- Key Market Prices
- Crude Futures Down a Second Straight Day
- Public Policy
- API to EPA: Reconsider GHG Regulations for Refineries
- Profitable U.S. Refiner ULSD Exports: Give U.S. EPA Some Credit
- Margins & Economics
- NYMEX WTI, ICE Brent Pull Back as Iran Embargo Talk Eases
- CHS FY-1Q 2012 Downstream Energy Earnings Jump
- Fuels & Processing
- More Executive Appointments Announced for Phillips 66, ConocoPhillips
- Clean Energy Fuels Targets LNG Truck-Refueling Network in 33 U.S. States
- DuPont, NexSteppe to Collaborate on New Feedstocks
- Diversified Ethanol to Contribute System to Florida Biorefinery
- Cargill to Modernize, Consolidate Iowa Soybean-Crushing Operations
Fuels & Processing
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More Executive Appointments Announced for Phillips 66, ConocoPhillips
ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) on Jan. 11 announced additional appointments to the executive management teams for the two leading independent upstream and downstream energy companies that will be created when ConocoPhillips completes its strategic repositioning, expected in the second quarter of this year.
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Clean Energy Fuels Targets LNG Truck-Refueling Network in 33 U.S. States
California-based Clean Energy Fuels announced January 12 that it has identified 98 retail locations in the U.S. for installing liquefied natural gas (LNG) as an alternative to diesel-powered trucking.
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DuPont, NexSteppe to Collaborate on New Feedstocks
DuPont and NexSteppe have entered into a collaboration to develop advanced feedstocks for biofuels, biopower and biobased products, the companies announced January 4.
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Diversified Ethanol to Contribute System to Florida Biorefinery
Greenbelt Resources Corp.’s wholly-owned subsidiary Diversified Ethanol Corp. will supply the distillation and dehydration system in the US$20 million Stan Mayfield Biorefinery Pilot Plant at the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences laboratory.
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Cargill to Modernize, Consolidate Iowa Soybean-Crushing Operations
Cargill announced January 5 that it will invest about US$20 million during the summer of 2012 to modernize its soybean-crushing plant on the east side of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Additional work at the Cedar Rapids facility over the next several years could bring the total investment to $60 million.
Feature
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Sunflower-Inspired Pattern Increases Solar-Power Efficiency
The well-tuned geometry of the florets on the face of a sunflower has inspired an improved layout for heliostat mirrors used to concentrate sunlight and generate electricity, according to new research. Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), in collaboration with RWTH Aachen University in German, have found that my mimicking the spiral pattern of the sunflower in laying out the heliostat mirrors in power tower concentrated solar power (CSP) plants, they can reduce both the amount of land and the number of heliostats needed.
Key Market Prices
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Crude Futures Down a Second Straight Day
Electric Power
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Wärtsilä Wins Contracts for Dual-Fuel Power Plants in Bangladesh
Finland-based marine engine and power-generation specialist Wärtsilä announced January 10 that it won two contracts to supply power-plant generating equipment to Bangladesh.
Transportation & Logistics
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Honda to Debut Accord PHEV in U.S. Market in 2013
Honda on January 10 showed-off the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) version of its “Accord” at the Detroit Auto Show, due for commercial debut in the U.S. market in 2013.
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GM to Decide in June on Volt Production, Sales Targets
January 12 report in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) quotes General Motors Vice Chairman Steve Girsky saying that by June the company will decide if the Chevrolet Volt hybrid electric vehicle “will have legs or not.”
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Neste Oil Completes ‘NExBTL’ Biojet-Fuel Test Flights with Lufthansa
Neste Oil announced January 12 that its test program with Lufthansa employing “NExBTL” all-hydrocarbon, bio-derived kero-jet fuel has now finished, with a Lufthansa intercontinental flight from Frankfurt to Washington, D.C., being the last flight.
Margins & Economics
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NYMEX WTI, ICE Brent Pull Back as Iran Embargo Talk Eases
NYMEX light, sweet crude for February delivery ended at US$99.10 per barrel (/bbl), down $1.77 on January 12, in response to reports that the European Union may delay the embargo in Iranian oil for at least six months to allow Greece, Italy and Spain to find alternative supply.
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CHS FY-1Q 2012 Downstream Energy Earnings Jump
Minnesota-based farm co-op CHS announced January 11 that earnings for its energy division in fiscal-year (FY) first-quarter (1Q) 2012, which ended November 30, rose to US$397 million, up from $57 million in FY-1Q 2011.
Public Policy
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API to EPA: Reconsider GHG Regulations for Refineries
Howard Feldman, American Petroleum Institute (API) director of regulatory and scientific affairs has called on the Obama administration to reconsider its greenhouse-gas (GHG) regulations for refineries in light of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data released January 11.
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Profitable U.S. Refiner ULSD Exports: Give U.S. EPA Some Credit
While U.S. refiners years ago fought long and hard against U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 15-parts-per-million sulfur limit in ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD), today they’re making far more money on high-quality ULSD – for both the U.S. and export markets – than on low sulfur gasoline.
