Economics
Brazil likely to create ethanol import quota, tax imports above it
SAO PAULO (Reuters) — The Brazilian government is likely to adopt a quota system for ethanol imports, allowing 600 MM liters into the country per year free of tax and imposing a 20% tariff on volumes in excess of that quota, cane industry group Unica said on Monday.
Brazil court issues injunction suspending fuel tax hike
SAO PAULO (Reuters) — A Brazilian federal court in Rio de Janeiro state issued an injunction late on Thursday suspending a tax hike on fuels, saying the government decision is unconstitutional.
US oil refiner HollyFrontier's profit tops estimates
(Reuters) — US oil refiner HollyFrontier Corp on Wednesday reported a quarterly profit that handily beat analysts' estimates, helped by higher production and refinery margins.
Rethinking the risk mitigation process and revitalizing operational safety
For the past 2 yr, oil prices have been in free-fall. At the time of writing, the WTI price is around $50/bbl, up slightly since OPEC’s May 2017 announcement to extend its September 2016 production cut of 2.2%.
Plug the metering skills gap to ensure measurement accuracy and safety
In all sectors of industry, the measurement of flow is of vital importance. However, in an industry that is cutting costs, what impact will a growing skills gap have on meter management and accuracy of measurement?
Boxscore Construction Analysis: The state of the global downstream construction sector
In May, Lee Nichols, Editor and Associate Publisher of <i>Hydrocarbon Processing</i> and <i>Gas Processing</i>, presented a detailed, year-to-date trend analysis and review on new and active downstream construction projects around the world.
Global Project Data
<i>Hydrocarbon Processing’s</i> Construction Boxscore Database is tracking nearly 350 downstream projects with capital expenditures (CAPEX) of $1 B or greater.
Industry Metrics
High refinery runs contributed to high inventories, pressuring US product markets despite healthy summer driving season demand.
Business Trends: Ethylene production economics from optional feedstocks
The petrochemicals industry is witnessing enormous growth worldwide. Ethylene is produced by cracking a range of hydrocarbons. Naphtha is the main raw material used in European and Japanese crackers, while the US utilizes ethane as its primary feedstock.
Supply Chain: Rail’s speed of change is all about efficiency
Railroads have long played a major role in safely and efficiently moving freight from origin to destination. However, for more than a decade, they have faced declines and slow growth in coal and other bulk commodities transported by carload service.
- Indonesia allocates 15.65 MM kiloliters of biodiesel for 2026 12/23
- Egypt, Qatar's Al Mana Holding sign $200-MM SAF deal 12/23
- China's teapots boost Russian ESPO buying amid record discounts 12/23
- Bahrain's BAPCO sends first diesel cargo to Australia in 2.5 yrs 12/23
- Asia oil floating storage seen declining on lower exports, China buying 12/23
- Gazprom in talks with Hungary's MOL over NIS stake sale 12/23

