California Resources Corp., formed as a spinoff from Occidental Petroleum, is in talks to sell 
some of its oil and gas fields, pipelines and other holdings to pay down a portion of its $6.2 billion in debt.
CRC’s Chief Executive Officer Todd Stevens disclosed the plans in a presentation to analysts, saying the company is negotiating agreements with several potential purchasers of the assets.
A proposal by Phillips 66 to add a 1.5 mile rail spur to its Santa Maria refinery, to accommodate 
80-car tanker trains carrying crude oil, has run into resistance from nearby cities, school districts and environmental groups.
Because rail operations are subject to federal regulation, local governments have no direct control over the project proposed by the refinery. However, Phillips will need approval from San Luis Obispo County for the related construction on its 1,100 acre property. The county is expected to take up the issue early in 2016.
A federal judge in Wyoming has issued a preliminary injunction preventing the Department of the Interior from enforcing rules on the use of hydraulic fracturing on federal lands, saying the Bureau of Land Management lacks authority to oversee drilling activity and that such regulation should be left to the states.
United States District Court Scott Skavdahl said in his ruling that a federal agency must derive its power from Congress, but “at this point, the Court does not believe Congress has granted or delegated to the BLM authority to regulate fracking.”
PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE: PBF) announced that it will purchase the damaged ExxonMobil Torrance refinery and related assets for $537.5 million. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2016, after repairs are completed.
The 750-acre refinery has a capacity of 155,000 barrels per day, but due to damage from an explosion in February it now operates at only 20% of capacity.
California legislators went into recess with many of the most controversial and ambitious proposed climate change measures withdrawn or delayed.
Pulled from Senate Bill 350 before it passed was its target of a 50% reduction in petroleum use by cars and trucks by 2030.
Federal regulators have issued warnings to Plains All American Pipeline Co. for “probable violations” related to the rupture in May of an oil pipeline on the Santa Barbara coast that spilled up to 3,400 barrels of crude.
Officials with the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration said the company was unable to provide records of its internal safety evaluation of the pipeline that failed or that documented steps to ensure supervisors were familiar with safety procedures, and had not maintained adequate records of pressure-testing of tanks designed to handle surges.
