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The blast at a Texas oil refinery early Thursday will probably push already high gasoline prices even higher — although not immediately. The blast and resulting fire at the ExxonMobil plant in the Houston-area city of Baytown, Texas, injured at least four workers. The accident could hamper output at one of America’s largest refineries for months, weighing on gasoline supply at at time when US refining capacity has already been reduced, said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for the Oil Price Information Service. “They’re not going to have all systems go for a couple of quarters,” he said. The average...

What the local sheriff called a "major industrial accident" led to a huge fire early Thursday at an ExxonMobil refinery in Baytown, Texas, near Houston. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez tweeted that "initial reports indicated some type of explosion occurred inside the plant." He said there were apparently four people injured. Three were airlifted out and one was removed by ambulance. Gonzalez said there didn't appear to be any need for anyone to evacuate or shelter-in-place. ExxonMobil said in a statement that its "fire teams are working to extinguish the fire" and it was trying to account for everyone who...

A large fire erupted late on Wednesday afternoon at an oil refinery near Iran’s capital, Tehran, which followed news from earlier in the day that the nation’s largest warship sank after it caught fire in the Gulf of Oman. “The fire struck the state-owned Tondgooyan Petrochemical Co. to the south of Tehran, said Mansour Darajati, the director-general of the capital’s crisis management team,” The Associated Press reported. “Firefighters believe it struck a pipeline for liquefied petroleum gas at the facility, Darajati told Iranian state television. He did not elaborate.” 🎥 #آتش‌سوزی عظیم در پالایشگاه شهید تندگویان تهران رئیس مرکز فرماندهی...

An attack on an oil terminal on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast set one fuel tank ablaze, the country’s petroleum ministry said, after several Houthi drones reportedly targeted two cities not far from the border with Yemen. A projectile struck an oil terminal in Jizan, a port on the Red Sea north of the Saudi-Yemen border, on Friday, igniting a fire but resulting in no casualties, according to a statement from the Saudi Oil Ministry. “The kingdom condemns this cowardly attack directed against vital installations, which does not target the kingdom only, but also targets the security of petroleum exports,...

The raids on the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, targeted military camps, as well as Houthi rebel facilities near the city’s airport and in its suburbs, residents and rebel-run Al-Masirah TV said. A separate strike hit a rebel target in the port province of Hodeidah. The Iran-backed Houthis attacked a Saudi Aramco oil refinery in Riyadh on Friday with six bomb-laden drones. The assault caused a fire that was later controlled with no impact on oil supplies or derivatives, state-run media said. No casualties were reported.

(...) Motiva is currently assessing the impacts of Winter Storm Uri after record low temperatures necessitated the shutdown of its Port Arthur Manufacturing Complex on Sunday, February 14," said the company in its Feb. 19 statement. (...)

In a stunning real-life example of why it is important that Americans retain their Second Amendment right to bear arms, a shooter at a Texas church on Sunday was fatally shot within seconds after he pulled a gun and shot two congregants during a service. The gunman — identified Monday as 43-year-old Keith Thomas Kinnunen, according to KXAS-TV — entered the West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, Texas, near Forth Worth, and opened fire. Fortunately, he was quickly stopped by armed security, preventing any further deaths or injuries. Several other churchgoers also drew their weapons — a fact...

ATLANTA (AP) — Armed with a handheld video camera, a Georgia university student drove with a friend in April 2005 to Washington, D.C., and captured scenes of the Capitol, the Pentagon and other locations. Investigators say Syed Haris Ahmed, now 24, wasn't a tourist but a wannabe terrorist who wanted to send the videos of potential terror targets to an overseas contact. He was attending the Georgia Institute of Technology at the time. The charges, along with an allegation that Ahmed went to Pakistan and tried to join a terrorism group a few months later, are central to a federal...

Reports of a tank farm fire at the refinery in Crockett, CA. The tanks are some ways from the main plant, however the fire is spreading to other tanks. Three are alight so far. Information comes from someone on site.

Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES) Opens a New Window. is saying it wants to permanently close its oil refinery, one of the oldest and largest refineries on the East Coast, after an explosion and massive fire. The refiner had the capacity to process 335,000 barrels of oil per day or the equivalent of 14 million gallons and is one of the largest suppliers of gasoline on the eastern seaboard. The event caused substantial damage to its building complex and caused the financially struggling refiner to say enough is enough. This is a situation that has already caused gasoline prices to go...

