- Regulation & Legislation
- U.S. Midwest Governors Association Unveils ‘Low Carbon Fuel Policy’ Schemes
- U.S. Congress Authorizes US$500 Million for Diesel Emissions Cleanups
- EU Council OKs New CO2 Limits on Light Van Trucks
- US$1/Gallon Biodiesel-Renewable Diesel Tax Credit Restored
- Jury Hits CSX with US$8.6-Million Verdict over Alleged Diesel/Radiation Death
- CARB OKs Carbon Cap-and-Trade Rule; Hits Refiners, Power Plants
- Technology
- Donaldson ‘LNF’ Diesel Particulate Filter Wins CARB Verification
- Logos Wins US$17.5-Million Grant for ‘BioJET’ Fuel R&D
- Distillate Markets
- Nearly All U.S. Refiners Joining ULSD Game: U.S. EPA Survey
- Petrobras: Diesel Self-Sufficiency by 2017
- ‘Smart Grids’ Seen Likely to Boost Diesel, Gas Gen-Set Power
- U.S. EPA Approves Triton ‘Renewable Diesel’ as ‘Advanced Biofuel’
- Finnair Planning Bio-Jet-Fuel Test in 2011
- Fluor Wins Project Management Contract for New SOCAR & Turcas Refinery
- JGC to Build Diesel Hydrotreater at ExxonMobil’s Singapore Refinery
- Scania Wins Truck Deal for Novel Biofuels Project in Africa
- China’s Diesel Shortage Eased by Questionable Kerosene Imports
- Foster Wheeler Wins FEED for 2 Petrobras ‘Max-Diesel’ Refineries
- Market Report: ULSD Spot, Futures Prices Continue to Rise
- Distillate Watch
- Transport News
- Isuzu/GM Terminating Joint Diesel Engine Development
- Hyundai Launching Diesel Engine Plant in India
- Daimler, GAZ Ink Diesel Van Manufacturing Deal
- Navistar Fiscal 4Q 2010 Net Falls
- Rush Nabs Deal to Sell U.S. EPA ‘SmartWay’ Retrofitted Trucks
- Agco Wins U.S. EPA ‘Tier 4 Interim’ Approval for Diesel Ag Equipment
- Volvo Truck Sales Jump 52%
Regulation & Legislation
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U.S. Midwest Governors Association Unveils ‘Low Carbon Fuel Policy’ Schemes
The U.S. Midwest Governors Association (MGA) unveiled a new policy paper on December 18 that pushes various schemes for achieving a regional or U.S. national “low carbon fuel policy” (LCFP), which could force more oil refiners and importers to reduce the “carbon intensity” of diesel and gasoline motor fuels below 2005 levels.
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U.S. Congress Authorizes US$500 Million for Diesel Emissions Cleanups
U.S. President Barack Obama last month signed legislation reauthorizing the “Diesel Emissions Reduction Act” (DERA), including US$100 million annually for the next five years, or $500 million total.
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EU Council OKs New CO2 Limits on Light Van Trucks
The European Council on December 20 endorsed proposed carbon dioxide (CO2) limits for “light van” trucks.
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US$1/Gallon Biodiesel-Renewable Diesel Tax Credit Restored
U.S. President Barack Obama signed legislation December 17 retroactively restoring the US$1 per-gallon tax subsidy for conventional fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) biodiesel as well as all-hydrocarbon “renewable diesel.”
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Jury Hits CSX with US$8.6-Million Verdict over Alleged Diesel/Radiation Death
A state court jury in Knoxville, Tenn., last month hit big U.S. railroad CSX with a US$8.6-million damages claim for the death of a former CSX railroad worker allegedly exposed to radiation, asbestos and diesel fumes over a 40-year career.
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CARB OKs Carbon Cap-and-Trade Rule; Hits Refiners, Power Plants
California Air Resources Board (CARB) on December 16 gave final approval to a carbon cap-and-trade rule that will hit both refiners and power producers.
Technology
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Donaldson ‘LNF’ Diesel Particulate Filter Wins CARB Verification
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced December 15 that it has completed an extension to the verification of the Donaldson “Low NO2 Filter (LNF)” muffler system for select 1993 through 2006 model-year diesel engines used in on-road applications.
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Logos Wins US$17.5-Million Grant for ‘BioJET’ Fuel R&D
Virginia-based Logos Technologies announced December 16 that it won a US$17.5-million, “phase two” grant from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to push forward the research and development of a “BioJET” fuel described as “fully compatible jet fuel from cellulose.”
Feature
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Railroad Details Novel Schemes to Slash Emissions, Cut Diesel Fuel
Norfolk Southern (NS) – one of the largest railroad companies in North America – recently unveiled its “Sustainability 2010” report outlining a host of novel schemes to reduce emissions and cut diesel fuel use in its locomotive fleet.
Transport News
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Isuzu/GM Terminating Joint Diesel Engine Development
Isuzu will terminate further joint development with General Motors Corp. in diesel engines, according to a December 22 report from Nikkei news service.
