** Occidental Petroleum Corp. President-CEO Vicki Hollub says the Permian Basin is the core of the highest quality, most complementary assets her company has ever had. ** A top climate adviser to US President Joe Biden signaled the administration could phase in some requirements for a valuable new hydrogen tax credit in a bid to nurture a nascent industry …
Category: EPA
Biden’s EPA sued by Iowa and Nebraska over ethanol
The Environmental Protection Agency is being sued by Iowa and Nebraska for refusing to issue final rules allowing the year-round sale of gasoline blended with 15% ethanol. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird filed suit n Iowa federal court, seeking to have the EPA issue regulations allowing E-15 gasoline to be sold during the summer. “The …
Headlines of other energy stories
** Phillips 66 announces second-quarter 2023 earnings of $1.7 billion compared with earnings of $2.0 billion in the first quarter. Excluding special items of $69 million, the company had adjusted earnings of $1.8 billion in the second quarter, compared with first-quarter adjusted earnings of $2.0 billion. **Occidental Petroleum Corp on Wednesday reported an 83% slump …
EPA orders Colorado to revist Suncor refinery’s air quality permit
The U.S. EPA rejects a Colorado petroleum refinery’s air quality permit and orders state regulators to revisit portions concerning dust and carbon monoxide releases. Suncor Energy’s refinery in Commerce City was the target of the EPA action which is considered something of a win for environmental groups who challenged the state’s permit renewal for the company. …
GOP Senators want power plant rules withdrawn by EPA
Oklahoma U.S. Sens. James Lankford and Markwayne Mullin were among more than 3 dozen Senators this week in calling on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to withdraw its latest set of proposed power plant regulations that will force the closure of coal and gas-fired power plants. They say the EPA does not have the authority to …
Energy briefs
** After seven years of delays and $21 billion in cost overruns, the first of two new units at Georgia Power’s Plant Vogtle enters commercial service and becomes the first new U.S. nuclear reactor to do so in more than 30 years. ** A Wyoming conservation group and a retired federal government biologist have filed a federal lawsuit …
Energy quick reads
** U.S. regulators approved proposals to speed up the connection of new power projects to the electric grid, reforms that could ease a growing backlog of requests from wind and solar energy developers. Today there is more than 2,000 gigawatts of renewable power waiting to be connected to the grid — nearly double the amount …
DEQ to offer $3.5 million in emissions reduction program
Nearly $3.5 million coming from the Volkswagen Settlement Trust will be made available through Oklahoma’s Department of Environmental Quality to help firms replace or repower aging equipment. DEQ explained it is seeking projects in the name of reducing nitrogen oxides emissions. The projects are four non-road categories—freight switchers; ferries or tugs; airport ground support equipment; and forklifts and …
Energy briefs
** UPS and the Teamsters reached an agreement on a new five-year contract, averting a potential strike by roughly 330,000 package delivery drivers and package sorters that could have impacted many companies’ supply chains. ** Chevron Corp.’s board is waiving the mandatory retirement age for Chief Executive Officer Mike Wirth, giving the company more time …
Headlines
** The fate of a controversial natural gas pipeline in West Virginia may rest with the U.S. Supreme Court, as the state appealed a lower court’s ruling that temporarily blocked construction despite a Congressional order clearing the way for the project. ** The Biden administration is considering a new set of tariffs on some steel …