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Mid July, downstream news update: USA and Canada

Hydrocarbon Engineering,


Canada

Canada’s National Energy Board has rejected Chevron Corp.’s bid to secure priority access to oil shipped on the Trans Mountain pipeline for its British Columbia refinery, arguing that the facility can continue to operate utilizing existing supply sources.

Chevron had sought to secure supply for its 55 000 bpd refinery in Burnaby due to the fact that it was experiencing difficulty in ensuring that it could secure enough oil from the pipeline to keep the refinery in operation, which carries Alberta crude to British Columbia and Puget Sound.

Also in Canada, Canada Rare Earth Corp. has confirmed its intention to purchase property in the Pacific North West of the US, and has provided a second deposit of US$ 50 000. The company intends to construct a new refinery at the site.

Meanwhile, Canadian authorities have opened a criminal investigation into the runaway oil train that exploded in Quebec.

The same train had caught fire hours earlier in a nearby town, and the engine was shut down. Edward Burkhardt, President and CEO of the railway’s parent company, Rail World Inc., has suggested that this shut down may have disabled the brakes leading to the later disaster.

USA

California

Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC has received regulatory approval from the Californian Public Utilities Committee (CPUC) to expand its Wild Goose natural gas storage facility in Northern California from 50 billion ft3  to 75 billion ft3.

Delaware

The owners of the Delaware City Refinery have called for the dismissal of environmental group challenges to the company’s crude oil delivery and transfer operations, emphasising that state and federal interstate commerce laws bar the claims.

PBF Energy, the refinery’s parent company, secured state approval for air pollution control modifications at a barge loading area intended to relay crude oil to Paulsboro, New Jersey, from a new train offloading complex at Delaware City in May.

The environmental groups have argued that these barge activities will amount to a violation of a ban on bulk loading and unloading operations within the protected Coastal Zone.

A hearing on the claims is scheduled for 16th July.

Edited from various sources by Emma McAleavey.

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/12072013/downstream_news_usa_canada474/

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