Happy World Environment Day! Not so in America, though. It may be the most polluting and dirty oil on the planet, but American refiners are tripping over themselves to make investments to dramatically increase imports from Alberta’s oil sands. Figures released yesterday show that the oil industry is spending about $53 billion to expand or … Read More
refining
Court Rules BP Blast Victims Rights’ Have Been Violated
A US federal appeals court has ruled that the rights of victims in BP’s fatal Texas City explosion in March 2005 were violated by US prosecutors who reached a secret plea agreement with the UK oil group late last year before consulting victims. The victims insist the plea deal is too lenient and they should … Read More
Another US Refinery Blows Up
A huge explosion rocked a Texan oil refinery yesterday in a violent blast that shook buildings miles away and injured at least four people. One employee was hospitalized for burns, while three contractors were treated and released, said Blake Lewis, a spokesman for refinery owner Alon USA.
BP’s Browne Could Escape Court Grilling
The former chief executive of British oil giant BP, Lord Browne, can avoid extensive face-to-face grilling from plaintiffs’ lawyers about the deadly March 2005 explosion at the company’s Texas City refinery, the Texas Supreme Court has ruled. While the ruling directed a judge to enforce an agreement allowing for John Browne to give a one-hour … Read More
Kurds Continue to Expand Oil Industry
The row between the Kurds and Southern Iraq over is oil reserves and development of the oil industry (see yesterday’s blog) looks set to intensify. The Kurds are negotiating with two Canadian firms on a joint venture to construct an oil refinery and continue work on a second one to boost its fledgling oil industry.
Shell Sued for Refinery Pollution
Several green groups have sued Shell Oil and its affiliates, claiming the oil giant has for years released pollutants from its suburban Houston refinery that are well above state and federal limits. In their federal lawsuit, the Sierra Club and Environment Texas claim the excess air pollutants, including toxic chemicals benzene and 1,3-butadiene, are a … Read More
Explosion at Iraq’s Main Oil Refinery
Further trouble for Iraq’s beleaguered oil industry. An explosion today at a fuel storage tank caused a huge blaze at the country’s largest refinery some 180 km north of Baghdad, injuring at least 36 workers. The fire is said to be spreading. “This is the biggest fire I have ever seen at Baiji refinery. We … Read More
Victims of Oil
The shop around the corner raised the price of sandwiches by a quarter this week. Although the housing meltdown is raising concerns that it may take the whole American economy down with it, prices are going up and the reason is the cost of oil. Oil, and therefore gas, prices remain at near-record levels. A … Read More
Refining Shortage Causes High Gas Prices
America’s high gas prices are being caused, in part, by what has been called an “invisible hurricane” – have been plagued by a record number of fires, power failures, leaks, spills and breakdowns this year, causing dozens of them to shut down temporarily or trim production. These mechanical breakdowns have created a bottleneck in domestic … Read More
BP Freezes Payments to Browne
It may not be such a happy retirement for Lord Browne. His former employer, BP has frozen payments worth more than ÂŁ1.5m owed to him, while a court case is resolved. John Manzoni, the outgoing head of BP’s refining operations, is also having payments worth nearly ÂŁ500,000 suspended.