Ecuador Scrambles to Contain Oil Spill in Amazon Region
Ecuadorean authorities on Thursday were scrambling to limit the environmental impact of a crude oil spill in the country's Amazon region, where pipeline bursts prompted by a landslide this week caused crude to enter the Coca river.The Energy Ministry said in a Wednesday evening statement that it had placed barriers around the spill in an area home to several indigenous communities and near the source of drinking water for the city of El Coca, with some 45,000 residents.State-run Petroecuador, which manages the SOTE pipeline…
Crude Oil Spill Near Port Sulphur, La.
The U.S. Coast Guard said on Sunday it is responding to a crude oil discharge in Rattle Snake Bayou, southwest of Port Sulphur, La.Coast Guard watchstanders in New Orleans received a report from the National Response Center that the well was reported to be leaking.It is unknown when the discharge began, and the amount discharged has not been determined. The well is rated to produce 5,476 gallons of oil per day.Responders are working to locate and secure the source of the discharge. The well's owner Hilcorp has contracted ES&H as an oil spill response organization.
Kuwait Tackles Another Offshore Oil Spill
Major oil exporter Kuwait is dealing with another crude oil spill off its southern coast, state news agency KUNA said on Monday, the latest in a series of unexplained leaks in the Gulf Arab state in recent months. KUNA said the latest spill has been detected in the Ras al-Zour area, where Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) is building the Middle East's largest oil refinery with a capacity of 615,000 barrels per day at a cost of $11.5 billion in contracts. Kuwait's Environment Public Authority is monitoring the spill and is working with Kuwait Oil Company and marine authorities to control it…
Mayflower Spill Costs ExxonMobil $5 Million
ExxonMobil Corp has agreed to pay more than $5 million to resolve allegations that it violated the federal Clean Water Act and state environmental laws in connection with a 2013 crude oil spill from the Pegasus Pipeline in Mayflower, Arkansas, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Wednesday. The consent decree calls for Exxon to pay $4.19 million in civil penalties, $600,000 to fund an environmental project, and $280,000 to cover Arkansas' litigation costs, the Justice Department said. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel
Pemex to Spend $5.5b on Plant Upgrades, Pipeline
Mexico state-run oil company Pemex on Thursday said it will invest nearly $5.5 billion in expanding the country's largest natural gas pipeline, building a fertilizer plant and boosting output of cleaner-burning gasoline and diesel. Pemex said it would spend $2.5 billion on the second phase of the Los Ramones pipeline, which will eventually run from the U.S.-Mexico border to central Mexico to help satisfy growing demand for gas by boosting cheap imports from the United States. It will also invest $2.8 billion on upgrading five of its six refineries to process cleaner fuel, as well as $184 million on a fertilizer plant.
Exxon Mobil to Pay $1.4m Penalty for Louisiana Oil Spill
An Exxon Mobil Corp unit has agreed to pay $1.4 million to resolve U.S. government claims over a 2012 crude oil spill in Louisiana, the U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday. ExxonMobil Pipeline Company discharged 2,800 barrels of crude oil after a pipeline ruptured, in violation of the Clean Water Act, the agency said. (Reporting by Aruna Viswanatha; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Oil Sands Crude Refinery Planned for Canada's Pacific Coast
A Vancouver-based company said on Tuesday it was planning to build a C$10 billion oil refinery on the north-west coast of British Columbia that could eventually process up to 1 million barrels per day of oil sands bitumen. Pacific Energy Future Corp, which was set up in January, is looking at three potential building sites in Prince Rupert, BC. The project is the second new refinery proposed for Canada's west coast to process the large quantities of crude oil coming out of Alberta's oil sands and export the refined products.
