Free radicals as “reactive oxidative species” (ROS) are highly reactive and damaging

Submitted to the Morgantown Dominion Post, WVU Today (6/27/21), June 28, 2021

Every day, our bodies face a bombardment of UV rays, ozone, cigarette smoke, industrial chemicals and other hazards.

This exposure can lead to free-radical production in our bodies, which damages our DNA and tissues. A new study from West Virginia University researcher Eric E. Kelley — in collaboration with the University of Minnesota — suggests that unrepaired DNA damage can increase the speed of aging. — The study appears in the journal Nature.

Kelley and his team created genetically-modified mice with a crucial DNA-repair protein missing from their hematopoietic stem cells, immature immune cells that develop into white blood cells. Without this repair protein, the mice were unable to fix damaged DNA accrued in their immune cells.

“By the time the genetically-modified mouse is 5 months old, it’s like a 2-year-old mouse,” said Kelley, associate professor and associate chair of research in the School of Medicine’s department of physiology and pharmacology. “It has all the symptoms and physical characteristics. It has hearing loss, osteoporosis, renal dysfunction, visual impairment, hypertension, as well as other age-related issues. It’s prematurely aged just because it has lost its ability to repair its DNA.”

According to Kelley, a normal 2-year-old mouse is about equivalent in age to a human in their late 70s to early 80s.

Kelley and his colleagues found that markers for cell aging, or senescence, as well as for cell damage and oxidation were significantly greater in the immune cells of genetically-modified mice compared to normal, wild-type mice. But the damage was not limited to the immune system; the modified mice also demonstrated aged, damaged cells in organs such as the liver and kidney.

These results suggest that unrepaired DNA damage may cause the entire body to age prematurely.

When we are exposed to a pollutant, such as radiation for cancer treatment, energy is transferred to the water in our body, breaking the water apart. This creates highly reactive molecules — free radicals — that will quickly interact with another molecule in order to gain electrons. When these free radicals interact with important biomolecules, such as a protein or DNA, it causes damage that can keep that biomolecule from working properly.

Some exposure to pollutants is unavoidable, but there are several lifestyle choices that increase exposure to pollution and thus increase free radicals in the body. Smoking, drinking and exposure to pesticides and other chemicals through occupational hazards all significantly increase free radicals.

“A cigarette has over 10 to the 16th free radicals per puff, just from combusted carbon materials,” Kelley said.

In addition to free radicals produced by pollutant exposure, the human body is constantly producing free radicals during a process used to turn food into energy, called oxidative phosphorylation.

“We have mechanisms in the mitochondria that mop free radicals up for us, but if they become overwhelmed — if we have over-nutrition, if we eat too much junk, if we smoke — the defense mechanism absolutely cannot keep up,” Kelley said.

As bodies age, the amount of damage caused by free-radical formation becomes greater than the antioxidant defenses. Eventually, the balance between the two tips over to the oxidant side, and damage starts to win out over repair. If we are exposed to a greater amount of pollutants and accumulate more free radicals, this balance will be disrupted even sooner, causing premature aging.

The issue of premature aging due to free-radical damage is especially important in West Virginia. The state has the greatest percentage of obese citizens in the nation and a high rate of smokers and workers in high-pollution-exposure occupations.
“I come from an Appalachian background,” Kelley said. “And, you know, I’d go to funerals that were in some old house — an in-the-living-room-with-a-casket kind of deal — and I’d look at people in there, and they’d be 39 or 42 and look like they were 80 because of their occupation and their nutrition.”

Many West Virginians also have comorbidities, such as diabetes, enhanced cardiovascular disease, stroke and renal issues, that complicate the situation further.
Although there are drugs, called senolytics, that help to slow the aging process, Kelley believes it is best to prevent premature aging through lifestyle change. He says that focusing on slowing the aging process through preventive measures can improve the outcome for each comorbidity and add more healthy years to people’s lives.

“The impact is less on lifespan and more on healthspan,” he said. “If you could get people better access to healthcare, better education, easier ways for them to participate in healthier eating and a healthier lifestyle, then you could improve the overall economic burden on the population of West Virginia and have a much better outcome all the way around.”

