August 23, 2012:

The Romney campaign likes to attack President Obama for over regulation. There are too many rules they say, and those rules cost businesses money and create a climate of uncertainty about when the next regulation is going to come down the pike. But when Obama wants to, he's relieved the regulatory burden on businesses that matter to him, like a refinery in Philadelphia that was set to close, which would have killed union jobs and increased fuel prices, potentially hurting his reelection effort.

 Question is, will he do it again now that there is a food crisis brewing. According to a recent Wall Street Journal story , the main oil refinery in Philadelphia would have closed had it not been for the intervention of the White House in convincing a private equity group to buy it.

"Gene Sperling, director of Mr. Obama's National Economic Council, helped kick-start discussions to sell the refinery to Carlyle Group." And after those discussions as well as several phone calls and meetings, "Carlyle last month said it would take a two-thirds stake in the refinery and invest at least $200 million to upgrade it, staving off the potential for fuel-price increases and saving 850 unionized jobs in Pennsylvania, a likely battleground state in November." Of course, the union jobs were probably high on Obama's list of reasons why he didn't want the refinery to close. No, no, no. Can't have Romney ads with laid off union workers in a state Obama can't afford to lose. 

But in order to make the deal, Sperling and the administration had to agree to relax Clean Air Act regulations. "A key issue Carlyle identified was a 2005 consent decree with the Environmental Protection Agency under which Sunoco agreed to limit emissions at its refineries. Carlyle wanted to work on the refinery without triggering costly environmental reviews." Guess what? Carlysle got their excemption and can now pollute more. Carlysle also got a sweet deal since they didn't have to pay anything for a majority stake in the refinery. The company is shouldering the burden for upgrades. So now we come to the current food crisis, which is being caused by drought and corn regulations. You see, the government has regulations for how much of our gasoline is made from ethanol and ethanol is made from corn. The farmers who grow cattle and chickens need corn too though to feed their animals, and since there's not enough corn because of the drought, farmers want the Obama administration to relax the ethanol standards so they have the food they need for their livestock.

And political pressure has mounted from governors and legislators in states that depend on industries like poultry and cattle so the EPA has agreed to review the regulations and could decide to lower the ethanol regulations. But remember, farmers aren't unionized and Obama isn't as worried about the votes of farmers as he is urban voters. So in the meantime, Obama announced that he's buying meat and poultry for school kids instead .

By Newyork Post

August 23, 2012:

West Texas Sour oil weakened to the cheapest versus benchmark West Texas Intermediate in almost seven weeks because of decreased demand during refinery maintenance and growing production. Work on a shut crude unit and reformer at Western Refining Inc. (WNR)’s El Paso, Texas, refinery is expected to last about two weeks or less, Gary Hanson, a company spokesman, said yesterday. Eagle Ford production of oil and condensate has grown to average between 550,000 and 600,000 barrels a day, Phani Gadde, a senior analyst with Wood Mackenzie, a research and consulting firm in Houston, said in a telephone interview. West Texas Sour’s discount to WTI widened 20 cents to $4 a barrel at 4:05 p.m. in New York, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s the widest margin since July 6.

Light Louisiana Sweet’s premium to WTI widened $1.30 to $17.70. Heavy Louisiana Sweet rose 55 cents to $16.85 over WTI. Poseidon’s premium increased 10 cents to $12.50. Mars Blend lost 20 cents to $12.30 a barrel over WTI. Southern Green Canyon’s premium widened by 65 cents to $11.90. Thunder Horse, a sour crude with lower sulfur content than Mars, Poseidon and Southern Green Canyon, slipped by 30 cents to a premium of $15. Syncrude’s premium was unchanged at $8 above WTI. Bakken oil from North Dakota was steady at a $1 discount to WTI. Western Canada Select’s discount was unchanged at $11.

