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]
Crude slips, gasoline jumps as storm shuts a fifth of U.S. fuel output
Crude oil slid and gasoline futures hit their highest since mid-2015 on Wednesday as flooding and damage from Tropical Storm Harvey shut over a fifth of U.S. refineries, curbing demand for crude while raising the risk of fuel shortages. Refineries with output of 4.1 million barrels per day (bpd) were offline on Tuesday, representing 23 percent of U.S. production, Goldman Sachs said. Restarting plants even under the best conditions can take a week or more. “It will be a while before operations [Read more]
Gasoline jumps 4 percent, oil mixed as storm hits more refineries
New York (Reuters) - U.S. gasoline futures jumped 4 percent while crude prices were mixed Tuesday after a hurricane shut down 16 percent of the country’s refining capacity, curbing fuel production and further bloating crude inventories. At least 3 million bpd of refining capacity is offline, or more than 16 percent of total U.S. capacity, based on company reports and Reuters estimates. The Gulf is home to nearly half of U.S. refining capacity. “Because that demand is gone that’s where the [Read more]
Canadian oil pipeline protesters launch new battle from the water
On a sparsely populated island off the coast of the northwestern United States, more than a hundred environmental activists gathered last weekend to practice seaborne drills to disrupt construction on Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd's Westridge crude oil terminal. In kayaks and sailboats they practiced forming blockades, raising banners and rescue techniques. Sunday culminated in a mass role play in which kayakers blockaded a large vessel and unfurled banners emblazoned with "Stop Kinder [Read more]
More than 18 pct of U.S. Gulf oil output shut in by Harvey
More than 18 percent of oil production in the Gulf of Mexico was shut in on Tuesday due to Harvey, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Safety Environmental Enforcement said. That equates to some 319,523 barrels of oil per day, out of roughly 1.75 million barrels pumped daily from the Gulf. The amount of production shut in was down from Monday, when more than 331,000 barrels were shut in. Meanwhile, 19.1 percent of natural gas production in the region, or 615.09 million cubic feet [Read more]