Refining
Valero looks to sell two California refineries
Valero, one of the largest US refiners, operates a 78,000-bpd refinery in Wilmington outside Los Angeles and a 132,000-bpd refinery in Benicia, in the San Francisco Bay area. Together the plants represent about 10% of the company's US refining capacity. Valero has not yet put a price tag on the refineries.
HPI spending pegged for slight increase in 2013
Even with healthy predictions for expenditures, market players are remaining cautious when making decisions on key projects as they await regulatory clarity. The forecast breaks out capital spending to reach $57.6 billion and maintenance spending to reach $69 billion.
API sees falling US demand for gasoline, distillates
Demand for gasoline dropped 2% from a year earlier, to 8.572 million bpd, the API said. The nine-month average demand of 8.73 million bpd was down 0.7% from the same time in 2011. September demand for distillate fuel (heating oil/diesel) was 4% below the year-earlier level, at 3.777 million bpd.
China's teapot refiners plot expansions to escape government crackdown
Government policies in the resources sector in recent years have caused the closure of hundreds of small Chinese coal mines and cement and steel factories but a similar push in oil refining is playing out differently, including through ventures with state companies.
EU proposes to reduce use of food-based biofuels
The European Commission is proposing to limit the share of energy from food crop-based biofuels to no more than 5% of the total energy used in the transport sector in 2020. That represents roughly the current amount of food crop-based biofuels used in EU transport fuels.
TransCanada shuts Keystone oil line to inspect pipe
The anomaly, found in a section of the pipeline in Missouri, wasn't a leak, a TransCanada spokesman said. The stoppage was taken as a preventative measure and wouldn't affect the oil shipments to customers "for now," and TransCanada was working with shippers to mitigate any interruptions.
Praxair starts up Peru gas plant to supply refinery
The new plant utilizes the latest energy efficient technology and has a production capacity of approximately 300 tpd of oxygen, nitrogen and argon. The unit will generate gaseous oxygen for the refinery and liquefied industrial gases to meet growing demand in the region.
Sudan in talks with Essar Energy, other companies to upgrade two refineries
The minister said Sudan aims to double the capacity of one of the refineries from 25,000 bpd and increase capacity of the other refinery to 50,000 bpd, up from 15,000 bpd. He didn't give any timeline.
BP nears deal to sell stake in TNK-BP crude venture to Russia's Rosneft
TNK-BP has been one of BP's best investments, returning $19 billion in dividends on the roughly $8 billion paid for its 50% stake in 2003. The venture accounts for nearly a quarter of BP's reserves and production. But tensions with AAR over strategy and governance have plagued the venture for years.
Murphy Oil to spin off US downstream business
Murphy Oil on Tuesday said it expects to complete the spinoff of Murphy USA in 2013. Murphy USA’s business will consist of retail marketing of petroleum products, a chain of retail gasoline stations, seven product distribution terminals and two ethanol production facilities in North Dakota and Texas.
- India's Reliance gets one-month US concession to buy Rosneft oil 12/24
- SOCAR signs deal to buy Gama Enerji gas plant in Turkey for $225 MM 12/24
- Japan's Eneos leads bids for Chevron’s Singapore oil refinery stake 12/24
- Larsen & Toubro awarded EPCC contract for BPCL's polyethylene plant 12/24
- Maire's Nextchem to acquire technology licensor and engineering company Ballestra 12/24
- bp agrees to sell a 65% shareholding in Castrol to Stonepeak at an enterprise value of $10 billion 12/24
