Downstream news roundup: 4 September 2014

Egypt

Assuit Petroleum Refining Co. is going to upgrade its Asyut refinery in Egypt. The company is looking to install a 1.4 million tpy diesel hydrocracker at the plant which is likely to require US$ 2.9 billion in investments. The company has already secured some financing from the Islamic Development bank in Saudi Arabia.

Europe

Gary Klesch has said that he intends to purchase five or six more refineries after he completes the purchase of the Milford Haven refinery in Wales, which is currently owned by Murphy Oil. Co. Klesch is the owner of Klesch Group and is looking to invest in refineries throughout the UK, Germany, Italy and France over the next two years.

Iran

It has been reported that Iran is looking to increase its domestic refining capacity from 1.9 million bpd to 3 million bpd by 2018. The country is seeking to do this by opening new refineries and expanding existing facilities. Capacity is being increased as the Petroleum Ministry is seeking to increase the sale of petroleum products from the country rather than crude oil.

Russia

A new unit has been commissioned at the Kuibyshev refinery. The new unit will allow the OAO Rosneft owned facility to produce low sulfur, high octane gasoline to meet Euro 5 standards. The gasoline will also meet requirements of the Russian Technical Regulations to 2020. The refinery has a processing capacity of 6.8 million tpy and is in the Samara region of Russia.

USA

Phillips66 has announced intentions to purchase more railcars to ship crude across the US. The company wishes to purchase enough rail haulage capacity to move 185 000 bpd of crude oil from the Bakken in North Dakota to the refineries it owns on the East and West Coasts of the US. The company already owns and has on order approximately 3200 railcars and is looking to order another 500 to increase the fleet.

Phillips66 has also commenced a planned overhaul at its Sweeny Texas refinery. The company is going to work on the gasoline producing FCCU unit and has already filed a notice with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Marathon Petroleum Corp. has voiced interest in purchasing the Citgo Petroleum Corp. refineries that PDVSA is selling in the USA. The refineries in question are in Louisiana, Illinois and Texas. So far, HollyFrontier Corp. and PBF Energy Inc., have also expressed interests in purchasing the facilities.

Dakota Plains Holdings Inc. has announced intentions to build a new storage tank to hold Bakken crude oil at its Pioneer Rail Terminal. This will be the third storage tank at the North Dakota facility and is expected to hold 90 000 bbls. The expansion is expected to cost US$ 5.5 million and lead the total capacity of the plant to hit 270 000 bbls.

The downstream industry is likely to hit Hollywood in the upcoming Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice film. It was announced last month that the Nicholson Terminal in River Rouge is to be a filming location for the new movie. However, there is now speculation that a refinery owned by Marathon Oil could also be a set location. Warner Bros. is reportedly yet to confirm this.

Sources: Business Recorder, Reuters, Bloomberg, The Blade, OGJ, M Live.

Edited from various sources by Claira Lloyd

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/04092014/downstream-news-inc-batman-story/