NOLA bound: More than 70 experts and officials from 275 companies in the marijuana industry will converge in New Orleans next week for a conference, NOLA.com reports. The event will be the first time New Orleans hosts the MjBiz Conference, which has travelled to different U.S. cities for the past seven years. The conference, starting Wednesday, could offer a glimpse of the business opportunities that lie ahead for Louisiana as it assembles a sustainable medical marijuana program. Read more.
Conflicting reports: The second-largest crude distillation unit at ExxonMobil’s 502,500 barrel-per-day Baton Rouge refinery was shut down overnight, Reuters reports, citing anonymous sources familiar with plant operations. The shutdown of the 110,000 bpd PSLA-9 CDU at the Baton Rouge refinery was unplanned. Exxon spokeswoman Sarah Nordin declined to discuss the status of individual units at the Baton Rouge refinery, saying, “we are currently meeting contractual commitments.” Spokeswoman Stephanie Cargille, who’s stationed in Baton Rouge, also declined to confirm or deny the Reuters’ report, calling it speculative.
Up in flames: Xylene, a solvent used in the printing, rubber, paint and leather industries, was among the chemicals contributing to the fire and multiple explosions at FlowChem Technologies’ Duson plant Thursday afternoon, The Advertiser reports, citing information from the Acadia Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. Xylene is found in small amounts in airplane fuel, gasoline and cigarette smoke. The fire prompted emergency officials to issue a mandatory evacuation for a one-mile radius around the plant. No injuries were reported. Read more.
