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Here are some more selected news articles for the week ending 15 May 2021. Go here for Oil, Gas, And Fracking News Read 16May 2021 – Part 1.
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Oil cuts likely to remain for years –Even though oil companies are recovering from their worst downturn in decades, they are unlikely to restore exploration and production budgets to pre-pandemic levels for years, according to a new report.Oil producers are expected to spend about $390 billion on exploration and production activities this year, a slight increase from the $382 billion in spending last year, according to Rystad. The Norwegian energy research firm forecasts upstream investment will rise gradually to just over $480 billion by 2025, less than the pre-pandemic level of $530 billion.The tightening of company purse strings will have widespread implications for Houston’s economy and the more than 60,000 oil exploration and production workers in Texas who were laid off during the downturn. Lower capital spending will mean fewer jobs in the oil patch.”Rystad Energy expects the effect of the pandemic to be a lasting one. Even though spending will start growing from 2022, it will not return to the pre-pandemic level of $530 billion,” Rystad said in a report released Wednesday. “Growth will be limited and investments will only inch up annually.”Crude prices, which plummeted last year, have recovered quickly in recent months. Oil rose 1 percent Wednesday to settle at $66.08 a barrel, lifted in part by report by the International Energy Agency. The IEA found that supply glut that has plagued the industry for more than a year, has come to an end.Still, Rystad said, it’s unlikely spending on new wells will recover to pre-pandemic levels. Oil companies are keeping their focus on paying down debt and boosting shareholder returns to woo investors back to the energy sector. Energy was the worst-performing sector of the U.S. stock market in 2020 after years of lackluster performance.When crude prices crashed as the pandemic broke out last spring, oil companies swiftly slashed $285 billion collectively from their exploration and production budgets, representing more than half of their spending in 2019, according to Rystad. U.S. shale companies made the deepest spending cuts, shedding $96 billion from their exploration and production budgets, Rystad said. “Since shale oil is both the segment with the highest decline in activity,” said Espen Erlingsen, Rystad’s head of upstream research, “and the supply source in greatest need of continuous reinvestment to keep production growing, the immediate impact (of spending cuts) on output from this sector has been significant.”
Rare Plants Under Review In Oil And Gas Fight – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will take a closer look at two rare plants found only in northwestern New Mexico to see if they warrant protection under the federal Endangered Species Act as environmentalists push to stop oil and gas development in the region.The agency’s decision to review the Aztec gilia and Clover’s cactus came Tuesday, after being petitioned by environmentalists nearly a year ago. Environmentalists point to the fishhook-spined cactus and the flowering herb as more reasons development should be limited in the San Juan Basin. They say federal land managers aren’t doing enough to preserve the plants.”The Bureau of Land Management has been rubber stamping fracking in this region for decades, running roughshod over the greater Chaco landscape and communities,” Rebecca Sobel with the group WildEarth Guardians said in a statement. “If unfettered fracking is not reined in, the health of the landscape and these endemic species remains in grave peril.”The fight over drilling in the San Juan Basin has spanned multiple presidential administrations and both sides of the political aisle. Environmental groups began by raising concerns about the potential for increased pollution across the region and some Native American tribes joined the fight, calling for a permanent moratorium that would prohibit development in more areas beyond the boundaries of Chaco Culture National Historical Park.Legislation that would establish a buffer on federal land surrounding the park is pending in Congress. Groups also have been pressuring Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, a former New Mexico congresswoman and the first Native American to head a cabinet department, to take executive action. In their petitions, environmentalists cited public records that show disagreement within the Bureau of Land Management and failures by oil and gas companies to comply with conditions of their permits when it came to dealing with the plants. They also cited poor record-keeping related to efforts to transplant Clover’s cactus and their survival rates. The cactus is found only in Rio Arriba, Sandoval and San Juan counties in grasslands and among desert shrubs. The petition states that the effects of oil and gas development are mostly associated with the creation of well pads and the networks of pipelines and roads that connect them.Other threats include horse and cattle grazing, illegal harvesting, seed collection, off-road vehicle use and climate change. Predation by rabbits, moths and beetles also have contributed to the plants’ demise.
As Line 5 debate continues, residents weigh risks to shorelines, economies – – In six days, oil escaping from under the Straits of Mackinac could reach Rogers City. There, it could hurt wildlife, sicken residents, and coat beaches with slime, according to experts studying the possible effect of an oil spill from Line 5, Enbridge Inc.’s 68-year-old pipeline carrying crude oil across the bottom of the Straits. Such a spill presents relatively low risk of devastating environmental impact in Alpena and Thunder Bay, according to studies. Neighbors to the northwest, in Presque Isle County, face a more realistic possibility of long-term hurt if oil escaped the pipeline. Though insisting the pipeline is safe, Enbridge plans to relocate Line 5 into a concrete tunnel 100 feet below the lakebed through the Straits as part of a plan worked out with previous Gov. Rick Snyder. Lawsuits by the Michigan Legislature and the Michigan Attorney General dispute Enbridge’s right to run oil through those waters. Current Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in November ordered Enbridge to stop transporting oil through the Straits and gave the company six months to comply. Enbridge’s deadline is Wednesday. Environmental groups claim the pipeline’s location and age put lakes Michigan and Huron, which connect at the Straits, and coastline communities at risk of a disastrous oil spill, endangering the environment, local and state economies, and human health. Enbridge maintains that shutting down the line would remove a vital fuel supply to Michiganders and hurt the state’s economy. Both arguments are true, said David Schwab, a researcher who conducted hundreds of tests to determine possible outcomes of an oil spill from the pipeline. Schwab, a Great Lakes oceanographer employed by the University of Michigan Water Center, with expertise in the currents through the Straits, created computer simulations of 860 scenarios of potential weather and lake conditions at the moment of an oil spill from Line 5. Currents almost as strong as those in the Detroit River can run either direction through the Straits and change from day to day, according to Schwab. Given the unpredictability of currents and the wide variety of weather systems in northern Michigan, the Straits present the worst point in the Great Lakes for an oil spill, Schwab said. If 25,000 gallons leaked from the pipeline, Schwab’s tests showed about a 5% chance enough oil would make it to Thunder Bay to noticeably impact residents or the environment. The spilled oil would arrive about 10 days after the spill.
Michigan tribes plan peaceful gatherings for Enbridge ‘eviction day,’ LaDuke to speak —Tribal citizens and environmental groups in Michigan are preparing for “Enbridge eviction” celebrations this week in honor of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Wednesday deadline for the Canadian oil company to shut down its controversial Line 5 pipeline. At the same time, Enbridge allies are gearing up for the deadline by arguing the 68-year-old pipeline has a positive economic impact. The nonprofit Consumers Energy Alliance – a front group for the energy industry that pushes pro-oil and gas messaging in the United States, according to SourceWatch – released a report Monday arguing that a Line 5 shutdown would devastate energy supplies of surrounding states. The two days of planned events near the Mackinac Straits on Wednesday and Thursday are being organized by Indigenous water protection group MackinawOde, Great Lakes Water Protector Group and the Oil & Water Don’t Mix coalition. Nathan Wright, a citizen of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and a core member of MackinawOde, says the two days are meant to honor Indigenous peoples’ connection with the water while continuing to protest Enbridge’s presence in the Straits. In November, Whitmer set a deadline of May 12 for Enbridge to cease operation of the pipeline while ordering the company’s 1953 easement with the state to be revoked and terminated. Michigan and Enbridge are currently entangled in several court disputes regarding the shutdown order, and a final ruling is unlikely to happen before Wednesday. Although the order will still take effect Wednesday, a court order will be needed to enforce the shutdown as Enbridge has said it will not comply voluntarily. Winona LaDuke is slated for the keynote speaker role. She is the director of Indigenous environmental group Honor the Earth, a vocal activist against oil pipelines, including Enbridge’s Line 3 in Minnesota, and a former Green Party vice presidential candidate.
On eve of Line 5 shutdown deadline, Enbridge vows to defy Michigan order –Enbridge Energy technically has one more day to shut down the Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac, but even the pipeline’s most vocal opponents acknowledge slim odds that the oil actually stops flowing right away. In the six months since Governor Gretchen Whitmer gave Enbridge 180 days to stop transporting petroleum across the tempestuous waterway that links Lakes Michigan and Huron, and the four months since Enbridge vowed to defy her, state officials have been adamant that the order still stands. But as for what Michigan can or will do if Enbridge keeps the oil flowing beyond midnight on Wednesday? That’s unclear. Spokespeople for the governor declined to answer questions about their plans, but supplied a written statement noting that Whitmer “stands behind her decision” to cancel the easement that first gave Enbridge’s predecessor permission to build a pipeline along the sandy bottom of the straits 68 years ago. “We cannot risk the devastating economic, environmental, and public health impacts of a catastrophic oil spill in the Great Lakes,” the statement reads. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who is locked in legal battle with Enbridge over the shutdown order, said her office expects to pursue “punitive measures” if Enbridge defies the order. But first, the state and Enbridge must settle a dispute about whether the case will be heard in state or federal court. Enbridge officials admit that the idea of constructing a pipeline in the open waters of the Straits would not fly today. But company officials also insist that the current pipeline is safe: constructed of material thicker than most pipelines and watched closely for any sign of malfunction. And, Enbridge contends, pipeline regulation is a task for the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, not the state of Michigan. “We will not stop operating the pipeline unless we’re ordered by a court or our regulator, which we think is highly unlikely,”
Enbridge Pipeline Day of Reckoning? Indigenous Rights Groups Join Michigan Gov. Whitmer in Demanding Shutdown –Indigenous rights and climate action groups are set to hold an “Evict Enbridge” celebration on Wednesday and Thursday to mark Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s deadline for Canadian oil and gas company Enbridge to shut down its Line 5 pipeline.Ahead of Wednesday’s deadline, which Whitmer set last November, the Democratic governor called Enbridge’s continued use of the Straits of Mackinac – under which Line 5 has carried more than half of Ontario’s oil supply since 1953 – a “ticking time bomb.””Their continued presence violates the public trust and poses a grave threat to Michigan’s environment and economy,” Whitmer said in a statement this week.Whitmer, who campaigned on shutting down Line 5, announced last November that she was revoking an easement granted by the state of Michigan nearly 70 years ago, saying Enbridge has violated safety requirements.Although no oil or gas leaks from Line 5 – which carries 540,000 barrels of oil per day – have been reported, the pipeline has been struck by boat anchors and other equipment in recent years. Last year, the line was shut down temporarily after an anchor support sustained damage.Whitmer said last year that Enbridge violated a rule prohibiting unsupported gaps beneath the pipeline, and another pipeline run by the company spilled more than 845,000 gallons of oil in 2010, affecting the Kalamazoo River.According to a 2017 National Wildlife Federation report, more than two dozen spills from other sections of Enbridge’s pipelines exceeded one million gallons.A 2018 poll of Michigan residents found that 54% of the state wants Line 5 shut down and 87% are concerned about the pipeline spilling into the Straits of Mackinac.At the Evict Enbridge event in Mackinaw City this week, environmental justice advocate Winona LaDuke will be among the speakers. “Will Enbridge shut [Line 5] down or will the public do it for them?” said Honor the Earth, LaDuke’s organization, on social media Monday. Enbridge has “imposed on the people of Michigan an unacceptable risk of a catastrophic oil spill in the Great Lakes that could devastate our economy and way of life,” Whitmer said when announcing the easement, which was granted despite the fact that the federal government generally regulates oil pipelines.Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel denounced the company and the Canadian government for putting the state “in a position where Canada stands to gain nearly all the benefit and the state of Michigan bears all the risks.”
