January 1, 2019:

U.S. light oil has become too cheap for Gulf Coast refiners to pass up. Fuel makers on the Gulf, home to the largest cluster of refineries in the world, processed oil with an average API gravity of 33.06 in October, according to the Energy Information Administration. The measure of oil density matches a record set in February, when Gulf refiners processed the lightest crude in 26 years thanks to a surge in domestically produced light barrels. Growing U.S. output has sent imports to a 3-year low, as domestic barrels are cheaper than imported ones. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark oil, is being traded at a discount of $8.10 per barrel compared with Brent, the benchmark used to price imported oil. U.S. production has doubled in the past seven years to a record 11.537 million barrels daily in October, largely supported by new drilling technologies that allowed producers to extract oil from areas previously deemed uneconomical. That’s reduced America’s dependence on imported oil from OPEC countries.

By Bloomberg

December 31, 2018:

A study carried out on the operational status of the over 5,000 kilometres of pipeline network belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) across the country, has revealed that the pipeline network would need $12 billion to be replaced or  $1.1 billion to be fixed. Sponsored by the United Kingdom-funded Facility for Oil Sector Transparency and Reform in Nigeria (FOSTER), for the NNPC, the study was aimed at outlining an intervention plan to transform government-owned downstream oil pipelines into a proper business with incentives to attract private sector participation. The report, which was obtained by THISDAY, stated that product losses from vandalism on pipelines owned by the NNPC, as well as costs incurred by the corporation to repair them have been enormous, and suggested that they be segmented for either privatisation or commercialisation. The study equally did a comparative study of pipeline commercialisation models for possible adoption, along with policy recommendations developed for commercialisation with guidelines for implementation. However, the report did not cover the extensive upstream crude oil pipelines owned by oil producing companies and downstream gas pipelines in its study. “The exact mechanical condition of the network is unknown, and it would cost more than $12 billion to replace the entire network today, and more than $1.1 billion to repair and inspect it comprehensively,” said  the study. It added: “The pipeline network is a worthy investment that is currently vastly under-utilised due to a myriad of problems. For efficient management and to encourage competition, the products pipelines can be divided into three sections: the Western, Eastern, and Northern sub-networks. Additionally, the upstream segment for supply of crude oil to the Kaduna refinery can be managed as a dedicated crude oil sub-network.”

According to the report, the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC) – a subsidiary of the NNPC, which manages the lines have been unable to make the most of the pipeline network, which traverses the country, and consists of 4,315 kilometres of multi-product pipelines and 701 kilometres of crude oil pipelines.  “The pipelines are operated by Products and Pipelines Marketing Company (PPMC), and are utilised to transport crude oil from Warri to the Kaduna refinery, and to transport refined products (that is, premium motor spirit (PMS), automotive gas oil (AGO), dual purpose kerosene (DPK), and aviation turbine kerosene (ATK)) nationwide. “The key challenges identified with PPMC operations of the pipelines under exclusive government ownership comprise, refinery operations: low availability of the refineries results in sub-optimal utilisation of the pipelines; security, pipelines vandalism, and theft of products: this is well entrenched in Nigeria; product pricing and downstream market regulations: these stifle private sector participation in the value chain, and related losses have been estimated at up to $15 billion per annum; poverty and chronic underdevelopment: this is partly responsible for the chronic incidences of vandalism and theft of products,” it explained. It stated that while Nigeria faces challenges in its pipelines, pipeline transportation business has however been thriving in many countries, particularly the United States.

Nigeria, the report noted, still relies on expensive road tankers to take products across her length and breadth. The study recommended that deregulating the downstream sector, and privatising or commercialising all its value chain, such as the refineries; pipelines network; pumping stations; and product storage depots, will ensure that the sector operates in a sustainable manner, such that market realities will keep its long-term viability. According to the report, “Subsequent to their privatisation/commercialisation, fix/repair the four inland refineries and ensure they operate at optimum availabilities. If this is not achieved, it is unlikely that private investors will show a keen interest in acquiring/managing the pipeline network. “Split the pipelines network into the indicated four segment sub-networks, i.e. Western, Eastern, Northern and Crude Oil, and privatise/commercialise each as distinct companies. “Avoid the pitfalls associated with the privatisation of PHCN (Power Holding Company of Nigeria) assets in the electricity supply sector. Generate employment for the general public and the host communities via the pipelines privatisation/commercialisation process.”

On the issue of pipeline vandalism, the study stated that its severity was higher in the south than in the north, adding also that there is a ‘market’ for both crude and refinery products tapped from the pipelines. It equally questioned the capacity of the PPMC to secure the lines, saying, “The responsibility for pipelines rests with PPMC. However, it appears that PPMC do not have a unit capable of managing the entire spectrum of pipeline operations, particularly those related to technical maintenance. “Even basic security surveillance of the pipeline RoW is severely compromised. The opportunities that these technical and security-related operations offer to engage the communities on the pipeline RoW – and thereby improve government presence therein – are not maximised. Instead, only a token effort is made.”

