Americas
Editorial Comment: Maintenance spending to jump in 2016 as refiners catch up with turnarounds
The number of scheduled refinery turnarounds in North America is anticipated to rise this year after declining sharply in 2015, as refiners delayed maintenance shutdowns to capitalize on abundant quantities of low-priced feedstock.
Business Trends: Global petrochemical overview—Part 2
Part 1 of this series provided an overview on the present state of the petrochemical industry, a breakdown on construction project numbers by region, as well as major trends in Africa, the Middle East and the US. Part 2 examines the landscape in Asia-Pacific, Canada, Europe and Latin America.
Global Project Data
According to <i>Hydrocarbon Processing’s</i> Construction Boxscore Database, nearly 300 new downstream projects have been announced around the globe over the past year.
People
Elliott Group has made changes to its executive team. Michael Lordi has been named as chief operating officer (COO), succeeding Art Titus, who is retiring after nine years.
Chemical companies see rosier results on low crude oil prices
Expectations for chemical sector earnings have been boosted by a combination of lower crude oil costs during the commodity's slump, along with strong demand for plastics.
Refining’s silver lining fades at Exxon, Chevron
Growing fuel inventories and weak demand are now hammering the refining industry, turning a typical advantage for integrated oil companies on its head.
Praxair to expand Louisiana carbon monoxide hub
The company will add a new, 13 million standard cubic feet/day carbon monoxide purification train at the site. Carbon monoxide is a raw material in the production of a range of specialty chemicals including those used to produce polyurethanes for the housing and auto industries.
Rare gasoline cargo heads from China to US
Asian gasoline stocks have risen sharply in recent months as traders and refiners betting on strong summer demand for the road fuel in China and other countries ramped up imports and production.
US refiner Marathon Petroleum sees lower profit on weak crack spreads
Refiners have seen their margins shrink due to the narrowing price difference between US crude and globally traded Brent futures, to which the price of refined products are tied.
PDVSA launches tenders as Venezuelan refineries face operating woes
While Amuay's fluid catalytic cracker (FCC) restarted on Monday, the 645,000-bpd refinery was operating at only around 360,000 bpd as its flexicoker remained down. Meanwhile, The adjacent 310,000 bpd Cardon facility was processing around 110,000 bpd.
- Borouge reaffirms commitment to local manufacturing with new industry supply agreements 1/10
- Digital Exclusive: Automation and digital technologies' role in the energy transition-A discussion with Yokogawa 1/9
- Neste MY Renewable Diesel introduced to the Italian market in collaboration with fuel distributor Firmin 1/9
- U.S. DOE and EPA announce $6 MM to support development of advanced biofuels 1/9
- U.S. oil imports from Canada hit record ahead of tariff threat 1/9
- SOCAR's STAR oil refinery to supply jet fuel for Istanbul Airport 1/9
