This Week in Chemical Engineering - Fuels & Petrochemicals Spotlight: January 30, 2018 | AIChE

This Week in Chemical Engineering - Fuels & Petrochemicals Spotlight: January 30, 2018

Don't miss out on the latest business and technology news for chemical engineers, featuring select items in relation to Fuels & Petrochemicals.

Number of US energy deals rose in 2017, but value declined

The US energy sector saw 224 mergers and acquisitions in 2017, a 13% increase from 2016, but their combined value was down 10% year-on-year to $182 billion as companies struck only seven mega-deals worth $5 billion or more, according to reports from PricewaterhouseCoopers and Wood Mackenzie. "Many investors seem to be taking a wait-and-see approach to the rapidly changing market dynamics," said PwC's Joe Dunleavy.

More US refiners seek exemptions from RFS program

The Trump administration's support for the biofuels industry has coincided with an increase in the number of small US refiners seeking waivers from the Renewable Fuel Standard, which costs them billions of dollars every year. Some 27 refiners have asked the Environmental Protection Agency for exemptions this year, but the agency has traditionally been reluctant to issue too many waivers and only granted a total of 29 exemptions in the four years ended in 2016.

Trump administration faces lawsuits over rollback of Obama-era fracking rule

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra on Wednesday filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Northern District of California claiming the Bureau of Land Management's repeal last month of a hydraulic fracturing rule violates both the Administrative Procedure Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. A coalition of environmental groups also filed a separate lawsuit in the same court challenging the fracking rule repeal.

TransCanada CEO says alternative Keystone route is feasible