covering money, politics and policy, as well as CEO Update (subscription), a publication for association news and executive careers.

The Checks and Balances Project experience at API’s commercial shoot calls into question the credibility of the oil and gas industry’s other advertising that supposedly demonstrates grassroots support.  In August 2009, activists leaked the launch of API’s astroturf campaign “Energy Citizens” and uncovered that oil industry lobbyists organized most of the rallies.

It appears that API’s ‘Vote 4 Energy’ campaign is a continuation of a carefully crafted multi-million dollar public relations plan to convince the American public that ordinary people support the oil and gas industry.

The transition to clean energy is one of the most important challenges facing our nation and millions of dollars in advertising and deceitful commercials from the American Petroleum Institute is spreading misinformation and preventing the American public from having an honest debate.

Filed under Fracking, In The News, News

THE BALANCE SHEET for December 22, 2011 

December 22, 2011 Leave a comment

Our weekly update to unravel the industry and political spin around the energy debate

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

WHAT MORATORIUM? GULF LEASE SALE BRINGS IN $337 MILLION

Last Wednesday, the Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) continued its work to increase offshore energy development by holding the first gulf-area lease sale since the BP disaster last year. BOEMRE put 21 million acres up for auction. Companies put in more than $700 million in total bids, and the U.S. Treasury walks away with a cool $337 million in high bids.

KEYSTONE DEAL FAILS TO DELIVER

On Saturday, the Senate made a deal to protect American families by safeguarding the payroll tax cut for another couple of months – but only after Senate Republicans won a provision to force President Obama to decide whether to approve the Keystone XL pipeline almost a year before all the research into its safety is complete. But not even that giveaway was enough to satisfy House Republicans who refuse to support the compromise and continue to press for more negotiations.

SAVING INDUSTRY AND THE SAGE GROUSE

The Interior Department convened a meeting with Wyoming Governor Matt Mead, praising Wyoming’s approach to protect core habitat for the sage grouse. The prairie bird once numbered at 16 million now has a population of 500,000 – half of which live in Wyoming. Interior is looking to take the approach west wide in hopes of staving off a listing under the Endangered Species Act. The approach is critical for facilitating future energy development and saving the sage grouse.

DID YOU KNOW?

KEYSTONE – A NET LOSER OF JOBS

There is no shortage of controversy surrounding the Keystone XL pipeline, including whether the project actually creates jobs. According to a Cornell University Global Labor Institute report, industry job projections have been shoddy at best and there would actually be job losses due to “additional fuel costs in the Midwest, pipeline spills, pollution and the rising costs of climate change.  Even one year of fuel price increases as a result of Keystone XL could cancel out some or all of the jobs created by the project.”

According to Business Insider, the project would reduce unemployment among construction workings by a mere 0.1 percentage points.

BIG OIL’S RETURN ON INVESTMENT

Needless to say, it was a big year for Big Oil. Not only did companies rake in record profits topping $101 billion in the first three quarters of the year, they continue to receive $15 billion in Americans tax dollars through government handouts. The industry spent big bucks to protect their taxpayer-funded handouts and contributed about $6.3 million to members of the House and Senate. Despite White House efforts to end corporate welfare to oil companies and use the savings to help close the deficit, Congress preserved $78 billion in subsidies for oil and gas companies over the next five years.

COMING UP

Will House Republicans actually hold-up a Senate Republican victory for Big Oil and the Keystone XL pipeline provision all for political posturing? We’ll find out this week.

CONTACT

Twitter: @CandBP | Email: tips@checksandbalances.org

Filed under The Balance Sheet Tagged with , , , , , ,

The Five Rules for Natural Gas

January 3, 2012 Leave a comment

Hal Harvey, founder of ClimateWorks, has a sharp piece on natural gas in today’s Los Angeles Times. Hal served  on the first President Bush’s Energy Task Force of the President’s Council on Environmental Quality, and later on the Energy Panel of President Clinton’s President’s Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology.

In this op-ed, Hal provides a thoughtful and critical look at making sure natural gas development is done right for our climate, our water, and our great outdoors.

Click to read it on the LA Times website.

Natural gas: Cheap, clean and risky

Natural gas has a key role in our energy future, but it must be handled with care.

By Hal Harvey

January 3, 2012

Political leaders from both parties argue that natural gas could save our economy, the environment and promote our national security. Is this so? Or is it just a dream?

It turns out that the way one develops natural gas will determine whether it is a serious help to our energy and climate problems, or a dangerous extension of bad habits.

On the face of it, natural gas looks terrific. The United States — and many other countries — have abundant domestic supplies. The cost, per delivered unit of energy, is about a third of that of oil. It is cheap and fast to build power plants fueled by natural gas. And when burned, it emits only half as much carbon as coal. So what’s not to like?

Well, things are not so simple. Under the best conditions, we may enjoy those benefits, but under more adverse conditions, gas can be a worse generator of greenhouse gas than coal, can wreak massive local environmental destruction and can undermine energy efficiency and renewable energy. And without a strong set of policies to guide natural gas development, the worst case is far more likely.

Start with climate change: Generating a kilowatt-hour’s worth of electricity with a natural gas turbine emits only about half as much CO2 as generating the same electricity at a coal plant. Half-off is pretty good. But unburned natural gas turns out to be a very powerful greenhouse gas: One molecule of leaked gas contributes as much to global warming as 25 molecules of burned gas. That means that if the system for the exploration, extraction, compression, piping and burning of natural gas leaks by even 2.5%, it is as bad as coal.

So, how much does the gas system leak? No one knows: Estimates range from 1.5% to as high as 8%. Even near the low end of that range, gas can be as bad as coal. And whatever the leaks in the U.S. system, it is likely to be far worse in, say, Russia.

This gives us Rule One for smart natural gas development: No leaks in the system. We have to know, for certain, that the whole process is tight, and stays that way.

There’s more we need to ensure, because of the economics of energy systems, and how that drives the choice of options in the electricity system. It starts with a basic economic truth: Once a coal-fired plant is built, it is incredibly cheap to run. Once built, our coal plants run forever. The median age of a coal plant in the United States is 44 years, and fully a third of them were built during or before the Eisenhower administration.

