Americas
Investigators blame lax oversight for recent Texas fertilizer explosion
The CSB said the West explosion was caused by an intense fire in a wooden warehouse building that led to the detonation of about 30 tons of ammonium nitrate stored in wooden bins. The building had no sprinklers or fire detection systems, so the fire was "intense and out of control".
Williams links deadly Louisiana olefins explosion to propylene fractionator area
Williams said it has key personnel on site to begin plans to make repairs, undertake a previously-planned maintenance turnaround and complete a 600 million lb/year expansion of the olefins operations. The plant remains shut down and the expansion work is temporarily suspended.
Petrobras picks UOP technology for offshore gas processing in Brazil
The Separex membrane systems will be installed aboard the FPSOs to remove carbon dioxide and water from 7 million standard cubic meters/day of natural gas. Earlier this year, UOP announced a similar project with Petrobras for eight FPSO units to be operated in Brazil’s Santos basin oil fields.
Clariant opens new catalyst R&D lab in Brazil
The tightening of fuel specifications in South America and the necessity of processing more-challenging feedstocks are driving hydrogen catalyst demand in the region. Clariant officials say that optimization of high-performance catalysts is a critical tool to increase hydrogen supply in refineries.
Obama ties Keystone XL decision to climate
The US president said the controversial pipeline should be approved only if it doesn't "exacerbate" carbon pollution, as he unveiled a sweeping new plan to tackle climate change.
EPA drops US investigation into fracking
The EPA will allow the state of Wyoming to continue the investigation but doesn't "plan to rely upon the conclusions' of its previous study", In late 2011, the agency released a draft report suggesting water samples near Encana gas wells in Pavillion, Wyo., contained chemicals consistent with fracking.
CF halts production at Alberta nitrogen plant amid concerns of flooding
The site on which the complex itself is located is approximately 200 feet above the normal river level. However, the pump house containing equipment used to draw river water for plant operations is near the river bank and within the area impacted by high water levels.
Haldor Topsøe, Phillips 66, others produce gasoline from woody biomass
In the future, biomass may be a significant feedstock source and Haldor Topsøe expects that the combination of technologies used will be part of the solution to future fuel supply. The integrated pilot plant consists of Andritz Carbona gasification and Andritz Carbona/Haldor Topsøe catalytic reforming.
Refinery watch: Planned and unplanned US outages (2)
ExxonMobil shut down the crude-distillation unit at its refinery in Torrance, Calif., for unplanned maintenance, the company said June 20. Exxon didn't say how long maintenance was expected to last. Motiva Enterprises shut down a production unit at its refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, on June 14.
US Supreme Court rejects challenges to E15
The court is refusing to consider legal challenges by several industry trade groups against an Environmental Protection Agency move to expand ethanol use in the US.
- Nextchem (Maire) awarded feasibility studies contract for two plastic upcycling projects in Africa and Asia 3/24
- Ketjen and Aramco collaborate to support the development of next-generation FCC catalyst innovation 3/24
- UK government pledges £9 MM for new development projects at Mossmorran ethylene plant in Fife 3/24
- PetroChina reaches milestone on $10-B Dalian refining and chemical integration project 3/24
- Valero shuts Texas refinery after explosion 3/24
- JGSOC appoints International Process Plants to evaluate sale of Batangas petrochemical complex 3/24
