Global Refining & Fuels Report

DCX Receives Two Bids for Chrysler

German automaker DaimlerChrysler (DCX) has received a bid of $4.7 billion from Canadian auto-parts company Magna International, and one for $4.5 billion from private equity firm Tracinda for its U.S unit Chrysler Group, the Associated Press reported.

The report came one day after DCX Chairman Dieter Zetsche acknowledged the company is exploring selling Chrysler.

Honda Again Tops UCS Rankings of Automaker Environmental Performance

Honda’s vehicle fleet has the best environmental performance among vehicle fleets in the U.S., the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) said recently in its latest Automaker Rankings report.

Honda has been the highest rated company each of the four times UCS has done the biennial report. UCS added South Korea’s Hyundai-Kia and Germany’s Volkswagen to the companies studied in the 2007 report, expanding the number to eight, which accounts for 96% of the U.S. car and truck market in the 2005 model year (MY), the most recent year for which final data was available.

IPIC Will Move Forward on U.A.E. Refinery With or Without ConocoPhillips

Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Co. (IPIC) will go ahead with a planned refinery in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) regardless of what ConocoPhillips decides to do, Reuters reported, citing IPIC sources.

USDA Economist: Bush’s Alternative Fuels Target Will Not be Easy to Achieve

Washington, D.C. -- U.S. President George W. Bush’s plan for a 35 billion gallon Alternative Fuel Standard by 2017 aimed at reducing gasoline consumption 20% during the next 10 years will be tough to reach barring significant breakthroughs in cellulosic ethanol, a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) economist said.

USDA’s baseline projection for biofuel production puts the U.S. production level of corn-based ethanol and biodiesel at about a total of 13 billion gallons in 2017, leaving a 22 billion gallon gap to the White House’s target, USDA Chief Economist Keith Collins said during a presentation at a U.S. Energy Information Administration conference here.

EIA: Refinery Outages Do Not Have Significant Affect on Prices

Refinery outages do not significantly impact the prices of petroleum products, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) concluded in a recently released report.

“Within the limitations of the monthly and weekly data available, EIA’s statistical analysis of outages indicates that generally there is not a significant price impact,” EIA said. “Prices are affected not by production changes alone, but mainly by the balance in supply and demand as represented by inventory levels.

Hart World Refining & Fuels Conference to Feature Future Energy Outlook

Hart Energy’s upcoming World Refining & Fuels Conference, “Transport, Energy & Fuels,” offers an unparalleled opportunity to increase your knowledge of the markets and make new contacts.

Several hundred delegates are expected at the conference, to be held in Brussels at the Sheraton Brussels Hotel & Towers from May 8 to May 10, 2007.

Gasoil

Brent

Futures Prices Move Up Slightly Tuesday

The price of the front-month crude oil futures contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) increased slightly Tuesday, to close at $61.89/bbl.

Pemex Proposes Dieselization Scheme to Slash Growing Dependence on Gasoline Imports

San Antonio, Texas – Pemex, the Mexican state oil monopoly, next month opens talks with Mexico’s ministers of environment and energy on a proposed scheme that gradually would convert much more of the nation’s light-duty fleet to diesel in order to cut growing dependence upon gasoline imports.

Talks are likely to continue for at least a year before the Mexican government decides whether to approve such a scheme, as Pemex Refining planning director Rodrigo Favela explained here following his presentation to the Hart World Refining & Fuels Conference.

PetroPeru Seeks Loan for Refinery Upgrade

State oil company PetroPeru hopes to get a $1 billion loan from Andean Development Corporation (CAF) for an upgrade and modernization project at the company’s Talara refinery.

The company aims to begin construction of the project next year, the company’s president said, Peru’s RPP News Service reported.

Marathon Expects First Quarter Refining Margins to Be Close to 2006

Marathon Oil expects its first quarter refining margins to be comparable to its margins in the same quarter 2006, the company said in its First Quarter 2007 Interim Update.

ConocoPhillips Projects ‘Significantly Higher’ Refining Margins in First Quarter

U.S. oil major ConocoPhillips said recently it expects its first quarter worldwide refining margins to be “significantly higher” that they were in the fourth quarter 2006.

GM, Ford Experience Sales Declines in March

U.S. automaker General Motors (GM) announced yesterday March U.S. sales of 349,867 vehicles, down 7.7% from its March 2006 sales on a sales day adjusted basis.

The decline came as the company continues to deemphasize fleet sales as it aims to improve its financial performance.

NLRC Updates Status of Potential Refinery

Private Newfoundland and Labrador Refining (NLRC) announced recently it has received the draft guidelines for an environmental impact statement for its potential 300,000 b/d refinery in the Canadian province.

NLRC aims to submit its environmental impact statement in July.

