Holly plans to invest $340 million to expand its Utah and New Mexico refineries for fall 2008, spokesman Neale Hickerson told GRFR.

Mexican state-owned oil monopoly Pemex needs to come up with a project for the construction of a new oil refinery in the country by June, Sen. Graco Ramirez Garrido reportedly said on Jan. 9.

Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA’s expansion of its El Palito refinery, which currently processes about 140,000 b/d, will enable the refinery to increase its production of gasoline components, the company said recently.

Houston-based Marathon Oil announced recently that it projects that its fourth quarter 2007 refining and wholesale marketing gross margin will be about 30% of what the company earned in the same quarter 2006.

U.S. automaker Chrysler and Japan’s Nissan announced an agreement recently for Nissan to provide Chrysler with a new car for limited distribution in South America.

Japanese automaker Honda announced recently that it sold just over 1 million vehicles in the U.S. in 2007, the third straight year the company has had best-ever U.S. sales.

Increasing demand for petroleum products and delays in new oil projects will send the price of crude oil to $150/bbl in the “near future,” according CIBC World Markets, though it did not define when exactly it expects the price to reach that point.

U.S. oil major Chevron announced recently that it expects its fourth quarter earnings to be higher than the $3.7 billion the company earned in the third quarter.

General Motors announced Sunday it is partnering with Illinois-based renewable energy company Coskata in order to use the company’s technology that “affordably and efficiently” makes ethanol from sources such as garbage, old tires and plant waste.

Independent U.S. refiner Tesoro recently announced first quarter 2008 throughput guidance by region as follows:

The government of Turkey has given the go-ahead to the country’s Calik Energy and Indian Oil to build a 300,000 b/d refinery at Ceyhan port.

Private Indian company Essar Oil announced yesterday it has reached an agreement to buy 50% of Kenya Petroleum Refineries, located in Mombasa.

After completing its 200,000 b/d Qingdao refinery in eastern Shangdong province and a new 100,000 b/d vacuum distillation unit at its Wuhan refinery in Hubei province, Chinese state oil company Sinopec will soon further increase its refining capacity with an expansion of its Jiujiang refinery.

Japanese auto giant Toyota announced last week it sold 9.4 million vehicles worldwide in 2007, up 6% from 2006, and potentially putting it in position to outsell General Motors, becoming the world’s largest automaker.

Mazeikiu Nafta, the only refinery in the Baltic region, announced last week it has finished repairs to the vacuum distillation unit that has been shut down since it was damaged in an October 2006 fire.

The European Parliament yesterday voted 607-76 for a non-binding resolution that would delay proposed European Commission vehicle CO2 limits to 2015 rather than 2012, and only impose a 125 grams/kilometer CO2 limit instead of 120 g/km.

Spain’s top oil company Repsol revealed recently plans to spend €3.2 billion (U.S. $4.7 billion) on a project that would double the capacity of its Cartagena, Spain, refinery to 220,000 b/d.

German automaker Porsche announced recently plans for a hybrid-electric version of its Panamera four-door sedan.

Ireland-listed PetroNeft announced recently it has acquired a site for a possible mini-refinery at Pervomayka in Russia’s Kolpashevo District of the Tomsk Oblast.

The European Commission has reviewed and approved Switzerland-based Petroplus’s proposed acquisition of two of Shell’s refineries in France.