Environment & Safety Gas Processing/LNG Maintenance & Reliability Petrochemicals Process Control Process Optimization Project Management Refining

Refining

Sunoco, Carlyle mull refinery venture to keep Philadelphia site operational

HP Editorial Staff: HP News

If a deal is struck, Carlyle would hold the majority stake and oversee day-to-day operations at the 330,000 bpd refinery. Many had expected the site to be shut down this July.

US oil demand falls in March, gasoline use up - API

Total petroleum deliveries (a measure of demand) slipped 1.3% in March compared with March 2011, but gasoline deliveries were up 3%, according to monthly data from the API. US gasoline production of 9.3 million bpd set a record for any March and for any comparable year-to-date period.

EPA settles US biofuel violations with 30 companies

Thirty companies have agreed to pay what the EPA described as "modest" civil penalties for using fraudulent credits to meet a federal biofuel mandate. The settlement resolves violations of the Renewable Fuels Standard for companies such as ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips.

Iran accuses Saudi Arabia of breaking OPEC ceiling

Iran accused Saudi Arabia of breaching a collective OPEC agreement, reviving fears that the group could fracture again when it meets in June. Any new split within the group - which is set debate output again mid-June - could impede its ability to both coordinate production and to keep a lid on price volatility.

Statoil sells fuel, retail unit, turns focus to upstream

Statoil joins a long string of oil majors offloading their retail holdings and leaving a challenging market where profits are pressured by high crude oil prices. The deal will give Canadian buyer Alimentation Couche-Tard around 2,300 fuel stations across Scandinavia, Poland, the Baltics and Russia.

UOP, Ensyn venture wins sustainable biofuel award for conversion technology

Envergent Technologies, a joint venture of UOP and Ensyn, has been given an award in the category of sustainable biofuels for its contributions toward sustainable biopower generation facilities. Envergent’s RTP technology is currently in use in seven commercial biomass processing plants in the US and Canada.

CB&I to build storage tanks for Kinder Morgan oil terminal in Canada

CB&I has been awarded a storage tank contract, valued in excess of $55 million, by Trans Mountain Pipeline, operated by a subsidiary of a Canadian subsidiary of Kinder Morgan. The project is scheduled for completion in 2013 and will go in the company’s books as a first quarter 2012 award.

Brazilian miner Vale, oil major Petrobras to unveil joint projects next month

Brazilian mining company Vale and oil and gas company Petrobras will announce joint projects in a month's time. Vale and Petrobras, Brazil's biggest companies by market value, last Friday signed an accord to undertake joint projects in areas including fertilizer raw materials and oil and gas.

BP awards engineering deal for Rotterdam refinery FCC shutdown to Jacobs

BP has chosen Jacobs to provide engineering and procurement services, as well as engineering assistance during construction, commissioning and startup, for a major shutdown of the fluid catalytic cracker at its Rotterdam refinery in The Netherlands. The Rotterdam facility has 400,000 bpd of capacity.

Oiltanking to raise crude storage at Texas terminal

Oiltanking announced a $104 million expansion project to construct 3.2 million bbl of new crude oil storage capacity at its Houston terminal facility. All environmental and internal approvals are in place, and the additional capacity is expected to be placed into service in the fourth quarter of 2013.