-Axiall Corp. said it is nearing completion on repairs to its Lake Charles, La., chemical complex, which was damaged by a Dec. 20 fire. Via the Oil & Gas Journal, the company expects the facility’s PHH vinyl chloride monomer manufacturing area to be back up and running by the end of the first quarter.
-Tesoro’s entire fleet of rail cars will be up to date with the latest safety designs by mid-2014, the company announced on Thursday. Via Reuters, the company reported that 90% of its rail cars are up to date, and that it would replace the remaining 10% in anticipation of looming new safety standards.
-Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) have asked the Energy Information Administration to perform a comprehensive study to determine the potential impacts of lifting the U.S. ban on crude oil exports. Opinions are divided within the oil and gas industry with regard to eliminating the ban, with some independent refiners at odds with major oil companies who support changing the law.
-GE Oil & Gas will add 175 jobs and spend $8 million at its manufacturing facility near San Antonio by next year, the San Antonio Express-News reports. GE officially launched its new downstream equipment unit earlier this week.
-Baytex Energy Corp. agreed to acquire Australia-based Aurora Oil & Gas, which owns some 22,200 net contiguous acres in the Eagle Ford shale, for CAN$2.6 billion. The Alberta, Canada-based Baytex is engaged in oil and gas activity in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and the Williston Basin in the U.S., according to the firm’s website.
