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Exxon fined over explosion at La. oil refinery that injured four workers

HOUSTON (Reuters) — Exxon Mobil Corp has been fined about $165,000 by US regulators for safety lapses including inadequate training and equipment maintenance over an explosion that injured four workers at an aging Baton Rouge, Louisiana, refinery last year.

AFPM 'encouraged' by EPA proposed changes to biofuel mandates

WASHINGTON – Following the release of the 2018 Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), AFPM President and CEO Chet Thompson released the following statement:

Tide turns for sulfur-rich oil in a sea of light crude

LONDON (Reuters) — The world is awash with oil, but in pockets of the market lower-quality, sulfur-rich crude is limited and buyers are competing for cargoes.

Sempra Energy awarded $155 MM liquid fuels project in Veracruz

SAN DIEGO — Sempra Energy announced that its Mexican subsidiary, Infraestructura Energética Nova, S.A.B. de C.V. (IEnova), has been awarded a 20-yr contract by the Veracruz Port Administration in Mexico to build and operate a receipt, storage and send-out liquid fuels marine terminal on the Mexican Gulf Coast.

BP ships diesel from the US to Australia in unusual move

SINGAPORE (Reuters) — Oil major BP Plc is shipping diesel from the United States to Australia in an unusual shipping flow, several industry sources told Reuters on Thursday.

US crude stockpiles drop the most since September

NEW YORK (Reuters) — US crude oil inventories last week dropped the most in ten months, falling more than expected as imports declined and refining rates rose, while gasoline stocks decreased although demand remained lackluster, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

Pipelines secured as wildfires rage in western Canada

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) — Major pipeline companies in western Canada created fire breaks, installed sprinklers and took other measures to protect operations as raging wildfires spread to more than 93,000 acres in British Columbia.

US petroleum refinery capacity continues to increase

As of Jan. 1, US operable atmospheric crude distillation capacity reached 18.6 MMbpd, 1.6% higher than at the beginning of 2016, according to EIA's annual Refinery Capacity Report. This increase in operable capacity was slightly lower than last year’s increase of 2.0%.

OPEC sees lower demand for its oil in 2018, points to surplus

LONDON (Reuters) — World demand for OPEC's crude will decline next year as US shale producers and other rivals pump more, OPEC said on Wednesday, suggesting the oil market will see a surplus in 2018 despite an OPEC-led output cut.

US EPA chief says to treat diesel emissions cheating 'very aggressively'

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — US Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt said the agency must ensure Volkswagen AG's excess diesel emissions is not repeated, and will treat improper behavior by automakers "very aggressively."