This briefing contains an overview of the corporate lobbying detected by InfluenceMap related to fossil fuels for the month of September 2023.
In Australia: The oil and gas industry has promoted the need for new fossil gas supply and investments in Federal and State inquiries.
In the EU: Ahead of final policy trilogue negotiations on the EU Methane Regulation, InfluenceMap has identified efforts from oil and gas industry associations to weaken key elements of the regulation, particularly measures to tackle emissions from imported fossil fuels.
In August 2023, a number of oil and gas companies submitted feedback, released in September 2023, to the inquiry into the Western Australian (WA) Domestic Gas Policy. The inquiry has two areas of focus: 1. How well the policy’s existing mechanisms ensure the delivery of gas into the domestic market and, 2. How to ensure WA has adequate domestic gas supplies in the future.
This briefing contains an overview of the corporate lobbying detected by InfluenceMap related to fossil fuels for the month of August 2023.
The oil and gas industry appeared united in its response, with three broad positions emerging from the public responses to the consultation.
The Australian Energy Producers, formerly the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA), which represents Australia’s oil and gas industry, advocated for fossil fuel project approvals processes to be fast-tracked. It also appeared to criticize the recent decision by the WA government to remove exemptions that banned onshore fossil gas projects exporting gas overseas.
The consultation attracted responses from global oil and gas companies with operations in the state. Chevron stated that it is critical to maintain existing gas supply by investing in developing new fossil gas fields and called on the State government to ‘accelerate supply’ by expediting the approvals process. Chevron also suggested the government ‘strengthens public support’ by building an ‘understanding of the important and continuing role of gas in meeting our State’s energy needs’.
BP stated in its submission that ‘gas will remain part of the Australian and global energy mix for decades to come’ and advocated for additional fossil gas along with ‘clear and timely’ approvals process. BP also stressed for the state government to publicly support the critical role of fossil gas, adding ‘the energy transition cannot occur without the development of fossil gas’.
Shell also called on streamlining the permitting process to increase supply, calling on the government to do more to facilitate investment in upstream supply, adding that new gas fields would have the benefit of improving reliability and security.
Australian energy companies also engaged on the policy. Woodside called on the government to ‘lead an informed public discussion on the legitimate and necessary role of gas in WA’s energy transition’ and claimed that there may be an energy crisis if new fossil gas projects in the state do not get the green light. Woodside also advocated for the government to streamline relevant approval processes to develop new gas supply. Beach Energy also advocated for incentives to develop upstream supply in its consultation response.
The Australian oil and gas industry also gave evidence to the federal Senate Standing Committee's on Economics inquiry in September 2023. The inquiry relates to Labor’s decision to implement a price cap on domestic gas in December 2022 and whether these measures should remain in place.
The CEO of the Australian Energy Producers, Samantha McCulloch gave evidence on the 21st September. In her opening statement, she appeared to oppose the mandatory code and stressed the importance of bringing on new gas supply with ‘urgency’, claiming that government interventions in the energy market had reduced investment.
The cross-sector trade association, the Ai Group, also provided a late submission to the inquiry, in which it called for the Code to come into force. While the association appeared to support new investments in fossil gas, it also stressed the need to reduce demand and transition to cleaner energy sources.
Woodside Energy stated in its submission that it supports policy that incentivizes new fossil gas supply, adding that new domestic gas projects would increase supply and place downward pressure on prices. It also advocated for gas and coal power stations to be included in the Capacity Investment Scheme, which is designed to support the development of renewable energy. Senex Energy also called for investment in new fossil gas supply, stating it is the only suitable response to high prices.
In September, the International Energy Agency released its updated report on Net Zero by 2050, again finding that no new oil and gas fields are needed if the world is to meet global climate goals. Advocacy for new oil and gas investment not only threatens global climate targets, but Australia's ability to meet its own 2050 net zero goal: Climate Action Tracker (CAT) currently rates Australia's efforts to limit global warming as 'insufficient', indicating warming of more than 3°C on the current trajectory. CAT points to the government’s approval of new fossil gas developments in its assessment.
