15th June, 2016:

Will raise capacity to about 3.2 million barrels a day by 2020 from 1.85 million currently by building five plants

Tehran: Iran plans to increase its refining capacity for crude and condensate by more than 70 per cent within the next four years as it works to improve the quality of fuel sold on the domestic market and wean itself off imported gasoline.  Iran will raise capacity to about 3.2 million barrels a day by 2020 from 1.85 million currently by building five plants, Abbas Kazemi, managing director of National Iranian Oil Refining & Distribution Co., said in an interview in Tehran. The country also needs about $14 billion (Dh51.4 billion) in investment to upgrade units at five existing refineries to produce gasoline that burns more cleanly than grades currently available in the country, he said.  Iran, Opec’s third-largest oil producer, is boosting energy output after international sanctions curbing its access to oil markets were eased in January. Since then, Iran has restored oil production near to pre-sanctions levels and raised output of natural gas at the offshore South Pars field, part of the world’s largest deposit.  One of the new refineries, the 360,000 barrel-a-day Persian Gulf Star, is scheduled to start operating by March, Kazemi said. The refinery will process condensate, the light oil found in gas deposits. Iran is seeking to use its condensate to make gasoline for transportation or naphtha for use in chemical plants. 

New refineries

Private companies are developing the Siraf condensate refinery complex at the southern port of Assaluyeh. The planned complex of eight units, each with a capacity of 60,000 barrels a day, will process condensate from South Pars into naphtha.  “The only product they’re short is gasoline,” Tushar Tarun Bansal, an oil analyst at consultant FGE in Singapore, said Thursday. Transforming condensate into gasoline will help Iran cut imports starting in the second quarter of 2017, he said.  The refineries to be upgraded are at Isfahan, Tabriz, Tehran, Bandar Abbas and Abadan, Kazemi said in the interview on Wednesday. The government will pay for Abadan plant’s modernisation and is seeking investors to fund the others, he said.
  

Feasibility study  

Japanese engineering company Chiyoda Corp is conducting a feasibility study with Mitsui & Co on the Bandar Abbas project, said Masaru Akamatsu, a Chiyoda spokesman. Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry is paying for part of the study, which is scheduled for completion by the end of March, Akamatsu said. The modernisation contract is worth about 300 billion yen ($2.8 billion), Japanese broadcaster NHK reported in February. Akamatsu declined to comment on the value of the potential upgrading project.  Daelim Industrial Co, based in South Korea, and Marubeni Corp and Mitsubishi Corp, both with headquarters in Japan, are also interested in working on refinery projects in Iran, Kazemi said. A spokesman for Daelim declined to comment, asking not to be identified because of company policy. Marubeni and Mitsubishi didn’t immediately reply to requests for comment.  Iran plans also to build three new refineries: the 300,000 barrel-a-day Bahmangenoo plant at the port of Jask, a 150,000 barrel-a-day facility at Anahita in western Kermanshah province, and the Pars refinery, which will process 120,000 barrels a day of condensate.

By Gulf News

15th June, 2016:

Par Pacific Holdings announced Tuesday the purchase of Wyoming Refining Co. in a deal worth $271.4 million.  The transaction includes Wyoming Refining’s 18,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Newcastle, as well as a 140-mile crude gathering pipeline and 40 miles of refined product pipelines.  Par Pacific executives touted the Newcastle refinery’s proximity to the emerging oil play in the Powder River Basin and access to niche markets with significant gasoline needs.  William Pate, Par Pacific president and CEO, called the transaction a “bullseye” for the Houston-based company.  “It’s an area, given the size of our company, where we can grow our business,” Pate told financial analysts in a conference call announcing the deal.  Wyoming Refining, a subsidiary of Black Elk Refining LLC, purchased the Newcastle facility in 2011.

Par Pacific executives approached Black Elk Refining about the prospects for a deal last fall.  The refining operation has undergone significant renovations in recent years. Wyoming Refining invested $85 million in the operation over the last four years, boosting daily production by roughly 4,000 barrels, Par Pacific executives said.  Under terms of the deal announced Tuesday, Par Pacific will assume about $123 million of Wyoming Refining’s debt. Par Pacific will sell $50 million in stock to raise cash and will borrow another $100 million to help finance the purchase. The transaction is expected to close in mid-July.  Par Pacific is a Houston-based holding company that operates a Hawaiian refinery and natural gas production in Colorado. The firm also markets and distributes crude throughout the western United States. The company reported an annual loss of $39.9 million in 2015, down from a $47 million in 2013. 

Company executives said the deal was attractive due to northeastern Wyoming’s strong tourism market and the presence of Ellsworth Air Force Base outside of Rapid City.  Roughly 55 percent of the Newcastle refinery’s output is geared toward local gasoline demand, which is fueled in large part by the summer driving season. The refinery is also a supplier of aviation fuel to Ellsworth.  “It tends to be a tourist-driven market with a strong defense presence,” Pate said.  The refinery’s proximity to the Powder River Basin makes the project’s economics attractive, executives said.  Powder River Basin crude has, on average, sold for $3.80 per barrel less compared with the national benchmark over the last decade. The spread between crude and refined products has averaged $18.23 per barrel over the last three years.  Par Pacific shares were up 11.82 percent Tuesday to close at $15.80.

By Star Tribune

15th June, 2016:

ASTANA. KAZINFORM The modernization of the Atyrau Oil Refinery will be finished by the end of the year. Vice Minister of Energy Magzum Mirzagaliyev said it today at the 3rd International Conference "Oil Processing and Petrochemistry in Central Asia."    The Vice Minister reminded of reconstruction of three domestic oil refineries. “Atyrau Oil Refinery will be the first to finish its reconstruction work.  The modernization and reconstruction of Pavlodar and Shymkent oil refineries will  be accomplished in 2017,” Mirzagaliyev said.     According to him, the accomplishment of modernization of oil processing plants will let reduce dependence on import of light petroleum products as well as to increase capacity of processing from 15 mln to 17.5 mln tonnes of oil per annum.

By Kazinform

14th June, 2016:

WHITING, Ind. (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says BP Products North America Inc. has agreed to pay $275,000 in penalties and reduce pollution at its Whiting Refinery to resolve water and air pollution violations.  The EPA says the company has agreed to take steps to reduce pollution from the nation’s sixth largest petroleum refinery, one producing up to 430,000 barrels per day.  BP spokesman Mike Abendhoff says the company is pleased to resolve the claims stemming from a March 2014 spill of up to 39 barrels of oil into Lake Michigan. He says BP remains “committed to safe, reliable and compliant operations.”  The (Munster) Times reported Tuesday (http://bit.ly/1sEEAuQ ) the Coast Guard previously assessed a $2,000 penalty against BP for the spill.  

By The Seattle Times

13th June, 2016:

Gas prices in Michigan continue to rise, starting out the week being the second-highest in the nation, behind only California’s. Susan Hiltz, with AAA of Michigan, says Hintz says refineries are starting to produce more gas, but that’s not helping to offset other factors.      “We’ve got maintenance issues that are going on,” Hiltz said. “Crude oil prices are rising. Crude oil costs are rising, and we’ve also got higher demand.”  Still, Hiltz says the situation was worse last summer. According to GasBuddy, a gallon of self-serve regular was going for an average of $2.71 to $2.72 around Benton Harbor and St. Joseph Monday afternoon.

By WSJM