BP says it will create a new safety division in the aftermath of this summer’s oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The “powerful“ new unit “will have authority to intervene in all aspects of BP’s technical activities,“ the company said in a statement Wednesday. Get the full story »
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Exelon plans debt sale to buy Deere unit
Exelon Corp., the largest U.S. producer of nuclear power, plans to sell $900 million of 10- and 31-year debt to fund its purchase of a Deere & Co. wind-power unit.
The bonds may be issued as soon as today through Exelon Generation Co. according to a person familiar with the transaction. John Deere Renewables will cost $860 million with an additional $40 million if Deere starts constructing three projects in Michigan, Exelon said today in a regulatory filing that didn’t specify the debt offering’s size or timing. Get the full story »
Illinois appliance rebate program already over
Home Depot saleswoman Susan McKenzie, left, explains the appliance rebate program to customer Angel Robles of Chicago. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Anyone hoping to cash in on Friday’s federal stimulus money which allowed for a 15 percent discount on energy-saving appliances had to show up to stores early — very early.
The Illinois Retail Merchants Association confirmed this morning that the $3 million in federal money to support energy-efficient appliances was gone in about two hours. The group shut the program down at 10:30 a.m.
“This made Black Friday look like a Tuesday in July,” Illinois Retail Merchants Association President David F. Vite said in a statement. “Sales have never been so brisk in Illinois.” Get the full story »
Exelon Braidwood reactor back online
Braidwood Station Unit 1 returned to service this morning at 5:43 a.m., when operators connected the plant’s turbine generator to the regional power grid. Get the full story »
U.S. gasoline demand rises in last week
U.S retail gasoline demand on average rose 1.9 percent last week from the previous week, as consumption rebounded from the post Labor day slump, according to the SpendingPulse report released Tuesday by MasterCard Advisors. Get the full story »
Exelon plant shutdown won’t affect customers
Exelon Corp. shut down a nuclear power plant in Braidwood, Ill. about 60 miles southwest of Chicago Monday evening when the unit’s “turbine tripped offline,” the company said today.
The Braidwood Unit 1 shutdown will “not have an impact on Exelon customers,” the company said. The automatic shutdown, which happened at 5:04 p.m. Monday, remains under investigation. Get the full story »
Oil slips to $74 a barrel before Fed meeting
Oil prices slipped to near $74 a barrel Tuesday in Asia as traders looked to a key U.S. central bank meeting later in the day for possible new polices to help boost economic growth.
Benchmark crude for October delivery was down 59 cents, to $74.27, a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.20, to settle at $74.86, on Monday. Get the full story »
Oil jumps above $75 as S&P 500 hits 4-month peak
Oil prices rose on Monday, snapping a four-day slump and lifted by a rallying equities market expecting the U.S. Federal Reserve to keep its policies steady at a meeting this week and bouncing after crude prices slumped 3.7 percent last week. Get the full story »
Blown-out BP well is declared dead
The site of the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. (HO/AFP/Getty Images)
With an an injection of cement 18,000 feet below the ocean’s surface, the BP well in the Gulf of Mexico was declared dead after nearly five months of heartache, misery and worry.
The news was “real good,” said Canty, a 31-year-old shrimper, but it wasn’t likely to change his life immediately. His shrimp boat is still contracted out indefinitely to BP, he said, and for the time being, he expects to remain among the 25,200 people hired to finish cleaning up the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. Get the full story »
Enbridge restarts Chicago-area pipeline
Enbridge Inc. says it has restarted a pipeline that spilled oil in the Chicago area last week. Get the full story »
Enbridge to reopen Illinois oil pipeline
Enbridge Energy Partners said it has finished repairs on its line 6A pipeline shut down last week due to a leak in a Chicago suburb and plans to restore service Friday morning.
The company said the leak was stopped Sunday evening after it found a hole in the 34-inch pipe in an industrial area of Romeoville. Enbridge said 6,100 barrels of crude oil were released during the spill, and only a small portion escaped from the immediate area before its crews began vacuuming up the oil. Get the full story »
Exelon to remove tritium-tainted water from plant
The owners of Oyster Creek nuclear power plant say they’ll begin pumping water contaminated by radioactive tritium out of the ground to prevent any possible contamination of drinking water supplies.
Exelon Corp. and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection announced the plan after a meeting Monday in Trenton. The work is to begin this week.
Oil prices surge after Midwest pipeline shuts down
Oil prices surged Friday after a pipeline that delivered oil to Midwest refineries was shut down, raising questions about how long the supply may be disrupted.
Oil up to $75 as stocks rise, Europe worries ease
Oil prices followed stocks higher on Wednesday, as worries about European debt problems eased and buyers returned to the market.
BP: Multiple companies to blame for oil spill
A fire boat response crews battle the blazing remnants of the Deepwater Horizon on April 21. (AP /US Coast Guard)
Shares in BP PLC tracked slightly higher after the release of an internal report on the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that deflects much of the blame onto rig owner Transocean Ltd. and contractor Halliburton Co. The stock bounced as high as $6.44 after the report was made public Wednesday, before retreating a little to trade up 1.8 percent in early afternoon trading London time.
BP took some of the blame for April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig that killed 11 workers and started the worst oil spill in U.S. history. It acknowledged in the report that its own employees misinterpreted a safety test that should have raised a red flag about a potential blowout of the Macondo well. Get the full story »