By www.thisdaylive.com/

December 30, 3018:

The Environmental Protection Agency recently released a list of updated data on several small-refinery hardship waivers filed under the Renewable Fuels Standard. ethanolproducer.com says seven new waivers have been filed for the 2018 compliance year. One new petition for 2017 compliance has also been added to the list. All of the waivers were filed between November 10 and December 18. As of December 18, the EPA has received 22 waiver requests for the 2018 compliance year. That’s up from the petitions that were filed between November 10 and December 18. For 2017, EPA has received a total of 37 small refinery petitions, up from the 36 it had received by November 10. The agency has approved 29 petitions so far, with seven still currently pending and one declared ineligible or withdrawn. The 29 petitions that have been approved so far have exempted roughly 1.46 billion renewable identification numbers (RINs), keeping just over 13.6 billion gallons of gasoline and diesel from meeting the RFS blending targets. A coalition of ethanol-related groups recently filed a lawsuit against the EPA over the small-refinery waivers. Brian Jennings of the American Coalition for Ethanol says the coalition believes the EPA is abusing the hardship waivers.

By: NAFB News Service

December 30, 2018:

One of the country’s leading cooking oil and soap manufacturers, United Refineries Limited (URL) will resume cooking oil exports to Namibia soon as it forges ahead to grow its foreign currency coffers. URL chief executive officer Mr Busisa Moyo confirmed that the Ministry of Industry and Commerce has issued the company with an export permit to export its Roil cooking oil brand to Namibia. “We have now been given the permits we require to export to Namibia. There had been a ban of exports of cooking oil up to last month. We also have orders for Botswana and Malawi but we are awaiting permits for the same from the relevant ministries,” he said. The company was forced to halt exports around the year 2000 due to a myriad of challenges, including a downturn of the economy due to illegal economic sanctions. However, URL recently admitted to inadequate stocks of cooking oil and laundry soap citing limited access to key raw materials due to shortage of foreign currency. To effectively respond to the shortage in the market, the company requires up to $3 million in foreign currency.

URL, which has sustained its operations for the past 18 years through processing cooking oil and laundry bar soap, has over the past few years re-introduced and launched a number of products. “Both the fortified mealie-meal and vegetable extract juices are performing satisfactorily and are listed with major retailers. We look forward to growing awareness for these products in the New Year,” said Mr Moyo. The company also launched its new mayonnaise line under Roil Mayonnaise brand and an olive oil brand, where olive varieties are grown in the Eastern Cape. Three years ago the Bulawayo-based company re-introduced its three range of soaps namely Image, Vogue and Fresh Health Joy whose packaging was in­scribed in English as well as Por­tuguese specifically aimed to target Portuguese speak­ing nations.

By nehandaradio.com

December 28, 2018:

An oil and gas company in Pecos County is on track to refine its oil using renewable energy. MMEX Resources Corp. bought hundreds of acres of land in the county, and announced its intention to build a refinery.  In July of 2018, the company filed trademark paperwork to develop a solar power project.  And on December 19th, the company announced its partnership with the Texas Solar Power Association, a trade organization made up of companies dedicated to developing solar products in Texas.  The President and CEO of MMEX Resources Corp., Jack W. Hanks, explained why his company decided to power the planned oil refinery with a renewable energy source. 

“We have a confluence of tremendous resources in Pecos County, for that matter, in the Permian Basin. You’ve got the largest oil field in the world. You’ve got great sun and solar power metrics right there. And it made a lot of sense to us, instead of buying power from the grid that we could utilize renewable energy of our own,” he said. The 500- acre plot of land is located around 20 miles outside of Fort Stockton. The company is on track to build a 10,000 barrel-per-day crude distillation unit and full-scale crude oil refinery. Hanks said the project is big, but other companies have seen success. “And the good news about Pecos County, and this area, is there’s no doubt about there being plenty of sun. There’s already a lot of other studies that have been done in this state and Pecos County. And other companies have already built some of these facilities. So we don’t have to prove up the concept. It’s really execution from this point forward,” he said. 

The first step in execution according to Hanks, is hiring an engineering and procurement contractor. The contractor will work with the Texas Solar Power Association to create a solar plan. The company aims to develop the distillation unit and solar project at the same time.  Hanks highlighted possible timeframes for the projects, and commented on next steps that his company will be taking.  “The crude distillation unit, the first phase, can be in commercial operation within 12 to 15 months. So we would like to tie in the solar project and for it to be completed in that amount of time. We don’t think permitting will be an issue. And then the construction time of the panels. But we don’t see those as major hurdles. I think it will be more of the regulatory scheme of things that would delay us,” he said. The solar power generated will power the MMEX Resources Corp. facilities, but can potentially power nearby cities, according to Hanks.  “We’ve already had some discussion, so we are encouraged that there are opportunities for us to supply solar power to some of the cities around us. We could also provide solar power to other oil field operations because there is a need for it,” he said.  Hanks said several communities have showed strong interest in purchasing solar power, and MMEX Resource Corp.’s will be interviewing neighboring communities in the future.  The CEO said the sun-fed refinery could be up and running by the end of the first quarter of 2020.  The refinery can potentially employ hundreds of people throughout the process of building and maintaining the Pecos refinery.

By cbs7.com