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Refining

Flint Hills Resources gobbles up two Iowa ethanol plants

Flint Hills Resources plans to acquire ethanol plants in Iowa Falls and Fairbank, Iowa. Flint Hills Resources signed an agreement to purchase the plants from Hawkeye Renewables.

US does not have infrastructure to consume more ethanol

The US does not have the infrastructure to meet the federal mandate for renewable fuel use with ethanol but could meet the standard with significant increases in cellulosic and next-generation biofuels, according to a Purdue University study.

NPRA joins group effort to overturn EPA’s E15 authorization

The National Petrochemical and Refiners Association (NPRA) has joined with two other organizations to ask a federal appeals court to overturn a recent decision by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that authorizes the sale of gasoline with 50% more ethanol for late-model vehicles. Organizations joining NPRA in the legal challenge to EPA are the International Liquid Terminals Association and the Western States Petroleum Association.

Eurecat building catalyst processing plant in India

Eurecat SA is building a new, world class catalyst processing plant in India, to be located in the Jhagadiya Industrial Estate, Bharuch District, Gujarat State.

FPSO installation deal to Aker Solutions

MODEC Offshore Production Systems (Singapore) Pte Ltd. has awarded Aker Marine Contractors a mooring installation contract for hook-up of the Bourgogne FPSO offshore Angola. Contract value is approximately $30 million.

CB&I acquires 100% interest in CDTECH

CB&I has acquired Chemical Research and Licensing from CRI/Criterion, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc. This acquisition gives CB&I, through its Lummus Technology business sector, a 100% interest in Catalytic Distillation Technologies (CDTECH).

Gushan Environmental Energy to assess impact of new Chinese consumption tax exemption

Gushan Environmental Energy, a producer of biodiesel in China, announced that it is currently in the process of assessing the effect of a recently issued notice on consumption tax from the Chinese Ministry of Finance and the Chinese State Administration of Taxation.

ASTM Petroleum Committee working on ETBE test method

The eventual approval of a proposed new test method currently being developed by ASTM International Committee D02 on Petroleum Products and Lubricants will allow a recently approved D02 specification to attain full compliance with form and style for ASTM standards.

Repsol sells stake in REFAP refinery for $350 million

Repsol has agreed to sell to Petrobras its 30% stake in the Alberto Pasqualini refinery (REFAP) in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Following the transaction, Petrobras becomes the only shareholder of the refinery, which has a nominal capacity of 190,000 bbld.

Team overcomes major obstacles to cellulosic biofuel production

A newly engineered yeast strain can simultaneously consume two types of sugar from plants to produce ethanol, researchers report.