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News Briefs

May 21, 2026
Fuel tanker traffic through Strait of Hormuz increased last week

Ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz more than doubled last week compared to the previous week, with traffic including three oil supertankers heading to Asia.

May 21, 2026
In Tokyo, Texas advocates urge Japanese official to stop supporting LNG

Residents of the Southeast Texas petrochemical hub of Freeport were in Tokyo this week asking Japanese financiers and government ministers to stop supporting fossil fuels.

May 21, 2026
Public comment period open on floating LNG export terminal off Texas coast

Advocates are urging federal regulators to consider the full environmental costs of a floating liquified natural gas terminal 12 miles off the Texas coast.

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News Articles

Ari Phillips
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May 14, 2026

Trump rebrands struggling oil refinery project along Texas coast as ‘America First’ refinery

In mid-March, amid a spike in gas prices brought on by the war in Iran, President Trump announced that American First Refining would build a crude oil refinery outside of Brownsville, Texas. The announcement did not mention that, for almost a decade, the 240-acre Port of Brownsville site has been at the center of a struggling effort to construct a 160,000 barrel-per-day oil refinery under a different name.

Brendan Gibbons
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May 7, 2026

Iran war inflates price of fossil fuel-based fertilizer and groceries

The consequences of the U.S.-Israel war against Iran have rippled far beyond oil markets. Strikes on natural gas infrastructure in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have spiked global fertilizer prices during a critical period for farmers. The price of urea, a granular nitrogen fertilizer that is vital for corn, wheat, rice, and cotton crops, has increased 45 percent since the war began.

Victoria Zurner
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April 30, 2026

The Keystone XL pipeline returns as ‘Keystone Light,’ but still faces heavy opposition

The Bridger Pipeline Expansion, sometimes called the “Keystone XL Light” Pipeline, is a proposed crude oil pipeline that would travel 647 miles through eastern Montana and Wyoming, along the border with North and South Dakota. In some ways, the project is similar to its predecessor, the Keystone XL Pipeline, which was declared dead in 2021 after an intense battle over its environmental impact.

Tom Pelton
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April 20, 2026

After surviving brush with death, pastor fights to save his community from industrial 'MegaPark'

Twenty-two years after being diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease and given three years to live, Pastor Harry Joseph is not only still alive and strong but more inspired than ever to fight to save his community. He and his daughter are leaders in a David vs. Goliath legal battle by the small, historically Black community of Modeste, Louisiana, to stop a proposal by developers to replace their neighborhood with a massive industrial park called the RiverPlex Mega Park. “When God healed me, he healed me to put me in the position that I am now – to help other people with their struggles,” the Rev. Joseph said.

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