February 22, 2019:

State-owned oil company Saudi Aramco signed a US$10 billion deal to build a refining and petrochemical complex in China today, as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman wrapped up a two-day trip to Beijing.  The Saudi delegation, including top executives from Aramco, arrived yesterday on an Asia tour that has already seen the kingdom pledge investment of US$20 billion in Pakistan and seek to make additional investments in India’s refining industry.  The crown prince will meet President Xi Jinping, who has made stepping up China’s presence in the Middle East a key foreign policy objective, despite its traditional low-key role there.  Aramco agreed to form a joint venture with Chinese defence conglomerate Norinco to develop a refining and petrochemical complex in the northeastern Chinese city of Panjin, saying the project is worth more than US$10 billion. The partners will form a new company called Huajin Aramco Petrochemical Co as part of a project that will include a 300,000-barrels-per-day (bpd) refinery with a 1.5-million-metric-tonnes-per-year ethylene cracker, Aramco said. 

Aramco will supply up to 70 per cent of the crude feedstock for the complex, which is expected to start operations in 2024.  The investments could help Saudi Arabia regain its place as the top oil exporter to China, a position Russia has held for the last three years. Saudi Aramco is set to boost market share by signing supply deals with non-state Chinese refiners.  China sees “enormous potential” in Saudi Arabia’s economy and wants more high-tech cooperation, State Councillor Wang Yi, the Chinese government’s top diplomat, said yesterday.  Meeting Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, Wang said the main features of their ties were respect, understanding and support for each other, China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement late yesterday.  “All countries in the world have the right to develop, and Saudi Arabia is an emerging market country with enormous potential,” the ministry paraphrased Wang as saying. 

China supports Saudi Arabia’s efforts to diversify its economy and is willing to strengthen high-tech cooperation, Wang added.  China has had to step carefully in relations with Riyadh, since Beijing also has close ties with Saudi Arabia’s regional foe Iran.  On Wednesday, Xi told the speaker of Iran’s parliament that China’s desire to develop close ties with Iran would stay unaltered, regardless of the global situation.  China is also wary of criticism from Muslim countries about its camps in the heavily-Muslim far western region of Xinjiang, which the government says are for de-radicalisation purposes and rights groups call internment camps.  Wang said both countries face the threats of terrorism and extremism, and should strengthen cooperation to safeguard security and stability.  China was not seeking to play politics in the Middle East, the widely-read state-run tabloid, the Global Times, said in an editorial today.  “China won’t be a geopolitical player in the Middle East. It has no enemies and can cooperate with all countries in the region,” said the paper, published by the ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily.  “China’s increasing influence in the Middle East comes from pure friendly cooperation. Such a partnership will be welcomed by more countries in the Middle East.”

By Reuters

February 22, 2019:

A wastewater leak that occurred at the rear of the Wyoming Refining Co. on Feb. 12 is not expected to have any negative impacts on public health or the environment, according to a refinery spokesman.  “The leak was treated wastewater. We have a discharge permit for the wastewater out of the final pond,” said Mike Baldwin, manager of health, safety, security and environment at the refinery. “It is treated to meet the permit conditions, so it is not a hazard to health or environment. It is basically water; there are no hydrocarbons with that.”  According to Baldwin, the leak occurred sometime Tuesday morning in a line that takes the treated wastewater to an evaporation pond. He said that officials at the refinery are still trying to come up with estimates on how much of the wastewater was actually released.  “It is hard to know with the size of the leak. We do calculations, but those numbers are still unknown,” Baldwin said.  He said that the leak is still under investigation but that he does not anticipate anything unusual to be found.

