July 14, 2012:

SANTA FE, N.M. — A Texas-based oil refining company has agreed to pay New Mexico $444,000 in penalties to settle emissions violations at its plant near Gallup. The New Mexico Environment Department announced the settlement with Western Refining of El Paso this week. The department claims the company violated state air pollution standards by allowing excess sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and other pollutants to be emitted at the Ciniza refinery. The violations took place between July 2009 and March 2012. The settlement also calls for Western Refining to make upgrades and infrastructure improvements at the plant over the next several years. State officials say the improvements are expected to permanently reduce emissions. Western also operates a refinery in El Paso and has retail service stations and convenience stores in New Mexico, Texas, Arizona and Colorado.

By Statesman.com

July 14, 2012:

Western Refining has agreed to pay a $444,000 fine to the state of New Mexico for air pollution violations at its Gallup, N.M., refinery, the New Mexico Environment Department announced Thursday. Gary Hanson, a spokesman for the El Paso company, said the fine was part of an extension the company received on a state order in effect when it acquired the refinery as part of its $1.4 billion purchase of Giant Industries in 2007. The company has invested $48 million in the refinery since Western acquired it, Hanson said. Most of the upgrades required to meet state air pollution standards have been completed, he said.

By Elpaso Times

July 14, 2012:

SOUTH ROXANA - The Republican nominee for Illinois' 12th Congressional District used an oil refinery for a backdrop Friday as he denounced what he called his opponent's unwillingness to stand up against cap-and-trade legislation. Jason Plummer is seeking the seat currently held by U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Belleville, who is retiring at the end of his current term. Brad Harriman won the Democratic primary for the seat in March, then dropped out of the race for health reasons. Last month, Democratic Party officials chose Bill Enyart as their nominee; Enyart, who formerly served in the U.S. Air Force, resigned from his job as adjutant general of Illinois, in which he commanded the state's Army and Air National Guards, to run for Congress.

Plummer held a news conference Friday outside the south gates of the Wood River Refinery, operated by Phillips 66, and was joined by U.S. Reps. John Shimkus, R-Collinsville, and Steve Scalise, R-La. "Southern Illinoisans know how catastrophic cap-and-trade would be for the region," Plummer said. "How can (Enyart) claim to be serious about creating jobs when he will not take a stand against legislation that would shut down more coal mines and cost Southern Illinoisans thousands of jobs?" Cap-and-trade is a market-based approach used to control pollution by providing economic incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions of pollutants. Essentially, the government sets a limit, or cap, on the amount of a pollutant, such as carbon, that may be emitted by an oil refinery or other industrial plant. The caps are allocated or sold to firms in the form of emissions permits that represent the right to emit or discharge a specific volume of the specified pollutant. Firms are required to hold a number of permits, or carbon credits, equivalent to their emissions. Firms that need to increase their emissions then must buy carbon credits from those who require fewer of the credits.

Last week, Enyart said he "hasn't researched the economics" of cap-and-trade legislation when asked where he stood on putting a price on carbon emissions. Plummer said his opponent was "out of touch," like many in Washington, D.C. He said that instead of embracing the wealth of energy resources Illinois has - coal, oil and gas - bureaucrats from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and others have attacked regulations and decimated the workforce, keeping the economy addicted to foreign oil. "I'm going to Washington to roll back the EPA and its needless regulations that kill jobs and increase our dependency," Plummer said.

He said cap-and-trade legislation punishes the workforce. He said the economy wasn't struggling because of the lack of natural resources, but rather poor public policies. "Public policy is targeting people like our coal miners and our oil and natural gas workers," he said. Plummer said he was looking forward to working with Shimkus and Scalise, both of whom serve on the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee and Energy and Power Subcommittee. Shimkus is chairman of the subcommittee on Energy and the Environment. Both congressmen said regulations would continue to cost Americans quality jobs. "We defeated cap-and-trade in Congress once already, yet Obama EPA is regulating greenhouse gases," Shimkus said. "We need more voices, like Jason's, saying no to EPA and yes to North American energy resources."

