Refining
French strike impacts output at several refineries
France's Socialist government drew battle lines with one of the country's biggest trade unions over labor market reforms as a strike by oil workers forced at least five refineries to halt or slow down operations.
Shell CEO warns on hasty renewables shift
Major investors, including Dutch pension fund PGGM, have criticized Shell's climate change policy in recent months, saying it should do more to mitigate climate change risks.
CONNECT 2016: Schneider Electric Automation Conference opens in New Orleans
Attendees are connected with the best subject matter experts, the best process automation and safety technologies on the market, and the best sources of real-world experiences.
LyondellBasell Houston coker restart expected by mid-June
A string of unit outages and accidents at the refinery has forced production down to 85 Mbpd.
AFPM: Safety awards honor industry achievements
Organization stresses the importance of recognizing the members’ work and safety achievements, and the awards highlight positive and proactive efforts and shine a spotlight on effective safety practices.
New Indonesian refinery to have up to 480-Mbpd capacity
A new refinery in Indonesia that Russia's Rosneft may help build will have a capacity of up to 480 Mbpd.
French union calls for widespread shutdown of refineries by workers
The vote, aimed at pressuring the socialist government of President Francoise Hollande to withdraw a labor reform bill which the unions consider as unfavorable to workers, could stoke concerns over refined products supply in France.
Global oversupply of polyethylene, polypropylene challenges margins
The excess capacity will help North American converters be more competitive due to the increased competition associated with PE capacity expansions. However, on the producer side, economics will be challenged as global capacity expansions exceed demand growth.
EPA’s biofuel plan frustrates US refiners, farmers
The increase did not go far enough for the farm lobby and biofuels companies like Poet LLC, which have spent millions to produce advanced biofuels. Meanwhile, oil industry advocates, who have criticized previous targets as unrealistic, renewed calls for an overhaul of the program.
Argentina’s refiners buy Nigerian crude as second foreign cargo of 2016
Because of quality issues -- Argentina has a surplus of heavy crude that is regularly exported, but it does not produce enough light grades -- refining companies plan to import at least 3 MMbbl of crude.
- Valmet to acquire Severn Group to strengthen Process Performance Solutions segment 12/22
- World’s first dynamic green ammonia plant starts operations in Denmark 12/22
- Baker Hughes to supply liquefaction equipment for Commonwealth LNG export project 12/22
- South Korea petrochemical firms on track to cut up to 3.7 MM tons of output 12/22
- MOL and JERA sign HoAs for the charter of ammonia carriers 12/22
- China's November fuel oil imports up 15% from October 12/22
