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Crude oil

Chevron starts deepwater drilling project in Nigeria

Pacific Drilling S.A. announced that its ultra-deepwater drillship the Pacific Bora commenced operations at the Agbami Field in Nigeria on August 10. The rig is contracted for three years to a wholly-owned Chevron subsidiary.

Foster Wheeler starts second phase of Colombia refinery modernization

Foster Wheeler has begun the second phase of its existing contract with Ecopetrol S.A. for a refinery modernization project at Barrancabermeja (PMRB) in Colombia.

Air Products to supply hydrogen for Shell Deer Park refinery in Texas

Air Products announced a long-term agreement with Shell Oil to supply a significant portion of the hydrogen requirements at Shell's refinery in Deer Park, Texas. The hydrogen supply will commence in mid-2013, the company said.

LUKOIL awards Baker Hughes engineering contract for Iraq drilling project

LUKOIL has awarded Baker Hughes a two-year contract to provide full drilling and completion services for 23 wells in the West Qurna field in southeast Iraq, 31 miles west of Basra. Under the terms of the contract, Baker Hughes will provide engineering and project management for the turnkey drilling and completions scope of the project.

Tethys Petroleum begins Kazakhstan oil production

Tethys Petroleum has opened its Doris oil production facilities in Kazakhstan, company officials said on Monday. Oil is currently being trucked from this location at a rate of approximately 1,500 bpd, which will increase to 2,000-2,500 bpd with the new production facilities, the company said.

NuStar, EOG to build rail offloading facility at Louisiana crude terminal

NuStar Logistics and EOG Resources have agreed to jointly develop, build and own a 70,000-bpd unit train offloading facility at NuStar’s crude oil terminal in St. James, La. The project will facilitate movement and storage of crude oil production from the Bakken, Eagle Ford and other developing shale plays in the US, the companies said.

ExxonMobil awards first engineering contract for Indonesia oilfield development

ExxonMobil said Friday that its development of the Indonesian Banyu Urip field in the Cepu block in East Java had achieved a milestone, with the company awarding the first of five engineering, procurement and construction contracts for work on major facilities.

US hikes storm forecast as Gulf season nears peak

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) elevated its forecast on Friday for the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season, raising the number of expected named storms from its preseason outlook and potentially threatening refining and petrochemical operations along the US Gulf coast and eastern seaboard.

Plains expands capacity of Texas crude pipeline

Plains All American Pipeline said on Thursday that it recently increased the available throughput capacity of its 80-mile Mesa pipeline system in Texas by 100,000 bpd to approximately 420,000 bpd overall.

Musket expanding crude rail facility in North Dakota

Musket Corp. on Thursday announced a major expansion of its Dore, N.D., crude-by-rail facility. Upon completion, the high-speed loading facility will be capable of moving unit trains of crude oil from the Bakken Shale/Williston Basin to markets across the country.