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Gasoline

US monthly oil demand inches higher despite sharp decline in gasoline use

Gains in demand for distillate fuel [diesel/heating oil] and catch-all other oils, which include feedstocks for petrochemical plants, offset the fall in gasoline use to nudge total demand higher.

US West Coast spot gasoline premiums widen on Shell refinery outage

Spot gasoline pricing premiums moved up sharply in West Coast refined products markets as another regional refinery experiences production problems. Shell reported a unit shutdown at its San Francisco area refinery in Martinez, after discovering a valve leak.

KBR wins turnaround work for US Gulf pygas plant

KBR will conduct services as the general contractor to perform regulatory maintenance, mechanical fixed equipment, piping systems, electrical and instrumentation services for the pygas unit, as well as all aspects of event management, project controls and subcontractor management.

HP Brief

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Thinnes, Billy

Centrica signs long-term North American LNG export contract with CheniereCentrica has an agreement with Cheniere Energy Partners to purchase 89 billion cubic feet of annual liquefied natural gas (LNG)..

HP Impact: Global oil flows shift from West to East

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Thinnes, Billy

By 2020, crude oil trade flows west of Suez will drop by 4.2 MM bpd, while crude flows east of Suez will rise by 4.7 MM bpd (Fig. 1), according to a recently published report from ESAI Energy. The pri..

Chinese drivers pushing up gasoline consumption as diesel use plateaus

Gasoline is gaining market share as more Chinese buy private vehicles, which mostly run on gasoline. Diesel-fueled cars are a rarity in China, as government policy has often discouraged diesel use for private transportation. Gasoline consumption growth has gradually eclipsed diesel's in recent years.

US monthly oil demand nudges up; gasoline down

Despite the modest rise of about 100,000 bpd, demand was the second lowest in March since 1997, the API said. Demand for gasoline, the most widely used petroleum product in the country, fell 2.3% in March to a 13-year low of 8.4 million bpd. First-quarter gasoline use was off 1.7% from a year earlier.

Shell mulls sale of downstream businesses in Italy

The potential sale is consistent with Shell’s strategy to concentrate its global downstream businesses where it can be most competitive, according to company officials. Recent examples include the sale of refineries in the UK and Germany and downstream businesses in Finland and Sweden.

Valero sees costs outweighing benefits for new US gasoline pollution rules

Valero spokesman Bill Day said the company expects to spend $300 million to $400 million building new equipment to remove sulfur from gasoline and to expand existing facilities. He said the company expects to incur additional operating costs each year, and those have yet to be determined.

Evaluate challenges in meeting clean-fuel specifications with heavier crude

Saudi Aramco: Al-Zahrani, S.  |  Bright, E.  |  Roy, S.

At a Saudi Aramco refinery, a revamp was planned for processing a different crude oil blend to meet Euro 5 diesel and gasoline specifications. The refinery, which processes semi-light crude oil, is sc..