Rosneft officials September 21 inaugurated construction of a 13 million tons/year joint-venture crude refinery with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) in Tianjin, China.

Valero Energy Corp., the largest independent refiner in the U.S., filed a company presentation at the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission that gave an update on its 2011 capital expenditure plans. One of the primary points made early in the presentation was that "our industry needs economic growth and more people back to work." Valero noted that more than 80% of the company's products are gasoline and diesel fuel.

Airbus, British Airways and Cranfield University (U.K.) officials announced September 16 that they’re teaming-up on a project aiming to convert algae to jet fuel in “commercial quantities.”

Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P. announced on September 17 that their Line 6A crude oil pipeline was safely returned to normal service that morning. Canadian crude and feedstocks began flowing to U.S. refiners through the repaired pipeline at approximately 9:50 a.m. central time, according to the announcement. This quick return to service after just eight days of outage is a welcome relief for crude oil markets and refiners roiled by another regional pipeline outage since July with no end in sight.

W. R. Grace & Company announced on September 10 that they have been selected to receive up to US$3.3 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to evaluate and develop advanced biofuel technology with greater compatibility with existing fuels infrastructure. The funding is part of DOE's biofuels commercialization strategy. Grace will work with the DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in the development efforts.

In a speech likely to infuriate environmental groups, Peabody Energy chairman and CEO Greg Boyce told the World Energy Council in Montreal this week that global energy poverty is a much bigger problem than global warming.

Axens officials announced September 15 that an “alliance” agreement has been signed with Orbeo to offer refiners and petrochemical producers a consulting service on cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Officials with California-based Bio Architecture Lab (BAL) and Norwegian oil and gas producer Statoil on September 15 announced a strategic partnership for the production of renewable, sustainable and low-cost ethanol derived from macroalgae grown off the coast of Norway.

In a release dated September 14, W. R. Grace & Co. and Synthetech, Inc.today announced a definitive merger agreement under which Grace will purchase Synthetech, a manufacturer of fine chemicals specializing in organic synthesis, biocatalysis and chiral technologies. Grace anticipates completing the transaction during the fourth quarter of 2010.

Western Refining, Inc. on September 13 announced the safe and orderly shutdown of its refining process units at its Yorktown, Va., refinery.

According to a September 6 report from the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the Philippine's Energy Secretary Jose Rene D. Almendras told a House Energy committee that one of the nation's two operating petroleum refineries may close within four years as Chinese “mega-refineries” start up in the near term. Almendras also cited concerns for refineries in other nearby countries like Singapore. A more economically viable option may include shipping Philippine crude to Chinese refineries and then re-importing the finished refined products into the nation.

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) are being developed around the world with much emphasis on optimizing engine and battery operations, but accommodating the peaks and valleys of electricity use will be among the major challenges for generators and transmission operators.

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."

Axens officials announced September 6 that they’ve won a coker gasoil hydrotreating technology deal from Indian Oil Corp. for the Haldia refinery in India.

These charts show biweekly activity of the ICE Brent Futures and ICE Gas Oil Futures from September 8 to September 22.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released its monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook publication on September 8, 2010. Revisions within the report reflect updated expectations for economic activity, with forecasted U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 2.8% in 2010 and 2.3% in 2011, down from the previous Outlook’s growth projections of 3.1% and 2.7% for 2010 and 2011, respectively. Crude and fuel prices followed the trend set by these most fundamental drivers.

Environmental advocates frequently point to existing power plants, refineries, cars, trucks and other fossil-fuel-burning sources as the crucial global warming threats.

Long-time “green” car policy advocate John DeCicco has just unveiled a new study for the Energy Foundation showing that internal combustion engine (ICE) and hybrid-electric technology evolution could over the next 25 years relatively cheaply achieve a 74 miles per gallon (mpg) fleet average, without plugging into the electric power grid.

While diesel vehicles have long employed diesel particulate filters (DPFs) to meet strict U.S. and European Union limits on particulate matter, now direct-injection gasoline engines are likely to adopt “gasoline particle filters” for upcoming Euro-6 emissions PM limits, according to a new Frost & Sullivan report.

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.

An economic analysis from the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) identifies a fleet-wide car and light truck fuel standard of 60 miles per gallon (mpg) by 2025 as critical and necessary for consumer pocketbook protection.

Higher gasoline prices and environmental concerns are prodding more U.S. consumers to consider buying “green” cars, according to the latest Autobytel survey (released September 7) of more than 2,000 U.S. consumers.