Giant Industries shareholders recently approved the company’s planned merger with Western Refining, the companies announced. With the approval, the transaction only needs to wait for the expiration or termination of the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act to be completed.

The companies also said that on Feb. 20, they entered into an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission to provide additional information to the agency. The companies aim to fulfill this request by the middle of this month and have agreed to not attempt to close the merger for 30 days after providing the information.

Valero said recently it plans to partially restart its 170,000 b/d McKee refinery in Sunray, Texas, by early April.

Canada’s Imperial Oil announced recently that it has partially restarted its Nanticoke refinery in Ontario and expects it to return to normal operations by the middle of the month.

The average monthly motor gasoline price in the U.S. is expected to increase from $2.28/gal last month, to a peak of $2.67/gal in June, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said recently in its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook.

“Rising crude oil and prices and seasonal demand are the principal drivers for this expected increase,” EIA said.

Frontier Oil saw a 38% increase in net income between 2005 and 2006, despite lower fourth quarter results in 2006 compared to the same period a year ago.

Frontier’s 2006 net income was $379.3 million, versus net income of $275.2 million in 2005. 4Q 2006 net income was $52.4 million versus $63 million for the same period one year ago.

The government of India has asked state Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) to double the capacity of a planned refinery at Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh to 15 million tons per year.

The prime minister of Vietnam said recently he wants state oil company PetroVietnam to accelerate its second refinery project in Nghi Son, Thanh Hoa province.

The design and cost of the refinery had been expected to be finalized next year. Construction of the refinery had been expected begin in 2009 and the refinery would start up in 2013.

Kuwait Petroleum (KPC) could decide not to go forward with plans to build a new 615,000 b/d refinery in Al-Zour and could instead upgrade its 200,000 b/d Shuaiba refinery.

The company is looking into alternatives, including upgrading the Shuaiba refinery, which the new refinery was supposed to replace, Kuwait’s state news agency reported.

The strength of the investment boom in biodiesel in southeast Asia will likely cause overcapacity within the next few years, analysts at Rabobank said in a report.

Asia may see a large overcapacity in biodiesel by 2010 because of the rate of plant construction in Malaysia, China and Indonesia, Rabobank analysts warned.

Foster Wheeler Energy was awarded an engineering and materials supply contract by CTCI Corporation for a Terrace-Wall reformer and three fired heaters. CTCI serves as the engineering, procurement & construction prime contractor for the Bangchak Petroleum Public’s product quality improvement project to upgrade fuel oil to higher-value products at its Thailand refinery.

India’s largest private oil company Reliance Industries is discussing a potential acquisition of a refinery in Nigeria, the Economic Times reported, citing people close to the matter.

Oil producer PetroChina has been given the green light to build a refinery and an ethylene plant in Sichuan Province by the provincial government in Beijing.

The two have arranged a strategic framework agreement to set up downstream facilities in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, a CNPC senior official told China Daily. CNPC is PetroChina’s parent company.

Chinese refiner Sinopec Group may soon run a second joint venture refinery with the Saudi state-owned Saudi Aramco.

Chinese state oil company PetroChina is conducting a study for a possible expansion of its Gerrmu refinery in the northwestern part of the country, Dow Jones reported.

Indian Oil (IOC), a government-owned entity, is planning to spend about Rs 25,000 crore on a new refinery and petrochemicals complex in Ennore in the Tamil Nadu state.

The 15 million ton per year facility would primarily be an export facility, India’s Zee News reported.

Russian oil company Lukoil will not go forward with plans to build a new oil refinery in Turkey, the company’s president said recently.

Taxation of vehicles and alternative fuels based on CO2 emissions has “significant CO2 reduction potential,” but the systems across Europe differ and don’t send clear market signals, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said in an e-mail circulated this week.

The European Union (EU) recently announced carbon emissions, energy efficiency and biofuels targets aimed at reducing global warming during a summit headed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Russian oil company Lukoil announced recently that its refinery in Volgograd, which caught fire during the weekend, will return to full production May 1.

BP will purchase Chevron’s 31% stake in the Nerefco refinery in Rotterdam, the companies announced recently. The transaction will make BP the sole owner of the 400,000 b/d refinery.

Angolan state oil company Sonangol and Chinese state oil company Sinopec have stopped discussions regarding a proposed $3 billion, 240,000 b/d refinery in Angola, Reuters reported.

Austrian oil company OMV recently released fourth quarter 2006 and yearly earnings showing increased overall earnings, despite high crude prices and refinery fires.

A survey by German automobile part supplier Continental AG found that 25% of Germans are interested in buying a hybrid vehicle, German News Digest reported.

Norway said last week it plans to create a state-owned company to manage CO2 capture and storage (CCS) projects in the Scandinavian country.

Spanish-Argentine oil company Repsol YPF announced recently fourth quarter 2006 earnings of €473 million ($626.8 million), down 13.8% from the company’s earnings in the fourth quarter 2005.

German-U.S. auto giant DaimlerChrysler and German automaker BMW reached an agreement last week to expand their collaboration on the development of hybrid drive systems.

Polish oil refiner and petrol retailer PKN Orlen generated PLN13.12 million ($4.5 million) in fourth quarter revenue in 2006, with an operating profit of PLN173,000 ($58,350). Consolidated net profit was PLN76,000 ($25,634).

As the European Commission (EC) is mulling over reducing CO2 emissions for passenger cars a Springfield Mass.-based company has proposed that its patented combustible engine technology could benefit European countries who are seeking to curb their automobile emissions.

DaimlerChrysler (DCX) announced recently that its board has approved the framework of a partnership between its U.S. unit Chrysler Group and Chinese automaker Chery.

Under the agreement, Chery-built vehicles would be distributed under Chrysler brands, mostly in North America and Western Europe.