Flames and smoke could be seen for miles after an explosion and fire at an oil refinery Jan. 10, 2015, in Lima Ohio.
Four oil refineries work to recover from weekend glitches, fires
PHILADELPHIA - Three of the largest U.S. oil refineries will be working to restore operations on Tuesday after a series of weekend glitches temporarily knocked out some 1 million barrels per day (bpd) of processing capacity, the worse spate of outages in years.
A fourth plant, Husky Energy Inc's 155,000-bpd Lima, Ohio, refinery, is not expected back online until the end of the week after a blast at its 25,000-bpd isocracker unit, which sources have said was extensively damaged.
The disruptions - which included three fires on Saturday and one shutdown late last week - affected about one-fifth of the refining capacity in the eastern half of the United States, fueling deeper losses in U.S. crude oil prices, but boosting prompt gasoline and diesel prices in the New York harbor.
Although there was no indication that the incidents were linked.... more here
Crisis communicator tapped to lead federal rail regulator
By Curtis Tate McClatchy Washington Bureau January 12, 2015
U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced Monday
that his chief of staff, Sarah Feinberg, would be tapped as the
country’s rail safety chief.
Feinberg will become acting administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration at a time when the Transportation Department is under pressure to finish new rules aimed at improving the safety of crude oil transported by rail.
“With her ability to bring clarity, focus and direction to complex challenges, she has become a proven leader within our agency,” Foxx said in a statement. “Sarah has the right mix of experience and skills to adeptly lead the FRA as it continues its important work to ensure the safe, reliable and efficient movement of people and goods.”
Feinberg succeeds Joseph Szabo, a career railroad worker and union official who led the agency since 2009.....
.....Unlike past rail agency chiefs, however, Feinberg comes from a non-transportation background. Before joining the department in 2013, she handled crisis and corporate communications for Facebook and Bloomberg...... more here
Links:
Ah, so many assurances that all things crude oil will be made safe, and new purportedly competent individuals appointed headmasters to this end! Then why don't I still feel convinced? Am I a skeptic with good cause or an ignorant individual who fails to see all the progress being made toward this end--safety!? All while those refineries continue to burn. The only thing missing is Nero--playing his fiddle!
ReplyDelete