-Union workers at Motiva’s Port Arthur, Texas, refinery have approved a new contract and are expected back at work next week, Reuters reports. Workers who went on strike at Motiva’s Norco and Convent, La., refineries are also expected back next week. Meanwhile, Tesoro said union workers at its three West Coast refineries are making progress in finalizing new contracts.
-The Obama Administration is just a few days away from finalizing new rules for fracking on public lands, FuelFix reports. The rules will include well integrity standards and will require safe storage of recovered water and other fluids at production sites. The Bureau of Land Management first proposed the rules in 2013. It will be the first time the Interior Department has updated its regulations for drilling on public lands since they were first written over 30 years ago.
-New rules governing fracking in North Carolina took effect Tuesday, potentially paving the way for drilling to start later this year. Via the Associated Press, the state’s energy commission said one foreign company and one group in North Carolina are interested in forming drilling units, which would enable them to apply for permits from the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources. Scientists believe there is shale gas beneath three counties located southwest of Raleigh.
-The federal government blasted a statement by BP claiming the Gulf of Mexico is returning to its baseline condition five years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. NOAA said in a statement it is “inappropriate” and “premature” for the company to reach conclusions about the spill’s impact while the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Trustees are still assessing the damage. BP said it based its conclusion on its own post-spill scientific studies as well as those by government agencies and academic institutions and the NRDA Trustess’ ongoing work.
