Environment & Safety Gas Processing/LNG Maintenance & Reliability Petrochemicals Process Control Process Optimization Project Management Refining

Americas

GE partners with Clean Energy on LNG truck fueling

HP Editorial Staff: HP News

GE's plug-and-play modular units, designed to rapidly liquefy gas while minimizing physical footprint, will support fueling stations along major US transportation corridors. Truck fleets often can reduce fuel costs by more than 25% and cut emissions with LNG, the company says.

US industry sees self-sufficiency for natural gas, but not crude oil – survey

When it comes to oil, however, survey respondents are far less optimistic about the ability to meet American demand with domestic supplies: 54% say the US will never be completely oil self-sufficient, and only 26% of respondents say oil self-sufficiency is achievable in the next 10 years.

BASF to build emulsion polymers plant in Texas

With the new plant in Freeport, Texas, BASF believes it will be able to better serve the coatings, construction, adhesives, and paper industries by expanding the network of manufacturing locations and improve the backward integration of raw materials used in production.

US to overtake Saudi Arabia as top oil producer, says IEA

HP Editorial Staff: HP News Services

A shale oil boom means US production will pass that of Saudi Arabia by 2020, the IEA says, in a radical shift that could greatly transform energy supplies and geopolitics. The assessment is in stark contrast with last year, when the agency envisioned Russia and Saudi Arabia vying for the top position.

PdVSA to restore Amuay refinery output this year

PdVSA has on multiple occasions missed targets for resuming normal operations at Amuay. Reuters reported earlier that the company is waiting for replacements for parts that were damaged in the blast, which, once installed, will restore Amuay to pre-explosion processing levels.

DuPont acquires KVT wet gas sulfuric acid process

DuPont says the acquisition of the technology demonstrates a commitment to the wet gas marketplace, where the company is currently executing projects with feed gas sources ranging from coal gasification to viscose production to nonferrous metallurgical off-gas processing.

TransCanada expects Keystone XL approval after Obama re-election

HP Editorial Staff: HP News Services

Supporters of the project say it will create jobs, lower gasoline prices and spur US energy independence by greatly increasing the amount of available crude supply. However, the project has drawn the ire of the Sierra Club and other environmental groups, which are worried about safety.

US energy groups target Keystone approval, shale as Obama wins second term

Obama won the US election with 332 electoral votes, far exceeding the 270 required to win. Republican challenger Mitt Romney finished with 206. “Right off the bat, the president can approve the Keystone Pipeline and put thousands of Americans to work immediately," said the API's chief executive.

India's Gulf Oil to buy specialty chemicals company Houghton International

The acquisition will allow Gulf Oil, part of the diversified Hinduja Group, to expand its lubricants and chemicals business. Indian companies have been increasingly looking overseas for acquisitions because red tape, corruption and land acquisition issues often hurt plans to expand at home.

Marathon Petroleum restarts Detroit refinery after major expansion project

The $2.2 billion, four-year Detroit Heavy Oil Upgrade Project increased the refinery's heavy-oil processing capacity to 100,000 bpd, five times the amount it could process before the project. Heavy oil is usually sold at discounts to light varieties, which are easier to process.