PA Environment Digest Blog: 6th Oil/Gas Shock: Listen To What Europe Says They Need

Pennsylvania natural gas industry politicians continue working to lock us into foreign energy price markets with despots, while Pennsylvania oil refineries are refining Russian crude.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine caused the latest price spikes of oil, natural gas and gasoline, the U.S. oil and gas industry has been trying to dominate state and national media describing what they want to happen to respond to the energy crisis in Europe and not listening to what Europe says they need.

In particular, the natural gas industry and their politicians continue to say they should be “unleashed” to do a massive, years-long build out of pipelines, LNG shipping facilities and deregulate the drilling industry.

The goal, of course, is to get people irreversibly locked into natural gas and to the foreign energy price markets and despots that have no limit on what they charge you.

It’s a marketing opportunity to oil/gas companies.

For the rest of us, it’s the sixth major oil price shock in the last 48 years. Read more here.

Again this week, PA Environment Digest has gathered NewsClips from around the world to let you know what Europe is saying they need to secure their energy future.

And what they are saying again this week sounds very similar to what French environment minister Barbara Pompili said last week-- "In the long run, we want to wean ourselves from Russian fossil energy and from fossil energy overall.”

With our price of oil and natural gas hanging on every word uttered by Russia despots, the energy market and Europe’s energy plans are in a state of constant change.

But the principle we should continue to stick with is-- listen to what Europe needs, not the grandiose plans of what the U.S. oil and gas industry wants.

Here are this week’s NewsClips related to the latest oil and gas energy market crisis caused by the Russian invasion--

Debate In Pennsylvania

-- Inquirer: Andrew Maykuth: Pennsylvania Oil Refineries Use Significant Amount Of Russian Crude Oil

-- Guest Essay: Pennsylvania And Virginia Face Fight Of Their Lives - [What The Coal, Natural Gas Industries Want In PA] - By Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming)

-- PG - Salena Zito: ‘Shalennial’ Natural Gas CEO Busts Expectations [What The Natural Gas Industry Wants]

-- Guest Essay: PA Republican Suggestions To Make Us More Dependent On Fossil Fuels Will Not Secure Our Energy Future - By Rep. Nancy Guenst (D-Montgomery), U.S. Army Veteran & Rep. Joseph G. Webster (D-Montgomery), U.S. Air Force Colonel, Retired [PaEN]

-- PennLive Guest Essay: Path To Defeating Putin Lies In Ending Our Dependence On Fossil Fuels - Rep. Guest, Rep. Webster

-- Vesper Energy Developing 200 MW Solar Energy Project In Lawrence County

-- Community College Of Allegheny County Flipped The Switch On Completed Solar Energy Installation

-- University Of Pittsburgh Announces Climate Action Plan To Go Carbon Neutral By 2037

-- Senate Resolution Offers Hope Lawmakers May Finally Be Taking The Economic And Environmental Benefits Of Developing A Rare Earth Minerals Industry Seriously In PA

-- TribLive: Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Sen. Corman Talks Energy, Gasoline Tax Holiday

-- PG: Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Lou Barletta Says PA Could Lead The Way For U.S. Energy By Unleashing Natural Gas Industry

-- City & State PA: Democrat Gubernatorial Candidate Josh Shapiro Unveils Plan To Cut Cell Phone Tax, Issues Gasoline Tax Refunds

-- PennLive: Falling Oil Prices Result In Some Relief At The Gas Pumps

-- TribLive: Diesel Price Rise A Pain At Pump And Consumer’s Pockets

-- TribLive: Are Western PA Gasoline Prices Headed Toward $5 A Gallon?

-- Reuters: Oil Settles Up But Posts Second Consecutive Weekly Decline

-- Reuters: Number Of U.S. Oil Rigs Down Despite $100/Barrel Crude Prices

-- PA Cap-Star Guest Essay: What’s Going On With Oil Prices? It’s More Complicated Than You Think

-- PennLive Guest Essay: It’s Critical We Expand Clean Electricity And Electrify Our Cars, Trucks, Buses Now - PennEnvironment

-- PA League Of Women Voters: Let's Have A Cleaner, Healthier Energy Future For Pennsylvania [PaEN]

-- TribLive Guest Essay: Clean Energy Transition Would Break Russia’s Geopolitical Hold - Citizens’ Climate Lobby

-- TribLive Guest Essay: Real Energy Independence Means Good Union Jobs In Clean Energy - Patricia DeMarco, Forest Hills Borough Council

-- Centre Daily Times Guest Essay: No Time To Waste To Fund Climate Solutions - PennEnvironment

-- PG - Anya Litvak: The Oil Price Spike May Haunt The Economy Long After It Recedes From The Pump

National/International

-- The Atlantic: America’s Energy Security Is Falling Apart - No Matter How Much Oil/Gas The U.S. Drills, We Are Dangerously Dependent On International Market Whims

“Today, America is the world’s largest oil and gas producer, but instead of winning us energy independence, this distinction has made the country dangerously dependent on market whim.

“No matter how much oil the U.S. drills, crude prices are still set on the international market—so when Russia invaded Ukraine, oil prices in America soared.

“This point alone invalidated the central principle of energy independence, that suburban F-150 drivers should not have to pay more at the pump because someone else started a war.”