By Bloomberg

August 23, 2012:

TAMPA, Fla.,- MagneGas Corporation ("MagneGas" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: MNGA), the developer of a technology that converts liquid waste into a hydrogen-based metal working fuel and natural gas alternative, announced today that the Company recently purchased a 3.5 acre site in Tarpon Springs, FL, which it will turn into a manufacturing facility for MagneGas refineries.   The facility features 48 covered 24' x 44' bays suitable for the joint assembly of at least 30 MagneGas refineries. The company will begin use of the facility in the third quarter of 2012 for the fabrication, assembly and testing of the MagneGas refineries."We've spent much of 2012 educating the marketplace on the benefits of MagneGas. One of the major advantages of our fuel is that it can be produced in refineries that are small, easy to transport and easy to install. As our customers have recognized the benefits of having a refinery on site, we've seen increased interest and are expanding our manufacturing capabilities to ensure we meet demand," said Ermanno Santilli, CEO of MagneGas. To be added to the MagneGas investor email list, please email pcarlson@kcsa.com with MNGA in the subject line.

About MagneGas Corporation

Founded in 2007, Tampa-based MagneGas Corporation (NASDAQ: MNGA) is the producer of MagneGas™, a natural gas alternative and metal working fuel that can be made from certain industrial, municipal, agricultural and military liquid wastes following the receipt of appropriate governmental permits. The Company's patented Plasma Arc Flow™ process gasifies liquid waste, creating a clean burning hydrogen based fuel that is essentially interchangeable with natural gas. MagneGas™ can be used for metal working, cooking, heating, powering bi fuel automobiles and more. For more information on MagneGas, please visit the Company's website at www.magnegas.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined within Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.  These statements relate to future events, including our ability to raise capital, or to our future financial performance, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements since they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond our control and which could, and likely will, materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Any forward-looking statement reflects our current views with respect to future events and is subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to our operations, results of operations, growth strategy and liquidity. We assume no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. The Company is currently using new antifreeze, vegetable oil and ethylene glycol to produce fuel until proper permits to process used liquid waste have been obtained. For a discussion of these risks and uncertainties, please see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Our public filings with the SEC are available from commercial document retrieval services and at the website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov.

By herladonline.com

August 23, 2012:

Contaminated fuel from BP's Whiting, Ind., refinery made its way to some 200 retail outlets in Northwest Indiana, Chicago and the suburbs -- along with 20 stations in the Milwaukee area, the company said Wednesday. More than 7,000 customer complaints over the bad gas had reached BP as of Wednesday afternoon, a spokesman said. BP believes it has identified the full distribution of a 50,000-barrel batch of bad gas that has been fouling cars in four states since last week. Station operators have been instructed not to sell the recalled gas, which is being trucked back to Whiting for reprocessing, according to the company. Roughly 2.1 million gallons of gasoline were recalled by BP's Whiting refinery after hundreds of reports of hard-starting and stalling vehicles from motorists flooded Chicago area repair shops this week. BP issued a statement Tuesday, saying the gasoline was blended at its Whiting storage terminal between Aug. 13 and 17 and contained a "higher than normal level of polymeric residue."

Mechanics say the contaminated gas has a sludge-like consistency, which clogs the fuel system. BP is investigating how the contamination occurred. While Lake County, Ind., remains the epicenter of the problem, BP has identified a number of stations in the southern suburbs and Chicago that sold the fuel. An additional 21,000 gallons of contaminated premium fuel was delivered to the Milwaukee area and sold at 20 BP-branded stations over a nine-hour period from Monday night until Tuesday morning, affecting both premium and mid-grade levels. BP has received consumer complaints from Michigan, but believes that in those instances the customers bought the gas in Indiana. "We're not seeing any evidence that it was shipped to Michigan," said Scott Dean, a Chicago-based BP spokesman. Motorists whose vehicles have been damaged by the fuel can file a claim by calling BP's customer hotline at 800-333-3991. The company has added a second number -- 800-599-9040 -- to handle the high volume of calls. Claims may also be sent via email at bpconsum@bp.com. Consumers can also access information and submit an online inquiry at bpresponse.com, where the company also plans to post a list of affected retail outlets, according to Dean.

