North America downstream news

TotalEnergies and Borealis have announced the start-up of the Baystar joint venture's (JV) new 625 000 tpy Borstar® polyethylene (PE) unit.

INEOS has announced it has reached an agreement with Eastman Chemical Company to purchase the Eastman Texas City site, including the 600 000 t acetic acid plant and all associated third party activities on the site.

Neste has expanded its capability to supply renewable fuels to customers on the West Coast of the US, in cooperation with Vopak.

Sempra Infrastructure has announced that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved the permit authorising the Port Arthur LNG Phase 2 expansion project.

Strategic Biofuels has announced that its Louisiana Green Fuels (LGF) project has been issued an air permit from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).

The EIA reports that US exports of petroleum products grew by 2% to nearly 6 million bpd in 1H23.

NextDecade has announced that its subsidiary, Rio Grande LNG, has entered into a credit agreement with a group of lenders for US$356 million of senior loans.

Monthly average natural gas wholesale spot prices at the US benchmark Henry Hub have been generally declining so far in 2023, but these relatively low prices do not immediately translate into lower retail prices for residential consumers.

ExxonMobil has announced the startup of two new chemical production units at its Baytown, Texas, US, manufacturing facility.

Use of energy for transportation remained low in the US during 2021 compared with pre-pandemic levels and only increased in 12 states.