** Exxon Mobil Corp said on Wednesday it will begin hiring additional temporary operators of its Beaumont, Texas refinery as a lock out of 650 union-represented workers runs into its 11th week.
** Striking blue-collar workers at a Volvo heavy truck plant in southwestern Virginia have narrowly ratified what the company said was its final offer in a long-running labor dispute and suspended their strike that started in April.
** An Ohio agency issues proposed rules to regulate how oil and gas waste facilities manage radioactive fracking waste, which environmental groups called “long overdue.”
** Chinese oil companies processed a record volume of crude in June, offering further signs that Asia’s largest economy may surpass the U.S. to become the world’s biggest refining nation this year.
** The White House is not expecting any agreement on Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline to emerge from President Biden’s meeting on Thursday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, despite speculation that such a deal could be close.
** Minnesota regulators are investigating the release of drilling fluid by crews attempting to route the Enbridge Line 3 oil pipeline under the Willow River near Palisade.
** Tribal and environmental groups opposed to Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 oil pipeline project asked the Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday to overturn a lower court decision affirming the approvals granted by independent regulators that allowed construction to begin last December.
** Global electricity demand is growing faster than renewable energy capacity can be rolled out and will require more power to be generated from the burning of fossil fuels, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a report on Thursday.
** Federal regulators urge about 50,000 owners of GM’s electric Chevrolet Bolt to park their vehicles outside and away from homes after charging because of fire risks.
** SK Siltron CSS, a unit of South Korean semiconductor wafer manufacturer SK Siltron, announced Wednesday plans to invest $300 million and create up to 150 high-paying, skilled jobs in Bay County, Michigan, which is a couple of hours north of Detroit, the country’s first automaking haven.