Europe
BP dragged into UK bribery probe over contractor
Investigators from the Serious Fraud Office have contacted BP over bribery allegations relating to engineering projects one of its contractors is undertaking in Azerbaijan, the Telegraph reports.
Aramco ships Europe fuel oil to Red Sea, eyes more
Saudi Aramco is shipping fuel oil from Northwest Europe to the Red Sea to meet Saudi Arabia's peak summer demand, taking advantage of arbitrage economics that have been favorable up until recently.
Coryton refinery becomes latest casualty of Europe industry doldrums
The site will live on in radically changed form as a distribution terminal employing no more than 50 permanent staff, a tenth of the current staff of 500 - which doesn't include an equal amount of contractors. A first batch of 180 dismissal notices were handed out in late June, with more to follow.
Lyondell to supply PP technology for Sibur in Russia
A SIBUR affiliate has selected the Spheripol process technology from LyondellBasell for a new 500,000 tpy single-line polypropylene (PP) plant to be built in Tobolsk, Russia. Start-up is scheduled for 2017.
ExxonMobil mulls sale of German Esso gas stations
ExxonMobil is in preliminary talks with various parties, some of whom might be from Russia or eastern Europe, the Bloomberg report cited people as saying. Two of the people said the unit, which includes more than 1,100 gas stations, could fetch more than €1 billion ($1.3 billion) in a sale.
Europe plays increasing role in US gasoline market
The current state of the crude oil and refining industry in the Northern Atlantic basin has led to excess European gasoline production playing a vital role, says one analyst. That additional production could be saving the US East coast from shortages, he explains.
BASF to build butadiene extraction plant in Belgium
The plant will have a production capacity of 155,000 tpy and is scheduled to start up during 2014. In recent years, the volumes of butadiene available on the market have declined sharply. At the same time, demand from the tire industry and other industries has been rising.
Nigeria signs $4.5bn refinery deal with US company Vulcan Energy
The deal between US-based Vulcan Energy, the Nigerian government and a local firm, aims to build six refineries with a combined capacity of 180,000 bpd, Nigeria's Trade and Investment Ministry said in a statement, which also listed the 697.5 billion naira ($4.5 billion) price tag.
NKNH awards engineering deal to Linde for revamp of Russia olefins plant
Linde Engineering is set to build a new Alpha-SABLIN plant for the production of linear alpha olefins (LAO) in Nizhnekamsk, Russia. NKNH awarded Linde contracts for license, basic/detail engineering and supply of equipment and materials for revamping of NKNH’s existing LAO plant.
Catalyst developments: The past 90 years
While catalysis has made many advances in the last 90 years, the application of new technologies developed in other areas may offer great promise for future breakthroughs.
- SIBUR produces test batch of first hexane plant in Russia 8/28
- Universal Fuel Technologies’ SAF accepted into ASTM Clearinghouse for qualification 8/28
- Honeywell technology to fuel Syzygy Plasmonics' SAF project 8/28
- Sinopec wins engineering contract for Saudi Arabian green hydrogen/ammonia project 8/28
- Russia's idle oil refining capacity record high after Ukrainian drone attacks 8/28
- Brazil approves temporary antidumping measures against Canadian, U.S. polyethylene resins 8/28
