Two U.S. companies – one for its progress on the Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle (EV) and another for providing the drilling technology to rescue 33 trapped miners in Chile – were honored December 2 for their energy and environmental achievements. A third award was presented to Fred Potter, executive vice president of Hart Energy Publishing, by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The 16th session of the UN-sponsored Conference of the Parties (COP 16) climate change summit concluded in dramatic fashion on December 11 with a deal participants said proved multi-lateral negotiations could indeed yield results. Still, few changes were made in areas that could have a direct impact on energy producers.

CANCUN, Mexico – The battle over the future of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies has become a centerpiece of the 16th session of the U.N.-sponsored Conference of the Parties (COP 16) climate change negotiations in Cancun.

Texas-based Tesoro Corp. announced December 13 its intention to form a Master Limited Partnership (MLP) with contributed logistics assets and then offer units in the MLP via an initial public offering. The MLP is intended to support Tesoro's strategy to grow its logistics business.

San Francisco-based Statue Cruises announced November 30 that it has signed an agreement with Derecktor Shipyards in Bridgeport, Conn., to complete the world’s first hybrid ferry using hydrogen fuel by April 2011. The 1,400-horsepower Hornblower Hybrid will run on a combination of energy generated by clean Tier 2 diesel engines, hydrogen fuel cells, solar panels and wind turbines.

Virgin chief Richard Branson declared at this month’s climate-change conference in Cancun, Mexico, that 100% of company profits are going into biofuels research.

Thomas O’Malley, chairman of Swiss refining company Petroplus, will retire his position effective May 5, 2011, according to a December 8 Petroplus statement. Patrick Monteiro de Barros, current vice chairman on the Petroplus board has been selected to succeed O’Malley as board chairman effective upon his retirement.

Shell Canada announced November 30 that it has submitted a regulatory application for its Quest carbon capture and storage (CCS) project located in central Alberta. Quest is a fully integrated CCS project, meaning it will capture, transport (pipeline) and store carbon dioxide (CO2). Hart spoke with Shell spokesman Adrienne Lamb who told us that CCS “is an integral part of the company’s overall greenhouse gas management portfolio.”

Albemarle Corp., a Baton Rouge-based petrochemical producer, and Brazilian multinational Petrobras announced December 6 that that they have signed a memo of understanding to build a “world-scale” diesel hydroprocessing catalyst (HPC) production plant on the site of their existing joint venture Fabrica Carioca de Catalisadores SA (FCC SA) in Santa Cruz, Brazil.

Philadelphia-based Sunoco, Inc. has reached a definitive agreement to sell its 170,000 barrel-per-day (b/d) refinery in Toledo, Ohio, to Toledo Refining Co. LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of PBF Holding Co. LLC.

The government/industry “National Platform for Electromobility” working group on November 30 issued an interim report to the German government’s recommended standards for the mass introduction of electric vehicles (EVs) and recharge systems.

Airbus announced November 23 what it termed as “the first Jatropha-based biofuel flight in Latin America, using an Airbus A320” flown by Brazil’s TAM airlines.

Legislation introduced this month by the Alberta, Canada, government clarifies that the province would accept long-term liability for carbon dioxide stored underground from carbon capture and storage (CCS) schemes.

These charts show biweekly activity of the ICE Brent Futures and ICE Gas Oil Futures from December 1 to December 15.

Wood Mackenzie analysts announced December 8 that global oil demand in 2010 “is almost certain to exceed the previous all time high reached in 2007,” thanks to continuing demand growth in China and India and despite continuing declines in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries.

Hart’s International Fuel Quality Center (IFQC) has updated its ranking of the top 100 countries based on sulfur limits in on-road diesel – Sweden, Germany and Japan, remained first, second and third, respectively.

Chemical engineers at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst (UMass Amherst) reported in the November 26 edition of the scholarly journal Science that they have developed a relatively cheap way to produce high-volume chemical feedstocks including benzene, toluene, xylenes (BTX) and olefins from pyrolytic bio-oils.

Kelley Blue Book on November 30 reported the results of a recent Kelley Blue Book Market Intelligence study gauging U.S. consumer attitudes on electric vehicles, showing that only 7% of car shoppers say they are likely to consider an electric vehicle for their next new-vehicle purchase or lease.