June 15, 2012:

Trade unions have criticised the government for ruling out using state aid to save the Coryton oil refinery in Essex, with time running out to save 850 jobs at Britain's largest independent refining site. Ministers said overcapacity in the industry meant that pumping money into Coryton, to prolong its existence while administrators search for a buyer, would be unsustainable. In a statement yesterday that indicated low government confidence in the long-term future of Coryton, the Department for Energy and Climate Change said: "Departments across government have looked very carefully at whether or not state aid should be provided for Coryton. But we have come to the conclusion that the existing overcapacity in the refining industry and declining demand for petrol mean that it would not be sustainable. This would not be a long-term solution either for the taxpayer or for the industry, which will thrive best with open and fair competition."

One of Coryton's competitors, Essar Energy, owner of the Stanlow facility in Merseyside, has warned that up to 20 Coryton-sized refineries might have to shut on both sides of the Atlantic in order to return the refining market to a sustainable footing. A dip in car traffic, the emergence of more fuel-efficient vehicles, growing use of biofuels and strong competition from Middle Eastern and Asian refineries have combined to hurt players such as Coryton. Coryton's administrators are winding down the site, having halted refining work last week, and hope to sell it as a storage facility.

The Unite trade union said the move contrasted with the actions of other European governments, which it claimed would have stepped in. Tony Burke, Unite's assistant general secretary, said: "This is a government which talks about supporting manufacturing yet sits on its hands and does little to support manufacturing growth. The closure of Coryton will have a devastating impact on the local community and the wider economy, sucking out over £100m and leading to the loss of hundreds of skilled jobs." Phil Whitehurst, a GMB union official, said: "The news that ministers are citing overcapacity in the industry is nonsense. Coryton supplies 20% of the fuel used in London and the south east of England. It is also a very important hub of employment in the Essex economy and part of our national infrastructure."

Thurrock Council has commissioned an economic impact assessment of the closure or change of use of the site, which found it would cost £30m in wages, £26m in contractor costs, £6m in locally sourced materials, £40m spent on chemicals and utilities, and £5m in business rates.

By The Guardian

June 15, 2012:

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysia’s government has imposed two new conditions on a rare earth refinery set up by Australian miner Lynas to assuage public fears of radioactive pollution. Tan Bun Teet, who heads the “Save Malaysia, Stop Lynas” coalition, said Friday the group received a letter from the science ministry rejecting its appeal to revoke a license granted to Lynas earlier this year. The letter cited a lack of scientific and technical justification.  Rare earths are 17 minerals used in the manufacture of hybrid cars, weapons, flat-screen TVs, mobile phones, mercury-vapor lights, and camera lenses. China has about a third of the world’s rare earth reserves but supplies about 90 percent of what is consumed. It has placed restrictions on exports, sparking causing among manufacturers from Japan to the U.S.

The Malaysian government held a public hearing to review its decision amid protests by residents and civil groups over alleged health and environmental risks posed by potential leaks of radioactive waste. Controversy over the project poses a headache to the government with general elections expected this year. Tan said the ministry instead told Lynas to submit a plan to immobilize radioactive elements in its waste, and an emergency response plan on dust control. “The two conditions are flimsy and general in nature. They are not specific enough and will in no way safeguard or appease the fears of residents living in the area,” he told The Associated Press. The group plans to challenge the government decision in court, he said.

The science ministry said in a statement Friday it rejected the coalition’s appeal because there was “no strong justification nor scientific or technical basis” for it. The ministry said the refinery would only be allowed to operate once Lynas complies with all the requirements, including the two extra conditions.  Lynas officials couldn’t be immediately reached for comments. The Lynas plant in northern Pahang state will be the first rare earth refinery outside of China in years, and is expected to meet nearly a third of world demand for rare earths, excluding China. Lynas has said its plant, which has state-of-the-art pollution control, was ready to go but the government review has blocked the company from bringing in raw material. The plant will refine ore from Australia.

Officials said the first phase of the plant cost 1.5 billion ringgit ($472 million), while construction of the second phase costing another 1 billion ringgit ($315 million) has started and is expected to double production capacity once completed by next year. Lynas said output for the first phase has been sold out for the next decade and that the delay was causing losses to its suppliers and customers. Malaysia’s last rare earth refinery — operated by Japan’s Mitsubishi group in northern Perak state — was closed in 1992 following protests and claims that it caused birth defects and leukemia among residents. It is one of Asia’s largest radioactive waste cleanup sites.

