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Exxon, Saudis Bet on Plastic, Chemicals With Coastal Texas Plant

Exxon Mobil Corp. and Saudi Arabia’s state-controlled petrochemicals company formally approved construction of a chemical complex in Texas that will process production from the Permian Basin’s booming oil and natural gas wells.

The project near Corpus Christi will be the world’s largest steam cracker and create $50 billion of “economic output” in the first six years, Exxon and Saudi Basic Industries Corp., known as Sabic, said in a joint statement June 13. The facility will convert hydrocarbons such as ethane and propane to ethylene, a chemical used to make products from plastics to antifreeze.

It marks the latest in several chemical and refining plants set for the Gulf Coast, gaining from ultracheap production from the Permian, the world’s largest shale basin. As explorers boost oil output, associated supplies of gas and liquid byproducts provide some of the cheapest chemical feedstocks in the world.

Situated “on the doorstep of rapidly growing Permian production gives this project significant scale and feedstock advantages,” Exxon CEO Darren Woods said in the statement.

Diesel Slides Again, Down 3.5¢ to $3.07 a Gallon

The U.S. average retail price of diesel dropped 3.5 cents to $3.07 a gallon, the Department of Energy reported June 17. Crude oil prices slipped below $52 amid more warning signs of weakening demand.

The average diesel price has fallen 9.3 cents a gallon since May 20.

Diesel costs 17.4 cents less than it did a year ago when it was $3.244, DOE said.

Regional diesel fell everywhere across the nation. The regional average that fell the least: 2.3 cents in the Gulf Coast, where prices are $2.820 a gallon.

Also, the national average price for regular gasoline dropped 6.2 cents to $2.670 a gallon, DOE’s Energy Information Administration said.

Gasoline’s national average price has fallen for six consecutive weeks, dropping a total of 19.6 cents over that period.

Michelin Plans to Deploy Einride’s T-Pod

Tire maker Michelin Group announced it will deploy an autonomous electric transport system, called T-Pod, from Einride beginning in 2020.

T-pod will be used at Michelin’s facilities in Clermont-Ferrand, France, and travel routes inside a fenced area and on city roads between Michelin facilities.

Road freight transport is responsible for around 7% of global carbon dioxide emissions, according to the Clermont-Ferrand-based company.

Einride’s autonomous, all-electric vehicles are coordinated by intelligent routing software that integrates traffic and customer data to optimize delivery time, battery life and energy consumption, according to the Stockholm-based company.

Renault Chairman Pledges to Restore ‘Damaged’ Nissan Partnership

Renault SA Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard promised to improve relations with partner Nissan Motor Co., telling shareholders at an annual meeting in Paris that broken trust between the companies is repairable.

“The priority is to restore a strong alliance,” Senard said June 12, noting that time, patience and effort from both sides will be needed. “Trust has to be earned,” he said.

Senard, 66, is facing investors for the first time since taking the helm in January, two months after the arrest of his predecessor, Carlos Ghosn, on charges of financial crimes in Japan. Brought in by the French government — Renault’s most powerful shareholder — to patch up relations with Nissan, Senard has done the opposite. He further rocked the partnership by pushing and failing to get a merger with the Japanese automaker and then with Italian rival Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV.

The fallout from the Ghosn affair “left the alliance more damaged than what was initially apparent,” Senard told shareholders. The partnership “is making a new beginning that needs to be confirmed.”

Ghosn’s downfall on charges he denies has had profound effects on Renault and Nissan, serving to exacerbate a climate of mutual suspicion between the carmakers and creating internal turmoil as revelations unfolded about his alleged financial transgressions. As head of Renault, Nissan and the third partner, Mitsubishi Motors Corp., Ghosn had unusual powers that helped hold the alliance together.

Fiat Teams With Silicon Valley’s Aurora on Self-Driving Tech

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV is partnering with Silicon Valley startup Aurora Innovation Inc. to develop and deploy a fleet of self-driving commercial vehicles in a bid to catch up with other automakers that have invested heavily in the technology.

The companies signed an agreement to integrate Aurora’s self-driving platform into Fiat Chrysler’s commercial vehicle lines in the United States. They didn’t disclose the dollar value of the agreement, specify the number of vehicles to be deployed or say by when.