Ahead of final policy trilogue negotiations on the EU Methane Regulation, InfluenceMap has identified efforts from oil and gas industry associations to weaken key elements of the regulation, particularly measures to tackle emissions from imported fossil fuels.
The European Commission proposed new rules to prevent methane leakage in the energy sector in December 2021, which aimed to tackle methane emissions through improvements in monitoring and reporting of emissions, obligations for leak detection and repair, and measures to eliminate routine venting and flaring. The EU is dependent on imports for over 80% of its fossil gas consumption. As such, the European Commission debated extending the coverage of the regulation to the full energy supply chain, to act on imported fossil fuels
Following previous lobbying efforts by oil & gas and utilities industry actors, the Commission’s 2021 proposal did not introduce measures for methane emissions from imported fossil gas aside from the use of “diplomatic dialogue” with international partners. A similar position was also taken by the EU Council in its approach for the regulation, which did not take any action on imports. In May 2023, however, the European Parliament proposed a more ambitious position than both the Commission and Council on imported fossil fuels, stating they should be included in the regulation from 2026.
With a possibility of action on methane emissions from imported fossil fuels in the EU Methane Regulation, the oil and gas sector appears to have rekindled its efforts in its engagement with European policymakers:
In a September 5th letter to European policymakers, European oil & gas sector industry associations including GasNaturally, Eurogas and the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP) pushed to weaken key elements of the EU Methane Regulation. The letter called for less frequent leak detection and repair measures, reducing the policy scope by excluding plugged and abandoned wells, and advocated against the inclusion of imported fossil fuels.
Several oil and gas industry associations, including the American Petroleum Institute (API), Eurogas, and the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP) sent a joint letter to European policymakers calling for the exclusion of imported fossil fuels in the EU Methane Regulation in an attempt to weaken the climate ambition of the policy. The letter called for existing contracts to gain exemptions from rules on imports and raised the risk of energy security concerns as a result of including imports in the policy.
The trilogue negotiations, which began in September, are expected to be finalized before the end of the year. InfluenceMap will continue to track engagement from the oil and gas industry on the policy up to its conclusion. The final outcome of the EU Methane Regulation has global implications, as other countries that plan to release new methane regulations will look at how the EU sets the standard.
In February 2023, New Jersey’s Governor signed three executive orders on climate, including the initiation of a plan to reduce emissions from the gas sector. In observance with this last order – Executive Order 317 – the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) opened a proceeding to receive input on how the gas industry can help to meet the state’s GHG emissions reduction target of 50% below 2006 levels by 2030. As described below, no utility has expressed clear support for phasing out fossil gas and New Jersey’s largest utility, PSEG, appears to be directly advocating for a long-term role for fossil gas. The absence of active support on the proceeding may impact the ambition of any final policies on the issue.
Several utilities – Consolidated Edison (Con Edison) subsidiary Rockland Electric Company, Exelon subsidiary Atlantic City Electric, and NRG Energy – submitted comments that focused on planning process concerns without disclosing a clear position on the role of fossil gas in the energy transition. InfluenceMap data shows that all three companies have previously engaged to weaken electrification policies, including Con Edison’s July 2022 comments with the Utility Consultation Group on the New York Draft Scoping Plan, Exelon’s March 2022 opposition to Maryland’s gas ban legislation via its subsidiaries, and NRG’s February 2022 comments on the NJBPU’s gas capacity docket.
Meanwhile, Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) clearly advocated for measures that would prolong the role of fossil gas in the state. In its comments, the utility stated that “greater electrification will not deliver the promised emissions reductions unless the replacement electricity is clean'' and pushed for a “broad approach” that included a role for both hydrogen produced from renewables and hydrogen produced from fossil gas. In addition, PSEG recommended that the state pursue hybrid heat pumps – composed of both an electric heat pump and a gas furnace – as an emissions' reduction strategy for buildings. In advocating for these measures that would extend the role of gas infrastructure, the utility is standing in the way of ambitious decarbonization in the state.