LNG exports reached a peak in October 2019

From an Article by Nick Cunningham, OilPrice.com, February 5, 2020

China’s state-owned gas importers are considering declaring force majeure on LNG imports, which would amplify the turmoil in global gas markets.

LNG prices have already plunged to their lowest levels in a decade in Asia as the ramp up of supply in 2019 came at a time when demand has slowed. That was true before the outbreak of the coronavirus. But the quarantine of around 50 million people and the shutdown of huge swathes of the Chinese economy has sent shockwaves through commodity markets.

Shipments of oil and gas are backing up at Chinese ports, which is creating ripple effects across the world. Now, Chinese state-owned CNOOC is considering declaring force majeure on its LNG import commitments, according to the FT. Sinopec and CNPC are also apparently considering the move.

Prices were already in the dumps. JKM prices recently fell to 10-year lows. But they have continued to decline, approaching $3/MMBtu for the first time in history. Just a few weeks ago, JKM prices were trading at around $5/MMBtu, itself an incredibly low price for this time of year.

LNG exports from the U.S. are uneconomical at these price levels. Many exporters have contracts at fixed, higher prices. But shipments can be cancelled for a fee. And any spot trade would be hit hard. The question now is whether shipments will come to halt.

“Forward prices for summer are now at levels where U.S. LNG shut-ins begin to seem viable,” Edmund Siau, a Singapore-based analyst with energy consultant FGE, told Bloomberg. “There is usually a lead time before a cargo can be canceled, and we expect actual supply curtailments to start happening in summer.”

But if buyers start cancelling their purchases, LNG exporters have to ramp down production. That could then ripple back to the shale gas fields in the U.S., where prices are already below $2/MMBtu and drillers can’t make any money. The CEO of Marcellus shale gas giant EQT said in December that “a lot of this development doesn’t work as well at $2.50 gas.” Henry Hub prices are now below $1.85/MMBtu.

There is little relief in sight. “Even with our projected increase in power sector natural gas demand due to the current low price environment, we estimate natural gas stocks to end this summer with 3.85 tcf in the ground,” Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in a recent note. “Such inventory level would be more than 100 bcf higher YoY, and does not leave much room for bearish errors from mild weather, high renewable generation, or reduced LNG exports.”

Europe too is sitting on abnormally high inventories. “LNG exporters desperately need cold weather in Europe to draw down inventories and provide more breathing room this summer,” Bank of America warned.

But that is not happening. Europe just saw its warmest January on record, depressing gas demand. Fossil fuels are driving climate change, so it’s rather ironic that higher temperatures are now battering gas markets.

It’s all combining to create a “gasmaggedon,” according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “We are now more than halfway through the winter, and thus far Mother Nature has not been kind to natural gas prices,” analysts at the bank wrote.

The investment bank calls the U.S. Midwest power sector is the “true market of last resort,” which means that U.S. gas prices have to fall to such low depths that coal-fired power plants are forced offline in their last redoubt – the Midwest.

“We believe the US cannot sustain reduced LNG exports this summer,” Bank of America warned. “Therefore, US natural gas prices might have to go low enough to stimulate sufficient Midwest power sector natural gas demand to balance the entire global gas market.”

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See also: LNG’s Wintry Price Plunge Boosts Possibility of U.S. Terminal Shut-Ins Later in Year | 2020-01-28 | Natural Gas Intelligence

Energy Aspects gas analyst James Waddell, who is based in London, said shut-ins aren’t likely anytime soon. He noted that U.S. offtakers have hedged their volumes against other delivery points overseas that for now would make it uneconomic to not lift a cargo.

However, contracts don’t necessarily force buyers to take cargoes in all instances or preclude parties from coming up with alternate solutions if it makes little sense to take a shipment. Instead, a variety of things, including contractual terms, vessel availability, scheduling restrictions along the Gulf Coast, and the supply and demand balance are sure to factor into the possibility of shut-ins.

If they do happen, shut-ins are more likely to occur later in the year, and would largely hinge on Europe’s ability to inject gas and store LNG supplies during the summer months. LNG inventories are currently at about 60% of tank capacity, or above where they typically are during winter, while the continent’s gas in underground storage is also above average at 72%.

