- Regulation & Legislation
- EEA: ‘Green’ Taxes Could Help EU Stimulate Innovation, Cut Diesel Favoritism
- CARB to Hold ‘Low-Carbon Fuel Standard’ Workshop May 24
- U.S. Coast Guard: Ship Operators Face Efficiency Limits; Diesel-Electrics Exempt
- India Supreme Court Stays Lawsuits Challenging Diesel Price Decontrol
- CARB Hits Mex-Cal Trucklines for ‘Dirty’ Diesel Trucks at Intermodal Yards
- Canada Aligns Ship Emissions/Fuels Regulations with U.S.
- U.S. EPA Cancels Platinum Health-Effects Probe Related to Diesel Emissions Control
- Technology
- CDT Posts US$2.1-Million Net Loss in 1Q 2013
- Wärtsilä Nabs Fuel-Oil Power Plant Deal in Zambia
- ABB Touts Turbocharging, ‘Valve Control Management’ for Gas-Fired Engines
- Distillate Markets
- IEA: Global Oil Prices Likely to Fall over Next 5 Years
- Saras Posts 1Q 2013 Net Loss; Touts Rosneft Deals
- New Hope Reveals CTL-Diesel Project Plans
- U.S. Taxpayer Subsidies for CNG/LNG Cut Clean Energy Fuels 1Q 2013 Net Loss
- 9% of Surveyed U.S. Trucking Execs Eyeing LNG Truck Purchases
- Parkland Inks LNG Distribution Deal with Shell Canada
- IEA: Oil Demand to hit 90.6 Million b/d in 2013; Refinery Output Jumping
- Husky 1Q 2013 Net Earnings Dip Year-on-Year; ULS Kero Starts Up
- Lux: Natural Gas Vehicle Growth Hobbled by Infrastructure, Vehicle Costs
- Bunuwal-Cambridge Gulf Nab Big Mining Diesel Contract in Australia
- Correction on Email Address to Obtain LNG vs. Diesel Study
- Market Report: ULSD Spot, Futures Prices Decline
- Distillate Watch
- Transport News
- Scandlines, Siemens, Corvus Team Up on Diesel Hybrid-Electric Ferry
- Interlake Steamship Announces Plan Switch to LNG Bunkers
- MAN Touts 20-30% Bunker Fuel Savings with “G-Type” Marine Diesels
- Chicago Transit Authority Buys 300 Clean-Diesel Buses from Nova
- Wärtsilä Taps Bestobell for Ship LNG-Fueling Systems
- Diesel Emissions Control Giant Reports Drop in Platinum Supplies for Catalysts
Regulation & Legislation
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EEA: ‘Green’ Taxes Could Help EU Stimulate Innovation, Cut Diesel Favoritism
The European Environmental Agency (EEA) on May 14 unveiled a series of studies illustrating how “green” tax policies could cut pollution and boost investment in advanced-technology industries, and eliminate tax policies in many European countries favoring diesel over gasoline.
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CARB to Hold ‘Low-Carbon Fuel Standard’ Workshop May 24
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced May 14 that it will hold a public workshop on its low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) regulations May 24 at the California Environmental Protection Agency’s headquarters in Sacramento.
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U.S. Coast Guard: Ship Operators Face Efficiency Limits; Diesel-Electrics Exempt
The U.S. Coast Guard announced May 13 that ship owners now have to comply with International Maritime Organization (IMO) Marpol Annex-6 requirements for ship energy efficiency management plans (SEEMPs) for both new and existing ships.
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India Supreme Court Stays Lawsuits Challenging Diesel Price Decontrol
The India Supreme Court on May 13 announced that it has stayed various lawsuits in regional High Courts challenging the central government’s decision enabling oil refiners and markets to raise diesel prices gradually to global free-market price levels.
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CARB Hits Mex-Cal Trucklines for ‘Dirty’ Diesel Trucks at Intermodal Yards
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced May 10 that California-based Mex-Cal Truckline paid US$300,000 in fines for using illegal, high-polluting diesel trucks at regulated intermodal rail yards in 2011 and 2012.
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Canada Aligns Ship Emissions/Fuels Regulations with U.S.
Canada’s Ministry of Transport announced May 8 the adoption of International Maritime Organization ocean ship bunker fuel and emissions limits under the Marpol Annex-6 legislation, which aligns Canada with the U.S. as a marine “emissions-control area.”
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U.S. EPA Cancels Platinum Health-Effects Probe Related to Diesel Emissions Control
In an April 23 letter to the International Platinum Group Metals Association (IPGMA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it’s cancelling a proposed Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) assessment of possible health risks with halogenated platinum salts.
Technology
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CDT Posts US$2.1-Million Net Loss in 1Q 2013
California-based emissions control technology vendor Clean Diesel Technologies (CDT) announced May 10 that its first-quarter (1Q) 2013 net loss was US$2.1 million – an improvement over a net loss of $2.8 million in 1Q 2012.
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Wärtsilä Nabs Fuel-Oil Power Plant Deal in Zambia
Wärtsilä announced May 15 that it won an agreement from Ndola Energy Company Ltd. (NECL) for operations, maintenance and servicing of a fuel-oil-fired power plant in Ndola, Zambia.
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ABB Touts Turbocharging, ‘Valve Control Management’ for Gas-Fired Engines
ABB announced May 13 that it will promote the combination of turbocharging with “valve control management” (VCM) in two- and four-stroke engines in marine, off-highway and power-generation applications to improve fuel economy and cut emissions.