What this means is that when we add new natural gas power plants to the electricity system, it does not, through pure market forces displace coal. Instead, it displaces other new alternatives, which generally means new renewable energy. If half-CO2 gas is displacing zero-CO2 renewables, well, that’s hardly a victory. So, Rule Two: Use gas to shut down old coal. Make this an explicit condition.

The final three rules have to do with local environmental conditions. We have all seen the films of people’s tap water catching fire after a nearby gas well was put in. That’s because of lousy construction quality: Bad well casings allow gas to leak into the aquifer. They can also allow in fluids from hydraulic fracturing (fracking) when that method is used to tap a new gas well. Rule Three: Strong standards for wells, with effective monitoring and enforcement.

Then there is the damage that wells can do to the gas site. Many wells extract brackish water and other nasty byproducts, like benzene and toluene from deep underground, and spill the mixture onto nearby farmlands — literally salting the earth. The water is a large-scale byproduct of the gas extraction, and, at the request of then-Vice President Dick Cheney’s energy task force, it is exempted from any regulations under the Clean Water Act. Rule Four: Don’t allow these toxic streams to poison the land.

Finally, choosing where and how to drill is important. Many of the new natural gas technologies entail massive surface disturbance. Roads, drilling rigs, compressors, pipelines, drainage ponds and large amounts of heavy equipment are required for each well. And wells are densely placed, sometimes one for every 10 acres. This means that many natural gas fields are industrial wastelands. After drilling, cattle ranches in the West have been left unsuitable even for cows, never mind wildlife.

We need to zone the natural gas development so that it is kept out of ecologically important areas, and we need strong drilling, operating and reclamation standards so that gas doesn’t become a scorched-earth energy strategy.

Gas can do a great deal for our energy future. But if it is mishandled, it can instead serve up great problems — in land destruction, water quality and climate change. Five rules get it right: Don’t allow leaky systems; use gas to phase out coal; have sound well drilling and casing standards; don’t pollute the landscape with brackish water; and drill only where it is sensible. Let’s do this right.

Hal Harvey is the founder of the ClimateWorks Foundation. He has served on presidential commissions under the first President Bush and President Clinton, and he serves on an advisory board for the Department of Energy.

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Vote 4 Energy: Activists Launch Parody of API’s Deceptive 2012 Ad Campaign

January 4, 2012 Leave a comment

Today, Greenpeace USA launched a new campaign that mocks the American Petroleum Institute’s (API) “Vote 4 Energy” advertising initiative. API’s multi-million dollar campaign, which launched this week, is advocating for more drilling and hydraulic fracturing in United States. Watch the ad below:

In a parody of API’s ad, “oil executives” say they vote for: “freedom,” “prosperous American liberty jobs for freedom,” “oil spilling,” and more. Although, Greenpeace’s mocking ad simply follows the template API used when filming the commercials last month.

In December, the Checks and Balances Project (C&BP) and Greenpeace both answered an open casting call for an API commercial shoot. API’s Energy Citizens campaign sent an email asking for “all ages and races to express their views in a Commercial Spot on American Made Energy!” Instead, Deputy Director Gabe Elsner got an inside look at how the oil and gas industry communicates with the American public through the creation of public-facing materials. (Read about Greenpeace’s action at API’s commercial shoot here and on Yahoo! News here.)

C&BP’s experience at API’s commercial shoot calls into question the credibility of the oil and gas industry’s advertising campaigns that supposedly demonstrate grassroots support.

Update: Greenpeace also launched a “Vote 4 Energy” website also parodying API’s campaign.

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From ‘Astroturf’ to Drilling in the West: Tim Wigley heads to WEA

January 5, 2012 Leave a comment

Yesterday, the Western Energy Alliance (WEA) announced that it had selected former lobbyist Tim Wigley as its new president. Wigley comes from the oil-and-gas lobbying firm, PAC/West where he managed its DC operations.  The experience will come in handy when managing WEA’s $70,000 to $85,000 yearly spending habit of lobbying the federal government.

According to Think Progress, Wigley has an extensive background in DC and is no stranger to dirty energy campaigns:

Wigley has spent much of his career lobbying on behalf of corporate interests. But perhaps most interesting is his previous role as campaign manager for two “astroturf” groups — those that purport to be grassroots when really they are just front groups for industry. According to a 2007 investigation by Public Citizen, Wigley headed up two major astroturf campaigns while working for Pac/West:

  • Project Protect (logging): “This group spent $2.9 million on media purchases and other efforts to lobby for President Bush’s ‘Healthy Forests’ initiative. The group, which billed itself as ‘a grassroots coalition of western communities, natural resource groups, labor organizations, and conservationists,’ refused to disclose its donors. It listed an address at Mailboxes, Etc., in 2003. In 2004, it listed an address identical to that of the American Forest Resource Council, a group that lobbies for public land management policies that favor industry.”
  • Save Our Species Alliance (endangered species issues): “This group sought to gut the Endangered Species Act…The campaign manager for Save Our Species Alliance was Tim Wigley…[who] told a reporter that the Save Our Species Alliance was a grassroots group of farmers, labor groups and others. Wigley did not divulge the identities of the group’s funders. ‘I think this line of questioning is misleading,’ he said to the reporter who asked.”

The Western Energy Alliance is a trade group with lobbying and PAC arms whose “Blueprint for Western Prosperity” is a hit list against public health and environmental safeguards and calls for policies like a “moratorium on new federal regulations.” WEA is notorious for accusing the Obama administration for blocking drilling on public lands, despite evidence that oil and gas drilling in America is higher than ever before.

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Watching the Gas Bubble?

January 11, 2012 Leave a comment

In recent months, it appears that top national media outlets have started to cast a more skeptical eye at how “abundant” shale gas really is.

The New York Times led the charge last year by analyzing “hundreds of industry e-mails and internal documents.” The Times concluded that shale gas has inherent risks, the geology varies, and that data is sparse. According to their report:

In the e-mails, energy executives, industry lawyers, state geologists and market analysts voice skepticism about lofty forecasts and question whether companies are intentionally, and even illegally, overstating the productivity of their wells and the size of their reserves. Many of these e-mails also suggest a view that is in stark contrast to more bullish public comments made by the industry, in much the same way that insiders have raised doubts about previous financial bubbles.

