American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2018 - 14

IndustryDigest
Tariff Announcement
Disappoints Industry
Oil and gas industry spokesmen
expressed disappointment and
frustration after the Trump
administration announced it would
proceed with tariffs on steel and
aluminum imported from Canada,
Mexico and the European Union.
Published reports say Commerce
Secretary Wilbur Ross told reporters
May 31 the tariffs of 25 percent on steel
and 10 percent on aluminum would
commence at midnight that day. The
administration approved the tariffs in
March, but on April 30, extended
implementation for Canada, Mexico and
the European Union until June 1 while
trade negotiations continued (AOGR,
May 2018, pg. 18).
The Texas Independent Producers
& Royalty Owners Association is
"extremely disappointed," President
Ed Longanecker says, adding, "This
decision will cause a slowdown for an
industry still in recovery mode, which
will result in job loss, decreased
production and related tax revenue that
supports all levels of our economy.
This is a net loss for the United States
with repercussions that only will build
over time."
President and Chief Executive
Officer Jack Gerard says the American
Petroleum Institute is "deeply
discouraged," and says the tariffs "will
disrupt the U.S. oil and natural gas
industry's complex supply chain,
compromising ongoing and future U.S.
energy projects, which could weaken
our national security."
"Additionally," Gerard points out,
"Canada, Mexico and the European
Union are imperative members of our
Defense Industrial Base and are top
military allies-far from a threat to
American security."
He goes on, "We hope and expect
the administration will recognize the
national security benefits of the U.S. oil
and gas industry, and grant companies
product exclusions from steel tariffs
and quotas, as well as provide
transparency and flexibility in the
ongoing Commerce Department
(exemption) process to lessen the
impact on oil and gas production,
transportation and refining." r
See Related Story Page 28
14 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

House Panel Approves
Cybersecurity Measures
For U.S. Electric Grid
WASHINGTON-The House Energy
and Commerce Committee has
unanimously approved four energy
cybersecurity bills, advancing the
measures to the House of
Representatives. The legislation
addresses the nation's electricity grid
physical and online vulnerabilities by
requiring the Department of Energy to
improve its cybersecurity capabilities.
"There is a reason that bad actors
have targeted the U.S. electric grid to
try to undermine our energy sector. Our
energy infrastructure keeps the lights
on, allows us to communicate, and
helps keep our economy functioning.
For those reasons and more, we need to
ensure we are modernizing and
updating our grid with cybersecurity in
mind," says Representative Bob Latta,
R-Ohio, who introduced two of the
bills. According to his office:
* HR 5239 would create a
voluntary "Cyber Sense" program in
DOE to test cybersecure products and
technologies for the domestic bulk
power system; and
* HR 5240 directs the department
to facilitate and encourage publicprivate partnerships to share best
practices and data collection, with the
aim of developing improved
cybersecurity measures at electric
facilities.
Representative Fred Upton, R-Mi.,
introduced HR 5175, which would
require the secretary of Energy to study
pipelines and liquefied natural gas
facilities and evaluate how prepared
they are to handle physical and
cybersecurity threats. "This
commonsense bill will help coordinate
federal, state and business responses to
physical and cybersecurity threats,"
Upton says.
HR 5174, sponsored by
Representative Tim Walberg, R-Mi.,
would amend the DOE Organization
Act to clarify that the department's
responsibilities include cybersecurity
and emerging threats. According to the
bill, DOE must respond to state and
tribal requests for technical assistance,
support and response capabilities
regarding energy security threats and
incidents.
Officials with the Department of

Homeland Security and Federal Bureau
of Investigation reported in March that
Russian hackers had conducted
coordinated attacks on the U.S. energy
grid and related infrastructure (AOGR,
April 2018, pg 104). r

EPA Begins Study Of
Managing Wastewater
WASHINGTON-The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency in
May announced it would take "a holistic
look" at how it, states and stakeholders
regulate and manage oil and gas
wastewater.
Noting that the volumes of
wastewater generated by oil and gas
activities were expected to continue
rising, and that underground disposal
was becoming limited in some areas,
EPA observes, "Some states and
stakeholders are asking whether it
makes sense to continue to waste this
water-particularly in water-scarce areas
of the country-and what steps would be
necessary to treat and renew it for other
purposes."
The agency says its study will
consider available approaches to
managing wastewater from both
conventional and unconventional
operations at onshore facilities, and will
address questions such as:
* How federal approaches to
managing produced water under the
Clean Water Act can interact more
effectively with state regulations,
requirements or policy needs; and
* Whether federal regulations that
allow for broader discharge of treated
water to surface waters are supported.
Following the study, EPA says it will
determine whether future agency
actions are appropriate. More
information on the proposed study may
be found at
https://www.epa.gov/eg/study-oil-andgas-extraction-wastewater-management.
EPA notes that it regulates
wastewater discharges from oil and gas
exploration, drilling, production, and
well treatment and completion activities
under 40 CFR Part 435, which was
promulgated in 1979 and most recently
amended in 2016, when the agency
banned disposing of fracture flowback
and/or produced water from
unconventional wells in municipal
sewage treatment plants, or POTWs
https://www.epa.gov/eg/study-oil-and-gas-extraction-wastewater-management
American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2018
