UOP officials announced September 1 that their “Unionfining” and “Unicracking” processes were selected for Rentech’s in-development “Rialto” biomass-to-liquids (BTL) project in California.

The GM Volt plug in hybrid electric vehicle last week made its first appearance in China, considered by GM to be one of the top market prospect areas for electric vehicles.

Axens officials announced August 30 that they’ve inked a deal with PDVSA to install the “Viscolube Revivoil” technology for a waste oil re-refining plant at either San Juan de los Morros (Guárico region) or Amuay (Falcón region) in Venezuela.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc is in bilateral negotiations with Finish energy concern, St1, regarding the sale of Shell's downstream operations in Sweden and Finland, Bloomberg reported on September 3. The report referenced a communication by Shell spokesman David Williams, who reportedly stated that the company will not negotiate with other potential bidders "for the time being."

Ford officials August 26 unveiled a plan to launch eight new vehicles in India by 2015 as part of a strategy to meet growing local and export market demands, including Mexico, North Africa and United Arab Emirates.

Because of the pipeline rupture and ongoing repairs at Enbridge line 6b in Michigan, BP’s 410,000 barrel per day (b/d) Whiting, Indiana refinery may need to share some of its coker unit feedstock with BP’s 160,000 b/d refinery in Toledo, Ohio, according to unnamed sources within an August 26 news report on Bloomberg.

Petrobras Biofuels officials announced August 27 that they’ve bought a 50% stake in oilseed processor Bióleo Industrial and Comercial for R$15.5 million (US$8.8 million).

Texas-based KiOR officials announced August 30 that they’ve reached agreement with the state of Mississippi for US$75 million in state loans that will aid construction of five “commercial-scale” bio-crude production plants.

Two environmental groups said they plan to sue the Washington Department of Ecology and two clean air agencies for not limiting global warming pollution from oil refineries, according to an Aug. 25 Associated Press (AP) article.

The US$12 billion joint-venture between Shell and Cosan to produce and market ethanol in Brazil took another step forward August 25 when the two companies signed binding agreements.

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Secretary-General Abdalla Salem El-Badri is quoted in the latest edition of the official OPEC Bulletin as saying that OPEC member countries plan to invest US$40 billion over the next decade in oil refining.

Timed to coincide with a speaking engagement at the Biomass Investing Brazil Summit being held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, U.S. based KL Energy and Brazilian energy conglomerate Petrobras announced on August 24 the execution of their Joint Development Agreement aimed at commercializing bagasse biofuels manufacturing technologies. The news follows the company’s recent filing of an S-1 Registration Statement for a public sale of equity on U.S. markets.

Dow Corning officials announced August 20 that they’re considering installing a biomass gasification plant to produce both steam and electric power for the company’s Midland, Michigan, chemical plant.

In Scotland – a country known for its whisky – a new biofuel has been developed using byproducts of whisky production. Researchers at Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland have filed a patent for the new biofuel, they announced August 17.

These charts show biweekly activity of the ICE Brent Futures and ICE Gas Oil Futures from August 25 to September 87.

A new report commissioned by the American Petroleum Institute (API), conducted by Sierra Research, titled “Identification and Review of State/Federal Legislative and Regulatory Changes Required for the Introduction of New Transportation Fuels,” multiple regulatory and legal requirements remain and must be met before higher ethanol blends can be legally marketed for commercial introduction.

U.K. Energy Savings Trust (EST) officials announced August 31 that they’re expecting vehicle fleet operators in Britain to take advantage of government grants covering 25% of the purchase price of a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) or an all-electric vehicle (EV), up to a maximum of £5,000 (US$7,675).

Several commercial diesel cars such as today’s Euro 5 Volkswagen and Ford vehicles sold in Europe actually can deliver a better net life-cycle environmental impact than pure battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), according to a new study by the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA) agency.

Global sales of plug-in electric vehicles (PHEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) could total 3.2 million by 2015, according to a Sept. 1 market report by Pike Research.