Americas
Refinery watch: Planned and unplanned US outages (2)
ExxonMobil shut down the crude-distillation unit at its refinery in Torrance, Calif., for unplanned maintenance, the company said June 20. Exxon didn't say how long maintenance was expected to last. Motiva Enterprises shut down a production unit at its refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, on June 14.
US Supreme Court rejects challenges to E15
The court is refusing to consider legal challenges by several industry trade groups against an Environmental Protection Agency move to expand ethanol use in the US.
ExxonMobil seeks permit to export Canadian LNG from British Columbia
The proposed project would be capable of liquefying up to 4 billion cubic feet/year of gas for export via tanker from one of several sites under consideration, according to an application with Canada's National Energy Board. If the application is approved, it could begin shipments as early as 2021.
DAK Americas to permanently close PTA, PET resin plants in North Carolina
The site was built in the late 1960s and acquired by DAK Americas in 2001. Approximately, 350 full service employees and 250 contract workers are employed on-site to produce PTA, PET resins and polyester staple fibers. The closure of the site is expected to be completed by September 2013.
Petrobras to study refinery venture with Sinopec for Northeast Brazil
Petrobras and Sinopec, as the Chinese firm is also known, signed a letter of intent to study a possible joint venture to build the Premium 1 refinery in the northeastern Brazilian state of Maranhao. Premium 1 will process 300,000 bpd initially, but there are plans to eventually expand further.
BG Group applies for Canada LNG export license
The move, which could make it the fourth project to be granted permission from the NEB, comes as BG mulls whether to commit to a multi-billion dollar investment. Its planned facility is one of a dozen different proposals for new LNG plants on the remote and largely undeveloped coast of British Columbia.
Imperial Oil to shift Nova Scotia refinery to terminal after failing to find buyer
The company began shopping the refinery around in May of last year, saying competition in the area had led to weak financial returns. Imperial Oil said the failure to find a buyer illustrates "the challenges of operating a refinery of Dartmouth's scale in the competitive conditions of the Atlantic Basin market."
Tesoro sells Hawaii refinery to Par Petroleum
Par Petroleum agreed to buy all of Tesoro's interests in Tesoro Hawaii, which operates the 94,000 bpd Kapolei refinery, retail stations and associated logistical assets.
Angola ships first LNG cargo from flagship project
Originally the plan had been to deliver the LNG from the plant to the US market, but the shale gas boom in the country has forced the company to look for new customers in Asia and Europe. Angola LNG said it has executed a large number of agreements with energy companies across the world.
Motiva idles Port Arthur refinery unit in Texas to investigate possible leak
Motiva Enterprises shut down a production unit at its refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, after discovering a possible leak, according to a filing. The company took the catalytic feed hydrotreater unit offline.
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- Consortium receives AiP for floating ammonia cracker unit 9/10
- Southeast Asia set to export surplus biofuels to Europe, Petronas executive says 9/10
- U.S. refinery-state senators look to block Trump from shifting renewable fuel obligation 9/10
- Canada pledges money, regulatory reform to boost biofuels 9/10
- LNJ GreenPET, Sumitomo partner to accelerate recycled PET sector 9/10
