EPA waives fuel rule in 4 states after Indiana refinery fire

CHICAGO -- The Environmental Protection Agency temporarily lifted a federal rule for fuel sales in four states in response to a fire last week at an Indiana oil refinery that could affect prices and supply.

The emergency waiver was granted Saturday for Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin, EPA Administrator Michael Regan said. In a letter to state officials, Regan said the agency determined the waiver is necessary “to minimize or prevent disruption of an adequate supply of gasoline to consumers.”

The waiver lifts a Clear Air Act requirement that lower-volatility gasoline be sold in the states during summer months to limit ozone pollution. It is in effect until Sept. 15, the EPA said.

BP said its refinery in Whiting, Indiana, experienced an electrical fire Wednesday. No one was hurt, and the fire was put out, but it forced at least a partial shutdown of the refinery along Lake Michigan's shoreline about 15 miles (24 kilometers) southeast of Chicago, according to the company.

Governors in all four states requested the EPA waivers, according to the EPA's letter. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's office said the refinery provides about 20% to 25% of the gasoline, jet fuel and diesel used by Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana and Illinois.

BP spokeswoman Christina Audisho said the company was working with local and state agencies and was still assessing when affected units can restart.

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Climate activist Steven Spielberg's private jet has burned $116,000 worth of jet fuel in two months

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A private jet belonging to Steven Spielberg has burned more than $116,000 worth of jet fuel since June despite the famous Hollywood director's past warnings about global warming, according to a flight tracking database.

Spielberg's plane, a Gulfstream G650, has burned at least $116,159 worth of jet fuel over the course of 16 trips spanning nearly 17,000 miles since June 23, according to flight tracking data from ADS-B Exchange and compiled by the database Celebrity Jets. The figures are likely an underestimate since the database didn't calculate fuel and distance metrics of at least three trips made by Spielberg's jet. However, Spielberg has previously stated that global warming "terrified" him and ripped people who "go blithely through life" without caring about their impact on the environment. "I'm terrified of [global warming]," Spielberg remarked during a 2018 interview for his film Ready Player One. "Global warming is a scientific reality. It's not a political trick. It's a true piece of real, measurable, quantifiable science." JOHN KERRY'S FAMILY PRIVATE JET EMITTED OVER 300 METRIC TONS OF CARBON SINCE BIDEN TOOK OFFICE

During a 2018 interview for his film Ready Player One, Steven Spielberg said, "Everybody has to be held responsible" for their role in climate change. (Reuters/Stephen Lam)

"People have to come around to believing that this is — we are going to have to have a kind of confrontation with destiny unless we do something about it today," Spielberg said. He added that "everybody has to be held responsible" for their role in climate change. "You know when you're not mindful of something that could pose a danger to your children and grandchildren?" Spielberg remarked. "Then you just go blithely through life with aerosol cans and doing all sorts of things that are depleting the ozone." LEONARDO DICAPRIO TRAVELED ON GAS-GUZZLING PRIVATE JETS, YACHTS WHILE FUNDING CLIMATE NUISANCE LAWSUITS Among its more than a dozen trips, Spielberg's jet traveled 3,589 miles from Westhampton, New York, to Amsterdam, Netherlands, on June 29, burning $21,183 worth of fuel and emitting 32 tons of carbon dioxide, according Celebrity Jets. The plane then traveled to Rotterdam, Netherlands, before returning to Westhampton on July 1, burning another $24,685 worth of fuel and emitting an additional 38 tons of carbon.

Steven Spielberg, seen on right, has burned at least $116,159 worth of jet fuel over the course of more than a dozen trips spanning nearly 17,000 miles since late June 2022. (Photo by Donato Sardella/WireImage)

The jet also made lengthy trips from Westhampton to Van Nuys, California, on July 11, from Westhampton to Knock, Ireland, on July 21 and from Teterboro, New Jersey, to Van Nuys on Aug. 4. The most recent trip recorded was a short flight on Thursday evening from Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, to Teterboro. Overall, Spielberg's jet has emitted at least 179 tons of carbon dioxide over the last two months. By comparison, the average American has an annual carbon footprint of 16 tons and the average global footprint is four tons per person. While the majority of the jet's trips and fuel usage were recorded, the database didn't calculate data for a few flights including two Thursday from Van Nuys to Chicago and from Chicago to Martha's Vineyard. Spielberg isn't the only Hollywood celebrity who has warned about global warming while taking private jets around the world. Fox News Digital reported last week that actor Leonardo DiCaprio went on multiple fossil fuel-powered trips over the last several years while pushing for extreme measures to combat climate change.

