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WED FEB 25, 2015 AT 11:11 AM PST
What happens when you tax the rich and raise the minimum wage? Meet one of USA's best economies
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| attribution: wiki commons A governor doing his job |
The TRUTH will set you FREE.
Thursday, February 26, 2015
What happens when you tax the rich and raise the minimum wage?
WED FEB 25, 2015 AT 11:11 AM PST
The TRUTH will set you FREE.
Houston We Have A Problem: Oil Workers Strike For Safety & Fair Labor
Houston We Have A Problem: Oil Workers Strike For Safety & Fair Labor
Article by Alvaro Rodriguez and Jane Nguyen published 25 Feb 2015 by MINTPRESS NEWS under the headline:
Oil workers holding picket signs in front of the Shell oil refinery in the Houston Ship Channel
In the largest strike since 1980, oil workers who are members of United Steelworkers District 13 locals (Locals 13-1 and Local 13-227) are no longer on the job in the Houston Ship Channel, the largest petrochemical complex in the world. The strike kicked off on February 1, 2015.
The three plants impacted by the strike in Houston include Shell Oil Refinery and Chemical Plant, LyondellBasell Refinery and Marathon (refinery and cogeneration facility).
The union is under attack in Texas, with USW members locked out at the Sherwin Alumina plant in Corpus Christi and the ASARCO facility in Amarillo. The attack on the union is occurring while the industry made record profits. Royal Dutch Shell announced earnings of $19 billion in 2014. LyondellBasell had record profits of $7.1 billion (EBITD) in 2014, cash generation of $6.0 billion. These profits in large part went to reward stock holders rather than repairs — with stock repurchases prioritized over worker safety — to the tune of $7.2 billion in dividends. This largesse extended to a jump in compensation for their corporate officers.
The USW oil workers rallied at Shell headquarters in Downtown Houston (1 Shell Plaza at 901 Louisiana) on Friday, February 6 to “show management that union workers are united in their drive for a fair contract that improves safety throughout the industry.”
The safety record of Texas industry is abysmal. Texas continues to experience a large number of fatalities, chemical releases, fires and explosions. EHS Today reports that nearly 5,000 workers die each year as a result of fatal occupational injuries in Texas. These preventable deaths devastate families and workplaces.
According to a recent Dallas Morning News investigative report, “Houston has the worst record in Texas and Texas has the worst record in the nation when it comes to workplace fatalities or catastrophes.”
RELATED
U.S. refinery strike continues with no steps toward settlement: REUTERS 25 Feb 2015
Extracts
Reuters) – The largest U.S. refinery strike since 1980 continued through its 25th day on Wednesday with no movement toward renewed talks to end a walkout by 6,550 union workers at 15 plants, including 12 refineries accounting for one-fifth of domestic capacity.
A spokesman for lead refinery owner representative Shell Oil Co, the U.S. arm of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, said no face-to-face meetings have been scheduled with the United Steelworkers union (USW) as of Wednesday.
“No date has been set (for talks to resume,)” said Shell spokesman Ray Fisher. “Not sure if there has been any contact (between the two sides).”
The TRUTH will set you FREE.
That sinking Feeling
That sinking Feeling
Financial Times article by Christopher Adams, Michael Kavanagh and Chris Tighe: 25 Feb 2015
That sinking feeling
North Sea oil was a challenge before prices halved. Now the UK industry fears a fatal blow
The plunge in prices, a tax system that deters investment and a failure by producers to co-operate could lead to a wave of early field closures and accelerated moves to decommissioning.
The TRUTH will set you FREE.
HOWARD_26FEB15_GORDON AND WILKINSON FOOLED ME AROUND
| from: | antonio jr. Buensuceso antoniobuensuceso@gmail.com | ||
| to: | Tom.Howard@waterboards.ca.gov, thoward@waterboards.ca.gov | ||
| cc: | Liz Haven Jonathan.Bishop@waterboards.ca.gov, "Maughan, James@Waterboards" "Gordon, Christine@Waterboards" "Wilkinson, Wes@Waterboards" "Cooper, Andrew@Waterboards" anna.hernandez@waterboards.ca.gov, anna.perez@waterboards.ca.gov, "Zuccala, Debbie@Waterboards" dzuccala@waterboards.ca.gov, Antonio Buensuceso | ||
| date: | Thu, Feb 26, 2015 at 12:33 AM | ||
| subject: | HOWARD_26FEB15_GORDON AND WILKINSON FOOLED ME AROUND | ||
| mailed-by: | gmail.com |
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Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Offshore oil drilling opponents scold Port of Seattle for Shell deal
Offshore oil drilling opponents scold Port of Seattle for Shell deal
Article by Ted Land, KING 5 News: 24 Feb 2015
SEATTLE — The Port of Seattle got quite the earful, Tuesday from a group opposed to offshore oil drilling.
