Global Refining & Fuels Report

Analysis: Latin America Providing an Outlet for U.S. Refining Industry

Strong growth in emerging Latin American economies includes the refining sectors, but U.S. refiners will enjoy a significant opportunity for export to the region until major projects in Brazil and Mexico are completed in the next few years. Those were the conclusions of two refining experts at a Hart Energy Breakfast Club event in Houston on May 3.

Valero Offered US$350 Million for Idled Aruba Refinery

Valero Energy has received an offer of US$350 million for its idled Aruba refinery, and PetroChina is being described as an interested party, according to a recent Dow Jones report. San Antonio-based Valero has not confirmed the name of the potential buyer.

Axens, Headwaters Tout Coal/Resid Co-Processing Scheme

Refinery technology vendor Axens and coal-to-liquids (CTL) technology developer Headwaters are promoting a novel coal/residual oil co-processing scheme that could open up new possibilities for motor fuels from relatively low-value feedstocks.

Cat, Cummins Tout New Dual-Fuel Diesel Engines for Oil, Gas Applications

Caterpillar announced new dual-fuel (natural gas and diesel) engines for offshore oil and gas operators on April 30 – and Cummins followed a day later with a similar announcement.

Wärtsilä Wins ‘ECO2’ Dual-Fuel Inland Waterway Vessel-Powertrain Deal

Wärtsilä announced May 8 that it won a contract to supply a diesel/liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual-fuel powertrain for the “ECO2 Inland Vessel” project in Europe.

Fluor Wins Project Management for Reliance’s Refinery, Gasification Projects

Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) announced May 3 that Texas-based engineering contractor Fluor won a project management services contract for refining, petrochemicals and petcoke gasification projects at RIL’s 1.2 million barrels/day complex at Jamnagar, India.

Czarnikow: Stalling Growth in Bioethanol Demand

After a decade of consistent expansion, bioethanol usage fell in 2011.This comes despite a rise in crude oil prices that should make renewable alternatives competitive: So why the fall?

Port of Los Angeles Adopts Lower-Emissions Ship Incentive Program

The giant Port of Los Angeles (POLA) announced May 3 that it became the first seaport in North America and the Pacific Rim to adopt an international clean air program that rewards ocean carriers for bringing their “newest and cleanest” vessels to the Port.

U.S. EPA Rejects Sulfur-Averaging Scheme for Marine Diesel ‘ECA’ Compliance

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) told an April 24 U.S. House subcommittee hearing that it won’t support a proposed fuel-sulfur-averaging scheme for marine diesel “emissions-control area” (ECA) regulation scheduled to take effect in 2015.

Experts Explore Transportation, Petchems, LNG Exports to Promote Gas Demand

The abundance of natural gas from U.S. shale plays is a tremendous resource, but low prices are frustrating gas producers. New ideas for promoting demand, and thus raising prices, are key issues, according to a group of panelists speaking at Hart Energy’s recently held Developing Unconventional Gas Conference in Fort Worth, Texas.

Phillips 66 to Double Fuel Exports in Next Two Years

Phillips 66 Co., the refining company spun out from Houston-based ConocoPhillips Co. announced May 1 that it plans to double its fuel exports in the next two years as U.S. oil production surges but gasoline demand declines.

GM Sees Rising Demand for Diesel Cars in U.S. Market

General Motors announced April 26 that it sees growing market demand for diesel cars in the U.S. market, supporting its planed 2013 rollout of the “Chevrolet Cruze” diesel car in the U.S.

Greens: Palm-Oil Biodiesel Even Worse on GHG than U.S. EPA Calculates

A preliminary finding by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that palm-oil-derived biodiesel fails to meet minimum lifecycle greenhouse-gas (GHG) reductions for the Renewable Fuel Standard-2 (RFS-2) regulation is more than justified, according to a coalition of “green” groups.

Foster Wheeler Awarded Contracts in Abu Dhabi, Louisiana

Foster Wheeler wins a contract from the Abu Dhabi National Chemicals Company (ChemaWEyaat) for project management consultancy (PMC) services for an aromatics complex (Stage I of the Tacaamol Project) and the supporting infrastructure. The company also was awarded an owner’s engineer contract for a new LNG (liquefied natural gas) liquefaction project to be located in Hackberry, La., by Cameron LNG LLC, an affiliate of Sempra Energy.

Fortnight Market Snapshot: ICE Brent Futures and ICE Gas Oil Futures

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

Report: China’s Refining Industry and Product Demand

Analysts with Hart Energy’s World Refining & Fuels Service (WRFS) have issued a Special Report on China’s refining industry.

CCS Funding Stalls: Worldwatch Institute

Global funding for carbon-capture and storage (CCS) technology stalled at US$23.5 billion in 2011 compared with 2010, according to a new report from the U.S.-based Worldwatch Institute.

