-Union workers at ExxonMobil’s Beaumont, Texas, refinery on Thursday agreed to a six-year contract with the company. Via Reuters, sources say ExxonMobil proposed the longer-than-usual contract to prevent work stoppages during a possible multibillion-dollar expansion at the refinery. Under the terms of the agreement, the union may only call a strike with 75 days’ notice after the contract expires. The expansion project would make the Beaumont refinery the largest in the U.S. and the fourth largest in the world.
-The Department of Energy today granted Cheniere Energy permission to export LNG from two additional trains at the company’s Sabine Pass facility. Via FuelFix, Cheniere has already received approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to start construction on the expansion, which will expand the facility’s capacity by 50%. The first four trains at the facility are nearing completion.
-The U.S. rig count increased this week for the first time since December, according to Baker Hughes. Via the Associated Press, the number of rigs increased by two to 859 — still less than half the number of rigs that were active at this time last year. Louisiana gained six rigs, while Texas declined by three.
-ExxonMobil, Imperial Oil and BP suspended their Canadian Arctic drilling activity in the Beaufort Sea. Via MarketWatch, a consortium that includes the three companies cited insufficient time to begin test drilling before its lease expires in 2020. Imperial Oil said it would seek a retroactive extension of its current lease to 16 years. Chevron shut down exploratory drilling in the Beaufort Sea last December.
-An EPA official said the agency cut ethanol-blending targets for 2015 and 2016 to prevent “widespread non-compliance” by refiners. Via Bloomberg, Chris Grundler, director of EPA’s office of transportation and air quality, said to not reduce the targets would have been “irresponsible.” The EPA in May proposed a target of 13.4 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol this year and 14 billion in 2016. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 mandated the blending of 15 billion gallons in both years.