Lyondell to begin closure of Houston Refinery this weekend
LyondellBasell Industries will begin the permanent closure of its 263,776 barrel-per-day Houston refinery this coming weekend, said people familiar with plant operations.Layoffs of up to 400 employees at the refinery are scheduled to begin two months after the shutdown begins, the sources said.A Lyondell spokesperson did not immediately reply to a request for comment.Lyondell plans to convert existing hydrotreaters at the refinery site…
EIA: Cushing Crude Stocks fall to Decade-low levels
U.S. crude stocks fell last week, driving the Cushing, Oklahoma hub to a 10-year low, while fuel inventories surged, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday.Crude inventories fell by 959,000 barrels to 414.6 million barrels in the week ended Jan. 3, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 184,000-barrel draw.Brent and U.S. crude futures extended losses following the report. "A ramp-up in refinery maintenance in the coming weeks should usher in a return to crude inventory builds…
US Judge Proposes CITGO Auction Solution
The U.S. judge overseeing an auction of shares in a Citgo Petroleum parent to pay Venezuela-linked creditors on Wednesday proposed major procedural changes to advance a case stalled by wide opposition and lawsuits by creditors in other courts.Judge Leonard Stark recommended a series of changes to encourage higher bids in a seven-year-long court case brought by companies pursuing up to $21.3 billion in claims for debt defaults and expropriations…
