Overnight Energy & Environment — The impact of Russia’s invasion

by Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk - 02/24/22 7:13 PM ET

Welcome to Thursday’s Overnight Energy & Environment, your source for the latest news focused on energy, the environment and beyond. Subscribe here: digital-staging.thehill.com/newsletter-signup.

Today we’re looking at Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and several of its implications and effects on energy and the environment. Ukraine says Russia has targeted its military infrastructure, among other areas, and Ukraine’s Health Minister reported 57 casualties so far.

For The Hill, we’re Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk. Write to us with tips: rfrazin@digital-staging.thehill.com and zbudryk@digital-staging.thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @RachelFrazin and @BudrykZack.

Let’s jump in.

Oil jumps, Biden suggests reserve release

President Biden suggested on Thursday that the U.S. may release oil from its strategic reserve after prices soared amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In a speech delivered Thursday addressing the developing conflict between Russia and the former Soviet state, Biden said he was coordinating with both oil producing and oil consuming nations, and that the U.S. could release oil of its own.

“We are actively working with countries around the world to elevate collective release from the strategic petroleum reserves of major energy consuming companies, and the United States will release additional barrels of oil as conditions warrant,” he said.

“I will do everything in my power to limit the pain that people are feeling at the gas pump,” the president added.

So how high did oil prices get? The price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate Crude, the baseline for U.S. oil prices, was up to $98.78 shortly after 9:30 a.m. Intercontinental Exchange Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, reached $104.15 a barrel.

During his remarks on Thursday afternoon, the president announced additional sanctions levied on two major Russian banks and imposed export controls to curtail high-tech Russian imports.

…but not for energy: He added the sanctions package the United States has placed on Russia was “specifically designed to allow energy payments to continue.”

As of 2019, fossil fuels accounted for more than half of U.S. imports from Russia.

And, Biden had a harsh warning for U.S. energy companies: “American oil and gas companies should not exploit this moment to hike their prices to raise profits,” he said.

Read more about Biden’s comments here and read more from The Hill’s Sylvan Lane about oil prices here.

Chernobyl fighting raises green concerns

Russian forces took the Chernobyl power plant — the site of a 1986 nuclear disaster, according to Ukrainian officials.

The plant is located north of the Ukraine’s Capitol City of Kyiv.

Anton Gerashchenko, a Ukranian Interior Ministry Adviser, warned in a Facebook post of potential environmental issues amid the violence.

“If the invaders artillery hits and ruins / damages the collectors of nuclear waste , radioactive nuclear dust can can be spread over the territory of Ukraine, Belarus and the country of the EU!” Gerashchenko wrote.

And Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted “Our defenders are giving their lives so that the tragedy of 1986 will not be repeated…This is a declaration of war against the whole of Europe.”

GET ON THE LIST

CUTTING TIES 2 NORDSTREAM

Lobbying firms have terminated their contracts with the company behind the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline after the U.S. imposed sanctions on the Russian firm in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

BGR Group and Roberti Global said Thursday that they severed ties with the pipeline operator Nord Stream 2 AG, which is wholly controlled by a subsidiary of Russian state-owned natural gas firm Gazprom.

“BGR is ending its engagement with the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project in compliance with economic and trade sanctions announced by the U.S. government,” a BGR Group spokesperson said in a statement.

In response to Russia’s attacks on Ukraine, President Biden on Wednesday imposed sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which would have brought Russian natural gas to Germany.

Nord Stream 2 AG spent millions of dollars on lobbying in recent years in an attempt to stop lawmakers from imposing sanctions on the firm. The Biden administration waived Trump-era sanctions on the pipeline last year, sparking pushback from Democrats and Republicans.

Some numbers: Last year alone, Nord Stream 2 AG paid Roberti Global $2.4 million to lobby lawmakers, according to research group OpenSecrets. It dispatched the firm’s chairman, Vin Roberti, a prominent Democratic fundraiser who helped advise Biden’s 2008 presidential campaign.

“We are terminating our engagement on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project in compliance with U.S. sanctions,” said a spokesperson for Roberti Global.

The pipeline operator paid BGR Group $870,000 to deploy Walker Roberts, a former senior House GOP international relations staffer who served in the Reagan administration.

WHAT WE’RE READING

What Lies Beneath: Vets worry polluted base made them ill (Associated Press)
U.S. offshore wind auction draws $3 bln in bids, smashes expectations (Reuters)
‘A matter of life and death.’ New poll shows concern about environment among Latino voters (New Mexico Political Report)
Calif. Bill to Exempt Public Colleges From Environmental Review (Inside Higher Ed)

ICYMI