There are a lot of variables in play still, but the trajectory that we’re on right now, given where prices are, would tend toward too much gas in storage in the third quarter to inject at healthy rates. If that’s the situation we’re in, that’s when the U.S. is probably at its most susceptible to shut-in. QED.

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein speaks out ...

Article by MARC LEVY, Associated Press, WSAV NBC News 3, January 14, 2020

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The attorneys general of 15 states said this week that they oppose a Trump administration proposal to allow rail shipments of liquefied natural gas, arguing the trains will share tracks with passenger trains and travel through congested areas.

The protesting states included Pennsylvania and New Jersey, where the Trump administration issued a special permit in December to ship LNG by rail.

The rulemaking by the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration stems from Trump signing an executive order in April that, in addition to seeking to speed up oil and gas pipeline projects, directed the transportation secretary to propose a rule allowing liquefied natural gas to be shipped in approved rail tank cars.

In their 18 pages of comments submitted Monday, the states said the Trump administration’s proposed rule would put residents, first responders and the environment at greater risk of catastrophic accidents. The administration failed to adequately analyze those risks and failed to consider the environmental and climate effects of allowing LNG to be shipped in rail tank cars, the states said.

The flammable and odorless liquid would be transported “through densely populated areas, potentially in unit trains of up to 100 tank cars operated by just one person, on the same rail lines used by high speed passenger trains, with inadequate safety precautions,” the states said.

They asked the pipeline administration to withdraw the proposed rule pending the completion of more safety studies and the development of an environmental impact statement.

Federal hazardous materials regulations allow LNG shipments by truck, but not by rail, except for with a special permit.

In December, the Trump administration issued a special permit to a New Fortress Energy subsidiary to ship LNG by rail from northern Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale natural gas fields to a yet-to-be-built storage terminal at a former explosives plant in New Jersey, along the Delaware River near Philadelphia.

From there, the LNG would be exported to foreign markets.

The other objecting states were California, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington, as well as the District of Columbia.

Unit trains are often 100 RR cars long

Monday was the deadline for comments to be filed.
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See also: Massive oil refinery leaks toxic chemical in the middle of Philadelphia on June 21, 2019

Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) is under high pressure and very low temperature

From an Article by Marissa Luck, Houston Chronicle, December 17, 2018

PHOTO— A Liberian-flagged tanker named the Maria Energy left Cheniere Energy’s recently completed Port of Corpus Christi facility with the first shipment of liquefied natural gas on the morning of Thursday, December 11, 2018. The shipment marked the first LNG export from Texas.

The world’s biggest buyers of liquefied natural gas will quadruple their uncontracted demand for LNG, and more buyers will be on the hunt for additional LNG soon, too, a report from Wood Mackenzie suggests.

That’s good news for Texas, which is transforming into an LNG export hub as companies tap into cheap natural gas supplies.

By 2030, the seven major LNG buyers are expected to gobble up 80 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas over and above their existing contracts, according to Wood Mackenzie.

Total demand from those buyers, including purchasing LNG on contract and off contract, will grow to 180 million metric tons, up from 150 million metric tons today, the research firm said.

“As China pushes on toward a lower-emission economy, its demand for gas and LNG has grown significantly and we expect the trend to continue in the longer term,” said Wood Mackenzie research director, Nicholas Browne in a statement.

The major seven LNG buyers are clustered in Asia, including China National Offshore Oil Corp., PetroChina, Sinopec, Tokyo Gas, Jera Co. and CPC Corp. Together they account for more than 50 percent of the global LNG market.

“Other traditional major buyers, on the other hand, are facing legacy contract expires and will be on the hunt for a mix of contracts to lower average costs and security in supply sources,” Browne added.

Next year could be a record year for new liquefied natural gas projects too – collectively suppliers could give the green light on LNG investments totaling 220 million metric tons per a year of capacity.

To put that in perspective, nearly 300 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas was traded globally last year — a jump from 100 million metric tons at the start of the century, according to an outlook from Shell.

Several projects are expected to get the green light next year, including the $27 billion Arctic LNG-2 in Russia, at least one project in Mozambique and at least three the U.S. Expansion projects in Australia and Papua New Guinea will also be in the running.

A new report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration earlier this week said the U.S. could more than double its export capacity in the next year to become the third largest LNG exporter behind Australia and Qatar.

