Marin transportation sales tax extension gliding to fall ballot

A half-cent sales tax renewal program to support Marin transportation projects is likely to get final approval later this month to appear on November’s ballot.

The Transportation Authority of Marin has sent the plan to Marin city and town councils for consideration. So far all of the councils have given approval, with Sausalito to be the last to take the issue up later this month. A majority of cities need to sign off on the plan and that has been assured.

The TAM board itself gave an initial approval to get the plan on the November ballot when it met last week. A final approval is expected July 26, followed by a request of the Board of Supervisors to put the issue on the November ballot. The supervisors are compelled by law to put it on the ballot, according to TAM.

The sales tax is not new, but a continuation of one passed in 2004 as Measure A, a 20-year plan.

That tax will continue to March 2025, but transportation officials are looking to extend that tax for 30 years at an earlier date. A simple extension of the tax would restart it on April 1, 2019, if approved by voters and allow the transportation authority to update and change its spending plan as needs shift. At a half cent, the tax yields close to $25 million annually.

“The current tax is 15 years old and restrictive,” said Dianne Steinhauser, executive director of TAM, noting key projects currently can’t be funded with sales taxes because of the 2004 ballot language.

Among other things, officials say the sales tax renewal would:

• Provide local matching funds to accelerate completion of the Marin-Sonoma Narrows widening and a Highway 101/Interstate 580 direct connector.

• Provide funding to improve operations and enhance safety at interchanges and access routes to and from Highway 101 throughout the county.

• Dedicate funding for commute alternatives and trip reduction programs that reduce peak hour congestion.

The program would also address roads in relation to sea-level rise, support alternative fuel vehicles, expand the crossing guard program, create limited school bus service and retain the Safe Routes to Schools program for students.

There would be an annual review of plans and a more intensive look every six years that could result in changes if approved by the TAM board and a majority of cities and towns.

A TAM poll released earlier this year showed 47.5 percent of voters would “definitely” vote yes for a sales tax renewal, while 30.4 percent would “probably” vote yes. Pollsters consider that as 77.9 percent in support of the measure. A two-thirds approval — 66.67 percent — is needed to pass a sales tax. The poll had a margin of error of 3.47 percent.

When presented with potential opposition arguments — the gas tax has gone up, traffic is worse than ever, the measure would be growth inducing — and other information, overall support dropped to 73.2 percent.

Marin’s Coalition of Sensible Taxpayers has yet to review the proposal, but is set to meet with TAM officials within the next week to go over parameters before taking a position, said Mimi Willard, a member of the group.

“We have to get educated on the issue first before we can offer an opinion,” Willard said.

http://www.marinij.com/article/NO/20180704/NEWS/180709923

15 arrested in Hillsborough construction fraud sting, one for the eighth time

TAMPA — The contractors arriving at the Brandon home thought they were meeting with a potential customer. They were wrong.

In fact, the would-be clients were undercover detectives and the contractors, lacking a license to ply their trade, left the home in handcuffs.

The recent sting by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, dubbed Operation Bring Down the House and conducted in May and June, netted 15 arrests, Sheriff Chad Chronister said at a news conference Wednesday. Charges are pending against five more suspects.

Two of the contractors are repeat offenders snagged in a previous Sheriff’s Office sting, Chronister said. A third, 49-year-old Paul G. Gordon, who did business as 813 Handyman, had eight prior charges of contracting without a license.

"To the unlicensed contractors who wish to conduct their business in Hillsborough County, we will continue to aggressively target you until you stop preying on our community," Chronister said.

Two detectives reached out to 91 suspected unlicensed contractors through social media sites like Craig’s List, Yelp, Facebook and Porch. A majority of the suspects told the detectives they could do the work on the cheap by not pulling permits, Chronister said.

When the contractors were unable to provide proof of license, they were arrested on the spot.

The value of the contracted work totaled more than $175,000, according to Sheriff’s Office.

Chronister said unlicensed contractors sometimes take payment but fail to complete the work, if they begin at all, and the work they do is often shoddy. He urged homeowners to be wary and confirm that contractors are licensed before hiring them.

"Protect yourself," he said. "Knowledge is power."

Conracting without a license is a first degree misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and fine of up to $1,000. A second offense can result in a felony charge.

