Oil rigs in Gulf prep for storm
About 20 percent of the Gulf of Mexico's oil production is temporarily shuttered as the rapidly strengthening Hurricane Michael approaches the Florida Panhandle.
BP, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Anadarko Petroleum and others evacuated personnel from some platforms as the fast-moving storm quickly developed into a major hurricane.
London-based BP has taken the most action to avoid major damage from Michael, halting production and evacuating at least four major platforms: Atlantis, Mad Dog, Na Kika and Thunder Horse.
Other companies have evacuated one or two platforms.
However, the other largest Gulf producer, Royal Dutch Shell, opted not to evacuate and is instead hunkering down and securing its deep-water facilities, while still maintaining oil and gas production.
The federal government said about one-fifth of Gulf oil production was halted for now and that nearly one-third of floating drilling rigs and platforms were relocated out of harm's way.
Mexican state oil giant Pemex announced on Tuesday the discovery of seven new hydrocarbon deposits which will allow the country to noticeably increase oil production, the company's CEO, Carlos Trevino, said on Tuesday.
Pemex said two wells in shallow Gulf of Mexico waters have found about 180 million barrels of proven, probable and possible oil and gas reserves. That, combined with other discoveries in recent years, would add production of as much as 210,000 barrels of oil per day and 350m cubic feet of gas.
The Manik well is about 52 miles offshore, and the Mulach is about 11 miles offshore.
In April, Manik found two separate reserves, and Mulach found five oil pockets.
The Pemex oil company said Tuesday four other shallowwater fields discovered between 2011 and 2016 will enter production soon.
The Kinbe and Koban fields hold about 325 million barrels of 3P reserves, and the Xikin and Esah fields hold 360 million barrels.
Pemex’s production dropped to 1.88 million barrels per day in the first half of 2018, down from 3.4 million barrels per day in 2005.
Starbucks’ staff gets backup child care
Starbucks’ U.S. employees have a new benefit: subsidized backup care for children and adults.
The company says employees will get up to 10 backup care days each year to use when regular care is unavailable. More than 180,000 employees will be eligible.
In-home backup care for kids or adults will cost employees $1 per hour. Care in a childcare center costs $5 per day.
Starbucks will also offer its employees free senior care planning through Care.com.
HSBC Holdings to pay $765 million
HSBC Holdings Plc will pay $765 million to settle allegations that it sold defective residential mortgage-backed securities, resolving one of the last remaining U.S. investigations stemming from the mortgage meltdown a decade ago.
The sum, announced Tuesday by U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer in Colorado, is substantially lower than the billions paid by other banks to resolve misconduct linked to these toxic securities. London-based HSBC wasn’t a major player in the market.
HSBC disputes and does not admit the allegations.
Walmart in Canada delays on cannabis
Walmart Inc.’s Canadian arm has been investigating the possibility of selling cannabis-based products but doesn’t intend to get into the much-hyped business yet.
“As we would for any new industry, Walmart Canada has done some preliminary factfinding on this issue, but we do not have plans to carry CBD products at this time,” spokeswoman Diane Medeiros said in an email, referring to cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive compound found in cannabis plants.
The company also has no plans to dispense medical marijuana at its pharmacies “at this time,” Medeiros said.
Interest in CBD has been booming as Canada prepares to legalize recreational marijuana next week.
Ex-Cabinet member joins Lyft as adviser
Anthony Foxx, the former U.S. Transportation Secretary under President Barack Obama, is joining Lyft Inc. to help the ridehailing company navigate new regulatory roadblocks across the U.S.
On Tuesday, Lyft named Foxx as chief policy officer and adviser to the founders. Foxx served under Obama throughout his second term. Before that, he was mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina.
While the company has expanded its ride-hailing network to cover much of the U.S., Lyft is laying the groundwork for electric-scooter rentals and selfdriving cars.
Flight problems ripple from storm
Travelers across the nation can expect to see flight cancellations and delays as Hurricane Michael approaches Florida’s Panhandle.
Several airlines have started waiving re-booking charges as the now Category 3 storm makes way to land this afternoon. Mandatory evacuations have been issued for many Florida counties, sparking flight cancellations at Florida airports.
Flights through major hub Atlanta, the largest airport in the nation, could also be affected as the remnants of the storm pass through Georgia midweek.