In Texas, Cheniere Energy sent out the first LNG export tanker from the state earlier this week. Cheniere’s initial customers for the Corpus Christi facility hold long-term supply contracts from Europe, Asia and Australia.

Cheniere started exporting LNG from the U.S. in 2016, when it sent LNG from its Sabine Pass complex in Louisiana. Dominion Energy of Richmond, Va., also is exporting LNG from Cove Point in the United States, and others are expected to follow in the coming months, including two Houston firms, Kinder Morgan, which is completing an export terminal in Georgia, and Freeport LNG, which will operate a Gulf Coast terminal at Quintana Island.

Companies behind another four export projects on the Gulf Coast —Magnolia LNG, Delfin LNG, Lake Charles and Golden Pass— have federal approvals and are expected to make final investment decisions in the coming months, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Several other companies, including Sempra Energy of San Diego, NextDecade of Houston and Tellurian of Houston, are working on projects expected to start up in the coming years. This week NextDecade scored state permits for its Rio Grande LNG project in Brownsville. And the federal government just released an environmental study on another Brownsville project, Annova LNG, an important milestone in the permitting process.

Browne said 2019 will be “the biggest year ever” in terms of LNG projects advancing and receiving final investment decisions.

“Asia’s major buyers will be at the forefront in ensuring this next generation of LNG supply is brought to market,” he added.

Mariner East 2 Pipeline from OH, WV & PA to export Ethane & Propane

By Rebecca Britton, Delaware County Times, Swarthmore PA, October 7, 2018

The following is a response to a recent guest column by James Coyle against any moratorium in construction of the Mariner East 2 pipeline:

Dear Mr. Coyle:

The pipeline incident in Beaver County is now bringing increased attention to pipeline safety issues. The incident is our worst fears being confirmed. You are correct, residents are concerned about pipelines that pass by our homes, schools and places of business. This month, every day, on the way to my child’s bus stop I smelled mercaptan. That is the additive included in natural gas to ensure our senses keep us safe. My neighbors called our provider and the issue was fixed prior to an ignition event. This is the scary scenario for high-density areas, especially for pipelines whose contents are meant for plastic production.

When Mariner East leaks we are instructed to run on foot, up wind, a half a mile. How will we know when to commence these exercises? Unlike natural gas, “natural gas liquids” are heavier than air and odorless. In all likelihood, a pipeline leak would be small, just like the natural gas one on my street. Imagine this going unnoticed.

We are going a step further, and calling for a statewide moratorium on all pipeline construction. Those of us living with the endless construction, spills, contaminated drinking water, and sinkholes have seen what under-regulated pipeline approvals has created. Legality has eclipsed morality in Pennsylvania when it comes to pipeline construction.

As you know, as a member of Tom Wolf’s Pipeline Infrastructure Task Force, not one of your recommendations have been crafted into law. We still have no pipeline siting agency unlike every other state. It is my guess, you as an attorney at Babst Calland, probably enjoy the benefits of this haphazard pipeline buildout. Your firm is heavily entrenched with the most powerful lobby firm in Harrisburg, the Marcellus Shale Coalition. Furthermore, your online profile states “(Keith J. Coyle) practice focuses primarily on the regulation of pipelines and the transportation of hazardous materials”.

You wrote, “I understand the anxiety that people feel after a pipeline incident. They want to know that their families are safe, and that the folks in charge are doing what is necessary to protect public safety. Every incident serves as a reminder of the additional work that needs to be done to make pipelines safer.” But by making this statement you leave me with a bad case of cognitive dissonance. Firms like yours, are lobbying our state Senate, pushing legislation like SB652 at a record pace through the House and Senate, making our “community safety coalitions” afraid to plan a peaceful protest. I do not see you pushing legislation to help ensure responsible placement and construction of pipelines though?

Pipelines are a critical part of the nation’s energy infrastructure, thank goodness our nation’s energy needs are met.

These new pipelines carrying the “wet” fracked gas, deliver dangerous materials that are meant to provide feedstock for plastics; and nothing else.

Pipelines might be the safest and most reliable means of transporting energy products. However, Pennsylvanian legislators could be investing in clean, green energy. Instead they are in bed with the likes of you, planning more pipelines. This irresponsible pipeline buildout holds the long term economic vitality of our region in the balance and is unacceptable to residents of southeastern Pennsylvania.

