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

Refining

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.

Foster Wheeler, Hyundai win design deal for new PdVSA Venezuela refinery

Foster Wheeler’s scope of work includes early detailed engineering design and the delivery of an open book estimate for the crude distillation unit, storage and blending unit and fuel distribution plant. The main release of the detailed engineering design work will be booked at a later date.

BP may sell Texas City refinery to Marathon

HP Editorial Staff: HP News Services

BP and Marathon Petroleum have been in talks for months, a news report says, with one source claiming the 400,780 bpd refinery could be sold for up to $2.5 billion.

IEA aims to halve road transport fuel use by 2050

In two reports published Wednesday, the IEA said there was massive potential for fuel efficiency improvements to reduce demand for transport fuels by 2050, even if the number of road vehicles doubles in the same period. The reports highlight technology available or about to enter the mainstream market.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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."