Environment & Safety
Environmental groups to seek suspension of Shell permits in Arctic region
The request comes after a drilling rig owned by Shell broke free of a tug boat late last week and then wedged itself on rocks off Sitkalidak Island. Environmental groups say the accident demonstrates how risky it is for oil companies to operate in the icy, foggy and often stormy conditions near Alaska.
Shell drilling rig accident in Alaska could jeopardize future Arctic oil projects
Shell had said it would invest $5bn to explore for oil and gas in the Arctic, but extreme weather has riddled the project with accidents and missed schedules and could raise the hackles of environmentalists. That in turn might hurt Noble Corp. and others seeking to expand exploration in the region.
Refiners now have a new biofuel option
Biobutanol is coming to market as a gasoline blendstock and can be efficiently made by a range of renewable feedstocks.
HP Brief
Uncertainty looms in EU economyEuropean chemicals output contracted by 2% in 2012 compared with 2011, according to European chemicals group Cefic. By lowering its forecast released in September, the c..
HP Impact: Canadian oil sands GHG emissions scrutinized
IHS has released an update to its 2010 report comparing the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from fuels made from Canadian oil sands to those from other crude sources. The new analysis found that total ..
HP Associations: Cyber security in the oil sector
The American Petroleum Institute (API) held its 7th annual cyber security conference over two November days in Houston, Texas. Since cyber attacks on industrial targets have grown in frequency and int..
EPA chief Lisa Jackson to step down from US post
Republicans and industry groups often criticized Ms. Jackson, saying her agency's regulations were killing jobs and raising uncertainty for business. A coal industry representative that Ms. Jackson "presided over some of the most expensive and controversial rules in agency history."
Yemen LNG repairs gas pipeline after sabotage
The 320-kilometer LNG terminal, most recently hit on December 16, has been repeatedly attacked by suspected al Qaeda-linked militants. Yemen began exporting LNG from the Balhaf terminal in 2009. French group Total has an almost 40% interest in the liquefaction plants.
Reliance Industries controls Jamnagar refinery fire at west India complex
Reliance, India's largest private refiner by capacity, has two refineries in the Jamnagar complex in the western state of Gujarat. This refinery is the older one and supplies products to the local market, while a new 580,000-bpd refinery is focused on exports. The crude unit will likely be restarted in two days.
KBR wins Kentucky engineering work to install air emissions control systems
The project is part of Kentucky Utilities’ investment plan to install environmental upgrades to reduce air emissions across its generating fleet, including a $600 million investment for the addition of air emissions controls at its Ghent plant. Each system includes a pulse-jet fabric filter to capture particulate matter.
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