Americas
US lawmakers scrutinize role of ethanol credits in gasoline price spike
The price of credits used by refiners to meet federal ethanol blending requirements has risen more than 1,000% in recent weeks. The heightened volatility in this normally sleepy market has raised concerns that it is a factor in the recent rise in the price of gasoline.
Update on US refinery production outages
Unplanned and planned production outages at US refineries, as reported by Dow Jones Newswires.
Chevron in talks with buyers to export Canada LNG
Chevron aims to sign contracts to sell about 60-70% of the gas ahead of the project, the report says. The planned Kitimat plant on Canada's west coast would export shale gas from fields in British Columbia in the form of LNG. The fields hold an estimated 50 trillion cubic feet of gas, according to the report.
LyondellBasell eyes debottlenecks to expand North American ethylene
The company is planning to finish its ethylene projects in North America about two-to-three years earlier than industry competitors building new plants, all at lower costs.
Enterprise unveils Aegis ethane pipeline for US Gulf
As designed, the Aegis pipeline will originate at Enterprise's liquids storage complex in Mont Belvieu, Texas, and have the capacity to transport purity ethane to multiple petrochemical facilities in Texas and Louisiana. The final design, including capacity and delivery points, will be determined later.
CHS to hike McPherson refinery capacity in Kansas
The multi-faceted project, which will begin this spring, will boost refining capacity to 100,000 bpd from the facility's current 85,000 bpd. Completion will take place in phases during the second half of calendar 2015 and the first months of 2016, with production coming on line in early 2016.
Valero to export Texas crude oil to Quebec refinery
"It's flooding the Gulf coast," CEO Bill Klesse said of light, sweet crude produced at shale formations in the US. Though the infrastructure to transport that crude to coastal refineries has lagged, Mr. Klesse said pipelines are coming online and rail is closing the gap in the mean time.
FedEx truck fleets to shift to natural gas from diesel
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, CEO Frederick W. Smith said he expects between 5% and 30% of US long-distance trucking to be fueled by compressed or liquefied natural gas over 10 years, as the cost of the trucks declines and fueling stations become more common.
ABB to supply process analyzers for Cheniere LNG exports at Sabine Pass
ABB’s delivery for the project will help to measure and control the quality of the LNG at all points in the process by providing precise, continuous online measurements of critical variables as the gas is turned into liquid. ABB will then integrate the analyzer systems with other site systems.
BASF to supply FCC catalysts for Shell refineries
This enhanced relationship agreement also includes collaborative activities designed to accelerate the introduction of new FCC catalyst technologies, according to company officials. BASF says the deal will ensure that Shell has the most advantageous FCC catalysts in its operations at all times.
- Transitional Industries and CFEnergia sign feedstock supply contract for $3.3-B Pacifico Mexinol project 2/17
- Neste and World Fuel Services extend partnership, expanding SAF availability at more than 100 airports in Europe 2/17
- U.S. refined product exports by tanker increase to > 6.3 MMbpd in January 2/17
- Japan's oil and gas independence climbs to highest since 2009 2/17
- Dangote signs $400-MM equipment deal with China's XCMG to speed up refinery expansion 2/17
- Former Lukoil-owned ISAB refinery in Sicily exits crisis procedure 2/17
