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☆ Brent falls below $90/bbl, pausing rally, on weaker demand outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Erwin Seba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Brent crude futures settled 68 cents, or 0.8%, lower at $89.92 a barrel, after trading between $89.46 and $90.89. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) futures finished down 67 cents, or 0.8%, at $86.67 a barrel, after trading between $86.39 and $87.74. Thursday's fall came after nine straight sessions of gains in WTI and seven straight gains in Brent. But crude imports surged 30.9%. "The wind has been taken out of the bulls' sail overnight by rising Chinese product exports last month, albeit crude oil imports rose," PVM Oil analyst Tamas Varga said.

Persons: Agustin Marcarian, Thursday's, Prices, Dennis Kissler, John Kilduff, Tamas Varga, Leon Li, Erwin Seba, Arathy Somasekhar, Ahmad Ghaddar, Trixie Yap, Marguerita Choy, Frances Kerry, Nick Macfie Organizations: REUTERS, HOUSTON, Brent, . West Texas, U.S, BOK, Again, Markets, Thomson Locations: Vaca, Patagonian, Neuquen, Argentina, Iran, Venezuela, WTI, Brent, Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, Saudi, U.S, Shanghai, Houston, London, Singapore

☆ Oil slips on weak China outlook despite US stock drawdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Erwin Seba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oil pump jacks are seen at the Vaca Muerta shale oil and gas deposit in the Patagonian province of Neuquen, Argentina, January 21, 2019. Prices had spiked earlier in the week after Saudi Arabia and Russia, the world's top two oil exporters, extended voluntary supply cuts to the year-end. These were on top of the April cuts agreed by several OPEC+ producers running to the end of 2024. But crude imports surged 30.9%. "The wind has been taken out of the bulls' sail overnight by rising Chinese product exports last month albeit crude oil imports rose," PVM Oil analyst Tamas Varga said.

Persons: Agustin Marcarian, we've, Jim Ritterbusch, Tamas Varga, Leon Li, Ahmad Ghaddar, Trixie Yap, Marguerita Choy, Frances Kerry Organizations: REUTERS, Brent, U.S, West Texas, Energy, Ritterbusch, Markets, Thomson Locations: Vaca, Patagonian, Neuquen, Argentina, Iran, Venezuela, HOUSTON, China, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Saudi, Shanghai, London, Singapore

☆ U.S. crude futures climb over $2 late in session
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Erwin Seba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures for October settled at $83.63 a barrel, up $2, or 2.45%. Brent crude futures for October, expiring on Thursday, finished up $1, 1.16%, at $86.86 a barrel. "The crude market is reacting to OPEC production cuts being extended," said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates. On Thursday, six-month U.S. crude oil futures traded as low as $3.83 below crude for front month delivery , the steepest discount since Nov. 17, signalling tight supplies and encouraging inventory draws. Analysts expect Saudi Arabia to extend a voluntary oil production cut of 1 million bpd into October, adding to cuts put in place by OPEC+.

Persons: Lucy Nicholson, Andrew Lipow, Brent, Ole Hansen, Eric Rosengren, Ahmad Ghaddar, Jeslyn Lerh, David Goodman, Nick Macfie, Paul Simao, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: REUTERS, bbl, Fed, Organization Petroleum Exporting, . West Texas, Brent, Lipow Oil Associates, U.S . Energy, Administration, OPEC, Saxo Bank, Commerce Department, Reserve, Boston Fed, National Bureau of Statistics, Thomson Locations: Bakersfield , California, Saudi Arabia, China, HOUSTON, U.S, Singapore

☆ Los Angeles refiners prepare for Hurricane Hilary
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Erwin Seba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A general view of the Phillips 66 Company's Los Angeles Refinery, which processes domestic & imported crude oil into gasoline, aviation and diesel fuels, at sunset in Carson, California, U.S., March 11, 2022. Phillips 66 (PSX.N) said operations at its 139,000-bpd Los Angeles refinery were unaffected by the storm. Local and state regulators did not report any changes in operations at Los Angeles refineries on Friday and West Coast refined market traders said they did not know of any cut backs in production. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Hilary is forecast to be at tropical storm strength when it moves east of Los Angeles on Monday. Heavy rain, possible flash flooding and winds at 40 miles per hour (64 kph) or stronger are forecast for Los Angeles on Sunday and Monday.

