In The News

WSJ - Refiners Rake In Cash After Gas Prices Surge
Thursday, 07/21/2022

July 21, 2022 – Wall Street Journal

Refiners Rake In Cash After Gas Prices Surge

By Benoît Morenne and Collin Eaton

On the U.S. Gulf Coast, estimated refining margins climbed to about $42 per barrel in the second quarter, nearly four-times higher than the average from 2017 to 2019. Excluding special items, that could lift profits for U.S. fuel makers three to four times higher than the same periods in those prepandemic years, according to RBN Refined Fuel Analytics.

Refining margins have only ever reached those heights...

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NGI - SCOTUS Ruling on Power Plant Emissions Seen as Warning to Federal Agencies to Tread Lightly
Friday, 07/01/2022

July 1, 2022 – Natural Gas Intelligence

SCOTUS Ruling on Power Plant Emissions Seen as Warning to Federal Agencies to Tread Lightly

By Andrew Baker

At the heart of the case was whether EPA had legal authority under section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) to implement the Clean Power Plan (CPP), the Obama-era rulemaking from 2015 that sought to aggressively curb greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector. Before it could be implemented, the CPP was stayed by the Supreme Court in 2016, then repealed and replaced by the Trump administration...

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ENR - Shutdown Extended of Fire-Damaged Texas LNG Export Site
Monday, 06/20/2022

June 20, 2022 – ENR Texas & Louisiana

Shutdown Extended of Fire-Damaged Texas LNG Export Site

By Mary B. Powers, Debra K. Rubin

In a June 21 report, The Washington Examiner speculated, based on interviews with two unidentified pipeline security experts, on "how a critical overpressure event could have occurred without safety systems kicking into action" and whether Russian cyber hacking could have been a factor. One report source said the FBI is also investigating the incident, but the agency told the publication it would not "confirm nor...

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S&P Global - Biden seeks helps from US refiners to increase gasoline, diesel supply
Wednesday, 06/15/2022

June 15, 2022 – S&P Global

Biden seeks helps from US refiners to increase gasoline, diesel supply

By Janet McGurty

Policy-driven refining impacts

The AFPM, like other oil industry groups, puts much of the onus for the shutdown of refining capacity on US government policies, geared to phasing out petroleum use.

Chevron CEO Mike Wirth, speaking at the Bernstein 38th Annual Strategic Decisions conference on June 1, expressed his company's view, one which is echoed by other US refiners.

"We live in a world...

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WSJ - Red-Hot Coal Prices Threaten Even Higher Power Bills
Thursday, 06/02/2022

June 2, 2022 – Wall Street Journal

Red-Hot Coal Prices Threaten Even Higher Power Bills

By Ryan Dezember

Normally the fix for high coal prices is to switch to burning more natural gas, which is the leading power-generation fuel. But gas prices have popped up since the pandemic, for reasons similar to coal. U.S. natural-gas futures are up 127% so far this year and have been trading at their highest level since 2008.

High prices for both coal and natural gas have obviated the need for fuel switching among power producers and made for fairly...

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