Canada warns Michigan oil line shutdown could undermine U.S. ties (Reuters) -A day before Michigan’s deadline to close down a key crude oil pipeline, Canada on Tuesday issued its strongest remarks so far about the move, warning that it could undermine relations with the United States, its closest ally and trading partner. Canadian company Enbridge Inc is preparing for a legal battle with Michigan and courting protests from environmental groups, betting it can ignore the state’s Wednesday deadline to shut down Line 5, which runs under the Straits of Mackinac. The Canadian government, intervening in the case to back Enbridge, said in a U.S. federal court filing that Michigan had no right to act unilaterally since a 1977 Canada-U.S. pipeline treaty guarantees the free flow of oil between the two nations. “This case raises concerns regarding the efficacy of the historic framework upon which the U.S.-Canada relationship has been successfully managed for generations,” Ottawa said. Michigan’s move “threatens to undermine important aspects of that cooperative international relationship”, it added. The brief said Canada would suffer “massive and potentially permanent disruption” from a shutdown. Line 5 brings 540,000 barrels-per-day of oil from western Canada to Ontario, Quebec, Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. Canada has been lobbying https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/frustrated-canada-presses-white-house-keep-great-lakes-oil-pipeline-open-2021-04-26 Washington officials to keep the pipeline open in what is likely to be an election year in Canada. The White House has so far kept quiet. “We don’t weigh in on that … it will be decided in court,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm told reporters on Tuesday when asked about the White House’s position on Line 5. The government of Alberta, Canada’s main crude-producing province, welcomed the federal government’s intervention. Energy Minister Sonya Savage said Michigan’s attempt to shut down an operating pipeline set a dangerous precedent for future oil and gas projects.
Whitmer threatens Enbridge as workers protest Line 5 closure deadline – While the state’s Democratic attorney general is saying she can’t close Line 5 without a court order, Michigan’s Democratic governor is insisting Enbridge will be considered a trespasser if it continues to operate the oil pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac after Wednesday. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer warned an Enbridge executive Tuesday that if the Canadian company continued to operate in the Straits past Wednesday, the state would seek its profits if it eventually prevails in its legal fight to revoke the pipeline’s easement. Continued operations would be considered “an intentional trespass,” she said. The company, Whitmer said, “will be liable for unjust enrichment, which will require disgorgement to the state of all profits derived from its wrongful use of the state’s property.” “The state intends to assert claims for trespass and unjust enrichment against Enbridge at the appropriate time when the pending motion for remand in the state’s lawsuit has been decided,” Whitmer wrote in the letter to Vern Yu, Enbridge’s executive vice president. The National Wildlife Federation on Tuesday applauded Whitmer’s ultimatum, noting Enbridge could be forced potentially to give up 100% of its daily Line 5 profits – an amount the group estimated to be about $1.4 million a day. Enbridge said in a Tuesday statement it is confident the state and the company would eventually reach a resolution. “A shutdown of Line 5 has serious, broad ramifications and raises substantial federal and international questions relating to interstate and international commerce,” Enbridge spokesman Ryan Duffy said. “That is why the case is in federal court where the judge has ordered mediation.” Whitmer’s letter came a day after Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office told The Detroit News that she had no way to enforce the easement revocation and closure order without court intervention. “The jurisdictional issue will not be decided until sometime after May 12,” Nessel spokeswoman Lynsey Mukomel said. “We need a court order that requires Enbridge to shut down in compliance with the notice. We will continue to work to get that as soon as possible.”
“Water is life” is the theme of Day 1 of protests to shut down Enbridge Line 5 –On Thursday, environmental groups and Native Americans plan to present Enbridge Energy with symbolic eviction notices. They want Enbridge to abide by Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s order to shut down Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac. In November 2020, Governor Whitmer revoked the easement for Enbridge Energy’s Line 5 twin pipelines through the Straits of Mackinac, and gave the company 180 days to shut down that section of the pipelines, which carry light crude oil and natural gas liquids. That deadline was Wednesday at midnight, and Enbridge says it has no intention of shutting the line down. On Tuesday, Governor Whitmer pledged to try and seize any profits the company makes from the pipeline after that deadline, claiming trespass on state property.. In the background, the question of whether Whitmer’s November revocation notice was legal is playing out in the courts. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel sued in circuit court to enforce the order, and Enbridge counter-sued in federal court. The two sides are now in court-ordered mediation over whether the legal dispute over the easement will be heard in state or federal court. Wednesday was the first day of Line 5 protests in Mackinaw City. There’s a two-lane road separating Enbridge Energy’s big Line 5 pumping station from a little park where a lot of tribal members from all over the upper Midwest gathered. There were also some non-indigenous activists from the Lower Peninsula of Michigan with them to keep public pressure on the Canadian pipeline company. There was a lot of music, some ceremonies, and many people taking turns with the microphone, reminding each other how precious the Great Lakes – and particularly the Straits of Mackinac – are to the tribes.
Enbridge continues Line 5 Straits pipeline operation, defies Whitmer – In defiance of an order by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to cease operations by Wednesday, Canadian oil transport giant Enbridge continued to flow 23 million gallons of crude oil and natural gas liquids through Line 5, its controversial, 68-year-old twin pipelines on the Straits of Mackinac lake bottom. Whitmer on Tuesday, in a letter to Vern Yu, Enbridge’s executive vice president for liquids pipelines, said continued operation of the line after Wednesday “constitutes an intentional trespass” and that the company would do so “at its own risk.””If the state prevails in the underlying litigation, Enbridge will face the prospect of having to disgorge to the state all profits it derives from its wrongful use of the easement lands following that date,” she said. Whitmer in November moved to revoke Enbridge’s 1953 easement to situate the pipelines on state-controlled bottomlands near where Great Lakes Michigan and Huron connect, citing repeated violations of the easement’s terms on pipeline safety measures and an unreasonable risk to the Great Lakes from the aging pipes’ continued operation. The governor gave Enbridge 180 days to arrange for shutdown of the pipes, a deadline that ends Wednesday. Hardhats cover a portion of the Capitol lawn in protest of a Line 5 closure on Tuesday, May 11, 2021, in Lansing. The hats represented jobs that would be lost. (Photo: Nick King/Lansing State Journal)But Enbridge is continuing to operate Line 5, saying Whitmer’s order amounts to attempting to regulate interstate pipeline safety, which the company believes is the sole jurisdiction of the federal government.As of Wednesday, Enbridge’s continued operation of Line 5 in the Straits is “unlawful,” Whitmer Press Secretary Bobby Leddy said.The battle over Line 5 is playing out in both state and federal courts, and in the court of public opinion. Enbridge, with allies including many Republicans in the state Legislature, business and industry groups and labor unions for refinery workers, says a Line 5 shutdown would devastate Michigan’s and the region’s energy supply and economy – and the company has spread that message far and wide across television, the web and print in an expensive media blitz.
Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin business leaders urge court to keep Line 5 operating — The Canadian and U.S. chambers of commerce joined forces with their counterparts in Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin by filing a joint brief in court to argue against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s bid to shut down the cross-border pipeline. Wednesday marked Whitmer’s original deadline for Enbridge to shut down Line 5, which she maintains poses an unacceptable environmental risk along the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac, which connect Lake Huron with Lake Michigan. “The tunnel solution essentially eliminates the risk of an oil spill at the Straits of Mackinac,” the chambers argue in their filing, known in legal parlance as an amicus brief. The existing tunnel agreement with Michigan gives Enbridge the right to cancel the project entirely if the pipeline is forced to cease operations, even temporarily, they argue. “Under the termination clause of two agreements … if defendants comply with the state of Michigan order and involuntarily shut down the pipeline, then defendants can choose to terminate their obligations to construct such a tunnel.” The brief anticipates a scenario in which Enbridge is forced to temporarily shut down the line, cancels the tunnel project and then later receives a ruling that allows the line to start back up. “The chambers urge the parties not to create avoidable short-term crises or put at risk the long-term solution (the tunnel) that they agree is superior to the status quo.” Enbridge said it would need to re-evaluate things should Line 5 be shut down.
Ohio Legislature keeps pressure on Michigan to keep pipeline open – Ohio lawmakers continue to pressure Michigan’s governor to keep open a pipeline that affects more than 20,000 Ohio jobs and nearly $14 billion in state economic activity. Rep. Brian Baldridge, R-Winchester, who testified before the Ohio Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee earlier this week, said Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer continues to make poor decisions at a time when energy security remains in question after a cyberattack on Colonial Pipeline that continues to leave the Southeast with gasoline shortages and higher prices. Baldridge also testified recently before Michigan’s Senate Energy Committee and met with the state’s Senate leadership in response to Ohio Resolution 13, which urges Michigan to keep the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline operating. The Line 5 pipeline services two Oregon refineries in northwest Ohio. According to Ohio officials, closing the line would cause a significant disruption in the supply chain, which serves as a source of jet fuel for several regional and international airports, particularly in Cleveland and Detroit. “Governor Whitmer continues to escalate her poor policy decision making at a time when the wide-ranging impact of energy insecurity in this country is at the front of our minds,” Baldridge said. “The cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline is deeply felt throughout our Southeast region and the Michigan governor underestimates the scope of her decision. Ohio workers and consumers should not be relegated to political casualties.”
Line 5 critics challenge business advocates on shutdown potential — Business advocacy groups from around the Great Lakes argued this week that shutting down Line 5 would lead to a crisis in regional oil and gas markets, although pipeline critics say that forecast is overblown.The two sides ramped up advocacy this week as Enbridge Inc. ignored a state deadline on Wednesday to shut down the twin pipelines in the Straits of Mackinac. The company is in a dispute in federal court over the proper legal venue, arguing with the state more broadly about whether the pipeline should be shut down.State officials notified Enbridge six months ago that the company was allegedly in violation of its easement and the public trust by operating in the Straits of Mackinac. Officials gave Enbridge six months to develop alternative plans for shipping oil and gas liquids from Superior, Wis. to refineries in Ontario, Detroit and Toledo. The May 12 deadline set off a flurry of advocacy as well as legal, executive and legislative action this week.Chambers of commerce from Great Lakes states, the U.S. and Canada on Wednesday announced a joint brief they filed in the Whitmer administration’s case against Enbridge that’s pending in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan.Valerie Brader, an attorney and co-owner of Rivenoak Law Group P.C., filed the brief on behalf of the business groups arguing that closing Line 5 would cause major disruptions in the region’s energy market by tightening supplies and eventually cost thousands of jobs at U.S. and Canadian refineries. The business groups support Enbridge’s position that its case against the state belongs in federal court, and that it would disrupt U.S.-Canada relations.