Persons: Bing Guan, Hurricane Hilary, Hilary, Erwin Seba, Grant McCool Organizations: Phillips, Los, Los Angeles Refinery, Rights, Chevron, Valero, Marathon Petroleum, New York Mercantile Exchange, U.S, National Hurricane Center, Los Angeles, Sunday, U.S ., Gulf, Thomson Locations: Los Angeles, Carson , California, U.S, California, Local, Coast, Los, U.S . West Coast, Asia, Gulf Coast

☆ U.S. forecasters raise 2023 hurricane forecast
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Erwin Seba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Marco Bello/File PhotoHOUSTON, Aug 10 (Reuters) - U.S. government forecasters on Thursday said they expect a more dangerous Atlantic storm season than previously projected, raising their Atlantic hurricane outlook due to high sea surface temperatures. In May, NOAA had predicted 12-17 named storms, 5-8 hurricanes and one to four major hurricanes. An average Atlantic season has 14 named storms, seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes. NOAA's forecast was raised "to account for record warm sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic," said meteorologist Matthew Rosencrans with the agency’s Climate Prediction Center. "We normally have our 4th named storm on August 14th and first hurricane on August 11th, and we are at 4 named storms and one hurricane."

Persons: Hurricane Ida, Marco Bello, Matthew Rosencrans, El, El Nino, Jim Foerster, Chris Hewitt, Erwin Seba, Gloria Dickie, John Stonestreet Organizations: REUTERS, U.S . National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, Colorado State University, El Nino, El, World Meteorological Organization, Thomson Locations: Louisiana, Montegut , Louisiana, U.S, Pacific, United States, Hawaii, El Nino, Gulf, Mexico, Coast, Texas , Louisiana, Mississippi, London

Phillips declined to make an executive available for comment and both ADM and Phillips 66 declined to comment. TECH LINED UPAxens SA, which provides technology to convert oil and biomass to lower-carbon fuels, in May agreed to provide its ethanol-to-fuels conversion technology to Phillips, ADM or a joint venture. ADM already formed a joint venture in 2021 with top U.S. oil refiner Marathon Petroleum Corp (MPC.N) to churn out renewable diesel from soybeans. Top oilseed processor Bunge (BG.N) and Chevron (CVX.N) last year formed Bunge Chevron Ag Renewables to make renewable fuels from soybeans and canola. As part of one deal, Chevron invested $600 million in the joint venture, helping double processing capacity at two Bunge soybean crushing facilities.

Persons: Nathan Frandino, refiner Phillips, Phillips, Axens, Gevo, Stephanie Kelly, Karl Plume, Jarrett Renshaw, Erwin Seba, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Phillips, American West, REUTERS, Daniels, Midland, ADM, Renewable Fuels Association, TECH, Axens SA, Gevo Inc, Marathon Petroleum Corp, Bunge, Chevron, Bunge Chevron Ag Renewables, Thomson Locations: Rodeo , California, American, U.S, Peoria , Illinois, Columbus , Nebraska, Cedar Rapids , Iowa, Houston, , California, California, Paris, North Dakota, Bunge Chevron, New York, Chicago, Washington

☆ Why white asparagus is so expensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Chris Snyder | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

White asparagus, often referred to as "white gold," can cost three times as much as green asparagus. During this brief period, farms in the area and restaurants around the world offer white-asparagus dishes on their menus. Chef Erwin Schröttner from Cafe Katja in New York City says white asparagus is much juicier than the green variety, and he serves his stalks freshly peeled, boiled, and smothered in hollandaise sauce with various side dishes. But because white asparagus has to be grown in a specialized way that keeps the stalk underground for longer periods of time, these meals come at a premium. Farms like Jakobs-Hof in Beelitz, Germany, work around the clock to make sure their asparagus stalks maintain their pure white color and are of the highest quality.

Persons: Chef Erwin Schröttner Locations: Central Europe, New York City, Hof, Beelitz, Germany

☆ A US Green Beret drill with fake guerrilla fighters shows how Sweden has been preparing for an 'unconventional' clash with Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

In May and June, US Army Green Berets conducted unconventional warfare training in Sweden. In the US military, unconventional warfare is the bread and butter of the Green Berets of US Army Special Forces. Winning wars unconventionallyUS Army Green Berets demonstrate detainment procedures during training in Kalix, Sweden on May 29. Unconventional warfare can still play an important role in that kind of war, but it would be a supporting role. Cadets talk to role-players during West Point Irregular Warfare Group's Unconventional Warfare Exercise in April 2019.

