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Justin Mikulka

Flaring methane in the Permian oil fields of Texas

New Methane Regulations Unlikely to Change Oil Industry Behavior

It is unlikely that the new methane regulations will have the large predicted impact on reducing methane emissions for the U.S. oil and gas industry. While it is unfortunate that this is the reality, after writing about the regulatory process in the U.S. for the past ten years,

East coast sunset.

Happy Oil Industry Sunset Day

Something remarkable happened today in the pages of the Wall Street Journal today. In the article Exxon and Chevron Earnings Fall Back to Earth, a rather stunning quote snuck in explaining why investors weren’t as keen on Exxon as might be expected. “There’s still a lingering concern for

Exxon vs. America

Exxon vs. America

As Law360 reported, this week Exxon’s lawyers are using a technical legal agreement to claim they want a refund of $1.8 billion from America.

As Saudi Oil CEO Claims Energy Transition is “visibly failing,” Saudi Arabia Invests Heavily in Clean Energy

As Saudi Oil CEO Claims Energy Transition is “visibly failing,” Saudi Arabia Invests Heavily in Clean Energy

One good rule of thumb in investing, never trust an oil company CEO. Last month, Amin Nasser, the CEO of Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company Aramco, told the audience at CERAWeek in Houston that the global transition to clean energy “is visibly failing on most fronts.” This line was

Oil Industry Methane Pollution Is Business as Usual, Not Accidental

Oil Industry Methane Pollution Is Business as Usual, Not Accidental

Leaks are not driving oil and gas methane pollution. Methane pollution is mostly due to normal oilfield operation.

A Dirty Water War in the Texas Desert

A Dirty Water War in the Texas Desert

History is likely to show that the idea of permanently polluting huge amounts of water and then trying to bury that water deep underground under high pressure likely was a really bad idea.

Touring Ground Zero of the Methane Emergency

Touring Ground Zero of the Methane Emergency

Ten years ago I wrote the article “Natural Gas as 'Bridge Fuel' Is Excellent Political Solution But Fails As Climate Solution.” In that article I reported that the American ambassador to Romania stated that the fracking industry had “obtained great successes — without consequences for the environment.” I didn’