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Petrochemicals - US

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Tue, 2013-10-08 20:10 — mdmcdonald
This working group focuses on issues surrounding the extraction, processing, and use of petrochemicals.

This working group focuses on issues surrounding the extraction, processing, and use of petrochemicals.

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U.S. Refinery Strike Affects One-Fifth of National Capacity

Mon, 2015-02-23 21:09 — Kathy Gilbeaux

      

Workers from the United Steelworkers (USW) union walk a picket line outside the Lyondell-Basell refinery in Houston, Texas February 1, 2015. REUTERS/Richard Carson

reuters.com - by Erwin Seba - February 22, 2015

(Reuters) - The largest U.S. refinery strike in 35 years entered its fourth week on Sunday as workers at 12 refineries accounting for one-fifth of national production capacity were walking picket lines.

Sources familiar with the negotiations said talks may resume by mid-week to end the walkout by 6,550 members of the United Steelworkers union (USW) at 15 plants, including the 12 refineries.

Representatives of both sides said no date has been set to restart negotiations, however.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

 

Country / Region Tags: 
United States
General Topic Tags: 
Economics
Employment
Energy
Petrochemical
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Situation Report

BP cherry-picks study to dodge blame for massive deaths of gulf dolphins

Sat, 2015-02-21 21:38 — Maeryn Obley

BP's Deepwater Horizon oil platform burns in April 2010, fouling the Gulf Coast: Is it responsible for a massive die-off of dolphins? (Gerald Herbert / Associated Press)

Image: BP's Deepwater Horizon oil platform burns in April 2010, fouling the Gulf Coast: Is it responsible for a massive die-off of dolphins? (Gerald Herbert / Associated Press)

latimes.com - February 16th 2015 - Michael Hiltzik

In the years since its Deepwater Horizon oil spill befouled huge stretches of the Gulf of Mexico, oil giant BP has honed its skill at cherry-picking scientific studies to duck responsibility for the spill's environmental impacts.

Its latest effort concerns a study of a massive die-off of bottlenose dolphins in the gulf from 2010 through June 2013, occurring mostly after the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon blowout caused the worst oil spill in history. The peer-reviewed study, led by Stephanie Venn-Watson of the National Marine Mammal Foundation in San Diego, was funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and published last week in the open-access journal PLoS One.

Country / Region Tags: 
United States
US - Gulf Coast
General Topic Tags: 
Health
Oceans
Petrochemical
Pollution
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Problem

Polling Shows Americans Support Environmental Enforcement & Clean Energy

Sun, 2015-02-08 13:41 — Maeryn Obley

Polling results as a graph.

Image: Polling results as a graph.

cleantechnica.com - January 23rd 2015 - Joshua S. Hill

The US Natural Resources Defense Council has released the results of a new “bipartisan” poll of five key states that sought “Views on Environmental Regulations,” which clearly show Americans are not only in favor of existing environmental protections — and in some cases favor tougher enforcement — but also support President Obama’s climate and clean energy initiatives.

The polling results are labelled as “bipartisan” due to the combined efforts of Democratic pollsters Hart Research Associates, and Republican polling firm American Viewpoint.

Together, the two firms — which conducted a survey of 2016 likely voters in Colorado, Florida, Maine, New Hampshire, and Virginia — found that “there is no appetite” for the “weakening of environmental regulations,” adding that “most respondents in these states believe that enforcement of environmental regulations is not tough enough.”

Country / Region Tags: 
United States
General Topic Tags: 
Citizens
Energy
Petrochemical
Renewables
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Situation Report

Millions of Gallons of BP Oil Found on Ocean's Floor

Mon, 2015-02-02 18:21 — Kathy Gilbeaux

      

Dr. Brian Stacy, NOAA veterinarian, prepares to clean an oiled Kemp's Ridley sea turtle found almost 40 miles from the site of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, June 14, 2010.
NOAA's National Ocean Service

CLICK HERE - RESEARCH - Using Natural Abundance Radiocarbon To Trace the Flux of Petrocarbon to the Seafloor Following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

digitaljournal.com - by Karen Graham - January 31, 2015

While Gulf Coast residents are feeling pretty good about the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, thinking it's now less harmful than originally thought, scientists have found almost 10 million gallons of BP's oil, sitting on the bottom of the Gulf.

Country / Region Tags: 
Oceans
United States
US - Gulf Coast
General Topic Tags: 
Environment
Oceans
Petrochemical
Pollution
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Problem
Situation Report

After oil spilled in Yellowstone River, residents told not to drink water

Tue, 2015-01-20 13:55 — Maeryn Obley

cnn.com - January 20th 2015 - Holly Yan

A Montana pipeline burst sent as much as 50,400 gallons of oil gushing into the Yellowstone River, prompting the governor to declare a state of emergency.

Residents in nearby cities were told not to drink the tap water, which some said smelled like diesel.

