- Key Market Prices
- Key Market Prices
- Public Policy
- Texas Flexible Permit Dustup Reaches Far Beyond State Lines
- U.S. House Energy Chair Rips Keystone Oil-Sands Pipeline
- U.S. Senate Republicans Introduce New Climate Bill Minus Cap and Trade
- Margins & Economics
- Snamprogetti, KBR, Technip Resolve Corruption Charges; US$1.28 Billion in Penalties to Date
- Crude Futures Up 3% on Report Showing Increase in U.S. Fuel Consumption
- Fuels & Processing
- Gevo Taps Ex-UOP Chairman; Biorefinery Focus
- Rise in U.S. Liquid Fuel Consumption: EIA Outlook
- Diesel Surplus Prompts Korea ‘Green’ Fuel Push
- California Energy Commission Invests Nearly US$20 Million in Alt Fuels and Technology
- Rosneft Dials Down Refinery Expansion by Half
- Court approves Flying J Reorganization Plan
- UPDATE: Nigeria to Build 3 Refineries for US$25 Billion
Fuels & Processing
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Gevo Taps Ex-UOP Chairman; Biorefinery Focus
Denver-based Gevo officials announced July 7 that they’ve named former UOP chairman Carlos Cabrera to the Gevo board of directors.
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Rise in U.S. Liquid Fuel Consumption: EIA Outlook
In its latest Energy Outlook Report issued July 7, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that U.S. demand for liquid fuels such as gasoline and diesel have started to show “signs of recovery” after having fallen by 810,000 barrels per day in 2009, the fourth consecutive annual decline.
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Diesel Surplus Prompts Korea ‘Green’ Fuel Push
South Korea’s refiners today are exporting more ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) because of a surplus of local supply, yet liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) shortages in Korea continue to grow.
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California Energy Commission Invests Nearly US$20 Million in Alt Fuels and Technology
The California Energy Commission on July 2 approved 11 awards that leverage almost US$20 million in state funding with $9.3 million in federal stimulus money and $39 million in private funds. These projects will demonstrate the possibilities for cutting-edge natural gas-powered, hybrid, and electric trucks and buses to reduce petroleum use, cut pollution and provide jobs, according to the agency’s press release.
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Rosneft Dials Down Refinery Expansion by Half
Rosneft is cutting design crude rate capacity in half to 200,000 barrels per day at its grassroots refinery in the Primorsky area, according to a July 7 report by the Prime Tass news agency. The Russian oil company’s Web site shows the location of the new refinery and petrochemical block in the Russian Far East at the terminus of the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline
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Court approves Flying J Reorganization Plan
A reorganization plan has been approved this week by the federal court handling the Chapter 22 Bankruptcy proceedings for Flying J, according to a July 6 report by the Salt Lake Tribune.
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UPDATE: Nigeria to Build 3 Refineries for US$25 Billion
On the heels of an announcement for a new refinery in Lagos, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) announced two additional grass roots refinery construction projects, according to a July 6 report by Reuters. Combined, the three refineries, expected to startup on 2014, will reportedly have a crude run capacity of 885,000 barrels per day (b/d) and will cost an estimated US$25 billion.
Feature
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EPA’s Proposed Transport Rule To Affect Cogenerators, Too
Officials at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) held a conference call July 6 to announce a new proposed rule to reduce power plant air emissions transported among 31 states east of the Rocky Mountains. The yet to be published rule appears to apply to electric generators above 25 megawatt in capacity, based on EPA documents released on July 6. We asked the EPA later in the day for further clarification as to whether cogenerators, renewable and waste-to-energy power generators in industrial plants could come under the proposed rule. The general answer is “yes,” according to a July 7 e-mail response, although certain exemptions will be included in the final rules.
Key Market Prices
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Key Market Prices
Transportation & Logistics
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Calif. Energy Veteran Joins EV Recharge Co. Greenlots
Officials with Singapore-based Greenlots, a provider of charging solutions for electric vehicles, on July 5 announced that William J. Keese has joined the company as senior advisor.
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Texas Utility Supporting Electric Car Rollouts
Texas-based Oncor officials announced July 5 that they’re aiding the launch of electric vehicles (EVs) by purchasing new Chevrolet “Volt” cars and installing EV recharge stations at the company’s headquarters in Dallas.
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Toyota Offers Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles for Rent in Nagasaki
Toyota Motor Corp. officials said July 2 that the company will begin renting its plug-in hybrid vehicles in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, which is considered as the nation's first rental service for such cars, according to Asia Pulse.
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Nissan Touts Low-CO2 Hybrid, Diesel Vehicles
Nissan officials on July 6 announced a host of vehicles claiming to cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions while boosting fuel economy.
Margins & Economics
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Snamprogetti, KBR, Technip Resolve Corruption Charges; US$1.28 Billion in Penalties to Date
Officials with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced July 7 that Snamprogetti Netherlands B.V., (Snamprogetti) has agreed to pay a US$240 million criminal penalty to resolve charges related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) for its participation in a decade-long scheme to bribe Nigerian government officials to obtain engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts.
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Crude Futures Up 3% on Report Showing Increase in U.S. Fuel Consumption
Crude oil futures “ended nearly 3% higher on Wednesday [July 7], ending a six-day losing streak, as a rally on Wall Street and forecasts that weekly inventory reports will show a hefty crude oil inventory drawdown improved risk appetite,” according to Reuters.
Public Policy
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Texas Flexible Permit Dustup Reaches Far Beyond State Lines
The staff of a quiet Texas legislative body is seeking comment preferably by July 8 regarding the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). The TCEQ is the state agency whose flexible permits for 126 Texas industrial operators were disallowed on June 30 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Industrial operators across Texas are affected by the permit disallowance. In the aftermath, numerous parties and groups are expressing their preferences for the way forward to this relatively unknown state committee.
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U.S. House Energy Chair Rips Keystone Oil-Sands Pipeline
U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-California) terms the proposed Keystone XL Canadian oil-sands pipeline to U.S. refiners as a scheme that would expand U.S. market reliance “on the dirtiest source of transportation fuel currently available.”
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U.S. Senate Republicans Introduce New Climate Bill Minus Cap and Trade
Last week, U.S. Senators Richard Burr (R-NC) and Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) introduced their energy bill, Next Generation Energy Security Act, S. 3535, which promotes natural gas vehicles, expands nuclear power generation and includes measures to encourage spent-fuel recycling, vehicle electrification and use of renewable energy sources.