A statewide moratorium, on Mariner East and all pipeline construction, is the only thing that makes sense for our schools, communities and vulnerable populations. Placing colorless, odorless, heavier than air gases within feet of our children is reckless. The ban should remain in place until our legislators remember that their primary duty is to protect the health, welfare, and safety of citizens; and not lobbyists.

One last thought: You might be a Pennsylvanian native; but I live here. You might have lots of fancy job titles in the pipeline industry, but I have something – a love for my neighbors, for the innocent that work or learn in “blast zones,” love for my family. I have an actual vested stake in the outcomes.

I have one more thing you don’t. I have thousands of Pennsylvanian voters with me. You and your friends at the Marcellus Shale Coalition keep trying to bury us, but, what you fail to realize is, we are seeds.

Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline in Lancaster County PA

From an Article by Ad Crable, Lancaster OnLine, October 4, 2018

Natural gas will begin flowing through the controversial Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline underneath Lancaster County on Saturday, according to the pipeline builder.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday morning gave Oklahoma-based Williams Partners the green light, saying the company has “adequately stabilized the areas disturbed by construction and that restoration is proceeding satisfactorily.”

Williams had originally asked to put the pipeline in service by Sept. 10, but flooding damage along the rights of way in August delayed that startup date.

Williams said it will begin full service on Saturday, moving natural gas collected from Marcellus Shale wells in northeastern Pennsylvania through the 42-inch pipeline — the industry’s largest — to markets as far south as Alabama. Some of the gas will be exported overseas as well.

The pipeline goes through 37 miles of western Lancaster County.

“This project makes the largest-volume pipeline system in the country even larger, further executing on our strategy to connect premier natural gas supply areas with the best markets in the country,” Alan Armstrong, Williams’ president and chief executive officer said in a press release.

“The project is significant for Pennsylvania and natural gas-consuming markets all along the East Coast, alleviating infrastructure bottlenecks and providing millions of consumers direct access to one of the most abundant, cost-effective natural gas supply sources in the country.”

Gene Barr, president of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry added, “Atlantic Sunrise has been a tremendous economic boom that will no doubt yield benefits, both economic and environmental, for the commonwealth for decades to come.”

But Lancaster County was the focal point for the strongest opposition to the pipeline, with dozens of arrests during protests and work blockages.

Lancaster Against Pipelines co-founder Mark Clatterbuck of Martic Township issued this statement in reaction to the pipeline opening: “From start to finish, Williams has shown nothing but arrogance and contempt toward our community while forcing the ASP through Lancaster County.

“That continued this past Monday, as we watched in horror as pipeliners for Williams tore down a giant cross and prayer labyrinth on land owned by the Adorers of the Blood of Christ. Site supervisors mocked us with their grins as one of the Sisters sat weeping at the outdoor chapel, bulldozers drowning out her quiet sobs.

“The ASP has been a huge wake-up call for Lancaster County. As FERC gives final approval for this dangerous pipeline, grassroots efforts are just beginning to dismantle the system that allows pipelines to keep terrorizing our communities and environment. Local resistance is springing up all over Pennsylvania, which is the industry’s greatest fear.”

The $3 billion project includes 198 miles of new pipeline, almost all in Pennsylvania, two new compressor stations and compressor station modifications in five states.

FERC had authorized construction of the project in February 2017.

Russian tanker sails through Arctic without icebreaker for first time

From an Article by Patrick Barkham, The Guardian, August 24, 2017

A Russian tanker has travelled through the northern sea route in record speed and without an icebreaker escort for the first time, highlighting how climate change is opening up the high Arctic.

The $300m Christophe de Margerie carried a cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Hammerfest in Norway to Boryeong in South Korea in 19 days, about 30% quicker than the conventional southern shipping route through the Suez Canal.

The tanker was built to take advantage of the diminishing Arctic sea ice and deliver gas from a new $27m facility on the Yamal Peninsula, the biggest Arctic LNG project so far which has been championed by the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.

On its maiden voyage, the innovative tanker used its integral icebreaker to cross ice fields 1.2m thick, passing along the northern sea section of the route in the Russian Arctic in a record six-and-a-half days.

