- Regulation & Legislation
- EU’s Green Groups Prod Commission to Broaden Low-Sulfur Bunker Fuel Mandate
- Dow Slams Pickens CNG/LNG Subsidy Scheme in U.S. Senate Hearing
- MIT Expert Tells U.S. Senate Hearing: Shale Gas No Panacea
- EU Recognizes Seven ‘Green’ Biofuel-Certification Schemes
- Navistar to Sue U.S. EPA Again on Urea-SCR Rule for 2010 Diesel Emissions
- CARB Slaps Trash Hauler with US$534,000 Fine for Diesel Emissions
- Technology
- Xinde Touts Plans for 200-KW to 1,500-KW Non-Road Diesel Engines
- U.S. DOE, DOD Partner on Hydrogen Fuel Cells; Aim to Replace Diesel Gen-Sets
- CARB Extends Verification for DCL ‘Mine-X’ Diesel-Particulate Filter
- Wärtsilä Inks Two-Stroke Diesel License with CSSC Guangzhou Marine Diesel Engine
- CARB Broadens Verifications for Two Donaldson DPF Systems
- Distillate Markets
- EU Study: Biofuels Deliver ‘Little or No GHG Reduction;’ Biodiesel Worst
- Tecnicas Reunidas Wins €100-Million ULSD Refinery Contract from Total
- Essar to Boost ULSD Capacity at U.K. Refinery
- Eni, PdVSA Update Refinery, Upstream JV Plans; Diesel Focus
- Amyris Nabs São Paulo Bus Deal for Renewable Diesel Blend
- California EPA Convenes Public Hearing on Viscon Diesel Additive
- Market Report: Distillates Mostly Rising in Spot, Futures Markets
- Distillate Watch
- Transport News
- GM Confirms Diesel Version of ‘Cruze’ Coming to North America in 2013
- Europe’s Green Groups Fear Loopholes in IMO Ship-Efficiency Deal
- Cat 2Q 2011 Earnings Jump 44% vs. 2Q 2010
- Wärtsilä Trims 2011 Forecast on Weaker Marine Service Sector
- GM to Invest Another €20 Million in Global Diesel Engine Research Center
- Wärtsilä Nabs Diesel Engine Order for 25 Russian Oil Tanker Ships
Regulation & Legislation
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EU’s Green Groups Prod Commission to Broaden Low-Sulfur Bunker Fuel Mandate
The European Federation for Transport & Environment (T&E) – an umbrella group for dozens of Europe’s “green” advocacy groups – on July 18 issued a call for the European Commission to broaden its newly proposed low-sulfur bunker fuel mandate to cover ships in all European seas.
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Dow Slams Pickens CNG/LNG Subsidy Scheme in U.S. Senate Hearing
Dow Chemical’s vice president for energy George Biltz on July 19 told a U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources hearing on the future of natural gas that U.S. petrochemical producers and other manufacturing industries would suffer if Congress were to pass the pending “NatGas Act” bill giving massive taxpayer subsidies to convert highway vehicles to compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquefied natural gas (LNG).
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MIT Expert Tells U.S. Senate Hearing: Shale Gas No Panacea
During a July 19 U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Hearing on “the future of natural gas,” Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) natural-gas study director Ernest Moniz dismissed the notion that the growing supply of U.S. natural gas from shale is a panacea for “low-carbon” and “cheap” energy.
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EU Recognizes Seven ‘Green’ Biofuel-Certification Schemes
The European Commission on July 19 announced its approval of seven different certification schemes that claim to show that biofuels meet certain environmental standards.
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Navistar to Sue U.S. EPA Again on Urea-SCR Rule for 2010 Diesel Emissions
Having sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) more than a year ago over EPA’s allegedly illegal failure to enact new regulations for urea-selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology for diesel nitrogen-oxides (NOX) emissions control, Navistar has returned to court again making many of the same claims.
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CARB Slaps Trash Hauler with US$534,000 Fine for Diesel Emissions
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced July 19 that it hit trash hauling firm Rewards Leasing, Inc. with a US$534,000 fine for diesel truck air-quality violations.
Technology
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Xinde Touts Plans for 200-KW to 1,500-KW Non-Road Diesel Engines
China-based Xinde announced July 18 plans to enter the 200-kilowatt (KW) to 1,500-KW market for non-road diesel engine power in China.
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U.S. DOE, DOD Partner on Hydrogen Fuel Cells; Aim to Replace Diesel Gen-Sets
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), announced July 19 that 18 fuel-cell backup power systems will be installed at eight military bases across the U.S.
