July 17, 2020:

China’s daily crude oil throughput in June surged to the highest level on record, official data showed, as refiners ramped up processing on healthy margins and a recovery in demand for gasoline and diesel, as reported by Reuters. China processed 57.87 million tonnes of crude oil last month, equivalent to about 14.08 million barrels per day (bpd), data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released on Thursday showed. This is up from 13.63 million bpd in May and beating the previous record set in December last year. Throughput for the first half of this year totalled 319.09 million tonnes, or about 12.8 million bpd, up 0.6% from a year earlier.

By Reuters

July 15, 2020:

Alberta’s first shipment of crude has reached the refinery in New Brunswick, after a circuitous journey of nearly 12,000 km. Cenovus announced Canada Day is first shipment had been loaded onto tanker Cabo de Hornos in the Trans Mountain loading area in Burnaby, and was on its way to the Irving refinery.  But instead of flowing along an Energy East pipeline which was kiboshed, the oil was sailed down the Western seaboard, through the Panama Canal, and up the Eastern Seaboard to New Brunswick, a distance of 11,900 km. “We were pleased with the economics of this transaction and excited to work with another strong Canadian company like Irving Oil,” said Keith Chiasson, Cenovus Energy Executive Vice-President, Downstream, in a statement when the ship left Burnaby. “This is a one-off shipment for now, but we think there’s tremendous potential for more oil from Western Canada to make its way east, expanding our customer base here at home. It’s truly a Canadian success story.”

By Westernstandardonline

July 15, 2020:

McKenzie County Job Development Authority recently awarded funds to Safflower Technologies International for help in undertaking a feasibility study for a safflower refinery plant to be located in the Watford City area, according to Daniel Stenberg of the Job Development Authority. Stenberg said the local Job Development Authority is continuing to look for ways to diversify the local economy and add value to crops that local farmers are growing. According to NDSU Extension, Safflower (Carthamus tinctorious L.) is an annual oilseed crop adapted primarily to the cereal grain areas of the western Great Plains. In North Dakota, safflower has been grown in experimental test plots since 1928 and on a commercial basis since 1957. Acreage has been concentrated in the western part of the state. Safflower is well-adapted to western North Dakota and South Dakota, as well as eastern Montana. Safflower provides three principal products: oil, meal and birdseed. Paige Brummund, Ward County agriculture and natural resources Extension agent said, to her knowledge, there is no safflower acreage in Ward County. If a safflower refinery is established in the Watford City area, she said there might be interest in safflower acreage in this area. USDA Farm Service Agency in Ward County confirmed there is no safflower acreage in the county and has not been any since about 20 years ago. Jerald Bergman, of Williston, is in charge of research and development for Safflower Technologies International. He is handling the proposed safflower refinery project. STI is headquartered in Laurel, Mont.

He said McKenzie County Job Development Authority provided $8,000 to STI to undertake the feasibility study. After the study is completed, another $8,000 would come from the county. Bergman developed Healthola safflower oil, a natural, non-GMO safflower released by Montana State University. He said on July 1 that they are starting the feasibility study in the next 30 days. It will be about four months to complete, Bergman said. He said the feasibility study will include visiting existing refineries as well as getting costs for equipment and operating costs. The company has an elevator and seed cleaning facility in Fairview, Mont. The proposal is to build a safflower refinery on the North Dakota side in McKenzie County. If the project is determined feasible, Bergman said it will expand the markets.

By Minotdailynews

July 10, 2020:

The North Dakota Supreme Court ruled in favor of Meridian Energy Group’s Air Quality Permit suit last week, giving the company the right to complete construction of the Davis Refinery in western North Dakota. The ruling is a major milestone for Meridian and for the industry, as the first greenfield, full-conversion refinery in the U.S. is more than 40 years will be completed, according to Meridian. The refinery is being developed in Billings County on about 150 acres (and additional acreage for a buffer) east of the Fryburg Rail Facility in Belfield. The court decision last week marks the end of the litigation process with respect to the Davis Refinery’s Permit to Construct issued in June 2018, after a rigorous 18 month review by the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality.

In issuing the permit, the N.D. Department of Environmental Quality found that the emissions from the Davis Refinery would be substantially below stringent federal standards, and would be monitored to such an extent that the refinery qualified as a Synthetic Minor Synthetic Source. This finding, now confirmed by the North Dakota Supreme Court, was a first for a full-conversion refinery and was hailed as “historic” by major industry commentators, according to Merdian Energy Group information. “The Department appreciates the collaborative approach Meridian has taken throughout the entire process. Our primary evaluation criteria remain that our partners follow the science and the law, and Meridian demonstrated leadership in both areas. The people of North Dakota demand these virtues in all our actions, and they should accept nothing less,” said David Glatt, director of the N.D. Department of Environmental Quality. William Prentice, CEO & chairman of Meridian, said, “Meridian is thankful for the Court’s decision in this matter. This decision is a major milestone in continuing Meridian’s mission – to develop the cleanest and smartest refineries on the planet – and making it a reality. The Davis design that is the basis for the PTC (Permit to Construct) will result in Davis having total emissions of one-eighth of industry average, and less than one-half of the industry’s GHG (greenhouse gases) emissions. If one half of the refining industry in the United States were converted or replaced with Meridian technology the industry would show a reduction of 88 million tons of GHG per year!”

Established in 2013, Meridian has offices in Belfield, Houston, Texas, and Irvine, California. Refinery developments are under way in North Dakota ad Texas.

- www.minotdailynews.com

July 10, 2020:

Abu Dhabi’s investment fund Mubadala Investment Co [MUDEV.UL] will enter into exclusive talks with Petrobras to purchase Brazil’s second-largest refinery, the Brazilian state-owned oil company said in a securities filing on Thursday. Reuters was the first to report earlier on Thursday that Mubadala was on an inside track to acquire the refinery, known as Rlam, after beating back competition from India’s Essar Group, according to three people close to the negotiations. Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as Petrobras is formally known, confirmed in a filing that Mubadala had submitted the best offer and was invited to negotiate. Mubadala will discuss the contract terms with Brazil’s Petrobras in an exclusive negotiation expected to take several weeks, the people said on Thursday, declining to be named as the talks were not public at the time.

If the contract changes significantly, Petrobras will call back competitors for a second round of bids based on price, the sources said. Indian conglomerate Essar also made a binding offer for Rlam, as Reuters reported in June, and could compete again for the refinery if Petrobras decides to retender it.

- Reuters