Feature
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Neste Jacobs, Outotec Ink Deals with Global Oil Shale; $40/bbl Synthetic Crude Seen
U.K.-based Global Oil Shale (GOS) and global energy-project engineering giant Neste Jacobs jointly announced May 13 that they’ve signed a “strategic” agreement to “collaborate in oil-shale processing and plant design for converting oil shale into liquid fuel and gas as well as any upgrading required for synthetic crude oil production.”
Transport News
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Scandlines, Siemens, Corvus Team Up on Diesel Hybrid-Electric Ferry
British Columbia-based lithium-polymer battery maker Corvus Energy announced May 14 that a new diesel-electric hybrid ferry operated by Denmark-based Scandlines has now been commissioned for commercial service.
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Interlake Steamship Announces Plan Switch to LNG Bunkers
Ohio-based Interlake Steamship Co. announced May 6 that it signed an “agreement in principle” with Shell for liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunker fuel supplies for Interlake’s proposed conversion of its nine-vessel U.S. Great Lakes shipping fleet to LNG power.
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MAN Touts 20-30% Bunker Fuel Savings with “G-Type” Marine Diesels
MAN announced May 14 that Teekay Tankers is estimating that MAN’s “G-type” marine diesel engine could deliver from 20% to 30% bunker fuel savings on new-build ships.
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Chicago Transit Authority Buys 300 Clean-Diesel Buses from Nova
Volvo subsidiary Nova Bus announced last month that it won a US$148-million order from the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) for 300 “LFS Smart” buses.
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Wärtsilä Taps Bestobell for Ship LNG-Fueling Systems
U.K.-based Bestobell Valves announced May 13 that it won a “preferred supplier” deal from Wärtsilä Gas Power Systems (GPS) to supply cryogenic valves for Wärtsilä’s “LNGPac” liquefied natural gas (LNG) ship-fueling system.
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Diesel Emissions Control Giant Reports Drop in Platinum Supplies for Catalysts
Diesel emissions catalyst giant Johnson Matthey (JM) announced May 13 in its latest “Platinum 2013” report that the global platinum market was in deficit by 375,000 ounces in 2012.
Distillate Markets
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IEA: Global Oil Prices Likely to Fall over Next 5 Years
Global crude oil import prices are likely to drop from an average US$109 per barrel (/bbl) currently to near $93/bbl over the next five years – thanks in large part to “transformative” unconventional crude oil-production growth in North America, according to the latest International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Medium-Term Oil Market Report (MTOMR) released May 14.
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Saras Posts 1Q 2013 Net Loss; Touts Rosneft Deals
Italy-based, diesel-oriented oil refiner and integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) electric power producer Saras posted a corporate-wide net loss of €1.8 million (US$2.3 million) for first-quarter (1Q) 2013, compared to a net profit of €14.1 million ($18 million) in 1Q 2012.
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New Hope Reveals CTL-Diesel Project Plans
Australia-based New Hope Group told Gasification News on May 10 that it has launched construction of a “small-scale” coal-to-liquids (CTL) research and development plant at the Jeebropilly mine site near Ipswich, Queensland.
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U.S. Taxpayer Subsidies for CNG/LNG Cut Clean Energy Fuels 1Q 2013 Net Loss
U.S. federal taxpayer subsidies for compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) vehicle fuels enabled California-based CNG/LNG seller Clean Energy Fuels to slash its net loss for first-quarter (1Q) 2013 to US$3.9 million, compared to a $31.9 million net loss in 1Q 2012.
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9% of Surveyed U.S. Trucking Execs Eyeing LNG Truck Purchases
A new survey of U.S. trucking executives by Pennsylvania-based PLS Logistics finds that 9% of those surveyed would consider buying a trucking fueled by liquefied natural gas (LNG) “at some point in the future.”
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Parkland Inks LNG Distribution Deal with Shell Canada
Parkland Fuel announced May 13 that it cut a deal with Shell Canada to distribute liquefied natural gas (LNG) to oil and gas exploration operations and off-grid power generators.
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IEA: Oil Demand to hit 90.6 Million b/d in 2013; Refinery Output Jumping
In its latest monthly Oil Market Report (issued May 14), the International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts that global oil demand in 2013 will rise to 90.6 million barrels per day (b/d), a slight increase from last month’s forecast.
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Husky 1Q 2013 Net Earnings Dip Year-on-Year; ULS Kero Starts Up
Calgary, Alberta-based Husky Energy announced May 9 that its first-quarter (1Q) 2013 net earnings declined to Cdn$535 million (US$529 million) compared to Cdn$591 million ($584 million) in 1Q 2012, mainly due to lower crude prices.
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Lux: Natural Gas Vehicle Growth Hobbled by Infrastructure, Vehicle Costs
A new study by Lux Research finds that global natural gas vehicles (NGVs) will “only” total 7.5 million by 2020 because of the relatively high cost of building compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure along with the relatively high cost of CNG/LNG vehicles.
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Bunuwal-Cambridge Gulf Nab Big Mining Diesel Contract in Australia
A joint venture between Australia-based Bunuwal Group and Cambridge Gulf won an A$160-million (US$160.3-million) contract to supply diesel fuel to the Gove aluminum refinery and bauxite mine in Nhulunbuy, Australia.
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Correction on Email Address to Obtain LNG vs. Diesel Study
An early version of the May 13 edition of Diesel Fuel News had the incorrect email contact address for Jon Gabrielsen, the author of a study on the relative cost issues with liquefied natural gas versus diesel in trucking and railroading.
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Market Report: ULSD Spot, Futures Prices Decline
Ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) prices in most major spot and futures markets fell last week on higher stocks and relatively healthy refiner output.
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Distillate Watch