SAFE: Fracking Won’t Make U.S. ‘Independent’ in Global Energy

A new report from Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE) finds that the oil and gas hydraulic fracturing (fracking) boom in the U.S. won’t result in U.S. “energy independence.”

Report: U.S. Ethanol Production Mandates Out-of-Sync with Market Reality

Hart Energy’s newly released study, U.S. & Brazil Ethanol Outlook to 2022, finds that the United States has vaulted over Brazil to lead the world in the export of ethanol – a title it’s positioned to retain in 2012 and beyond.

U.S. Natural Gas Production Hit All-Time High In 2011

Domestic natural gas production and storage reached an all-time high in 2011, which combined to generate the lowest gas prices in 10 years, according to the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) 2011 State of the Markets report released last month.

U.S. EPA Administrator’s Faux Pas Becomes Political Opportunity

The April 29 resignation of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regional administrator Al Armendariz is a classic tale of business regulation colliding with the interests of oil and gas – but with a contemporary twist.

Argentina Likely to Boost Biodiesel-Blending Requirements

The Argentine government is looking to boost the biodiesel blend in the country’s diesel fuel to 10% after Spain said it would limit imports of the country’s product in retaliation for a move to seize control of YPF from Madrid-based Repsol, according to a recent Platts report.

Chevron Phillips Chemical Selects Old Ocean, Texas, for New PE Facilities

Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. LP announced May 1 that it will locate two polyethylene (PE) facilities planned as part of the company’s U.S. Gulf Coast (USGC) Petrochemicals Project near the Chevron Phillips Chemical Sweeny facility in Old Ocean, Texas.

Ecopetrol Profits Rise, but Refining Sector Losses Grow

Colombia’s mostly-state-owned Ecopetrol announced April 30 that first-quarter (1Q) 2012 net income rose to COP$4.3 trillion (US$2.4 billion), up 27.6% from COP$3.4 trillion (US$1.9 billion) in 1Q 2011.

Zelinski Joins KBR as President, Downstream

David Zelinski has joined KBR as president of the downstream business unit where he will be responsible for heading up the downstream business unit for KBR’s hydrocarbons group.

U.S. EPA Hits Green Diesel LLC on Biodiesel RIN Fraud Charges

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on April 30 hit Houston-based Green Diesel LLC with a “notice of violation” (NOV) for allegedly generating and selling more than 60 million “invalid” renewable identification number (RIN) biodiesel trading credits under the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) “without producing any qualifying renewable fuel.”

API: Half of U.S. Refueling Stations Not Ready for E15

The American Petroleum Institute (API) recently released an analysis of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new regulations to allow higher amounts of ethanol in gasoline.

Eastman: Cheap U.S. Natural Gas Not Killing Coal-Gasification-to-Chemicals Plant

During an April 27 first-quarter 2012 earnings call with stock analysts, Eastman Chemical CEO James Rogers stated that plummeting U.S. natural gas prices haven’t hurt the competitive stance of Eastman’s decades-old Kingsport, Tenn., coal gasification-to-chemicals plant.

ADB Lending US$103 Million for India Solar-Power Plant

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced April 24 that it will lend US$103 million to Reliance Power Ltd. to help finance a $415-million concentrating solar-power (CSP) plant in Rajasthan, India.

Infineum Signs LOI to Build China Manufacturing Facility

U.K.-based additives company Infineum announced May 4 that it has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Zhangjiagang Industrial Park in Jiangsu Province, China, as the first step in the process aimed at building a new manufacturing complex in that country. The investment will be subject to approval by the board of directors, the company said.

PetroSA Proposes GTL Plant in Mozambique

South Africa state oil company PetroSA on April 25 unveiled a proposed 40,000 barrel-per-day gas to liquids (GTL) project in Mozambique.

Foster Wheeler Inks Downstream Engineering Deal with Shell Global Solutions

Foster Wheeler announced May 8 that it signed an “Asian Enterprise Framework Agreement” with Shell Global Solutions International B.V.

Gunvor Completes Purchase of Petroplus Antwerp Refinery

Cyprus-based global commodity trader Gunvor Group announced May 3 that it has completed the purchase of the 100,000 barrel-per-day Petroplus refinery in Antwerp.

European Commission Fails to Agree on Biofuels Climate-Impact Policy

The European Commission met May 2 to try to come to agreement on calculating the net greenhouse-gas (GHG) impact of “indirect land-use change” (ILUC) from biofuels production and mandates. But try as they might, they couldn’t agree.

Linde Touts Hydrogen-Reforming Scheme from Biodiesel Byproduct

Germany-based Linde Group announced April 23 that it won certification from testing organization TÜV SÜD for a scheme to produce hydrogen for fuel-cell power from biodiesel byproducts.