-A new API poll shows large majorities of registered voters believe expanding America’s energy infrastructure and increasing production would stimulate the economy. Ninety-four percent of those surveyed said investing in energy infrastructure would help create jobs in the U.S., while 91% said increased production of oil and gas would do the same. The respondents’ party affiliations broke evenly between Republican and Democrat, but a slight majority identified themselves as conservatives.
-Gulf Coast crude inventories reached a record high this month, according to the Energy Information Administration. The high inventories are attributable to combination of factors — the recent startup of the southern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline, robust production growth and seasonal refinery maintenance.
-The former head of the Minerals Management Service (MMS) on Wednesday took to the New York Times op-ed page to blast the Obama Administration’s lack of action on drilling safety in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon explosion. Elizabeth Birnbaum, who was head of the MMS at the time of the incident, said the administration’s failure to act on a number of recommendations from the National Academy of Engineering regarding blowout preventers is “unfathomable.”
-Axiall acquired a 50% stake in Shriram Vinyl Polytech Pvt. Ltd., which will allow the latter to sell new-generation polymer compounds in India.
-Canada has approved a 25-year LNG export license for the Triton LNG project, a partnership between AltaGas and Japan-based Idemitsu Kosan Co. Via Reuters, a facility site has not been chosen. The approval brings the total number of LNG export licenses granted by the Canadian government to eight.
