Refining
EU imposes new Iran sanctions, but no oil embargo
European Union foreign ministers agreed Thursday to impose new sanctions on additional Iranian entities, but a French proposal for a blanket embargo on Iranian oil exports met significant resistance. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said an oil embargo was still "being debated" and diplomats said some restrictions on Iran oil imports were likely to be imposed in the coming months.
Neste Oil, Bapco start up base oil plant in Bahrain
Neste Oil, The Bahrain Petroleum Co. (Bapco), and nogaholding have officially opened their new joint base oil plant in Bahrain. The plant has a capacity of 400,000 tpy and is located at Bapco's refinery on Bahrain's east coast.
Norway agency sees "very serious shortcomings" in BP safety
BP’s efforts to monitor and respond to sudden pollution releases such as oil spills in the Norwegian Sea suffer from "very serious shortcomings" that demand immediate improvement, Norwegian regulators said. The report is the latest indication of health and safety issues at BP, which was plagued by a massive oil spill in the US Gulf of Mexico in 2010 and by numerous other accidents in recent years.
ConocoPhillips looking to sell Alliance refinery in Louisiana - report
ConocoPhillips is seeking buyers for its Alliance refinery in Belle Chasse, La., Bloomberg News reported Wednesday, citing two people familiar with the company's plans. The refinery has 247,000 bpd of capacity, making it the 20th largest in the US, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Flint Hills acquires idled Nebraska biodiesel plant
Flint Hills Resources is acquiring an idled biodiesel plant in Beatrice, Neb., through a bankruptcy sale. The Beatrice plant was built in 2008 but was never in service. The plant is designed to produce 50 million gal/year of biodiesel.
Topsøe to supply equipment for new Petrobras refinery in Brazil
Topsoe has signed an agreement with Brazilian oil major Petrobras to supply critical equipment and materials for two SNOX plants. The SNOX plants will clean the off gases from three boilers in the refinery that supplies electricity and steam for internal use.
GTL base oil shipments from Shell Qatar venture begin reaching Americas
Shell Lubricants says its first shipment of gas-to-liquid (GTL) base oil has reached the Port of Houston. The high-quality product, the first from the Qatar-based Pearl GTL plant to reach the Americas, will be stored at a hub in Houston and routed to Shell Lubricants' GTL-enabled blending facilities throughout the US, the company said.
France to stop buying Iranian oil
France will stop buying Iranian oil on a "national basis" as part of its campaign to raise pressure on Iran over its contested nuclear program, the foreign ministry said. France has said it will work with its European Union partners towards broader sanctions against Iran.
Süd-Chemie approves squeeze-out
At a general meeting held by Süd-Chemie AG, Munich, the transfer of all shares held by minority shareholders to the majority shareholder Clariant AG, Muttenz, Switzerland was approved.
Flint Hills celebrates 30 years in Corpus Christi
Since 1981, the year that Flint Hills Resources began operating in Corpus Christi, Texas, more than $3.1 billion in projects have been completed.
- Sinopec, Aramco start building $10-B petchem complex in China's Fujian province 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