The two contractors involved in a prior sting were William L. Moore, 57, and Donald E. Tucker, 55, who did business as Rent A Husband and Rent A Handyman.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/15-arrested-in-Hillsborough-construction-fraud-sting-one-for-the-eighth-time_169317814

Trump order establishes interagency Ocean Policy Committee

US President Donald Trump issued an executive order establishing an interagency Ocean Policy Committee, which will replace the National Ocean Council and nine regional planning bodies that President Barack Obama established in 2010. The June 19 action will establish more-streamlined federal coordination and empower states by eliminating duplicative federal bureaucracy, the White House said.

Seven US House Natural Resources Committee Democrats immediately asked Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) for a hearing on what Ranking Minority Member Raul M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said was a destructive cancellation of many portions in a successful program.

“President Trump is unilaterally throwing out many components of the [National Ocean Policy] and the decades of work and input from Congress, two previous administrations, policy experts, and the American public that went into its creation,” Grijalva and the six other committee Democrats told Bishop in their June 19 letter.

Reps. Nanette Barragan, Jim Costa, Jared Huffman, and Alan Lowenthal, all from California; Rep. Don Beyer (Va.); and Del. Madeleine Bordallo (Guam) also signed the letter.

National Ocean Industries Association Pres. Randall B. Luthi welcomed Trump’s action, which he said addressed both Obama’s NOP and its associated Marine Spatial Planning Initiative “which caused consternation, uncertainty, and concern for the offshore energy industry and other ocean stakeholders.”

The offshore oil and gas industry and many others largely viewed the MSP initiative as an uber-bureaucratic “solution” to a government-imposed problem, Luthi said. In addition, not all stakeholders and activities were treated equally in the zoning process, he said.

Luthi noted, “This renewed broad vision will hopefully encourage productive partnerships, recognizing a wide variety of ocean uses, all leading to increased economic, environmental, and energy security for America through job creation, economic activity, and energy development.

https://www.ogj.com/articles/2018/06/trump-order-establishes-interagency-ocean-policy-committee.html

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao confronts immigration protesters

WASHINGTON >> Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao confronted protesters Monday after they accosted her and her husband, Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, over the Trump administration’s temporarily halted policy of separating migrant children from their parents at the southern border.

It was the latest heated skirmish, documented on social media, between officials representing the administration and activists furious over some of its most divisive policies.

In a video posted on Twitter by one of the protesters, a small group of Georgetown students walked up to Chao and McConnell on the university’s campus as they were about to enter a black SUV and leave. One protester began asking the pair, “Why are you separating families?” as audio of immigrant children crying for their parents through sobs played in the background.

McConnell entered the SUV, but Chao stopped to confront the protesters as they gathered around the back of the car.

“Why don’t you leave my husband alone?” she said. “Why don’t you leave my husband alone?”

“I’m not trying to disrespect you,” one protester said, “but he’s separating families.”

“He is not,” Chao said, as a security guard separated her from the clamoring group, escorting her to the other side of the SUV. “He is not.”

“You leave him alone,” she added, raising her voice and pointing admonishingly at the protesters. “You leave my husband alone.”

“How does he sleep at night?” another protester yelled as Chao climbed into the car.

As the administration and lawmakers grapple with a political and public relations crisis over the struggle to reunite separated families and frustrations over floundering efforts to pass immigration legislation, Chao and McConnell are the latest officials to face public wrath outside their political offices.

On Friday, the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, was asked to leave a Virginia restaurant because of her affiliation with the administration. On Monday, the neighbors of Stephen Miller, a top administration adviser known for his hard-line immigration views, endured protesters outside his Washington apartment. (Miller was attending Trump’s rally in South Carolina at the time.)

The increase in clashes instigated by private citizens determined to publicly shame conservative government officials — notably endorsed by Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif. — has divided Democrats over how best to oppose the administration.

“We wanted to ask him a very simple, yet impactful question: Why are you separating families?” said Roberto, the Georgetown student who filmed the encounter. He declined to give his last name because of online threats and backlash. “For me, staying silent is not an option.”

Roberto, an intern with United We Dream, an immigration advocacy group, said the students also wanted to press the possibility of defunding Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection over their involvement in the separation of families.

Chao, herself an immigrant, has defended her husband before: Last summer, pressed on apparent tensions between McConnell and the president, she told reporters, “I stand by my man — both of them.”

