Middle East
Iran’s lack of storage access limits oil exports to European refiners
Some 45-50 million barrels of Iran's oil are estimated to be held in tankers at sea, barely changed from the amounts thought to be in floating storage before sanctions were lifted at the start of the year.
Saudi petrochemicals venture SaBuCo starts up new plant at Jubail
The SABUCO plant in Jubail will have a capacity of 330,000 tpy of n-butanol, a type of alcohol used to make other chemicals, and 11,000 tpy of iso-butanol.
Saudi Arabia leaves US shale-processing plants to Shell in Motiva split
The refineries in Port Arthur, Texas, and Convent, Louisiana, had been growing apart for several years before the companies recently announced plans to split ownership.
Saudi Aramco looks to expand Asian downstream investments: CEO
Nasser said the Saudi oil giant is looking to expand its downstream investments in China, Malaysia, India, Vietnam and Indonesia. He was speaking at the China Development Forum in Beijing.
Unipetrol shuts Litvinov refinery for planned work
The Litvinov operations in the Czech Republic were hit by a blast at the steam cracker unit last August, and the plant's refinery has been running at reduced capacity.
Total, NPC sign deal for Iran petrochemicals plant
The complex will include a world-scale steam cracker unit in the coastal area. It will be based on a combination of feedstocks comprised of ethane, naphtha and LPG, as well as other available feed.
Saudi Aramco CEO eyes downstream conversion
The diversification would be underpinned by a widespread and rapid domestic expansion of small to medium enterprises that produce products in the petrochemicals conversion sector. the CEO said.
Global distillate markets remain oversupplied as freight demand lags
Recent data have been mixed. The consumer side of the US economy appears to be strong, but the industrial side is still struggling. And in the rest of the world, growth appears to be slowing.
SOCAR selects KBR venture to manage Baku refinery modernization
Total capacity will be increased from 6 MMtpy to 7.5 MMtpy, while the catalytic cracking unit will be raised from 2 MMtpy to 2.5 MMtpy. Euro 5 standards will be established for all refined products.
Kuwait refines crude pricing strategy in battle for European customers
Large sales from Iraq's Kurdistan into Europe have added to the competition and now Kuwait -- a usually little-noticed seller in Europe -- is both increasing sales and making its crude more attractive.
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