Despite attacks from the gas front group, Energy In Depth (EID), other outlets are beginning to confirm The New York Times original reporting. It’s far from clear that shale gas is magically “abundant.” Yesterday, Bloomberg reported similar conclusions in an article entitled, “Shale Bubble Inflates on Near-Record Prices”:

  • “Surging prices for oil and natural- gas shales…are raising concern of a bubble as valuations of drilling acreage approach the peak set before the collapse of Lehman Brothers.”
  • The “quirky nature of shale geology means the risks are high that an investment made in a sparsely drilled prospect will go bust.”
  • “[O]verseas investors are paying top dollar for fields where too few wells have been drilled to assess potential production.”
  • Hunt “has only drilled ‘a handful’ of wells in its Eagle Ford shale acreage, which means it doesn’t yet know how extensive or rich those holdings are.” The same problem exists in other shale formations around the country.

DeSmogBlog conducted a deeper comparison of the two reports showcasing the similarities between The New York Times and Bloomberg reports. It is clear now that EID lead mislead the public with unnecessary attacks on the Times’ Drilling Down series.

And, a new Reuters story quotes “public health professionals and advocates” arguing that the “public health effects of shale gas development need to be rigorously studied as production rapidly spreads in the United States.”

Here’s why this is important:  Without looking at the costs of contamination of public water supplies – as one industry study skipped altogether – it’s impossible to meaningfully evaluate the costs and benefits of shale gas. In other words, why talk about “abundance” without talking about cost?

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Wall Street rings in the New Year for oil speculators

January 12, 2012 Leave a comment

Matt Garrington

Wall Street started 2012 by ringing in the New Year for oil and gas speculators.  On Tuesday, Ralph Hill, the CEO of WPX Energy Inc., rang the opening bell for the first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

The evidence of speculation’s effect on the price at the pump has piled up over the last couple of years. In 2011 especially, as gas prices hit near-record highs in the first half of the year, analysts and financial reporters explained how price increases had less to do with supply and demand than Wall Street trading.

Commissioner Bart Chilton of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission endorsed this view in a speech to the High Frequency Trading World in Amsterdam.  Chilton told a room full of traders, “Researchers at Oxford, Princeton, and many other private researchers say that speculators have had an impact on prices—oil prices and food prices most notably.”

Even Goldman Sach acknowledged the impact of speculation on energy prices. In a little-publicized study conducted issued last year, the investment world’s flagship firm estimated oil prices to be $20 higher per barrel as a result of speculation.

When you consider the effect this speculation has had on the checkbooks of American families, it’s telling that the NYSE still chose an oil and gas CEO to open the new year. It can be viewed as an admission that speculators understand the role they’ve played in energy costs, and are looking forward to another banner year.

Unfortunately, that prosperity won’t be passed down to American consumers. After all, in just the first three quarters of 2011 oil and gas companies reported over $101 billion in profits. They passed cost of speculation directly on to the consumer, even though many of those companies were engaged in speculation themselves.

Meanwhile, Big Oil executives and the politicians they support fought tooth and nail to protect the billions in government handouts oil companies receive every year. For the record, many of those same politicians were far less vocal in protecting the 2 percent payroll tax cut that House Republicans held hostage at the end of the year.

If you’re looking for an explanation for their actions, you need look no further than Ralph Hill, the CEO who opened the NYSE. Before WPX Energy split off from Williams, Hill was that company’s President of Exploration and Production. During his time there, Hill gave thousands of dollars to the company’s political action committee.

That PAC turned around and funded the election campaigns of many of the politicians who over the past year have protected corporate welfare to oil companies, especially some of the key players on the House Natural Resources Committee.

No wonder these same Congressmen voted time and time again to protect special tax breaks on oil and gas subsidies, and we still don’t have legislation cracking down on oil speculators.

Wall Street continues to prove it is politically tone deaf by bringing in the very example of the 1 percent to kick-off the New Year – an oil and gas CEO whose company gets bigger profits when America’s working families are forced to pay more at the pump.

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Announcing the Western Lands and Energy Dashboard!

January 27, 2012 Leave a comment

The sheer scale of the Big Oil rhetoric-fest that was unleashed after President Obama’s State of the Union (SOTU) address was tremendous. But as we read through clips and blogs, we realized there is a lot of poetry out there, but no prose. So we decided to create a one stop shop of easily accessed, easily read facts and figures about American oil and gas development and extraction on western lands. And so the Western Lands and Energy Dashboard was born.

President Obama spoke at length about our domestic energy resources and plan during his SOTU. He talked about how the federal government has opened millions of acres for oil and gas development over the last three years, how oil production is at its highest level in eight years. He informed Americans that in 2011, the U.S. relied less on foreign oil that in the last 16 years. This was all great news.

In fact, he said, “We’ve subsidized oil companies for a century.  That’s long enough.  (Applause.)  It’s time to end the taxpayer giveaways to an industry that rarely has been more profitable…”

You could almost here the collective gasp from the executive offices of BP, ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Shell. I’m sure that wherever Rep. Doug Lamborn was – he boycotted SOTU, but his absence didn’t negatively affect the evening – his cell phone started ringing. In fact, Big Oil’s entire spin machine went into overdrive.

Kathleen Sgamma at Western Energy Alliance talked about obstacles; API representatives called the President’s speech a smokescreen. Ron Arnold, executive vice president of the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise, used the words “delay, obstruction and obfuscation” in a column in the Washington Examiner.

The new dashboard is an impartial counter to the rhetoric of industry lobby groups such as API and Western Energy Allaince, and the politicians who have deep industry ties as a result of major oil and gas contributions to their campaigns.

The facts and figures of the oil and gas industry and public lands development are presented in a simple and clear way for media and policymakers alike.

Last year, under the Obama administration, oil companies reported $104 billion in profits and benefited from the highest level of drilling activity since the Reagan era. This is the sort of information the oil and gas industry and their supporters in Congress neglect to mention. The goal of this project is to set the record straight.

Visit our dashboard and see for yourself. We intend for the it to be an unbiased source of facts and figures. And help yourself to any of the slides; you’ll notice we didn’t even brand them.

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Lamborn bill protects taxpayer handouts to oil shale companies

February 1, 2012 Leave a comment

Amendments to protect American jobs and water fail

The following is a quote from Denver-based Checks and Balances Project co-director Matt Garrington with three need-to-know facts regarding HR 3408.

“Today, House Natural Resources Committee Republicans voted against American workers, American families and reducing our national deficit. They voted in favor of another government handout to billion-dollar oil companies.

