Monday, November 4, 2013

News: Regulations and Trust Not working

Chevron Agrees to Pay Fine, Give Natural Gas Buses and Clean Up Emissions


Chevron agreed to settle with the US Environmental Protection Agency for pollution violation at its Salt Lake City refinery. Under the deal, the company will pay $284,000 in fines and purchase four new compressed natural gas school buses for the Jordan School District. The deal is worth a total of $384,000. Mike Gaydosh, director of EPA’s enforcement program in Denver, said it is vital that companies conduct their business responsibly and get the proper permits before implementing changes to their infrastructure that increases emissions of air... 
 

Halliburton says it Destroyed Evidence in Gulf Spill


Halliburton officials admitted that evidence was destroyed in the oil spill disaster at Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico. The company will enter a guilty plea to criminal charges, said the Department of Justice on Thursday. In the plea agreement, which still needs the court’s approval, Halliburton, based in Houston, Texas, would also be facing three years of probation, pay a $200,000 maximum fine and continue cooperating with the Justice Department’s investigation of the fire and subsequent explosion on the drilling platform April 2010. The... 
 
 

Earnings for Caterpillar Drop as Mining Orders Shrink


Caterpillar, Inc. the largest maker of construction and mining equipment in the world reported its sales and earnings for the first quarter on Monday. The company’s results fell short of estimates by Wall Street, as orders slowed down from mining companies. Caterpillar’s net income dropped to just below $880 million, which was equivalent to $1.31 per share. Last year during the same quarter, income was $1.59 billion with a per share rate of $2.37, said the Peoria, Illinois based company. Analysts had estimated that profit, excluding any one... 
 
 

BP and Transocean Accused of Reckless Decisions Regarding Oil Spill


BP and Transocean officials supposedly mishandled an oil rig safety test that was the cause of the explosion that led to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. This was according to the lawyers for the US and spill victims at a trial. Transocean and BP supervisors failed to properly interpret the results of a pressure test on the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico that led to the deaths of 11 rig workers and spew millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf. The statement was made by Michael Underhill, US Justice Department lawyer, and Jim Roy, attorney...