While BP continues to investigate the cause of the problem, Dean said the contaminated fuel should no longer be in retail circulation. He also said the refinery has stepped up efforts to test for the polymeric residue to prevent any more bad gas from being shipped.

By Hispanicbusiness.com

August 23, 2012:

OUSTON — Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE: KMP) and Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) have entered into an agreement for Kinder Morgan to transport Eagle Ford crude and condensate to Phillips 66’s Sweeny Refinery in Brazoria County, Texas. Under the agreement, KMP plans to build a 27-mile, 12-inch diameter lateral pipeline to extend its Kinder Morgan Crude Condensate (KMCC) pipeline. Kinder Morgan will provide Phillips 66 with a significant portion of the lateral pipeline’s initial 30,000 barrels per day (bpd) of capacity, which is expandable to 100,000 bpd. KMP will invest approximately $90 million in the project, which also involves adding associated receipt facilities by constructing a five-bay truck offloading facility and three new storage tanks with approximately 360,000 barrels of crude/condensate capacity at Kinder Morgan’s DeWitt Station in DeWitt County, Texas, and Wharton Pump Station in Wharton County, Texas. Pending receipt of environmental and regulatory approvals, construction is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2012. “This pipeline lateral will provide yet another attractive delivery point for customers of our KMCC pipeline while providing Phillips 66 with enhanced access to price-advantaged Eagle Ford crude and condensate,” said KMP Products Pipelines President Tom Bannigan. The project is expected to be immediately accretive to cash available to KMP unitholders upon completion in the first quarter of 2014.

Kinder Morgan’s crude/condensate pipeline, which was ready for service in June 2012, transports crude/condensate from the Eagle Ford shale to the Houston Ship Channel through 65 miles of new-build construction and 113 miles of converted natural gas pipeline. “This agreement aligns with a fundamental part of the Phillips 66 business strategy to get advantaged crude to our refineries,” said Glenn Simpson, general manager, Phillips 66 Crude & International Supply.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE: KMP) is a leading pipeline transportation and energy storage company and one of the largest publicly traded pipeline limited partnerships in America. It owns an interest in or operates more than 53,000 miles of pipelines and 180 terminals. The general partner of KMP is owned by Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE: KMI). Kinder Morgan is the largest midstream and the third largest energy company in North America with a combined enterprise value of approximately $100 billion. It owns an interest in or operates approximately 75,000 miles of pipelines and 180 terminals. Its pipelines transport natural gas, gasoline, crude oil, CO2 and other products, and its terminals store petroleum products and chemicals and handle such products as ethanol, coal, petroleum coke and steel. KMI owns the general partner interest of KMP and El Paso Pipeline Partners, L.P. (NYSE: EPB), along with limited partner interests in KMP, Kinder Morgan Management, LLC (NYSE: KMR) and EPB. For more information please visit www.kindermorgan.com. Headquartered in Houston, Phillips 66 is an advantaged downstream energy company with segment-leading Refining and Marketing (R&M), Midstream and Chemicals businesses. The company has approximately 14,000 employees worldwide. Phillips 66’s R&M operations include 15 refineries with a net crude oil capacity of 2.2 million barrels per day, 10,000 branded marketing outlets, and 15,000 miles of pipeline systems. In Midstream, the company primarily conducts operations through its 50 percent interest in DCP Midstream, LLC, one of the largest natural gas gatherers and processors in the United States, with 7.2 billion cubic feet per day of gross natural gas processing capacity. Phillips 66’s Chemicals business is conducted through its 50 percent interest in Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC, one of the world’s top producers of olefins and polyolefins with more than 30 billion pounds of net annual chemicals processing capacity across its product lines. For more information, visit www.phillips66.com.

This news release includes forward-looking statements. Although Kinder Morgan believes that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that such assumptions will materialize. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements herein are enumerated in Kinder Morgan’s Forms 10-K and 10-Q as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

By herladonline.com