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• Growing dismay at pollution fuels Chinese refining protests

  
  

  Posted by: HP News Services

  Monday May 20, 2013

  
  

  By BRIAN SPEGELE

  BEIJING -- As news spread earlier this year that China's government had approved a refinery and petrochemicals base near Kunming in southwest China to process crude piped in from Myanmar, a 51-year-old local environmental activist named Zheng Xiejian started disseminating leaflets denouncing the project.

  Two months later, campaigning by people such as Mr. Zheng has ballooned into full-fledged protest against the facility, which is part of a bid to strengthen energy infrastructure in landlocked southwest China and connect it with plentiful oil and gas imports.

  On Thursday, for the second time this month, hundreds of demonstrators in downtown Kunming demanded authorities scrap plans to produce the chemical paraxylene, or PX, at the site and called for the refining base to be relocated farther from Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province.

  The protests have forced the local government to take steps to engage the demonstrators, somewhat unusual in a...

  
  
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  Tags:refining, petrochemicals, China, pollution, environment, safety

• ANALYSIS: Shale boom a bust for Europe's gas plants

  
  

  Posted by: HP News Services

  Friday May 10, 2013

  
  

  By JAN HROMADKO

  FRANKFURT -- The ripples of the North American shale boom continue to spread, as a growing number of European utilities are forced to mothball modern gas-fired power plants that can't compete with growing imports of cheap coal dislodged from the US.

  Norwegian state energy company Statkraft said Wednesday it has idled a gas-fired power station in Germany, which couldn't compete with its coal-fired rivals, while German utility E.ON SE said it is seriously considering mothballing more gas-fuelled plants, including a state-of-the-art facility in Slovakia.

  Other European utilities have taken similar action, presenting policy makers with a dilemma -- cheaper coal-fired power could provide some relief for the region's struggling economies, but industry experts warn that it is incompatible with long-term goals for carbon emissions and renewable energy.

  The closures across Europe are another example of the far-reaching effects of the North American energy supply boom. Surging supplies of...

  
  
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  Tags:shale gas, coal, Europe, fracking, power plants

• US gas export debate tips to geopolitical edge

  
  

  Posted by: HP News Services

  Tuesday May 07, 2013

  
  

  By KEITH JOHNSON

  WASHINGTON -- For more than a year, the debate over whether the US should export some of its natural-gas bonanza has centered on how exports could affect the US economy and manufacturing.

  Increasingly, though, the geopolitical implications of exporting US gas are shaping the debate, with proponents optimistic that the potential dividends for US national security could tip the scales in their favor.

  Proponents of US gas exports, including current and former lawmakers, say that exporting some US gas would bolster America's relations with allies in Europe and Asia, weaken the hold of major energy producers such as Russia and help further isolate Iran. Critics worry any strategic advantage would be outweighed by eroding the benefit cheap energy offers US industry at home.

  Lawmakers on the House Energy and Commerce Committee's energy and power subcommittee will examine the "direct political implications" of the US gas boom at a...

  
  
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  Tags:US gas exports, shale gas, Obama, energy security

• Booming North American oil supply boosts regional refining profits

  
  

  Posted by: HP News Services

  Wednesday May 01, 2013

  
  

  By BEN LEFEBVRE and ALISON SIDER

  A growing influx of cheap, North American-produced oil once again lifted the profits of refiners Valero Energy and Marathon Petroleum, as the companies said they expected even more domestic crude to reach their gates in the near term.

  Valero's intake of light, sweet crude, most of it produced in the US, reached an all-time high of 1 million bpd in the first quarter, up 25% from the year before. That helped the San Antonio refiner beat expectations with a profit of $654 million, or $1.18/share, versus a loss of $432 million a year earlier. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had most recently forecast earnings of $1/share on revenue of $30.41 billion.

  Meanwhile, Marathon Petroleum earnings rose 22% to $725 million, as the company's new Galveston Bay refinery, which it bought from BP in February, added to its sales volumes.

  The...

  
  
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  Tags:refining, crude oil, Marathon Petroleum, Valero, hydraulic fracturing, fracking

• GE unveils 'LNG In A Box' technology for transportation fuels market

  
  

  Posted by: Adrienne Blume

  Wednesday April 17, 2013

  
  

  HOUSTON -- The LNG 17 conference continued on Wednesday with a number of technical programs and presentations, a delegate luncheon, and the busy exhibition hall, which played host to many press events throughout the day.

  At the GE Oil & Gas booth, executives discussed the release of several new technologies with members of the media over lunch. One technology, LNG In A Box, is a small-scale, plug-and-play, redeployable liquefied natural gas (LNG) fueling solution. It is ideal for the production and use of LNG as transportation fuel for long-haul trucking, in a “virtual pipeline” network, or in distributed power-generation applications for the mining and oil and gas industries.

