Americas
KBC wins consulting contracts to improve margins at Middle East refineries
KBC was awarded a three-year, $8.5-million consulting contract to assist a major Middle Eastern client with margin improvement and workforce capability development across three refineries.
API: Study shows US ethanol mandates in RFS as safety risk
The statutory biofuel mandates in the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) are infeasible to achieve in 2015 and beyond and may harm US consumers, according to the API study.
Flint Hills contracts Wood Group for engineering of Corpus refinery upgrade
Wood Group Mustang completed the conceptual and front-end engineering design phases of the project and is now providing detail engineering, procurement services, module fabrication oversight and construction engineering support services. Work is being done in Houston and Bogota, Colombia.
Total limits Texas refinery operations after worker dies in bulldozer accident
Thomas Courts, a 66-year-old contractor from Denton, Texas, drowned in the large pit beneath the coker after the bulldozer he was driving flipped over early on Saturday.
Petrobras to supply naphtha feedstock to Braskem
Npahtha is the main raw material for most of Braskem's chemical and plastic products. However, the contract has come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks after allegations of bribery surfaced.
Formosa eyes $9.4-billion chemicals project for Louisiana ethane cracking
The proposed project would be built on the west bank of the Mississippi river near the Gramercy bridge. It would be built in two phases, with the first phase including an ethylene cracker and derivatives plants, including high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, ethylene glycol, and polypropylene.
PTT awards FEED work to Fluor, Technip, SK for Ohio ethane cracker
The project will encompass an ethane cracker and derivatives units by leveraging the availability of feedstock from gas taken from the Utica and Marcellus shale formations to create chemical products.
Fire injures four at REG’s biorefinery in Louisiana
The fire injured four people, REG reported, including one REG employee and three contractors. All are being treated at the Baton Rouge General Hospital. REG noted that emergency crews quickly responded to contain the fire, and it was declared completely extinguished by 4:20 a.m.
Gevo completes first US marine sales of gasoline blended with isobutanol
Gevo's bio-based isobutanol helps meet renewable fuel and clean air standards, while solving concerns that many boaters have with ethanol-blended fuels, which can damage internal engine parts.
Celanese opens Mexico chemical technology hub
The new center will support the automotive, consumer, petrochemical and aerospace industries, as well as original equipment manufacturers and their tier suppliers.
- China's first coal-to-chemicals project with green hydrogen starts commercial operations 11/20
- Norsk e-Fuel and Braskem partner to turn captured carbon into long-lasting products 11/20
- Nigeria's Dangote refinery delays CDU maintenance to end of January 2026 11/20
- Technimont attends ground-breaking ceremony of Tengiz Gas separation Complex in Kazakhstan 11/20
- 42% of U.S. energy/critical infrastructure providers exposed to weaponized AI and email attacks 11/20
- EIA: U.S. crude stocks fall on higher demand, fuel inventories rise 11/20