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio has taken several private jets on trips across the world in recent years, including flying from Europe to New York City to accept an environmental activism award in 2016. (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP In 2016, DiCaprio reportedly flew 8,000 miles via private jet from Europe to New York City to accept an award for his environmental activism. He then returned to Europe for a charity event. That same year, DiCaprio took a private jet to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. At the summit, the WEF gave DiCaprio its Crystal Award for his "leadership in tackling the climate crisis."

A representative for Spielberg didn't respond to a request for comment.

Thomas Catenacci is a politics writer at Fox News Digital

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Govt jacks up fuel prices

The Government of Pakistan Monday jacked up the petrol price by Rs6.72 per litre for the next fortnight.

“In the wake of fluctuations in petroleum prices in the international market and exchange rate variations, the government has decided to revise the existing prices or petroleum products to pass on the impact to the consumers,” the statement released by the Finance Division read.

While the government raised the price of petrol, it slashed the price of diesel by Rs0.51.

In line with the new changes, the price of petrol will be Rs233.91 per litre, diesel will be Rs244.44 per litre, and kerosene oil will be sold for Rs199.40 per litre, and the price of light diesel oil will be Rs191.75 per litre.

The new prices will come into effect from August 16, 2022.

A day earlier, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Miftah Ismail said that owing to the conditions set forth for the country by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Government of Pakistan is not in a position to afford any petroleum subsidies.

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US tells India its ship rerouted Russia-linked fuel to New York

Indian ship earlier this year picked up oil in mid-seas from Russian tanker, got it refined in western Gujarat state and then took the output to New York, says a top Indian central banker, adding "that's the way war works."

India became one of the biggest importers of Russian oil since the assault on Ukraine, having bought very little of it previously. (Reuters/AP)

The United States has expressed concern to India that its ship was used earlier this year to export fuel made from Russian crude to New York through high-seas transfers, a top Indian central banker said.

US sanctions on Russia for its February attack on Ukraine prohibit imports to the United States of Russian-origin energy products including crude oil, refined fuels, distillates, coal and gas.

"You know that there are sanctions against people who are buying Russian oil, and this was reported to us by the US Treasury," Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Michael Patra told an audience of government officials and figures in finance and banking.

"It turns out, an Indian ship met a Russian tanker in mid-seas, picked up oil in the mid-seas, came to a port in Gujarat, it was processed in that port and converted into a distillate which actually goes into making single-use plastic," Patra said at the event in Odisha state, held to celebrate 75 years of India's independence.

"The refined output was put back on that ship and it set sail without a destination. In the mid-seas it received the destination so it reached its course, went to New York. So that's the way war works. It works in strange ways."

Trades still going strong

Patra did not name the ship or give any other details.

The US embassy in New Delhi had no comment.

India, the world's third-biggest oil importer and consumer, has become one of the biggest importers of Russian oil since the assault on Ukraine, having bought very little of it previously.

Russia is traditionally India's biggest supplier of military hardware, and New Delhi has not condemned Moscow's aggression towards Ukraine, though it has called for an end to violence.

Source: Reuters

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Cuba brings fuel depot blaze under control

Firefighters manage to bring down raging flames and smoke, five days after lightning struck a fuel storage tank, sparking what officials call a "worst fire" in Cuba's history.

Matanzas is Cuba's largest port for receiving crude oil and fuel imports. (Reuters)

Firefighters have finally overcome what officials described as the worst fire in Cuba's history that over five days destroyed 40 percent of the Caribbean island's main fuel storage facility and caused massive blackouts.

Reuters news agency witnesses reported the raging flames that ravaged a four-tank segment of the Matanzas supertanker port had died down late in Tuesday and the towering plumes of thick black smoke streaming from the area were diminished and now mostly gray.

Matanzas is Cuba's largest port for receiving crude oil and fuel imports. Cuban heavy crude, as well as fuel oil and diesel stored in Matanzas in 10 huge tanks, are mainly used to generate electricity on the island.

Lightning struck one fuel storage tank on Friday evening. The fire spread and engulfed the four-tank area on Monday, accompanied by huge explosions and despite efforts by local firefighters supported by more than 100 Mexican and Venezuelan reinforcements.

Firefighter Rafael Perez Garriga told Reuters on the steaming outskirts of the disaster that he worries the fire would impact the power situation in the country.