Michigan Threatens Enbridge’s Profits in Great Lakes Pipeline Dispute – Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer threatened to seize profits from Canadian pipeline company Enbridge Inc. if the company continues to operate a pipeline through the Great Lakes after a Wednesday deadline. In a letter sent to Enbridge on Tuesday, Gov. Whitmer and Daniel Eichinger, director of the state’s natural resources department, reminded the company the state had revoked a permitthat allowed the Line 5 pipeline to run along the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac, between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. The governor has given the company until May 12 to shut the pipeline.Michigan has said the pipeline poses an environmental risk and that any spill from it would threaten the Great Lakes. Enbridge has said that section of the 68-year-old pipeline has never leaked and that it is taking steps to protect the lakes after negotiating a plan with former Gov. Rick Snyder to encase the pipes in a tunnel below the lake bed.Enbridge has refused the order, arguing in a lawsuit that Michigan doesn’t have the authority to close the line, which transports oil and natural gas liquids from Superior, Wis., to refineries in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Ontario and Quebec.”Enbridge’s continued occupation and use of State-owned bottomlands in the absence of a valid and effective easement constitutes an intentional trespass,” said the governor in her letter. She said the state would, if it wins in court, require the company to disgorge “all profits derived from its wrongful use of the State’s property” after the May 12 deadline.
Why Indigenous women are risking arrest to fight Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline through Minnesota – On Dec. 14, Simone Senogles of the Red Lake Nation in Minnesota watched as machines chewed up the forest to clear a path to the Mississippi River where Enbridge plans to bury the Line 3 pipeline. Weeks earlier, the state and federal government granted its final permits. Her friend’s nephew sat 30 feet above in a tree. A cherry picker rolled forward to extract him. Senogles, a leadership team member for the Indigenous Environmental Network who fought the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock, knew the Line 3 opposition had other strategies in place – court challenges, divestment campaigns – but in that moment she felt “a tremendous sense of responsibility.” She said she locked arms with about 20 other water protectors, hoping to slow the cherry picker, but dozens of police wrestled them to the frozen ground and arrested them. Senogles was charged with unlawful assembly and trespassing. She said it felt insulting. “It’s Anishinaabe land,” she told EHN, referring to a group of Indigenous people whose traditional homeland stretches from the East Coast through the Great Lakes to the Midwest. “Enbridge is the trespasser, they are the criminal, and they were aided by law enforcement who are supposed to be protecting us, but instead they were protecting a corporation.”Police from the Northern Lights Task Force, Minnesota police officers funded by Enbridge as a condition of state permits, have arrested 72 Indigenous people and allies since construction began Dec. 1, according to task force press releases. Water protectors have put their bodies on the line, building six resistance camps along the pipeline route, chaining themselves to equipment and camping in trees. Opponents say the threats from the pipeline are many: thousands of construction workers, many from out-of-state, are building the pipeline, posing potential violence to Indigenous women. The pipeline will also contribute to climate change, emitting the equivalent greenhouse gases of 50 coal power plants or 38 million vehicles, according a report by climate action group MN350. In Minnesota, the pipeline would cross under 200 bodies of water, passing through wetlands where wild rice, a traditional Ojibwe food, grows. The pipeline will carry diluted bitumen, a heavy oil that sinks in water, making it harder to clean up.
Biden’s Pipeline Dilemma: How to Build a Clean Energy Future While Shoring Up the Present’s Carbon-Intensive Infrastructure – Even as President Joe Biden worked this week to shore up support for his push to invest $2 trillion in a new energy future for the United States, his administration found itself bombarded with the harsh realities of the nation’s oil-dependent present.More than a half-dozen federal agencies scrambled to contain fallout from a cyber-attack that shut down the Colonial Pipeline, the nation’s largest petroleum products conduit, just as the start of the nation’s peak driving season approaches. Panic buying triggered gasoline shortages and price spikes all along the East Coast before Colonial restarted the line Wednesday. Meanwhile, a legal and international conflict escalated in Michigan over Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s ordered shutdown of Enbridge’s Line 5, a 68-year-old oil pipeline on the lakebed of the Straits of Mackinac that transports oil from Alberta, Canada’s tar sands. Another Enbridge tar sands pipeline project in Minnesota, Line 3, has become a flash point for environmental and Indigenous groups that want the Biden administration to intervene to stop construction. And a court ruling could come any day opening a new chapter in the six-year battle over the Dakota Access pipeline. Even though President Donald Trump pushed that project to completion, a court-ordered expanded environmental review is now in the hands of the Biden administration.Throughout his campaign, Biden embraced the most ambitious climate platform ever advanced by a U.S. presidential nominee, without taking a stand on oil and gas pipeline investment. The events of the past week make clear that he won’t be able to avoid the issue, even though it threatens to divide his political coalition. Labor stayed with Biden even though he pledged to block the Keystone XL pipeline, a project they supported, but which had become emblematic of climate activists’ drive against fossil fuel expansion. But after fulfilling his Keystone pledge on his first day in office, Biden stayed away from pipelines, focusing instead on a message with appeal to both unions and environmentalists: that a transition to clean energy would be an engine of blue-collar job creation.However, U.S. oil consumption is nearly back to its pre-pandemic level of 20 million barrels per day, most of it flowing at some point through the nation’s more than 190,000 miles of petroleum pipeline. More than half of that network was built before 1970. Even as Biden seeks to build an entirely new energy infrastructure, some of those pipelines are going to wear out or, as in Colonial’s case, face unexpected disruption. “Regardless of your position on climate change,” said Raimi, “shutting down certain pipelines and doing it without planning can cause a lot of problems.”
OIL AND GAS: Lawsuit: BLM ignored Colo. fracking’s climate risk — Wednesday, May 12, 2021 — A coalition of conservation groups is bringing the Biden administration to court over a Trump-era development plan allowing hydraulic fracturing on nearly 35,000 acres in Colorado’s Western Slope.
Dakota Access executive says pipeline has faced cyberattacks – The Dakota Access Pipeline has faced cyberattacks like the one against the Colonial Pipeline last week that forced it to shut down and disrupted fuel supplies to the East Coast, Energy Transfer Executive Chairman Kelcy Warren said Wednesday during an appearance at an oil conference in Bismarck. The attacks against Dakota Access failed, but Warren indicated such attempts are a growing threat to the pipeline industry. “I’m worried this is going to be tried a lot more frequently,” he told attendees of the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference at the Bismarck Event Center. The Colonial Pipeline began operating again Wednesday afternoon after it shut down last Friday. It transports nearly half the East Coast’s fuel supply. The FBI has identified the hackers responsible for the attack as a group known as DarkSide. “How long before they say, ‘Wow, we get people’s attention when we do this. Let’s do some more,'” Warren said. Another big name to speak at the conference, Harold Hamm, founder of Continental Resources, called what happened to the Colonial Pipeline a “terrorist attack” and said the federal government needs to step up. Continental and the pipeline companies it works with fend off hits every day, he said. “It needs to be escalated from the FBI to the Department of Defense,” he said. “These are foreign terrorists doing this that want to take down America.”
New Lawsuit Challenges ‘Fast-Track’ Permits Used for Oil and Gas Pipelines Nationwide –Five environmental groups have filed a lawsuit in a Montana federal court alleging that the way that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issues permits for oil and gas pipelines nationwide violates some of the country’s cornerstone environmental laws. This new lawsuit, filed May 3, is the most recent round in a nearly decade-long battle, sparked under the Obama administration, over how regulators approach the environmental impacts from oil and gas pipelines and the extent to which the public gets a say in the permitting process. That battle centers on whether pipeline builders should be allowed to use a generic permit, known to regulators as Nationwide Permit 12 (NWP 12), when pipelines cross rivers, streams and wetlands. Critics say authorizing pipelines with NWP 12 lets builders off the hook when it comes to the environmental scrutiny that would otherwise be required and eliminates a chance for the public to weigh in before construction begins. They say that the way the Corps has used NWP 12 for oil and gas pipelines, approaching each small water crossing separately instead of looking at the cumulative effects from an entire pipeline, has put both drinking water supplies and threatened and endangered wildlife like Florida manatees and whooping cranes at greater risk. “Nationwide Permit 12 is a tool for corporate polluters to fast-track climate-destroying oil and gas pipelines and exempt them from critical environmental reviews and consultations,” said Doug Hayes, an attorney for the Sierra Club, which joined the Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Earth, Waterkeeper Alliance, and Montana Environmental Information Center in filing thelawsuit. “There’s no time to waste in eliminating this process, which only serves to bolster the oil and gas industry’s bottom lines.” Tens of thousands of permits for water-crossings are on the line. The Corps has estimated that NWP 12 would be used to permit more than 40,000 water crossings over the next five years – including small projects as well as massive interstate pipelines carrying fossil fuels and the raw materials for plastic and petrochemical manufacturing. Part of the problem, the lawsuit alleges, is that the Corps’ use of NWP 12 short-circuits the environmental scrutiny required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), allowing major transmission pipelines that never actually underwent a full environmental review to be approved.
Interior drops Trump proposal for Arctic offshore drilling (AP) – The U.S. Interior Department said Friday that it would not pursue a Trump administration proposal that critics feared would have weakened rules for exploratory oil and gas drilling in Arctic waters. A statement from the department said existing regulations released in 2016 remain in effect and “are critical to ensuring adequate safety and environmental protections for this sensitive ecosystem and Alaska Native subsistence activities.” Leah Donahey, Alaska Wilderness League legislative director, said the rules that have been in place incorporated lessons learned from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. She also said there has not been a public push by companies showing interest in the region. The changes proposed under the Trump administration were not finalized and sought to remove what federal agencies at that time characterized as “unnecessary, burdensome provisions.” The proposal would have eliminated a requirement that companies submit an operations plan that addresses all aspects of their expected drilling activities before filing an exploration plan, saying companies know they must prepare for risks and challenges through their exploration plan. It also would have changed some rules around containment equipment, among other things, according to a fact sheet from the agencies. Kara Moriarty, president and CEO of the Alaska Oil and Gas Association, said the changes proposed last year made “substantial improvements over the original rule, including revisions to incorporate new technologies and modern drilling practices.” “It is unfortunate that politics have taken over what should have been a purely scientific exercise,” she said in a statement.
