6th December: Global downstream news

Australia

The biggest oil refinery in Australia is now being pieced together after the first prefabricated modules arrived in Queensland from New Zealand on Friday 29^th November. The US$ 55 million project is a joint venture between Southern Oil and JJ Richards and is expected to take five days to put together. The facility will be opened towards the end of February 2014.

DNV

DNV GL Oil & Gas has appointed Moss Daemi as the Director of its Middle Eat, India and North Africa Division. ‘We established our presence in the MENA region over 40 years ago and will continue to support the oil and gas industry here to make it safer and more reliable and at the same time to enhace its performance,’ said Mr Pekka Paasivaara, CEO of DNV GL Oil & Gas.

Prior to his current position, Mr Daemi was appointed Executive Vice President for GL Noble Denton’s operations in the Middle East and Africa in 2012. Before that, he spent six years as an oil and gas consultant in Australia and South East Asia, helping energy companies to develop their operations. Most of his career has been spent with BP, where he worked in a variety of roles, such as shareholder representative in the North West Shelf Joint Venture, country manager in the Middle East and project director in the Middle East, Malaysia, UK, Australia and the Philippines.

Ivory Coast

The World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Societe Generale (SocGen) are going to loan US$ 300 million to the Ivory Coast. This loan will help finance crude imports to the region’s only refinery for the next two years. Standard Chartered and BNP Paribas are also going to form a structured trade facility to help fund a further US$ 2 billion of oil imports.

Taiwan

CPC Corp has shelved plans for an integrated refining and petrochemical complex in Pengerang, Johor. The multi billion dollar facility has been scrapped as it is no longer considered competitive due to the US shale boom.

USA

Following plans announced by Phillips 66 to expand the railroad spur and build a crude oil unloading facility at the Nipomo Mesa refinery, a draft environmental impact report is now available for public review and comment. The County Planning Commission has scheduled a public hearing for 24^th April 2014.

Environmental advocates have spoken out against several planned upgrades and additions to refineries in the Bay Area of San Francisco. The environmentalists have said that the projects will endanger the public. Valero is looking to install rail operations at the Benicia refinery, the WestPac oil terminal is looking for upgrading and the Chevron refinery in Richmond is seeking modernisation. 

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/06122013/6th_dec_global_news892/