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Europe

INEOS to source US shale ethane for European cracker feedstock

HP Editorial Staff: HP News

The company has agreed to a 15-year deal with Range Resources to take Marcellus Shale ethane from the Marcus Hook facility in Pennsylvania, beginning in 2015.

CB&I to upgrade Polish refinery coking technology

Once the coking technology from CB&I is implemented, the Gdansk refinery of Grupa Lotos will have the capability to process 2,400 to 3,840 tpd of a blend of vacuum resid and ROSE pitch, depending on the season. The Gdansk refinery is the second-largest refinery in Poland.

European refining outlook unlikely to improve for next two years

HP Editorial Staff: HP News Services

S&P executives say the depressed outlook for European refiners is unlikely to improve as the industry's export market shrinks and excess volumes of gasoline build.

BP may use sale proceeds from TNK-BP to boost stake in Russia's Rosneft

BP's commitment to Russia follows a meeting of BP chief Bob Dudley, BP chairman Carl Henric Svanberg, Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin and Russian President Vladimir Putin. "If we're successful at selling our stake, we'd be interested in buying a share in Rosneft," a BP spokesman said. BP already owns 1.3% of Rosneft.

Eni to convert Venice refinery to biofuels plant

HP Editorial Staff: HP News Services

The Italian firm plans to start biofuels production in January 2014 and complete the conversion in the first half of 2015, citing a crisis hitting the European refining sector.

PGNiG builds gas link to Gdansk refinery in Poland

The agreement for PGNiG to supply the Gdansk-based refinery with natural gas, one of the largest supply contracts signed in recent years, fits into PGNiG's strategy of increasing gas sales, said CEO Grazyna Piotrowska-Oliwa. Grupa Lotos will initially receive 340 million cubic meters/year of gas.

EU plans to limit use of food-based biofuels

The European Union's climate-change commissioner Connie Hedegaard and energy commissioner Guenther Oettinger said Monday they wanted to cap the share of energy in the transportation sector from food crop-based biofuels - such as rapeseed or palm oil - at current levels.

Nigeria throws doubt on planned $1.7bn refinery

In a statement, Niger Delta Refinery said it has found investors willing to spend $1.7 billion building a refinery in Nigeria. But Nigeria's regulator for petroleum resources said the project still requires government approval, undermining claims that the project was just awaiting completion of "formalities."

IEA sees high refinery activity boosting fuel supply

The Paris-based energy watchdog, which represents major oil-consumer nations, expects refiners to process around 75.7 million bpd of crude in the third and fourth quarters, 1.3 million bpdmore than in the last quarter of 2011. Behind the output rise is unexpectedly high production in developed economies.

Emerson to supply automation for Vopak terminals

Under the agreement, Emerson will design, configure, and implement digital automation systems for all new automation projects at Vopak terminals, as well as provide ongoing support services for new and existing automation systems. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.