A U.S. Virgin Islands Oil Refinery Had Yet Another Accident. Residents Are Demanding Answers – St. Croix residents are demanding answers from a U.S. Virgin Islands oil refinery, and from the officials regulating it, in the wake of a series of recent accidents that they worry have exposed them to toxic chemicals and endangered their health.Since restarting operations in February, the Limetree Bay oil refinery has experienced at least three accidents that have directly affected the neighborhoods surrounding it. That includes a chemical release that occurred during maintenance on the plant last week that produced a nauseating odor, forcing schools to shut down and send children home for the second time in less than a month.The refinery, one of the largest in the United States, has been under investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency since March for possible permit violations, and specifically for a February flaring incident that spewed a plume of steam and fuel residue into the air, covering more than 130 homes with specks of oil and contaminating the drinking water of more than 60 residents. . Croix to look into another flaring incident that released large amounts of sulfuric gases into the air that month. Many residents remain confused over exactly what chemical they had been exposed to. Flaring occurs when a buildup of pressure triggers a safety valve to send chemicals to an incinerator that burns them off. The Virgin Islands government had initially said the April incident released hydrogen sulfide into nearby neighborhoods, while Limetree said the hydrogen sulfide was burned off in a flare, converting it into sulfur dioxide.Both chemicals can be harmful – and even deadly – to humans in high concentrations, causing lung and eye irritation and complicating breathing. The April investigation also found that Limetree was in violation of the Clean Air Act for failing to operate five sulfur dioxide monitors that surround its 1,500-acre property as required by two of its operating permits, though Limetree disputes those requirements. Days after EPA officials announced the Notice of Violation on May 3, Limetree said it would “voluntarily” begin operating the five monitors. “Community concern is growing immensely,” said Jennifer Valiulis, executive director for the St. Croix Environmental Association. “We are receiving more and more calls each day from people that are frustrated with the lack of information and desperate for some relief from the air pollution that is making them sick.”
St. Croix refinery halts operations after raining oil on local residents once again — A troubled refinery in St. Croix announced Wednesday evening that it would temporarily halt operations after raining oil on local residents for the second time in just over three months.Limetree Bay Refining, which showered a fine mist of oil over houses more than two miles away just three days after restarting operations on Feb. 1, spewed oil and sulfur dioxide into the air Wednesday afternoon. The accident triggered an alert from the Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency, which warned residents about a “gaseous odor” and urged those with respiratory illnesses to stay inside.The company acknowledged in a statement that Wednesday’s “incident resulted in a release of oil droplets which traveled directly west,” affecting the neighborhood of Enfield Green, an affluent, gated community, “as well as some industrial sites.” “In response to today’s incident, Limetree Bay has decided to temporarily suspend production activities until further notice,” it added. The island where it showered oil Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan tweeted Wednesday night, “The repeated incidents at the refinery are unacceptable. EPA has a team on St. Croix and is committed to taking all necessary action to ensure people’s health and safety is protected.” The plant, which received approval to operate under the Trump administration, has come under close scrutiny since President Biden came into office. In March, the EPA revoked one of the permits the last administration granted the refinery just before Trump stepped down, and it is now investigating whether it poses “an imminent risk to people’s health.” The refinery has experienced multiple accidents over the past three months that have sickened local residents and forced schools, as well as local government offices, to close. The fire occurred at the same unit that caused the Feb. 4 accident, which contaminated dozens of open cisterns – from which many residents get water they use to drink, cook and bathe – and coated more than 200 cars as well as rooftops and gardens.
EPA orders Virgin Islands refinery to shut down, citing ‘imminent’ health threat –It didn’t take long for the Environmental Protection Agency official to discover the problem.It was 7:10 p.m. on a Wednesday night. The EPA employee who had been deployed to the U.S. Virgin Islands to investigate an accident-plagued refinery emailed colleagues to give them the news: “there is oil on my windshield.”On Friday, the Biden administration shut the plant down, citing an “imminent” threat to people’s health after several recent accidents contaminated St. Croix’s drinking water and left hundreds of people sick. In its 45-page order, the agency described the pollution’s impact in the words of its own employees who had come to stop it.”The odor I briefly encountered was overwhelming and nauseating,” recounted another EPA staffer, who was coordinating the agency’s response on the island and inhaled gasoline-like fumes May 6. “I normally am suited up with respiratory protection and other [personal protective equipment] prior to being exposed to something like this.”The rare move by the EPA, which has invoked emergency powers under the Clean Air Act only three times before, signals the extent to which the Biden administration has demonstrated its commitment to environmental justice.”It means that voices of the people have finally been elevated to the point that they’re being heard,” said Frandelle Gerard, who directs the Crucian Heritage and Nature Tourism Foundation and has criticized the refinery.In a statement, EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the agency took the extraordinary step after Limetree Bay showered oil on local residents twice, spewed sulfuric gases into the surrounding area and released hydrocarbons into the air.”This already overburdened community has suffered through at least four recent incidents that have occurred at the facility, and each had an immediate and significant health impact on people and their property,” Regan said. “EPA will not hesitate to use its authority to enforce the law and protect people from dangerous pollution where they work, live, and play.”
Mexico Natural Gas Market Spotlight: Expect Higher Prices in Coming Months – The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) sees natural gas spot prices at Henry Hub averaging $2.78/MMBtu in the second quarter and $3.05 for 2021 overall, a slight upward revision from its forecast last month.According to new research from the U.S. Department of Energy, Mexico paid $2.12/MMBtu on average for U.S. gas in 2020 and $2.57/MMBtu in 2019.The higher prices, based on strong liquified natural gas (LNG) demand and rising U.S. consumption, will translate to higher prices for Mexico, which is importing in excess of 6 Bcf/d on cross-border pipelines from the United States.”In 2022, we expect the Henry Hub price will fall to an average $3.02 amid slowing growth in LNG exports and rising production,” EIA researchers said.Meanwhile Mexico’s production is showing signs of recovery after two months of weakness, according to Wood Mackenzie’s Mexico analyst Ricardo Falcon.So far this month, Mexican dry gas output has averaged slightly more than 2.4 Bcf/d, according to Wood Mackenzie estimates. “This volume exceeds the average of the preceding two months by about 12%. Due to several operating and nontechnical risks, domestic dry gas processing and production saw record lows between February and March this year. If continued, this trend could induce some offsetting effect on U.S. piped gas exports to Mexico.”Anger mounts in Turkey at Israel’s onslaught against Gaza – As Israel’s ongoing onslaught on Palestinians in East Jerusalem and Gaza provokes mass anger in Turkey, it is also exposing the hypocrisy of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government led by President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan over the plight of the Palestinian people. The Turkish government and other venal bourgeois regimes in the Middle East are all complicit in the Israeli government’s assault on the Palestinians.Over the past week, thousands of people in many cities of Turkey have protested against Israel’s attacks on the Al-Aqsa mosque in East Jerusalem and subsequent air strikes in Gaza. Mass demonstrations took place in front of the Israeli Consulate and Taksim Square in Istanbul, despite the curfew imposed amid the COVID-19 pandemic.President ErdoÄŸan called Israel a “terror state” last Saturday, after Israeli police stormed the Al-Aqsa mosque, and urged all Muslim countries and the “international community” to take “effective” measures against Tel Aviv.The major establishment parties in parliament – the ruling AKP and its fascistic ally, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), as well as the bourgeois opposition, the Kemalist Republican People’s Party (CHP), far-right Good Party and Kurdish nationalist Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) – condemned Israel in a rare joint statement on Monday.”We declare that we will always continue to react to Israel’s aggressive actions aimed at eroding the status of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, and [Israel’s] attempts to usurp the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people,” it said, before claiming, “We strongly declare that we will continue to defend the Palestinian cause and [support] the struggle of the brotherly Palestinian people for freedom, justice and independence.”
Cash-Strapped Pemex Delays Payments to Some Private Oil Partners – Petroleos Mexicanos is racking up millions of dollars in late payments to oil companies as it struggles to generate cash amid skyrocketing debt and weaker crude sales. While Pemex has long sought to stretch its cash further by delaying payments to contractors, people with knowledge of the situation say it’s now also deferring reimbursement to some partner companies in an effort to postpone spending money that’s in increasingly short supply. Some private oil companies in Mexico sell their barrels to Pemex to mix with its own hydrocarbons for export because they lack the infrastructure and scale to sell the crude on their own, the people said, declining to be identified because they weren’t authorized to speak to the media. The Mexican state-owned oil giant owed about $60 million as of April 30 for crude and natural gas to Egypt’s Cheiron Petroleum Corp. and about $4 million as of April 16 to Hokchi Energy, a Mexican subsidiary of Argentina’s Pan American Energy LLC, as well as undisclosed amounts to Wintershall Dea GmbH, according to people with knowledge of the situation, and company documents seen by Bloomberg. Pemex’s latest payment woes underscore the deteriorating state of its finances after more than a decade and a half of falling output due to underinvestment. It has had negative free cash flow every year since 2007, data compiled by Bloomberg show, and has amassed $113.9 billion of debt, far more than peers of a similar size or larger. To be sure, Pemex’s bonds are rising amid an oil-market rebound, signaling growing confidence in the company’s finances as crude prices climb. The government-owned company has never defaulted on its debt. While deferred payments aren’t uncommon among state-owned producers in Latin America, delays in reimbursing partners could erode trust, making it even harder for the producer to stage a recovery, Francisco Monaldi, a lecturer in energy economics at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, said in a phone interview. Representatives from Pemex didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment by phone and email. Cheiron didn’t respond to requests for comment made during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when working hours in Egypt are limited. Pemex owed Hokchi more than $4 million as of April 16 for oil and gas exports sold in December and January from its field by the same name, with the debt owed since mid-March of this year, according to the documents, and people familiar with the situation. During the term of its contract with Hokchi Energy, “Pemex has made payments corresponding to the volumes of hydrocarbons delivered. Regardless of any specific delay, the relationship developed with Pemex is within the usual commercial terms,” Hokchi said in a statement. Hokchi didn’t specify whether payments for December and January exports had been made. A Wintershall spokesman said the company has a “trustful partnership” with Pemex, referring to a joint venture at the onshore Ogarrio field, and work is ongoing to resolve the payment issue. Wintershall is the operator of the field, with a 50% stake.Bloomberg
Gas Flaring Declined in 2020, Study Finds – NY Times – Gas flaring worldwide decreased by 5 percent in the pandemic year, mostly because of lower demand for oil, according to a recent report from the World Bank. While the overall drop was expected, the report offered a detailed picture of the flaring activities around the world, with steep declines in some areas, like the United States, and surprising increases in others, notably China. Flaring occurs when the gas that emerges with crude oil is burned off rather than captured. That burning emits carbon dioxide, a gas that is the main contributor to climate change. According to World Bank officials, flaring adds roughly 400 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent emissions to the atmosphere every year. According to the report, Russia was responsible for more flaring overall than any other country in 2020, contributing 15 percent of the global total. But within Russia, there were areas of progress. Burning continued to decrease in the Khanty-Mansi region of Siberia, where flaring volumes have dropped by nearly 80 percent over the previous 15 years. The other top flaring countries, according to the report, were Iraq, Iran, the United States, Algeria, Venezuela and Nigeria. China saw the biggest percentage increase among the top 30 countries, with a surge of 35 percent despite the country’s oil production remaining flat. The report cited testing in new oil fields in the country’s remote northwest. The increase moved China up to 9th place overall in flaring volume, from 15th in 2019. The United States recorded a significant 32 percent drop in 2020 from the year before, mainly because of new infrastructure to capture gas that otherwise would have been flared. ImageA drilling rig on the Yamal Peninsula in Siberia in 2019. The report, published at the end of April, relied on data collected by two satellites operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and analyzed at the Payne Institute for Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines. In addition to contributing planet-warming carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, routine gas flaring can harm the health of people who live near gas sites. It also wastes a potentially useful energy source, a problem that is especially acute in poorer countries.
