Economics
US, Vietnam firms sign MOU for oil and gas cooperation
The MOU formalizes the deepening relationship between Honeywell and PetroVietnam and further confirms a common vision of developing a cooperative partnership in oil and gas.
Pemex could give up majority stakes in refineries
Pemex's CFO says the company is seeking partners to operate its money-losing refineries and plans to "dilute" its ownership in the plants.
IEA: Oil outlook brightens as output disruptions erode surplus
Demand growth, which is unchanged since April, remains at about 1.2 MMbpd, with India, China and Russia helping support demand.
Failure prevention—The ultimate asset management strategy
The primary cause for losses and lost opportunities at refineries, chemical complexes, pipeline networks and gas processing facilities is equipment failures.
Small-scale coal-to-chemicals can revitalize India’s petrochemicals industry, economy—Part 2
In Part 1 of this article, published in April, the barriers of petrochemical production in India were discussed, along with the opportunity to explore chemicals from coal, using the specific example of polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
Editorial Comment: Maintenance spending to jump in 2016 as refiners catch up with turnarounds
The number of scheduled refinery turnarounds in North America is anticipated to rise this year after declining sharply in 2015, as refiners delayed maintenance shutdowns to capitalize on abundant quantities of low-priced feedstock.
Petrochemicals: The changing competitive landscape for GCC ethylene production
Much of the global petrochemical industry is built around the abundant oil and gas reserves of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
Business Trends: Global petrochemical overview—Part 2
Part 1 of this series provided an overview on the present state of the petrochemical industry, a breakdown on construction project numbers by region, as well as major trends in Africa, the Middle East and the US. Part 2 examines the landscape in Asia-Pacific, Canada, Europe and Latin America.
Industry Metrics
US refinery margins recovered as product markets were supported by strong domestic gasoline demand and temporarily tight sentiment fueled by the switch to summer-grade gasoline.
Innovations
Planned shutdowns, turnarounds and outages (STOs) are often scheduled for preventive maintenance and new equipment installation that must be performed to keep a plant running and in regulatory compliance.
- AVTL to develop ammonia terminal in Pipavav, India 6/20
- Chevron seeks buyers for 50% stake in Singapore refinery 6/20
- Asian refiners seek more Mideast oil after spot premiums jump on Israel-Iran conflict 6/20
- Mexican authorities discover clandestine mini-refinery in crackdown of illegal hydrocarbon trade 6/20
- Italy's Eni eyes new unit to manage oil refineries 6/20
- Inatech's Techoil implemented by Flint Hills Resources for a modern, integrated future 6/20
