Future growth in world energy demand is a cause for optimism because it will signal economic recovery and progress, Rex W. Tillerson, chairman and CEO of Exxon Mobil Corp., said December 6 in Doha, Qatar, where he was addressing the 20th World Petroleum Congress.

Major global refining capacity expansion projects scheduled for completion within three-to-five years, totaling 9 million barrels per day, will add to refining industry distillation capacity surplus, according to a new World Refining and Fuels Study (WRFS) 2011 report by Hart Energy, released December 12.

Fuel demand of the developing countries is expected to surpass that of the developed countries by the year 2025, according to a report titled, Global Transport Scenarios 2050, released December 6 at the World Petroleum Congress in Doha, Qatar.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced December 1 that it is awarding US$7.7 million in contracts to eight companies to help advance alternative sources for commercial jet fuel.

The U.S. Navy announced December 5 that it signed its largest-ever biofuels contract – 450,000 gallons – with the Tyson/Syntroleum “Dynamic Fuels” joint venture with help from California-based Solazyme.

Topsøe announced November 29 that it won an order from Petrobras for two “SNOX” flue gas cleaning plants for the new “RNEST” refinery at Pernambuco, Brazil.

A new study by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy-funded Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and California-based consultants Energy and Environmental Economics, Inc. (E3) finds that electrification of the vehicle fleet and other sectors is the only way that California can hope to meet its goal of slashing greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions 80% by 2050.

On November 4, Bloomberg was the sole organization of note that reported Mexico’s Energy Minister, Jordy Herrera, announced his country is scrapping construction plans for 10 new nuclear power plants once slated to help expand Mexico’s power generation fleet by 36 gigawatts over the next 15 years. Shale gas will be used in the new fleet of power generators instead, which should make refiners, chemical manufacturers, and other natural gas intensive industries take notice.

In a fiscal 2012, mid-term financial update released November 30, Sasol announced that it’s launching a feasibility study for a proposed 1 million to 1.4 million-ton-per-year ethane cracker project in Louisiana, which could cost between US$3.5 billion to $4.5 billion.

French oil major Total and California-based biofuels technology developer Amyris announced November 30 that they signed a deal to expand their current research and development (R&D) partnership and form a joint venture to develop and commercialize renewable fuels and products, starting with bio-based diesel fuel.

Diesel shortages in western Canada are soon to be alleviated thanks to restart of a shut-down Air Products hydrogen plant supplying Suncor’s 135,000 barrel-per-day oil refinery at Edmonton, Alberta.

The volatility of global commodity prices is now greater than at any time since the oil-shocked 1970s, because prices are increasingly moving in lockstep with financial markets.Cheap resources underpinned economic growth for much of the 20th century, but the 21st century will be quite different, according to a new analysis from McKinsey & Co., Inc.

Daimler, Linde, Honda, Intelligent Energy, Opel and Toyota announced November 21 that they’re sponsoring the fourth annual edition of the “Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Electric Vehicle Drive ‘n’ Ride,” this time in Brussels, Belgium.

These charts show biweekly activity of the ICE Brent Futures and ICE Gas Oil Futures from November 29 to December 13.

The U.K.’s National Center for Biorenewable Energy, Fuels and Materials (NNFCC) has released a new report, Advanced Biofuels: The Potential for a UK Industry, NNFCC 11-011, which suggests that the U.K. needs significant investment in a new generation of biofuels in order to meet its renewable transportation fuel targets.

Renewable power capacity in the European Union is growing at staggering rates, including a 17-fold hike in offshore wind and an 11-fold jump in wave and tidal power by 2020, according to a new report from European Environmental Agency (EEA).

United Kingdom Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne on December 1 unveiled a national “Carbon Plan” that will require vehicle carbon-dioxide (CO2) emissions to be slashed one-third by 2020 and 50% by 2030.

A new report released November 23 by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), Bridging the Emissions Gap, has found that cutting emissions by 2020 to a level that could keep a global, 21st-century, temperature increase under 2° Celsius (C) (34.5°F) is technologically and economically feasible.

On November 29, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its first ever report on U.S. fuel ethanol plant production capacity.