- Key Market Prices
- WTI Closes US$1.14 Higher
- Public Policy
- EPA, CARB, DOT to Unveil New-Car Fuel, CO2 Limits by September
- EPA Requires Refinery Pollution Controls, Hovensa Plans Unit, Job Cuts
- North Dakota May Help Fund Capacity for Refining Unconventional Oil
- Margins & Economics
- Valero Beats Analyst Consensus Earnings Estimates for 4Q 2010
- U.S. Crude Stockpiles Rise Second Straight Week
- ConocoPhillips Downstream Posts US$207-Million 4Q 2010 Profit
- Is Marathon Oil a Chinese Takeover Target?
- Hess Downstream 4Q 2010 Profits Fall
- NYMEX WTI Advances; ICE Brent Continues Relentless Surge
- Fuels & Processing
- Canadian City’s Biodiesel Experiment Flops
- IEA 2011 Demand Forecast: China Affecting Everything
- U.S. Military More Likely to Benefit from Coal/Biomass FT Fuels than Algae-Based Fuels: RAND
- Transportation & Logistics
- Asian Market Improves its CNG Transport System
- Geely Launching Methanol-Fueled Cars in China in 2012
Fuels & Processing
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Canadian City’s Biodiesel Experiment Flops
The Canadian city of Owen Sound, Ontario, this month voted to scrap a biodiesel fuel program because of high cost and a “considerable” number of engine failures.
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IEA 2011 Demand Forecast: China Affecting Everything
The “China factor” once again figures prominently into the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) latest Oil Market Report forecast (released January 18), which finds that global oil product demand for 2011 (compared with 2010) is likely to rise by 1.4 million barrels per day (b/d), to 89.1 million b/d.
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U.S. Military More Likely to Benefit from Coal/Biomass FT Fuels than Algae-Based Fuels: RAND
The U.S. military isn’t likely to benefit any time soon from algae-based biofuels but could instead pursue coal/biomass to liquids (CBTL) gasification-based Fischer-Tropsch fuels, according to a RAND Corp. study.
Feature
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Hofmeister: Domestic Oil is Economy’s ‘Lifeblood’
Oil is the economy’s “lifeblood,” energy expert John Hofmeister told anchor Joe Kernan in a televised interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box on January 21. Without more Gulf of Mexico production, American drivers will suffer as will the Obama re-election effort, Hofmeister said. And recovering from natural declines and a lack of new drilling “will take years to recover,” Hofmeister told Hart Energy’s Refinery Tracker in a follow-up interview that day. Instead of new drilling, “we have been in a stoppage,” Hofmeister told Hart.
Key Market Prices
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WTI Closes US$1.14 Higher
Transportation & Logistics
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Asian Market Improves its CNG Transport System
Lincoln Composites, a member of Scandinavia’s Hexagon Composites Group, has signed an US$8-million contract with Malaysian multinational conglomerate, Sime Darby, for the supply of 30-foot high-pressure tanks.
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Geely Launching Methanol-Fueled Cars in China in 2012
Geely officials announced January 24 that they plan to launch production of methanol-fueled cars in China in 2012.
Margins & Economics
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Valero Beats Analyst Consensus Earnings Estimates for 4Q 2010
Higher throughputs and margins enabled Valero Energy Corp. to report fourth-quarter 2010 operating earnings that, excluding extraordinary items, beat analyst consensus earnings per share estimates and showed a return to profitability from the operating loss reported for the quarter a year earlier. Looking forward, company management noted global demand should encourage exports and margins through 2011.
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U.S. Crude Stockpiles Rise Second Straight Week
U.S. crude inventories rose by 4.8 million barrels – far surpassing analyst expectations – and refined product stocks were mixed, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA) report for the week ended January 21.
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ConocoPhillips Downstream Posts US$207-Million 4Q 2010 Profit
ConocoPhillips (CoP) announced January 26 that its fourth-quarter 2010 refining and marketing (R&M) profits improved to US$207 million, versus a $204-million loss in fourth-quarter 2009.
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Is Marathon Oil a Chinese Takeover Target?
Hart Energy’s Refinery Tracker (RT) obtained a provocative account on January 25 released by DealReporter saying that two Chinese oil firms are said to be in various phases of bidding for one or more parts of the U.S. Based global oil and gas company, Marathon Oil Corp.
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Hess Downstream 4Q 2010 Profits Fall
Hess Corp. reported a US$261-million loss in its refining and marketing segment for fourth quarter 2010, versus a $17-million profit in fourth-quarter 2009.
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NYMEX WTI Advances; ICE Brent Continues Relentless Surge
NYMEX light sweet crude for March delivery finished at US$87.33 per barrel (/bbl), up $1.14 on January 26, amid optimism about demand resulting in financial flow into commodities.
Public Policy
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EPA, CARB, DOT to Unveil New-Car Fuel, CO2 Limits by September
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), California Air Resources Board (CARB) and U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) jointly announced January 24 that they’ll issue a common proposal for limits on carbon dioxide (CO2) and fuel economy covering model year 2017-2025 cars and light-duty trucks.
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EPA Requires Refinery Pollution Controls, Hovensa Plans Unit, Job Cuts
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice announced January 26 that Hovensa LLC has agreed to pay a civil penalty of more than US$5.3 million and spend more than $700 million in new pollution controls to resolve Clean Air Act violations at its St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands refinery.
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North Dakota May Help Fund Capacity for Refining Unconventional Oil
Lawmakers in North Dakota may soon vote to financially incentivize a new refinery to process rising flows of crude oil from the state’s unconventionally produced Bakken formation, according to an online KFRY-TV report dated January 25 from Bismarck, N.D.
