- Key Market Prices
- WTI Falls US$1.69
- Public Policy
- USDA Launches New Biobased Product Label
- Indiana Senator Introduces Dual Fuels Vehicles Bill
- NPRA: Government Efforts to Create Economic Winners, Losers Have Been Disappointments
- DOE Secretary Chu Touts ‘Energy Innovation Hubs’ in 2011
- U.S. President Obama, Congressmen Pushing Broader EV Incentives
- Latest U.S. EPA Analysis: Coal-to-Gas Switch GHG Benefit Overstated
- Margins & Economics
- Murphy Downstream Profits Improve in 4Q 2010
- NYMEX WTI Tumbles; ICE Brent Holds Above US$97/bbl
- Fuels & Processing
- ExxonMobil Report: Energy Demand Will Increase 35% by 2030
- SG Biofuels Launches Brazil Ops; Taps Genomics Innovator as Advisor
- Citgo Finally Completes ULSD Upgrades at Refineries
- Celanese Signs MOU with Wison, Inks LOIs for Two Chinese Ethanol Production Facilities
- Endicott Biofuels to Build 30 Million gal/year Biorefinery in Port Arthur, Texas
- European Commission OKs €55-Million Aid for Bio-DME Scheme
- Transportation & Logistics
- Nissan: 150,000 EVs/Year Capacity at New U.S. Plant
Fuels & Processing
-
ExxonMobil Report: Energy Demand Will Increase 35% by 2030
Expanding prosperity for a growing world population will drive an increase in energy demand of about 35% by 2030 versus 2005 – even with significant efficiency gains – and natural gas will emerge as the second-largest energy source behind oil, according to a January 27 ExxonMobil Corp. release announcing the company’s Outlook for Energy: A View to 2030.
-
SG Biofuels Launches Brazil Ops; Taps Genomics Innovator as Advisor
SG Biofuels, a California-based bioenergy crop firm, has formally launched business operations in Brazil, according to a January 26 company announcement.
-
Citgo Finally Completes ULSD Upgrades at Refineries
Long after its competitors completed refinery upgrades enabling the production of ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD), Citgo on January 26 announced that it had finally completed construction and start-up of a 42,000 barrel-per-day ULSD unit at its Corpus Christi, Texas, refinery.
-
Celanese Signs MOU with Wison, Inks LOIs for Two Chinese Ethanol Production Facilities
Celanese Corp. has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Wison Holding Co., Ltd., a Chinese synthesis gas supplier, for production of certain feedstocks used in Celanese’s advanced ethanol production process, and its wholly owned subsidiary, Celanese Far East Ltd., has signed letters of intent to construct and operate industrial ethanol production facilities in Nanjing, China, at the Nanjing Chemical Industrial Park and in Zhuhai, China, at the Gaolan Port Economic Zone.
-
Endicott Biofuels to Build 30 Million gal/year Biorefinery in Port Arthur, Texas
Houston-based Endicott Biofuels, LLC (EBF) has signed an agreement with KMTEX Ltd. to construct a 30 million gallon-per-year biorefinery in Port Arthur, Texas, that will employ EBF’s proprietary technology for the production of high-purity G2 Clear biodiesel.
-
European Commission OKs €55-Million Aid for Bio-DME Scheme
The European Commission announced January 26 that it has approved a Swedish government subsidy of €55 million (US$75 million) for the “Domsjö” biomass gasification/dimethyl ether (DME) research and development project.
Feature
-
-
Duel-Fueled Ferry to Sail from Brazil’s Salvador to Itaparica Island
Brazilian shipbuilder TWB Bahia SA announced January 25 that it has added a second, duel-fueled fast ferry to its fleet that provides oceanic crossings for the State of Bahia – the country’s fourth most-populous state.
Key Market Prices
-
WTI Falls US$1.69
Transportation & Logistics
-
Nissan: 150,000 EVs/Year Capacity at New U.S. Plant
Nissan announced January 26 that retooling at its Smyrna, Tenn., assembly plant will enable the construction of 150,000 “Leaf” electric vehicles (EVs) each year, with EV production to start in late 2012.
Margins & Economics
-
Murphy Downstream Profits Improve in 4Q 2010
U.S.-based Murphy Oil Corp. announced January 27 that its refining and marketing segment realized net income of US$44.4 million in fourth-quarter 2010 versus a loss of $4.1 million in fourth-quarter 2009.
-
NYMEX WTI Tumbles; ICE Brent Holds Above US$97/bbl
NYMEX light sweet crude for March delivery settled at US$85.64 per barrel (/bbl), down $1.69 on January 27, as the market responded to a larger-than-forecast rise in jobless claims.
Public Policy
-
USDA Launches New Biobased Product Label
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) BioPreferred program on January 19 announced that a final rule to initiate a voluntary product certification and labeling program for qualifying biobased products would be published in the Federal Register January 20.
-
Indiana Senator Introduces Dual Fuels Vehicles Bill
U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) January 25 introduced the Dual Fuel Vehicles Bill of 2011 that will offer future vehicle owners a choice in fueling options through the production of vehicles that can operate on multiple fuels.
-
NPRA: Government Efforts to Create Economic Winners, Losers Have Been Disappointments
Charles T. Drevna, president of the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association (NPRA), issued the following statement on January 26 in response to President Obama’s State of the Union (SOTU) address. Drevna’s comments regarding the role of energy in the economy are in -line with earlier comments which Hart Energy’s Refinery Tracker (RT) obtained in an exclusive January 21 interview with noted energy veteran, John Hoffmeister.
-
DOE Secretary Chu Touts ‘Energy Innovation Hubs’ in 2011
During a January 26, “town hall” style press conference, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Steven Chu repeatedly referenced the “Sputnik Moment” – mentioned in the President’s State of the Union (SOTU) address a day earlier.
-
U.S. President Obama, Congressmen Pushing Broader EV Incentives
U.S. President Barack Obama will be including funds for “electrification deployment communities” – targeting large-scale electric vehicle (EV) purchases and EV recharge infrastructure in certain cities – in his proposed fiscal 2012 federal budget due in two weeks.
-
Latest U.S. EPA Analysis: Coal-to-Gas Switch GHG Benefit Overstated
The latest U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) analysis on total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions shows that certain “green” claims for converting more coal-fired power to natural gas are overstated.
