California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) declared a state of emergency in Porter Ranch, Calif., on Jan. 7, following the failure of one of the world’s top drilling contractors to plug Southern California Gas Co.’s Aliso Canyon gas leak.
Royal Dutch Shell has lost $5 billion so far in 2015, TransCanada Corp. is staring at a $2-billion write-off following the U.S. rejection of its Keystone XL pipeline, and Baker Hughes said it took a 43% hit to earnings compared to last year, a measurement almost identical to the decline of North American oil-rig drilling over the same time.
Several top global construction firms have stepped up their efforts to partner with tech providers to offer full-service packages for utility-sector clients, which need as many fuel options and generating technologies as possible.
India-based Essar Steel’s plan to build an iron-ore crusher and pellet mill on Minnesota’s Iron Range has become an epic construction struggle, with non-payment to contractors, past-due loans and another total work stoppage, says Barry Davies, business representative, International Association of Ironworkers Local 612, Minneapolis.
Days after two Wisconsin oil and ethanol train derailments in early November, a national environmental watchdog group released a scathing critique of the decaying state of freight rail infrastructure—especially bridges—and the dangers they pose to wildlife habitats and waterways as heavier volumes of hazardous materials put pressure on aging track.
Suspecting that the California High- Speed Rail Authority intentionally misled the state Legislature on costs, state Assembly Republicans are seeking to subpoena state documents on the estimated $68-billion high-speed-rail (HSR) project and set up a special committee to receive sworn testimony from CHSRA officials.
Canada's National Energy Board is evaluating Kinder Morgan's application to expand its Trans Mountain pipeline, but Burnaby, British Columbia, has asked that the environmental permitting and review process — meant to set the stage for the $5.4-billion project — be scrapped completely because of the recent appointment of Steven Kelly, a former Kinder consultant, to the NEB.
Santa Clara County, Calif., announced Sept. 17 that it had issued Turner Construction Co. a “notice of termination” of Turner’s right to finish work on an overbudget and behind-schedule county hospital expansion project in San Jose.
