Oil and Gas Watch News
Brendan Gibbons
/
June 12, 2025

Some U.S. oil refineries are still using WWII-era heaters and boilers, leading to excess pollution

The Environmental Integrity Project examined publicly available data and records for the 20 petroleum refineries in the U.S. that reported emitting the most greenhouse gases in 2023. Of the refineries whose boilers had age information, 87 percent of those units (739 of 845) are outdated, the group found. While experts have concluded that boilers and heaters work most efficiently when they are 15 years old or younger, the average age of the heating systems in the largest refineries is more than 40 years old. The oldest refinery boiler that EIP found dated to 1948, with the oldest heater installed in 1939.

News Briefs

June 18, 2025
Plans shelved to produce hydrogen with carbon capture at Indiana refinery

In another blow to the burgeoning U.S. hydrogen industry, BP announced it would indefinitely suspend plans to generate hydrogen at its Whiting, Indiana, refinery.

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June 18, 2025
Flames engulf Houston-area refinery for third time in two years

A fire that broke out at a Marathon Petroleum refinery in Texas City, Texas, was the refinery’s third since May 2023.

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June 18, 2025
CNN: EPA staff told to stop enforcement fossil fuel violations

Environmental Protection Agency staff are being told not to enforce violations against oil and gas companies, CNN reported this week.

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In Depth Reports

The Lone Star State’s Gas Plant Boom

A wave of 130 natural gas power plant projects in the Lone Star State, proposed in part to feed the artificial intelligence boom, could release as much greenhouse gas pollution as 27 million cars and trucks driving for a year, according to a report from the Environmental Integrity Project.

Pollution from Oil Refineries with Outdated Boilers and Heaters

The Environmental Integrity Project examined publicly available data and records for the 20 petroleum refineries in the U.S. that reported emitting the most greenhouse gases in 2023. Out of the refinery boilers and heaters with age information, 87 percent of these units (739 of 845) are outdated.

Plastic's Toxic River

The Environmental Integrity Project examined the records of 70 U.S. facilities that make plastics or the main chemical ingredients in plastics and found they discharged almost 12 million pounds in 2023 of total nitrogen and phosphorus.

News Articles

Ari Phillips
/
June 5, 2025

Trump Administration wants to gut protections for endangered animals to boost fossil fuel extraction

The Trump Administration has targeted the Endangered Species Act as an impediment to oil and gas drilling since its first hours in office. On Inauguration Day, Trump's "energy emergency" order paves the way for permit applicants and federal agencies to ignore the possible presence of threatened and endangered species at the sites of proposed constrution projects. The order is not limited to energy projects. It applies to any type of project permitted or funded by a federal agency. Meanwhile, the administration has also found other ways of attacking the Endangered Species Act.

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Ari Phillips
/
May 29, 2025

PA bill would penalize local governments that move fracking away from homes

A bill that passed out of a key Pennsylvania Senate committee on May 7 would withhold funds meant to offset the impacts of oil and gas drilling from municipalities that pass ordinances increases setbacks from homes. These “impact fees” are collected from the fracking industry and typically go towards improvements to roads and other infrastructure, emergency preparedness, and environmental protection programs.

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Brendan Gibbons
/
May 21, 2025

States sue over Trump 'energy emergency' order that fast-tracks wetlands destruction

On May 9, states led by Washington and California sued the administration over the order issued on President Donald Trump’s first day in office. The administration has used the order to speed up hundreds of permit applications to fill streams and alter wetlands for energy, mining, and construction projects, among other environmental reviews. The order came despite record-high oil and gas production in the U.S. under the Biden Administration.

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Brendan Gibbons
/
May 14, 2025

Company announces major shakeup of controversial Louisiana hydrogen plant

A controversial hydrogen production plant planned in Louisiana is on hold as the company considers divesting from plans to make ammonia and capture carbon from the facility and bury it under a wildlife refuge and fishing area. The project is part of a wave of proposed hydrogen production facilities planned across the U.S., most of which would use natural gas combined with carbon capture meant to keep the resulting carbon dioxide (CO2) from reaching the atmosphere.

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