-A 50-gallon naphtha spill at Flint Hills Resources’ Corpus Christi, Texas, refinery has been contained, the Coast Guard said today. Via Reuters, the spill is not affecting traffic along the Corpus Christi Ship Channel. The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the spill. Flint Hills announced earlier this week it had broken ground on a $600 million expansion at the refinery.
-Meanwhile, Flint Hills said Wednesday it would buy a bulk storage facility in San Antonio, Texas, and convert it to a fuels terminal, the company said yesterday. The new terminal includes two 40,000-barrel tanks for diesel storage and two truck bays. It is located less than three miles from Flint Hills’ existing fuels terminal in San Antonio. The two terminals will be connected by pipeline by next summer. RediFuel is the previous owner of the facility being acquired.
-U.S. petrochemical manufacturers are keeping a close eye on the decline in oil prices, which has given European and Middle Eastern feedstocks a slight competitive edge. A bigger concern, however, is the EPA’s proposed limits on greenhouse gas emissions and ozone. Via the Houston Chronicle, stricter ozone limits proposed last week by the EPA would make it difficult for companies to invest in ethane crackers and other expansions without shutting down other projects. The oil price decline, meanwhile, has yet to derail or cancel a single project, said a policy expert from the American Chemistry Council.
-The Baton Rouge, La., Advocate examines the necessity of Louisiana’s severance tax rebate for horizontal drillers. The incentive was passed two decades ago — long before the recent shale boom — but it could soon cost Louisiana $1 billion in tax revenue per year. Supporters say eliminating the rebate would send drillers to other states such as Mississippi, which also has a rebate and sits on part of the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale.
-Devon Energy CEO John Richels will retire July 31. Devon’s board of directors is expected to appoint current COO Dave Hager as Richels’ successor. Richels was elected vice chairman of the board and is expected to succeed current chairman Larry Nichols upon Nichols’ retirement in 2016. Richels has been with Devon since 1999. Hager joined Devon in 2009 as executive vice president of exploration and production after serving two years on the company’s board of directors.