"The situation is going to be more difficult. If the thermoelectric plants are supplied with that oil, we are going to have the whole world affected, it is electricity and it affects everything," he said.

Cuba, under heavy US sanctions, is all but bankrupt. Frequent blackouts and shortages of gasoline and other commodities already had created a tense situation with scattered local protests following last summer's historic unrest in July.

On Tuesday, more helicopters joined the effort to put out the fire, along with two fireboats sent by Mexico along with heavy firefighting equipment.

"We have not yet been able to access the impact area due to the conditions. There is combustion and so we cannot risk our lives for now," Perez said around noon.

READ MORE: Cuba seeks help as fire rages at fuel storage port

Fears of acid rain

Later in the day firefighters for the first time were entering the area and spraying foam and water on the still smoldering remains.

"Today we have managed to control the fire," Rolando Vecino, head of transport for the Ministry of the Interior, said on state-run television from the scene.

Officials have not said how much fuel has been lost in the fire which destroyed all four tanks. 

Authorities stated that no oil had contaminated the nearby Matanzas Bay. Still, they warned residents as far away as Havana to wear face masks and avoid acid rain due to the massive plume of smoke the fire generated.

One firefighter died and 14 went missing on Saturday when the second tank blew up, authorities said on Tuesday, correcting an earlier figure of 16 missing. Five others remain in critical condition.

Mario Sabines, governor of the Matanzas province, about 130 km from Havana, quipped the flames spread like an "Olympic torch" from one tank to the next, turning each into a "caldron.

READ MORE: Firefighters missing, dozens hurt as fire rages in Cuban oil tank farm

Source: TRTWorld and agencies

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Cuba seeks help as fire rages at fuel storage port

Massive oil-fed fire burns near supertanker port in Matanzas as Mexico and Venezuela send teams to help fight the inferno and Cuba accepts US offer of unspecified "technical advice".

Disaster comes at a time when the island has faced mounting difficulties in meeting increased energy demands amid severe summer heat. (AFP)

Cuba has asked for help to contain a massive fire at a fuel depot that has left at least one person dead, 121 people injured and 17 firefighters missing.

Some 1,900 people have been evacuated from the affected area, according to officials from the western Matanzas province, where lightning struck a fuel tank late on Friday, triggering an explosion.

By the early hours of Saturday, the fire had spread to a second tank, causing another blast and sending a huge plume of black smoke into the sky.

Provincial health official Luis Armando Wong told a press conference on Saturday evening a first body had been recovered at the site.

Five people were critically injured, according to an update by the Cuban presidency on Twitter, with three others in a very serious condition in hospital.

The wounded included Energy Minister Livan Arronte.

The president's office said 17 firefighters were missing, those "who were closest" to the fire in an industrial zone of Matanzas, a city some 100 kilometers east of Havana.

"Cuba requested help and advice from friendly countries with experience in fuel" to help put out the fire, the presidency added in a statement.

Later in the day, President Miguel Diaz-Canel expressed thanks to the governments of Mexico, Venezuela, Russia, Nicaragua, Argentina and Chile, "which have promptly offered material aid."

"We also appreciate the offer of technical advice from the US," he added.

The US embassy in Havana said on Twitter: "We want to make clear that law authorises US entities and organisations to provide disaster relief and response in Cuba."

The United States has had sanctions against the one-party Communist state for six decades.

Dousing blaze 'could take time'

The fire broke out after a bolt of lightning struck a tank on Friday at the depot on the outskirts of Matanzas, a city of 140,000 people.

Helicopters were hard at work fighting the blaze on Saturday, with ambulances, water tanks and cranes at the scene.

Exhausted firefighters were gathered at the plant, waiting to enter to look for their comrades who seemingly could not escape the second explosion.

"We felt the blast, like a shock wave that pushed you back," Laura Martinez, a resident of La Ganadera, near the disaster zone, told the AFP news agency.

Diaz-Canel said extinguishing the blaze "could take time," while Asbel Leal, director of the Cupet state oil company, said the country had never experienced a fire "of the magnitude we have today."

According to Cupet, the first tank contained about 26,000 cubic metres of crude, about half its capacity, when it was struck by lightning.

The second contained 52,000 cubic metres of fuel oil.

The disaster comes at a time when the island –– with an outdated energy network and persistent fuel shortages –– has faced mounting difficulties in meeting increased energy demands amid severe summer heat.

Source: AFP

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