Mike is an Energywire reporter based in Dallas-Fort Worth. Since joining E&E News in 2013, he has written extensively about energy regulation and the impact of oil and gas development on communities, including hydraulic fracturing, air and water pollution, pipeline construction, traffic problems, and landowner disputes. He also covers state politics, business news and environmental issues. Before joining E&E News he was an energy reporter for Bloomberg News and wrote for several Texas newspapers including the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Federal workplace safety authorities fined the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery $132,600 for a string of violations related to the fiery explosions that destroyed the plant last summer.
New Mexico oil companies can be fined up to $10,000 per day under rules adopted yesterday, part of Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's push to clean up the state's environment.
The 2020 election could be a tipping point for the oil industry in Texas, and thus the rest of the U.S. energy sector.
The head of the Texas Oil and Gas Association said yesterday his industry's emissions contribute to climate change and that its member companies need to contribute to a solution by cutting their greenhouse gas output.
The National Transportation Safety Board has urged the Trump administration not to allow shipments of liquefied natural gas by rail, citing the risk of "catastrophic" fires and explosions.