Global Refining & Fuels Today

U.S. Natural Gas Prices Could Fall US$1/mmBtu This Fall – Producer

U.S. natural gas prices could be as low as US$1 per million British thermal unit (/mmBtu) this fall, says John Walker, president and chief executive of EnerVest Ltd. and executive chairman of EV Energy Partners LP (EVEP), both gas producers.

BP Settles Fine; Will Add Pollution Controls, Equipment at Indiana Refinery

BP North America, Inc. has agreed to pay a US$8-million penalty and invest more than $400 million to install state-of-the-art pollution controls and cut emissions from BP’s petroleum refinery in Whiting, Ind., the U.S. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice announced May 23.

U.S. Farm Bill Hearing Focused on Energy, Forestry Programs

Several notable figures representing the agriculture, biofuels and biorefining industries convened in Washington, D.C., on May 18 to testify before members of the U.S. House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy and Forestry to reauthorize Farm Bill energy programs and provide them with mandatory funding.

U.S. Crude Inventories Rise for Ninth Consecutive Week

U.S. commercial crude inventories rose by 883,000 barrels – less than analyst forecasts – and refined product stockpiles showed sizeable drawdowns, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA) report for the week ended May 18.

NYMEX WTI Retreats US$1.95/bbl on Global Issues

NYMEX light, sweet crude for June delivery closed at $89.90 per barrel (/bbl), down $1.95 on May 23, as the dollar surged against the euro as a result of European political and economic uncertainties, in particular the possibility of Greece exiting the eurozone.

Uhde, Sundrop Team-up on BTL Gasoline Plant in Louisiana

Germany-based gasification specialist ThyssenKrupp Uhde and Colorado-based Sundrop Fuels announced May 23 that they’re teaming-up on a 50 million gallons/year (3,500 barrels/day) biomass to liquids (BTL) synthetic fuels plant in Alexandria, La.

Lukoil Taps Axens’ ‘Prime-G+’ Unit Technology for Kstovo Refinery

Lukoil has selected Axens to provide the technology license for a new “Prime-G+” unit to desulfurize fluid-catalytic-cracker-gasoline at Lukoil’s Kstovo refinery in the Nizhny Novgorod region, Russia.

Jacobs Wins Shell Canada Service Contracts

California-based Jacobs Engineering announced May 22 that it won a five-year contract from Shell Canada Energy to provide main mechanical maintenance services for Shell’s Scotford oil-sands upgrader and manufacturing facilities near Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta; Shell’s Corunna oil refinery near Sarnia, Ontario; and Shell’s “Albian Jackpine” and “Muskeg River” oil-sands mines near Fort McMurray, Alberta.

U.S. DOE Awards US$11 Million in ‘Clean Energy’ Grants to Small Businesses

The U.S. Department of Energy announced May 23 that it has awarded US$11 million in research and technology “clean energy” grants of up to $150,000 to nearly 70 small businesses nationwide.

Bosch Buys Koller + Schwemmer; Expands Diesel Product Line

Bosch announced May 7 that it signed a deal to buy Nuremberg-based Koller + Schwemmer GmbH, which will expand Bosch’s diesel product line.