The Transportation Department did not respond to a request for comment on the episode, and a spokesman for McConnell’s office declined to comment.

http://www.staradvertiser.com/2018/06/27/breaking-news/transportation-secretary-elaine-chao-confronts-immigration-protesters/

DOI official expects ANWR leasing draft EIS by fourth quarter

The US Department of the Interior expects to publish an initial environmental impact statement (EIS) on oil and gas leasing on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s coastal plain during this year’s fourth quarter as scheduled, Assistant Sec. for Land and Mineral Management Joe Balash told reporters on June 15. He spoke just before a final public hearing in Washington on the matter where opponents demanded more time to gather comments, which now must be submitted by June 19.

“We have to pay attention to every comment we get,” Balash said. “I won’t be surprised if we get a half-million comments. Congress has given us a job to do, and specific deadlines. By mid-July, we’ll know whether we’ll be able to fit what we’ve learned into that schedule.”

An interagency team with representatives from the US Bureau of Land Management and US Fish & Wildlife Service—the two DOI agencies that directly oversee the proposed leasing area—along with officials and staff from Alaska’s comparable state agencies and other experts will begin to develop alternatives in July and environmental consequences evaluations through the summer, Balash said.

Oil and gas leasing on ANWR’s coastal plain was authorized and two sales scheduled as a provision in the federal tax reform bill that Congress passed, and President Donald Trump signed in late 2017. The process formally began when BLM announced in April that it would begin taking comments about ANWR Coastal Plain leasing (OGJ Online, Apr. 20, 2018).

Evaluations during this initial phase will consider broad leasing issues, Balash said. Subsequent examinations will consider pre-lease and post-lease geophysical exploration; drilling permit applications for exploration and development; operations and production; inspection and enforce; and reclamation as the 1970 National Environmental Policy Act requires.

“For a lot of reasons, these NEPA processes have been spread out historically, partly as a result of micromanagement in DC instead of involving agencies’ state and local offices,” said Balash, who formerly was commissioner of Alaska’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The initial EIS will be focused on leasing, while the Integrated Activity Plan, which comes later, will address subsequent stages of activity that require their own EISs under NEPA, he said.

Public scoping is working

Balash said the public scoping process has been very successful so far, with a full range of public input from Alaskans. “When we had our very first meeting in Arctic Village, the environmental officer for the Native tribe that lives there pointed out the significance of lichens for the antelope herd. That’s important information we didn’t have before,” he said.

Lessons learned from whaling conflict avoidance agreements could be applied to caribou migration, Balash said. “Alaska has learned a lot over the decades, particularly about protecting caribou. It’s also worth noting that FWS and [US Geological Survey] scientists already have done a lot of research on the local flora and fauna,” he said.

Oil and gas exploration, production, and transportation technology that has been developed in the more than 40 years of activity on Alaska’s North Slope could keep new projects’ actual footprints small, he added. “We have a lot of building blocks to work with already.”

Witnesses at the hearing that followed included both supporters and opponents of ANWR coastal plain oil and gas leasing, including speakers from the two main Alaska Native groups in the area. “I have heard strong local support on this issue,” said Cactovic Mayor John Hobson Jr., who is an Inupiat. “People live on this land, not just herds of caribou and elk. Our message has always been about balance. We have done it for decades.”

Tanya Garnett, a Gwich’in from Arctic Village, said, “I’m here to represent my people at home, those who came before us, and those who will come after. There are only a few of us here today, but we represent thousands who still practice their traditional ways. Why is there a rush to push an EIS, which normally takes years to develop, through in a single year?”

Not time for short cuts

Other witnesses agreed. “This is certainly not the time for BLM to take short cuts on the leasing process. We strongly urge it to take no action on leasing,” said Wilderness Society Pres. Jamie Williams. “BLM also needs to take a closer look at the coastal plain’s wilderness character,” suggested Alaska Wilderness League Executive Director Adam Kolton. “It needs to examine notions ideas such as minimum big requirements, wildlife impacts, and international treaty requirements.”

The state’s current DNR Commissioner Andy Mack said, “Alaska believes that 40 years’ experience with oil and gas activity on the tundra shows this can be done, but the communities there need to be involved. Alaska’s government sees the balance between conservation and development as the state’s guiding principle. Our request is that when DOI develops its leasing plans, it treats traditional and scientific knowledge equally.”