“Republicans on House Natural Resources Committee botched Rep. Lamborn’s oil shale legislation hearing, which showed just how ridiculous the bill is. In two hours, the committee majority voted down guaranteeing oil shale technology to be American-made; ensuring that oil shale extraction won’t harm water supplies for municipalities and agriculture, and requiring commercial oil shale to be a proven revenue generator before handing over 2 million acres of public land for speculation.

“House Republicans did manage to preserve taxpayer handouts for oil companies by giving away oil shale at bargain basement rates, undermining Speaker Boehner’s goal of raising transportation funds.”
 
About HR 3408, the PIONEERS Act:

  1. Rep. Lamborn’s bill would hand over 2 million acres of public lands for oil shale speculation and mandate commercial leasing on 125,000 acres of public lands by 2016, even though the oil industry has said, on the record, that it will be at least until 2020 before they know whether commercial oil shale is even possible.
  2. Despite claims that the legislation was changed to address new subsidies to the oil industry, the legislation would set bargain basement royalty rates for oil shale speculation. On its face, the bill codifies the 2008 Bush-era oil shale regulations which sets royalty rates at 5 percent (compared to a rate of 12.5 percent for onshore oil and gas and 18.75 percent for offshore oil). Lower royalties means less revenue to the federal treasury and less revenue for local governments, who need the funds to offset the associated costs of energy development such as new roads, utility lines, schools, and fire and police services.
  3. The BLM estimated that industrial scale oil shale development could require as much as 150 percent of the amount of water the Denver Metro Area consumes each year. With western waters such as the Colorado River already overtaxed, there simply might not be enough water to facilitate oil shale development.

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CBO affirms Checks and Balances Project analysis – Lamborn oil shale bill will create zero revenue

February 8, 2012 Leave a comment

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) finished scoring Rep. Doug Lamborn’s PIONEERS Act today. They’ve determined: “Enacting the legislation would not affect revenues.”

Read the CBO report.

Lamborn’s bill, H.R. 3408, would direct the Secretary of the Interior to provide oil and gas companies with two million acres of public lands, to be used for oil shale speculation. Speaker John Boehner included the legislation as part of the American Energy & Infrastructure Jobs Act to fund repairs to and improvements of America’s transportation infrastructure.

Unfortunately for Rep. Lamborn and the Speaker, the CBO’s determination matches what we’ve been saying for months at The Checks and Balances Project, oil shale and the Lamborn bill will create zero energy and zero effect on revenue. A government handout of two million acres of public land to oil companies so they can keep pursuing oil shale speculation won’t make the taxpayers any money. It will just help boost oil company land holdings, so CEOs can impress stockholders.

Here’s what we now know about oil shale:

  • Industry executives are saying the earliest commercial oil shale might be developed is a decade.
  • Industry and politicians have claimed that oil shale is “just around the corner” for 100 years.
  • It could jeopardize Colorado’s drinking water supplies.

And

  • It won’t generate any revenue for the nation’s crumbling transportation infrastructure.

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Anti-Clean Energy ‘Pundit’ Unhinged By Basic Question: Are You Bankrolled By Fossil Fuels?

February 9, 2012 Leave a comment

By Gabe Elsner

The fossil fuel lobby aggressively uses lobbying and propaganda to block public health protections, manipulate the energy debate, defend their massive government handouts and attack clean energy sources that threaten to displace them.

No tool goes unused: Traditional lobbying, “Super PAC” donations, software that floods opinion websites with favorable comments, and a network of well-funded front groups and commentators who launder fossil fuel industry talking points.

Robert Bryce and his employer, The Manhattan Institute, are among the most aggressive of a growing class of talkers underwritten by fossil fuels to write commentary talking down clean energy and playing down the cost and public health problems of fossil fuel dependence.

Bryce has written four books and appeared in hundreds of articles and opinion pieces, from the conservative National Review, to mainstream media outlets such as The New York Times, CNN, National Public Radio and PBS. Mr. Bryce is quickly securing the top position as the leading marketer for fossil fuels.

Bryce, a former journalist, has consistently been able to position himself as an intellectually independent energy expert. He has never acknowledged fossil fuel underwriting – though Manhattan Institute records show that since 1985, it has received $6.7 million from fossil fuel interests, including the Koch brothers and ExxonMobil.

I asked Bryce if he had financial ties to the fossil fuel industry after his debate appearance before the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners conference on Monday. Not only did Bryce refuse to answer the question, he also launched into an angry, finger-pointing tirade saying that I’d “made up” the amount of fossil fuel support documented by Manhattan Institute records.

I break it down here:


And the raw video is here.

As 50 current and former journalists told The New York Times in a petition we launched last year, it’s fine for Bryce to echo fossil fuel talking points. But it’s not acceptable for him to hide that he’s doing that for the fossil fuel industry and leave himself positioned in bylines as somehow intellectually honest. Based on records and Bryce’s response, it seems pretty clear that Bryce is functioning as a paid spokesman of the natural gas industry (and other fossil fuels). But wearing that on his sleeve would lose his “echo chamber” effect because he wouldn’t be the seemingly independent voice that fossil fuel industries need to say things they don’t have the credibility to say themselves.

–

Note: Based on our experience from last year’s True Ties petition, this will draw a pretty aggressive response from Bryce’s fellow travelers, such as Washington Examiner Editorial Page Editor, Mark Tapscott (CPAC “conservative journalist of the year”), and National Review Online Editor, Ed Craig, a former Manhattan Institute PR guy. To put their mind at ease, we do answer the funding question here. We’re unabashedly clean energy, and we’d love to get support from clean energy industries (potential funders – please consider!).

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NRDC: CBO Concludes that Oil Shale Fail Equals Transportation Fail for the Boehner Package

February 10, 2012 Leave a comment

As The Checks and Balances Project reported earlier this week, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has determined that Rep. Lamborn’s oil shale bill would yield zero revenue. But prior to CBO’s evaluation, Lamborn seemed to echo the same conclusion:

The fact that oil shale would not be able to contribute to the nation’s financial future did not seem to faze the primary sponsor of the PIONEERS Act, Representative Doug Lamborn from Colorado, who admitted to the Denver Post last week that oil shale “is not a real contributor to the highway transportation needs we have.” A remarkable pivot given that when the PIONEERS Act was introduced in November, Lamborn stated that one of the critical points of the bill was to “…create good paying American jobs and generate new revenue without raising taxes on families and small businesses.”

