http://news.oilandgaswatch.org/

Oil and Gas Watch, Washington D.C., DC (2025)

09/19/2025

Texas company plans massive power plants to fuel 'intelligence campus' named after Trump

In the panhandle of Texas, a company is planning to build a massive gas-fired power plant and four nuclear reactors to supply energy for a data center complex – all dubbed the “President Donald J. Trump Advanced Energy and Intelligence Campus.”

The project near Amarillo is planned by Fermi America on land owned by Texas Tech University, one of the partners. The company was co-founded by former Governor Rick Perry, Trump’s Energy Secretary during his first term, and would power an 18 million square foot data center campus.

The proposed power generation “hypergrid” – which would include solar – would add up to 11 gigawatts, enough electricity to power Manhattan. Most of the generation would solely feed the data centers and not provide power for the public electrical grid.

The project joins a wave of companies proposing new gas-fired power plants in Texas and across the U.S., with at least 130 such proposals announced in the Lone Star State alone.

Fermi’s proposal is raising questions about whether it could source enough water to cool its power plants. The Texas Panhandle is a drought-prone area that only averages about 20 inches of rain per year, with dwindling supplies of groundwater that are vital to farmers.

Read the full story here: https://news.oilandgaswatch.org/post/texas-company-plans-massive-power-plants-to-fuel-intelligence-campus-named-after-trump

Watch video: https://youtu.be/PB3Ii4n0QK0

09/18/2025

A new study, published in Nature, found that 213 heat waves were substantially more likely and intense because of the activity of major fossil fuel producers, including oil, coal and cement companies.

The study found that as much as a quarter of the heatwaves would be "virtually impossible" without climate pollution from major fossil fuel producers. Some individual fossil fuel companies, such as ExxonMobil, Chevron and BP, had emissions high enough to cause some of the more extreme heat waves, the research found.

It’s clear the industry is driving extreme heat, and companies like Exxon, Chevron, and BP must be held accountable for the damage their climate pollution is inflicting on communities worldwide.

NPR article: https://www.npr.org/2025/09/11/nx-s1-5534484/oil-companies-heat-waves-climate

Systematic attribution of heatwaves to the emissions of carbon majors: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09450-9

09/18/2025

Natural gas producer applies for permits for carbon storage wells in East TX

Aethon Energy, a Dallas-based private investment firm, is seeking permits for two carbon disposal wells in Sabine and San Augustine counties. The company plans to inject carbon dioxide waste from its natural gas operations in the Haynesville Shale.

https://oilandgaswatch.org/alert/rec_d2vk6up7uo67v8p3jff0

Commission Shift , Environment Texas , Texas Campaign for the Environment , Air Alliance Houston

09/17/2025

Application filed for chemical plastics recycling plant in central GA

The Georgia Environmental Protection Division is accepting comments until Oct. 6 on an application by Brightmark for an air permit that would allow the construction of a facility in Upson County that would chemically process used plastics using a process called pyrolysis.

https://oilandgaswatch.org/alert/rec_d2tf62b6fg34frlpbvf0

Beyond Plastics , Beyond Petrochemicals ,The Georgia Conservancy , Environment Georgia , EarthShare Georgia

09/17/2025

Company plans 160 miles of natural gas pipeline to Colorado Springs

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is accepting comments until Sept. 19 on the Critical Energy Reliability Link Project, planned by a subsidiary of Kansas City-based Tallgrass Energy. The project would entail a 153-mile main route from Weld County, near the Wyoming state line, to El Paso County near Colorado Springs. It also includes a 7-mile spur in El Paso County and a compressor station.

https://news.oilandgaswatch.org/template/brief/company-plans-160-miles-of-natural-gas-pipeline-to-colorado-springs

Environment Colorado , Conservation Colorado , Colorado Sierra Club , 350 Colorado Springs , Colorado Renewable Energy Society (CRES) , Indivisible Colorado Springs , The Colorado Sun , The Gazette

09/16/2025

Public comment period open on natural gas pipelines through GA, AL, MS

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is accepting comments until Oct. 6 on the South System Expansion 4 Project and Mississippi Crossing, which add up to more than 400 miles of pipeline across the Deep South. Kinder Morgan is planning both projects to transport natural gas across Georgia, Mississippi, and Alabama.

https://oilandgaswatch.org/alert/rec_d2vk2gp7uo67v8p3jf2g

The Georgia Conservancy , Sierra Club, Alabama Chapter , Sierra Club Georgia Chapter , Environment Georgia , Alabama Rivers Alliance , Hip Hop Caucus , Mississippi Rising Coalition , Mississippi Coast Audubon Society

09/16/2025

Texas coastal city drops plans for desalination plant to provide water for industry

