Houston Chronicle report, LyondellBasell is betting millions of dollars that new technology will give it an edge in the burgeoning market for polyethylene, the ubiquitous plastic that has fueled a construction and export boom along the U.S. Gulf Coast. The Houston petrochemicals manufacturer has bui...

XTO Energy, Inc., a subsidiary of ExxonMobil Corp., is closing its corporate headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas, which will affect a total of 1,200 employees, according to a letter sent to the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). The U.S. oil and natural gas producer plans to relocate its business activ...

OSHA’s direct final rule (DFR) for its beryillum standard will become effective on July 4, 2018, according to the agency. The DFR clarifies aspects of the standard for general industry as it applies to processes, operations, or areas where workers may be exposed to materials containing less th...

The U.S. will cut its reliance on foreign oil to the lowest in more than 60 years as domestic crude output surges to record levels. The Energy Information Administration sees net imports of crude and petroleum products dropping to 1.5 million barrels a day in 2019, the lowest level since Dwight Eise...

Manufacturing activity paced cutting-tool consumption to $207.08 million during March, up 8.8% for the month. The ongoing expansion of the industrial economy paced another month of growth in U.S. manufacturing’s cutting-tool consumption, up 8.8% from February to $207.08 million during March. That ...

The 2017 data is in, and job announcements are up substantially for U.S. manufacturing. Reshoring and foreign job announcements (FDI) surged in 2017 to over 170,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs. This is strong evidence that work can and will be successfully brought back—and is especially relevant in a ...

A tour of manufacturing in and around Texas State University highlights product innovation born from research During a visit to San Marcos, Texas, last month, I visited four diverse manufacturers, both in size and product type. Three of the four are developing products using new materials—examples...

U.S. oil explorers raised the rig count to 800 for the first time in almost three years amid booming domestic and overseas demand for crude and petroleum-based fuels. Drillers have been accelerating exploration in an almost-unbroken streak since the beginning of November, vaulting American crude out...

(Bloomberg) — Crude rose the most in two weeks as stockpiles at the largest U.S. storage hub are seen draining further. Futures gained 2.2 percent Monday after data-provider Genscape Inc. was said to report that inventories dropped in Cushing, Oklahoma, according to two people with knowledge o...

Event: Las Vegas 400 (Round 3 of 36) Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Location: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval) Format: 267 laps, broken into three stages (80 laps/80 laps/107 laps) Start/Finish: 2nd/1st (Running, completed 267 of 267 laps) Point Standing: 1st (135 points, three ahe...

U.S. oil production surged to a 46-year record in October. The Energy Department said the nation’s output of crude oil jumped 1.8 percent to 9.64 million barrels a day. Morgan Stanley said shale drillers pumped at the fastest rate in nearly three years. And they did it with half the rigs they ...

Three years after causing an oil-price crash, the shale boom may not be enough to meet rising global demand because the industry has cut back so sharply on higher-risk mega-projects. Discoveries of new reserves this year were the fewest on record and replaced just 11% of what was produced, according...

Manufacturers will save about $261 billion over the next decade thanks to the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. On paper, that should lead to new investments — in equipment, in workforce and beyond. Steve Staub was headed west on Interstate 70 on Wednesday afternoon, back to his factory in Dayton after a...

Manufacturers’ optimism has risen to unprecedented heights amid the legislative progress made on tax reform, according to the results of the Manufactures’ Outlook Survey for the fourth quarter of 2017. The study, conducted by The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), found that 94.6% ...

(Bloomberg) — The world’s largest oil consumer exported more hydrocarbons than ever before in 2017 and shows no signs of slowing down. You name it — crude oil, gasoline, diesel, propane and even liquefied natural gas — all were shipped abroad at a record pace. While the surge com...

The manufacturing sector continued to grow at an above-average rate in November, as the impact of back-to-back hurricanes over the summer recedes, according to an industry survey released on Dec. 1. Output spiked and employment remains strong to produce “a really strong report” on the se...

The nation’s oil production climbed nearly 300,000 barrels a day in September, reaching the highest level since its most recent peak in April 2015, the Energy Department said Thursday. Energy companies pumped 9.48 million barrels of oil a day in September, up 3.2 percent compared to the 9.19 m...

Reuters (11/10, DiSavino) reported that “US energy companies added the most oil drilling rigs in week since June as crude prices traded up to their highest levels since the summer of 2015,” as the energy services firm Baker Hughes said drillers brought 9 oil rigs on line during the week of Novem...

The Houston Chronicle (11/6, Eaton) reports, “Texas oil companies have hired more than 30,000 workers over the past year, a sharp turnaround after they laid off a third of the industry’s statewide workforce during the oil bust.” The number of oil and gas workers in the state “reached more th...

Reuters (11/3, Scheyder) reported, “US shale producers are telling investors impatient for better returns that they can keep boosting oil output aggressively and do so while still making money for shareholders.” Investors have “pushed top US shale companies to focus on returns, rather than hig...