Brazil LNG demand heading for record year –Brazil is on track to import a record volume of LNG this year because of persistent dry weather coupled with the commissioning of new LNG-to-power projects. As arid conditions dragged on into April, the electricity sector monitoring committee (CMSE) cleared the dispatch of thermoelectric plants and electricity imports. Hydroelectric reservoirs in the strategic southeast/center-west grid ended April at the lowest average level since 2015. September-April rainfall was the lowest since government records began in 1931. With dry season underway, LNG-linked thermoelectric plants were dispatched ahead of schedule last month to slow the decline of the reservoirs. LNG demand started the year at above-normal levels, with send-out of 18.25mn m/d in the first two months of the year, according to mines and energy ministry data. This compares to just 4.94mn m/d in the same period of 2020 and 18.17mn m/d in the first two months of 2015, when full-year send-out hit a record 17.94mn m/d. All of the January-February send-out came from two terminals operated by state-controlled Petrobras – Guanabara with 15.33mn m/d, and Pecem 2.93mn m/d. Petrobras recently reported total send-out of 19mn m/d in the first quarter, up nearly 175pc on the year.In April, thermoelectric generation soared by 37pc to 11,613MW, up from 8,492MW in April 2020, according to preliminary data from the electricity clearinghouse CCEE. Nearly all of the increase came from gas-fired power plants, with an average of 5,837MW, more than double the year-earlier average. Petrobras’ leading role in LNG imports is starting to shrink, in line with itsanti-trust commitments. The company is currently in the process of leasing its Bahia LNG terminal. Private-sector Gas Natural Acu’s (GNA) 1.33GW GNA1 LNG-to-power project in Rio de Janeiro state is scheduled to begin commercial operations on 31 May. The 1.5GW Porto de Sergipe LNG-to-power project is expected to begin operating by June.
Fire at Syrian oil refinery extinguished after leakage — Firefighters extinguished a blaze Sunday in a distillation unit at one of Syria’s two oil refineries, Syrian state TV reported. No one was hurt, but the fire caused some damage to the facility, a refinery official said. The TV named the cause of the fire as crude oil leakage from one of the pumping stations at the Homs Oil Refinery in the central province of Homs. The fire came amid a series of mysterious attacks on vessels and oil facilities in Syria over the past months. The war-torn country has been suffering from fuel shortage in recent months. Head of Homs Oil Refinery Suleiman Mohammed told state TV that the distillation unit that caught fire is one of four at the refinery. In addition to the refinery in Homs, Syria has another one near the coastal town of Banias. Both are government-run and operating. Syria’s oil resources are mostly outside of government controlled areas. Syria controls some small oil and gas fields in the country’s center but most of the country’s large fields in the east are controlled by U.S.-backed Kurdish-led fighters. This has made Damascus reliant on Iran for fuel. The U.S. Treasury sanctions have targeted a network that spanned Syria, Iran and Russia responsible for shipping oil to the Syrian government. In late April, Syria’s oil ministry said a fire erupted in an oil tanker on its coast after what it said was a suspected drone attack. In January, an explosion in an oil tanker outside a state fuel distribution company in Homs caused massive fire. The minister of oil told Syrian state TV at the time that seven tankers caught fire but there were no civilian casualties.
Oil gains after cyberattack forces shutdown of U.S. fuel pipelines –Oil rose on Monday after major U.S. fuel pipeline operator Colonial Pipeline had to shut fuel pipelines due to a cyberattack, raising concerns about supply disruption and pump price increases. Colonial Pipeline said on Sunday its main fuel lines remained offline after the attack that shut the system on Friday, but some smaller lines between terminals and delivery points were now operational. “The Colonial Pipeline hack headlines over the weekend have lifted oil prices,” said Jeffrey Halley, analyst at brokerage OANDA. “Colonial aside, oil may be vulnerable to some abrupt long-covering sell-offs as the week progresses.” Brent crude was up by 31 cents, or 0.5%, at $68.59 a barrel by 0820 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures (WTI) crude rose by 46 cents, or 0.7%, at $65.36. Both benchmarks rose more than 1% last week, their second consecutive weekly gain. “The major takeaway is the bad guys are very adept at finding new ways to penetrate infrastructure,” Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates told Reuters. “Infrastructure has not developed defenses that can offset all the different ways that malware can infect one’s system.” The White House was working closely with Colonial to help it to recover. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the pipeline fix was a top priority for the Biden administration and Washington was working to avoid more severe supply disruptions. Oil has risen 33% this year due to supply cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, known as OPEC+, and easing coronavirus movement restrictions in the U.S. and Europe. While some analysts have said oil demand may never reach pre-pandemic levels, Goldman Sachs said it expected this by the end of the year and predicted Brent would hit $80 and WTI $77 within six months.
Oil ends pennies higher as traders weigh impact of Colonial Pipeline cyberattack Oil futures ended a few pennies higher Monday, after a ransomware attack forced the shutdown of pipelines supplying around 45% of fuel to the East Coast. Crude prices spent some time during the session trading a bit lower on expectations that the U.S. will have to slow its refining activities and boost imports of gasoline. Alpharetta, Ga.-based Colonial Pipeline Co., which operates the 5,500-mile Colonial Pipeline system that transports fuel from Gulf Coast refineries to the East Coast, said over the weekend that it was the victim of a cyberattack and had temporarily shut down pipeline activity to contain the threat. Oil prices pulled back for bit as “talk of traders booking European cargoes for gas to import to the U.S., as well as fears that refining runs in the Gulf Coast will have to slow” due to the pipeline shutdown, In an update on Monday (link), however, Colonial Pipeline said it’s executing a plan to “facilitate a return to service in a phased approach,” with a goal to “substantially” restore operational service by the end of the week. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery rose 2 cents, or 0.03%, to settle at $64.92 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. July Brent crude , the global benchmark, added 4 cents, or nearly 0.1%, at $68.32 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. Gasoline futures jumped early Monday on Nymex, then gave back nearly all of those gains as oil prices eased. The June contract rose 0.3% to $2.13 a gallon after trading as high as almost $2.22. June heating oil edged up by 0.3% to $2.02 a gallon.”The big unknown is how long the shutdown will last, but clearly the longer it goes on, the more bullish it will be for refined product prices,” “Stronger prices on the U.S. East Coast will drag refined product prices higher in other regions, given that an extended shutdown will see the East Coast having to turn to waterborne cargoes, particularly from Europe,”
Oil falls as pipeline outage weighs on U.S. Gulf Coast refinery runs –Oil prices fell on Tuesday as the prospect of the main U.S. East Coast gasoline pipeline remaining shut for the rest of this week led some U.S. Gulf Coast refiners to cut output, denting their appetite for crude.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 72 cents, or 1.1%, to $64.20 a barrel, after gaining 2 cents on Monday.Brent crude futures dropped 66 cents, or 1%, to $67.67 a barrel, after climbing 4 cents on Monday.Colonial Pipeline, which transports more than 2.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, shut down its network on Friday after being hit by a cyberattack. “It’s quite possible we’ll see reduced crude oil demand. Some refineries in Texas have already scaled back runs because of the pipeline being out,” said Lachlan Shaw, National Australia Bank’s head of commodity research.”That will weigh on crude oil prices pretty obviously, even though parts of the pipeline are restarting and Colonial is expecting the pipeline to be back to capacity by the weekend.”Colonial said on Monday it aims to resume full operations by the end of this week. The outage, however, has already led Motiva Enterprises LLC to shut two of three crude units at its 607,000 bpd Port Arthur refinery in Texas, the largest in the United States.Total SE also cut gasoline output on Monday at its 225,500 bpd Port Arthur refinery due to the pipeline outage. The benchmark U.S. gasoline futures contract, which spiked after the outage, has now retreated to pre-Friday levels on the prospect of the restart. On Tuesday, the contract was down 0.6% at $2.1212 a gallon.On the positive side for crude, analysts are expecting data to show U.S. crude inventories fell by about 2.3 million barrels in the week to May 7, following an 8 million-barrel drop the previous week, according to a Reuters poll. Gasoline stocks are expected to have fallen by about 400,000 barrels, six analysts estimated on average ahead of reports from the American Petroleum Institute industry group on Tuesday and the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday.
Light Crude Ends Session Above $65 — Oil rose as a weaker dollar lent support and offset a burgeoning pile up of crude in the U.S. Gulf Coast as refineries there cut runs in response to the Colonial Pipeline shutdown. Crude futures in New York rose less than 1% Tuesday. The dollar has traded steadily weaker, making commodities priced in the currency more attractive. Colonial Pipeline Co. is working to restart its oil-products system, the largest in the U.S., after a cyberattack shuttered operations. While gasoline stations from Alabama to Virgina report shortages, refiners in the U.S. Gulf are reducing output to avoid a glut in the absence of the pipeline. Some refiners have already chartered ships to store refined products offshore. “The dollar index trading lower explains the slight increase in oil prices,” said Bob Yawger, head of the futures division at Mizuho Securities. The weak dollar may have saved the day for crude oil, which was facing pressure from refiners being forced to store barrels they can’t feed into the pipeline, he said. U.S. crude oil prices are up 2.7% so far this month even with coronavirus-induced demand concerns, particularly in India, limiting rallies. Still, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries on Tuesday lifted its forecast for the amount of crude it will need to produce and the group now sees a small decline in U.S. supplies this year, mostly due to the Texas freeze in February. Traders are expecting “a gradual resolution to the Colonial Pipeline shutdown,” according to Louise Dickson, an analyst at consultant Rystad Energy. “The market is again looking to Asia, Covid-19 cases, and the next signals for oil demand outlook.” West Texas Intermediate for June delivery rose 36 cents to settle at $65.28 a barrel in New York. Brent for July settlement gained 23 cents to end the session at $68.55 a barrel. U.S. gasoline futures rose 0.3% to settle at $2.1399 a gallon. Meanwhile, the knock on impact of the Colonial disruption is rippling through to everything from refining to shipping.