The massive oil spill happened when the 12-inch pipeline, which crosses the Yellowstone River, ruptured Saturday about 5 miles upstream from Glendive, Montana's Department of Environmental Quality said.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Country / Region Tags: 
United States
General Topic Tags: 
Environment
Petrochemical
Pollution
Rivers
Water
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Problem
Situation Report

In U.S., there are twice as many solar workers as coal miners

Mon, 2015-01-19 15:00 — Maeryn Obley

Workers install solar paneling.

Image: Workers install solar paneling.

fortune.com - January 16th, 2015 - Kirsten Korosec

SolarCity, the largest installer of residential solar systems in the U.S., nearly doubled its workforce last year, hiring 4,000 people to do everything from system design and site surveys to installation and engineering.

The hiring spree at SolarCity isn’t slowing; it’s picking up speed as the company attempts to install twice as many rooftop solar systems than last year and readies its 1.2 million-square foot factory in New York, which is scheduled to reach full production in 2017.

SolarCity SCTY plans to eclipse 2014’s hiring numbers, CEO Lyndon Rive tells Fortune.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Country / Region Tags: 
United States
General Topic Tags: 
Energy
Petrochemical
Renewables
Solar
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Situation Report

At Least One Major Oil Company Will Turn Its Back on Fossil Fuels, Says Scientist

Fri, 2015-01-16 10:00 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Jeremy Leggett: 'One of the oil companies will break ranks and this time it is going to stick.'
Photograph: Linda Nylind for the Guardian

submitted by Margery Schab

Jeremy Leggett, former industry adviser, warns over plunging commodity prices and soaring costs of risky energy projects

The oil price crash coupled with growing concerns about global warming will encourage at least one of the major oil companies to turn its back on fossil fuels in the near future, predicts an award-winning scientist and former industry adviser.

Dr Jeremy Leggett, who has had consultations on climate change with senior oil company executives over 25 years, says it will not be a rerun of the BP story when the company launched its “beyond petroleum” strategy and then did a U-turn.

“One of the oil companies will break ranks and this time it is going to stick,” he said.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Country / Region Tags: 
Global
United States
General Topic Tags: 
Energy
Petrochemical
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Solutions
Problem

White House Moves to Rein In Methane Emissions

Fri, 2015-01-16 09:12 — Kathy Gilbeaux

       

New EPA standards will aim to significantly cut methane emissions from oil and gas sites in the U.S.

The Obama administration makes its latest move to take on climate change.

usnews.com - by Alan Neuhauser - January 14, 2015

In the Obama administration’s latest use of executive authority to address climate change, the White House announced plans Wednesday to impose new regulations on the oil and gas industry that would nearly halve methane emissions from wells, drill sites and pipelines in 10 years.

The new standards, to be developed by the Environmental Protection Agency under the Clean Air Act, would aim by 2025 to cut methane emissions by up to 45 percent from levels recorded in 2012. They would also slash the spread of volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, key components of ground-level smog that have been linked to cancer, neurological conditions and other illnesses.

Country / Region Tags: 
United States
General Topic Tags: 
Climate
Energy
Petrochemical
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Situation Report

U.S. Oil Producers Cut Rigs as Price Declines

Thu, 2015-01-08 23:35 — Kathy Gilbeaux

      

Oil pump jacks at work at a drilling site in North Dakota. Producers have been cutting back.
Credit Eric Gay/Associated Press

nytimes.com - by Clifford Krauss - January 7, 2015

HOUSTON — With oil prices plunging at an ever-quickening rate, producers are beginning to slash the number of drilling rigs around the country.

The national rig count had remained surprisingly resilient over recent months even as oil prices dropped by more than 50 percent since June, and it still tops the count of a year ago as domestic production continues to surge.

Country / Region Tags: 
United States
General Topic Tags: 
Economics
Energy
Petrochemical
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Situation Report

Climate Mission Impossible: Scientists Say Fossil Fuels Must Go Untapped

Wed, 2015-01-07 16:57 — Kathy Gilbeaux

The UCL study used an economic model to determine what percentage of each region's fossil fuel reserves should be left untouched in order to meet climate goals. Reserves are defined as fuels that could be developed given current technology and economic conditions.
EMILY M. ENG, NG STAFF. SOURCE: C. MCGLADE AND P. EKINS. NATURE

New study says vast amounts of coal, oil, and gas must be left untouched to limit global warming.

CLICK HERE - STUDY - NATURE
The geographical distribution of fossil fuels unused when limiting global warming to
2 °C

Nature 517, 187–190 (08 January 2015) doi:10.1038/nature14016

nationalgeographic.com - January 7, 2015
by Christina Nunez

Canada's tar sands need to stay in the ground, the oil beneath the Arctic has to remain under the sea, and most of the world's coal must be left untouched in order to prevent global temperatures from rising more than 2°C, a study released Wednesday says.

Country / Region Tags: 
Global
General Topic Tags: 
Climate
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Situation Report

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