Downstream news from Washington

Washington on Iranian exports

A senior American diplomat has urged South Korea to halt all imports of petrochemicals from Iran in to the country. This plea has been made after Washington has begun to rally international pressure on Iran to halt its nuclear program. Robert J. Einhorn, the State Department’s special adviser for non-proliferation and arms control made the plea whilst he was in Seoul earlier this month.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry in Seoul has made a statement confirming that Washington have asked them to curb all petrochemical imports from Iran. South Korea is now considering this request to seek petrochemical supplies from other sources. At present, Iran supplies South Korea with 10% of its oil and oil products imports.

Refinery emissions restrictions

US District Judge Marsha Pechman has ruled that greenhouse gas emissions from Washington’s five refineries must be reduced. This ruling follows a law suit that was put in motion by The Sierra Club, the Washington Environmental Council and Earthjustice in March of this year. The suit estimated that 8% of the greenhouse gas emissions generated by Washington come from the state’s five refining facilities.

It is thought that the ruling will also be applied to other sources of industry in the state, including, the TransAtlanta Corp. coal fired power plant in Centralia.

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/08122011/downstream_news_from_washington/