Refining
Flint Hills to shut down Alaska refinery crude unit amid poor margins
Flint Hills Resources said Wednesday poor refining economics were forcing it to suspend operations at a major fuel processing unit and lay off staff at its refinery in North Pole, Alaska. Idling the unit will force the company to lay off up to 40 of the 151 employees over the next five months.
Jacobs wins engineering work on Afipsky refinery expansion in Russia
Jacobs was awarded a contract from Afipsky Refinery, located in the Krasnodarskij region of Russia, to develop a basic engineering package for an amine regenerator unit, a sour water stripper and an expected 55 tpd sulfur recovery unit (SRU). Officials did not disclose the contract value.
Petroplus UK administrator aims to sell Coryton refinery within month
The administrator of Petroplus Holdings’ UK subsidiaries says he aims to reach a deal to sell the Coryton refinery in England within 30 days. "A couple of potential buyers and investors are now in the due-diligence stage," said Unite trade union regional industrial organizer Russ Ball.
Chevron sees downstream margins up in refining, down in marketing
US energy major Chevron says its downstream earnings in the first quarter are expected to be higher, reflecting improved refining and chemicals margins, lower operating expenses, and gains on asset sales. International refinery crude-input volumes were up slightly compared to the fourth quarter.
China adjusts fee for foreign JV energy projects
Foreign joint ventures involved in oil and gas production in China will now be charged a compensation fee calculated on production value rather than volume. China first levied a fee on foreign joint ventures based on production volume in 1990. However, it suspended the fee in November 2011.
Oneok plans US crude pipeline from Bakken Shale to Cushing storage hub
ONEOK Partners plans to invest $1.5 billion to $1.8 billion between now and 2015 to build a 1,300-mile crude oil pipeline with the capacity to transport 200,000 bpd. Construction is expected to begin in late 2013 or early 2014 and be completed by early 2015, the company said.
BG Group to invest $2bn on R&D in Brazil oil sector
BG Group plans to invest more than $2 billion on research and development in Brazil's oil industry in a bid to become the country's biggest foreign producer by 2020, the Financial Times newspaper reported. The R&D budget of more than $2 billion would be spent by 2025, an official said.
Phillips 66 to focus on chemical, pipeline units, less on fuels - CEO
The ConocoPhillips downstream spinoff will focus on growing its chemical and midstream segments at the expense of refining due to the weak outlook for fuel demand.
Marathon agrees to limit refinery pollution in US Clean Air Act settlement
The US DoJ and EPA said Marathon Petroleum agreed to reduce air pollution from all six of the company's petroleum refineries as part of a settlement over alleged violations of the Clean Air Act. Marathon, headquartered in Findlay, Ohio, will also pay a civil penalty of $460,000. It had no immediate comment.
Shell considering gas-to-diesel plant in Louisiana
Royal Dutch Shell is considering building a giant plant in Louisiana that would convert natural gas into diesel fuel, several people familiar with the company's plans said. The Anglo-Dutch company is expected to take up to two years to develop detailed engineering plans to determine if the plant is economically viable.
- Sinopec, Aramco start building $10-B petchem complex in China's Fujian 11/18
- Clariant EnviCat N2O-S catalyst to cut CO2eq by 690,000 tpy at Hengli’s nitric acid plant in China 11/18
- Russia's Ilsky refinery has asked for gov't help over high rates, modernization 11/18
- North Dakota (U.S.) approves Summit Carbon pipeline permit 11/18
- China's oil refinery output falls from a year ago for a seventh month 11/18
- European oil giants step back from renewables path 11/18
