Message From the Editor

President Trump visited the Permian oil patch this week for a campaign fundraiser, and provided a rosy depiction of the status of the oil and gas industry in Texas. “We’re Okay Now. We’re Back. We’re Back,” Trump insisted, despite all manner of evidence to the contrary.

As Sharon Kelly reports in her article “As Trump Leaves Permian Oilfield, Industry Insiders Question If 2020 Bust Marks Texas Oil's Last Big Boom,” the Permian oilpatch that was supposed to be the brightest prospect for an industry in freefall is in fact also busting hard. Industry executives and analysts quoted in the piece paint a bleak picture that stands in contrast to the President’s statements. 

Take Shell’s CEO Ben van Beurden, who warns that oil "demand will take a long time to recover, if it recovers at all.” Or Scott Sheffield, CEO of Pioneer Resources, who admits the shale rush had been “an economic disaster.” “Nobody wants to give us capital because we have all destroyed capital and created economic waste,” Sheffield testified, warning that without state intervention, “we will disappear as an industry, like the coal industry.”

While you’re reading the article, please take a close look at the amazing photographs throughout, which were captured in late May by DeSmog photographer Justin Hamel. The sight of laid-off workers’ boots and gloves hanging on the fence leading out of Midland is a plain indication that the Permian is far from “back.” 

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

Thanks,
Brendan DeMelle
Executive Director

P.S. Here’s where you can pitch in $20, or whatever you can, to power our research and investigations into the Permian and other priority areas in 2020. Thanks to all our supporters!

As Trump Leaves Permian Oilfield, Industry Insiders Question If 2020 Bust Marks Texas Oil's Last Big Boom

— By Sharon Kelly (11 min. read) —

Yesterday, President Trump left Midland, Texas, after arriving in the state’s Permian oilfield region for a $2,800 a plate luncheon and a “roundtable” that required each participant to pony up $100,000.

The west Texas Mr. Trump left behind bears little resemblance to the region as it was when he first took office in January 2017, as the shale rush resumed following 2016’s oil price plunge.

Fossil Fuel Industry Engaging in 'Pervasive Fraud' that Threatens Global Economy, Report Warns

— By Dana Drugmand  (5 min. read) —

Warning of an impending financial implosion driven largely by fossil fuel industry deception, a recent report calls on fossil fuel insiders and other potential whistleblowers to help expose and prosecute this fraud.

According to this new report from the National Whistleblower Center (NWC) published July 23, fossil fuel executives’ deception on the financial risks of climate change—to their business and the economy at large—is widespread and is likely actionable fraud, meaning that further securities fraud lawsuits against companies like ExxonMobil should be expected particularly if whistleblowers come forward to work with financial regulators and prosecutors.

Historic Supreme Court Verdict Means Ireland's Government Must Increase Climate Ambition

— By Dana Drugmand (4 min. read) —

The Supreme Court of Ireland has ruled in favour of an environmental group challenging the Irish government’s climate plans, finding its policies did not meet legal requirements for detailing how the country will meet emissions-reduction targets.

The decision is only the second time a country’s highest court has required a national government to reform its climate policy in order to meet legal obligations.

Mainstream News Prioritises Big Business and Opponents of Climate Action – Study

— By Dana Drugmand (3 min. read) —

Statements from large business associations and opponents of climate action are twice as likely to be included in climate change coverage by national newspapers than pro-climate action messaging, according to a new study. The findings suggest mainstream media bias favors entrenched economic interests and that journalistic norms of objectivity and balance have skewed the public conversation around climate change.

“I wanted to specifically look at which interest groups get a say in this debate, what voices are dominating the national conversation about climate change, and how is that reflected in media coverage,” study author Rachel Wetts, Assistant Professor of Environment and Society and Sociology at Brown University, told DeSmog.

Unplugged: How the Gas Industry Is Fighting Efforts to Electrify Buildings

— By Dana Drugmand (21 min. read) —

Just over a year ago, the city of Berkeley, California, passed into law a first-in-the-nation ordinance prohibiting natural gas hookups in new buildings, a move that alarmed the gas industry. This alarm has since boiled over into a full-fledged opposition campaign to counter the rising tide of similar measures meant to restrict gas in favor of constructing all-electric buildings and cutting carbon pollution.

Natural gas constitutes a vast majority, about 80 percent, of the direct fossil fuel CO2 emissions from the residential and commercial sectors, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Transitioning away from direct fossil fuel use in buildings is key for de-carbonizing and meeting climate targets, experts say.

Trump’s Golden Era of Energy Is Turning to Lead

— By Justin Mikulka (9 min. read) —

It was just over a year ago that President Trump announced, “The golden era of American energy is now underway,” saying that his policies focused on exploiting oil, gas, and coal were “unleashing energy dominance.” 

What a difference a year makes. On July 10, the Financial Times ran an article with a headline that asked, “Is the party finally over for U.S. oil and gas?” And there is no doubt that it has been quite a party for the last decade. At least, for the fracking executives who have enriched themselves while losing hundreds of billions of dollars investors gave them to produce oil and gas. Meanwhile, profits never materialized.

From the Climate Disinformation Database: Bjorn Lomborg

Bjorn Lomborg has a new book out, “False Alarm”, which continues his long-standing campaign of downplaying the severity of climate change and attacking government investments in clean energy — a form of climate science denial that has also been on display with Michael Shellenberger’s recent book. The New York Times review of Lomborg’s book rightly concludes that is a form of “mind pollution” full of “critical” mistakes. “Written with an aim to convert anyone worried about the dangers of climate change, Lomborg’s work would be downright dangerous were it to succeed in persuading anyone that there was merit in its arguments,” Joseph Stiglitz writes. 

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