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Refining

Chevron committed to staying in Brazil despite spill

Chevron is "committed" to stay in Brazil for the long term and hopes to "move ahead" after an oil spill in early November that led to intense scrutiny of the oil company from local authorities and regulators. Chevron says it is very proud of its response on the Nov. 7 oil spill because the company's sweeping reaction resulted in no environmental impact from the spill.

Petrobras, Tereos mulling fuel ethanol production in Mozambique

Brazilian state-owned oil company Petroleo Brasileiro, or Petrobras, and French-controlled sugarcane miller Tereos Internacional said Wednesday they plan to study the possibility of producing and selling ethanol fuel in Mozambique. The two firms already operate a mill in the southern African country that crushes 1.2 million metric tons of sugarcane.

BP oil spill report calls for single policing agency

A single governmental agency should be used to insure offshore drilling safety in order to avoid disasters like the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico, a national research group said Wednesday. The recommendation could end up flying in the face of what the industry thinks it needs to regulate itself, though officials from the American Petroleum Institute had yet to comment directly on the suggestion.

US shale resources likely to spark manufacturing renaissance through 2025 - PwC

The abundance of shale gas resources could lead a US manufacturing renaissance with economic benefits that include cost savings, greater investments to expand manufacturing facilities and increased levels of employment, according to a new report.

IEA trims 2012 world oil demand growth forecast on economic woes

The International Energy Agency on Tuesday trimmed its forecast for world oil demand growth in 2012 versus its earlier 2012 projection based on the worsening global economic backdrop and persistently elevated oil prices, but said demand will remain robust and markets tight until 2013. The IEA forecast global oil demand at 90.3 million bpd in 2012, up from 89 million bpd this year.

Shaw to study Iraq refinery rehabilitation project

The Shaw Group said Tuesday that it was awarded a contract by the South Refineries Co. - part of Iraq’s Ministry of Oil - to provide a feasibility study for the rehabilitation of its 140,000 bpd refinery in Basra, Iraq. The study is funded by the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) through a grant to the South Refineries Co.

Global refinery runs to rise in first quarter - IEA

Refinery runs across the globe will bounce back in the coming months as refineries return from heavy autumn maintenance and ramp up production even as profits on oil products fall, the International Energy Agency said Tuesday in a monthly report. Refinery runs will rebound to 75.8 million bpd, or 1.2 million bpd higher than the year-earlier quarter, after relatively weak growth since April.

Jacobs awarded work on CO2 capture project at Gassnova refinery in Norway

Jacobs Engineering Group was awarded a framework contract from Gassnova SF for its CO2 Capture Mongstad (CCM) project at its Mongstad refinery site in Norway. Jacobs is providing engineering and technical assistance services to support the installation of a large-scale carbon dioxide (CO2) capture plant for a combined heat and power (CHP) plant at the refinery.

US chemical group sees slow 2012 improvement, led by shale gas

Despite a slowdown in the US economic recovery, the outlook for the nation’s chemicals manufacturing industry is more encouraging, according to the American Chemistry Council’s (ACC) 2011 Year-End Situation and Outlook. The key to the domestic chemical industry’s recovery is access to vast, new supplies of natural gas from previously untapped shale deposits, the council says.

Refining estimates lowered in Q4 for oil majors

Morgan Stanley has lowered by 7% its refining estimates for major oil refineries in the fourth quarter of 2011, the company said in a note Monday. Factors included a narrowing spread between Nymex crude and Light Louisiana Sweet crude.