Environment & Safety Gas Processing/LNG Maintenance & Reliability Petrochemicals Process Control Process Optimization Project Management Refining

Americas

Holly reports on power failure at Navajo refinery

Holly’s Navajo refinery in Artesia, New Mexico, experienced a plant-wide power failure late in the day on January 26, 2011, due to an interruption in power supply from its local utility.

CITGO starts up Corpus Christi ULSD unit

CITGO Petroleum has completed the construction and startup of a 42,500 bpd unit utilizing the latest technology to produce ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD) at its Corpus Christi, Texas, refinery.

BP says emerging economies will lead energy growth to 2030

World energy growth over the next 20 years is expected to be dominated by emerging economies such as China, India, Russia and Brazil while improvements in energy efficiency measures are set to accelerate, according to BP’s latest projection of energy trends, the BP Energy Outlook 2030.

No direct benefit from use of alternative fuels by US military

If the US military increases its use of alternative fuels, there will be no direct benefit to the nation's armed forces, according to a new RAND Corp. study.

API says decision on Keystone pipeline project essential to jobs

API called on the US Department of State today to approve the Keystone pipeline project as soon as possible “as a matter of critical national interest.” The pipeline, which would be built by TransCanada Corp., would be part of a pipeline system bringing oil from Alberta’s oil sands region in Canada to US refineries.

Hovensa to pay $5.3 million penalty for Clean Air Act violations

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Department of Justice announced today that Hovensa LLC, owner of the second largest petroleum refinery in the United States, has agreed to pay a civil penalty of more than $5.3 million and spend more than $700 million in new pollution controls that will help protect public health and resolve Clean Air Act violations at its refinery in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands.

Hovensa closing units and reducing crude distillation capacity

Hovensa plans to shut down certain processing units on the west side of its refinery in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. This action will reduce the refinery’s crude oil distillation capacity from 500,000 bpd to 350,000 bpd, with no impact on the capacity of its coker or fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit.

Fieldbus Foundation welcomes latest EDDL enhancements

The Fieldbus Foundation today announced it welcomes the latest enhancements to electronic device description language (EDDL), which are incorporated in the second edition of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61804-3 standard.

Endicott Biofuels building second-generation biorefinery in Texas

Endicott Biofuels (EBF) has signed an agreement with KMTEX to construct a 30-million gpy biorefinery in Port Arthur, Texas, that will employ EBF’s proprietary technology for the production of high-purity biodiesel.

Enerkem gets loan guarantee for Mississippi waste-to-fuel biorefinery

Enerkem Corp. has obtained a conditional commitment for an $80 million loan guarantee by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), for the construction of its waste-to-biofuels project in Pontotoc, Mississippi, which will transform Northeast Mississippi’s municipal solid waste into ethanol.