How The Kochs Are Fracking America
At the Republic Report, Lee Fang details how the Koch Industries petrochemical empire is involved in the boom in natural gas hydrofracturing.
The
right-wing Koch brothers have developed a vertical empire designed to
extract wealth from every point in the hydrocarbon lifecycle. A small
fraction of their profits is funneled into corrupting our political
system, in order to prevent government from protecting society against
the costs of the waste products.
The
October 2011 issue of Discovery, the in-house Koch Industries
newsletter, explains how the Koch Industries empire is profiting from
the “really exciting”fracking boom:
– 1. Koch Pipeline is
partnering with NuStar Energy to develop a dormant pipeline from
Pettus, TX to refineries in Corpus Christi. The pipeline will transport
natural gas from fracking sites in southern Texas. Koch Pipeline is a
Koch Industries subsidiary.
– 2. Flint Hills Resources recently purchased a small craft pier and wharf in Ingleside, TX to store shipments of
natural gas from fracking operations in the Eagle Ford shale formation.
Flint Hills Resources is a Koch Industries subsidiary.
– 3. Koch Supply & Trading,
a Koch Industries company that deals with commodity trading and
financial products, is “already trading Eagle Ford crude” to help supply
Koch companies and other customers, according to a Koch Industries
newsletter.
– 4. Koch Chemical Technology Group is
designing a processing facility near Yoakum, TX to help process natural
gas fracked in southern Texas. Koch Chemical is a subsidiary of Koch
Industries.
– 5. John Zink, a Koch Industries company, is providing flares for a natural gas processing plant in Helena to service the fracking industry.
– 6. Georgia Pacific produces resins
used for chemicals used to prop open micro-fractures, an important
process for fracking to occur. GP is a Koch Industries subsidiary.
– 7. Koch Fertilizer, a Koch Industries company, has tapped into increased natural gas production from fracking to develop fertilizer.
From Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney to the Cato Institute, Heritage Foundationand Americans for Prosperity,
the Koch political network has been furiously attempting to block any
oversight or regulation of the pollution and risks associated with
fracking, no matter the danger to the American public.
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