Americas
Valero restarts US ethanol plants as margins swell
Valero idled operations in Nebraska and Indiana in June, citing unprofitable returns. Each plant has the capacity to produce 120 million gal/year of ethanol. “Ethanol margins improved to the point where it became feasible to operate the plants again,” said Bill Day, Valero spokesman.
Canada looks to Asian markets amid LNG glut in US
A decade-long boom in US production of natural gas drove prices to a record low of $1.91 per million British thermal units in April, and has created more energy independence for the US, which is virtually Canada's only energy export market. Thus, Canada has set its sights on energy-hungry Asian markets.
Fire at Pemex gas plant in Mexico kills 10 workers
Pemex said the fire broke out late in the morning and was contained just after midday. Rescue teams shut down the valves at the reception station and Pemex sent a special team of firefighters to control the blaze. Pemex said Tuesday afternoon that it had confirmed 10 deaths as a result of the accident.
ONEOK seeks shippers for proposed Bakken Shale to Oklahoma crude pipeline
The Bakken Crude Express Pipeline is a proposed 1,300-mile crude-oil pipeline with the capacity to transport 200,000 bpd of light-sweet crude oil from multiple points in the Williston Basin in the Bakken Shale in North Dakota and Montana to the crude-oil market hub in Cushing, Okla.
Phillips 66 restarts all Alliance refinery units after Hurricane Isaac outage
The 247,000 bpd refinery was taken offline during the approach of Isaac, which made landfall in southeast Louisiana Aug. 28 as a Category 1 hurricane and caused flooding at the refinery. Phillips 66 said Saturday it had restarted some unspecified units at Alliance.
Keyera acquires NGL shipping terminal in Texas from ExxonMobil
The terminal is expected to be used initially to handle receipt and delivery of propane, butane, iso-butane and NGL mix for delivery into North American markets. The acquisition includes approximately 39 acres of land, four rail and six truck loading spots, and NGL storage tanks.
Dow taps Fluor to engineer Texas propylene project
Fluor successfully completed the front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract, thereby setting the stage for this next-phase EPCm project award, the company said. Fluor will book the undisclosed value in the third quarter. The project is underway with estimated mechanical completion by 2015.
PolyOne expands polymer innovation centers in US, China, South Korea
PolyOne says its investment to upgrade the centers will further serve the needs of customers interested in collaborating to solve product and performance challenges, while accelerating their speed to market.
US raises mandate for alternative diesel fuel usage
Joe Jobe, CEO of the National Biodiesel Board, said the decision "will allow biodiesel plants across the country to invest and expand" and "sends a strong signal that the US is standing firm behind its commitment to strengthen energy security and break dependence on petroleum."
Mexico's Pemex chooses Bechtel for technology at new Tula refinery
The $12.54 million contract awarded to Bechtel is for the design-and-licensing costs for a coker plant with a capacity of 166,000 bpd, Pemex said. The new Tula refinery is being built near a current Pemex refinery and is designed to increase the production of low-sulfur gasoline and diesel fuel.
- Refinery closures may lead to higher gasoline prices on the U.S. West Coast 7/9
- INNIO Group, Gföllner Group establish JV, offering power solutions to the U.S. market 7/9
- Using lightning to make ammonia out of thin air 7/9
- bp sells 300 Dutch petrol stations to Catom 7/9
- U.S. crude stockpiles increase, gasoline falls on July 4 driving demand 7/9
- Nigeria's Dangote refinery plans 1.6-MMbbl fuel storage tanks in Namibia 7/9
