Kinder Morgan posts gains in first quarter

FuelFix Newslinks |04.21.11|

Posted on April 21, 2011 at 9:51 am by Tom Fowler in General

Spill investigators pick up the pace. Small firms stay deep. More Iraqi oil bids coming. More »

Gas prices hit United-Continental with $213M loss

Posted on April 21, 2011 at 8:48 am by Associated Press in General

The company’s fuel costs rose 26.5 percent to $2.67 billion, as first-quarter revenue increased 10.8 percent to $8.2 billion, compared to a year earlier. United and other airlines have been raising fares to offset climbing fuel costs. More »

Solar panels often boost home values

Posted on April 21, 2011 at 7:15 am by San Francisco Chronicle in Solar

On average, a solar system added about $5.50 per watt to a home’s resale value, a study of California real estate values found. For a home with a typical 3.1-kilowatt solar system, that represents an extra $17,000 above the cost of a comparable, nonsolar home. More »

Pennsylvania gas well blast sends frac fluid flying

Posted on April 21, 2011 at 7:03 am by Tom Fowler in Accidents, Hydraulic fracturing, Natural gas, Oil field services, Shale

What appears to be a failed well casing led to thousands of gallons of hydraulic fracturing fluid spilling from a Chesapeake Energy well in rural Pennsylvania. More »

N. D. regulators investigate flooded oil waste pits

Posted on April 21, 2011 at 6:49 am by Associated Press in General

Thirty-two waste ponds — each about the size of a large swimming pool — were swamped in recent weeks by meltwater from one of the state’s snowiest winters on record. The spills came even though regulators notified companies well before the spring thaw to protect the pits from runoff with dikes, state officials said. More »

Oil exec gives Houston area hospital biggest donation

Posted on April 21, 2011 at 6:13 am by chron.com Chronicle in People, Social

Lester Smith, a Houston oil executive and survivor of bladder and prostate cancer, made a $15 million gift from his foundation to the hospital district for cancer services at its new outpatient clinic. More »

Former Texaco building may become apartments

Posted on April 21, 2011 at 12:30 am by Purva Patel in Real estate

Developers are nearing a deal to buy the downtown building, vacated by Texaco in the 1980s, for redevelopment, according to a broker working on the deal. The building was designed by the same New York architecture firm that designed Grand Central Station in Manhattan. More »

Gulf oil spill prosecutors pick up the pace of investigations

Posted on April 21, 2011 at 12:30 am by chron.com Energy in Gulf oil spill, Legal issues

In the month since a prosecutor with experience in New York mob cases took over as head of the criminal probe into the Deepwater Horizon disaster, federal investigators have stepped up interviews with individuals involved in the accident, lawyers familiar with the case say. Charges are likely by the end of the year against BP. More »

Key agency to miss out on blowout preventer tests

Posted on April 21, 2011 at 12:30 am by Jennifer A. Dlouhy in Gulf oil spill

Testing is set to resume next week on the blowout preventer that failed to stop gushing oil at BP’s Macondo well, but the independent federal Chemical Safety Board, which has been probing the disaster, will not be permitted to participate. More »

Oil prices likely to keep rising until June

Posted on April 20, 2011 at 10:03 pm by MarketWatch in General

Consumers leery of oil prices topping $111 a barrel may want to brace for more sticker shock in the coming months. (Via MarketWatch) More »

BP sues Cameron, Transocean, Halliburton over Deepwater Horizon disaster updated

Posted on April 20, 2011 at 6:02 pm by Tom Fowler in Accidents, Gulf oil spill, Legal issues, Offshore

BP sued the maker of the failed BOP, claiming the design and poor maintenance were partially to blame for the Gulf spill last year. The lawsuit came on the last day to make certain claims under the Oil Pollution Act. More »