Persons: Anthony Bryant, Patrik Orcutt, Anthony Bryant Sweden, refocusing, Erwin Rommel, Stavros Atlamazoglou Organizations: US Army Green Berets, Service, NATO, US Green Berets, Swedish Home Guard, US Army, Staff, Green Berets, US Army Special Forces, US Army Special Operations Command, Green, US Special Forces, 10th Special Forces Group, Sweden's, Guard, Home Guard, Operations Command, Green Beret, US Army Green, EU, Army Green Berets, Pentagon, Al, Delta Force, US Military, British Special Air Service, Commonwealth, Group, Hellenic Army, 575th Marine Battalion, Army, Johns Hopkins University, Johns Hopkins, School, International Locations: Sweden, Soviet Union, Russia, Wall, Silicon, Kalix, Europe, Soviet, Swedish, Stockholm, Al Qaeda, China, North Africa, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Johns

The liberal justices, including Biden's appointee Ketanji Brown Jackson, found themselves in the role of the dissenting minority in some of the nine-month term's biggest cases. The conservative justices invoked the "major questions" doctrine, a muscular judicial approach that gives judges broad discretion to invalidate executive agency actions of "vast economic and political significance" unless Congress clearly authorized them. In those cases, the conservative justices were unified in the majority and the liberal justices dissented. In that case, the liberal justices were joined by one conservative justice, Trump appointee Brett Kavanaugh, in dissenting on the new test. The justices on Friday agreed to decide whether a 1994 federal law that bars people under domestic violence restraining orders from possessing firearms violates the Constitution's Second Amendment.

Persons: Amy Coney Barrett, Neil M, Gorsuch, Brett M, Kavanaugh, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor, Clarence Thomas, John G, Roberts, Jr, Samuel A, Alito, Elena Kagan, Read, Joe Biden's, Donald Trump's, Erwin Chemerinsky, Trump's, Chemerinsky, Trump, Brett Kavanaugh, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Roe, Wade, Jackson, Justice Jackson, Adam Feldman, Biden's, John Kruzel, Andrew Chung, Will Dunham Organizations: Supreme, U.S, Republican, Harvard University, University of North, University of California Berkeley Law School, U.S . Environmental, Alabama, Senate, Consumer, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, WASHINGTON, University of North Carolina, U.S, Texas

Those figures are now 20% at Berkeley Law and 15% at Michigan Law. The Association of American Law Schools on July 10 is convening a virtual conference focused on admissions in a post-affirmative action landscape, chaired by Berkeley Law dean Erwin Chemerinsky. Alongside strategies to recruit and admit diverse students, Zearfoss said the changing demographics of the law school applicant pool have helped Michigan Law bolster student diversity—good news for law schools now facing an affirmative action ban. The law school also prioritizes recruiting at events geared toward minority applicants and at college and universities with significant minority enrollment, Zearfoss added. Michigan Law and Berkeley Law both voluntarily withhold information about each applicant's race to ensure they comply with their state laws, admissions officials said.

Persons: Sarah Zearfoss, Erwin Chemerinsky, Edward Blum, ”, Michigan’s Zearfoss, Zearfoss, Chemerinsky, “, ” Chemerinsky, Karen Sloan, Leigh Jones Organizations: U.S, Supreme, University of Michigan Law School, University of California, Berkeley School of Law, Berkeley Law, American Bar Association, Michigan Law's, ABA, Michigan Law, Association of American Law Schools, Berkeley, Fair Admissions, Harvard University, University of North, Asian, Fair, Association of American Medical Colleges, American Dental Association, Law, Thomson Locations: Michigan, California, American, Sarah Zearfoss , Michigan, University of North Carolina, U.S

☆ Shell restarts Norco, Louisiana refinery after power outage, fire
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Erwin Seba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Entergy Corp FollowShell PLC FollowHOUSTON, June 25 (Reuters) - Shell Plc (SHEL.L) has begun restarting its 227,900 barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery in Norco, Louisiana after it was shut following a power outage, a company spokesperson said on Sunday. Shell gradually began resuming operations at the Norco refinery on Saturday, the sources said. The power interruption took place on Saturday at an Entergy substation supplying the Norco refinery, Shell spokesperson Curtis Smith. DU-5 is the only CDU at the Norco refinery. In a notice posted to area residents, Shell said power was restored to the refinery on Saturday afternoon.

