Americas
Canadian Prime Minister Harper takes Keystone XL lobbying campaign to US
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper took his case for approval of the Keystone XL pipeline to the United States, burnishing Canada's environmental credentials and saying the arguments for the project are "overwhelmingly on the side of approval."
US approves Freeport LNG export application
Subject to an environmental review and final regulatory approval, the Texas facility is authorized to export to non-FTA countries at a rate of up to 1.4 Bcfd for the next 20 years.
Brazil environment leaders join Petrobras to appeal refinery work stoppage
Petrobras was informed that a federal judge suspended environmental licenses granted by INEA for the refinery under construction in Rio de Janeiro state. The judge ruled that IBAMA had jurisdiction over licensing the project, forcing a halt in construction until IBAMA issued new licenses.
HollyFrontier reports unplanned outages at Kansas, Wyoming refineries
HollyFrontier disclosed that unplanned outages at two of its refineries will reduce its crude throughput in the 2Q by about 7.5% from what it had been expecting. HollyFrontier spokeswoman Julia Heidenreich said the company felt the event was material and should be reported to shareholders.
Pemex to triple US gas imports with new pipeline
The gas supply problem is expected to be alleviated with the Los Ramones project, a pipeline that will carry gas from southern Texas to the central Mexican state of Guanajuato, which is a hub for the Mexican auto industry. Pemex plans to release bidding rules next week for the longest part of the pipeline.
UOP to provide technology for Ascend on-purpose propylene project in Texas
The Ascend propane hydrogenation (PDH) project will be located at a site near Houston, according to regulatory filings. This marks the 14th Oleflex project that UOP has announced since the beginning of 2011, and the company's seventh Oleflex project in North America since the technology was developed.
Brazil suspends Petrobras environmental licenses for Comperj refinery
Petrobras says it is evaluating all possible measures related to the halt, which would stop work on one of the company's largest projects. The Comperj refinery will have installed capacity to process 165,000 bpd of crude oil when it enters operation in April 2015, with a second phase coming by 2018.
Celanese partners with Mitsui on new methanol plant near Houston
US-based Celanese struck a deal with Japan's Mitsui & Co. to build a new methanol production unit at Celanese's integrated chemicals complex in Clear Lake, Texas.
Sunoco Logistics acquires Marcus Hook refinery
Sunoco Logistics Partners has announced the acquisition of the Marcus Hook refinery, located on the banks of the Delaware River just south of Philadelphia, for $60 million. The 780-acre Marcus Hook refinery was owned by Sunoco Logistics' former parent company, Sunoco.
Marathon cleans up diesel spill at Indiana pipeline
Cleanup is currently under way in Indianapolis after about 500 bbl of diesel fuel leaked there from a Marathon Petroleum pipeline last week. The "vast majority" of product has been recovered, and the affected section of pipe has been cut out and sent for testing.
- XRG to expand its global chemicals reach with takeover of Covestro 11/21
- U.S. FERC explores blanket authorizations for LNG projects 11/21
- thyssenkrupp Uhde selected by Dangote Fertilizer Ltd. to license four urea granulation units in Nigeria 11/21
- Indian and Chinese refineries are moving to comply with U.S. sanctions on Russia 11/21
- Dynamis Power Solutions awards Baker Hughes with significant order for gas turbine technology to support mobile power for oil and gas applications 11/21
- China's first coal-to-chemicals project with green hydrogen starts commercial operations 11/20