A massive fire has erupted at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery in Southwest Philadelphia shaking nearby homes and sending thick smoke into the air. Homes as far away as South Jersey were rocked by a series of explosions as the blaze, which erupted shortly after 4 a.m., burned. Some residents in Philadelphia said the explosions knocked art off their walls. The fire is contained on the property off Passyunk Avenue of the refinery, fire officials said shortly before 6 a.m. Authorities have not yet said if any workers were injured or not.

Fire burns at ExxonMobil refinery in Baytown Ad Duration00:15 - visit sponsor's site PlayPlay Current time00:00 Seek 00:00 Duration01:06 Toggle Mute Volume SettingsToggle Fullscreen EMBED <>MORE VIDEOS Fire at Exxon refinery Thursday, April 7th, 2016 BAYTOWN, TX -- Fire at a Baytown ExxonMobil facility Thursday sent a massive plume of smoke into the air. At this point, it's not clear what started the fire. The good news is all employees have been accounted for

A tank containing crude oil or asphalt exploded at a large refinery in Wisconsin on Thursday, injuring several people and causing a blast that one worker described as sounding like a sonic boom. No fatalities have been reported, but at least five people have been taken to hospitals in Duluth, Minnesota, following the explosion at the Husky Energy oil refinery at about 10 a.m., Superior Fire Chief Steve Panger told The Associated Press. Panger didn't have details about the extent of their injuries. Others were walking wounded.

The New Zealand government will grant no new offshore oil exploration permits in a move that is being hailed by conservation and environmental groups as a historic victory in the battle against climate change.

The first oil refinery to open in the U.S. in 40 years breaks ground in west Texas. The MMEX Resources Corporation’s $50 million project is set to be built in Pecos County. The area holds a significant crude oil supply, and is also railroad accessible. It will be developed in two phases, and is expected to create hundreds of jobs. Once it is completed, the 126 acre refinery will be able to process 10,000 barrels of crude oil each day. Meanwhile, officials plan to file permits for a second unit that would be able to produce 100,000 barrels. The first...

DALLAS - As gas prices spike across Texas and fuel runs short at some gas stations, officials say there's no shortage of fuel in the state because of Harvey. Texas Railroad Commissioner Ryan Sitton said consumers are putting undue demand on fuel and that's making it difficult to resupply gas stations in a timely fashion. He called the problem simply one of demand and logistics. "There's plenty of gasoline," he said. "This will subside." Sitton says he understands the worry as people drive up to gas stations and see high prices, long lines and red bags covering gas pumps. But...

Roughly 2.33 million b/d of Texas refining capacity remained down due to shutdowns, but with refiners also cutting rates that figure is likely much higher. If those cutting runs are at 50% of capacity, that would put the total downed capacity at 3.36 million b/d (18% of the US total). Vessel traffic into and out of the US Gulf Coast has largely been closed, restricting oil and refined products imports and exports. The US Coast Guard set port condition Zulu for Louisiana port Lake Charles and Texas ports Beaumont, Nederland, Orange, Port Arthur, Port Neches, Sabine and Sabine Bar. The...

The battle between Louisiana and Texas for ExxonMobil Chemical Co. and Saudi Basic Industries Corp.'s "world-scale" petrochemical complex is over, and Texas won. The partners have chosen a site in San Patricio County, Texas, for the proposed petrochemical plant, which will provide the building blocks for polyester, anti-freeze, plastic bottles and food packaging. Ascension and St. James parishes were among the four sites considered for the plant. The fourth also was in Texas. The proposed multibillion-dollar investment would include an ethane steam cracker capable of producing nearly 2 million tons of ethylene a year. If built, the project would create...

A Chinese chemical company says it has begun building a $1.85 billion plant in St. James Parish, about 15 miles north of Thibodaux, that promises to create hundreds of jobs. Yuhuang Chemical began construction on the methanol plant in January and expects to complete the complex, along the Mississippi River, in late 2019, the company said in a news release Thursday. “The first phase of the project is a $1.5 billion methanol manufacturing complex,” the company said. “Two more phases are set to follow, leading to the employment of 100 permanent workers. The plant is also expected to create around...

A Houston company is looking to pump $500 million into South Texas to create the largest new refinery in the U.S. in nearly 40 years. The facility — located in the southwest corner of Duval County off of Texas Highway 359 — will be able to process up to 50,000 barrels of Eagle Ford shale light crude oil a day, and will have up to 4 million barrels of available storage, the company said in a news release. Raven Petroleum says it will produce diesel, jet fuel, naphtha, gasoline, and liquified petroleum gas products to be exported via rail and...