Alaska State Senate Resources Committee Chair Cathy Giessel (R-Anchorage) urged DOI to consider positive impacts ANS oil and gas development has had on people who live there, noting that their life expectancies grew more quickly than elsewhere in the US from 1980 to 2014. “Oil production began in 1979, and brought health benefits not only for local residents, but for all of Alaska. That’s why Alaskan public opinions strongly support oil and gas development,” she said.

Richard Ranger, an American Petroleum Institute senior policy advisor who spent 13 years in Alaska, said advances in environmental management practices, couple with oversight from federal, state, and local agencies, have combined to minimize and, in many cases, avoid impacts to the tundra and wildlife.

“Wells that were once spaced about 120 ft apart now are drilled as closely as 10 ft. With grind and inject technology, drilling wastes are safely reinjected underground into isolated geologic formations, eliminating the need for surface storage areas or reserve pits that were customary during the early years of the Prudhoe Bay field’s development,” he said.

Wants thorough, honest process

“Ninety-nine percent of the North Slope Borough’s revenue comes from oil and gas activity in the region,” said Cara Moriarty, president of the Alaska Oil & Gas Association in Anchorage. DOI said in a 1987 report that ANWR’s 1002 Area was the nation’s best onshore crude oil opportunity, Moriarty said. “The industry makes modifications for wildlife. It’s important that BLM has a thorough and honest process.”

Richard Glenn, executive vice-president for lands and natural resources at Arctic Slope Regional Corp., Alaska’s largest private employer, said “Only by taxing the presence of the industry in our region have we been able to build schools and hospitals. The industry’s activity has not harmed wildlife populations. The animals truly have the right of way, and the people have benefited. The survival of our people and their villages depends on continued oil and gas development.”

About 35 opponents rallied outside before the hearing and were in attendance once it began. Others opposed to ANWR coastal plain leasing participated in a teleconference that morning, including Sally Jewell, who was US Interior Secretary during President Barack Obama’s second term.

“It’s absolutely essential that human rights be taken into account as well as environmental consequences,” Jewell said. “It has been the government’s tradition to look at resources for extraction potential alone. This needs to change. We have seen that there are human and environmental consequences, something the current administration apparently disregards.”

https://www.ogj.com/articles/2018/06/doi-official-expects-anwr-leasing-draft-eis-by-fourth-quarter.html

Oil And Gas Executives Bemoan The Pace Of The Digital Transformation

At the recent EAGE Annual 2018 conference in Copenhagen I heard views of oil and gas executives about the pace of the digital transformation for the industry. The sector has the luxury of a price system that is set by factors outside their direct control. Until the recent oil price crash, it was often set in such a way that it allowed it to generate relatively healthy profits and to tolerate a great deal of inefficiency in its processes.

These days are probably gone and as the energy transition takes hold they will certainly disappear. “That mindset of what made our business profitable was the basis of change,” John Etgen, distinguished advisor to BP said. “Now I think you will see the strong survive and the weak will perish.”

Etgen is adamant that digitization is not about replacing domain expertise, but that the pace of adoption is linked to a basic necessity to remain profitable. “We still need people who fundamentally understand how the earth works, that’s not going away,” he added.

“There have been impacts because of the investment climate in our business, quite frankly we compete for capital with many other economic contributors on the planet, so we have to build a value proposition that attracts capital. If we can’t build it, we can’t execute at the pace of change we want to.”

Attracting new talent

Ashok Belani, EVP technology at Schlumberger agreed that the pace of digital transformation is very slow and one consequence of that is that the bright Millennials are not attracted to seek employment within the industry.

“It could be a lot faster and because the pace of transformation is so slow it has had a snowball effect by decreasing our attractiveness to young people who won’t join our industry,” he said. “The human capital is not that great and there are many industries competing for this human capital. Our industry’s stance must be that it likes the idea of transforming digitally and be passionate about it. If it is not like that we will not attract the right people.”

Belani pointed to a lack of understanding about the opportunities. “The reason the pace is slow is that at the level that people execute there are still plenty of people who don’t know what they don’t know,” he said. “The understanding of what the capabilities are is not good enough, certainly at senior management level in the oil and gas business. They need to learn about it, get passionate about it. If not, learn about it then accept that this is something that is going to happen and to adopt it and move with it.”