“As part of FCA’s autonomous vehicle strategy, we will continue to work with strategic partners to address the needs of customers in a rapidly changing industry,” Fiat CEO Mike Manley said in a statement.

The announcement comes less than a week after the automaker’s talks to merge with Renault SA of France collapsed, raising questions about its ability to compete as a stand-alone company in an industry spending billions of dollars on future technologies.+

Hold Up on the Fill-Up: Gasoline Is Set to Plunge at the Pump

Hold up on buying gasoline for a week, and the price could drop by an average 16 cents a gallon nationwide. If you fill up a Ford Expedition, that’s a nifty $5.36 in savings.

Gasoline prices have been sliding steadily for several weeks, and they’re promising to get even cheaper as crude prices fall and the U.S. moves into the summer driving season. Near Houston, in areas surrounded by refineries, the price is about $2 a gallon, according to data from GasBuddy.com.

Last year at this time, the average price nationally for regular gas at the pump was $2.92 a gallon, according to AAA. Now, following an 18% drop in crude oil prices in New York, the average sits at $2.75 at a time of year — springtime — when the price usually peaks in anticipation of more drivers on the road.

“We did see a 7-cent decline in the national gas price last week, and I think you can look for another decline this week, so motorists would not be advised to be so fast to fill their tanks,” said Patrick DeHaan, a GasBuddy.com analyst, by telephone. “I could see the national average down around $2.60 a gallon or even $2.59 a gallon this week.”

Trump Says ‘No Bluff!’ On the Mexico Tariffs

Republican lawmakers eager to halt a new round of tariffs on Mexican goods next week have spent days urging the Trump administration to negotiate a solution with Mexico’s government.

But President Donald Trump is making clear he has no intention of cutting a quick face-saving deal, warning on Twitter late June 4 that he’s not “bluffing” in his threat to impose 5% tariffs on all imports from Mexico starting June 10.

That has raised the stakes for a meeting June 5 between Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard and White House officials that may be Mexico’s best chance to offer concrete steps to curb the flow of migrants into the United States.

Exports, Imports Plummet as US Trade Deficit Narrows

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed in April as exports and imports tumbled, highlighting the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs even before negotiations with China unraveled and he threatened levies on Mexican goods.

The deficit in goods and services shrank to $50.8 billion, nearly in line with economist estimates, from a revised $51.9 billion the prior month, according to a Commerce Department report June 6. The merchandise-trade gap with China increased to $29.4 billion, while the Mexico deficit narrowed to $7.9 billion.

Exports fell the most in three years, partially reflecting lower demand for civilian aircraft after the worldwide grounding of Boeing Co.’s 737 Max model, though the decline in shipments abroad was broad-based. A narrower deficit overall will add to economic growth and allow Trump to claim some victory on pledges to reduce the gap, though it’s come at a cost to American companies that have lost export business or are paying higher prices.

Diesel Drops 1.5¢ to $3.136; Oil Close to Bear Market Price

The U.S. average retail price of diesel dropped 1.5 cents to $3.136 a gallon, the Department of Energy reported. Crude oil plunged to $53 a barrel and flirted with a bear market as the tensions surrounding international trade mounted.

Diesel costs 14.9 cents more than it did a year ago when it was $2.987, DOE said June 3.

Regional diesel prices fell everywhere across the nation.

The regional average that fell the most, 2.5 cents, was in California, to $4.109 a gallon.

Energy Secretary Rick Perry Says US Can Make Fossil Fuels Cleaner

The Trump administration is committed to making fossil fuels cleaner rather than imposing “draconian” regulations on oil, gas and coal, U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry said May 30.

Perry made his remarks at an energy conference in Salt Lake City that was briefly interrupted when protesters took the stage to criticize the administration’s fixation on fossil fuels as a misguided approach that ignores climate change. The demonstrators were escorted out by police.

The former Texas governor said the government has proved it can make traditional energy sources cleaner.

“Instead of punishing fuels that produce emissions through regulation, we’re seeking to reduce those emissions by innovation,” Perry said. “We have proved that we can make our energy cleaner without surrendering one, single fuel, one bit of growth, one iota of opportunity.”