-Venezuela state oil company PDVSA announced it would invest $20 billion to expand its domestic refining capacity by 20%, Reuters reports. The company’s refining chief said 265,000 barrels per day of new capacity would be added to the current 1.3 million barrels per day, but no timetable was given. Reuters notes that Venezuela has announced major oil industry expansion plans in the past that have not come to fruition. The country’s refining sector has suffered a number of accidents in recent years, including an explosion at the Paraguana Refining Center in 2012 that killed almost 40 people.
-Energy-driven carbon dioxide emissions increased by 2.5% in 2013 — the largest increase since 2010, according to the Energy Information Administration. Heating degree days increased 19% between 2012 and 2013, driving a small but atypical increase in energy intensity. Carbon intensity decreased by 0.3% in 2013, but since the drop was smaller what was seen in the previous decade, it led to an increase in emissions. The carbon intensity increase was the result of slightly higher use of coal for power generation in 2013.
-A federal appeals court threw out an industry challenge to EPA rules requiring labels for gasoline pumps selling E15, Platts reports. The court ruled that the plaintiffs, including the American Petroleum Institute (API) and associations representing automakers, failed to show their members had suffered harm due to the regulation. The API contends that E15 can cause mechanical problems in some cars.
-Magellan Midstream Partners extended until Nov. 6 the open season for its proposed Saddlehorn pipeline, which will transport crude oil from the Niobrara shale to Cushing, Okla. Magellan expects to start up the pipeline in 2016 pending sufficient commitments and regulatory approvals.
-Total appointed Patrick Pouyanne to succeed late CEO Christophe de Margerie, who was killed in a plane crash on Monday. Pouyanne has served as Total’s head of refining and chemicals since 2012. Former CEO Thierry Desmarest will take over the role of chairman, which de Margerie also held until his death.
