-Extended planned maintenance at Huntsman’s Port Neches, Texas, helped drive a 75% fall in the company’s profits in the second quarter of 2015. Via FuelFix, Huntsman said it lost $35 million from the outage and an additional $49 million from the strengthening of the U.S. dollar relative to European currencies. Economic sluggishness in Asia also contributed to lower sales.
-Kinder Morgan will shut down a barge dock at its Galena Park Terminal from July 30 to September 22 for maintenance and repairs, Platts reports. The company will use a ship dock at the terminal as a barge dock while the work is being done.
-House Speaker John Boehner today came out in favor of lifting the decades-old ban on crude oil exports. Via Reuters, Boehner’s support could help revive a Republican-led effort to end the ban when the House returns from August recess.
-Oil sands producers are beginning to feel the pain from a recent increase in corporate taxes enacted by Alberta’s government. Via the Financial Post, Husky Energy and MEG Energy Corp. both reported steep earnings drops in the second quarter that were exacerbated by the tax hike. Alberta upped the corporate tax rate from 10% to 12% shortly after progressives swept provincial elections in May.
-Industrial use of natural gas is expected to climb in the next two years as new methanol and fertilizer plants come on line, according to the Energy Information Administration. Industrial facilities are expected to consume 3.4% more natural gas this year than in 2014 and consumption will increase by another 3.9% next year. Three methanol plants and one fertilizer plant are expected to start up on the Gulf Coast in 2016.