Scalise said long-term energy plans need to be developed to utilize the natural resources that America is blessed with and get Americans back to work. "Cap-and-trade is just a slick word for a carbon tax," Shimkus said. "A carbon tax means you're taxing fossil fuel use." Shimkus said cap-and-trade legislation calls for more jobs being shipped overseas. Scalise said Illinois' problems are similar to those he has faced in Louisiana with refineries, and he wants to see it stopped. He said the EPA continues to move forward with policies that are making it very hard for manufacturers and refineries to operate in the United States. Plummer said it's shameful to see such high unemployment throughout Southern Illinois with all its natural resources. He said U.S. resources of oil and coal would lessen the dependence on foreign resources.

While Plummer said he approves of "all-the-above" energy resources, such as wind and solar, as well as nuclear power, he believes a comprehensive energy strategy should include coal, domestic oil and natural gas to accomplish energy independence.

By The Telegraph

July 13, 2012:

IRVING, Texas (AP) — The president of ExxonMobil Refining & Supply Co. is retiring at the beginning of August, the company said Friday. Sherman" Glass, who is also a vice president at Exxon Mobil Corp., will be replaced by Darren Woods, the current vice president of supply and transportation at the refining company. Woods has been with Exxon since 1992. Glass began his career in 1972 as an engineer at the Baytown refinery in Texas and moved through a series of technical and management jobs before he became president of the refining and supply company in 2008.

By Bloomberg

July 13, 2012:

India would like to facilitate construction of an oil refinery in Cuba, Commerce and Industry Minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia said during a visit in Havana. Cuvenpetrol, a Cuban-Venezuelan joint venture, is proposing to build a new, 150,000 barrel-per-day refinery in Matanzas, on west-central Cuba’s northern coast, estimated at $7.57 billion. The joint venture has also sought Chinese participation in the $5.44 billion expansion of a refinery in Cienfuegos.  Scindia told Cuban Foreign Trade and Investment Minister Rodrigo Malmierca that India is willing to provide know-how and equity for a refinery project in western Cuba, the Times of India reported. State-owned Engineers India Ltd. has currently six refinery-related projects underway, and Indian Oil Co. Ltd., which owns seven refineries in India, offers operating support.  Scindia also urged Cuban officials to facilitate an extension of an offshore lease by Indian state oil company ONGC Videsh Ltd. (OVL), which is set to expire Sept. 10, according to the Times. Cuban officials said that a decision about OVL’s request is expected shortly, the Indian newspaper said. OVL leased two offshore blocks just west of Havana in 2006 and completed 2D and 3D surveying last year, after spending more than $43 million, according to the company; however, it hasn’t contracted the Scarabeo 9 platform, which is set to leave Cuba after completing two more drills. OVL was also a junior partner in a consortium led by Repsol, which failed to find oil in one recent exploratory drill.

Scindia came to Cuba via Venezuela, where he announced a $2.2 billion investment by OVL for exploration and production in the Orinoco heavy-oil belt. During his visit to Havana, Scindia was accompanied by a 25-member business delegation.  The minister particularly highlighted energy and mining as two sectors where Indian companies can participate in Cuba, “through investment in exploration, production, refining and marketing,” according to a statement by the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry. He also offered support in construction of railway and airport projects in Cuba, and the sale of Indian-made urban buses, the statement said. The Cuban side, in turn, sought Indian expertise in nickel, cobalt and tungsten mining.  Cuba proposed seven projects to the delegation, including joint ventures in oil and gas, polymers and plastics, paper manufacturing, and tourism, according to Prensa Latina. At the meeting with Malmierca, Scindia also discussed renewable energy, irrigation, fire protection, sugar, automotives, and pharmaceuticals as potential areas of cooperation, according to the statement from India’s Commerce and Industry Ministry.

The Indian government is raising trade guarantees to Cuba from $12 million to $17 million, the minister announced during the visit. Although bilateral trade is at just $40 million, it rose 24 percent last year, said Deputy Foreign Trade Minister Orlando Hernández Guillén, according to Prensa Latina.  Cuban officials also asked for eased visa regulations for Cuban business travelers; Scindia invited Cuban companies to participate in a trade fair in India this fall. Scindia’s visit to Havana follows that of Foreign Minister S M Krishna in June. India is scheduled to host the first India-CELAC (Community of Latin American Countries) Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue in New Delhi Aug. 7; CELAC will be represented by a troika of foreign ministers from Cuba, Chile and Venezuela.

By Cubastandard.com