Massive refinery, power and downstream logistics growth is planned in China, according to January 6 a Xinhua News Agency story. The populous nation is planning to boost its refining capacity by 20% in the next five years, according to the report. Hart Energy has compared that expansion to existing energy infrastructure capacities of some top-10 global economies.

PetroChina and Ineos Group Holdings announced January 10 that they’ve signed a “framework agreement” under which they’ll “work towards forming joint ventures related to trading and refining activities at the Grangemouth refinery in Scotland and the Lavéra refinery in France.”

Partners in Europe’s “Empyro” project announced January 3 that they’re moving ahead this year with a pioneering scheme to convert biomass into pyrolysis oil (py-oil), which (at least initially) would be used to produce electricity, steam, organic acids. The partners hope that the scheme, debuting at Hengelo, Netherlands, eventually could help pave the way for advanced, non-food-based biofuels.

Distributed generation (DG) powered by diesel, natural gas, wind and solar is likely to grow at an impressive rate in coming years thanks to the evolution of the “smart grid” alongside the growth of electric vehicles (EVs).

Private Brazilian refinery Manguinhos Refinaria de Petroleos has signed a preliminary agreement with U.S. firm Astra Oil Trading for possible partnerships in biodiesel production and crude oil storage, as well as in refining and logistics, the company said in a January 5 statement.

Vietnam has selected French contractor Technip, Japanese engineering firm JGC Corp. and Spanish oil engineer Tecnicas Reunidas S.A. to build the US$5-billion Nghi Son oil refinery, according to a January 5 report quoting an official with the country’s state-owned oil group.

France-based Axens announced January 6 that it has signed a deal with Criterion Catalysts and Shell for the purchase of Criterion’s catalytic-reforming catalyst business.

The Nigeria National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC) plans to begin marketing its refined oil production in the U.S., Brazil and other parts of the world to boost the firm’s revenue base, according to a January 5 report by the Azerbaijan Press Agency (APA).

California-based contractor Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc., announced January 5 that it has received a three-year contract from Canada’s North Atlantic Refining Ltd. for turnaround and small capital work services at the company’s Newfoundland refinery.

Saudi Electricity Co (SEC) said recently that its 2011 budget has been approved by state authorities to include nearly 13 gigawatts (GW) of new power plant capacity starting up between 2012 and 2016, according to a December 27 Reuters report. That new power plant capacity will burn rising amounts of locally produced natural gas, refined oil products and even crude oil, according to a Hart Energy analysis.

Two downstream logistics firms on January 4 announced and completed more than US$2 billion in debt deals, which were marketed under filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The two operators – Buckeye Pipeline Partners and Enterprise Pipeline Partners – are growth-oriented, publicly-traded master limited partnerships that provide refined product storage, pipeline and terminal assets, among other services, across North America. Terms were set by the end of the day when the debt was placed.

Virginia-based electrical power distributor AES Corp. has secured a $17.1-million loan for the construction of a 20-megaWatt (MW) energy storage system using advanced lithium-ion batteries at its Westover Generation Plant near Johnson City, N.Y.

Australia-based Qantas Airways and U.S.-based plasma gasification specialist Solena this month will announce a new scheme to produce bio-jet-fuel from wastes, according to a January 2 report by The Guardian (U.K.).

North Dakota’s oil patch is now thought to contain more than twice the amount of oil previously estimated, opening up even more crude supplies for refiners. What’s more, the state’s already record crude production will likely double within the decade, according to a January 2 Associated Press (AP) report citing government and industry officials.

Beijing city officials announced December 30 that the city will adopt “State-V” vehicle emissions standards in 2012, equivalent to Euro-5 vehicle standards that require 10 parts per million (ppm) sulfur limits on diesel and gasoline.

BP Plc jumped the most in six months on January 4 after a report that Royal Dutch Shell Plc considered a takeover bid during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and economic damages could be lower than originally forecast.

Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) on December 28 announced the availability of US$1.35 billion in subsidies for various “green” industrial initiatives including advanced batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and “smart grids” that can help manage power flows for EV recharging.

Valero Energy told Hart Energy Publishing on January 3 that certain units of the company's Aruba refinery have just restarted.

These charts show biweekly activity of the ICE Brent Futures and ICE Gas Oil Futures from December 29 to January 12, 2011.