American Oil and Gas Reporter - January 2020 - 16

IndustryDigest
gases contribute to climate change. "But
ExxonMobil is in the business of
producing energy, and this is a securities
fraud case, not a climate change case,"
he wrote. "The court finds that the
Office of Attorney General failed to
prove by a preponderance of evidence
that ExxonMobil made any material
misrepresentations that 'would have
been viewed by a reasonable investor' as
having significantly altered the 'total
mix' of information made available."
According to the ruling, testimony of
all former and current ExxonMobil
employees, called either as adverse
witnesses by the attorney general or as
defense witnesses by the company, was
uniformly favorable to ExxonMobil
while the testimony of expert witnesses
called by the state was eviscerated on
cross-examination and by the
company's expert witnesses.
ExxonMobil says the verdict affirms
the position it has held throughout the
state's investigation, and that it provided
investors with accurate information
about climate change risks.

"Lawsuits that waste millions of
dollars of taxpayer money do nothing to
advance meaningful actions that reduce
the risks of climate change," the
company says. "ExxonMobil will
continue to invest in researching
breakthrough technologies to reduce
emissions while meeting society's
growing demand for energy." ❒

BLM Analysis Opens
California Acreage To
Hydraulic Fracturing
WASHINGTON-Hydraulic
fracturing has no adverse environmental
impacts that cannot be alleviated, the
Bureau of Land Management says. The
analysis was part of a federal action
ending a five-year moratorium on
fracturing and drilling on public lands.
Media reports say the agency's
findings open 1.2 million acres in
California to fracturing operations,
adding state officials, including Attorney
General Xavier Becerra, are planning

legal actions to block any such moves.
The analysis comes in the record of
decision for a supplemental
environmental impact statement
released by the BLM field office in
Bakersfield, Ca. According to the
agency, the EIS supports the decisions
made within the 2014 Bakersfield field
office resource management plan and
doesn't make any new public lands or
federal minerals available for oil or gas
development.
The Bakersfield field office planning
area includes eastern Fresno, western
Kern, Kings, Madera, Sal Luis Obispo,
Santa Barbara, Tulare and Ventura
counties. BLM says the environmental
review includes independent peerreviewed studies from the California
Council on Science and Technology and
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,
as well as Kern County's Planning and
Natural Resources Department.
According to BLM, the ROD fulfills
its commitment to a May 2017 court
order to prepare additional
environmental analysis of the potential

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American Oil and Gas Reporter - January 2020

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