Americas
Shell seeks $2 B from Aramco in Motiva JV breakup
Royal Dutch Shell has asked Saudi Aramco for up to $2 B as part of the breakup of their giant Motiva Enterprises refining joint venture in the United States.
Venezuela Amuay refinery ups output, restarts distillation unit
Venezuela's Amuay refinery has restarted a distillation unit and is now processing 350 Mbpd.
PBF takes over Los Angeles-area Exxon refinery
US refiner PBF Energy took ownership on Friday of a Los Angeles-area refinery purchased from Exxon Mobil Corp for $537.5 M, clearing the way for it to focus on further North American acquisitions.
US crude stockpiles fall, gasoline builds as refiners boost output
US crude oil stockpiles fell sharply last week and gasoline inventories posted an unseasonably surprise large build as refineries ramped up production.
California probes oil refiners for gas price manipulation
California has issued subpoenas to Valero Energy Corp. and Chevron Corp. as part of a probe into whether oil refiners in the state have manipulated gasoline prices since 2014.
US Energy Secretary believes oil supply and demand should be in balance by 2017
The global oil market should see supply and demand in balance by 2017 though it will remain structurally well-supplied for the next couple of years, US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said.
Refining: Refinery investments focus on ultra-low-sulfur gasoline
Mexican oil company Pemex recently announced major refinery improvement projects that will represent a total investment of $23 B over the next three years.
Industry Metrics
US refinery utilization rates have increased in some areas following the peak of maintenance season.
Secure the best benefits from C4 hydrocarbon processing—Part 1: Separation sequences
Crude C<sub>4</sub> streams from the steam cracker unit or the fluidized catalytic cracker unit contain valuable hydrocarbons, such as butadiene and C<sub>4</sub> olefins.
Global Project Data
According to <i>Hydrocarbon Processing’s </i> Construction Boxscore Database, there were nearly 90 new project announcements from January 2015 to June 2015.
- bp's Whiting refinery union workers reject contract extension 2/2
- China's CNPC set to restart Dalian refinery to process Russian oil 2/2
- Dow announces 2029 startup of Phase 1 of its $7.5-B Path2Zero ethylene project 2/2
- ExxonMobil, Chevron see glimmer of Venezuela's potential, especially in refining its crude 2/2
- Nigeria's Dangote refinery expands gas deals with NNPC to secure fuel for expansion programs 2/2
- Carlyle in talks with potential UAE partners on Lukoil assets 2/2