The National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) reported, “the very reason the Boehner package exists, is to generate revenues through increased drilling in order to cover a budgetary shortfall in the nation’s transportation funding.” Lamborn committed quite the “oil shale fail” prior to next week’s floor vote, which was already “uncertain.”

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#oilshalefail

February 13, 2012 Leave a comment

If you’re having trouble viewing the video, watch it on our YouTube or Vimeo pages.

Update 2/15/12, 6:34 PM EST: Co-director Matt Garrington’s statement on the failure of the Polis amendment which would have struck Lamborn’s oil shale boondoggle from the highway bill: “We applaud Rep. Polis for recognizing the failure of H.R. 3408 and the fact that oil shale is not ready for prime time. Speaker Boehner and Rep. Lamborn should quit trying to sell the American public on their ’0-0-0 plan.’ The truth is — there is zero energy, zero revenue, and zero jobs in oil shale.”

Click the following links to watch Polis and Lamborn debate:
Polis 1
Polis 2
Lamborn 1
Lamborn 2

UPDATE: We’ve gotten word that Speaker Boehner is planning to group all three energy bills under the PIONEERS Act banner. He’s trying cover up the fact that oil shale creates zero energy and zero revenue. Boehner and Lamborn are trying to keep people from realizing that HR 3408 won’t fund anything, but it will give two million acres of land to oil companies, and knock down royalties if the rock ever is developed.

He’s pushed the rule vote on the PIONEERS act up to tonight. He’s trying to pass oil shale separately from the rest of the highway bill. He’s hoping nobody will remember that oil shale has been a money pit for 100 years.

Remember, CBO scored PIONEERS as having no effect on revenue, meanwhile the Speaker’s been saying it’s one of HR 7’s funding sources. He has to try and change the landscape.

Help spread our new video around, so that people can learn the facts about oil shale, and what Speaker Boehner and Rep. Lamborn are trying to sneak past us.

# # #

Speaker of the House John Boehner is bringing his controversial highway bill (H.R. 7) to the floor this week. As you may have read in these pages (or plenty of others) the Speaker has identified Rep. Doug Lamborn’s oil shale boondoggle (H.R. 3408) as one of his funding sources.

Since oil shale doesn’t actually generate any money, we thought pointing out the truth behind Boehner’s and Lamborn’s bills was worth a new Checks and Balances Project video.

It’s bad enough that Lamborn’s bill actually creates a new subsidy for oil companies by setting “bargain basement” royalty rates for oil shale. And that it would hand over two million acres of public land to oil companies for the sake of oil shale speculation and mandate commercial leasing on 125,00 acres of public lands even though there is no commercial oil shale industry.

But now the Speaker is saying that we will pay for millions of dollars’ worth of repairs to highways and bridges with revenue from oil shale.

The problem with that plan is that oil shale creates zero revenue. And for that matter, zero energy and zero jobs.

In 100 years, oil shale has never been commercially developed in the United States despite billions in taxpayer-funded research and development handouts to industry.

In fact, Shell Oil, which is recognized as a leader in oil shale research, says the earliest that commercial oil shale technology could be available is next decade, and possibly later.

“A commercial decision would be in the middle of the next decade and possibly later depending on the sequence and outcome of research activities.” – Shell Oil website

Last week, the Congressional Budget Office reported “the legislation would not affect revenues” and projected zero revenue between 2012 and 2022.

Even Lamborn admitted to Allison Sherry at the Denver Post that oil shale “is not a real contributor to the highway transportation needs we have.”

So in addition to our video, I sent a letter to Speaker Boehner and Rep. Lamborn. In the letter I asked a very simple question:

My organization wishes to know how H.R. 3408, which will generate zero oil shale “revenue,” is intended to fund desperately needed repairs to our nation’s crumbling roads, highways, and bridges.

I’m hoping to hear back from the Speaker or Rep. Lamborn soon, but I’m not holding my breath.

The facts are clear. If America tries to fund highway repairs with oil shale revenues, we’re just looking at an increase in deficit spending. We need to spread the word, so people are educated. Watch our video. Share it with your friends.

And whenever you’re tweeting or facebooking, use the hashtag #oilshalefail. If we work together and make enough noise, maybe we can drown out the spin and rhetoric politicians are putting out there on oil shale.

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Fossil Fuel-Funded Think Tank Promulgates “Study” Attacking Wind and Solar

February 17, 2012 Leave a comment

The Heartland Institute, which receives hundreds of thousands of dollars from the fossil fuel industry, including Koch Industries, rightly came under criticism this week for its secretive role in promulgating anti-climate change science.

Sadly, fossil fuel-funded efforts to spread misinformation using benign-sounding front groups don’t stop with climate change. The fossil fuel industry has also used this strategy of third-party front groups to attack clean energy technologies.

Just last month the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) released a new series attacking the renewable energy industry. AEI has received at least $11.8 million from the fossil fuel industry, including Koch Industries, according to public IRS 990 forms recently obtained via Media Matters’ Conservative Transparency.

When you look at AEI’s funding and relationships, you see a clear connection to fossil fuels that never gets mentioned in their reports. Read more of this post

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House passes new handouts to oil, leaves the rest of transportation bill on the side of the road

February 17, 2012 Leave a comment

The Public Lands Team at ThinkProgress Green points out that the only pieces of Speaker Boehner’s highway bill the GOP-led House has passed are the special handouts to oil companies. Interestingly, the Center for Responsive Politics reported the oil and gas industry has given congressional Republicans $8,151,215 so far this cycle. That’s compared to $1,156,820 to Democrats.

House Passes Section Of Transportation Bill Consisting Only Of Earmarks To Big Oil
By Jessica Goad, Manager of Research and Outreach, Center for American Progress Action Fund.

Last night the House of Representatives passed part of the behemoth transportation bill it is considering over the next month on a 237-187 vote. This section consisted solely of earmarks to Big Oil including drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, opening Florida coasts to offshore drilling, a plan to develop oil shale (which isn’t even commercially viable), and building the Keystone XL pipeline. A Congressional Budget Office analysis shows that the drilling proposals together generate only approximately $2 billion, far less than the $50 billion funding gap needed for transportation projects over the coming years.