Persons: Curtis Smith, Norco, Shell, Erwin Seba, Lisa Shumaker, Sherry Jacob, Phillips Organizations: Entergy, Shell, HOUSTON, Shell Plc, DU, Thomson Locations: Norco , Louisiana, United States

☆ Opinion: Where Putin goes from here
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Richard Galant | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

We’re looking back at the strongest, smartest opinion takes of the week from CNN and other outlets. CNN —“It is a stab in the back of our country and our people,” Russian President Vladimir Putin told his nation Saturday as he faced an unprecedented challenge from his former ally, Yevgeny Prighozin, head of the Wagner mercenary group. “The Russians were not stabbed in the back during World War I, as Putin suggested during his remarks on Saturday,” wrote Peter Bergen. Sound familiar?”“A keen student of Russian history, Putin is aware of the stakes here. The Wagner force served the Russian president as a useful tool he could control for foreign adventures.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prighozin, Wagner, Tsar, Putin, Prighozin, “, Alexander Lukashenko, Putin’s, ”, Peter Bergen, Nicholas II, ” Prighozin, CNN’s Nathan Hodge, Hodge, ” Putin’s, Mark Galeotti, John Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, “ what’s, Edmund, Burke, ’, Roe, Wade, Critics, ProPublica, Samuel Alito, Paul Singer, Alito, Singer, salmons, Singer’s, Clay Jones, you’re, Erwin Chemerinsky’s, Ann Telnaes “, Chemerinsky, Samuel Dickman, Allison Hope, Hunter Biden, Donald Trump Lisa Benson, Joe Biden’s, Donald Trump, Julian Zelizer, Biden, Trump, Norman Eisen, ” Alberto Gonzales, George W, Bush, Department’s, ” “, …, Justin Gest, White, Joel Pett Organizations: CNN, Soviet, Kremlin, US, Quinnipiac University, Justice Department, GOP, Republicans, Trump, Agency Locations: Russia, Moscow, Belarus, Ukraine, “, Europe, Alaska

☆ Reformer fire quickly put out at Exxon Baytown, Texas, refinery -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

HOUSTON, June 21 (Reuters) - A fire on a reformer at Exxon Mobil Corp's (XOM.N) 564,440 barrel-per-day (bpd) Baytown, Texas, refinery was quickly extinguished on Wednesday, said people familiar with plant operations. The fire was put out a few minutes after it began on Wednesday afternoon on the 65,000-bpd Hydroformer 4, the sources said. Exxon spokesperson Lauren Kight said the company does not comment on the status of specific refinery units. "We're continuing to meet our contractual commitments," Kight said. Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Tom HogueOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Lauren Kight, We're, Kight, Erwin Seba, Jacqueline Wong, Tom Hogue Organizations: Exxon Mobil Corp's, Exxon, Thomson Locations: Baytown , Texas

☆ My final, unexpected conversation with Cormac McCarthy
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( David Kushner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

My last conversation with Cormac McCarthy, the acclaimed and elusive novelist who died last week at 89, came as unexpectedly as the first. "I thought you said Cormac McCarthy edited your book on theoretical physics?" "I got the manuscript back in the mail, and it was marked up on every page," Randall told me. By the time I interviewed Randall, Cormac was spending his days at the Santa Fe Institute, a theoretical-research institute in the piñon foothills of New Mexico. "Don't do this to yourself," McCarthy told the guy, before shutting the door in his face.

Persons: Cormac McCarthy, McCarthy, —, Belying, Cormac, Lisa Randall, Randall, Gil, Jon, MacArthur, Murray Gell, Mann, it's, Einstein, they're, Doug Erwin, David Krakauer, David, Stella Maris, I'd, He'd, David Kushner Organizations: Wired, Stone, Harvard, drifters, Santa Fe Institute, Atari Locations: backwoods Florida, piñon, New Mexico, Texas, Tennessee, El Paso, Rolling Stone, SFI

☆ Klimt’s ‘last masterpiece’ poised to fetch $80 million at Sotheby’s auction
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Oscar Holland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Depicting an unidentified female subject, “Dame mit Fächer” (Lady with a Fan) was one of two paintings found at the Austrian artist’s studio upon his death in 1918, according to Sotheby’s auction house. Started in 1917, “Dame mit Fächer” is rendered in Klimt’s characteristically rich, expressive style. Sotheby's said it expects the painting the fetch "in the region of" $80 million when it goes under the hammer this month. Klimt’s “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I” was meanwhile bought by US businessman Ronald Lauder for a reported $135 million in 2006. “Dame mit Fächer” is the star lot in Sotheby’s modern and contemporary art summer auction, which takes place on June 27.