WTI Dips After Big Surprise Build In Gasoline Inventory – Amid all the chaos in equity markets, oil managed to bounce back to modest gains on the day with WTI as a weaker dollar offset some concerns of a growing pile up of crude in the U.S. Gulf Coast as refineries there cut runs in response to the Colonial Pipeline shutdown.Traders are expecting “a gradual resolution to the Colonial Pipeline shutdown,” according to Louise Dickson, an analyst at consultant Rystad Energy.”The market is again looking to Asia, Covid-19 cases, and the next signals for oil demand outlook.”This week’s inventory data will not show the impact of the cyberattack on the pipeline. API:
- Crude -2.533mm (-2.1mm exp)
- Cushing -1.209mm
- Gasoline +5.64mm – biggest build since April 2020
- Distillates -872k
After the previous week’s big crude draw, analysts expected another draw and were right but gasoline stocks unexpectedly surged…WTI hovered around $65.40 ahead of the API data, and dipped on the big gasoline build (and once again, this is before the Colonial impact)… “We are far from out of the out of the woods with the Colonial situation,” . “A scare among consumers is increasingly likely, where a run on gas stations may develop more broadly, especially if there is no resolution by the end of the week.”
WTI Fades From Cycle Highs After Disappointing Inventory Data –Oil prices are continuing their recent acceleration this morning, with WTI above $66.50, after the International Energy Agency said a record glut built up last year is gone. Last night’s surprise gasoline build from API did nothing to shake confidence in demand returning (crude stocks dropped as expected). It wasn’t all positive though as IEA cut its oil demand forecasts as COVID continues to crush India.”The outlook for demand remains fragile,” But the agency is “expecting a very strong recovery in demand growth in the second half of the year.”Bear in mind this week’s inventory data will not show the impact of the cyberattack on the pipeline. DOE
- Crude -426k (-2.1mm exp)
- Cushing -421k
- Gasoline +378k
- Distillates -1.734mm
Official EIA data is significantly different from API’s report with crude stocks only drawing down very modestly and gasoline inventories only building by a small amount…Keep in mind all these changes happened before Colonial Pipeline went down. The picture is likely much altered right now, with East Coast stockpiles falling this week because of the pipeline hack. Some three-quarters of stations in a few cities are without gasoline today, according to Gas Buddy. US crude production remains ‘disciplined’ despite soaring prices and rising rig counts…
Oil surges with U.S. supply drop underscoring global rebalancing – BNN – Oil rose to the highest since early March with a second straight weekly decline in U.S. crude supplies underscoring the progress the world has made in draining a record supply glut built up last year. Futures in New York gained for a fourth straight day on Wednesday, while global benchmark Brent crude neared US$70 a barrel. A U.S. government report showed domestic crude inventories fell to the lowest since late February last week. Meanwhile, gasoline supplies rose by 378,000 barrels, the Energy Information Administration report showed. Declining crude stockpiles in the U.S. support the International Energy Agency’s view that the world has largely worked off the surplus it accumulated when the pandemic devastated demand. While the agency cut its oil consumption forecasts in a monthly report, it said the glut is now just a small fraction of levels seen at the depths of the coronavirus fallout last year. The weekly storage report showed domestic supply levels ahead of the cyberattack that halted the largest U.S. oil-products pipeline system. Panic-buying spurred by the ongoing outage of the Colonial Pipeline has pushed retail gasoline prices above US$3 a gallon for the first time in more than six years, while supplies at some terminals have been wiped out on the U.S. Northeast. That’s all before the upcoming summer travel season is expected to unleash a wave of pent-up demand built up during the pandemic. “Even if everything is fixed at this second, we’re probably still looking at a couple of weeks of trouble,” said Bill O’Grady, executive vice president at Confluence Investment Management in St. Louis. “That runs us right into Memorial Day,” around which the U.S. summer driving season starts. Still, the impact of the shutdown on headline crude prices is muted for now. The market remains buoyed by prospects for recovering energy demand around the world and broader bets on global inflation. U.S. consumer prices climbed in April by the most since 2009, exceeding forecasts, official figures showed Wednesday. Prices: West Texas Intermediate for June delivery climbed 80 cents to settle at US$66.08 a barrel. Brent for July settlement gained 77 cents to US$69.32 a barrel. The U.S. average retail gasoline price was at US$3.008 a gallon, according to auto club AAA. The EIA report showed crude exports falling by the most on record to the lowest since 2018. While the figure jumped above 4 million barrels a day the previous week, it has struggled to consistently top 3 million barrels a day for several months.
Oil drops as India coronavirus crisis tempers rally – Oil drops on India’s COVID-19 crisis, pipeline resumption – Oil prices fell more than 2% on Thursday as India’s coronavirus crisis deepened and a key U.S. pipeline resumed operations, halting a rally that had lifted crude to an eight-week high after the IEA and OPEC forecast a rebound in global demand later in the year. Brent crude was down $1.65, or 2.3%, at $67.67 a barrel, after rising 1% on Wednesday. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was down $1.66 cents, or 2.5%, to $64.42 a barrel, having risen 1.2% in the previous session. If those losses are sustained, both contracts would mark their biggest daily drops in percentage terms since early April. In a bearish signal for oil demand, a variant of the coronavirus has swept through the countryside in India, the world’s third-biggest importer of crude. Medical professionals have not been able to say when new infections will plateau and other countries are alarmed over the transmissibility of the variant that is now spreading worldwide. “Concerns are growing that the untamed spread of the coronavirus in India and in Southeast Asia will dent oil demand,” PVM analysts said in a note. “Its impact, however, is expected to be relatively brief and the second half of the year will see the healthy revival of oil demand growth.” Meanwhile, fuel shortages worsened in the southeastern United States, six days after the shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline, the largest U.S. fuel pipeline network, following a ransomware attack. The pipeline began to slowly restart on Wednesday and Colonial, which pumps more than 2.5 million barrels per day of fuel, said it hoped to get a large portion of the network operating by the end of the week. “While the disruption is meaningful for local retail markets, its impact is still likely to be transient as there is no physical damage to the pipeline,” Goldman Sachs analysts said. The dollar also strengthened compared with a basket of other currencies, making oil more expensive for holders of other currencies.
Oil Prices Tumble On Inflation Worries – Oil prices fell sharply on Thursday as inflation fears dented hopes for economic recovery. Overnight data showed that the U.S. annual inflation rate jumped to the highest in 13 years and well above forecasts, raising concerns of a tighter monetary policy and its impact on the global growth outlook. Meanwhile, concerns over a disruption in the supply chain eased after the Colonial Pipeline Company announced that it was restarting pipeline operations and that the supply chain would “return to normal” within the next several days. Brent futures for July settlement plunged 2.5 percent to $67.56 per barrel, while WTI crude oil futures for June delivery were down 2.7 percent at $64.29 amid broad-based risk aversion in financial markets. As inflation worries mount, China Premier Li Keqiang urged the country to deal effectively with the commodity price surge and its impact, according to a state television report. The International Energy Agency (IEA) on Wednesday cut its global crude oil demand growth expectations for 2021, saying that the coronavirus crisis in many parts of Asia, particularly India, has clouded the outlook for consumption.
Oil Loses Over 3% Amid U.S. Fuel Pipeline Reopen, India COVID – – Oil prices tumbled more than 3% Thursday for their worst loss in a month after a key pipeline for U.S. fuel reopened from a cyberattack, erasing gains from earlier in the week helped by a squeeze in gasoline supplies. India’s festering Covid situation, which was infecting more than 350,000 people a day and killing over 4,000, added to the downward pressure on oil which counts on the country as its third largest consumer. New York-traded West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark for U.S. crude, settled down $2.26, or 3.4%, at $63.82 per barrel. It was WTI’s sharpest one-day decline since April 5, when it lost 4.5%. London-traded Brent, the global benchmark for crude, finished the session down $2.27, or 3.3%, at $67.05. Brent’s previous sharpest loss was also on April 5, when it fell 4.2%. The price drop was largely triggered by the reopening of the Colonial Pipeline that was shut for six days to contain a cyberattack on the largest fuel delivery system in the U.S. East Coast. The outage had led to a temporary gasoline squeeze in the No. 1 economic region of America, sending gasoline futures up 2% at one point this week and pump prices to seven-year highs of $3 a gallon. On Thursday, gasoline futures settled down 3% to just under $2.10 per gallon on news that the Colonial Pipeline was back in operation after its operator reportedly paid a $5 million ransom to the hackers of its system. President Joe Biden declined comment when asked about this. The setback in both oil and crude prices raised questions about the seasonal upward momentum for energy markets ahead of the Memorial Day weekend in the United States. The occasion, which falls on May 31 this year, has traditionally served as the starting gun for the summer race in oil prices, as demand peaks from Americans who set out for long road trips. But the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic last year upended this, with only 23 million people traveling by road for Memorial Day 2020, the lowest on record since the American Automobile Association began recording the data in 2000. The AAA expects 37 million travelers this time, up 60% from last year. Demand for oil has improved remarkably from a year ago, with the 50 U.S. states having reopened most or all of their economies from Covid-lockdowns and restrictions.
Oil Futures Rally as Inflation Buzz Intensifies, US Dollar Softens – Oil futures nearest delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange and the Brent crude contract on the Intercontinental Exchange rallied in afternoon trade Friday, sending the U.S. crude benchmark above $65 per barrel (bbl). The gains came on the back of an eroding U.S. dollar as traders positioned for higher inflation and weaker-than-expected macroeconomic data in the United States. U.S. retail sales for April were unchanged from the previous month at a collective $619.1 billion, according to the data from the Commerce Department, missing expectations for a 1% gain. The weaker-than-expected reading, however, follows a 10.7% surge in March, fueled by the stimulus checks and pent-up demand in the wake of the lifting of government restrictions on businesses. Some analysts attribute the flat retail sales reading to a stabilizing economy and a more normal operating environment for services.Sales were up 2.9% at auto and parts dealers, where shortages in available cars have driven up prices, and 3% at restaurants and bars, a positive sign for the hard-hit industry as the U.S. economy more fully opens.On Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lifted its guidance on masking for the fully vaccinated, saying those who have received all their shots can now safely do most indoor and outdoor activities without social distancing or wearing masks.The move should further boost economic activity and faster return to work and entertainment venues.With an expected increase in social and business activity also comes the prospect for a faster increase in inflation, with recent data showing consumer price increases are running at their fastest pace since 2008 and factory-gate inflation hit its highest level since 2010. The Department of Labor reported the consumer price index jumped 0.8% in April compared with a consensus for a 0.2% increase, lifting year-on-year headline inflation to 4.2% — the largest 12-month increase since September 2008.Fanned by inflation fears, U.S. consumer sentiment unexpectedly slumped in May to 82.8 versus estimates for a gain to 90.1. Expected year-ahead inflation rate and the long-term inflation rate was the highest in over a decade, said Richard Curtin, the survey’s chief economist.”Rising inflation also meant that real income expectations were the weakest in five years,” Curtin said. The average of net price mentions for buying conditions for homes, vehicles, and household durables were more negative than any time since the end of the last inflationary era in 1980, he said.
