Global downstream news update: 17th January 2014

USA

California

The US Chemical Safety Board has rejected a proposed overhaul of California’s refinery safety practice. Two of three safety board members rejected the recommendations at a Richmond City Council chamber on 15^th January.

Delaware

A citizen led, state subsidized project for air quality monitoring in Delware City broke down yesterday after the Delaware City Refinery called for the unscheduled removal of a testing device.

Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control officials commented only to say that the investigation into this episode is ‘ongoing’.

Ontario

NOVA Chemicals Corporation held a celebration ceremony on 16^th January in order to commemorate the first barrels of ethane sourced from the Marcellus Shale Basin being utilized at its Corunna, Ontario cracker.

NOVA Chemicals began consuming the feedstock in late December 2013 as part of a project to revamp the cracker to utilize up to 100% natural gas liquid feedstock in line with its strategy to ensure the long term economic viability of its Ontario assets.

Texas

Residents of Port Aransas are being rewarded for their efforts to prevent a refinery from being built on Harbor Island. The Port Aransas Planning and Zoning Board approved a refinery ban yesterday afternoon.

Nigeria

Nine illegal refinery camps used by operators of illegal refining in Rivers state have been destroyed by men of 29 Battalion, Nigerian Army, in Port Harcourt.

China

State run Sinochem Corp announced today that its first fully owned Greenfield refinery, the 240 000 bpd Quanzhou plant has started test runs. The refinery, located in the southeast province of Fukian, is expected to process crude oil from Iraq, Oman and Kuwait.

Japan

Cosmo Oil Co. has announced plans to refine 12% more crude oil in January than a year earlier. The company hopes to process 422 000 bpd of crude oil this month.

Kuwait

The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) has expressed interest in buying a 26% stake in the Indian Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Rs 213.96 billion petrochemical plant located in Dahej, and the Rs 57.5 billion chemical plant in Mangalore.

Australia

BP’s Kwinana refinery has acted to dispel speculation that it was considering closure after rumours spread about the future of Shell and BP in Australia.

The refinery will however be performing a major scheduled shutdown within the next couple of months in order to undergo a multimillion dollar maintenance program.

Edited from various sources by Emma McAleavey.

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/17012014/global_downstream_news_73/