  During the press event, GE's general manager of turbomachinery unconventional solutions Ujjwal Kumar and Gasfin general director Davor Grcevich signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for Gasfin’s purchase of five LNG In A Box units.

  Luxembourg-based Gasfin will install the...

  
  
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  Tags:LNG 17, natural gas, LNG, shale gas, transportation fuels, GE, Gasfin

• ANALYSIS: Big spills lurk inside aging pipelines

  
  

  Posted by: HP News Services

  Tuesday April 16, 2013

  
  

  By DANIEL GILBERT

  Recent pipeline ruptures, including one at an ExxonMobil pipeline that caused a major oil spill in Arkansas last month, are raising fresh questions about the safety of pipes made decades ago using obsolete welding techniques.

  Though the industry stopped making what is known as low-frequency, electric-resistance welded pipe by about 1970, it still accounts for more than a quarter of the 182,500 miles of liquid fuel pipelines across the US, according to federal data for 2011, the latest available.

  The accidents come as federal regulators are examining whether state-of-the-art inspection methods are capable of detecting flaws in these old pipe seams. A US regulator has commissioned a study of old, substandard pipe that could help shape new rules.

  In the Exxon rupture and another on a Chevron pipeline in Utah last month that spilled 600 bbl of diesel near the Great Salt Lake, segments of...

  
  
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  Tags:pipelines, safety, environment, oil spill, ExxonMobil

• US oil boom could be bad news for tanker business

  
  

  Posted by: HP News Services

  Wednesday April 10, 2013

  
  

  The approach of US energy independence has becalmed an important part of the global maritime industry: the business of hauling crude oil across the oceans. What's worse for investors is that the trade winds likely won't pick up any time soon.

  Here's why, and what it means for investments in the sector.

  The International Energy Agency forecasts that the US will overtake Saudi Arabia and Russia as the world's top oil producer in seven years and will become a net oil exporter around 2030.

  "Increasing US crude-oil production...directly limits the need for US crude-oil imports," says shipping analyst Douglas Mavrinac in a recent report from Jefferies investment bank. "Continue to expect crude-oil tanker market conditions to remain weak," he says.

  The problem for the tanker sector is this: The economics rest not just on the amount of oil hauled by ship, but also the distance traveled. The longer the distances,...

  
  
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  Tags:crude oil, tanker, shale oil, shale gas

• OUTLOOK: Sluggish demand to weigh on Asian oil products

  
  

  Posted by: HP News Services

  Friday April 05, 2013

  
  

  By ERIC YEP and JACOB GRONHOLT-PEDERSEN

  Asia's gasoil and jet fuel markets will likely remain steady in the coming week, supported by recent orders from Vietnam, but generally sluggish demand will continue to weigh.

  Middle distillate premiums are also supported by news this week that Royal Dutch Shell is in the process of disposing of its last refinery in Australia.

  However, traders say inquiries about gasoil cargoes for May delivery are yet to materialize.

  "There haven't been any recent deals. The market is very quiet, and many Japanese cargoes are still available here," a North Asian trader said.

  In Southeast Asia, weak economic activity is taking its toll on gasoil demand, with diesel consumption low as mining activity has slowed considerably.

  "Asian refiners are feeling the brunt of lower middle distillate cracks -- quite a surprising development, considering that almost 2.3 million barrels a day of refining capacity is scheduled...

  
  
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  Tags:refining, petrochemicals, gasoil, jet fuel, Asia

• Asian oil refiners brace for turf wars as competition heats up

  
  

  Posted by: HP News Services

  Thursday March 28, 2013

  
  

  By ERIC YEP

  SINGAPORE -- Asia's oil refining sector is getting too crowded for comfort.

  Persian Gulf oil producers are building strings of big refineries both at home and across Asia challenging long-established Asian refiners in local and global fuel markets thanks to their guaranteed and relatively cheap crude-oil supplies and to geographical advantage.

  Among the first of these new refining behemoths to start pumping out gasoline, diesel and other products will be a 400,000 barrel-a-day joint venture project at Jubail in Saudi Arabia owned by Saudi Arabian Oil Co., or Saudi Aramco, and Total. Output will start within three months.

  Companies in the firing line include India's Reliance Industries, Taiwan's Formosa Petrochemical, South Korea's SK Innovation Co. and S-Oil Corp. and those in Singapore's oil refining and trading hub where ExxonMobil, Shell and Chevron have major investments.

