Americas
Alpek receives corporate approvals for Petrobras PTA-PET facility acquisitions
MONTERREY, Mexico – Alpek, S.A.B. de C.V. announced that it obtained all necessary corporate approvals to acquire 100% of Companhia Petroquímica de Pernambuco and Companhia Integrada Têxtil de Pernambuco from Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. for $385 MM.
Russia's Evraz to supply pipes for Kinder Morgan's pipeline expansion
(Reuters) -- Evraz Plc, Russia's No. 2 steelmaker, signed an agreement with Kinder Morgan Inc to supply about 250,000 metric t of pipe to the US pipeline company for the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline.
Venezuela resumes light oil shipments to Cuba
HOUSTON (Reuters) -- Venezuela resumed exports of light crude to its political ally Cuba in March after an eight-month pause that led to a production halt at the island's jointly-owned Cienfuegos refinery, according to internal data from state-run PDVSA seen by Reuters.
German minister to try to persuade US to remain in climate pact
BERLIN (Reuters) -- German Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks said on Tuesday she would seek to convince the administration of US President Donald Trump to remain part of the Paris Climate Agreement during her trip to the United States later this month.
Big short position on biofuels generated profit for Icahn's refiner
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Carl Icahn's big bet on falling prices for biofuels credits generated a rare profit in that area last quarter for the billionaire investor's refining company CVR Energy, according to public filings.
Equipment critical analysis: The need for an effective maintenance program
Oil refineries and large petrochemical plants contain thousands of pieces of process and utilities equipment that are subject to wear, erosion, deterioration, aging, etc., resulting in increasing breakdowns and outages. Imagine being a maintenance engineer and receiving 50 work orders during an overhaul with a limited budget, time, labor, spare parts, tools, machines, etc. How does that engineer prioritize the work?
Global: The future growth of Argentina’s oil and gas industry hinges on additional investments
Attracting new investments is vital to revive the Argentine oil industry. It is essential to involve multinationals, due to the lack of financial resources of the Argentinian government. The modernization of the country’s downstream infrastructure is crucial to improve productivity, and the nation will need international support to obtain profitable results.
Automation Strategies: Adopting the IIoT: How the industry needs to rethink IT and OT relationships
For the connected enterprise, what was once just a futuristic ideal is now becoming a reality. Step by step, organizations are beginning to put together the pieces of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).
Global Project Data
A global LNG supply glut has put many mega-LNG projects in doubt in 2017. This predicament has many industry experts heralding it as the end of the mega-LNG project era.
Business Trends: Human reliability—a disruptive innovation
Annual bottom-line losses due to equipment failures total more than $100 MM at major refineries and petrochemical complexes. Corporate executives charge plant personnel with improving the reliability of the facility.
- Kumho Mitsui Chemicals to increase capacity of MDI production facilities 12/15
- ABS, Eneos, NYK Line and Seacor Holdings launch joint study to develop a methanol marine fuel supply network in the U.S. 12/15
- ENEOS accelerates AI-driven materials discovery of immersion cooling fluids and novel catalysts Using NVIDIA ALCHEMI 12/15
- SAMSUNG E&A wins FEED contract for nearly $5-B SAF plant in the U.S. 12/15
- KBR wins green ammonia project by IGNIS in Spain 12/15
- Phillips 66 announces $2.4-B capital budget for 2026 12/15
