- Key Market Prices
- Key Market Prices
- Public Policy
- Proposed Smog Standards Would Impact Texas
- Alaska CTL Project Gets CCS Study Funds
- Cummins Confirms U.S. EPA 2010 OK for Urea-SCR
- Fuels & Processing
- Shell Canada Products to Convert Montreal East Refinery
- Alter NRG-Coskata Gasification-Ethanol Project Starts-Up
- Heat Recovery System Awarded for Cogeneration Project
- Refiners Placing Orders for Steam System Upgrades
- Monetizing Cracked Feedstocks
Fuels & Processing
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Shell Canada Products to Convert Montreal East Refinery
Shell Canada Products officials announced Jan. 7 that a decision was made to undertake steps towards the conversion of its 130,000 barrels per day Montreal East Refinery to a terminal to receive gasoline, diesel and aviation fuels, which will continue to be distributed via Shell's nearby Montreal terminal.
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Alter NRG-Coskata Gasification-Ethanol Project Starts-Up
Calgary, Alberta-based Alter NRG officials announced Jan. 6 that they’ve started-up a biomass-conversion plasma-gasification system at their Westinghouse Plasma Co. (WPC) division in Madison, Pa.
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Heat Recovery System Awarded for Cogeneration Project
Heat recovery steam generator contract awarded to Foster Wheeler by Repsol is scheduled for commercial operation in early 2012. The system will recover heat from the gas discharge stream of a gas turbine to be installed at the Cartagena refinery cogeneration project.
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Refiners Placing Orders for Steam System Upgrades
Graham Corp. reported this past week that one U.S. refiner has placed orders for their steam ejector system. Another recent order was placed by a Middle East refiner for custom-engineered steam surface condensers.
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Monetizing Cracked Feedstocks
The effects of LCO upgrading on process equipment and reactor catalyst are being closely monitored. Recent improvements to process design allow higher volumes of these cracked feedstocks to be monetized into distillates.
Feature
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Tesla Roadster Goes 2,700 Miles from L.A. to Detroit without Gas
In an effort to increase consumer awareness of electric vehicles, Tesla Motors completed its Roadster Road Trip on Friday, Jan. 8, as the company drove one of its all-electric Tesla Roadster Sport models 2,700 miles from its Los Angeles, Calif., store to Detroit, Mich., ahead of the North American International Auto Show. The trip saw the car successfully navigate through two blizzards in 23 days.
Key Market Prices
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Key Market Prices
Transportation & Logistics
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Battery Costs Will Hobble Mass-Market Electric Cars: Study
A new study by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) finds that batteries for electric cars are likely to remain expensive for the next 10 years, preventing broader mass-market adoption.
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Tesla, Panasonic to Collaborate on Next-Gen Battery Cells
Tesla Motors and Panasonic announced Jan. 8 that they will collaborate to develop next-generation battery cells for electric vehicles.
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GM Unveils Volt PHEV Battery Production Scheme
General Motors officials on Jan. 7 unveiled the company’s new lithium-ion battery production plant in Brownstown Township, Mich.
Margins & Economics
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Prices Up First Week of New Year; Xylene Gains 11.88%
MTBE gained 12¢ from Dec. 30, settling at US$2.42 per gallon (/gal). The price of n-Butane remained flat at $1.48/gal for the same reporting period.
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Crack Spreads Up by More Than 14% for Gulf Coast and New York
The 3-2-1 crack spread for the Gulf Coast experienced a 14.45% increase from US$5.82 per barrel (/bbl) to $6.66/bbl for the last week of the year ending Dec. 30, and the New York 3-2-1 crack spread increased 14.68% from $6.88/bbl to $7.89/bbl for the same period.
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Investors Upbeat on Energy; Crude Futures Still Above US$81
Crude futures remained above US$81 Jan. 8. The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for February delivery settled at US$82.75 per barrel (bbl), up 9¢. Brent crude for February delivery fell by 14¢ to close at $81.37/bbl.
Public Policy
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Proposed Smog Standards Would Impact Texas
The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposal for stricter smog standards would pose a challenge for Texas, among other states.
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Alaska CTL Project Gets CCS Study Funds
U.S. President Barack Obama late last month signed a defense appropriations bill that includes a US$2.4 million provision for a carbon capture and storage (CCS) study for a proposed coal-to-liquids (CTL) Fischer-Tropsch jet-fuel plant in Alaska.
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Cummins Confirms U.S. EPA 2010 OK for Urea-SCR
Cummins officials announced Jan. 8 that U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has certified the company’s heavy-duty and mid-range diesel engines for EPA 2010 emissions limits, via urea-selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology.
