Crude oil
China posts record high in monthly crude imports
China, the second-largest oil consumer after the US, imported 26.11 million metric tons, or 6.17 million bpd, of crude in July, customs authorities said Thursday. This was 20% more than the same month last year, and up 18% from June, according to calculations by The Wall Street Journal.
KBR wins FEED work to raise US refinery's capacity to handle heavy crudes
During the feasibility phase, KBR’s expertise will focus on determining the optimum economic configuration to increase overall heavy crude processing capability and flexibility. The refinery currently processes light sweet crudes and aims to take advantage of fluctuations in the crude oil pricing market.
New TransCanada pipeline to carry crudes from Alberta to East Canada
TransCanada plans to seek regulatory approval for the project from Canada's National Energy Board by the end of the year, and, if it succeeds, to start construction in 2016. Service to refineries in Montreal and Quebec City would begin the following year and then to Saint John in 2018.
HP Boxscore Construction Analysis: Outlook for major revamp projects—Part 2
Worldwide, refiners are investing billions in upgrading and modernizing projects. These efforts are focused on:Increasing flexibility to process heavier, sourer crudesImproving energy efficiencyMeetin..
HP Brief
Train accident raises concerns on safetyThe train derailment that killed at least 38 people in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, has heightened safety concerns about crude oil shipments by rail. It has been ..
HP Impact: Dilbit poses no extra pipeline risk
Diluted bitumen (dilbit) has no greater likelihood of accidental pipeline release than other crude oils, says a new report from the National Research Council. The report found that diluted bitumen has..
HP Impact: Canada takes steps to enhance its pipeline system
Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources recently announced the government’s plan to further enhance the country’s pipeline system by requiring companies operating major pipelines to have..
US oil, shale gas pioneer George Mitchell dies at 94
George Mitchell helped develop new technology for hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, which he used to tap oil & gas at the Barnett Shale in North Texas during the 1980s and 1990s.
Soft refining margins may cut Asian crude demand
Singapore's complex cracking margins have softened to around $3.53/bbl, from around $6.34/bbl a week earlier, data from JBC Energy showed, as margins for gasoil and kerosene fall from seasonal highs.
US monthly oil demand plummets to 16-year low as gasoline use drops
Demand for gasoline, the most widely used petroleum product in the world's biggest oil consumer, fell 1.9% from a year earlier to a 12-year June low of 8.865 million bpd, according to the API. Second-quarter gasoline use was 2% lower than in the same period in 2012, at 8.775 million bpd.

- Brazil's Petrobras to invest $4.8 B in integration between Reduc refinery and Boaventura complex 7/8
- Braskem completes first sale of circular polyethylene in South America 7/8
- bp's 440,000-bpd refinery in Whiting, Indiana (U.S.), reported flaring due to operational conditions 7/8
- UK's insolvent Lindsey oil refinery secures some crude supply to keep running for now 7/8
- Brazil's energy minister hints at possible fuel price cuts 7/8
- Marathon Galveston Bay refinery (U.S.) hydrotreater to remain shut until September 7/8