By The Washington Post

June 15, 2012:

The Government has been accused of "betraying" hundreds of workers set to lose their jobs after ministers decided not to apply to the European Commission for permission to use state funds to prop up an oil refinery. The Department for Energy and Climate Change made the decision regarding the Coryton oil refinery in Essex, where several hundred jobs are now expected to be axed after the parent company went into liquidation. Unions and refinery supporters had pushed ministers to consider putting up cash to keep the refinery going until administrators can find a buyer as its closure would drain £100 million from the economy. but ministers said overcapacity in the refining industry meant it would not be sustainable to provide government help.

The Unite union attacked the decision, comparing it with moves by the French government to step in with aid to keep a refinery open. Assistant general secretary Tony Burke said: "The workforce will feel let down and betrayed by the Government's refusal to step in as the French have done, to keep the refinery going. "This is a Government which talks about supporting manufacturing yet sits on its hands and does little to support manufacturing growth. The closure of Coryton will have a devastating impact on the local community and the wider economy, sucking out over £100 million and leading to the loss of hundreds of skilled jobs."  Thurrock Council commissioned an economic impact assessment of the closure or change of use of the site, which found it would cost £30 million in wages, £26 million in contractor costs, £6 million in locally sourced materials, £40 million spent on chemicals and utilities, and £5 million in business rates.

A Government spokesman said: "Departments across Government have looked very carefully at whether or not state aid should be provided for Coryton. But we have come to the conclusion that the existing overcapacity in the refining industry and declining demand for petrol mean that it would not be sustainable. "This would not be a long-term solution either for the taxpayer or for the industry, which will thrive best with open and fair competition. If Government did step in to help Coryton, this would be a short-term fix, and it could potentially lead to job losses at other refineries who would be at an unfair disadvantage to Coryton."

"This was a very difficult decision and it is particularly regrettable that people may lose their jobs. We are working with local agencies and Jobcentre Plus to ensure the right support is in place if it's required to help these skilled workers find new positions. "The closure of Coryton as a refinery should not have any impact on supply of fuel to London and the South East. There are many other supply points and operational refineries which can be used."

By Rutland Times

June 15, 2012:

Gov. Tom Corbett's administration began its public relations effort Thursday to build support for a 25-year tax credit worth up to $1.7 billion that it wants to foster a petrochemical industry in Pennsylvania around the state's supply of natural gas from the vast Marcellus Shale formation. Three of Corbett's cabinet secretaries held a forum at the Beaver County community college, near the Pittsburgh-area site of a multibillion-dollar petrochemical refinery planned by a subsidiary of Netherlands-based oil and gas giant Royal Dutch Shell PLC. The Republican governor's administration has just begun sharing with the public the details of what lawmakers say would be the biggest package of taxpayer-paid incentives in Pennsylvania's history for a project Corbett bills as the reindustrialization of the state.

Secretary of Revenue Dan Meuser said the "Pennsylvania Resource Manufacturing Tax Credit" would more than pay for itself through the creation of thousands of new jobs, the Beaver County Times reported. The goal of the incentive is to lure an entire industry, not just the Shell plant, Secretary of Labor and Industry Julia Hearthway said, the newspaper reported. The recently revealed plan of Corbett's would not affect the state's finances right away -- the $66 million-a-year tax credit would first take effect in 2017. But Corbett wants the state Legislature to approve the tax credit before the end of June when lawmakers leave Harrisburg for the summer to show Shell that the state is serious about its offer of financial incentives for the refinery and a surrounding chemical manufacturing industry.

Shell's so-called ethane cracker would be the first built in the northeastern United States, spurred by the rapid growth of drilling in the Marcellus Shale formation, which is thought of as the nation's largest-known natural gas reservoir. However, many rank-and-file lawmakers have not been briefed on the matter and legislation is just being introduced. "Without knowing the details, I really can't speak to it, whether it makes economic sense," Rep. Glen Grell, R-Cumberland, said Thursday. "I would need to know what is the amount of state tax credits that is going to be applied per job created. Then we have to evaluate that versus what it could cost to incentivize or create jobs elsewhere."

Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson, said Thursday that he would ask Shell officials to come in and talk to legislative leaders. "I believe for something of this size and of this magnitude those of us in charge of appropriations should be able to hear from Shell what their plans could be with a tax credit such as this," Scarnati said. The Corbett administration's financial incentive plans for Shell appear to revolve around the tax credit and a newly created tax-free zone for the site that the Legislature approved in February. Lawmakers briefed last week by administration officials said they were told that taxpayer-paid financial aid would be considered to help clean up the site where the plant would be built, but administration spokesman Steve Kratz said Thursday that no such financial aid is available for private entities. Administration officials have declined to estimate the value of the tax-free site to Shell. Under the legislation, the tax credit would apply to any ethane cracker in Pennsylvania that converts natural gas liquids to ethylene, which is then used to produce chemicals that go into everything from plastics to tires to antifreeze.

The credit would be equal to a nickel per gallon of ethane purchased and used in manufacturing ethylene in Pennsylvania. Shell's industrial complex would likely attract many smaller, specialized chemical plants, according to the Washington, D.C.-based American Chemistry Council, and the Corbett administration wants to encourage that by allowing Shell to sell or transfer the tax credit to companies that supply the ethane or use a derivative. Shell has estimated that the core plant could employ several hundred people and create up to 10,000 construction jobs. The American Chemistry Council estimated last year that a manufacturing industry around the plant could employ another 2,400 people, plus another 8,200 people indirectly through the ongoing purchase of supplies and raw materials.

On Tuesday, Corbett warned that he has heard that Ohio and West Virginia are still trying to lure away the Shell cracker with their competing offers of financial incentives. In the meantime, some of the natural gas liquids produced from the Marcellus Shale region are already under contract to be piped down to the Gulf Coast, where 26 of the nation's 29 crackers are located.

By Bloomberg

RODEO- County health workers continued to pump nitrogen and water into a ruptured tank at the ConocoPhillips refinery in Rodeo, and health concerns were easing. The tank released an unknown amount of hydrogen sulfide Friday morning at the refinery located at 1380 San Pablo Ave., said Randy Sawyer, the county's chief environmental health and hazardous materials officer. Hydrodgen sulfide is not dangerous in low concentrations, but its offensive rotten-egg smell is strong and easily noticed, and can cause dizziness and nausea, Sawyer said. The evening commute on Interstate 80 passed directly through the refinery, but the California Highway Patrol said there were no incidents. The tank holds 1.5 million gallons of processed water.

The threshold for the gas becoming a health hazard is 30 parts per million, and the highest measurement in the area surrounding the crude-oil refinery was 1 part per million, recorded around noon, Sawyer said. The county health agency said late Friday that the measurement was still between 5 and 10 parts per billion, with the higher levels located in the higher elevations of Crockett. The total was expected to remain the same into Saturday morning. That total was down from the 17 parts per billion measurement taken about an hour after the leak. Sawyer said the county monitored whether the smell was at a hazardous level throughout the commute, saying the odor can "smell bad, but that's it."  If exposed to it too long, a person can become nauseous, he said.

The refinery also pumped diesel into the tank as a way to coat the top of the water and act as a cap preventing any more odors from escaping, Sawyer said. The incident began about 7 a.m. when the tank ruptured. ConocoPhillips spokesman Rich Johnson said Friday afternoon that the cause of the rupture was still unknown, and that the investigation likely won't be finished for weeks. County officials said they were notified about 45 minutes after the rupture and began testing throughout the nearby area for gas levels. They warned people with asthma or any other respiratory sensitivity to avoid the area.

Though emissions remained at what the county considers safe levels, the gas apparently caused people nearby to suffer burning eyes and nausea Friday morning. Marie Shalz, of Hercules, said her children, ages 6 and 9, were swimming Friday morning at Crockett Pool when they first noticed the smell. She said the children, swim coaches and mothers at the pool all began suffering burning eyes, dizziness and nausea. "One mom had gone out for a walk," Shalz said, "and she came right back and said, 'My chest hurts, so I couldn't walk any more.'" A coach at the pool then told everyone the county had declared a shelter-in-place -- about which she would have been mistaken -- and Shalz drove her children home, she said. "Now we're out of that area, and I think my kids should be fine," she said. "But I want to know, should I take my kids to their doctor? Should we be worried about this? They seem fine to me but I don't know what they've been exposed to."

County officials said there is no reason to panic, but that anybody concerned about their health after smelling the gas should consult their physician.

By Contra Costa Times