-Environmental group Earthjustice has filed a lawsuit to stop Alon USA’s planned refinery and rail project in Bakersfield, Calif. Last month Kern County officials approved Alon’s plan to restart and upgrade the mothballed Bakersfield refinery to process light crude and build a new rail facility. Via the Merced Sun-Star, Earthjustice contends the county did not fully evaluate health risks such as crude oil train derailments and air quality impacts. Alon’s CEO in September said the company would only accept rail cars that meet the most recent safety standards and would meet all future regulations.
-Texas pipeline company Nuevo Midstream is exploring a possible sale, Bloomberg reports. The firm has drawn interest from Oneok and Regency Energy Partners, among others. Sources say a deal could net $1.5 billion for private equity backer EnCap FlatRock Midstream. Nuevo offers gathering, compression, processing and treating services to Permian Basin and New Mexico producers.
-Spectra Energy and Spectra Energy Partners plan to extend their oil pipeline network by building a new connection between Guernsey, Wyo., and Patoka, Ill. The firms said the project would address demand for light, sweet crude from the Bakken shale, the Denver-Julesburg Basin and the Powder River Basin in the Midwest and Gulf Coast markets. The expansion will have an initial capacity of 400,000 barrels per day and be in service in 2017.
-The European chemical industry must import more ethane from the U.S. in order to compete in the global market, an IHS analyst said this week. IHS’ Michael Smith told attendees at the European Petrochemical Association annual meeting it is unlikely Europe would ever embrace shale drilling. Several European companies are already importing U.S. ethane or converting their naphtha-fed crackers to run on ethane.
-The World Bank ordered the Venezuelan government to pay ExxonMobil $1.6 billion for the seizure of a major oil project in 2007. Via the Associated Press, the South American nation seized the Cerro Negro project after ExxonMobil failed to enter a proposed partnership with PDVSA. The World Bank’s investment dispute panel confirmed Venezuela failed to provide fair compensation after the seizure.
