Property owners in Ohio have filed a lawsuit against the owners of the Nexus natural gas pipeline and two contractors for breaking an agreement to protect their properties and repair damage.

According to reports, Nexus Gas Transmission and contractors Latex Construction Co. and Michels Corp. are named in the lawsuit, seeking damages and $25,000 in legal fees. Complaints leveled against one or more of the named companies include allegations of pumping water and silt onto private property without obtaining permission, destroying farm crops, lack of erosion control and failure to repair damaged land and drainage systems.

The pipeline cost about $2.1 billion to build. It runs for about 210 miles through Ohio and continues into Michigan.

2018 has been an interesting year for many of the industries PetroChoice services. Oil, automotive, manufacturing, mining and other industries have all found themselves in the news. Here are some of the more notable or memorable stories we saw this year.

New Motor Oil Classification Aims to Fight LSPI – The American Petroleum Institute (API)’s new motor oil classification, API SN Plus, began licensing on May 1. Oils with the new classification feature reduction in calcium content and increases of other elements to help combat low speed pre-ignition, or LSPI. LSPI is common in turbocharged direct-injection vehicles and can cause serious engine damage. Several OEMs pushed for the new sub-classification as it is unlikely the next license category update, to ILSAC GF-6, will occur until 2020.

Qatar leaves OPEC – Qatar’s new energy minister said the Middle Eastern nation will leave the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) effective Jan. 1 2019. It had been a member of OPEC since 1961. While political tension between Qatar and its neighbors, including Saudi Arabia, have grown since 2017, officials have said the decision is a business one. Qatar wants to shift their focus to natural gas production, something at which they already excel. Once their withdrawal is effective, Qatar will become just the third member to terminate their OPEC membership and the first Middle Eastern nation to do so.

In-Car Technology on the Rise – More and more players in the automotive industry are starting to add new tech to their vehicles. Toyota announced in January it would integrate Amazon Alexa voice assistants into some of its Toyota and Lexus models, Kia will add Google Assistant to some of their models and Mercedes will add their own proprietary voice assistant to its newer vehicles. Ford and Hyundai both announced plans for “connected car” systems and many manufacturers began work on autonomous vehicles. Autonomous vehicles have also become a point of emphasis outside the automotive industry, as Australia approved the technology used by mining company Rio Tinto to complete its first autonomous train.

It hasn’t been all good news though. A pedestrian was struck and killed by a self-driving Uber vehicle in March. The incident was called “preventable” by the IIHS and the ride sharing company has since stopped testing self-driving cars on public roads. All of the new technology in vehicles is causing the cost of repairs to increase. In addition, all of the changes have led to new questions for regulators, with the NHTSA considering safety rule changes.

Closing Plants, Cutting Models – General Motors announced in November that it would shutter five factories in the United States and Canada, drawing the ire of President Donald Trump and others.  This came a mere month after the automaker offered voluntary buyouts to 18,000 of its employees despite posting a net income of $2.5 billion. Its spokespeople called the measure proactive, as it anticipates challenges with its investment in autonomous and electric vehicles.

GM isn’t the only company taking steps like this. Also in November, Toyota announced it would consider removing some models from its North American lineup due to poor sales. Chrysler also announced it would be removing models from the market.

The trend of downsizing and restructuring isn’t confined to the automotive industry either. BP announced in August that it was considering the sale of up to $6 billion in assets in the United States. Heavy equipment manufacturer CAT agreed to sell its purpose-built forestry equipment division in a deal that could be finalized in early 2019.

States Crack Down on THF 303 – Georgia banned the sale of the controversial 303 tractor hydraulic fluid in February, with North Carolina following suit in August. Missouri had already banned the sale of the fluid in 2017. The 303 is a reference to John Deere’s JDM 303 classification, which became obsolete in 1974. Often sold in bright yellow buckets, these fluids are heavily discounted and some estimates say the account for as much as 25 percent of all THF sold in the United States.

According to the Petroleum Quality Institute of America (PQIA), it is impossible to determine whether these lubricants are appropriate for use in modern tractors and they fail to meet J20C and J20A specifications 90 percent of the time.

Volkswagen is currently in talks with Ford to use the Detroit automaker’s plants to build their own cars in the United States.

The companies announced in June they were discussing a potential partnership. Talks have continued since then and it appears the automakers will likely make a decision about their next steps in early 2019. According to reports, Volkswagen representatives have said they are in need of additional production capacity in the U.S. to produce their name brand and Audi branded vehicles. They currently operate a plant in Chattanooga, Tenn.

The deal would be a strategic partnership and Volkswagen would not acquire equity in Ford. The two had previously discussed other partnerships, including jointly developing autonomous vehicles, co-producing electric cars and sharing manufacturing in various regions.

Qatar has announced it will leave the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) as government officials say the Middle Eastern nation will focus on natural gas production.

According to reports, Qatar’s exit will become official on January 1, 2019. They joined the alliance in 1961, a year after the group was formed in Baghdad, Iraq. The group has 15 members, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which cut diplomatic ties with Qatar in 2017. Saudi Arabia maintained a boycott against Qatar since then.

Saad al-Kaabi, Qatar’s energy minister, said the decision to leave OPEC is strictly business. According to reports, he said Qatar wants to increase its natural gas production to 110 million tons annually. They currently produce about 77 million tons each year.

Since it was formed in 1960, just three OPEC members have suspended or terminated their membership. Ecuador and Gabon have since returned to the group and Indonesia’s membership was frozen in 2016. Qatar will become the first Middle Eastern nation to leave.

Demand for petroleum increased 3.3 percent for the month of October, according to the latest report from the American Petroleum Institute (API).

The API report measures demand by total domestic deliveries. According to the most recent report, there were 20.8 million barrels per day in recorded delivers in October, an increase over September’s numbers and an increase of almost 4 percent year over year. This was the first time in five years demand has increased from September to October. The results continue a strong year for demand, which is the strongest it has been since 2007

The increase was likely driven by an October record for consumer gasoline deliveries, which totaled 9.5 million barrels per day. That was an increase of 2.4 percent over September.

Electric car manufacturer Tesla has appointed a new chair of its board, as Robyn Denholm will take over for the deposed Elon Musk immediately.

The move comes after Musk was forced to step down from his position due to an agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).  He was accused of fraud after a series of Tweets about taking the company into private ownership.  Musk was fined $20 million and forced to step down as board chair, although he will remain CEO of the company.

Denholm, a native of Australia, will take over full time after leaving her role of chief financial officer and head of strategy at Telestra.