From The New York Times | The heads of the world’s largest oil companies are facing a Congressional panel on Tuesday, and they will try to cast the BP spill as a rare event that their companies are not likely to repeat. In prepared remarks, the executives said that continued offshore drilling is essential to American oil and gas supplies.
Get the full story: nytimes.com.
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Oil executives try to explain differences from BP
Fitch downgrades BP 6 notches
Reuters | BP was hit by a six-notch Fitch Ratings downgrade on
Tuesday, due to the higher near-term costs of compensating spill
victims of its blown-out oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, sending its
credit default swaps wider.
Goldman Sachs, others to advise BP on spill
From The New York Times | BP has hired several investment banks, including Goldman Sachs, the Blackstone Group and Credit Suisse, to advise on its options as it faces financial and political pressure over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Get the full story: nytimes.com.
BP shares drop as board meets on dividend
Associated Press | Shares of BP are dropping as the company’s board decides whether to
suspend its hefty dividend because of the oil spill in the Gulf of
Mexico.
Dividend weighed as BP’s oil spill costs hit $1.6B
Associated Press | As BP’s costs for responding to the massive
oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico have risen to $1.6 billion, the board
of BP PLC will on Monday discuss U.S. demands to suspend
dividend payments to shareholders until the British company pays for
the cleanup of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Illinois gas prices drop in June
Tribune staff report | Gas prices have dropped significantly
during the month of June, giving consumers a break as the summer
driving season commences, according to AAA Chicago’s most recent Fuel
Gauge Report.
AAA estimated that regular unleaded gasoline has decreased 23 cents in
Illinois during the past month, forecasting an average cost of $2.82
per gallon for the month of June, which is 3 cents lower per gallon
than last year.
DeKalb County wind farm lawsuit moves forward
Don and David Halverson stand near one of two wind turbines they allowed to be installed on their property in DeKalb County, March 4, 2010. They get paid about $9,000 annually for each wind turbine. (Alex Garcia/ Chicago Tribune)
By Julie Wernau | A Circuit Court judge cleared the way this week for a lawsuit filed by a group of DeKalb County residents who claim 126 wind turbines are there illegally and want them torn down.
The wind farm was the subject of a Tribune story this March that highlighted the health complaints of residents living near the structures. Residents who live nearthe turbines, which are about 400 feet high from blade to tip, have complained of sleep disturbances, illnesses and vertigo from strobe-like flashes produced by the whirling blades.
On Wednesday, Judge Michael Cowell of the 16th Judicial Circuit Court denied a motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the wind farm’s developer, FPL Energy Illinois Wind LLC (a subsidiary of NextEra Energy), the DeKalb County Board and landowners who have agreed to lease land for turbines and transmission lines. In a 15-page opinion, the judge said the residents complaints’ had the legal standing necessary for the case to move forward.
BP’s shares climb for a second day in a row
Reuters | BP shares moved higher for a second straight day Friday as investors
apparently dismissed new estimates that the oil spill in the Gulf of
Mexico could be far worse than previously thought and reports the
company may defer its second-quarter dividend.
BP pressure leads Twitter to label satirical account
From Geekosystem.com | The parody Twitter account @BPGlobalPR has changed its biography on its page, after BP requested that Twitter enforce its policy on parody/impersonation. The satirical account’s bio now reads, “We are not associated with Beyond Petroleum, the company that has been destroying the Gulf of Mexico for 51 days.” Get the full story: geekosystem.com.
BP to pay shareholders $2.63B in dividends
Associated Press | BP PLC will pay shareholders $2.63 billion in
dividends June 21 as investors and U.S. lawmakers wait to see what the
oil company decides about future payouts.
The company announced the dividend April 27, one week after a BP well in
the Gulf of Mexico exploded and set off the largest oil spill in U.S.
history. Lawmakers have urged the company to postpone its dividend for
the second quarter. BP hasn’t announced plans for future dividends.
ADM lobbies for more ethanol blends
Dow Jones Newswires | Archer Daniels Midland Co. is lobbying
U.S. regulators to allow more ethanol to blended with gasoline for use
in all cars, countering an effort that would boost the corn-based
additive in a limited number of vehicle model years.
Oil slips as Wall Street turns negative
Reuters | Oil slipped below $71 a barrel Monday as Wall Street turned negative and a stronger dollar weighed. Crude futures had earlier followed U.S. equities higher, but lower shares of industrial and big manufacturers weighed on the market, helping pull crude down.
Looking at the oil spill: How bad could it get?
An aerial view of a crew cleaning the oil-swamped marshes off the coast of Louisiana on May 27, 2010. (Reuters)
From CNN | The bad news is: Things in the Gulf of Mexico could get a whole lot worse.
So far, the leaking BP well has spewed out as much as 630,000 barrels, making it the worst oil spill in U.S. history.
BP continues to try ad-hoc fixes, which have included filling the hole with bits of old tires and placing an upside down funnel over it. On Thursday night, the company said it had put a cap on the ruptured well in an attempt to channel the oil to a tanker on the surface.
BP’s Whiting refinery expansion unaffected by spill
From Bloomberg News | BP PLC said a planned $3.8 billion renovation of its Whiting refinery, the company’s second largest, will continue as planned despite a criminal investigation into the company’s role in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The upgrades to the 119-year-old refinery would boost gasoline production by 1.7 million gallons and allow it to handle more crude from Canada’s oil sands.
Get the full story: businessweek.com
CUB program to reward those cutting electric use
By Julie Wernau | Ten 100-watt incandescent light bulbs, burning four hours a day,
replaced by ten 100-watt compact fluorescent light bulbs, burning four
hours a day: How much can you save over a year?
No need to do the
math. An online tool introduced Wednesday by the Citizens Utility Board
does it for you; the answer is $241. CUB Energy Saver automatically
links to your Commonwealth Edison bill to track savings, rewards your
energy savvy with points redeemable for gift certificates and lets you
compete against your neighborhood, friends — heck, even enemies.
