- Key Market Prices
- WTI Closes Above US$89 on Crude Supply Concerns
- Margins & Economics
- Indian Crude Imports Down 29.4% Year-on-Year in November
- WTI Advances on Alaskan Pipeline Outage
- China’s Net Oil Imports Rise as Refiners Boost Output on Diesel Shortage
- Fuels & Processing
- PetroChina, Ineos Ink Refinery JVs for France, Scotland
- Kentz Wins Shell GTL Contract at Qatar
- Beijing Confirms Euro-5 Standards for 2012; Buses Jump the Gun
- Hawaii Electric Inks Deal for ‘Depolymerization’ Biofuel Supply
- Europe’s First Fast-Pyrolysis, Demonstration-Scale Project Plunging Ahead
- Refiners Take Trans-Alaska Crude Oil Pipeline Shutdown in Stride
- Eastman to Sell Mothballed Methanol and Ammonia Plant in Texas
Fuels & Processing
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PetroChina, Ineos Ink Refinery JVs for France, Scotland
PetroChina and Ineos Group Holdings announced January 10 that they’ve signed a “framework agreement” under which they’ll “work towards forming joint ventures related to trading and refining activities at the Grangemouth refinery in Scotland and the Lavéra refinery in France.”
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Kentz Wins Shell GTL Contract at Qatar
U.K.-based Kentz Corp. announced January 7 that it won an engineering design, construction supervision and procurement services contract from Shell for plant changes and projects at the Shell/Qatar Petroleum 140,000 barrel-per-day, “Pearl” gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant in Qatar.
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Beijing Confirms Euro-5 Standards for 2012; Buses Jump the Gun
Beijing city officials announced December 30 that the city will adopt “State-V” vehicle emissions standards in 2012, equivalent to Euro-5 vehicle standards (which require 10 parts-per-million sulfur limits on diesel and gasoline).
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Hawaii Electric Inks Deal for ‘Depolymerization’ Biofuel Supply
Hawaii Electric Co. (HECO) announced January 6 that it signed a contract with Aina Koa Pono (AKP) to obtain a novel biofuel derived from a “depolymerization” technology. The fuel would be burned in gas turbines to generate “green” electricity.
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Europe’s First Fast-Pyrolysis, Demonstration-Scale Project Plunging Ahead
Partners in Europe’s “Empyro” project announced January 3 that they’re moving ahead this year with a pioneering scheme to convert biomass into pyrolysis oil (py-oil), which (at least initially) would be used to produce electricity, steam, organic acids. The partners hope that the scheme, debuting at Hengelo, Netherlands, eventually could help pave the way for advanced, non-food-based biofuels.
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Refiners Take Trans-Alaska Crude Oil Pipeline Shutdown in Stride
The Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) has been shut for a leak repair, according to a January 10 report from Bloomberg.
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Eastman to Sell Mothballed Methanol and Ammonia Plant in Texas
Tennessee-based Eastman Chemical said it has an agreement to sell a shuttered Texas methanol and ammonia plant to a Swiss-based firm led by entrepreneur Deo Van Wijk, according to a January 7 ICIS report.
Feature
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Ford Launching ‘Focus’ EV in Late 2011; PHEV in 2012
Ford announced January 7 that it will launch sales of a “Focus” five-door hatchback battery electric vehicle (EV) in late 2011, touted as the “first fuel-free, rechargeable passenger car from Ford and one of five new electrified vehicles Ford will deliver by 2013 in North America and Europe.”
Key Market Prices
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WTI Closes Above US$89 on Crude Supply Concerns
Transportation & Logistics
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Sunoco to Sell Fuel Along N.J.’s Garden State Parkway
Philadelphia-based Sunoco, Inc. announced January 10 that it has reached an agreement with the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and Getty Petroleum Marketing, Inc. to begin operating the nine fuel stations at service plazas along the Garden State Parkway, among the most heavily traveled roads in the nation.
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Diesels Propel Audi-U.S. Car Sales to All-Time Record
Audi officials reported January 4 all-time record U.S. car sales in 2010, at 101,629 units, “propelled by demand for TDI clean diesel vehicles.”
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China 2010 Auto Sales Top 18 Million Units; 10%-15% Gain Seen in 2011
The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) announced January 10 that nationwide car sales in 2010 set a new annual record at 18.06 million units, up 32% over the prior year.
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ABB Invests in EV Recharge Specialist ECOtality
Switzerland-based ABB announced January 10 that it has invested US$10 million in California-based electric vehicle (EV) recharge specialist ECOtality.
Margins & Economics
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Indian Crude Imports Down 29.4% Year-on-Year in November
Indian crude oil imports were down 29.4% year-on-year in November to 9.4 million tonnes, a fall of nearly 4 million tonnes from a year earlier, according to a January 6 report by London-based ICAP Shipping International Ltd.
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WTI Advances on Alaskan Pipeline Outage
NYMEX light sweet crude for February delivery settled at US$89.25 per barrel (/bbl), up $1.22 on January 10, as the 800-mile Trans-Alaska Pipeline remained shut a third straight day.
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China’s Net Oil Imports Rise as Refiners Boost Output on Diesel Shortage
China increased net imports of crude oil by 1.4% in December from the previous month as refineries maintained high operating rates to ease a diesel shortage, according to a January 10 Bloomberg report citing data from the Beijing-based General Administration of Customs (GAC).
