Farmers and ethanol makers likely OK without subsidy, experts say

Condoleeza Rice to join board of Houston biofuels firm

Posted on June 22, 2011 at 10:44 am by Brett Clanton in Crude oil, Environment, General, Refining

The former U.S. Secretary of State joins KiOR, a firm that has developed a process for turning wood chips into a crude oil substitute that can be refined into gasoline and diesel blends and that operates a demonstration plant in Pasadena. More »

Will new fracking disclosures be enough to settle controversy?

Posted on June 22, 2011 at 10:18 am by Loren Steffy in Environment, Natural gas, Social

Oil companies wonder why are have become such convenient villains, Loren Steffy writes, especially for environmental groups, but the fracking issue provides an answer: They are so willing to play the role. More »

Dutch airline to turn used cooking oil into aviation biofuel

Posted on June 22, 2011 at 7:26 am by Associated Press in Europe

Starting in September, 200 KLM flights between Paris and Amsterdam will use biofuel made from used cooking oil in an attempt to reduce the airline’s carbon emissions. The European Union told airlines earlier this year they would have to cut emissions by three percent in 2012 to fall within new pollution limits. More »

Transocean report: BP didn’t assess risks properly before blowout update

Posted on June 22, 2011 at 7:11 am by Tom Fowler in Accidents, Gulf oil spill

BP failed to adequately assess the risks of well design and operations decisions before the Deepwater Horizon blowout and ensuing oil spill, according to a report by rig owner Transocean. More »

Arkansas regulators seek ban on injection wells in Fayetteville Shale

Posted on June 22, 2011 at 7:04 am by Associated Press in Hydraulic fracturing, Natural gas, Shale

If a ban is approved, companies will have to truck frac fluids to injection wells elsewhere in Arkansas or in Oklahoma or Texas. The proposal comes after a swarm of earthquakes have shaken the region. More »

FuelFix Newslinks |06.22.11|

Posted on June 22, 2011 at 6:41 am by Tom Fowler in General

BP says OPEC needs to step it up. Hayward could take the stand. Rees-Jones is rolling in it. More »

Merrill/BP alum launches new production research firm

Posted on June 22, 2011 at 5:26 am by Tom Fowler in Natural gas, People

Randall Collum is partnering with Waterborne Energy to start a new natural gas production analysis firm. More »

New alt energy trade show planned for Houston

Posted on June 22, 2011 at 5:17 am by Tom Fowler in Electricity, Environment, Social, Solar, Wind

The Total Energy USA conference aims to attract 7,500 attendees to a combination trade show and conference centered around alternative energy in October 2012. More »

Oil terminal nearing completion near Cotulla

Posted on June 22, 2011 at 12:03 am by Vicki Vaughan in Pipelines

Houston-based U.S. Development Group will complete a La Salle County terminal in July that will allow trucks to unload crude from the Eagle Ford shale onto rail cars for delivery to refiners and processing plants. More »

Analysts: BP refinery problems unlikely to hurt summer driving

Posted on June 21, 2011 at 5:47 pm by Simone Sebastian in Electricity, Refining

BP’s massive oil refining plant was taken offline by April power outages and has run at about half-capacity this quarter. That shouldn’t have much, if any, impact on gasoline prices however, according to analysts. More »

BP economist says OPEC needs to boost oil output

Posted on June 21, 2011 at 4:07 pm by Brett Clanton in Crude oil, Middle East, Social

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which failed to agree on production increases early this month, needs to lift output by about 1 million barrels per day in order to help “maintain a market balance,” the architect of BP’s annual statistical review said in Houston today. More »