Global downstream news: 21st March 2014

Canada

Texadian Energy Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Par Petroleum Corporation, has announced that it will be opening a new office in Calgary, Alberta, to function as the headquarters of Texadian Energy Canada Limited (TECL).

USA

California

The Shell refinery in Martinez has experienced a minor malfunction in one of its hydrogen plants. A spokesman has said that there is no external impact, the effects have been purely operational.

Kentucky

Continental Refining Company, LLC is now producing a low sulfur marine diesel fuel (T-90 700) for use in the ECA 1 Operating Zones in Category 2 and 3 marine engines. It is similar to DMA grade marine gasoil.

Continental Refining Company is already selling low sulfur marine diesel on the East Coast. The refinery has the capacity to produce 30 000 bbls/month.

North Dakota

Quantum Energy, Inc, has announced that Quantum has secured a refinery site adjacent to the Northstar transload in East Fairview, North Dakota, for the construction of the Fairview Refinery.

Quantum has signed a Purchase and Sale Agreement with Northstar Transloading LLC to secure the 80 acres.

Texas

Phillips 66 is considering building a condensate splitter at its Sweeny.

The company hasn’t yet decided whether or where it would build a splitter, which separates ultra light crude oil into unfinished products that could be sold to refineries or blenders or exported overseas. Sweeny is a possibility because its close to South Texas’ Eagle Ford shale formation, which produces mainly ultra light oil.

Brazil

Brazil’s opposition lawmakers plan to start an inquiry into allegations of irregularities in an oil refinery purchase by Petrobras.

President Dilma Rouseff has indicated that the Petrobras board that she headed in 2006 approved the US$ 370 million purchase of a 50% stake in Pasadena Refining System, Inc. from Astra Oil Trading NV without knowledge of a put option that forced the company to buy the remaining stake as part of a US$ 820.5 million legal settlement.

‘It is an unforgivable mistake for the president to make a decision that cost taxpayers more than US$ 1 billion’, said Antonio Imbassahy, leader of the opposition PSDB party in the lower house.

China

Ineos Phenol and Sinopec Yangzi Petrochemical (Sinopec YPC) have signed an agreement and articles of association to form a 50:50 joint venture company at Nanjing.

Meanwhile, Ineos is also suing Sinopec and subsidiaries for misus of trade secrets regarding the production of acrylonitrile.

Specifically, the chemical company claims that Sinopec Ningbo Engineering Company (SNEC) has broken an agreement dating back to 1984 for the licensing and use of acrylonitrile technology in Chinathat, together with trade secret misuse by other Sinopec companies, has enabled development of a series of new world scale acrylonitrile plants without Ineos agreement or consent.

Russia

Rosneft has announced tenders to sell approximately 570 000 t of fuel oil and 550 000 t of high sulfur content diesel in 2014.

The tenders were announced for the fuel produced at its 340 000 bpd Ryazan refinery, located near Moscow.

Germany

German Chancellor has said that imports of US shale gas could eventually be an option for European countries seeking to diversify their energy sources, but the US must first build the infrastructure to export.

‘Many people think that this could be one component, if the US decided to export shale gas’, she told reporters after EU leaders discussed how to diversify energy sources away from reliance on Russian oil and gas.

Edited from various sources by Emma McAleavey.

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/21032014/downstream_news_296/