Economics
Nigeria's giant oil refinery fails to prevent record gasoline prices
The 650,000-bpd refinery, Africa's largest, became fully operational early this year. It was designed to transform Nigeria into a major exporter of refined products after decades of inadequate refinery capacity.
Iran war chokes petrochemical supply, sends plastic prices soaring
About $20 B–$25 B worth of petrochemical products pass through the Strait annually, underscoring the fact that continued disruptions to this flow would push producers to pass the higher costs on to consumers.
Iran war deals harder blow to natural gas than oil
Key gas infrastructure - liquefaction plants in particular - is more complex and expensive to build and repair than the oil equivalent. That means oil refineries can often resume operations more quickly than liquefied natural gas export hubs after a shutdown.
China's Sinopec will not buy Iranian oil, wants to tap state reserves
The world's largest refiner usually sources roughly half of its crude oil needs from the Middle East, making it particularly exposed to the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
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- Eni strengthens its global LNG strategy with long-term supply agreements in Indonesia 5/22
- Breakthrough shows how electricity could replace heat to turn CO₂ into useful chemicals 5/22
- bp's Whiting Refinery offers revised proposal to union in ongoing talks 5/22
- Plains oil pipeline partly shut down after rupture in East Los Angeles (U.S.), could disrupt supplies to refineries 5/22
- Vitol moves to open Mexico fuel terminal years after bribery scandal 5/22
