New Jersey refiner PBF Energy buying refinery in Louisiana












A New Jersey energy company will buy the Chalmette oil refinery in Louisiana for $322 million from ExxonMobil and its partner, the state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela,
Jennifer Larino reports in the Times-Picayune. 

PBF Energy Inc., based in Parsippany, N.J., and one of the largest independent oil refiners in North America, has agreed to purchase the 189,000-barrel-per-day refinery as well as interests in chemical facilities, pipelines and other assets at the site.

A statement released by PBF Energy did not detail how the purchase would impact the refinery’s workforce, though it appears leadership intends to extend job offers to many current employees.

“We are committed to the continued safe and environmentally responsible operations of the facility and look forward to welcoming Chalmette’s well-trained and professional workforce to the PBF family,” CEO Tom Nimbley said.

About 530 ExxonMobil employees and 500 contractors work at the refinery, according to figures provided by ExxonMobil.

PBF spokesman Michael Karlovich said the company intends to extend offers to all ExxonMobil employees. He said PBF would review the level of contract work needed to support safe operations at the facility.

The sale comes as Venezuela’s government seeks ways to cover growing debt as low oil prices erode state revenues and a recession looms.
ExxonMobil and Petroleos de Venezuela each own a 50 percent stake in the refinery.

Chalmette Refining, built in 1915 on the site of a former plantation, is one of the largest employers in St. Bernard Parish. ExxonMobil operates the plant, though about a third of the oil refined there is produced in Venezuela.

The deal is PBF Energy’s first refinery purchase on the Gulf Coast, expanding its refining capacity by 35 percent to more than 725,000 barrels per day.
PBR Energy operates refineries in Delaware, New Jersey and Ohio.

If regulators approve the deal, the new owners are expected to take over the Chalmette refinery later this year.

PBF Energy currently operates three refineries in Paulsboro, New Jersey, Delaware City, Delaware and Toledo, Ohio. Two members of its management,CEO Thomas J. Nimbley and Senior Vice President of Refining Herman Seedorf were part of the ConocoPhillips team that from 1993 to 2001 managed the Bayway Refinery in Linden, NJ  

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NJ’s PSEG Makes Power Play in Maryland’s Energy Market


PSEG Power is expanding its base into Maryland, NJ Spotlight reports.
The Newark subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group announced that it has acquired a 755-megawatt natural-gas-fired project in Prince George County from Genesis Power LLC and Ares EIF Management, an energy-focused private equity fund.
PSEG Power will invest between $825 million and $875 million in the project, which is expected to begin construction sometime this year and to start supplying capacity to the regional power grid in 2018.

Full story: New Jersey’s PSEG Power Makes Power Play in Maryland’s Energy Market 

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Peek inside Amazon’s super efficient NJ fulfillment center

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Peek inside Amazon’s super efficient NJ fulfillment center

What happens after you click “buy” on your Amazon purchase?


NJTV News Correspondent Briana Vannozzi provides the answer — 14 miles of conveyer belts that help sort and package products with the help of a part-robot part-human team, at Amazon’s fulfillment center in Robbinsville, NJ which has been operating for almost a year.
“Our systems know exactly which item to pick and how quickly to get it to you. And that’s what we do next. We travel on our over 14 miles of conveyers up to our pack stations and then our packages are all sorted by customer by ship destination out to you,” said Amazon Director of Operations in Robbinsville Tim Hall.
The 1.2 million square foot center in Robbinsville is a maze of brightly colored sorting buckets and shelves. More than 2,500 employees have been hired since it unofficially opened last July.
“The goals are actually above where we believed we would be at this point,” Hall said.

It’s called an eighth generation facility, because of the advanced technology. Bright orange robots — Amazon officials refer to them as “NFL linemen” — lift up to 750 pounds. “They make our associates more efficient. They actually do the walking for our associates. They bring the shelves to them, take the shelves away. Our associates love interacting with them,” Hall said.
Jobs for urban youth

“We wanted to get young men and women from inner city of Trenton and give them an easier opportunity to come out here and get jobs, which they have. They can take one bus from the city of Trenton. We have a dedicated ZLine that comes right out here to the corporate center, which is free, and they can just hop on and hop off,” said Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes.

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Environment-related nominations before NJ Senate panel


The New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee will meet at noon on Monday, June 22, 
in Room 4 of the State House Annex in Trenton to consider the following nominations to environment-related advisory boards and commissions.
Jorge H. Berkowitz, Delaware Township, to be a member of the Site Remediation Professional Licensing Board to succeed himself

Stephen R. Blankenship, Williamstown, to be a member of the Water Supply Advisory Council to replace Stephen J. Gallo, resigned

Philip I. Brilliant, Toms River, to be a member of the Site Remediation Professional Licensing Board for the term prescribed by law.

Phillip Brodhecker, Hampton Township, to be a member of the Fish and Game Council to succeed himself

Peter DeCenzo, Red Bank, to be a member of the Advisory Council on Solid Waste Management to replace John J. Pislor

Wayne D. DeFeo, Warren Township, to be a member of the Advisory Council on Solid Waste Management to replace Dennis M. Toft, Esq.

