Crude oil
Business Trends: Africa—Will increasing demand spark downstream capacity builds?
Over the past decade, Africa’s oil demand has increased by more than 1 MMbpd, to nearly 3.9 MMbpd. Africa’s oil production is more than double the amount it consumes, but lack of investment, failing infrastructure and inadequate refining capacity force the continent to rely on imports to satisfy increasing fuel demand.
Expand crude diet flexibility through comprehensive oil management
One of the primary means for refiners to boost profitability is to improve crude diet flexibility. Many refiners are challenged with increasing their margins while the quality of the global crude oil supply declines.
Oil down on record US crude stocks, flat Russian output
LONDON (Reuters) -- Oil prices fell on Thursday after US crude stocks hit an all-time high and official data showed Russian oil production unchanged in February, with no further cuts to tighten the market and drain global oversupply.
Saudi Arabia may raise light crude price to Asia for third straight month in April
(Reuters) -- Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia could raise the price of Arab Light crude it sells to Asia in April for a third straight month after Middle East benchmark Dubai crude strengthened on OPEC cuts, four of seven respondents said in a Reuters survey of refiners and traders on Wednesday.
Nigerian lawmakers to investigate $17-B subsidies received by state oil firm
ABUJA (Reuters) -- Nigeria's upper house of parliament will investigate allegations the state oil company illegally inflated funds it collected from an official subsidy scheme to $17 billion between 2006 and 2015, lawmakers said on Wednesday.
Sinopec to start operating Zhanjiang commercial oil tanks; SPR site delayed
BEIJING (Reuters) -- Sinopec Corp is expected to start operating by June a new commercial crude oil tank farm in the southern Chinese city of Zhanjiang, where a large strategic reserve site is also under construction, three industry sources said this week.
Driving innovation in the downstream: IRPC returns to New Delhi
Gulf Publishing Company and Hydrocarbon Processing are pleased to announce that IRPC 2017 will be held April 18–20 in New Delhi.
Editorial Comment: Corrosion prevention starts at fabrication
Preventing corrosion begins with the choice of materials and methods used to fabricate the equipment, piping, valves and instruments that will be exposed to varying process conditions and weather. At present, designers and fabricators can select from a multitude of modern materials and methods. Once in service, effective asset integrity programs will use smart condition monitoring and, where needed, a treatment regime to sustain the useful working life of all components. In the Special Focus section of this issue, we provide several articles that illustrate good practices in vessel fabrication, corrosivity analysis and corrosion prevention treatment.
China to issue non-state crude oil import licenses to 5 refiners
BEIJING (Reuters) -- China will issue non-state crude oil import licenses to five refiners, including China National Chemical Corp and four independent refiners, the country's commerce ministry said on Tuesday.
New method to measure TAN of crude oil and refinery distillation fractions
Many refiners look at discounted opportunity crudes as a way to improve their margin spread. The growing varieties of discounted opportunity crudes on the market contain certain risks for the purchaser, such as high naphthenic acid or sulfur content.
- Clariant's FAMAX™ catalysts deliver outstanding performance at two Yihua formaldehyde plants in China 5/27
- Clariant catalysts continue to shrink customer footprints: 45M tons of CO2e avoided in 2025 5/26
- Mitsubishi Chemical Group considers spinning off petrochemicals business 5/26
- Hitachi Energy and Volvo Construction Equipment announce collaboration to accelerate zero-emissions construction sites 5/26
- Aramco and PETRONAS Announce Transfer of Full Ownership of PRefChem to PETRONAS 5/26
- ENOC and Allied Biofuels sign MoU to explore offtake/distribution of SAF and eSAF 5/26