  "Intense competition is expected between India, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan refiners...

  
  
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  Tags:refining, Asia, Persian Gulf, India, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea

• Daily editions of AFPM 2013 Annual Meeting official newspaper

  
  

  Posted by: HP Editorial Staff

  Wednesday March 20, 2013

  
  

  SAN ANTONIO -- Enclosed are all three daily editions of the official conference newspaper of the AFPM 2013 Annual Meeting, held at the Marriott Rivercenter.

  Day 3
  Day 2
  Day 1
  
  Published by Hydrocarbon Processing as two print editions, March 17/18, March 19 and as an electronic-only edition on March 20. If you wish to advertise in a future version of this newspaper, or to submit a press release for website consideration, please contact the editor via email at Billy.Thinnes@GulfPub.com.

  
  
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  Tags:AFPM, annual meeting, show daily

• US ethanol mandate puts squeeze on oil refiners

  
  

  Posted by: HP News Services

  Monday March 11, 2013

  
  

  By RYAN TRACY

  The cost of complying with a federal mandate to use corn ethanol in fuel has risen sharply in the past few months, putting a squeeze on oil refiners.

  The price of each credit that refiners need under the law topped $1.00 last Friday, up from just a few cents last year.

  "Eventually that cost is going to get passed along," said Bill Day, a spokesman for Valero Energy, which sells gasoline to about 5,000 filling stations in the US.

  Valero and other big refiners, such as Marathon Petroleum and Tesoro, haven't publicly estimated how the compliance costs would affect earnings. The industry has been reporting steady profits recently.

  The new expenses "will have an impact on refinery margins," said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst with the Oil Price Information Service. Refiners could attempt to pass the higher costs on to consumers but so...

  
  
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  Tags:ethanol, refining, EPA, gasoline

• POLL FINDINGS: Are Arctic projects safe? Depends on the company

  
  

  Posted by: Ben DuBose

  Friday March 01, 2013

  
  

  Do global energy companies have sufficient safety protocols in place to deal with the challenges of Arctic projects?

  The answer, according to hundreds of votes cast in a recent Hydrocarbon Processing industry poll, is an old cliché: it depends.

  Nearly half (48%) of readers surveyed believe practices vary enough throughout the industry that a single standard has not been adopted, making it dependent on the company in question. Another 28% said they believed the industry does have sufficient safety protocols, while 25% said it does not.

  The topic became newsworthy after a series of recent incidents involving Shell. That company, for its part, is postponing its planned summer drilling in the Arctic Ocean after a troubled 2012 drilling season marred by bad weather, mechanical failures and regulatory challenges.

  Shell had been widely expected to push back its contentious, multi-billion-dollar Arctic program after it announced that its rigs needed...

  
  
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  Tags:poll findings, Arctic drilling, Shell, Deepwater Horizon, safety, environment

• STUDY: Gas boom projected to grow for decades in US

  
  

  Posted by: HP News Services

  Thursday February 28, 2013

  
  

  By RUSSELL GOLD

  US natural-gas production will accelerate over the next three decades, new research indicates, providing the strongest evidence yet that the energy boom remaking America will last for a generation.

  The most exhaustive study to date of a key natural-gas field in Texas, combined with related research under way elsewhere, shows that US shale-rock formations will provide a growing source of moderately priced natural gas through 2040, and decline only slowly after that. A report on the Texas field, to be released Thursday, was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

  The research provides substantial evidence that there are large quantities of gas available that can be drilled profitably at a market price of $4 per million British thermal units, a relatively small increase from the current price of about $3.43.

  The study, funded by the nonpartisan Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and performed by the University of Texas,...

  
  
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  Tags:shale gas, natural gas, study, pipelines

• Europe looks to barge into America's cheap natural gas

  
  

  Posted by: HP News Services

  Wednesday February 20, 2013

  
  By LIAM DENNING
  
  Like the truth, US natural gas will come out -- provided Washington doesn't block it.

  US natural gas trades for a little over $3/MMBtu, while in Europe the price is closer to $12. A supply boom coupled with a lack of export options has kept gas prices low in America. Europe, meanwhile, depends on imports from countries, such as Russia, that demand prices linked to those of oil, which is relatively expensive.

  Cheap stuff attracts buyers, and gas is no different. French utility EDF has announced plans to develop floating barges that could liquefy North American gas to be shipped overseas. In theory, this could offer a cheaper, faster way to get US gas on the high seas than some land-based projects.

  That remains to be seen. The bigger point to draw from this move is that Europe needs cheaper energy, and its companies are getting creative in...

  
  
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  Tags:natural gas, LNG, barge, Europe, FLNG

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