-The EPA today extended the deadline for refiners to comply with the 2013 biofuel mandate under the Renewable Fuel Standard. Via Reuters, annual compliance reports are due 30 days after the pending publication of the final rule for 2014. The previous deadline was Sept. 30.
-Oregon LNG today received approval from the Department of Energy to export natural gas. The facility, owned by U.S. holding company Leucadia National Corp., will be located on the Skipanon Peninsula in Warrenton, Ore. Construction is expected to begin next year, pending approval from FERC, with startup following in 2019. Oregon LNG will export gas produced in Canada.
-ExxonMobil restarted a section of its Pegasus pipeline in Texas more than a year after a rupture caused an oil spill in a central Arkansas town. Via the Associated Press, an ExxonMobil spokesman said the company began operating a 211-mile section of the pipeline between Corsicana and Nederland, Texas, July 9.
-Westlake Chemical completed its purchase of German PVC producer Vinnolit Holdings GmbH. The acquisition includes five production facilities in Germany and one in the UK. Vinnolit will retain its name and operate from its current headquarters outside Munich.
-Oil and gas M&A activity increased substantially in the second quarter of this year. According to data from PricewaterhouseCoopers, there were a total of 54 oil and gas transactions with values greater than $50 million, accounting for $42.2 billion. There were a total of 47 deals worth $30.3 billion in the second quarter of 2013. Upstream deals in Q2 2014 accounted for 61% of total deal activity. Shale-related deals accounted for 47% of total deal value.
