Crude oil

U.S. imposes Iran-related sanctions on third China 'teapot' refinery, ports

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration imposed sanctions on a third Chinese independent - or "teapot" - oil refinery, and port terminal operators in China for purchases of Iranian oil.

Venezuela restarts Carbon refinery's FCCU after a year out of service

Venezuela's second largest refinery, Cardon, restarted its fluid catalytic cracker which had been out of service for more than a year due to a failure and lack of raw materials

U.S. sustainable aviation fuel production takes off as new capacity comes online

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production is growing in the U.S. as new capacity comes online. U.S. production of Other Biofuels, the category the U.S. EIA uses to capture SAF, approximately doubled from December 2024 to February 2025.

Repsol and Bunge to boost development of renewable fuels in Europe with intermediate crops

The companies will collaborate to process intermediate crops into low-carbon intensity oils to be used as feedstock for the production of renewable diesel or sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

Canada's Imperial Oil posts rise in quarterly profit on stronger refining margins

Canadian oil producer Imperial Oil posted a rise in first-quarter profit on Friday, driven primarily by stronger margins in its refining and fuel sales business, sending its U.S.-listed shares up nearly 6% before the bell.

Manage reliability and asset management performance by implementing a reliable operations committee program

This article examines how the author's company instituted a reliable operations committee program at its refinery in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia. The main goal of the program is to oversee the implementation and performance of maintenance and reliability programs to ensure a culture of optimum reliability and endorse new initiatives and programs that enhance maintenance performance in the facility.

Synergize FCCUs and hydrocracking processing units to maximize refining margins—Part 2

Part 1 of this article appeared in the February issue. Part 2 here will explore the role of FCC and hydrocracking in crude-to-chemicals and the challenge of cracked feeds, among other topics. 

Heat exchanger modifications during hydrocracking and lube oil basestock units’ revamp at BPCL’s Mumbai refinery

This article provides insights into several possibilities for modifying heat exchangers that will help refinery owners/operators and consultants to plan similar revamp activities. 

Sizing PRVs for homogeneous non-equilibrium saturated flashing liquids

Venezuela loses 20% of oil exports after cargo cancellations to Chevron

Venezuela's oil exports fell almost 20% to some 700,000 bpd in April, the lowest level in nine months, as cargo cancellations to U.S.-based producer Chevron forced ships to return and left some ports empty.