Economics
China firm seeks state financing for $5.5-B Caribbean oil project
Commodity trader Guangdong Zhenrong Energy Co. is in talks to secure funding for a $5.5-B plan to upgrade a Caribbean oil refinery and build a natural gas terminal, giving China a foothold in a strategic oil hub.
Mozambique expects Eni decision on LNG investment this year
Italy's Eni should make a final investment decision on its first offshore deep-water LNG project in Mozambique by the end of this year.
Idemitsu says still unable to talk to founding family on Showa Shell takeover
Japanese refiner Idemitsu Kosan Co. said it was still unable to talk to its founding family which is opposed to the firm's plans for a takeover of smaller rival Showa Shell Sekiyu.
Saudi crude will continue to be supplied to PKN ORLEN refineries
PKN ORLEN has extended its contract with Saudi Aramco as a supplier of crude oil to its refineries in Poland, the Czech Republic, and Lithuania until December 31, 2017.
Use a mixed-solvent process to boost lube base oil yields and profitability
Through research and development (R&D), the commercial application of a mixed-solvent (MS) approach using a mixture of different co-solvents resulted in higher lube raffinate yields without affecting the lube oil quality.
People
Abdulaziz F. Alkhayyal has been elected to the board of directors of Marathon Petroleum Corp., increasing the board’s size to 11.
Pentair Valves & Controls facilitates total cost of ownership improvements
Pentair is working with major chemical and petrochemical companies around the world to promote and implement standardization programs and processes with the goal of increasing efficiency and reducing total cost of ownership in areas such as procurement, installation, and maintenance of valves and controls equipment, and inventory control processes across multiple plant sites.
Uganda says refinery talks terminated, in talks with new potential investors
Talks to build an oil refinery in Uganda with a consortium led by Korea's SK Engineering have collapsed, but the East African nation still hopes to find a lead investor for the project by year end.
Chevron Wheatstone LNG cost blowout to $34 B hits Woodside
Woodside Petroleum faces an 8% rise in its expected costs on the Wheatstone LNG project in Australia, after operator Chevron Corp. flagged total costs would jump to $34 B.
HollyFrontier to acquire Suncor Energy's Petro-Canada lubricants business
HollyFrontier has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Suncor Energy's Petro-Canada Lubricants business.

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