The City Council of Corpus Christi earlier this month voted to cancel a contract for a seawater desalination plant meant to offset high water demands from the oil and gas industry. After years of debate, escalating costs, and public opposition that played a significant role in local elections, the council voted Sept. 3 to avoid paying an additional $50 million to move forward on a design contract, according to Inside Climate News.

https://news.oilandgaswatch.org/template/brief/texas-coastal-city-drops-plans-for-desalination-plant-to-provide-water-for-industry

Texas Campaign for the Environment , For The Greater Good , Chispa TX , Indigenous Peoples of the Coastal Bend , CAPE: Coastal Alliance to Protect Our Environment , Environment Texas

09/15/2025

Public comment period open on draft air permit for chemical plastics recycling plant in western KY

The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet is accepting comments until Oct. 5 on a draft permit for Green Mountain Energy’s Plastics to Fuel plant in McCracken County. If built, the facility would be able to process up to 16,000 pounds of waste plastics per hour using pyrolysis, where plastics are vaporized to produce petroleum products.

https://oilandgaswatch.org/alert/rec_d2tgto17uo67v8p3cmq0

Beyond Plastics , Beyond Petrochemicals , Kentucky Resources Council , Kentucky Sierra Club Kentucky Environmental Education Council

09/15/2025

Map shows areas of U.S. most at risk for petrochemical air pollution

Cities and towns along the Gulf Coast are most at risk of health-damaging air pollution from the petrochemical industry, though parts of the Midwest, Appalachia, and East Coast also have high air pollution linked to cancer and other health problems, according to a recent map produced by Environmental Defense Fund.

https://news.oilandgaswatch.org/template/brief/map-shows-areas-of-u-s-most-at-risk-for-petrochemical-air-pollution

Environmental Defense Fund , Moms Clean Air Force , Environmental Health Project , Union of Concerned Scientists , Clean Air Council , Beyond Petrochemicals , Sierra Club , Environmental Health News , Grist.org

$Southwestern states struggling with drought debate the recycling of fracking wastewater Often contaminated with carcinog...$

09/12/2025

Southwestern states struggling with drought debate the recycling of fracking wastewater

Often contaminated with carcinogens like benzene and arsenic, the water that flows back up from extraction wells is expensive to store, hard to reuse, extremely brackish, and has caused countless headaches for both industry and nearby residents. Fracking sites produce billions of gallons of this “produced water” a year, and yet a safe method of disposal remains elusive.

Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas are water-starved states where oil and gas’s demand for freshwater directly imperils public and environmental health. These southwestern states are pursuing ways to make industry recycle more of its wastewater in oilfields to avoid depleting freshwater sources, as well as attempting to expand the use of this wastewater for other purposes, such as agricultural use, even as the risks of doing so remain high.

“Oil and gas development uses huge volumes of water,” said Michael Freeman, a senior attorney in Earthjustice’s Rocky Mountain office. “In the era of climate change and water scarcity, we need to conserve this resource.”

Read the full story here: https://news.oilandgaswatch.org/post/southwestern-states-struggling-with-drought-debate-the-recycling-of-fracking-wastewater

Watch video: https://youtu.be/alQVlTFu00w

Amigos Bravos , NM No False Solutions , 350 Santa Fe , Earth Care , Groundworks New Mexico , Commission Shift , Albuquerque Journal , The Santa Fe New Mexican , Source New Mexico , Texas Sierra Club , Environment Texas , Chispa TX , Public Citizen Texas , Texas Campaign for the Environment , The Midland Reporter-Telegram , Conservation Colorado , The Denver Post , The Colorado Sun , The Coloradoan , Colorado Sierra Club , 350 Colorado

09/11/2025

Energy Department approves LNG exports from southwest LA terminal

On Aug. 29, the Department of Energy issued a final authorization for the Commonwealth LNG terminal in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, to export natural gas to countries with which the U.S. does not have a free trade agreement. The final order comes after a preliminary approval in February, following President Donald Trump's executive order to begin approving natural gas exports to foreign countries "as expeditiously as possible."

https://oilandgaswatch.org/alert/rec_d2re2ij6fg34frlp2e9g

For a Better Bayou , The Vessel Project of Louisiana , FISH - Fishermen Involved in Sustaining our Heritage , micah 6:8 mission , Habitat Recovery Project

09/10/2025

Federal approval upheld for LNG export terminal, pipeline in South TX

On Aug. 29, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission upheld its prior decision to approve Rio Grande LNG, a liquified natural gas export terminal in Cameron County, Texas, and the associated Rio Bravo Pipeline. A federal appeals court had required that FERC revisit the decision after legal challenges from community and environmental groups.

https://oilandgaswatch.org/alert/rec_d2p1447cfi5rpbe2qjo0

South Texas Environmental Justice Network , Texas RioGrande Legal Aid , Texas Sierra Club , Texas , Chispa TX , SAVE RGV from LNG

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