Global downstream news update: 17th February 2014

Canada

Indian Oil Corp is close to acquiring a 10% stake in Petronas’ shale gas assets and proposed LNG facility, as well as a share of the future LNG production.

These assets are owned by Progress Energy, and the IOC will pay almost double the amount that Petronas acquired them for in 2012.

Australia

United Petroleum has said that it is considering shutting down its Dalby bio-refinery due to a lack of government support.

In a statement released on Saturday, Chief Operating Officer, David Szymczak, said he believed that the Australian Government was no longer interested in subsidizing the ethanol industry.

South Korea

Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC) is seeking a refiner or petrochemical manufacturer willing to buy land in order to build a US$ 4.7 billion refining or petrochemical plant.

KNOC will close a tender to sell 92 hectares of the necessary land for US$ 488 million at 4pm today, 17^th February.

South Korean refiner S-Oil Corp is likely to bid to acquire the land for a refinery and petrochemical plant it has been planning.

Indonesia

A fire at the Pertamina refinery on Sunday night has now been put out. The blaze started in the hydrocracking unit of the facility.

The refinery continues to operate with a second unit. Petroleum product supply will not be affected.

China

PetroChina plans to commence commercial operations at its new US$ 6 billion Greenfield and petrochemical complex in southwest China in April 2014.

The 2000 000 bpd refinery, situated in Pengzhou of Sichuan province, started test operations in January.

The plant has been designed to process PetroChina’s own crude from the northwest Xiajiang region, as well as oil from Kazakhstan and Russia.

Edited from various sources by Emma McAleavey.

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/17022014/downstream_news_162/