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CARB Extends Verification for DCL ‘Mine-X’ Diesel-Particulate Filter
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced July 20 that it has extended the verification of the DCL “Mine-X Sootfilter” diesel-particulate filter (DPF) system to include additional 2010 and 2011 model year off-road diesel engines.
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Wärtsilä Inks Two-Stroke Diesel License with CSSC Guangzhou Marine Diesel Engine
Wärtsilä announced July 19 that it signed a license agreement with CSSC Guangzhou Marine Diesel (GMD) – a member of the state-owned China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) Group – to manufacture and sell Wärtsilä two-stroke marine diesel engines in China.
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CARB Broadens Verifications for Two Donaldson DPF Systems
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) on July 19 announced has completed an extension to the verification of the Donaldson “Low NO2 Filter” (LNF) diesel particulate filter (DPF) system for select 1993 through 2006 on-road diesel engines.
Feature
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IMO Low-Sulfur Bunker Fuel 2020 Study Headed for More Debate
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) this month decided to continue discussions on how to organize its “assessment of availability” report – due in 2018 – on the 0.5% sulfur marine fuel mandate that would hit all the world’s diesel-powered ocean ships starting in 2020.
Transport News
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GM Confirms Diesel Version of ‘Cruze’ Coming to North America in 2013
General Motors Co. on July 22 officially confirmed that it will offer a diesel version of the popular Chevrolet “Cruze” compact car in North America in calendar year 2013.
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Europe’s Green Groups Fear Loopholes in IMO Ship-Efficiency Deal
The European Federation for Transport & Environment (T&E) – the umbrella group for dozens of Europe’s green advocacy groups – on July 18 unveiled an analysis of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) vote earlier this month on ship fuel-efficiency standards.
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Cat 2Q 2011 Earnings Jump 44% vs. 2Q 2010
Global engine and equipment giant Caterpillar, Inc. announced July 22 that its second-quarter 2011 profits rose 44%, to US$1.01 billion, from $707 million in second-quarter 2010.
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Wärtsilä Trims 2011 Forecast on Weaker Marine Service Sector
Global marine diesel and power-generation specialist Wärtsilä announced July 20 that it is trimming its 2011 sales forecast “due to weaker than expected marine service markets and the timing of power plant deliveries.
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GM to Invest Another €20 Million in Global Diesel Engine Research Center
General Motors Co. announced July 14 that it will invest another €20 million (US$28.4 million) in the Torino, Italy, diesel engine research center over the next four years.
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Wärtsilä Nabs Diesel Engine Order for 25 Russian Oil Tanker Ships
Wärtsilä announced July 18 that it won , a contract to supply the main diesel engines for a series of 25 tankers being built for Volga Shipping Co., Russia’s oldest shipping company.
Distillate Markets
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EU Study: Biofuels Deliver ‘Little or No GHG Reduction;’ Biodiesel Worst
Expert studies commissioned by the European Commission – but not yet publicly released – show that biofuels mandates will indeed result in substantial indirect land use change (ILUC) affecting global climate –and biodiesel is the worst offender.
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Tecnicas Reunidas Wins €100-Million ULSD Refinery Contract from Total
Spain’s Tecnicas Reunidas on July 21 announced that it won an estimated €100-million (US$142-million) contract from French multinational Total S.A. for a refinery upgrade project in Normandy, France aimed at boosting the output of ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuel.
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Essar to Boost ULSD Capacity at U.K. Refinery
India’s Essar Energy, which earlier this month finalized its buyout of the former Shell Stanlow refinery in the U.K., plans further investments to boost the plant’s output of ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuel.
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Eni, PdVSA Update Refinery, Upstream JV Plans; Diesel Focus
Italy’s Eni S.p.A. announced July 15 that it is advancing plans with Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA) for the “PetroJunin” heavy oil project at the “PetroBicentenario” downstream project in a joint venture owned 60% by PdVSA and 40% by Eni.
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Amyris Nabs São Paulo Bus Deal for Renewable Diesel Blend
California-based Amyris, Inc. announced July 19 that its Brazilian subsidiary won a contract to supply a 10% blend of its sugarcane-derived renewable diesel fuel with petroleum diesel and conventional fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) biodiesel for 160 city buses in São Paulo.
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California EPA Convenes Public Hearing on Viscon Diesel Additive
The California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) announced July 19 that it will convene a public hearing of the California Environmental Policy Council (CEPC) to consider the results of “multimedia” health and environmental impacts studies for the Viscon diesel fuel additive.
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Market Report: Distillates Mostly Rising in Spot, Futures Markets
Ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) prices in major spot and futures markets generally rose last week with rare exceptions, as relatively strong demand along with a lack of “strategic” stock releases from member countries of International Energy Agency encouraged bulls.
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Distillate Watch