They also mentioned a certain watchdog project’s new web video.

The proposal to fund oil shale from Congressman Doug Lamborn (R-CO) is a particularly nasty earmark. The Congressional Budget Office found the bill would generate no revenue over 10 years and in the short term would cost money to implement the leasing program. The Checks and Balance Project detailed this “boondoogle” in an online ad.

Read the full story at ThinkProgress Green.

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Group calls on Rep. Tipton to return contributions from SG Interests

February 21, 2012 Leave a comment

Public Campaign, a non-profit, non-partisan organization aimed at reducing the role of big special interest money in American politics, called on Rep. Scott Tipton (R-Colo.) “to return thousands of dollars in contributions he received from the executives of SG Interests.” According to the Denver Post, the company has been ordered to pay $275,000 following a federal antitrust lawsuit that alleged [Gunnison Energy Corp. and SG Interests] worked together in bidding on public land leases in Gunnison County.”

In a release, Public Campaign went on to say:

“The people of Colorado need to know that their elected officials are working for them and not big donors trying to defraud taxpayers,” said David Donnelly, national campaigns director at Public Campaign. “Scott Tipton should immediately return contributions from the company or donate them to charity.”

The agreement to pay the fine, according to a report by the Denver Post, is part of the first federal challenge to an anti-competitive bidding agreement for mineral rights after SG Interests and Gunnison Energy entered into an agreement that only SG would bid at gas field auctions but would split the acreage with Gunnison.

Tipton has close ties to SG Interests and has faced criticism for taking contributions from company donors while simultaneously working to address a local dispute between landowners and the company. He received $8,100 from donors at SG Interests based in Houston in 2011 and has taken $15,300 from company donors since 2009, according to Public Campaign analysis of data from the Federal Election Commission.

The company wants to increase drilling operations on public lands in Tipton’s district and the congressman has been “trying to mediate ” a solution between both SG Interests and the ranchers, local elected officials and citizens opposed to expanded drilling in the area.

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Checks and Balances Project launches accountability campaign for supporters of Rep. Lamborn’s oil shale boondoggle

February 22, 2012 Leave a comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

February 22, 2012

Denver – Today, the Checks and Balances Project launched a regional ad campaign to hold members of Congress accountable for their support of Rep. Doug Lamborn’s oil shale legislation, H.R. 3408. The ads link to online videos about Rep. Mike Coffman’s (R-Colo.) and Rep. Scott Tipton’s (R-Colo.) support of the failed energy resource known as oil shale.

Rep. Coffman and Rep.Tipton each twice voted in favor of the oil shale boondoggle. It gives millions of acres of public land to oil companies for oil shale speculation in exchange zero energy, zero revenue and zero jobs.

Prior to the votes, the Congressional Budget Office estimated oil shale would generate zero revenue between 2012 and 2022.

Advertisements will appear on the websites for 13 media outlets such as the Denver Post, the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, the Aurora Sentinel, and 9news.com. (Full list included below.)

“We respectfully request Reps. Tipton and Coffman to explain how they voted for legislation that was supposed to fund transportation repairs, but which the Congressional Budget Office found would provide zero revenues,” said Colorado-based Checks and Balances Project Co-Director Matt Garrington. “Oil shale is a failed resource, and the legislation which both Coffman and Tipton supported will provide zero funding to fix our nation’s crumbling roads, highways, and bridges. That is irresponsible.”

Oil companies have tried for over a century to generate energy from oil shale, a misnamed rock that contains zero oil. Despite billions in taxpayer subsidies and private investments, the oil industry has failed to create a commercial oil shale industry.

Ironically, the legislation actually creates a new subsidy for oil companies by setting “bargain basement” royalty rates for oil shale, which means less revenue for local governments to address the associated costs of energy speculation such as roads, schools, police, and firefighters.

Many groups have been expressed their concern about Reps. Tipton and Coffman’s support of oil shale:

  • In a radio campaign, Colorado Wildlife Federation raised concerns over Tipton’s opposition to a common sense study of the potential impacts of oil shale development: http://bit.ly/An2A21
  • The Rocky Mountain Farmers Union launched a regional ad campaign in Colorado newspapers to question Tipton’s support of water-intensive oil shale development: http://bit.ly/AESzYl
  • Activists delivered a blank check to Tipton’s Grand Junction office following the introduction of HR 3408: http://bit.ly/x8yYd4
  • Local activists have publicly voiced their concerns over Tipton’s refusal to require a water study prior to oil shale development: http://bit.ly/AA8HNC
  • Local governments voiced concern about how the Lamborn bill locks-in lower royalty revenues which would be used to offset the local impacts of oil shale speculation: http://bit.ly/xE79fN
  • Veterans called on Coffman to support proven clean energy jobs instead of oil shale speculation: http://bit.ly/x3iBAQ

Rep. Coffman and Rep. Tipton voted against an amendment filed by Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.), which would have struck the oil shale speculation legislation from the highway bill.

The two later voted in favor of the oil shale bill, which hands over two million acres of public land to oil companies for speculation. The bill goes also mandates commercial leasing on 125,000 acres even though a commercial oil shale industry does not exist.

“These ads are part of our ongoing efforts to educate the public on where their members of Congress stand on oil shale speculation,” said Garrington.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Rep. Coffman has taken $145,800 in campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry. Rep. Tipton has taken $103,600.

The watchdog group Public Campaign recently called on Tipton to return donations from executives at SG Interests. The oil and gas exploration company is being forced to pay a $275,000 fine as part of an antitrust lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The ads follow a national ad campaign the Checks and Balances Project launched last week, ahead of the vote for H.R. 3408.

The Coffman and Tipton oil shale ads will run in the Thornton-Northglenn Sentinel, Aurora Sentinel, Colorado Community Newspapers, Denver Post, 9news.com, Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, Glenwood Springs Post Independent, Vail Daily, Durango Herald, Steamboat Today, and Grand Junction TV station websites KJCT, KKCO, and KREX.

Mike Coffman ad: http://checksandbalancesproject.org/2012/02/21/oilshalefail-coffman/

Scott Tipton ad: http://checksandbalancesproject.org/2012/02/21/oilshalefail-tipton/

30 – 30 – 30

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Chevron backs out of oil shale development

February 29, 2012 Leave a comment

On Wednesday, The Colorado Independent reported that Chevron was pulling out of oil shale development in western Colorado.

