Refining news roundup: 16 July 2015

India

Essar Oil Ltd has said that it is going to shut its Vadinar refinery for one month during September. The 400 000 bpd facility will be taken offline for planned maintenance. Chennai Petroleum has also said that it will shut down the hydrocracker at its Manali refinery for a month as it looks to carry out routine maintenance.

Iran

Iran’s Deputy Oil Minister has been reported to have said that Iran will come back to the global oil market at full capacity once the sanctions are officially lifted. It has also been reported that Iran is viewing Asia as a top priority country and is looking to sell crude to the region.

Nigeria

The Speaker of the House of Representatives has labelled the refining of Nigerian crude outside of Nigeria as an illegal act. The politician has also reportedly spoken of his regret over the failures of the past government to make sure domestic refining of domestic crude oil flourishes in the country.

USA

It has been said that it could be another two years before all the permits required are obtained by Riverside Refining, to begin construction of a proposed refinery at the Port of Longview. The Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC) has said that it can take at least 14 months for it to evaluate any energy projects and has not yet received applications from Riverside for the US$800 million proposed facility.

Delaware City Refinery Corporation has reportedly donated US$85 000 to local charities. 12 charities have benefitted from the donations which were raised at the company’s Inaugural Charity Golf Fundraiser. Organisations which received donations included Big Brothers Big Sisters, Delaware City Fire Company, and Sunshine Foundation.

A forum in Richmond, California has released recommendations about how to make refineries safer. This report has been researched following a fire at the Chevron refinery fire in Richmond three years ago which resulted in residents around the facility having to seek medical attention. The changes that have been proposed include developing a hazard control hierarchy, carrying out investigations after any major accident and safety culture assessments.

The deal that is currently in motion for Marathon Petroleum Corp to purchase and absorb MarkWest Energy Partners LP has been called the biggest yet by a refiner as it looks to enter the gas market. The US$15.6 billion deal will allow Marathon to be a fast growing natural gas logistics and exports company. The deal is expected to be finalised in Q4 of this year.

Edited from various sources by Claira Lloyd

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/refining/16072015/refining-news-roundup/