Americas
BP finishes crude unit upgrade at Whiting refinery
The Whiting facility is BP's largest US refinery. Work at the plant has been ongoing since 2008 and is now 95% done, the company said. Projects included a reconfiguration of the 250,000-bpd crude distillation unit. The project also included the addition of new coking capacity and processing units.
US sees improvement in monthly chemicals output
The ACC reports that during May, chemical production rose in the Ohio Valley, Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, and Southeast regions. Chemical production was flat in the Gulf Coast, Midwest, and West Coast.
Refinery watch: Planned and unplanned US outages (3)
Citgo Petroleum said June 27 that its Lemont, Ill., refinery has resolved "support system disruptions" it experienced during storms, with no production impact. Valero reported unplanned flaring at its Wilmington, Calif., refinery June 26 due to an issue with the third-party hydrogen plant that supplies it.
BP fights against 'inflated' US Gulf oil spill payouts
BP has also taken out full page advertisements in the main United States newspapers, including the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, saying that the interpretation of the settlement they agreed last year has resulted in payments to businesses that didn't suffer losses from the oil spill.
INEOS plans world-scale linear alpha olefins plant for US Gulf Coast
INEOS plans to build a new 350,000 tpy linear alpha olefins plant in the US Gulf Coast region, the company announced on Thursday. The project is targeted for completion by the end of 2016. Beyond then, it could be expanded by an additional 50%, said Bob Learman, CEO of INEOS Oligomers.
Investigators blame lax oversight for recent Texas fertilizer explosion
The CSB said the West explosion was caused by an intense fire in a wooden warehouse building that led to the detonation of about 30 tons of ammonium nitrate stored in wooden bins. The building had no sprinklers or fire detection systems, so the fire was "intense and out of control".
Williams links deadly Louisiana olefins explosion to propylene fractionator area
Williams said it has key personnel on site to begin plans to make repairs, undertake a previously-planned maintenance turnaround and complete a 600 million lb/year expansion of the olefins operations. The plant remains shut down and the expansion work is temporarily suspended.
Petrobras picks UOP technology for offshore gas processing in Brazil
The Separex membrane systems will be installed aboard the FPSOs to remove carbon dioxide and water from 7 million standard cubic meters/day of natural gas. Earlier this year, UOP announced a similar project with Petrobras for eight FPSO units to be operated in Brazil’s Santos basin oil fields.
Clariant opens new catalyst R&D lab in Brazil
The tightening of fuel specifications in South America and the necessity of processing more-challenging feedstocks are driving hydrogen catalyst demand in the region. Clariant officials say that optimization of high-performance catalysts is a critical tool to increase hydrogen supply in refineries.
Obama ties Keystone XL decision to climate
The US president said the controversial pipeline should be approved only if it doesn't "exacerbate" carbon pollution, as he unveiled a sweeping new plan to tackle climate change.
- Iran's Revolutionary Guards say they targeted petrochemical facilities in the Gulf 4/6
- Damietta Green Ammonia completes pre-FEED for $873-MM, 150,000-tpy green ammonia facility 4/6
- EIB and Eni sign €500-MM in financing for new biorefinery in Sannazzaro de’ Burgondi 4/6
- India's Reliance buys Venezuelan oil directly from PDVSA 4/6
- Japan to boost intermediate chemical imports amid tighter naphtha supply 4/6
- Five EU countries call for windfall tax on energy companies 4/6
