Economics
Oman's OQ to list up to 49% stake in methanol, ammonia and LPG arm
Oman's OQ Base Industries, the methanol, ammonia and LPG arm of state-owned OQ, plans to list an up to 49% stake on the local stock exchange. The listing is part of a privatization program by state-owned energy group OQ to diversify its economy and cut its debt.
U.S. exports of ethane and ethane-based petrochemicals rose 135% from 2014 to 2023
U.S. exports of ethane and ethane-based petrochemicals reached an all-time high of 21.6 MMt in 2023, up 135% since the U.S. began exporting ethane in 2014 and 17% more than in 2022, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
LyondellBasell to close Houston refinery (U.S.) in Q1 2025
Chemical maker LyondellBasell Industries detailed its long-announced plan to permanently shutter its 263,776-bpd Houston oil refinery in the first quarter of 2025, shutting the facility's CDU and coker train in January, followed by the shuttering of the second CDU-coker production train, which supplies the gasoline-producing FCC and ancillary units, ending motor fuel production
Sponsored Content: Demystifying industrial AI agents: What we can learn from Iron Man
An industrial agent is an agile and robust software entity that intelligently represents and manages the functionalities and capabilities of an industrial unit. This Digital Feature dives deep into industrial agents, and how they can be used to optimize plant operations.
LyondellBasell misses quarterly profit estimates on falling refining margins
Petrochemicals manufacturer LyondellBasell fell short of expectations for third-quarter profit on Friday due to declining refining margins and weakness in its chemicals segment.
ExxonMobil sells French Fos-sur-Mer refinery to Trafigura consortium
ExxonMobil's Esso division has completed the sale of the Fos-sur-Mer refinery - one of France's major refineries - and two other oil terminals to Trafigura consortium firm Rhone Energies.
Prompt engineering: Extracting operational excellence knowledge from AI—Part 2
Prompt engineering elaborates precise instructions to guide large language models towards generating specific, desired outputs, and offers significant potential for optimizing processes, solving complex problems and improving operational efficiency in refineries and petrochemical plants. In Part 2, the practical applications of these advanced prompt engineering techniques in various aspects of refinery operations will be explored. Examples include key areas where RAG implementation with specific plant information would be highly beneficial.
Cepsa becomes Moeve
Cepsa has announced its name change to Moeve, marking a historic milestone in the company’s transformation.
Refiner PBF Energy posts bigger-than-expected 3Q loss as margins collapse
PBF Energy posted a bigger-than-expected 3Q loss on Thursday as the U.S. refiner took a hit from weak fuel demand that shrunk refining margins.
Shell's $6-B profit smashes forecasts as LNG offsets weak refining
Shell reported on Thursday 3Q profits of $6 B that exceeded forecasts by 12% as higher liquefied natural gas (LNG) sales offset a sharp drop in oil refining and trading results.
- Portugal's Galp plans to start producing biofuels in 2026 12/20
- Prax and Shell call off deal on stake in PCK Schwedt oil refinery 12/20
- Nigeria's Dangote Refinery hits 85% refining capacity 12/20
- India's BPCL buys first Argentinian crude oil cargo for Feb. delivery 12/20
- Sinopec's Zhenhai oil refinery expands capacity to 40 MMtpy 12/20
- Oil via Russia's Druzhba pipeline halted by technical problems 12/20
