April 2025, Vol. 252, No. 4
Global News
Global News April 2025
Court Tells Greenpeace to Pay $667 Million to Energy Transfer
Greenpeace has been told by a jury to pay Energy Transfer $667 million in damages for the group’s protests activities at the site of the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota.
The verdict in state court followed two day of deliberations and included awards for defamation, trespassing and conspiracy – more than $400 million of the penalty was for punitive damages.
“Today, the jury delivered a resounding verdict, declaring Greenpeace’s actions wrong, unlawful, and unacceptable by societal standards. It is a day of reckoning and accountability for Greenpeace,” Energy Transfer lawyer Trey Cox said.
Greenpeace has denied wrongdoing throughout this and other court cases that began soon after the events of 2016-2017, calling this and other actions an attack on free speech rights. Greenpeace said it plans to appeal.
During the trial Energy Transfer accused Greenpeace of paying protesters to disrupt construction of the pipeline and spreading falsehoods about the project, which is located adjacent to the Standing Rock Indian Reservation.
The project began in 2016 and was completed the following year. The pipeline transports roughly 40% of the oil produced in North Dakota’s Bakken region.
Oil Flows via Druzhba Pipeline to Czech Republic Stopped
Oil flows from Russian’s Druzhba pipeline to the Czech Republic have been cut off again, but there is no threat of shortages, according to Czech pipeline operator Mero.
“Refineries in the Czech Republic are well prepared for this situation and at the same time we have a robust system of state material reserves, so I must reassure everyone that there is enough oil for the needs of households and companies,” Lukas Vlcek, of Mero, told Czech news agency CTK.
He added that in the event of a long-term stoppage of supplies from Druzhba, the Czech Republic could switch to the Italian TAL+ pipeline, which he said, “is technically ready.”
In a release to the media, Mero said due to state material reserves it was possible to replace a short-term outage of oil and oil products for up to 90 days.
Czech refiner Unipetrol told Reuters that fuel production at both its refineries in Litvinov and Kralupy and Vltavou was at full capacity.
The Czech Republic has worked to end its dependence on Russian oil and gas since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but its dependence on Russian fuel made it exempt from European Union sanctions on Russian pipeline oil.
Woodside May Delay Investment Decision on Louisiana LNG
Australia’s Woodside LNG may hold off on a final decision on its Louisiana LNG plant until sometime in the second quarter of 2025 as talks to sell half of the project drag on, CEO Meg O’Neill told Reuters.
Woodside wants to sell as much as 50% of the project, with potential buyers including Tokyo Gas, Japan’s JERA and Saudi Aramco-backed MidOcean Energy.
“We want to make sure we have confidence in the partners and that we have an adequate sell-down,” O’Neill said during an interview at the CERA conference in Houston.
Woodside had planned to make an investment decision before the first quarter, concerning the $16 billion first phase of the 27.6 mtpa facility at Lake Charles.
The project is fully permitted and has an engineering procurement and construction (EPC) contract with Bechtel.
In Phase 1 of the project, Woodside would keep 8 mtpa to develop its Atlantic basin trading portfolio as the company seeks to move away from just selling to direct customers, said O’Neill.
Voyager Midstream Buys Stake 254-Mile Phillips Pipeline System
Voyager Midstream Holdings has acquired a non-operated interest in the 254-mile Panola Pipeline from Phillips 66, strengthening its position in the East Texas and North Louisiana midstream sector.
The Panola Pipeline, operated by Enterprise Products Partners, originates in Panola County, Texas, and transports Y-Grade natural gas liquids (NGLs) to fractionation facilities in Mont Belvieu, Texas.
Voyager’s midstream network includes 550 miles of natural gas pipelines, 400 MMcf/d of cryogenic gas processing capacity, and 12,000 barrels per day of liquids fractionation capacity.
The company also operates the Carthage Hub, a major natural gas trading and delivery hub with over 1 Bcf/d of capacity, connecting to premium LNG markets in Texas and Louisiana.
“Panola Pipeline is a critical NGL pipeline connecting the major East Texas gas processing complexes and Gulf Coast demand markets,” said Will Harvey, Voyager CEO. “This acquisition strengthens our ability to provide cost-effective and reliable service to our customers.”
As part of the transaction, Voyager secured a credit facility with Bank of Oklahoma, providing financial flexibility for future expansion. Backed by equity commitments from Pearl Energy Investments, the company aims to continue growing its midstream operations.
Trump Wants to Cancel Oil Reserve Sales, Boost Nuclear Power
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the U.S. will work with Congress to end mandated sales from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as one way to address low stockpiles.
Congress has mandated 100 million barrels in sales from the reserve, with a 7 million barrel sale set for fiscal year 2026-2027, and further sales through 2031.
It would take five to seven years and $20 billion to refill the reserve, Wright told CERA energy conference attendees.
The Energy Department said on Friday that Wright would not ask Congress for $20 billion for purchases all in one go, and that working with lawmakers to buy oil could take years.
President Donald Trump has said South Korea and Japan would like to partner with the U.S. in a “gigantic” natural gas pipeline in Alaska. The Alaska LNG would require an 800-mile pipeline to bring gas from Alaska’s north to send it to customers in Asia and no final investment decisions have yet been made.
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