-- NYT: There’s A Messaging Battle Right Now Over America’s Energy Future

-- Reuters: France Ends Natural Gas Heater Subsidies, Boosts Heat Pumps In Bid To Cut Russian Reliance

"In the long run, we want to wean ourselves from Russian fossil energy and from fossil energy overall," said French environment minister Barbara Pompili.

-- The Guardian: UK Can Eliminate Need For Russian Natural Gas This Year Thru Energy Efficiency, Expanding Renewables

“Cutting gas use would also ease the cost of living crisis amid soaring fossil fuel prices.”

-- Reuters: Portugal Says Europe Must Cut Use Of Russian Natural Gas However Difficult

"The war in Ukraine will definitely push Europe towards faster decarbonisation because it cannot rely so much on fossil fuels that it does not produce," said Portugal's Environment and Energy Transition Minister Joao Matos Fernandes.

-- Reuters: Poland ‘Looking Again’ At The Role Of Natural Gas In Green Energy Transition

"We're looking at that again to see how we can reduce our dependence on gas during this transitional period” away from coal.

“Poland's long-term supply contract with Russia's Gazprom expires at the end of this year. The country plans to replace that supply via a new gas pipeline from Norway, expected to be ready by November.”

-- Reuters: European Lawmaker Group Asks EU To Withdraw Green Investment Label For Natural Gas

“Around 100 European Union lawmakers asked Brussels on Wednesday to withdraw plans to label energy investments in gas as green, saying this undermined Europe's push to reduce reliance on Russian fossil fuels.”

-- Defense & Security Monitor: EU Unveils Ambitious Plan To Reduce Energy Imports From Russia

“The new geopolitical and energy market reality has forced the EU to drastically accelerate its clean energy transition and increase Europe’s energy independence from unreliable suppliers and volatile fossil fuel prices.”

-- YaleEnvironment360: Will Russia’s War Spur Europe to Move On Green Energy?

“The EU had planned to reduce natural gas consumption more than 25 percent by 2030” as part of their climate change initiatives.

-- The Guardian: International Energy Agency Sets Out 10-Point Plan To Reduce Global Oil Demand

-- Reuters: EU Leaders Back Urgently Refilling Natural Gas Stores For Next Winter In Draft Summit Statement For Next Week; Commission To Publish Detailed Plan In May

-- Bloomberg: EU May Refrain From Stepping Into Energy Market To Cushion Impact Of High Prices As Nations Split On Measures To Take

-- WSJ: Oil Market Faces Biggest Supply Crisis In Decades Unless OPEC Boosts Output, IEA Says

“Beyond the spare capacity of leading OPEC members Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, there are no other sources of additional supply that can balance the market.”

“U.S. oil inventories last week were about 13% lower than a year earlier, according to Energy Information Administration data released Wednesday.

“Domestic production has been flat at about 11.6 million barrels a day since autumn, though drillers have deployed more rigs in recent weeks as prices climbed.”

-- CNN: GasBuddy Was Predicting $4 Gasoline Prices By Memorial Day Last December Due To World Demand

-- Reuters: Ukraine Conflict Opens Diplomatic And Energy Opportunities For Qatar

-- The Guardian: After Ukraine, How Will The World Replace Russia’s Oil Products

-- WSJ: Why Your Electric Bill Is Soaring And Likely To Go Higher - Because Of Volatile Natural Gas Prices Set By Global Markets

-- Financial Times: New Yorkers Struggle To Pay Utility Bills As Electricity Prices Soar

“New York is experiencing some of the most dramatic increases in a broad national rise in retail electricity prices, driven by a rebound in demand and an increase in the cost of natural gas burnt at power stations.”

-- NPR: 3 Reasons Why Big Oil Can’t Just Drill More To Ease The Pain At The Gasoline Pump

-- PG/CQ-RollCall: Drill, Baby, Drill? Not So Fast, Say Crash-Wary Energy Investors

-- Bloomberg Green: Oil Leasing To Resume On Federal Land After Court Allows Use Of Carbon Cost Metric

-- Reuters: Oil Settles Up But Posts Second Consecutive Weekly Decline

-- Reuters: Number Of U.S. Oil Rigs Down Despite $100/Barrel Crude Prices

-- The Economist: Today’s Oil Shock Pales In Comparison With Those Of Yesteryear

-- Financial Times: Saudi Aramco Net Revenues Double To $110 Billion On Surging Oil Demand

-- WPost: High Fuel Prices Led To Calls For Supercharged Clean Energy Transition, But Democrats Lack A Legislative Strategy To Advance Their Climate Agenda

-- Financial Times: Billionaire Investor Predicts Energy Crisis Will Spur Green Spending Boom

-- Reuters: London-based Swiss Re - World’s 2nd Biggest Reinsurer-- Increases Number Of Oil/Gas Producers It Refuses To Cover To Reduce Carbon Footprint

-- Reuters: Europe Seeks Breakthrough On Climate Change Plans Amid Energy Crisis

-- New European Commission REPowerEU Plan Does Not Justify Dramatic Increase In Drilling, Gas Infrastructure Build Out PA Natural Gas Politicians Are Calling For