NEW YORK, Sept 1 (Reuters) - U.S. energy firms did not add any oil rigs this week as Hurricane Harvey barrelled into the nation’s energy heartland, forcing drillers to halt production and refiners to shut plants. The total oil rig count for the week ended Friday stayed at 759, General Electric Co’s Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its report on Friday. That compares with 407 active oil rigs during the same week a year ago. Drillers have added rigs in 56 of the past 67 weeks since the [Read more]
Oil slips after Harvey floods U.S. refineries
Oil prices slipped on Friday in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, which has killed more than 40 people and brought record flooding to the oil heartland of Texas, paralysing a quarter of the U.S. refining industry. Harvey, downgraded to a tropical storm and losing steam as it moved inland, shut at least 4.4 million barrels per day (bpd) of refining capacity. That sparked fears of a fuel shortage before the Labor Day weekend and cut refinery demand for crude, widening the spread between U.S. [Read more]
New Canada hearings for Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion route
Canada's National Energy Board will hold a series of public hearings beginning this year to determine the route for Kinder Morgan Inc's Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, the regulator said on Thursday. While the expansion is federally approved, the NEB could force Kinder Morgan to tweak its route or impose further conditions, the regulator's chief environment officer, Rob Steedman, said in an interview. Asked if the hearings would result in delays for Trans Mountain, [Read more]
Oil rises, gasoline jumps 10 percent as U.S. refineries reel
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Gasoline futures surged 10 percent on Thursday as almost a quarter of U.S. refining capacity remained offline and traders scrambled to reroute millions of barrels of fuel, while oil prices rose nearly 3 percent. U.S. gasoline futures RBc1 have rallied roughly 26 percent from the previous week to a two-year high above $2 a gallon, buoyed by fears of a fuel shortage days ahead of the Labor Day weekend that typically brings a surge in driving. Gasoline was up 21.03 cents, or [Read more]
U.S. releases oil from strategic reserve in Harvey’s wake
WASHINGTON, Aug 31 (Reuters) - The U.S. Energy Department on Thursday released 1 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and a White House adviser said more could flow after Tropical Storm Harvey inundated Gulf Coast refineries and drove up motor fuel prices. In the first tapping of the reserve for an emergency since Hurricane Isaac in 2012, two emergency exchanges of oil of 500,000 barrels will be delivered to the Phillips 66 refinery in Lake Charles, Louisiana, the [Read more]
New Canada hearings for Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion route
Canada's National Energy Board (NEB) will hold a series of public hearings beginning this year to determine the route for Kinder Morgan Inc's Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, the regulator said on Thursday. While the expansion is federally approved, the NEB could force Kinder Morgan to tweak its route or impose further conditions, NEB chief environment officer Rob Steedman said in an interview. When asked if the hearings would result in delays for Trans Mountain, Steedman said: "Some [Read more]
Enbridge Gas Distribution to sell St. Lawrence Gas business in deal for $70 million
Enbridge Inc : * Says deal for U.S. $70 million * Enbridge gas distribution announces sale of St. Lawrence Gas business Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: [Read more]
U.S. oil set for biggest monthly loss in over a year as floods hit demand
U.S. crude oil prices are on track to post the steepest monthly losses in more than a year on Thursday as concerns spread over falling demand in the world’s top oil-consuming country after storm Harvey knocked out almost a quarter of its refineries. But prices rallied in the oil products markets, with U.S. gasoline futures RBc1 hitting a two-year high above $2 a gallon, buoyed by fears of a fuel shortage just days ahead of the Labor Day weekend that typically sees a surge in driving. Harvey, [Read more]
Canada band raises new issue in Kinder Morgan pipeline challenge
A Canadian aboriginal band seeking to stop Kinder Morgan Inc's Trans Mountain pipeline expansion has asked a court to consider the federal government's position for a tougher review on a rival project. The west coast Tsleil-Waututh Nation made the request in a letter to the Federal Court of Appeal seen by Reuters this week. The request came after Canada's resource regulator announced a tougher upcoming review for TransCanada Corp's Energy East pipeline last week, but [Read more]
About a quarter of U.S. fuel output shut, Harvey churns on
HOUSTON (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Harvey inflicted more damage on the heart of the U.S. energy industry overnight after flooding the biggest U.S. refiner in Texas and then churning into Louisiana, causing fuel shortages and high gasoline prices that could afflict the country for weeks. Harvey’s disruption of the petroleum industry has driven gasoline futures prices up 16 percent over the past week and prices at the pump are rising too, particularly in the South. About 4.2 million barrels of [Read more]