Persons: Gustav Klimt, Fächer ”, Sotheby’s, Thomas Boyd Bowman, ”, “, —, De Agostini, Klimt, Helena Newman, Newman, Erwin Böhle, Rudolf Leopold, Sotheby's, Paul G, Allen, Dmitry Rybolovlev, Yves Bouvier, Adele Bloch, Bauer, Ronald Lauder, Oprah Winfrey, Alberto Giacometti, Edvard Munch Organizations: CNN, Austrian, De Agostini Editorial, “, Microsoft, Financial Times, Bloomberg, UBS, Art Locations: London, Klimt's Vienna, Viennese, Sotheby’s, Austrian, “ Birch, Covid

☆ Klimt’s ‘last masterpiece’ sells for record-breaking $108.4 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Oscar Holland | Jacquelyn Palumbo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

“Dame mit Fächer” was one of two paintings found at the Austrian artist’s studio upon his death in 1918, according to Sotheby’s. A work the artist had started a year prior, in 1917, “Dame mit Fächer” is rendered in Klimt’s characteristically rich, expressive style. "Dame mit Fächer" (right) pictured in Klimt's Vienna studio in 1918. "Dame mit Fächer" became Klimt's highest-selling artwork at auction. Klimt’s “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I” was meanwhile bought by US businessman Ronald Lauder for a reported $135 million in 2006.

Persons: Gustav Klimt, Fächer ”, Klimt, Paul G, Allen, “, —, Sotheby’s, Thomas Boyd Bowman, ”, De Agostini, Helena Newman, Newman, Erwin Böhle, Rudolf Leopold, Dmitry Rybolovlev, Yves Bouvier, Adele Bloch, Bauer, Ronald Lauder, Oprah Winfrey, Alberto Giacometti, Edvard Munch Organizations: CNN, Microsoft, Austrian, De Agostini Editorial, Financial Times, Bloomberg, UBS, Art Locations: London, Birch, Hong Kong, Klimt's Vienna, Viennese, Sotheby’s, Austrian, Covid

☆ Opinion | If the Supreme Court Won’t Fix Its Ethics Mess, Congress Should
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Erwin Chemerinsky | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Last month, when the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on whether to impose an ethics code on the court, some of the Republican senators on the committee decried the effort as political. Liberals and conservatives should want a Supreme Court that is above reproach. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Richard Blumenthal, along with other Democrats, have introduced the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal and Transparency Act. Among other things, it would require the Supreme Court to adopt a code of conduct within 180 days of the bill’s enactment. It also would create a transparent process for the public to submit ethics complaints against justices, to be reviewed by a random panel of chief judges.

Persons: Samuel Alito, Elena Kagan, Antonin Scalia, Neil Gorsuch, Sheldon Whitehouse, Richard Blumenthal Organizations: Bloomberg Law, Republican

HOUSTON, May 19 (Reuters) - An attorney representing the family of a 55-year-old Marathon Petroleum (MPC.N) refinery worker killed in a fire at the Texas facility this week called the plant where he worked "dangerous" on Friday. Higgins family plans to file a gross negligence lawsuit against the oil refiner and other firms involved in the plant's maintenance, he said. Buzbee is seeking documents on the plant and maintenance, according to court filings. "Scott always thought he might die at that plant," Buzbee said. And the reason he talked to them about it is because that plant is very dangerous," Buzbee said.

[1/2] Production units are seen in operation at Marathon Petroleum’s Galveston Bay Refinery in Texas City, Texas, U.S., May 15, 2023. Scott Higgins, a 55-year-old machinist, was killed and two contract employees, including Eduardo Olivo, were injured in a fire at Marathon’s giant Galveston Bay Refinery on Monday morning. The unit is the larger of two Ultraformers at the 593,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Galveston Bay Refinery, the second-largest in the United States. Higgins was the second worker to die at the Marathon refinery this year. On March 23, 2005, when the refinery was owned by BP Plc, 15 contract workers were killed and 180 other people were injured in a explosion caused by an overflowing refinery unit.