“It’s very quick, particularly as there was no icebreaker escort which previously there had been in journeys,” said Bill Spears, spokesperson for Sovcomflot, the shipping company which owns the tanker. “It’s very exciting that a ship can go along this route all year round.”

Environmentalists have expressed concern over the risks of increased ship traffic in the pristine Arctic but Sovcomflot stressed the tanker’s green credentials. As well as using conventional fuel, the Christophe de Margerie can be powered by the LNG it is transporting, reducing its sulphur oxide emissions by 90% and nitrous oxide emissions by 80% when powered this way. “This is a significant factor in a fragile ecosystem,” said Spears.

The northern sea route between Siberia and the Pacific is still closed to conventional shipping for much of the year. But the Christophe de Margerie, the first of 15 such tankers expected to be built, extends the navigation window for the northern sea route from four months with an expensive icebreaker to all year round in a westerly direction.

In the route’s busiest year so far, 2013, there were only 15 international crossings but the Russian government predicts that cargo along this route will grow tenfold by 2020. This link with the Pacific reduces its need to sell gas through pipelines to Europe.

“There has been a steady increase in traffic in recent years,” said Spears. “There’s always been trade along this route but it’s been restricted a lot by the ice. It’s exciting that this route presents a much shorter alternative than the Suez route. It’s a major saving.”

Simon Boxall, an oceanographer at the University of Southampton, said that shipping companies were making a “safe bet” in building ships in anticipation that the northern sea route will open up. “Even if we stopped greenhouse emissions tomorrow, the acceleration in the loss of Arctic ice is unlikely to be reversed,” he said.

“We’ve been able to sail through the north-west passage for several years now but the northern passage, which goes past Russia, has opened up on and off since 2010. We’re going to see this route being used more and more by 2020.

“The irony is that one advantage of climate change is that we will probably use less fuel going to the Pacific.”

The extent of Arctic ice fell to a new wintertime low in March this year after freakishly high temperatures in the polar regions, and hit its second lowest summer extent last September.

One theme: "Oil & Money"

U.S. Senate panel clears Tillerson’s path to be secretary of state

From an Article by Patricia Zengerle,  Reuters News Service, January 23, 2017

U.S. President Donald Trump’s choice for secretary of state, former Exxon Mobil Corp. Chairman Rex Tillerson, narrowly won approval from a Senate committee on Monday, but is expected to be confirmed by the full Senate.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 11-10 to approve Tillerson, with every Republican backing the former oil executive and every Democrat opposing him.

His approval by the panel, a victory for Trump, had been in doubt until earlier on Monday, when Senator Marco Rubio, a committee member who had been Tillerson’s most vocal Republican critic, said he would back the nominee.

Tillerson’s confirmation by the 100-member Senate, where Republicans hold 52 seats, is not expected before next week. Democrats want more time to debate and the chamber may not be in session all this week.

Rubio’s backing had been in doubt after his tough questioning during Tillerson’s confirmation hearing, focusing on issues including concerns about Tillerson’s support for human rights. Rubio ultimately decided he would approve the nominee in deference to Trump, as well as to fill a critical top job.

Democrats said they voted against Tillerson over fears he might lift sanctions on Russia, where he did business for years, questions about his views on human rights and his refusal to recuse himself from matters related to his former employer during his entire term as the top U.S. diplomat.

Tillerson pledged to recuse himself only for the year required by law.

Amid Democratic anger over allegations that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election, Tillerson also raised committee hackles by saying he did not know Exxon Mobil lobbied against sanctions on Russia while he was running the company.

Senator Ben Cardin, the committee’s top Democrat, said Tillerson’s “business orientation” and responses at his hearing “could compromise his ability as secretary of state to forcefully promote the values and ideals that have defined our country and our leading role in the world for more than 200 years.”

The Senate confirmed only two of Trump’s Cabinet nominees on Friday, his Inauguration Day, a relatively low number among recent presidencies.

Democrats have been unable to block any of his choices because they changed Senate rules in 2013 to allow nominees to be confirmed with just a majority, not 60 votes. Instead, they have used Senate rules to slow the confirmation of nominees they say hold extreme views, are unqualified or have not completed ethics disclosures.

