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Refining

Refinery watch: Planned and unplanned US outages

Motiva Enterprises on June 6 said planned maintenance on a delayed coker unit's gas recovery system at its Port Arthur, Texas, refinery under way since June 3 resulted in flaring. Tesoro on June 2 reported the start-up of a H2SO4 plant at its Golden Eagle Refinery in Martinez, California.

Construction approved for second Vietnam refinery

The $9 billion Nghi Son complex will have a refining capacity of 200,000 bpd. It is slated to process Kuwaiti crude supplied exclusively by Kuwait Petroleum International. Construction will begin in July and commercial operations are expected to start in the second quarter of 2017.

Petroperu to start Talara refinery upgrade in July

The president of Petroperu said preliminary work on the $2.7 billion project has already started. The government plans to reduce levels of sulfur and allow the aging refinery to refine heavier crude.

Canada crude production likely to double by 2030

In its annual long-term forecast for Canadian crude production, the industry trade group said crude oil production will reach 6.7 million bpd by 2030, up from 3.2 million bpd in 2012. CAPP said its forecast includes oil-sands production of 5.2 million bpd by 2030, up from 1.8 million last year.

US energy group asks Supreme Court to overturn E15 ethanol blends

The API says higher ethanol blends can damage engines and cause vehicles that use it to break down, even on vehicles that EPA has approved to use the fuel, according to Coordinating Research Council testing. Several auto manufacturers have said they will not honor warranties when E15 causes damage.

Kinder Morgan to expand Eagle Ford shale pipeline

Kinder Morgan plans to spend about $107 million to extend its Kinder Morgan Crude & Condensate pipeline system deeper into the Eagle Ford Shale play in Karnes County, Texas.

Iraq awards project management work to Technip for Karbala refinery

The scope of Technip's work will cover two phases. Phase 1 involves the issue of enquiries for the EPC contract, bids clarification, evaluation and finalizing contracts with the EPC contractors. Meanwhile, phase 2 deals with overall management of the EPC contract execution.

Tesoro formally acquires BP refinery in Carson

HP Editorial Staff: HP News

With the June 1 completion of the $2.4 billion deal, Tesoro took ownership of the 266,000 bpd Carson refinery near Los Angeles as well as the associated logistics network of pipelines and terminals. BP said the transaction was part of a plan to reshape its US fuels business.

US imposes sanctions on Iran petrochemical firms

The US Treasury Department said it identified eight Iranian petrochemical companies as being under the control of the Tehran government, which subjects them to sanctions from the US. Since last year, the US has brandished sanctions against anyone who buys Iran's oil.

Diesel demand projected to strengthen in China, remain weak in India

While the fuel demand situation in India and China is quite different, both diesel-guzzling countries are expected to temper exports further, which will reduce oversupply and support product differentials in Asia's middle distillates market. India and China are major producers and consumers of diesel.