Oil up 3rd Week in Row After Swings on Pipeline Saga, Gasoline & India – It’s been a volatile week for oil as the Colonial Pipeline saga and the associated boom-bust-boom in gasoline from that played against the backdrop of India’s festering Covid situation. With Friday’s settlement, the bulls in crude could heave a sigh of relief: It was another winning week. In fact, the third in a row. New York-traded West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark for U.S. crude, settled at $65.37, up $1.55, or 2.4%. The rally helped offset a chunk of Thursday’s 3.4% drop – which was WTI’s worst one-day decline since April 5. For the week, the U.S. crude benchmark gained 0.7%, adding to last week’s 2.1% advance and the prior week’s 2.3% rise. London-traded Brent, the global benchmark for crude, hovered at $68.68 by 2:45 PM ET (18:45 GMT), up $1.63, or 2.4%, on the day. Brent dropped 3.3% in the previous session, also its most since April 5. For the week, the global crude benchmark showed a gain of 0.6%, adding to last week’s 1.5% advance and the prior week’s 1.7% rise. Friday’s rebound in oil was helped by short-covering on the previous day’s activity and a second day of broad gains on Wall Street after three prior days of carnage. Also fueling the market – literally – was optimism about gasoline demand in the next two weeks before the May 31 Memorial Day holiday in the U.S., which typically serves as the starting gun for the summer race in oil prices as demand peaks from Americans setting out on long road trips. The American Automobile Association expects as many as 37 million road travelers on this Memorial Day, up 60% from last year’s pandemic-suppressed 23 million.Aside from gasoline, the market’s focus was on the Covid situation in India, the world’s third biggest oil consumer, where 4,000 people died from the virus for the third straight day and total infections crossed 24 million. India is in the grip of the highly transmissible B.1.617 variant of the coronavirus, first detected there and now appearing across the globe. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his government was “on a war footing” to try to contain the strain.
WTI Ends Week Above $65 | Rigzone – Oil in New York surged the most in a month on Friday as prices garnered support from a recovery in equities and a softer dollar. West Texas Intermediate climbed back above $65 a barrel, eking out a third straight weekly gain as a weakening dollar boosted appeal for commodities priced in the currency. Concerns persist over the spread of Covid-19 in Asia, which has tempered further gains. Progress on reopening economies in countries including the U.S. supports expectations for heavy summer travel, buttressing the market’s underlying structure from recent weakness. The premium of Brent’s nearest contract against the next month strengthened on Friday to its widest in over a week. Growth in that structure, which is called backwardation, suggests the market is expecting tighter supplies. “The economy looks a lot better,” with the U.S. easing its mask mandate “suggesting that we’re going to be close to normal soon,” said Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research. Still, “any boost that happens with demand will likely be met by restored supply.” Oil prices have been stuck in a range lately, with optimism around global inventories rebalancing being offset by constant reminders that parts of the world remain far from a full recovery from the pandemic. The International Energy Agency said this week that the global glut that built up last year has cleared. However, the agency also lowered its demand estimates due to the virus resurgence in India. “So far, the demand recovery is still fairly uneven,” said Bob Ryan, commodity & energy strategist at BCA Research. “Covid has not yet been contained. But next year, prices more than likely drift up toward $70 a barrel, because of the synchronization of the global recovery from the pandemic.” Meanwhile, gasoline stations are still in the process of returning to normal following the restart of the Colonial Pipeline. Fuel supply disruptions in parts of the U.S. East and South may still be weeks out from returning to normal after a cyberattack halted the largest fuel pipeline in the U.S. WTI for June delivery rose $1.55 to settle at $65.37 a barrel. The contract gained 0.7% for the week. Brent for July settlement gained $1.66 to end the session at $68.71 a barrel, posting a 0.6% weekly gain. Oil demand looks set to continue rising into this summer with restrictions easing in many of the world’s largest economies.
Iran To Saudi Arabia: Sell Our Oil And We Will Reduce Houthi Attacks – Iran is looking to persuade its regional rival Saudi Arabia to help it to sell Iranian crude oil on international markets in exchange for limiting attacks from the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen on Saudi oil infrastructure, Middle East Eye reported on Wednesday, quoting Iraqi officials with knowledge of recent secretive Iranian-Saudi talks in Baghdad.Iran is currently negotiating with the signatories to the so-called nuclear deal, as well as indirectly with the United States, to potentially return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The U.S. withdrew from the deal in 2018 and slapped sanctions on Iran’s oil exports, which have crippled Iranian crude sales abroad. Despite the U.S. sanctions, Iran has been exporting part of its crude oil, and exports have been estimated at around 500,000 bpd recently.Yet, until the sanctions are in place, Iran is looking for alternatives to have its oil sold on the international markets, and is reportedly looking to negotiate with Saudi Arabia for this. The Saudis, for their part, are looking to end the recent flare-up of attacks on Saudi Aramco oil facilities from the Houthis in Yemen.Saudi Arabia and Iran held direct talks in Iraq last month, the Financial Times reported at the time. The talks reportedly involved the proxy war in Yemen and the recent increase of attacks from the Houthis on oil facilities and oil infrastructure targets in Saudi Arabia.According to Middle East Eye’s sources, Iran and Saudi Arabia held another round of talks in Iraq last week, again focused on the war in Yemen.During the talks last week, Iran “offered to sell it [the oil] to the Saudis at a price lower than international prices on the condition that the Saudis sell it on the world markets in their own way,” a senior Iraqi official close to Iran and familiar with the talks told Middle East Eye. Saudi Arabia demanded an end to the Houthi attacks, and this was their biggest interest in the talks, according to the Iraqi officials familiar with the talks.
Netanyahu’s provocations in East Jerusalem threaten war with Palestinians – Palestinian demonstrators were met once again on Sunday night by Israeli police clad in riot gear and on horseback in a neighbourhood in occupied East Jerusalem where Zionist settlers are seeking to evict Palestinian families from their homes. Sunday’s protests follow days of clashes incited by heavy-handed Israeli repression. Demonstrators also took to the streets of the northern port city of Haifa, where 18 were arrested, as well as Nazareth and Ramallah. There were also clashes with riot police outside the gates of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where an attack on a Palestinian by Israeli civilians sparked a protest. The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that 14 people had been treated for injuries suffered at the hands of the Israeli security forces, bringing the total number treated for injuries over the past three days to 560. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government have readied the police and Israel Defence Forces (IDF) in preparation for further clashes with the Palestinians on Monday, when a provocative march by far-right Israeli nationalists is to take place in Jerusalem. Tensions have been mounting in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank since the start of the month-long Ramadan fast on April 12. The authorities installed barricades around the plaza outside the Damascus Gate, a traditional gathering place during Ramadan for worshippers after prayers in the al-Aqsa mosque, leading to multiple clashes with police and hundreds of injured Palestinians. In addition, the authorities had disconnected the mosque’s loudspeakers so that the call to prayer would not disrupt Israel’s Memorial Day ceremony for fallen soldiers at the Western Wall, and restricted the number of West Bank Palestinians attending Ramadan services at the compound to just 10,000, subject to vaccination. There have been nightly confrontations with the police in Sheikh Jarrah, a Palestinian neighbourhood north of the Old City. Palestinian Israelis have been gathering to protest the likely eviction of Palestinian families, in a long-running legal case, to make way for settler homes and the increasing encirclement of the Old City by Jews. The fascistic and racist legislator Itamar Ben-Gvir, cultivated by Netanyahu in a bid to bolster his support base, sought to fan the flames by setting up his own “office” in the neighbourhood. The Supreme Court hearing on the case, set for today, has been postponed for 30 days at the Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit’s request. The planned eviction is part of the government’s broader process of judaicising the city, making it impossible for the Palestinians to ever set up their own mini-state with some part of East Jerusalem as its capital.
9 children among 20 dead in Israeli airstrike after rocket attack –The Gaza Ministry of Health on Monday said that nine children were among 20 people killed by an Israeli airstrike apparently launched in retaliation for rocket attacks aimed at Jerusalem amid growing tensions between Israeli and Palestinian communities.The Washington Post and The Associated Press reported that the airstrike also killed three Hamas militants, citing Gaza’s health ministry. It was one of the deadliest single incidents to occur in recent days as violence has surged around and in Jerusalem.The Pentagon on Monday defended the Israeli airstrike.”Today’s rocket attack from Gaza into Israel is unacceptable, and the United States supports Israel’s right to self defense, and here at the department we’re going to continue our cooperation to ensure that Israel has what it needs to defend and project itself,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said.”Obviously we don’t want to see innocent lives taken and nobody wants to see this level of violence but as I said … these rocket attacks from Gaza are unacceptable.”Violence erupted at the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem over the weekend with videos showing Israeli riot police storming the building as screaming worshippers fled in terror and hundreds were injured. Nearly two dozen officers were also injured by rocks thrown by Palestinian protesters in the same incident, according to Israeli officials. Airborne rocket attacks were aimed at Jerusalem on Monday by Hamas militants in response. It was unclear if there were any injuries or deaths, but one Israeli man was reportedly injured when an anti-tank rocket struck his car in a separate attack according to the Post. The airstrike came as Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, warned that Hamas militants would pay a price for the rocket attacks aimed at Jerusalem hours earlier. “The terrorist organizations in Gaza crossed a red line and attacked us with missiles at the entrances to Jerusalem. Israel will respond with great force,” said Netanyahu. “We did not want to escalate, but those who chose to escalate will be hit forcefully.”Tensions have soared in the country for weeks amid Israeli settlement efforts in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, where Palestinian residents say they are being illegally evicted by settlers, a longstanding issue between the two communities.