See also: www.FrackCheckWV.net

<< Taxes/fees/controls on fracking are justified >>

Goodies for the oil and gas industry may be the dumbest idea yet

An Essay by S. Tom Bond, Retired Chemistry Professor & Resident Farmer, Lewis County, WV

An article entitled “Oil plunge sparks calls for Congress to act,” published in The Hill on January 10 is making the rounds now. The Hill bills itself “a top US political website, read by the White House and more lawmakers than any other site — vital for policy, politics and election campaigns.” It is considerably overbalanced to the right, and the piece under consideration is found under “opinion.”

The first line give the thesis of the article: As the price of oil plunges to its lowest point in 12 years — and threatens to drag the broader U.S. economy down with it — lawmakers say Congress should consider helping teetering energy companies with policy fixes beyond the decision to lift the oil-export ban.

The kind of fixes suggested include: (1) expediting the process for exporting liquefied natural gas; (2) easing environmental and other regulations; (3) taking retaliatory trade measures against Saudi Arabia; (4) pushing legislation to allow companies to gather natural gas from oil wells on federal land; and (5) help our industry compete by having infrastructure. That means the right mix of pipelines, transmission lines, rail, roads, i. e., have the government build it for them.

Facts listed in the article are essentially correct, it is the unsaid facts that are not taken into account that destroy the argument. There are several facts of overwhelming importance. First is that the U. S.  is a huge importer of oil. For the month of October, 2015, our total imports were 273,000,000 barrels. What does export mean when we are importing that much oil?

How can you export fracked oil when fracking entails using so much energy, equipment, materials and chemicals.  Facking costs an extra $20 to $40 per barrel, compared to conventional recovery. Deep sea drilling is similar, as is arctic drilling, which hasn’t even been proved feasible. How does this extra cost stack up against the $20 a barrel total extraction cost for Saudi Arabia, mentioned in the article?

“Oil plunge sparks calls for Congress to act” hypothesizes that the Saudi kingdom is keeping up production (world price was below $32 when this was written) in a bid to expand market share and undercut competitors. That’s a strange complaint from a “conservative.” Aren’t the markets supposed to do that sort of thing? If you read around, others have said they want to attack Iran, infringe on Russia (the second leading exporter of natural gas), and the U. S. fracking industry, which is doubtless the least likely target, with its high extraction costs. It already has the $20 – 40 disadvantage.

Now the claim about Russia being in second place. Russia exported 10.5% of the total exported (in 2014), while Saudi Arabia exported 18.5%. Incidentally Canada, in fourth place, exported 6.1%  mostly to the U. S. This author thinks Saudi Arabia may have been telling the truth that they were keeping up production because they didn’t want their oil to be “stranded,” left in the ground when hydrocarbons are no longer the main source of energy. The progress of solar and wind power will not be discussed here.

What so many people seem unwilling to realize is that the U. S. covers only about 4 percent of the dry land on Earth. We supplied the rest of the world for decades, being first to develop the technology to remove oil. Now we are getting to the last dregs, and using so much ourselves we really are not is a position to export from the point of view of the public interest. We have relatively more natural gas, but do not stack up well in comparisons with other nations. Russia has five and a half times as much, Iran has nearly four times as much as the U. S. (Yes, we have more gas than Saudi Arabia, 6% more. See the CIA World Fact Book, which is on line.)

The truth is that fracking’s extra costs are small compared to its vast externalized costs. This includes multiple factors, such as depreciated value of property where fracking takes place, obvious from the beginning, but just now beginning to be documented. More than one of these studies now exist, with comparable conclusions. Losses to other industries such as farming, recreation, forestry, the retirement industry, are ignored. Health effects on the surrounding population is another cost just now being studied and recognized. Long time environmental costs, effects on water quality, loss of aquifers, and the formation of mini-brownfields where the soil is poisoned and treated as if they did not exist.

Then there is the two billion dollar debt mountain that belongs to the industry. As of January 7, 2016, there have been 38 bankruptcies in the exploration and production (E&P) section of the industry, amounting to $18 billion. These have been Chapter 11 bankruptcies (restructuring). These wipe out shareholders, but keep key executives in place to seek funds and go ahead. The last resort are Chapter 7 bankruptcies, which are still to come, which eliminate management so the company is wiped out and gives the remaining value to shareholders. The other 21 E&P companies risk this fate.