Valero Cancels One Expansion, Delays Another

Valero has decided not to go forward with an expansion of the crude and coker units at its 245,000 b/d Texas City, Texas, refinery, the company said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

It also said it has deferred a crude unit expansion at its 215,000 b/d Jean Gaulin refinery in Quebec.

Report: Hybrids, Diesels Increasing U.S. Market Share

Vehicles powered by hybrid gasoline-electric and diesel engines are steadily increasing their market share in the U.S., although conventional gasoline vehicles continue to rule the roads, J.D. Power and Associates said in a recently published report.

Shell Canada Asks for Public Input on Tentative Sarnia Oil Refinery

Shell Canada held an open house for the public at a Wallaceberg, Ont., hotel yesterday to determine whether they would support construction of a Sarnia-area oil refinery. The refinery would process heavy crude oil from Alberta, and would be built next to Shell’s existing refinery in St. Clair Township.

Japan Vehicle Sales Fall to Lowest Level Since 1977

New vehicle sales in Japan declined 8.3%, to 3.6 million during the 2006 fiscal year, the lowest sales in 29 years, Japan’s Jiji Press reported.

Sinopec Earns $6.4 Billion in 2006

Chinese state oil company Sinopec announced recently 2006 earnings of RMB50.7 billion ($6.4 billion), a 28.1% increase from the company’s earnings in 2005.

“In 2006, domestic demand for refined oil products grew moderately,” Sinopec said. “According to company statistics, domestic consumption of refined oil products in 2006 was 174.4 million tons, up 6.1% compared with 2005.”

Pertamina Requests Tax Incentives to Reduce Costs, Increase Margins

Indonesian state oil company PT Pertamina has asked the Indonesian government for tax incentives in order to reduce the company’s costs and increase its margins, AFX reported, citing Pertamina’s processing director.

The company, which currently operates seven refineries processing more than 1 million b/d, had planned to build several new refineries.

ONGC Doubles Planned Capacity of New Refinery

Indian state Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) will double the capacity of a planned new refinery, as the Indian government suggested.

Vietnam to Issue Bonds to Raise Refinery Funds

Vietnam plans to raise $1 billion for the construction of its Dung Quat oil refinery, the country’s first, by issuing bonds.

The country’s Ministry of Finance will issue the bonds domestically and overseas in order to accelerate the refinery’s construction, Dow Jones reported.

GM Announces Sales Figures in China

General Motors China announced recently that it sold 291,588 vehicles in the first three months of 2007, an increase of 25% from the same period one year ago.

Volkswagen to Increase Efficiency of Chinese Cars

Germany’s Volkswagen plans to improve energy efficiency and cut emissions 20% in its Chinese-made vehicles by 2010, China’s state Xinhua News Agency reported.

Singapore Company Aims to Build Refinery in Vietnam

Singapore Petroleum Chemicals plans to spend $1.2 billion to construct an oil refinery in Vietnam’s Hanoi province, Dow Jones reported.

Sinopec, ExxonMobil and Saudi Aramco Formally Launch JV’s

Sinopec, ExxonMobil and Saudi Aramco formally marked their two joint venture launches at a Beijing ceremony recently. The Chinese government had given their approval and granted business licenses for their two joint ventures, the Fujian Refining and Ethylene Joint Venture Project and the Fujian Fuels Marketing Joint Venture.

PKN Orlen Refinery Restarts Fire-Damaged Unit

Polish oil company PKN Orlen has restarted the fire-damaged visbreaking unit at its Mazeikiu Nafta refinery in Lithuania.

Report: Egypt Refinery Upgrade Would Cost At Least $1.5 Billion

The upgrade of a refinery in the Suez region would cost between $1.5 and $2 billion, the country’s oil minister said.

Royal Dutch Shell Now Owns 98.8% of Shell Canada’s Shares

Royal Dutch Shell announced recently that it is completing its bid to buy shares of Shell Canada.

At the expiry time of the extended offer period on March 30, Shell Investments Limited (SIL), a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, acquired an additional 75,711,093 common shares, worth C$45 cash per common share (U.S.$38.39), in its attempt to acquire all outstanding shares not already owned by SIL.

Shell CEO to Stay on Through June 2009

Dutch oil major Shell announced recently that Jeroen van der Veer will remain the company’s CEO through the end of June 2009.

Shell and Alliance to Form Joint Venture in Ukraine

Dutch oil major Shell and OJSC Alliance Group announced recently that they plan on establishing a joint venture to operate a network of more than 150 Shell-branded retail sites in Ukraine. Existing Alliance sites will be upgraded and branded with Shell.

Italy’s ERG to Invest in Refineries

Italian energy company ERG announced last week it intends to spend €546 million ($729.1 million) in refining during the next four years as part of a €2.5 billion ($3.3 billion) 2007-2010 strategic plan.

Rosneft Begins Buying Stakes of Yukos

Rosneft successfully won an auction for the assets of bankrupt Yukos, the New York Times reported recently.