-Marathon and Phillips 66 boosted their refined product exports in a big way last quarter, Reuters reports. Marathon’s refined product exports increased by more than 50% year-over-year and Phillips 66 saw a 32% increase in refined products exports. The report notes that U.S. refiners are sending more product to Europe and Latin America due to depressed refining activity in those regions.
-An Exxon Mobil official said Thursday his company is planning to build a new rail terminal in Alberta to transport Canadian oil. Vice President of Investor Relations David Rosenthal said the terminal will initially move about 100,000 barrels per day but could be expanded to move as much as 250,000 barrels per day.
-Meanwhile, Shell has abandoned its plans to drill in the Arctic off Alaska. The Dutch firm has been in cost-cutting mode under new CEO Ben van Beurden. Just this month Shell announced it would sell a large stake in Australia’s Wheatstone-Iago gas field and several media outlets reported the company was seeking to unload $15 billion in global assets.
-A group of Arizona lawmakers are working on a bill that would shield the state from the dictates of the EPA. Via The Hill, the Arizona bill cites the Tenth Amendment, which preserves the rights of states to exercise powers that do not fall under the purview of the federal government. The bill’s authors assert the EPA’s rulemaking power is unconstitutional.
-Independent E&P firm Gulfport Energy announced Wednesday the retirement of CEO James Palm, effective Feb. 15. Company President and CFO Michael Moore will serve as interim CEO while Gulfport finds a successor to Palm, who led the company for eight years. In his parting statement, Palm touted the company’s expansion from South Louisiana to the Utica Shale, the Permian Basin and the Canadian oil sands during his tenure.