Some of the lack of speed can be put down to people trying to protect their jobs that will naturally affect the pace of change. “We are less aggressive than some industry and we are asking ourselves far too many questions and putting concerns where they don’t need to be, so that slows down the pace of transformation,” Belani added. “As an industry, we need to get on with it.”

A no win situation

Darryl Harris, chief geophysicist at Woodside explained that the industry is in a Catch 22 situation. He also added that oil and gas projects have long lead times and take a while to come to fruition; it is a long path from discovery to ready for start-up (RFSU). “Part of the problem here is that we don’t have the collective intelligence that digitization would bring, we don’t leverage all of the data we have all of the time along with the history and experience we have,” he said.

“We could make those decisions a lot faster and a lot more wisely if we had collective intelligence and didn’t have to rely on our deep silos of technical expertise. If we could look across those silos we could speed things up.” He believes that the digital transformation is the leverage that will enable the industry to move faster, but it needs to be able to leverage all the information at its disposal.

“It is because we don’t have that digitization that we can’t go faster,” he concluded. “That is there for several reasons, not least the diversity of the community that we have to work with. People have different views, there are some reservations about security but the sooner we get started, the faster it will progress.”

Michael Borrell, SVP E&P North Sea, Total agreed that there is no doubt that the industry is too slow adopting digital technologies and he points to people and mindsets as the heart of the problem. “Ultimately it is a business we are in and we need to remain profitable,” he said. “For me, digital transformation is all about cost, performance, safety and adding value.

"What I say about people and mindsets is we need to make sure that we are comfortable with being uncomfortable. We need to be excited about the unknown in front of us because we don’t know where it’s going. We need to think big even if we start with small steps.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/markvenables/2018/06/17/oil-and-gas-executives-bemoan-the-pace-of-the-digital-transformation/#3a2309e57871

Investment Gears to Gas as Nearly Half of Senior Oil and Gas Professionals Prep for Energy Transition

Nearly two-thirds (64%) of oil and gas sector leaders expect to increase or sustain spending on gas projects in 2018, as the sector prepares for gas to overtake oil as the world’s primary energy source in the mid-2030s.

Confidence in the case for gas is growing, according to a survey by DNV GL, a technical advisor to the industry. The vast majority (86%) of the 813 senior industry professionals surveyed agree that gas - the least carbon-intensive fossil fuel - will play an increasingly important role in the global energy mix over the next decade, up from 77% last year.

The findings appear in Transition in Motion, a special report from DNV GL’s research on the outlook for the oil and gas industry in 2018. It reveals the primary driver for investment in natural gas and LNG projects this year is the global energy transition.

The pace of the oil and gas industry’s intentions to lower carbon emissions differs by region, however. Just a third of survey respondents in North America (33%) say that their company is actively preparing for the shift to a lower carbon energy mix this year, compared to more than half (51%) in Middle East and North Africa.

The stage is set for gas to become the largest single source of energy. Demand for it will peak in the mid-2030s, well after the use of each of the other fossil fuels has gone into long-term decline, according to DNV GL’s 2017 Energy Transition Outlook, an independent forecast of the global energy mix in the lead-up to the mid-century. The model predicts the industry’s intentions for increasing gas investments will accelerate in the early-2020s as major oil companies decarbonize their business portfolios.

“Society’s transition to a less carbon-intensive energy mix is already a reality, and oil and gas will continue to be crucial components. Our research affirms that the industry is already taking positive steps to secure the important role we forecast gas to play in helping to meet future, lower-carbon energy requirements,” said Liv Hovem, CEO, DNV GL- Oil & Gas.

“Significant investment will be needed in the gas industry over the coming decades to increase capacity, transform assets to source and transport a decarbonized mix of energies, and to safely build and maintain the infrastructure needed to connect emerging supply regions with evolving demand centres,” Hovem added.

Power generation is predicted to be the primary consumer of gas in most regions, though manufacturing could demand similar volumes in emerging markets. DNV GL’s 2017 Energy Transition Outlook suggests that North East Eurasia and the Middle East and North Africa will increase gas output towards 2040 at least, overtaking North America as the world’s largest gas producer. Production is also forecast to double in China, the Indian Subcontinent and South East Asia.

http://www.tdworld.com/utility-business/investment-gears-gas-nearly-half-senior-oil-and-gas-professionals-prep-energy

ExxonMobil Australia mulls LNG import terminal

ExxonMobil Australia is considering the import of LNG into eastern Australia to help ease the predicted shortfall of gas supply from 2021 and protect its existing market share.

