Message From the Editor

Just after world leaders were meeting in Madrid to (unsuccessfully) negotiate more ambitious climate action, oil companies were pressuring Argentina’s government to offer even more incentives to drill and frack in a new shale basin. As Nick Cunningham reports from Argentina, some of these big oil companies call themselves a “responsible energy major” and talk up climate action even as they push to exploit an oil and gas-rich area that activists have called a “carbon bomb.”

Meanwhile, dozens of fracking firms have filed for bankruptcy this year, potentially leaving U.S. taxpayers on the hook for environmental cleanup of their oil and gas wells, thanks to lax regulators, Justin Mikulka reports.

And Trump reportedly delivered an early Christmas gift to the oil industry this week after he intervened to make sure an extension of the electric car tax credit was dropped from a government spending package, writes Dana Drugmand.

Have a story tip or feedback? Get in touch: [email protected].

Thanks,
Brendan DeMelle
Executive Director

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While Talking up Climate Action, Oil Majors Eye Argentina’s Shale Reserves

— By Nick Cunningham (11 min. read) —

Even as international climate negotiators tried to make progress at the UN climate summit in Madrid in early December, fossil fuel production and consumption has continued to rise, and major oil companies have been seeking new horizons to exploit.

The industry is not slowing down, even in the face of the worsening climate crisis. Although many oil companies signed on to the Paris Climate Agreement, they have simultaneously poured $50 billion into projects since 2018 that are not aligned with climate targets. The industry also has plans to invest $1.4 trillion in new oil and gas projects around the world over the next five years, despite the fact that existing projects contain enough greenhouse gases to use up the remaining carbon budget.

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

— By Justin Mikulka (9 min. read) —

In over their heads with debt, U.S. shale oil and gas firms are now moving from a boom in fracking to a boom in bankruptcies. This trend of failing finances has the potential for the U.S. public, both at the state and federal levels, to be left on the hook for paying to properly shut down and clean up even more drilling sites.

Expect these companies to try reducing their debt through the process of bankruptcy and, like the coal industry, attempting to get out of environmental and employee-related financial obligations.

Trump's Christmas Gift to Big Oil: Killing Hopes of Electric Car Tax Credit Extension

— By Dana Drugmand (3 min. read) —

The oil industry, a staunch opponent of electric vehicles (EVs), received an early Christmas present from the White House as President Trump reportedly intervened to quash an EV tax credit expansion from inclusion in a government spending package.

The tax credit is meant to help offset the upfront cost of electric vehicles and boost the EV market. Consumers who purchase an EV can currently claim a credit up to $7,500, and the credit phases out once auto manufacturers sell 200,000 qualifying vehicles. Tesla and General Motors have both hit the 200,000-vehicle cap and had lobbied for an extension. A bipartisan proposal called for allowing a $7,000 credit for an additional 400,000 vehicles sold.

Energy Analysts Deliver More Bad News for US Fracking Industry's Business Model

— By Justin Mikulka (7 min. read) —

This month, the energy consulting firm Wood MacKenzie gave an online presentation that basically debunked the whole business model of the shale industry.

In this webinar, which explored the declining production rates of oil wells in the Permian region, research director Ben Shattuck noted how it was impossible to accurately forecast how much oil a shale play held based on estimates from existing wells.

“Over the years of us doing this, as analysts, we’ve learned that you really have to do it well by well,” Shattuck explained of analyzing well performance. “You cannot take anything for granted.”

Public Comments Reveal Big Oil and Koch-backed Opposition to Minnesota's Clean Car Standards

— By Dana Drugmand (5 min. read) —

As Minnesota begins the rulemaking process to adopt a pair of clean car standards, citizens and organizations weighed in with their comments and concerns, through an official Request for Comments portal.

A DeSmog analysis found that a majority of the hundreds of comments received were supportive of the initiative, which aims to reduce the state’s transportation-sector emissions.

However, opposing comments also poured in from industry groups and citizens borrowing a script provided by a right-wing think tank tied to the petrochemical billionaire Koch network

From the Climate Disinformation Database:
Center of the American Experiment

Center of the American Experiment (CAE) is a nonprofit that describes itself as “Minnesota’s leading public policy organization” and is a member of the State Policy Network, a network of conservative think tanks funded by the Koch family, fighting for limited government, and regularly opposing climate change legislation in the U.S. CAE has been a vocal opponent of Minnesota’s proposed clean car standards and, as DeSmog reports this week, ran a letter-writing campaign opposing these standards.

Read the full profile and browse other individuals and organizations in our Climate Disinformation Database and Koch Network Database.