-A local hearing examiner ruled Shell must conduct a full environmental review to build a rail yard and spur line to handle oil-carrying trains at its Anacortes, Wash., refinery. Via the Seattle Times, the examiner’s ruling overturns a previous county decision allowing Shell to seek a permit for the project without an environmental review. The project would allow the refinery to handle six oil trains per week carrying crude from the Bakken Shale.
-United Steelworkers union President Leo Gerard on Tuesday said the refinery workers’ strike could spread if contract renewal talks do not resume soon. The union rejected lead industry negotiator Shell’s most recent offer Friday. Workers at Shell and Motiva plants in Texas and Louisiana joined the strike over the weekend. The work stoppage now includes 6,550 workers at 15 plants.
-A natural gas pipeline explosion on Tuesday morning destroyed one Ocean County, N.J., home and injured 15 people. Via NBC-10 in Philadelphia, local authorities confirmed a gas leak at the site and evacuated 75 nearby homes. The injured included seven gas workers, one of whom suffered extremely critical injuries and required CPR at the scene.
-Enterprise Products Partners has drawn the ire of companies who claim it is trying to muscle other firms out of the oil export business, the Wall Street Journal reports. Sources say the contention has arisen from Enterprise’s practice of charging a per-barrel loading fee for storage in terminals it acquired in its recent purchase of Oiltanking. Enterprise told the Wall Street Journal Oiltanking customers that want to export can amend their contracts and pay market-based rates. The Federal Trade Commission is investigating the claims of the companies, which include BP.
-Meanwhile, oil inventories continue to grow by large margins, according to new data from the Energy Information Administration. Via FuelFix, crude inventories increased by 8.4 million barrels for the week ending Feb. 20 — a significantly higher build than the 3.6 million barrels analysts expected. Seasonal refinery maintenance is contributing to the growing stockpiles.
