Railroad Ups Estimate Of Oil Spilled In Vandergrift Derailment

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Westmoreland County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Norfolk Southern Railroad officials say four of the derailed tanker cars in Vandergrift leaked more than 3,500 gallons of crude oil.

Initial reports Thursday said only about 1,000 gallons had leaked from one tanker.

David Pidgeon, Norfolk Southern spokesman, estimated that between 3,500 and 4,500 gallons of viscous “heavy” crude oil leaked from four tanker cars after the derailment. Pidgeon said most of the oil ended up in an MSI Corp. parking lot. None of it made it into the Kiski River.

In Thursday’s cold temperatures, the oil congealed soon after hitting the snow and workers were removing the oil and contaminated soil for proper disposal.

Read more: http://triblive.com/neighborhoods/yourallekiskivalley/yourallekiskivalleymore/5596923-74/railroad-oil-norfolk#ixzz2tKEFEJyM
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Philly Based Sunoco To Exit Refining Business – Conducting Strategic Review

PHILADELPHIA, Sep 06, 2011

Sunoco, Inc. (NYSE: SUN) announced today that it plans to exit its refining business and has begun a process to sell its refineries located in Philadelphia and Marcus Hook, Penn. Sunoco also announced that it is conducting a comprehensive strategic review of the company to determine the best way to deliver value to shareholders, including how best to utilize the company’s strong cash position and maximize the potential for Sunoco’s logistics and retail businesses. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC has been retained to assist in the review process.

Sunoco will pursue all options to sell its refineries, but if a suitable transaction cannot be implemented, the company intends to idle the main processing units at the facilities in July 2012…

To read the rest of the press release, click here: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=99437&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1603618&highlight=

Pennsylvania Makes Top Ten List Of US States Reducing Oil Dependence

This should make us all proud.  Pennsylvania was ranked 7th out of the 50 states for doing the most to reduce our dependence on oil.  Because Pennsylvania funds public transit systems (like PART and SEPTA) and because of setting renewable fuel standards we earned high marks.  California ranked number 1 while Alaska was number 50.  Pennsylvania drivers spend 3.4% of their income on gas, which is the 8th lowest percentage in the country!

If you would like to read the report in its entirety you may click on this link: http://www.nrdc.org/energy/states/files/Fighting%20Oil%20Addiction_NRDC_Nov%202010.pdf

Gasoline Prices Expected To Drop After Labor Day

Image via Wikipedia

Some recession-buster news!  Gas prices are expected to drop between 10 and 15 cents a gallon after the end of summer holiday.  That is, barring any disasters or unforseen circumstances.  Oil prices are falling as consumers are staying closer to home this summer and not spending money fearing a relapse in the economy (smart move).