Americas
Pemex works to replace gas supply lost after blast
Pemex CEO Juan Jose Suarez Coppel said he expects it will take about 15 days to complete a bypass that will allow gas to flow once again from the northern Burgos gas fields to the central part of the country. He said the gas-reception center damaged by blast is a relatively new plant.
INEOS to source US shale ethane for European cracker feedstock
The company has agreed to a 15-year deal with Range Resources to take Marcellus Shale ethane from the Marcus Hook facility in Pennsylvania, beginning in 2015.
KBR wins design work for Indiana ammonia project
The ammonia design will feature KBR’s proprietary Purifier ammonia process technology, which has demonstrated higher reliability than conventional designs and offers low proven energy consumption. The proposed ammonia plant is based upon an existing reference design operating in Burrup, Australia.
Bridas acquires Argentine downstream company Esso from ExxonMobil
Bridas first announced the Esso deal in March 2011. The purchase includes a 90,000 bpd refinery in Buenos Aires province, for which the company plans to raise capacity by 60% for diesel and 50% for gasoline.
ExxonMobil to expand Louisiana lubricants plants, close New Jersey facility
ExxonMobil says the expansion, coupled with a new metallocene polyalpholefins plant under construction at its complex in Baytown, Texas, positions it to meet long-term demand growth for lubricants with greater energy efficiency, improved durability and extended drain intervals.
Williams agrees to new gas processing project for Canadian oil sands
Williams said its offgas processing method captures and processes a rich NGL/olefins mixture that would normally be burned by the oil sands producer. The producer instead burns methane that Williams provides in exchange for the NGL/olefins mixture. The name of the producer wasn't disclosed.
Explosion injures one worker at Irving Oil refinery in New Brunswick, Canada
The accident happened Wednesday just before midday Atlantic Daylight Time when a tank undergoing maintenance became overpressurized. The fire service was called but soon downgraded its presence to one fire crew to act in a “monitoring role,” a spokesman for the service said.
Westlake delays US ethylene expansion to 2013
The expansion in Lake Charles, Louisiana, will increase ethane-based ethylene capacity by 230 - 240 million lb/year (104,000 – 109,000 tpy), targeting an ethylene integration strategy, company officials said. The unit is expected to be down approximately 50 days for the work to be completed.
Chevron inspection missed suspected pipe at Richmond refinery
Chevron says a corroded pipe segment that may have caused the recent fire was not included in a prior inspection and could have been unusually susceptible to corrosion.
PdVSA to supply crude for Reliance refinery in India
Reliance executive P.M.S. Prasad said the crude will feed India's Jamnagar refinery and will help the rapidly growing Asian economy meet its growing energy needs. He said the supply contract could run longer than 15 years. The contract will begin with shipments of 300,000 bbl and increase over time.

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