Economics
Pemex seeks investors for its refineries, but who's buying?
NEW YORK/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -- Sweeping energy reforms have turned Mexico into one of the world's most attractive offshore prospects, but one segment is getting no love from US investors: the nation's aging refineries.
ConocoPhillips to lay off 300 in Canada oil sands pullback
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) -- ConocoPhillips will lay off 300 Canadian workers after selling most local assets to domestic crude producer Cenovus Energy Inc, the Houston-based company said on Thursday.
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.

- Kumho Mitsui Chemicals begins operation of chlor-alkali plant using thyssenkrupp nucera technology 6/16
- MAIRE, Azerbaijan partner to increase sustainability projects in Azerbaijan 6/16
- Mitsubishi Gas Chemical, RITE partner to convert captured CO2 into methanol 6/16
- Yara Clean Ammonia supports groundbreaking ammonia bunkering pilot in Pilbara (Australia) 6/16
- Syensqo signs carbon fiber composites recycling contract with Fairmat 6/16
- OCI Global receives U.S. regulatory approval for the sale of its global methanol business to Methanex Corp. 6/16