June 21, 2019:

The Wyoming refinery arm of Salt Lake City-based Sinclair Oil has agreed to pay a $1.6 million penalty and to install additional pollution controls to resolve allegations that it violated emissions limits. “This settlement holds Sinclair accountable for exceeding the emissions limits agreed to in a previous settlement for Clean Air Act violations,” said Gregory Sopkin, regional administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It also “requires the company to implement additional pollution control measures to secure cleaner, healthier air for the people of Wyoming," he said. The consent decree with the Sinclair Wyoming Refinery Company was announced Thursday by the EPA. the U.S. Department of Justice and the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality. Regulators had alleged violations at the company’s Sinclair, Wyo., refinery that included exceeding sulfur dioxide emissions and failing to operate, maintain and certify continuous emissions monitors as required. The deal “places Sinclair on a path to return its refinery to compliance with Wyoming’s environmental laws and requirements,” said Nancy Vehr, air quality administrator for the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality.The settlement is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval.

Source: The Salt Lake Tribune

June 20, 2019:

Valero’s Benicia Refinery, which drew the ire of residents and city officials after emitting airborne pollutants, has quietly reopened after being shut for more than a month this spring. The Benicia facility, one of five major refineries in the Bay Area, shut down March 24 after an issue caused the release of petroleum coke particles, a byproduct of oil refining. Residents were advised to stay indoors, and Valero warned that there could be visible flaring. Breathing in petroleum coke particles could cause discomfort or make heart or respiratory conditions like asthma worse, according to the March alert from city officials.

Source: SanFransisco Chronicle

June 20, 20019:

SINGAPORE: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) and Saudi Aramco have started operations at their new 1.2-million-tonnes-per-year naphtha cracker, multiple sources familiar the matter said. The sources added that naphtha was imported this month specifically for the cracker, which had started recently though an exact time frame could not be confirmed. Petronas did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The cracker is part of the US$2.7bil joint-venture oil refinery and petrochemical project known as Rapid – or Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development – located in Pengerang, in Johor. Rapid also houses a 300,000 barrel-per-day refinery apart from various petrochemical lines which can produce a total of 7.7 million tonnes a year of petrochemical products. But the complex was hit by a fire in April when trial runs were being conducted. The fire-hit residue desulphrizer is still under repair. But Rapid is expected to have middle distillates supplies around August to September, although these fuels may not meet standard specifications, one of the sources added.

Source: Reuters

June 19, 2019:

PARIS - French oil and gas major Total aims to complete repair works on the PLIF pipeline and restart its 102,000 barrels-per day Grandpuits refinery by mid-July, company documents show. Production was suspended at the refinery in February after a leak on the Ile-de-France Pipeline (PLIF) cut crude deliveries to the facility. Total is carrying out maintenance works on the pipeline and cleanup operations on surrounding farms following the spill, while French authorities are analyzing the cause of the incident before any approval of the restart. The company said in documents, presented during a public consultation with residents around the area of the spill, that initial investigations showed that the leak was caused by a degradation of the pipe. It said defaults were found in several areas along the pipeline and all the repairs would be carried out and would need to be approved by various authorities before a restart which it estimated at around mid-July.

Source: Reuters

June 19, 2019:

DUBAI - Kuwait’s state refiner KNPC said on Wednesday that refining operations at its Mina Abdullah oil refinery have been affected by a cut in seawater supply, which is used to cool production units in the plant. KNPC said on its official Twitter feed that despite the temporary issue, its oil export operations have not been affected. (Writing by Rania El Gamal; Editing by Jan Harvey)

Source: Reuters