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Hyundai Launching Diesel Engine Plant in India
Hyundai announced December 27 that for the India passenger car market it will build a diesel engine plant in India with an initial capacity of 150,000 units per year by second-half 2013.
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Daimler, GAZ Ink Diesel Van Manufacturing Deal
Daimler announced December 23 that it signed a memo of understanding with GAZ for the manufacture of the Mercedes-Benz “Sprinter” diesel van in Russia.
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Navistar Fiscal 4Q 2010 Net Falls
Diesel vehicle/engine specialist Navistar announced December 22 that its global fiscal fourth-quarter 2010 net income (for the period ended October. 31, 2010) fell to US$39 million, compared to fiscal fourth-quarter 2009 net income of $86 million.
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Rush Nabs Deal to Sell U.S. EPA ‘SmartWay’ Retrofitted Trucks
Rush Truck Centers announced December 14 that it won an exclusive deal to sell pre-2007, used trucks retrofitted with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) “SmartWay” emissions and idle reduction technologies.
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Agco Wins U.S. EPA ‘Tier 4 Interim’ Approval for Diesel Ag Equipment
U.S.-based Agco announced December 21 that it has won U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ‘Tier 4 interim’ emissions approval for Agco Sisu Power non-road diesel engines greater than 130 kiloWatts, as of Jan. 1, 2011.
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Volvo Truck Sales Jump 52%
Volvo Group reported December 15 that its global truck operations division delivered 18,545 vehicles in November 2010, up 52% compared with November 2009.
Distillate Markets
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Nearly All U.S. Refiners Joining ULSD Game: U.S. EPA Survey
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on December 14 released its latest annual “Summary and Analysis of the 2010 Nonroad Diesel Fuel Pre-Compliance Reports,” showing that almost all refiners will have converted both highway and non-road locomotive and marine (NRLM) diesel fuel to 15 parts-per-million (ppm), ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) standards by 2014.
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Petrobras: Diesel Self-Sufficiency by 2017
Petrobras announced December 29 that Brazil will be self-sufficient in diesel production by 2017 when the 300,000 barrels/day “Premium II” refinery comes on-line.
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‘Smart Grids’ Seen Likely to Boost Diesel, Gas Gen-Set Power
Distributed generation (DG) powered by diesel, natural gas, wind and solar is likely to grow at an impressive rate in coming years thanks to the evolution of the “smart grid” alongside the growth of electric vehicles (EVs).
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U.S. EPA Approves Triton ‘Renewable Diesel’ as ‘Advanced Biofuel’
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on December 10 ruled that Waterloo, Ind.,-based Triton Energy’s novel “renewable diesel” fuel qualifies for the EPA “renewable identification number” (RIN) credits for “biomass-based diesel” and “advanced biofuel” pathways under the “renewable fuel standard-2” (RFS-2) program.
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Finnair Planning Bio-Jet-Fuel Test in 2011
Finnair Plc is planning to test a bio-jet fuel derived from non-food feedstocks in 2011, likely involving the Neste “NExBTL” technology that can convert bio-based feedstocks to all-hydrocarbon kero-jet fuel and diesel fuel.
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Fluor Wins Project Management Contract for New SOCAR & Turcas Refinery
Texas-based Fluor announced December 14 that it won a project management consultant (PMC) contract from the State Oil Co. of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) & Turcas Petrol for a 10 million ton-per-year (t/y), diesel-oriented refinery to be built in Aliaga, Turkey.
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JGC to Build Diesel Hydrotreater at ExxonMobil’s Singapore Refinery
JGC Corp. announced December 27 that it won a contract by ExxonMobil for engineering, procurement and construction of the main process facilities for a diesel hydrotreater project at the ExxonMobil Singapore refinery.
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Scania Wins Truck Deal for Novel Biofuels Project in Africa
Scania announced December 15 that it won an order for 50 fuel transport trucks, and an option on 100 more, from Liberia-based Buchanan Renewables Fuels.
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China’s Diesel Shortage Eased by Questionable Kerosene Imports
China’s diesel shortage in recent months – caused by the massive migration of factories to diesel generator-set power because of government mandates to cut grid power to meet “energy conservation” bureaucratic targets – has led to a huge surge of kerosene imports that some are calling a tax-evasion scam.
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Foster Wheeler Wins FEED for 2 Petrobras ‘Max-Diesel’ Refineries
Foster Wheeler announced December 13 that it won a basic engineering and a front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract for two new Petrobras refineries in Brazil.
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Market Report: ULSD Spot, Futures Prices Continue to Rise
Ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) spot and futures prices continued to climb last week (following a December-long trend), breaking a US$2.50 per gallon (/gallon) ceiling in some markets.
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Distillate Watch
Distillate prices continued to rise last week.
Key Prices
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BAPCO Announces ULSD Production Unit Turnaround
The Bahrain Petroleum Co. (BAPCO) announced December 27 that it will shutter major process units as part of a US$55-million turnaround and modifications at its 250,000 barrel-per-day (b/d) refinery in Bahrain from mid-February until April 2011.
