Articles by Gary McWilliams

Regulator Bars Texas Plant Restart Over Safety Concerns

The second-biggest U.S. liquefied natural gas export facility hit by fire in early June will not be allowed to repair or restart operations until it addresses risks to public safety, a pipeline regulator. The June 8 blast and fire knocked …

Regulator Bars Texas Plant Restart Over Safety Concerns

The second-biggest U.S. liquefied natural gas export facility hit by fire earlier this month will not be allowed to repair or restart operations until it addresses risks to public safety, a pipeline regulator said on Thursday. The June 8 blast …

Texas Lawmakers Told Insurers Want ‘Seat at Table’ As Power Blackout Probe Begins

Texas state legislators on Thursday begin digging into the causes of deadly power blackouts that left millions shivering in the dark as frigid temperatures caught its grid operator and utilities ill-prepared for skyrocketing power demand. Hearings are expected to highlight …

Hurricane Zeta Slams Louisiana With High Winds, Storm Surge

Oct 28 06:10 PM. Hurricane Zeta smashed into Louisiana on Wednesday with 110-mile-per-hour (175 kph) winds and what government trackers called “a life-threatening storm surge,” the third hurricane to hit the U.S. Gulf Coast state this year. Zeta’s extremely dangerous …

Dismissal Rejected; Arkema Chemical Fire Criminal Trial Resumes in Houston

A criminal case against the U.S. arm of a French chemical maker accused of releasing pollution that injured 21 people resumed on Sept. 24 under a cloud as a judge ruled out a motion to dismiss the case. Prosecutors unintentionally …

NHC: Tropical Storm Sally Strengthens to Hurricane

Update 4:00 pm EST: Louisiana and Mississippi residents were under evacuation orders on Monday as Hurricane Sally churned across the Gulf of Mexico, strengthening to a hurricane ahead of expected landfall on Tuesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. The …

NHC: Tropical Storm Sally Strengthens to Hurricane

Louisiana and Mississippi residents were under evacuation orders on Monday as former Tropical Storm Sally strengthened to a hurricane status and churned across the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. The second storm in less than a …

Tropical Storm Sally Strengthens; Louisiana Braces for Another Hurricane

09/13/2020 06:09 PM— Tropical Storm Sally strengthened off the west coast of Florida on Sunday and was poised to become a category 2 hurricane, bringing the threat of dangerous storm surges and high winds to the U.S. Gulf Coast, the …

Houston-Area Petrochemical Blaze Extinguished, Company Says

Firefighters on Wednesday extinguished a fire at a Mitsui & Co. petrochemical storage site outside Houston that has been billowing acrid smoke for days, the company said. The blaze at Mitsui unit Intercontinental Terminals Co. in Deer Park, Texas, was …

Chevron Wins Ecuador Environmental Case Before International Tribunal

Chevron Corp. said on Friday an international tribunal ruled in its favor in an environmental dispute with Ecuador, finding the South American nation had violated its obligations under international treaties. The tribunal unanimously held that a $9.5 billion pollution judgment …