“Chevron has notified the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Department of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (DRMS) that it intends to divest its oil shale research, development and demonstration lease in the Piceance Basin in Colorado,” the company announced Tuesday. “While our research was productive, this change assures that critical resources — people and capital — will be available to the company for other priorities and projects in North America and around the globe. We will work with the BLM and DRMS to determine the best path forward, timing and other issues.”

This comes just weeks after the House passed the PIONEERS Act, which included H.R. 3408 – a bill that pushed for oil shale development and research as a method to fund the transit bill. Yet, as we all know by now, oil shale has failed to become a viable, commercially-sound energy resource and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said it would not produce any revenue.

[The CBO] projected that Boehner’s bill would, over 10 years, leave the highway trust fund $78 billion in the red, and the Interior Department is looking at slashing the amount of land available for oil shale research to 462,000 acres.

While Chevron recognizes that oil shale is not worth the millions of dollars in wasted research and development, others, including Rep. Doug Lamborn do not get this.

“Oil companies have been trying to pull the sword from the stone for nearly a century. Oil shale has no King Arthur,” said Matt Garrington of the Checks & Balances Project. “Chevron’s decision to pull out of oil shale is yet another reason why [U.S. Rep. Scott] Tipton [R-Colorado] and Lamborn should quit saying that melting rocks into oil will somehow fund critical repairs to our roads and bridges.”

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Oil and Gas Funded Congressmen Push Bill Cutting Energy Funding, Except For Oil and Gas

March 1, 2012 Leave a comment

by Gabe Elsner

Today Representative Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) and Senators Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) announced legislation (PDF) that would eliminate investment in renewable energy, while leaving in place $72 billion in tax breaks to the oil and gas industry. They claim their bill, H.R. 3308, doesn’t target a specific industry, but according to a report from the American Petroleum Institute, the two oil and gas subsidies it “cuts” have already (PDF) been zeroed out of the budget.

Combined, these congressmen have accepted more than a quarter of a million dollars in campaign contributions from the oil and gas industries according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Broken down by sector, the oil and gas industry is Rep. Pompeo’s biggest contributors by a more than 3:1 margin.

The bill maintains more than $72 billion in subsidy spending on the oil and gas industries.

I attempted to ask Rep. Pompeo about this glaring omission from his bill. But I was denied access to the press briefing. So I will ask it here:

How can you claim to look out for American taxpayers when your bill only removes two zeroed out oil and gas subsidies and leaves the $72 billion in actual oil and gas tax breaks alone?

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Checks and Balances Project Calls for Removal of Chairman Stearns from Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee

March 9, 2012 Leave a comment

The Checks and Balances Project sent a letter to Representative Fred Upton (R-Mich.) calling on him to remove Representative Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) from his chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. Allegations that Rep. Stearns tried to use a job offer and/or campaign contributions to convince a primary opponent to not run against him prompted the letter.

In his role as chairman, Rep. Stearns has aggressively spent taxpayers’ money in the last five months to investigate others for alleged impropriety. Given the important investigative role and broad subpoena powers of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, the Congressman’s legitimacy in his chairmanship is now in very serious question.

Download a copy of the full letter here.

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All of the above means we have to go beyond oil

March 22, 2012 Leave a comment

As gas prices top $4/gallon in an election year, Americans are fed up with empty promises and cheap gimmicks. Who in their right mind buys Newt Gingrich’s claim that he can lower gas prices to $2.50/gallon?

So, who or what is to blame for high gasoline prices?

The Big Oil spin machine and the Republicans who received 88% of Big Oil campaign contributions would have you believe it’s the President’s conservation policies which aim to balance responsible energy development and the protection of our Great Outdoors.

The truth is that energy development and conservation is not a zero sum game. Under the Obama Administration, domestic oil drilling hit a record high, American oil production hit an eight-year high, domestic demand is at its lowest point in 17 years, and America stands as a net exporter of petroleum products.

The simplistic view of “drill here, drill now” has no credibility as a means to bring down the price of a gallon of gas. In fact, the Associated Press just reported that increased oil drilling has never brought down gas prices.

When I studied Economics, one of the first things they taught was the Law of Supply and Demand and how it should affect price in a free market. This year, the price at the pump seemingly defies that law. Demand for oil and gas in America is down and production is up. But that hasn’t prevented prices from surging, and oil industry profits surging right along with them.

To be clear, supply and demand is one factor at play – but on a global level. The economic progress of China and India, as well as the swelling appetite for oil that comes with that growth, adds to an increase in oil prices. Clearly supply and demand are not the whole story though.

As one expert at Oppenheimer & Co recently noted, “Speculation is now part of the DNA of oil prices.”

That sentiment is echoed by some unlikely sources. ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson recently stated that oil speculation and uncertainty over Iran are driving up the current price at the pump. Citing Goldman Sachs, Forbes reported this past February that oil speculation was adding $0.56 to the price at the pump.

Something else that seems fishy is that while global demand is going up and gas prices surging, Big Oil’s refineries in the United States are cutting back.

So while Americans struggle to pay for the cost of these high energy prices, the oil and gas industry made nearly $137 billion in profits last year. Make no mistake. Oil companies don’t want lower gas prices because it means less profit.

So what is there to do?

President Obama is correct when he says there is no “quick fix” to gas prices. Congress needs to end taxpayer handouts to big oil and reinvest those funds in American energy innovation and clean energy solutions. We need to make our cars and trucks more fuel efficient, so American families can cut energy costs and travel farther on less oil. Congress and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission should crack down on Wall Street speculators to stop their gambling from artificially inflating the price at the pump.

We need an all of the above energy strategy that goes beyond oil. Unless we truly end our dependence on oil, foreign or domestic, we will continue to be vulnerable to global events and market manipulation by Big Oil and their friends on Wall Street.

Originally published on the National Journal Energy Expert Blog

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Oil speculation hurting Americans and raising the price at the pump

April 4, 2012 Leave a comment

Today, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee are holding a hearing on oil speculation and its impact on high gas prices. This February, Forbes, using Goldman Sachs analysis, found that Wall Street speculation was adding more than $23 to the price of crude or as much as $0.56 per gallon at the pump. ExxonMobil’s CEO Rex Tillerson stated that there was no issue with supply in demand and cited Iran rhetoric and market response as reason for the run-up.