The company also is increasing its exploration program in Bass Strait as well as considering the development of a field extension called West Barracouta.

“Combined with the existing Gippsland basin resource and infrastructure, an LNG import facility could ensure that ExxonMobil can continue to meet our customers’ needs,” the company said.

The LNG facility would be timed to become operational by 2022.

Output from the Gippsland basin, dominated by ExxonMobil and the mainstay of Victorian gas production and supply for the last 50 years, is expected to fall to half of its current levels by 2022.

If ExxonMobil’s plan to import LNG proceeds, it will compete with two other import proposals: AGL Energy’s planned import terminal at Crib Point in Victoria to bring in gas from 2021 and the Japanese JERA consortium’s planned terminal at Port Kembla on the New South Wales coast to begin imports from 2020.

https://www.ogj.com/articles/2018/06/exxonmobil-australia-mulls-lng-import-terminal.html

 Discussions between Broomfield officials and Extraction Oil & Gas Inc. took an unexpected and heated turn at Tuesday night's City Council meeting.

Representatives of the oil and gas operator came to discuss aspects of their Comprehensive Drilling Plan (CDP), but ended up walking out of the meeting in protest during questioning from Ward 4 Councilman Kevin Kreeger — the council member who raised his hand first during council comments, and the only one who was able to ask questions of Extraction.

The meeting was the first of a two-part review of the CDP before it was scheduled to be approved by Broomfield officials. The second review, so far, is set for the June 26 council meeting.

Before Eric Jacobsen, senior vice president of operations for Extraction, and a handful of other Extraction representatives walked out, Kreeger pushed for answers on the cause of a December rig accident in Windsor, truck traffic and the risk registry included in the CDP.

Other council members, including Ward 5 Councilwoman Guyleen Castriotta and Mayor Randy Ahrens, had questions for Extraction that went unanswered as the meeting devolved.

Castriotta backed up comments from Kreeger, including challenging an Extraction analogy comparing the safety of an oil and gas development to driving a car. The council members argued that someone makes a choice to drive a vehicle, compared to having a large-scale industrial site move into the neighborhood.

She also took issue with Extraction's assertions about its safety culture. Earlier in the meeting, Jacobsen said the company has drilled 71 wells with zero fatalities and zero spills leaving oil pads.

"Just because you say something's safe doesn't make it so," she said.

Ward 3 Councilman Deven Shaff also defended Kreeger, saying Jacobsen set the tone at the beginning of the agenda item by making "personal attacks" and "condescending statements."

One example was Extraction sending a letter to Broomfield last week requesting that "certain council members recuse themselves from that deliberation due to biases they have exhibited publicly against Extraction and its plan pursuant to the operator agreement."

The risk registry referenced by Kreeger originally was prepared by Charles Taylor Co. for Broomfield as a tool to register hazards associated with oil and gas operations. Broomfield officials asked Extraction to use the data to create a registry as part of the CDP that indicates the "likelihood" of each risk listed.

Kreeger said the number the company submitted in its CDP shows a 57 percent chance of a catastrophic fault over the lifetime of the project; Extraction representatives said that they reported figures based on what Broomfield provided.

Chris Moss, who developed the registry and who now works at Compass Risk Services LLC, has indicated that it is not intended to be used as a tool to calculate overall risk of a catastrophic incident at all well sites, but merely to register risks — the probability of the individual risk over the lifetime of the 84 wells, and to delineate mitigation measures that would reduce the probability of each risk.

Those risk percentages, which Jacobsen said were not assigned by Extraction but by a lone risk assessor, are elevated. He said the company is in full compliance with the risk management portion for the CDP and that percentages were not part of that.

"We believe the percentages included in the task force's registry are outlandishly too high," Jacobsen said.

While Extraction officials went back and forth with Kreeger, he announced that he was going to finish his comments, and that the Extraction representatives could "sit down." He then said "see ya" as they started to walk away.

"They chose to leave. I didn't tell them to leave," Kreeger said moments later.

