Americas
Chevron begins Canadian partnership with Apache on Kitimat LNG exports
After a brief transition period, Chevron will assume operatorship of the LNG plant and the pipeline. Apache Canada increased its ownership in the LNG plant and pipeline from 40% and will operate the upstream assets. Encana and EOG Resources sold their interests and exited the venture.
TPC Group begins engineering work to expand US polyisobutylene capacity
TPC Group first entered the market in May 2000 with the startup of its patented PIB process. Since that time, the company has grown significantly through multiple expansions to become the largest producer in North America. TPC supplies the market from its Houston production facility.
Calumet, WBI Energy form venture to build North Dakota diesel refinery
The facility will process 20,000 bpd of Bakken crude oil. Construction could begin this spring, and is expected to take up to 20 months. The plant will be located on a 318-acre site located west of Dickinson in Stark County, North Dakota. It will employ approximately 100 people, according to the companies.
Tesoro targets more Canadian crude oil for US West Coast refineries
Tesoro has been aggressive in expanding its crude-oil sources to bring down costs at its refineries along the West Coast, home to the vast majority of its operations. Tesoro and other US refiners have been steadily increasing their use of a domestic oil supply, bolstered by recent advances in drilling technology.
Canada concerned by cheap Alberta crude prices
There has typically been a slight discount, of roughly $10 to $20 a barrel, on the price of Western Canadian Select oil compared to the benchmark West Texas Intermediate blend. But that discount has widened to nearly $40, economists say, and they warn it could balloon further due to pipeline capacity constraints.
US investigation blames lax safety culture for fatal Carbide chemical blast
The explosion resulted from a failure by the company to investigate similar but smaller explosive incidents over many years while deferring crucial maintenance of the large electric arc furnace that blew up, according to the CSB. Two workers inside died within 24 hours from severe burn injuries.
Japan's Tepco seeks to import gas from Cameron LNG project in Louisiana
Buying US gas would allow Tepco to diversify its sources of LNG and to tie the price of part of the natural gas it consumes to US prices, which are seen as more stable than the oil price benchmark most LNG trades at. Currently, Tepco buys most of its LNG from Brunei, Malaysia and other countries.
Solazyme, Mitsui to jointly develop triglyceride oils
The $20 million, multi-year agreement includes further development of Solazyme’s breakthrough high myristic algal oil, a valuable raw material in the oleochemical industry, as well as additional oils that Solazyme is developing for the oleochemical and industrial sectors, according to the companies.
OxyChem, Mexichem target early 2017 for startup of new Texas cracker
In August 2012, OxyChem signed a memorandum of understanding with Mexico’s Mexichem to evaluate a joint venture for the cracker. It is anticipated to have a capacity of approximately 1.2 billion lb/year of ethylene, or just above 500,000 tpy. Financial terms have not been disclosed.
Canada approves LNG exports for Shell, partners from British Columbia
LNG Canada, a consortium led by Royal Dutch Shell, is the second group to win a license from the Canadian government. Shell's partners in the project include PetroChina Co., Korea Gas Corp. and Japan's Mitsubishi. Last July, Shell applied for a license to export up to 24 million tpy of LNG.
- CNG, NOVA Chemicals collaborate to commercialize recycled polyethylene for sustainable flexible packaging 9/11
- Ecovyst announces agreement to sell its Advanced Materials & Catalyst segment to Technip Energies for $556 MM 9/11
- Toyo awarded revamp contract for gas-chemical complex in Turkmenistan 9/11
- Unified device integration roadmap solidified following FieldComm Group and FDT Group business combination 9/11
- 75% of critical infrastructure organizations endorse ‘secure by operations’ strategy to defend against OT cyberattacks 9/11
- BASF, AkzoNobel and Arkema team up to lower carbon footprint of architectural powder coatings 9/11