By Trib.com

February 22, 2019:

Speaking on Sat. in an interview with IRNA correspondent, he said, “inauguration of recent plan for increasing production capacity of gasoline and improvement of quality of gasoline and oil gas of this refinery in the presence of high-ranking executive official of the country is the symbol of Iranian authority, dignity and knowledge.”  High potentials of domestic companies have been used in manufacturing and providing equipment needed in the construction of this national project such as heat exchanges, towers and their accessories, he added.  He went on to say that power cables, instrumentation, tubes, fittings, aerial coolers and also some pumps are of the main parts that were purchased from domestic industries and companies.  Elsewhere in his remarks, the chief executive of the company added, “in tandem with the optimal use of domestic companies and in line with the implementation of self-reliance policies as well as cutting dependency to foreign countries, relying upon scientific knowledge and technical knowhow of experts of the refinery as well as using their creativity played a significant role in accelerating implementation of the project.”  Also, manufacturing electrical part of heater control in Catalyst Reduction Unit is of the other achievements of the company which was constructed using reserve engineering and analysis of performance, he said.  The plan to boost production capacity of gasoline and improvement of quality of gasoline and oil gas of Bandar Abbas Oil Refinery became operational in the recent trip of President Rouhani to Hormozgan province, the chief executive added.

By MEHR News Agency

February 22, 2019:

GUWAHATI: Assam based Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) has inked an MoU with IIT Guwahati (IITG) for incubation of Startups under its Startup funding initiative.  NRL has start up initiative ‘iDEATION’. The MoU was signed at IITG between Director (Technical) NRL, Bhaskar Phukan and Director, IITG Prof. Gautam Biswas.  

According to NRL the MoU will facilitate providing incubation facility and mentoring to the Startups selected through iDEATION by the established Technology Incubation Centre (TIC) of IITG. This win-win collaboration will provide impetus, necessary infrastructure and guidance for taking forward NRL sponsored Startup projects in the region.

Launched in the year 2017 for nurturing and boosting a Startup ecosystem in North-East India, iDEATION is NRL’s contribution towards the ambitious ‘Startup India’ Mission of the Government of India. “A successful first edition of this initiative saw a funding to the tune of Rs. 1.29 crore being allotted to 4 selected Startup projects as Seed funding and Scale up funding. The second edition launched in February 2018, too, garnered huge responses from the intrepid entrepreneurs of the North-East,” the company stated.

By Economic Times

February 22, 2019:

 Twenty days after a strong odor from the Marathon refinery covered a large portion of Downriver, two U.S. Congresswomen wrote an open letter to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  In the letter, addressed to MDEQ Director Liesl Clark and EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler, U.S. Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-12th District) and Rashida Tlaib (D-13th District) called for “reassurances” that the community is safe.  Marathon has repeatedly said none of the releases were at dangerous levels. In a statement to Detroit City Council Feb. 5, the oil company said both “the U.S. EPA and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality confirmed that there were no readings of concern.”  Still, some residents have been less than convinced.  A group of individuals residing in the 48217 zip code — which includes part of Detroit and borders Lincoln Park, Ecorse, Dearborn, Melvindale and River Rouge — expressed continued concern over the refinery’s emissions in a Feb. 4 statement.  “Metro Detroiters got a tiny dose of the illness, discomfort and terror we endure living in the shadow of Marathon Petroleum Corporation,” the press release read. “The horrific, stomach-churning odors Metro Detroiters experienced over the weekend are a regular occurrence in our homes and community. We are calling on Marathon, Mayor Duggan, Governor Whitmer and other elected officials to resolve this devastating problem.”  Two elected officials seem to have heard their call.  The letter authored by Dingell and Tlaib calls for “a full understanding of what happened and the exact steps (the MDEQ and EPA) will be taking to keep the public safe and informed moving forward.”  Citizens have complained about a lack of transparent communication from Marathon in the past.  Following an Oct. 29 flaring event at the refinery, Detroit resident Emma Lockridge said she called the refinery’s community hotline and wasn’t given any information.

“When I called, I said there’s a problem,” she explained. “They told me everything was OK, but wouldn’t share any specifics. I wanted to know what was going on.  “They’re supposed to inform people when there’s an issue. How far gone does it have to be to get a text?”  Dingell and Tlaib want more than a text.  The pair of U.S. Congresswomen requested “a full and prompt" response to 10 questions in their letter to the two environmental agencies.

By News-Herald