"I am sorry that they left, Mike," Kreeger said, addressing Ward 2 Councilman Mike Shelton, who had raised his arms in a questioning gesture. "I truly am."

Concerning Windsor, Jacobsen had said the company conducted an internal analysis that was provided to the state, and that the regulatory body — the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission — was satisfied with Extraction's findings. Sending Broomfield a 14-point letter addressing the Windsor accident went "above and beyond" what was required of them, Extraction representatives said.

During his presentation, Jacobsen said Broomfield delaying approval of the CDP — beyond what was called for in its own municipal code — "was illustrative of concerning behavior."

"This is a document that should have been administratively approved by staff weeks, if not months, ago," Jacobsen said.

Extraction representatives were told by Broomfield staff that they were looking for consensus, or a "head nod," from the council before approving the plan.

Kreeger said he took "great exception" to the perception that Extraction is telling the council, and the public, that it is somehow holding up the process. He said plans, the first of which were submitted Dec. 17, contained hundreds of errors and even referenced incorrect pad sites.

"It was a piece of garbage," Kreeger said. "The idea we should have approved this weeks or months ago is ridiculous."

Ward 1 Councilwoman Elizabeth Law-Evans thanked Broomfield resident Lois Vanderkooi for her comments earlier in the evening about how human brains respond to bullying.

"I'm certainly not a mental health professional, but the thought just crossed my mind that, 'did we just see a textbook response of that just a few minutes ago?'" Law-Evans said, after Extraction representatives left the meeting.

She said she felt the meeting had turned into a conflict instead of a discussion.

"I think there's a lot of hostility. I think there's a lot of what my kids learn at school as 'othering' were you can stick the other side in a box and depersonalize them," she said. "You can call them nasty names and say mean things about them, and you don't have to worry about their feelings because they're the 'other.'"



Law-Evans said she was sad and upset about how the evening turned out because she wanted to have a substantive discussion about the issues — and instead Broomfield could be facing a lawsuit Wednesday morning. Law-Evans said she hopes the discussion continues leading up to the June 26 city council meeting.

"I don't like the idea of oil and gas — more development because we already have some. I don't like the idea of more of it coming to Broomfield more than anyone else," she said. "I don't like it at all. If I had authority to keep it out, I would. We just don't have that authority."

With regard to measure 301 — the ballot issue passed by voters in November that codifies placing the health and safety of Broomfield residents first in oil and gas matters — Law-Evans said she thinks Broomfield kept to the "spirit" of the ballot initiative. She said Broomfield officials used the power they had via a memorandum of understanding with Extraction to influence negotiations and come up with best-management practices. Broomfield staff took "tiny slivers" of leverage and through negotiations and persuasion, and turned them into more protections for Broomfield citizens.

"It's not a discussion anymore," she said. "I think we're heading in a brand new direction."

Broomfield currently has 96 wells, according to Tami Yellico, director of strategic initiatives, said in response to council questions.

Jeff Bybee, deputy chief of operations with North Metro Fire Rescue District, said he can only speak anecdotally, but that in the 36 years he's been with the district, he has seen only a handful of catastrophic events from existing wells. Some resulted in injury, he said, including one death. All were people working on oil and gas sites.

Law-Evans said using that 50 percent risk assessment, Broomfield should have seen 40 catastrophic events.

"It doesn't ring true," she said. "It doesn't make sense."

http://www.broomfieldenterprise.com/news/ci_31942288/heated-exchange-at-council-meeting-leads-oil-firm

Construction worker killed in 'targeted execution' at Pasco job site

The Pasco County sheriff says a construction worker was shot and killed in a "targeted execution" at a job site in Wesley Chapel on Wednesday.

The sheriff's office responded to reports of shots fired at a home on Marsciano Lane in the Estancia at Wiregrass subdivision around 12:49 p.m. and found Heans Gianni Alvarez dead at the scene.

Alvarez was part of a crew working at the home and was on a break with other crew members when two black men walked into the house.

Deputies say the men passed by the other workers, tapped Alvarez on the leg and then shot and killed him.

The suspects are described as two light-skinned black men that are about 5'3" with short dread-like hair.

