-A federal judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit that could have forced 88 oil and gas companies to pay billions in damages related to coastal erosion in the New Orleans area. The Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority alleged coastal wetlands damage intensified hurricane storm surges and increased the cost and complexity of its flood protection systems. U.S. District Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown argued the wetlands damage provided no way for the authority to sue the companies for damages. She did not, however, address whether or not the companies were responsible for the damage.
-Meanwhile, a key financier of a lawsuit against Chevron in Ecuador has withdrawn his support for the litigation. Via Fortune, U.S. district court judge last year found the $9.5 billion environmental suit was procured through fraud, extortion, bribery and other crimes. Russ DeLeon, a friend of the lead lawyer in the suit who had invested $23 million in the case, agreed to turn over his financial interests in the litigation to Chevron. DeLeon also agreed to turn over his interests in the documentary Crude, which features the case, to Chevron.
-A Reuters piece examines how managers at strike-affected refineries are keeping their facilities running as union workers remain on the picket lines. Some have raised concerns about the safety implications of using replacement workers and supervisors to perform the strikers’ work for extended periods of time. A spokesman for BP, however, said his company’s replacement workers are primarily current and former BP employees with the same level of training as regular workers. Tesoro — which shut down its Martinez, Calif., instead of restarting it after maintenance — pointed out that the employees at the refinery are the same ones who supervise and train the operators.
-ConocoPhillips may sell properties that account for about 20% of its Western Canada oil production outside the oil sands. Via Bloomberg, it would be the latest in a string of Canadian property divestments by U.S. oil companies that are focusing on domestic production amid low oil prices. ConocoPhillips produces about 31,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day from the properties, most of which is gas.
-Montana Gov. Steve Bullock on Friday called on the Obama Administration to require oil pipelines to be buried deeper than four feet beneath major waterways. Via the Associated Press, Bullock wrote a letter to Transportation Secretary Anthony Fox asking for existing lines to be surveyed for depth and for more federal inspectors in Montana. Last month two pipeline breaches spilled a combined 93,000 gallons of oil into the Yellowstone River.
