The “MT Argonon,” a 6,100 deadweight-tons chemical tanker, can now claim to be the world’s first tanker ship propelled by 80% liquefied natural gas (LNG) along with 20% diesel fuel.

Texas-based truck and bus sales-and-service dealer Rush Enterprises announced December 15 that it paid approximately US$25 million to acquire certain assets of West Texas Peterbilt, a truck dealership group with five locations in Texas.

Volvo announced December 13 that its “V60” diesel plug-in hybrid electric (PHEV) car will go on sale in Europe in 2012 at a hefty retail price of €57,000 (US$75,187).

Volvo announced December 9 that it won a deal to supply 688 diesel buses to Bogota, Colombia, for the capital city’s expanding “Transmilenio” bus rapid transit (BRT) system.

Norway-based Fjord1 announced December 12 that it’s about to launch what it describes as the “world’s largest” ferry boat propelled by liquefied natural gas (LNG) power instead of the typical diesel fuel power.

Statoil announced December 9 that it signed a deal with Buksér og Berging to buy two tugboats that will run on liquefied natural gas (LNG) rather than diesel fuel.

Continental Refining’s CEO Demetrios Haseotes – the 43-year-old grandson of the pioneering Haseotes family that founded big U.S. gasoline-convenience store chain Cumberland Farms-Gulf, and whose father once owned the Come-By-Chance refinery in Newfoundland, Canada – announced December 14 that he just bought the mothballed, 5,500 barrels/day Somerset Oil crude refinery in Kentucky.

The latest U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) survey shows that U.S. refiner exports of middle distillates are now topping 1 million barrels/day (see chart) -- a landmark event in what has become a growing trend of surging U.S. distillate exports, especially the relatively high-value ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD) grade.

The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) latest monthly Oil Market Report (released December 13) finds that “precarious” economic indicators and relatively weak fourth-quarter 2011 demand data (especially in Europe) mean that global crude oil demand growth projections for 2011 and 2012 must be trimmed.

Neste Oil announced December 15 that it will build a pilot plant to produce waste-based microbial oil at its Porvoo, Finland, crude oil refinery. The bio-oil would be a “green” feedstock for Neste’s “NExBTL” all-hydrocarbon renewable diesel fuel.

United Kingdom-based Hamworthy Krystallon announced December 12 what it described as the world’s first “commercial” installation of its marine diesel seawater emissions scrubbing system on the first of four ships owned by Italy-based Ignazio Messina & Co.

Desulfurizing kero-jet fuel to the same 15 parts per million (ppm) sulfur limit of ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuel won’t cause a net increase in “global warming” when such fuel is combusted by jet planes, according to a new study announced December 14 by Yale University.

Denmark-based Maersk Line announced December 12 that in cooperation with the U.S. Navy it has launched the “Maersk Kalmar” ship running on algae-based biofuel on a voyage between Northern Europe and India.

Haldor Topsøe announced December 12 that it won a contract for a diesel hydrotreating unit for the Russian Syzran Refinery owned by Rosneft, the largest Russian oil company.