News of the World

[kyonides]

Beware, guys! Today's News are gonna get quite oily indeed!

Sen. Pat Toomey Introduces Pipeline Permitting Bill Before Exiting Senate

With just days left in the 117th Congress, exiting U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, a Pennsylvania Republican, has introduced a measure that would ease the permitting process for pipelines.

The Pipeline Permitting for Energy Security Act is described as creating regulatory certainty for natural gas pipeline construction across the United States. Specifically, it would approve the completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, spanning 303 miles from northwestern West Virginia to southern Virginia.

Completing this pipeline could create more access to natural gas from Pennsylvania.
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The Senate’s session days are nearly over and the bill will die at the end of the year, but an aide said it was introduced as a standalone bill and the hope is to add to the conversation that’s already been started on permitting. Several stakeholder groups are supportive of language in Toomey’s bill, and there is significant interest in moving permitting reform forward both inside and outside Congress, the aide said.
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Toomey will be replaced by Democrat John Fetterman who has spoken both in support of and opposition to the gas industry.

U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, a Pennsylvania Republican, introduced a House companion bill to Toomey’s proposal and is expected to pursue it into the next session.

Los Angeles Approves Phase-Out of Oil Drilling, Ban on New Wells

The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously Friday to phase out oil drilling in the city, approving an ordinance that bans new oil and gas extraction.

The council voted 12–0 for the ordinance, which amends the municipal code to make existing extraction activities a nonconforming use in all zones.
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The city ordinance phases out all such oil and gas extraction activities by banning new oil and gas extraction and ceasing existing operations within 20 years. Operators would not be able to expand their existing sites or extend the life of a well during the 20-year phase-out period.

Many community groups have lobbied Los Angeles to stop oil drilling, citing the harm it has on communities that are disproportionately felt in working-class communities and communities of color. More than 500,000 Los Angeles County residents live within a half-mile of an active oil well.

Concerns from community members have mounted at recent council meetings over a potential loss of jobs and an increase in gas prices.
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Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed new rules last October, under which new oil wells or drilling facilities in California would have to be at least 3,200 feet from homes, schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and other “sensitive locations.”

European Union Agrees to $60 Russian Oil Price Cap

European Union member countries have agreed to a $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian oil in a bid to weaken the Kremlin’s ability to wage war in Ukraine, though Moscow has said the move is meaningless as it plans to keep charging buyers regular prices or cut them off.

After a last-minute flurry of negotiations, the EU’s rotating presidency, currently held by the Czech Republic, said in a statement that “ambassadors have just reached an agreement on price cap for Russian seaborne oil.”
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The decision must still be officially approved with a written procedure but is expected to clear that formal hurdle over the weekend, Sados said.

Kaja Kallas, the prime minister of Estonia, an EU member state that feels particularly threatened by Russia’s military moves in the region, hailed the price cap agreement.
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Last week, the European Commission recommended capping Russian oil prices at $65–70 per barrel, but Poland and the Baltic countries—including Estonia—came out in opposition, pushing for a lower cap.

Kallas estimated that, for every dollar lower on the cap, Russia would lose around $2 billion in oil revenues.
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A day prior, as representatives of EU countries were in the final stretch of talks, the Kremlin said it would ignore whatever cap would finally ensue and negotiate prices directly with buyers.
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Former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told CNBC during a panel discussion in November that the Russian oil price cap was “not only not feasible, I think it’s the most ridiculous idea I’ve ever heard.”

Simone Tagliapietra, an energy policy expert at the Bruegel think tank in Brussels, said that a $ 60-per-barrel cap “will almost go unnoticed” by Russia because it would be close to a price point at which Russian oil is already selling.