Israel kills 24 in Gaza as Netanyahu steps up provocations on Jerusalem Day – Israel launched air strikes against Gaza, the besieged Palestinian enclave, killing 24 people including children. Militants had earlier fired a few rockets at southern Israel and the Jerusalem area, in a day characterized by massive violence against the Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem. Israel’s military announced it had beefed up its forces on its border with Gaza and was suspending a major drill to prepare for a possible escalation. Earlier in the morning, 1,000 security forces stormed the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem as worshippers were praying, firing stun grenades, tear gas and rubber bullets, while snipers took up positions on rooftops, injuring more than 330 Palestinians. More than 700 Palestinians have been injured in just a few days by Israeli security forces in Jerusalem and across the West Bank. Police locked hundreds of worshippers inside the mosque, prevented doctors and medical teams from entering the compound and attacked and beat up those who sought to help the injured. They forced their way into the compound’s health clinic, where they sprayed pepper gas and lobbed stun grenades at those receiving treatment there. The storming of the mosque, the third holiest site in Islam, provoked angry demonstrations around the country, including in the northern Arab city of Umm al-Fahm and the nearby Wadi Ara, as well as in Jaffa which has witnessed protests over the past week against plans to take over Palestinian-owned houses for a Jewish yeshiva. The crackdown on Jerusalem Day – the anniversary of Israel’s illegal annexation of East Jerusalem, captured from Jordan in the 1967 War – ahead of the planned Flags March by Israel’s settler groups and far right forces through Arab neighbourhoods, was another provocation designed to precipitate a war with the Palestinians.
Israel’s military continues airstrikes on Gaza as it prepares for an “indefinite” operation – On Tuesday, Israel launched a massive aerial bombardment of 140 airstrikes on Gaza, killing a further two Palestinians. This brings the death toll to 33 , including nine children and one woman. At least 122 people have been injured, 41 of them children. More than 12 percent of all injuries were “serious,” according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. One of Israel’s targets, a 13-storey residential tower in Gaza City that houses an office used by the political leadership of Hamas collapsed. Salameh Marouf, who heads the government information office in Gaza, told Al Jazeera that Israel had “intentionally targeted service facilities, such as near the water desalination facility to the north of Gaza, which put it out of service.” Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, Israel’s military spokesman said that 15 militants had been killed in strikes by jets and unmanned drones. He said nothing about the civilian deaths and injuries, adding cynically, “We are doing everything possible to avoid collateral damage.” He reported that the military’s air campaign was still in its “early stages,” implying that assassinations of Hamas leaders were on the agenda. Gaza, home to nearly two million Palestinians, most of whom are under 25 years of age, has suffered a criminal 14-year blockade, three murderous wars – the last in 2014 – and numerous assaults at the hands of Israel since 2006. Israel’s latest attacks on Gaza started on Monday night in response to calls by Hamas to withdraw security forces from Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa Mosque compound and Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has on several occasions ordered the deployment of security forces to the al-Aqsa compound, the third holiest site in Islam, during the month-long Ramadan fast that began April 12. None of the authorities have sought to give the slightest justification for Monday’s storming of the compound by security personnel who trampled over prayer mats, attacking worshippers with rubber bullets and stun grenades, injuring 520 Palestinians of whom 330 needed hospital treatment. Police Commissioner Koby Shabtai told Channel 12 News that the police had been “too soft” in dealing with the Palestinians in the compound and that they were going to get tougher.
“Literally Armageddon”: 53 Killed In Gaza & 5 Israelis Dead As UN Warns “Full-Scale War” Imminent — After overnight sustained rocket fire from Gaza and at the same time Israeli airstrikes pounding the strip, the combined death toll reached to at least 50, with hundreds more injured, into Wednesday. International reports are citing over 50 Palestinians killed in Gaza alone, many among these children.Middle East Eye cites the following numbers by late into the afternoon (local time): “At least 53 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its bombing campaign in the besieged territory on Sunday morning.” “That number, accurate as of Wednesday afternoon, includes 14 children and three women, with a further 320 people wounded with injuries of varying degrees of severity, according to Gaza’s health ministry.”And on the Israeli side, local reports cite that “three Israeli women were killed in rocket attacks, with more than 50 injured, including two women in serious condition: an 81-year-old as well as a 30-year-old who was hit by shrapnel in her upper body.”This takes the death toll on the Israeli side to five since the start of fighting early this week.The IDF announced that 16 among the Gaza dead were militants – some of them “senior commanders” – while also counting “hundreds” of Hamas and Islamic Jihad rockets fired into Israel, many reaching deep into central Israel and scoring direct hits on heavily populated residential areas. Israeli media is reporting that multiple members of Hamas’ “General Staff” were eliminated in airstrikes Wednesday: Hamas’ rocket response grew in intensity especially after a 13-story apartment building was struck and completely collapsed in on itself. Israel is claiming that it gave the occupants multiple “warnings” to get out before the building was attacked.
Gaza marks deadly Eid al-Fitr amid Israeli bombardment: Live —Palestinian residents of Gaza Strip woke up on Thursday to mark Eid al-Fitr – one of the holiest occasions in the Islamic calendar – amid relentless aerial bombardment by Israel. Heavy bombardment on the Gaza Strip continued early on Thursday as Israeli forces launched a series of air raids on various locations.”Most of Gaza is awake,” Al Jazeera’s Safwat al-Kahlout said, noting that bombardments continue into the night and early on Thursday.”From time to time you hear loud explosions, and the buildings are shaken.”Hamas confirmed that its Gaza City commander, Bassem Issa, was killed in an Israeli air attack along with other senior members of the group. The national security office of Hamas was also reportedly hit again by Israeli strikes early on Thursday. In Gaza City’s Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood, a pregnant woman, Reema Telbani and her child were killed in an Israeli attack on their home. An elderly couple in Gaza’s Sheikh Zayed neighbourhood were also buried under the rubble of their residence, after an Israeli strike.Gaza’s Ministry of Health said the overall death toll since the start of the latest offensive stood at 69, including 17 children and eight women as of early Thursday. More than 390 others have been wounded.Hamas, the group that rules the Gaza Strip, also launched a barrage of rockets into Israel after Israeli missiles destroyed a third tower in the besieged coastal territory.
A Night Under the Bombs in Gaza – We are six people sitting in the living room. Each with a phone in hand and earphones in, following the news of what is happening in Gaza and Jerusalem. The most urgent question on everyone’s mind: where will the next bomb hit? More than 83 Palestinians, among them at least 17 children, have been killed by Israeli bombing on Gaza since 10 May, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Israeli raids have targeted civilian buildings, flattening at least three of Gaza’s high rises and making hundreds homeless. The house feels like it is shaking. At midnight, the sky flares red and my mother nervously tells us to remove our earphones. When we hesitate, she panics and shouts, “Remove them now!” She is afraid the sound of the blaring news and the exploding bombs will harm our ears. Now alarmed ourselves, we all obey, silently looking at each other. My younger sister, Nesma, a lawyer, suggests we all lay down, out of sight, since the light of the shells is reflecting on our uncle’s house next door. Seconds later, our house feels like it is shaking again, and this time the windows and doors join the party. After 15 mins, things are calm again, although we can still hear the drones. Nesma offers to make some tea and I say that I will select some nice music to cover the bombing. We need to calm ourselves as well. I play a love song by Umm Kulthum, the iconic Egyptian singer. Even my father sang! “Oh, my little girls, you reminded me of lovely and beautiful days,” he says. My mother smiles into the book she is reading. Soon, however, the bombing intensifies. Exhausted, my mother tries to catch a little sleep, but to no avail. She is worried about our neighbors, who lost their mother just days ago due to COVID-19. She calls the daughters and chats with them so they won’t be so afraid. But we are all afraid. Still … if the Israeli occupation has taught us anything, it’s how to hide our fears. Panic is contagious. It is a long and tough night. We cannot sleep. Just before dawn, we have our suhur, the meal Muslims eat during Ramadan before starting the day’s fast. This time, it is only dates, some cheese and tea. Because of the bombing, it was not safe to go to the market. We have to buy food daily because the frequent power outages these days make refrigeration difficult. My body is so cold. I don’t know why. The weather is warm, yet I am shivering. Maybe it’s because I am suppressing my worries and fears. I layer on clothes, but it doesn’t bring me comfort. I go to my mother and hug her. I finally feel some peace, although not safe. I put myself to work. First, I rearrange my room so my bed is in the middle – away from any glass that could fly if the windows break. I also open the window and door, to lessen the air pressure and reduce the chance of being hurt by debris. And since I am a fan of the mugs my students give me as gifts, I take them off the shelf so they won’t fall and break. Now maybe my room will ‘survive’. Then I choose movies, music and books that can fill our days if the attacks continue. I also call my friends and arrange to create ‘rooms’ on social media so we can have virtual sleepovers. I also call my sister, who is married and the mother of a lovely newborn boy who has never heard the sounds of bombing before. I want to make sure she and her son, Ibrabim, are ok. At least he is too young to understand what is happening. Finally, and this is very important, I vow to avoid all pictures and videos of the bombing and dead bodies. This is my way of protecting myself from the bad dreams that haunted me during previous wars.
Mounting death toll as Israel’s war on Gaza escalates – Air strikes have continued to pound the Gaza Strip, killing more than 100 Palestinians, among them at least 27 children, and wounding more than 980 people since the start of hostilities. Israel has struck more than 750 targets associated with Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated group that controls Gaza, since the beginning of Operation Guardian of the Walls. These include buildings used by Hamas, its security and intelligence apparatus, banks, and a Hamas naval squad. It has destroyed three high-rise buildings and killed around 60 Hamas operatives, including 10 senior commanders. Israel’s Minister of Defence Benny Gantz glorified the carnage, saying, “We have attacked many hundreds of targets, towers are falling, factories are collapsing, tunnels are being destroyed and commanders are being assassinated.” He declared that military operations in the Gaza Strip would continue until it brings a “complete and long-term peace.” Threatening the Palestinians in a video, Gantz said, “Gaza will burn.” He reminded them that he was Israel Defence Forces (IDF) chief during Israel’s last war on Gaza in 2014. That war killed 2,192 Palestinians, including 1,523 civilians of whom 519 were children, injured tens of thousands more, and destroyed or damaged thousands of homes and much basic infrastructure. Gantz warned, “If Hamas does not stop its violence, the strike of 2021 will be harder and more painful than that of 2014.” On Thursday, Gantz ordered the called up of 16,000 army reservists and sent ground forces to the border in preparation for “all eventualities and an escalation.” IDF spokesperson Hidai Zilberman said that plans for a ground invasion were being prepared and that the IDF had begun an arrest campaign in the West Bank against Hamas members. At least three Palestinians have been killed in clashes with security forces in the West Bank and a further 27 injured as protesters took to the streets. Gaza’s hospitals, already struggling to cope with the pandemic, are battling to care for the wounded amid a shortage of beds, staff, equipment and blood and problems with the power supply. A Red Crescent coordinator said, “The situation here is very difficult, I can’t describe the horror in words.”
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