Europe
HP Reliability: Plan now to deal with stressed equipment later
The US Energy Information Administration’s (EIA’s) “Today in Energy” brief evaluated how US refineries are processing record amounts of crude oil (Fig. 1), with Midwest and Gulf Co..
HP Automation Strategies: Control on the wire(less)
Since the industrial revolution, process/industrial control had relied on tightly coupled systems to transmit control signals. Industrial plants have used “modern” control via wired electron..
HP Project Management: German refinery successfully modernizes safety system
In September 2014, the Heide refinery in Germany used two weeks of planned downtime at its pyrolysis plant to migrate to new safety systems. The new system emphasized high plant/equipment availability..
HP Industry Perspectives: Keystone XL: It is time to move forward, Mr. President
In a media call, the American Petroleum Institute (API) president and CEO Jack Gerard emphasized that it is time for the Keystone XL pipeline to move forward, and he requested urgent action by Preside..
HP News
Fuel cells to experience a bright future due to natural gasRising natural gas production is facilitating growth for both stationary fuel cells that provide power to business and the utility grid, as w..
HP Industry Metrics
Recent declines in oil pricing and the associated volatility in future pricing has created a difficult forecasting environment. Other factors are causing deviations, especially with regard to the resp..
REG acquires German biodiesel producer Petrotec
Petrotec utilizes more than 15,000 collection points to gather used cooking oil and other waste feedstocks to produce biodiesel at its two biorefineries in Emden and Oeding, Germany.
Shell sells Norway downstream businesses to ST1
Shell has signed an agreement with ST1 for the sale of its retail, commercial fuels and supply and distribution logistics businesses in Norway. The sale is expected to be completed in 2015.
Fluor works on new delayed coker for ExxonMobil at Antwerp refinery
Fluor is responsible for the new delayed coker unit that will convert heavy, higher sulfur residual oils into transportation fuel products such as marine gasoil and diesel fuel.
Russian refiner upgrades complex with Chevron Lummus technologies
The hydrocracker unit was commissioned in January 2014 and the base oil unit in December 2014. The commissioning of the two units enabled OJSC TANECO to produce 1.2 million tpy of Euro-V diesel fuel, 500,000 tpy of aviation kerosine and 190,000 tpy of Group II/III base oil.

- Update: Russian oil supplies to Slovakia may resume as soon as today 8/25
- Indonesia urges EU to remove biodiesel import curbs after WTO ruling 8/25
- Liquid Sun launches eSAF production pilot with ABB, Finnair, Fortum and Finavia 8/25
- Novatek to reduce naphtha exports due to fire at Ust-Luga complex 8/25
- China's Sinochem to sell two bankrupt refineries to local operators 8/25
- Iraq raises refining capacity to 1.3 MMbpd 8/25