Economics
UK oil lobby warns May post-Brexit tariffs could double trade costs
LONDON (Reuters) -- The cost of Britain's oil and gas trade with the rest of the world could nearly double if the country fails to agree new tariffs when it leaves the European Union, the country's oil lobby group has warned Prime Minister Theresa May.
Equipment critical analysis: The need for an effective maintenance program
Oil refineries and large petrochemical plants contain thousands of pieces of process and utilities equipment that are subject to wear, erosion, deterioration, aging, etc., resulting in increasing breakdowns and outages. Imagine being a maintenance engineer and receiving 50 work orders during an overhaul with a limited budget, time, labor, spare parts, tools, machines, etc. How does that engineer prioritize the work?
Global: The future growth of Argentina’s oil and gas industry hinges on additional investments
Attracting new investments is vital to revive the Argentine oil industry. It is essential to involve multinationals, due to the lack of financial resources of the Argentinian government. The modernization of the country’s downstream infrastructure is crucial to improve productivity, and the nation will need international support to obtain profitable results.
Industry Perspectives: Hydrocarbon Processing’s IRPC returns to Europe in June
Founded in 2009, Gulf Publishing Company and Hydrocarbon Processing’s International Refining and Petrochemical Conference (IRPC) provides a series of events for the international downstream industry covering technical innovations, and exploring both the challenges and opportunities found in today’s market.
Embracing MACs: A better way of executing automation projects
Historically, automation projects have been executed as single-transaction projects. Often, individual projects, along with phases within a given project, are bid with the potential for new vendors and different engineering teams.
Extend unit life at ammonia-urea plants with debottlenecking and equipment replacement
Nagarjuna Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd. (NFCL) operates a large, modern, integrated ammonia-urea complex with an annual capacity of 1.6 metric MMtpd of urea from natural gas feedstock. The facility is laid out in two units, located in Kakinada in India’s coastal state of Andhra Pradesh.
Cenovus shareholder seeks to halt purchase of ConocoPhillips assets
TORONTO (Reuters) -- A Cenovus Energy Inc shareholder has asked a Canadian regulator to halt the company's recent $12.6 B purchase of some ConocoPhillips assets, saying the new stock issued to help fund the deal has diluted the value of Cenovus shares.
Dominican Republic ratifies terms of Odebrecht's $184-MM plea deal
SAO PAULO (Reuters) -- A judge in the Dominican Republic on Wednesday approved terms of a $184 MM fine on Odebrecht SA, which sought a plea deal after admitting to bribing officials to win contracts in the country.
EIA: US retail gasoline prices this summer expected slightly higher than 2016
Drivers in the US will pay an average of $2.46 per gal this summer for regular gasoline, according to forecasts in EIA’s Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO). Gasoline prices from April through September are expected to be 23 cents/gal higher than the average price last summer, but this price is still nearly 70 cents/gal below the previous five-year average. The gasoline price increase this summer primarily reflects slightly higher forecast crude oil prices.
Linde-Praxair merger deal falls behind schedule
MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) -- Linde and Praxair's $65 B merger talks are facing legal complexities that mean the agreement will not be finalized as planned before Linde's annual shareholder meeting on May 10, a source familiar with the situation said.
- hte and Heraeus Precious Metals collaborate on catalytic ammonia cracking 5/20
- HPCL aims to start crude unit at 9-MMtpy Rajasthan refinery (India) in October 5/20
- Russia in favor of extending partial gasoline export ban 5/20
- Nigeria's fuel traders struggling to secure gasoline from refurbished state refineries 5/20
- Germany's VCI says chemical sector sales grew 1.8% in Q1 of this year 5/20
- Indonesia's Pertamina refinery unit plans 30-day shutdown of Dumai plant in October 5/20