The industry has been losing money for those who speculate in stored oil. They bought high and have been forced to sell low.  And it’s not likely to get better for a while.

All Congress can do is increase these externalized costs. There is no way they can reduce the monetary cost of the fracking process. (It would be against conservative principles to provide government funding for the cost of infrastructure to promote these industries: pipelines, railroads, roads, storage tanks, etc. Those are costs of doing business.)

Businessmen and legislators should accept the fact that fracking is an expensive, dirty, dangerous way to get oil and gas. No amount of propaganda will change that.

Cove Point on Chesapeake Bay

Natural Gas Awakening From U.S. Shale Slumber as LNG Shipments come On-Line

From an Article by Naureen Malik and Christine Buurma, Bloomberg News Service, July 30, 2015

After years of languishing in a shale-induced coma, the U.S. natural gas market is waking up.

Seasonal price swings will intensify as the country begins shipping liquefied natural gas cargoes to Asia and Europe later this year, said Bank of America Corp., RBC Capital Markets LLC and Wood Mackenzie Ltd. While that’s good news for traders yearning for volatility, it could be bad news for consumers.

Exports will help prices rebound from the slump caused by the U.S. pumping record amounts from shale formations. Growing domestic winter demand is already causing spikes and trading volumes in futures markets have rebounded to the highest level in three years. Average retail gas prices also will rise with LNG exports, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

“Connecting U.S. natural gas prices into the global market could result in wider spreads at home,” said Francisco Blanch, the head of commodities research at Bank of America Corp. in New York. “Global LNG spot prices are notoriously seasonal.”

Cheniere Energy Inc. will start operating a liquefied natural gas terminal this year in Louisiana, the first new export site in 46 years. The U.S. will be the third-largest supplier by 2020, the International Energy Agency says.

In a sign of what may be coming, futures for January 2017 are already trading at a 35.7-cent premium to October 2016 contracts, the biggest premium for this time of the year since 2012. That seasonal spread may widen to as much as a dollar as LNG exports expand, Blanch said.

Price Volatility

Natural gas for September delivery fell 0.5 percent to $2.849 per million British thermal units in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 9:29 a.m. London time.

Demand growth, including LNG exports, will lead to greater seasonal price volatility, said Breanne Dougherty, a natural gas analyst at Societe General SA in New York.

Prices have fallen 79 percent in the past seven years as new wells opened in the Marcellus shale deposit across Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia.

Cheniere won approval to export as much as 3.5 billion cubic feet of gas a day from its Sabine terminal, with the first of six liquefaction plants starting by the end of this year and the rest staggered through 2018.

Sempra Energy, Freeport LNG Development LP, Energy Transfer and Dominion Resources Inc. will bring 5.67 billion cubic feet of capacity online from late 2017 through 2019.

LNG shipments might remove enough supply from the market that volatility will rise during particularly cold winters, according to Michael Mitton, the director of the commodity investor team at BNP Paribas SA in New York.

Capture Profits

A rebound in volatility, which makes it easier for traders to capture profits from price swings, has already boosted trading. Futures volume in June rose to 7.71 million contracts, the most for the month since 2012.

New York residents experienced how volatility and price spikes in the cold months can directly affect their costs. More than half of U.S. homes rely on gas for heating.

Consolidated Edison Inc., which owns New York City’s utility, said home gas bills jumped 17 percent in February 2014 from a year earlier because of higher wholesale gas prices during a storm that dumped snow across the East Coast. Spot prices rose to a record on Jan. 21, 2014, as pipeline bottlenecks limited deliveries and demand reached a record.

LNG export terminals in the U.S. will be taking as much as 8.5 billion cubic feet a day out of the domestic gas market by the end of 2019, said Charles Blanchard, a Bloomberg New Energy Finance analyst in New York. Producers will have to drill wells in costlier areas, raising prices by about 35 cents and increasing retail prices by 5 to 10 percent, he said.

“Always and ever, more demand leads to higher prices,” Blanchard said. “The question of whether LNG exports will lead to higher U.S. gas prices is a fairly easy one to answer.”

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See also the VIDEO by Doug Hornig on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline project.