Checks and Balances Project Co-Director Matt Garrington had this to say on Leader Pelosi’s hearing:

It’s high time that Congress crack down on oil speculation and how it drives up the price at the pump. Leader Pelosi should be commended for taking on Big Oil and Wall Street on behalf of American families.

The American Petroleum Institute, Western Energy Alliance, and the politicians bought-and-paid-for by oil companies continue to lie to the public about the cause of high gas prices. Those accusations haven’t been able to survive the light of day. An Associated Press study showed that oil production has no effect on gas prices. In fact, some refineries are actually cutting back on production arguing that today’s high prices are not enough to make additional production profitable.

Four years ago we saw Wall Street’s greed decimate the housing market and our economy. When it comes to oil speculation, we need more accountability to prevent Wall Street gamblers from raising energy prices and hurting the pocketbooks of Americans.

Cracking down on Wall Street gamblers is an important step to addressing high energy costs.

Key facts regarding American oil production:

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Coloradans forced to pay twice for gasoline

April 19, 2012 Leave a comment

In Colorado, Clean Water Action and Colorado Conservation Voters held events on Tax Day to hold Congressmen Mike Coffman and Scott Tipton accountable for the special tax breaks and subsidies they are handing out to Big Oil. While at local gas stations, citizens asked why they were being forced to “shoulder more than $157 million of the burden for oil and gas tax breaks” especially when gas prices are at an all time high.

Fat Cat takes photos with drivers calling an end to taxpayer handouts to Big Oil. Source: Clean Water Action

“It’s high time Coloradans stop paying twice for gas – once at the pump and again on Tax Day,” said Gary Wockner, director of Clean Water Action. “We should end the billions in taxpayer handouts to Big Oil fat cats, but Reps. Mike Coffman and Scott Tipton have voted a half dozen times to protect Big Oil tax breaks.”

According to Clean Water Action:

Coloradans are paying just over $3.85 a gallon for gas, $0.29 more per gallon than one year ago. While Colorado families struggle to adjust to higher energy prices, the top five oil and gas companies alone reported $137 billion in profits this past year.

Oil and gas interests have given more than $6.8 million in campaign contributions to members of Congress so far this election cycle, 88 percent of which went to Republican members.

Rep. Mike Coffman has taken $164,800 in campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry, and Rep. Scott Tipton has taken $104,600.

“Big Oil is buying-off our members of Congress, including Reps. Coffman and Tipton, to keep protect billions in special tax breaks,” said Wockner. “No wonder the only solution to gas prices these politicians offer up are gimmicks like ‘drill, baby, drill.”

“Instead of taking money from Big Oil, the Congressmen should vote to end Big Oil tax breaks and reinvest those funds in long term solutions such as transportation improvements, the next generation of renewable fuels, and high tech vehicles,” concluded Wockner.

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Colorado House GOP pander for more oil and gas lobby dollars

April 19, 2012 Leave a comment

Matt Garrington, Co-Director of The Checks and Balances Project, offered the following statement and facts regarding the introduction of Colorado House Republicans’ three bills to give away more of the West to the oil and gas industry: H.R. 4381, H.R. 4382 and H.R. 4383.

“Colorado House Republicans clearly know who is in charge of the U.S. House – Big Oil. It’s painful to watch members of Congress so blatantly pander for oil and gas lobby dollars.

“Instead of pushing legislation that amounts to nothing more than cheap gimmicks and handouts to industry, Rep. Lamborn, Rep. Coffman and Rep. Tipton should offer real solutions to high gas prices.

“If we want to get serious about gas prices, we should end tax breaks to oil and gas companies and reinvest those funds in American energy solutions such as high tech vehicles, the next generation of renewable fuels, and transportation solutions. We should also crackdown on Wall Street oil speculators that artificially increase the price of gas.”

FACTS ABOUT AMERICAN ENERGY DEVELOPMENT

  • Natural gas production was at an all-time high in 2011 at 28,577,562 MMcf
  • Federal public lands leased in FY11 was 38.4 millionacres leased and in production.
  • Drilling permits on federal public lands approved in FY11 was 4,244, outpacing the number of new wells spudded on federal public lands which was 3,260
  • As of January 25, 2012, the oil and gas industry had 6,500 unused drilling permits for western federal lands.
  • Drilling activity reached its highest level under the Obama administration than at any point since the Reagan administration.

FACTS ABOUT COLORADO ENERGY DEVELOPMENT

  • Natural gas production was at an all-time high in 2010 at 1,589,664 MMcf
  • Federal public lands leased in FY11 was 4.38 million acres compared to just 1.47 million acres leased and in production.

Bush administration average: 67
Obama administration average: 60

A LOOK AT THE BILLS

H.R. 4382, Sponsored by Rep. Coffman (CO-06) – $174,800 in oil and gas contributions

  • Increases oil and gas company speculation on public lands by requiring the Interior Department lease at least 25 percent of lands nominated for leasing by the oil and gas industry each year.
  • Ignores the fact that 57% of oil and gas leases – covering 21.6 million acres – lay idle
  • Prohibits Interior Department from making common sense decisions about whether leasing decisions should move forward when conflicts arise with other values such as water, wildlife habitat, and outdoor recreation.
  • Eliminates oil and gas leasing reforms which have reduced conflicts and litigation over drilling, ensured stronger conservation measures are implemented alongside responsible energy development, and provided a seat at the table for local government, outdoor recreation businesses, and the community.

H.R. 4381, Sponsored by Rep. Tipton (CO-03) – $111,600 in oil and gas contributions

  • Mandates the Interior Department to develop a new energy development plan every four years – but sets the table against renewable energy from consideration.
  • Ignores market forces by requiring arbitrary “necessary actions” to facilitate energy development on the public lands.

H.R. 4383, Sponsored by Rep. Lamborn (CO-05) – $137,962 in oil and gas contributions

  • Puts arbitrary deadlines on the permit approval process, especially given the fact that BLM continually issues far more drilling permits than the number of new wells industry drills on federal lands.
  • Establishes a $5,000 administrative fee for protests to leases, permits, and right-of-ways as well as creating arbitrary barriers to judicial review when the public, state and local governments, and others wish to challenge unwise leasing and development decisions.
  • Ignores the fact that industry has failed to develop more than 6,500 drilling permits.

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