☆ U.S. refiners build new oil processing as travel rises
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Erwin Seba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HOUSTON, May 16 (Reuters) - U.S. oil refiners aim to run at up to 94% of a total 17.9 million barrels per day processing capacity this quarter, according to company forecasts and analysts, driven in part by expectations of seasonal travel demand. This quarter is traditionally one of the year's hottest for demand as companies build gasoline and jet fuel output for the summer vacation season. He estimates refiners overall will run at 94% utilization rate this quarter, matching the 2017-19 average for the period. High prices will keep U.S. refinery utilization rates at levels near last year's about 91.7% this year and next, the U.S. Energy Information Administration forecast in January. Refiners will add the capacity to process an additional 328,000 bpd in this quarter, increasing gasoline and diesel supplies this summer.

☆ Fire burns for third day at Shell Texas chemical plant
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Erwin Seba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HOUSTON, May 7 (Reuters) - A fire burned for a third day on Sunday at Shell Plc's (SHEL.L) chemical plant in the Houston suburb of Deer Park, Texas, a company spokesperson said. The fire initially ignited on Friday afternoon in an explosion in an olefins unit, used to make plastics and rubber. The fire was extinguished for a few hours on Saturday morning before it reignited around 3 p.m. CDT (2000 GMT), said Shell spokesperson Curtis Smith. Water runoff has exceeded the chemical plant's wastewater capacity and is being diverted into the Houston Ship Channel, Smith said. Olefins units are the central units in petrochemical complexes, producing ethylene, butadiene and propylene from hydrocarbon feedstocks.

☆ Six injured in Shell Texas chemical plant fire
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Erwin Seba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HOUSTON, May 5 (Reuters) - Six people were injured after a fire broke out in an olefins unit on Friday at Shell Plc's (SHEL.L) Deer Park, Texas chemical plant, said five people familiar with plant operations. A large column of black smoke could be seen rising from the fire in the olefins unit located near Highway 225 in the Houston suburb of Deer Park, the sources said. In a notice posted on a website for nearby residents, Shell said there was a fire at the chemical plant. All personnel at the plant at the time the fire broke out had been accounted for by 4 p.m. CDTOperations at the neighboring Pemex (PEMX.UL) refinery were continuing despite the fire in the chemical plant, said sources familiar with the refinery's operations. Pemex bought the Deer Park refinery from Shell in 2022.

☆ This Supreme Court is slow to issue rulings — glacially slow
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Lawrence Hurley | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 19: The Supreme Court of the United States, on Wednesday, April 19, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)WASHINGTON — Back in 1923, the Supreme Court had issued 157 rulings by May 1 in a term that started the previous fall. Nevertheless, the slow pace at which rulings have been issued this term has started to attract scrutiny from court watchers. In both 2022 and 2021, the court had decided 25 cases by May 1, according to Feldman. Court experts differed on whether the crunch would have any impact on how the court actually decides cases.

☆ Ukraine could launch its offensive against Russia any moment now. Here's what's waiting
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Tim Lister | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The defenses continue for hundreds of miles across the meandering southern front – where Ukrainian forces are expected to concentrate their counter-offensive in the coming weeks. This area will be critical should Ukrainian forces try to advance towards the city of Melitopol and split Russian forces in the south. It’s unclear where the equipment went but likely that it was sent north to reinforce Russian defensive lines. Russian-appointed officials in Zaporizhzhia claim there is already a large build-up of Ukrainian forces in the area. Ukrainian officials do not disclose the movement of units.

☆ US abortion providers relieved but wary as Supreme Court preserves pill access
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Sharon Bernstein | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

April 21 (Reuters) - Abortion rights supporters expressed relief on Friday after the U.S. Supreme Court preserved access to a widely used abortion pill but warned of a long fight ahead as a legal challenge to the medication continues. Abortion providers had been stockpiling the abortion pill mifepristone or planning to switch to a new regimen amid the battle over the legality of a drug used in more than half of U.S. abortions. Several providers said late on Friday they would pause plans to change their medication abortion protocol in light of the Supreme Court's order. The Supreme Court did not rule on the merits of the case, however, meaning that mifepristone could still be restricted or banned at a later stage in the case. Several states where abortion remains legal, including California, Massachusetts and Washington, previously said they had begun stockpiling abortion drugs in advance of possible restrictions.

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