They’re irate that the port is doing business with Shell, which plans to use Terminal 5, near West Seattle, as a launching point as it prepares to drill in the Arctic.
“It appears the port has forgotten that it’s a public agency entrusted with making decisions in the general public interest,” said Peter Goldman, an environmental attorney who was among more than a dozen people to testify at the port commission meeting.
They scolded the Port of Seattle for rushing the deal with Shell last month and not allowing enough public input. The agreement came as a shock to many opponents, who felt like their voices were never heard.
They say the lease deal with Shell is essentially an endorsement of offshore oil drilling. Ironic, they say, Seattle’s goal is to have one of the greenest ports in the country, as highlighted in a video on the port website, which states it’s the port’s responsibility to “preserve our environment for future generations.”
The commission listened and then moved on to other items. Opponents say they’re now planning legal action.
The TRUTH will set you FREE.
Salym Shell development in Siberia
Salym Shell development in Siberia
By Olga Ivshina, BBC News, Western Siberia, published 27 Nov 2014 under the headline:
Russian oil industry facing deep freeze
Without visiting a well in Western Siberia, you would never realise just how hard it is to extract oil in Russia.
Two hours’ drive from the nearest village of Salym, the snow banks are huge and the closest airport is over 300km (185 miles) away.
The temperature is down to -26C, but locals say winter temperatures normally drop to -40C, and Russia’s oil industry has more serious challenges than the cold.
Oil prices are falling and the cost of extraction is rising as resources are becoming exhausted. And then there are the Western sanctions imposed on oil companies as a result of Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
As Opec oil producers meet in Vienna to consider how to respond to falling prices, Moscow is particularly keen for concerted action.
The pressure on Russia’s oil industry is increasing. Oilfields that were within relatively easy reach have already been explored.
“It is becoming harder and harder to extract oil,” says Petr Fedorov, the supervisor on the Salym Petroleum drilling platform.
“We will have to develop new projects in more complex conditions, in particular on the sea shelf and in the Arctic.”
And the sanctions are adding to the problem.
Russia used to import most of the technical equipment needed to mine less accessible reserves.
But the imports have dried up and one after another ambitious, hi-tech projects are being frozen:
- Exxon Mobil has halted work in developing Arctic fields, which it had begun in collaboration with Russia’s Rosneft
- Shell suspended participation in a joint venture with Gazprom Neft to develop shale oil in the Khanty-Mansiysk region
- Salym Petroleum development – a Shell project with Gazprom Neft on a shale field in Western Siberia – has slowed down, although the company says work will continue
The sanctions cover not only technological equipment, but also oil services, such as construction, repairs, and drilling preparation and exploration in new oilfields.
“This is way more crucial for industry than the development of the shelf in the Arctic,” says oil expert Vitaly Bushuev.
The Arctic may represent the future of the industry but servicing and developing wells should be tackled now, he believes.
More than half of Russia’s budget is paid for with oil and gas revenue and the country is heavily dependent on exports.
But it needs to develop oilfields to maintain its current rate of production.
Prior to the sanctions, an 11.5% decline in oil production was already predicted for Western Siberia by 2020.
Now it may drop much faster. And it may be difficult to find a way to substitute these losses.
“The situation is really alarming,” says Alexander Khavkin, professor at the oil and gas institute at Russia’s academy of science.
“In theory we can replace Western technologies by domestic ones in a couple of years.
“But someone should start doing it. Many companies are now preferring to wait and observe the situation, and meanwhile time is playing against us.”
Russia needs to embrace innovation such as nanotechnology, Mr Khavkin argues, to increase oil production and extraction.
But that requires investment, and that is looking unlikely when spending is being squeezed by Western sanctions.
The TRUTH will set you FREE.
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