ExxonMobil Gets OK to Restore Torrance Refinery

Posted on by April 5, 2016

In a 3-2 vote, the South Coast Air Quality Management District gave ExxonMobil approval to fully exxonmobil_redrestore operations at its Torrance refinery, which had been operating at about 20% capacity following an explosion there in February of last year.

Restoration of the refinery’s full output, which will only take a few days, is expected to be followed by the sale of the facility to PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) for $537.5 million . New Jersey-based PBF announced in September that it planned to acquire the refinery when it resumes full operations. The transaction is expected to closed within a few months.

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Safety Panel Created for Gas Storage Facilities

Posted on by April 5, 2016

Prompted by the leak from the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility, a task force of federal, state and local officials is being formed to look into safety issues related to that Los Angeles facility and others around the country.

The Interagency Task Force on Natural Gas Storage Safety will be chaired by officials from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

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Energy Commission Invests in Gas Efficiency Projects

Posted on by March 29, 2016

California-Energy-Commission-LogoThe California Energy Commission approved $4.3 million in grants for projects to increase the efficiency of natural gas technology used in industrial, agriculture and water processes, and more than $40 million in other energy-efficiency projects.

The City of Petaluma received a $3 million grant to design and operate an anaerobic digestion system to produce 150,000 gasoline gallon equivalents of renewable natural gas from food and beverage waste. The gas will be used to fuel refuse trucks.

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More Oil and Gas Jobs for Women and Minorities

Posted on by March 25, 2016

Women and minorities will fill an large number of the nearly 1.9 million job opportunities forecast api_logoto be added in the oil, natural gas and petrochemical industries by 2035, according to a new report from the American Petroleum Institute.

Of the 1.9 million new job opportunities, 57% are expected to be in blue-collar occupations and 32% in management and professional fields.

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ARB Posts Methane Regulation Feedback Letters

Posted on by March 17, 2016

The California Air Resources Board (ARB) has posted feedback letters for the February 2016 workshop on proposed regulation of oil and natural gas methane.

Among those who provided feedback letters are the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA), The California Independent Petroleum Association (CIPA), Southern California Gas Co., San Diego Gas & Electric, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, consulting firms, environmental groups and 10 members of the California Legislature.

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California Officials Concerned About Gas Storage

Posted on by March 17, 2016

The months-long leak of natural gas from a failed well at Southern California Gas Co.’s Aliso Canyon Storage Facility has caused officials at the California Energy Commission to reassess their views on the future reliability of natural gas supplies in Southern California.

The Aliso Canyon underground storage facility, one of the largest in the state, was created in 1972 in a depleted oil field. One of the 115 wells in the facility failed in late October of 2015, resulting in the release of about 100,000 tons of methane and ethane into the atmosphere before the well was killed in mid-February.

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