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Refining

India's Essar Oil to supply fuels to PetroChina after receiving Chinese loan

The likely deal with China Development Bank will be supported by an agreement to supply fuel products from Essar's refinery to PetroChina. Essar group said it has been in discussions with several international banks, including Chinese banks, to replace its local debt.

SOCAR awards engineering contracts to construct largest Turkey refinery

A consortium comprised of Itochu and foreign firms won an order from the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic to build Turkey's largest oil refinery in the western city of Izmir. Other members of the consortium are Tecnicas Reunidas, Saipem and GS Engineering and Construction.

WEC unveils new South Texas refinery project

The Whitetail refinery site was chosen to take advantage of production from the nearby Eagle Ford Shale play, according to WEC officials. This is the first of several planned operations by WEC in the region.

Flood of Russian diesel puts European refiners under pressure

HP Editorial Staff: HP News Services

Russia's slowing domestic economy is leading to a flood of Russian diesel exports flowing toward Europe, which could soon force a new round of European refinery closures.

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."

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.

Total acquires Shell fuel retail network in Egypt

Gasoline retail activities have decreased in Western Europe, on the back of lower consumption due to the prolonged economic crisis. Lower cost retailers have also emerged, forcing some major companies to rethink their refining and marketing strategy and focus instead on oil exploration and production.

Iraq halts northern oil exports after pipeline attack

Exports of crude oil from northern Iraq have been suspended after a new bomb attack against a key pipeline, a Middle East shipping agent said. The attack took place at the north of the al-Shurgat area north of Baiji, some 200 kilometers north of the capital, Baghdad.

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.