The Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) said it is investigating a Sept. 12 “substantial escape of hydrocarbons” from an offshore production platform in Ula oil field in the Norwegian North Sea.

Alberta’s Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) contracted Group 10 Engineering Ltd., Calgary, to conduct a third-party independent review of pipeline safety.

Hurricane Isaac uncovered limited amounts of residual oil associated with the 2010 Macondo deepwater Gulf of Mexico oil spill, BP PLC said Sept. 11, adding that the Macondo oil had been buried in isolated stretches of shoreline where BP had been cleaning before Isaac made landfall.

Five refineries were shut down and six others operated at reduced rates as the slow-moving Isaac made its way across Louisiana where it was downgraded from a Category 1 hurricane to a tropical storm several hours after making landfall near New Orleans late on Aug. 28.

Industry had shut in most of the US Gulf of Mexico offshore crude production before Hurricane Isaac made landfall in Plaquemines Parish, La., Aug. 29 as a slow-moving Category 1 hurricane.

Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection gave Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. permission to resume activities at seven Dimock area wells it has drilled.

Two Sinclair Oil Corp. refineries in Wyoming agreed to pay more than $3.8 million in fines and spend $10.5 million for additional equipment and other projects to resolve alleged violations of a 2008 consent decree at the facilities, the US Department of Justice and Environmental Protection Agency jointly announced on Aug. 20.

Governments worldwide must work with industry to address legitimate public concerns about environmental issues if unconventional natural gas is to reach its globall development potential, Maria van der Hoeven, executive director of the International Energy Agency, told an audience at Rice University’s Baker Institute Aug. 17, a day after she toured the Eagle Ford shale in South Texas.

The US Environmental Protection Agency issued final revised new source performance standards (NSPS) to control volatile organic compounds (VOC) and sulfur dioxide emissions from onshore natural gas processing plants.

The US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement issued its final offshore drilling safety rule. It strengthens requirements for safety equipment, well-control systems, and blowout prevention practices developed following the 2010 Macondo deepwater well blowout and oil spill, BSEE said on Aug. 15.

The US Chemical Safety Board will fully investigate what caused an Aug. 6 fire at Chevron USA Inc.’s 240,000 b/d Richmond refinery in Martinez, Calif., CSB announced on Aug. 11.

Enbridge Energy Partners LP met requirements of a July 31 correction action order and was allowed to restart a crude oil pipeline in Wisconsin following repairs of a July 27 rupture, the US Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration announced.