The sheriff's office says this was an isolated incident, and stress that there is no danger to the community.

https://www.wfla.com/news/pasco-county/worker-shot-killed-at-construction-site-in-wesley-chapel/1268074208

Dfcu Bank Rolls Out Skilling Programme To Support Oil & Gas Local Content Agenda

KAMPALA, UGANDA- At least 100 business leaders from across different sectors will benefit from dfcu Bank’s Oil and Gas local content skilling and sensitization program every month.

As part of the Business Accelerator Program, dfcu has planned a series of workshops targeting multiple sectors that can potentially take up opportunities in the Oil and Gas sector.

William Sekabembe , the dfcu Executive Director & Chief Commercial Officer underscored their aptness at supporting the local content agenda through an Accelerator programme that provides skills and training as well as provision of financial solutions.

“We have taken deliberate steps to form partnerships that give us access to cheap funds making it possible for us to extend long term financing at favorable rates,” said Sekabembe.

According to Harriet Kiwanuka, the Head Oil & Gas sector at dfcu, the Bank has a suite of be spoke financing solutions for local suppliers in the Oil & Gas Sector.

“We have developed innovative and flexible financial solutions to ensure that financing is made available on terms which meet the requirements of both local content services providers and the Bank” She said.

The workshops are aimed at providing an enabling environment for local content service providers to enhance their operational capacity and access to financing.

Over Thirty (30) medical practitioners, under their Umbrella body – the Uganda Private Medical Practitioners Association, attended the first session that was held at the dfcu Tower in Kampala.

They held extensive discussions on a range of issues including health, safety and environment; opportunities and standards in medical services, legal and regulatory framework in the Oil and Gas sector and access to finance.

http://www.busiweek.com/dfcu-bank-rolls-out-skilling-programme-to-support-oil-gas-local-content-agenda/

Rescue crews free man trapped after construction accident

CARMEL, Ind. (WTHR) - Rescue crews in Hamilton County freed a construction worker who was trapped in a hole Tuesday morning.

The incident happened near 131st and Towne Road in Carmel at a new home construction site.

The man was working on a foundation around a house. when the dirt gave way and trapped him.

Carmel Fire along with help from a trench rescue team from Westfield worked to free the man.

Medics transported the man to the hospital to be treated for a broken leg.

https://www.wthr.com/article/rescue-crews-free-man-trapped-after-construction-accident

U.S. And Russia To Dominate World’s Oil & Gas Pipeline Spending

The U.S. shale boom and the massive Russian expansion of natural gas pipelines will make the United States and Russia the dominant spenders on oil, petroleum products, and natural gas pipelines through 2022, data and analytics company GlobalData says in a new report.

The other big spenders between 2018 and 2022 will be Canada, China, and Nigeria, according to the analytics firm.

The U.S. will be leading the capital expenditure (capex) on oil and gas pipelines, with an estimated US$88.4 billion on new pipelines by 2022, while Russia is seen spending US$78.8 billion.

In the United States, spending on natural gas pipelines will account for around 40 percent of the total planned pipelines by 2022, with crude oil and natural gas liquids (NGL) expected to have 31-percent and 24-percent shares of expenditure, respectively.

In Russia, the spending is mostly focused on natural gas pipelines, which will account for 88 percent of the planned pipelines expected to come online by 2022. Petroleum products pipelines and oil pipelines are the next major planned pipelines with capex share of 7 percent and 4 percent, respectively.

“Booming unconventional oil and gas production is in turn driving the growth of the pipeline network in the US. More and more operators are focusing on connecting growing unconventional production with the Gulf coast for export of oil and gas,” said Soorya Tejomoortula, Oil and Gas Analyst at GlobalData.

“Russia is further expanding its massive natural gas pipelines network for exports. The country is building pipelines to transport natural gas from its production centres to demand centres such as China, Japan, India and Europe,” Tejomoortula noted.

While U.S. spending on pipelines will surge through 2022, currently, the fastest-growing oil producing region in the United States, the Permian, is nearing the limitsof its pipeline takeaway capacity and some producers may be forced to shut in wells within months, according to the chairman of one of the biggest U.S. shale producers, Pioneer Natural Resources.

“Some companies will have to shut in production, some companies will move rigs away, and some companies will be able to continue growing because they have firm transportation,” Sheffield told Bloomberg said last week.

https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/US-And-Russia-To-Dominate-Worlds-Oil-Gas-Pipeline-Spending.html