Matthew R. Simmons, chairman emeritus and founder of Simmons & Co. Int. in Houston, and more recently, the Ocean Energy Institute in Rockland, Maine, died August 8 at his island home in Maine, of an apparent heart attack. He was 67.

As noted by the San Antonio Express News (SAEN) in an August 7 article, the refining sector saw a rare “bright spot” as company after company reported strong second quarter 2010 results after a number of sequential quarterly losses. But an August 6 research report by a team of independent refining analysts at Deutsche Bank (DB) notes that typical cyclicality in the independent refining industry implies that “for refining earnings, the best quarter by far is Q2, next best Q3, third best Q1, and Q4 tends to be worst. In fact, Q4 tends to be horrible.”

Five weeks into the current quarter, BP Plc is disclosing key indicators of refining margins which suggest refining profitability per barrel is slipping from their near term highs seen in the second quarter of 2010. The company's Web site shows their Refining Global Indicator Margin trending at US$4.42 per barrel (/bbl) in the third quarter to date through August 5, down almost 20% sequentially from the second quarter's value of $5.49/bbl.

As China’s energy consumption grows, so will its energy storage capacity, as noted by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) in a report dated August 4. By 2015, the 2010 edition of Hart’s Global Crude, Refining and Clean Transportation Fuel Outlook Through 2030 estimates that China will have a refined product output of 10.14 million barrels per day (b/d), up from an estimated 7.87 million b/d in 2010. Along with all that production and additional imports, China can be expected to add more crude and petroleum product storage. China “must build oil inventory at a faster pace than demand,” said one analyst quoted within the WSJ report.

Officials with the California Air Resources Board August 9 released a draft report in implementation of a law designed to improve how cities and counties plan for growth and development.

China’s growing demand for natural gas will be largely met by the nation’s growing supplies of unconventional gas but until these supplies come online there will be ample opportunities for foreign producers in the Chinese gas market, according to a recent report from Wood Mackenzie, Race for Supply – The Future of China’s Gas Market.

Nissan officials announced July 27 that for their upcoming Leaf electric vehicle (EV), they’ll match the eight years/100,000 miles battery warranty that GM is offering on the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV).

Louisiana-based Shaw Group officials announced July 28 that they’ve won a contract from DAPRAS to provide project management consultancy services for a grassroots refinery in Yumurtalik, located in the Ceyhan region of Turkey.

The U.S. Department of State has given anti-tar sands activists time to cheer after reportedly granting a several month delay to a multi-year process to permit and to approve the 1700 mile long Keystone Pipeline Expansion project that would double Canadian tar sands crude imports into U.S. refineries. The proposed pipeline’s owner, TransCanada, "may not get a decision now until early 2011, which means that our construction schedule is being impacted by six weeks to 45 days," said company spokesman Terry Cunha within a July 26 Dow Jones report.

General Motors officials July 27 announced that the Chevrolet “Volt” plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) will be priced in the U.S. market at US$41,000, which falls to $33,500 with the U.S. $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles.

In a July 29 speech to the American Chamber of Commerce in Sydney, Australia, Caltex Managing Director CEO Julian Segal argued against diesel/gasoline carbon taxes and instead called for tax breaks for biofuels blending and “green” electricity for transport vehicle fuels.

Electric vehicle (EV) investments dominated the U.S. venture capital interest in “cleantech” companies in second quarter 2010, according to a report from Ernst & Young based on DowJones VentureSource data.

Officials with Saudi Aramco on July 28 signed several contracts with local and international contractors for the detailed engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of the Yanbu’ Export Refinery Project at Yanbu’ Industrial City, located in the Western Province of Saudi Arabia.

According to a new report from the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD), "Costs and Benefits to Taxpayers, Consumers, and Producers from U.S. Ethanol Policies," allowing the blender credit and tariff to expire would have neither the dramatic, adverse effect U.S. ethanol producers claim nor create the export bonanza foreign producers hope for.

Atlanta-based AGL Resources and Houston-based El Paso officials announced July 28 that they’ve signed a joint-venture agreement to distribute liquefied natural gas (LNG) across the southeastern United States, targeting heavy-duty trucks, buses, waste haulers, and peak-shaving power facilities.

Mazda officials announced July 25 that they’ve spotted another way to boost fuel efficiency in gasoline cars: Cut on-board electricity consumption 50%.

Tenaska officials announced July 27 that they just won a US$417 million investment tax credit for the Taylorville Energy Center (TEC), which will gasify coal to produce synthetic natural gas (SNG) as well as integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) electric power.

These charts show biweekly activity of the ICE Brent Futures and ICE Gas Oil Futures from July 28 to August 11.

California Air Resources Board (CARB) officials last week unveiled a Web site showing the claimed “carbon intensities” of various biofuels produced by CARB-registered bio-refineries for the agency’s low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) regulation.

Asia is boosting consumption of liquefied natural gas (LNG) relative to oil as nations from China to India try to pollute less while driving economic growth, Bloomberg reported July 27.

National Petrochemical & Refiners Association (NPRA) officials August 3 released a new study showing that massive shuffling of Canadian oil-sands crude would result from a U.S. national “low carbon fuel standard” (LCFS), resulting in a huge net global increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

GM officials announced July 30 that they’re boosting output of the Chevrolet “Volt” plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) by 50% because of growing customer demand.

Providing its Q3 oil and gas forecast, Ernst & Young said July 28 that while signs of economic stability surfaced at the close of Q1, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, followed by less-than-positive consumer and business confidence reports, have created considerable uncertainty for the oil and gas industry.

Biomass, already a large percentage of total renewable energy sources, is poised for continued growth in the years to come within three key sectors: biopower, biofuels and bioproducts, according to Pike Research, which predicts the market value of electricity generated from biomass in the United States will increase steadily to US$53 billion by 2020, up from approximately $45 billion in 2010.