Thomas P. Di Chiara, Bedminster, to be a member of the State Board of Professional Planners to replace Perry Schwartz, Ph.D., P.P., resigned, for the term prescribed by law

Lawra J. Dodge, Readington Township, to be a member of the Site Remediation Professional Licensing Board to succeed herself

Joseph R. Fallon, Plainsboro, to be a member of the Site Remediation Professional Licensing Board to replace Richard T. Dewling, Ph.D.
Kenneth Paul Nelson, Wantage, to be a member of the State Board of Professional Planners to replace Daniel C. McSweeney, P.P., resigned

Nancy E. Shafer-Winter, Asbury Park, to be a member of the Advisory Council on Solid Waste Management to replace Mary E. Marchetta, resigned

Kathleen F. Stetser, East Greenwich Township, to be a member of the Site Remediation Professional Licensing Board to replace Philip I. Brilliant, CHMM, LSRP

Peter F. Strom, Highland Park, to be a member of the Site Remediation Professional Licensing Board for the term prescribed by law.

Constantine Tsentas, Flemington, to be a member of the Site Remediation Professional Licensing Board to succeed himself
Ira L. Whitman, East Brunswick, to be a member of the Site Remediation Professional Licensing Board to succeed himself

Michael B. Lavery, Hackettstown, to be a member of the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission to replace the Honorable William Hodas, retired

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NJ energy, environment bills in committee next week


Here’s the present lineup of New Jersey Senate and Assembly committees scheduled to consider energy and environment legislation next Monday and Tuesday in Trenton:



SENATE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY
6/22/15  1:00 PM
Committee Room 10, 3rd Floor, State House Annex, Trenton, NJ

The public hearing will be held in accordance with Rule 24:3 of the New
Jersey Senate on SCR-163 (1R).  Persons
wishing to testify should submit 15 copies of written testimony to the
committee on the day of the hearing.
For consideration:
SCR-163  Smith, B. (D-17); Greenstein, L.R. (D-14)
Amends Constitution to dedicate all State moneys
received from settlements and awards in cases of environmental contamination
for certain environmental purposes.
Related Bill: ACR-230
     
——————————————————————————————————————— 
ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS
6/22/15  2:00 PM
Committee Room 11, 4th Floor, State House Annex, Trenton, NJ
A-4574 (Prieto); A-4586 (Burzichelli); A-4589 (Eustace) and A-4590 are
all pending intro and referral. A-2587; A-2757; A-3189; A-3601; A-3791; A-4067;
A-4410; A-4413; A-4435; A-4492 and A-4526 (1R) are all pending referral.
For consideration:
A-1417  Chivukula, U.J. (D-17); Caride, M. (D-36);
Eustace, T. (D-38)
“Government Energy Reliability and Savings
Public-Private Partnership Act.”
Related Bill: S-848
     
A-4283  Johnson, G.M. (D-37); Eustace, T. (D-38);
Caride, M. (D-36); Muoio, E.M. (D-15); Vainieri Huttle, V. (D-37); Lagana, J.A.
(D-38); Lampitt, P.R. (D-6); Moriarty, P.D. (D-4)
Requires owner or operator of certain trains to have
discharge response, cleanup, and contingency plans to transport certain
hazardous materials by rail.
Related Bill: S-2858
     
——————————————————————————————————————- 
ASSEMBLY BUDGET
6/23/15 10:00 AM
Committee Room 11, 4th Floor, State House Annex, Trenton, NJ
A-4558 and A-4559 are pending referral.
For consideration:
A-4558  McKeon, J.F. (D-27); Spencer, L.G. (D-29)
Appropriates $4,750,000 from various Green Acres funds
for grants to certain nonprofit entities to acquire or develop lands for
recreation and conservation purposes.
Related Bill: S-3023
      
A-4559 
Appropriates $88,592,361 from “Garden State Green
Acres Preservation Trust Fund” and various Green Acres bond funds for
local government open space acquisition and park development projects.
Related Bill: S-3022 
 

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Enviros may sue NJDEP over sturgeon-killing power plant

PSEG Power’s Mercer Generating Plant in Hamilton Twp., NJ

NJ Spotlight reports today that the Sierra Club and other conservation organizations plan to file suit  unless the state commits to complete an overdue permit for a coal-burning power plant on the Delaware River owned by PSEG Power.

The dispute is part of a long-running argument between environmentalists and the DEP to install costly cooling towers at the power plant in Hamilton Township and other locations. These towers help reduce the massive kills that occur when fish are sucked into the units along with the water used to keep them from overheating.

In this instance, environmentalists claim the plant’s operation harms shortnose sturgeon and Atlantic sturgeon, two federally listed endangered fish species, by withdrawing hundreds of millions of gallons of water from the Delaware River each day to produce steam.

“In my 40 years as a fish-research biologist, I have never seen a case so clear: the water withdrawal from the Delaware River for the cooling system at the Mercer coal-fired power plant likely entrains and kills thousands of young shortnose and Atlantic sturgeons every year,’’ said Dr. Boyd Kynard, a sturgeon biologist who has served on national sturgeon recovery and protocol development teams for nearly three decades.

The DEP does not comment on litigation, but Larry Hajna, a spokesman for the agency, said the Mercer facility has been operating on a reduced schedule compared with other years, lessening its impact due to decreased intake flow.

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