Refinery Tracker

Growing N. American Shale Production Creating Infrastructure-Development Opportunities

A rapid run-up in unconventional crude production and existing infrastructure that is highly underdeveloped is creating countless opportunities for energy infrastructure firms to probe North America’s transportation grid.

IEA: Global Oil Prices Likely to Fall over Next Five Years

Global crude oil import prices are likely to drop from an average US$109 per barrel (/bbl) currently to near $93/bb/ over the next five years – thanks in large part to “transformative” unconventional crude oil-production growth in North America, according to the latest International Energy Agency (IEA) Medium-Term Oil Market Report (MTOMR) released May 14.

Antitrust: EU Confirms ‘Unannounced Inspections’ at Oil, Biofuels Companies

The European Commission (EC) is conducting “inspections” at energy firms and at least one price-index publisher in three EU Member States – part of an investigation into alleged price-fixing, the commission confirmed May 14.

U.S. Producers, Manufacturers Differ on LNG-Export Potential

In the past two years, liquefied natural gas (LNG) has become a hot topic in the natural gas industry as producers have sought access to premium markets outside of North American shores.

Barclays: China Diesel Exports to Range 80,000 to 100,000 b/d

A May 3 “Oil Focus” analysis from Barclays Bank predicts that China’s refiners will maintain diesel fuel export levels at about 80,000 to 100,000 barrels per day (b/d) thanks to relatively soft economic growth in China.

USGS Resource Estimate of Bakken, Three Forks Doubles

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently confirmed what the industry has long suspected: the Bakken play is huge, and the Three Forks isn’t too shabby, either.

UNICA Sees Higher Sugar Cane Production from Brazil’s Mid-South Region

The Industry Union Cane Sugar Association (UNICA), in conjunction with the Center for Sugar Cane Technology (CTC), projects a grinding of 589.6 million metric tons of sugar cane for the 2013/2014 crop year in Brazil’s Mid-South region – up 10.67% versus 532.76 million metric tons processed in the previous harvest.

Murex, Cetane Energy to Boost N. Mexico Crude-by-Rail Capacity

Texas-based Murex and New Mexico-based Cetane Energy announced May 8 a project to expand crude-by-rail transloading at Carlsbad, New Mexico.

Grace, Al Dahra to Build First FCC-Catalyst Plant in Middle East

.R. Grace & Co. announced May 14 that it cut a joint-venture deal with Al Dahra Agriculture to build the first refinery fluid catalytic-cracking (FCC) catalyst manufacturing plant in the Middle East, near Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Australia Inks Binding LNG Agreement with BG Group, CNOOC

British multinational BG Group announced May 6 that it has signed agreements with China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) in which CNOOC will acquire a greater interest in the first of two production trains of the Queensland Curtis LNG Project (QCLNG) and a greater stake in upstream tenements.

Enbridge to Expand Infrastructure at Alberta’s Cheecham Terminal

Calgary, Alberta-based Enbridge, Inc. announced May 7 that it has entered into a terminal-services agreement with ConocoPhillips Canada Resources Corp. and Total E&P Canada Ltd. for a US$300-million expansion of existing infrastructure at Enbridge’s Cheecham terminal to accommodate incremental bitumen production from Surmont’s Phase-2 expansion.

ExxonMobil, Qatar Petroleum Plan US$10-Billion LNG Terminal at Sabine Pass

ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum have signed a commercial agreement to build a US$10-billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal facility – coined the Golden Pass Terminal – in the U.S. Gulf Coast port of Sabine Pass, Texas, according to a May 10 Dallas Morning News report.

Savage to Offer Crude-by-Rail Services for Utah Terminals

Salt Lake City-based supply chain management company Savage Services announced April 29 that it’s offering expanded services at its terminals in Salt Lake City and Price, Utah, including crude-by-rail transloading services and associated car storage on a manifest basis.

CARB Seeks All-Electric or Hybrid Technologies for Port, Intermodal Equipment

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced May 6 that it’s seeking vendors of diesel hybrid-electric or pure-electric-powered container-handling equipment for marine ports and railroad intermodal yards.

BASF Licenses Genomatica’s Bio-BDO Technology

San Diego, Calif.-based bio-based chemical technology developer Genomatica and Germany-based specialty chemical maker BASF jointly announced May 10 that BASF plans to begin production of 1,4-butanediol (BDO) from sugar feedstock using a patented one-step fermentation process developed by Genomatica. The companies declined to disclose financial details of the agreement.

CB&I to Debut Solid-Acid Alkylation for China Gasoline Refiner

Texas-based CB&I announced April 30 that it won a contract from Shandong Wonfull Petrochemical Group to provide the license and processing engineering design for a first-of-a-kind solid-acid alkylation unit in China.

China Researcher Invents Diesel-PM Filter Tolerant of High-Sulfur Fuel

A researcher at Hefei University of Technology (HFUT) is touting the commercial development of a diesel-particulate filter (DPF) that tolerates diesel fuels with relatively high sulfur content – an issue that has stifled broader adoption of DPF’s in much of China.

Air Liquide, CEA Partner on Biomass-Gasification Scheme

Air Liquide announced April 19 that it signed a partnership deal with the French government’s atomic energy commission (CEA) on a scheme involving biomass gasification.

IEA: Major Scale-Up in Biofuels Needed to Reduce Transportation Emissions

The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) annual progress report Tracking Clean Energy Progress – released April 17 to the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) in New Delhi – highlighted the rapid expansion of renewable technologies as “one of the few bright spots in an otherwise bleak assessment of global progress towards low-carbon energy,” according to the IEA in a statement.

ASTM International Issues New Oil, Natural Gas-Processing Guidelines

ASTM International has released a new publication – Manual 58, Petroleum Refining and Natural Gas Process – aimed at providing the latest industry and research advances in petroleum refining, natural gas processing and refinery management.

CIMAC: Beware of Problems with Switch to Low-Sulfur Bunker Fuels

CIMAC – the international council on combustion engines – this month issued a new “Guideline for the Operation of Marine Engines on Low Sulfur Diesel,” which includes warnings for ship operators on switching from conventional heavy fuel oil to low-sulfur marine gasoil or marine diesel oil.

Coming ‘Air-Toxics’ Regulations Could Spell Trouble for Biodiesel, Natural Gas Vehicles

Detroit – Future regulations seen likely to be imposed by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) on vehicle “air toxics” emissions could spell trouble for vehicles fueled by fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) biodiesel blends and natural gas.

U.K. Study – Biofuels Cause More Harm Than Good

A new study by U.K.-based Chatham House researcher Rob Bailey finds that biofuels mandates in the U.K. and Europe only cause more harm than good.