May 12, 2016:

Eni has converted its refinery in Porto Marghera, Venice, to the production of high quality bio-fuel from vegetable oil and biomass.

From oil to biomass -

Eni has breathed new life into the refinery in Porto Marghera, converting it to the production of green fuel.

Eni’s Green Refinery project at Porto Marghera in Venice is the world’s first example of the conversion of a conventional refinery into a bio-refinery able to transform organic raw materials into high quality biofuels. The plant produces green diesel, green naphtha, LPG and potentially also jet fuel. It is currently fed by palm oil, but the plan is also to use biomass. The technological core of the project is EcofiningTM, a system developed in the San Donato Milanese laboratories in collaboration with Honeywell-UOP and then applied to the catalytic hydro-desulphurisation section of the Venice refinery. EcofiningTM has also enabled us to embark on yet another ambitious experimental development, namely the supply of biodiesel for the Italian navy’s offshore patrol vessel Foscari, the first example of its kind in the world.

A new life for the refinery

For us, the conversion of an oil refinery to a bio-refinery is not only of environmental and technological significance, but also of economic and social importance, since it allows us to give new life to the plant and guarantee continued employment through innovation. Reusing an existing structure instead of building a new one offers considerable savings at the initial investment level. Another benefit of the conversion that we care about as a company is the marked reduction in emissions.

By ENI

Dated: 4th January, 2016:

LONDON (ICIS)--The European base oil market in 2016 will be defined, at least in the first half of the year, by two refinery closures in northwest Europe that were scheduled to take place at the end of 2015.  Kuwait Petroleum has sold its Europoort refinery in Rotterdam to Gunvor, which will have ceased operating the site’s base oil, wax and bitumen production by the end of December 2015. The refinery has a base oil capacity of 235,000 tonnes/year. 

Shell will have also closed the base oil unit at its Pernis refinery, also in the Netherlands, which has a capacity of 370,000 tonnes/year, at the same time.  While the Shell closure has been known since April 2014, the sale of Kuwait Petroleum’s refinery and the news of the base oil closure was only announced at the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2015.  The late notice means customers have had less time to arrange alternative supplies for 2016, and so the disruption to the market will be greater.  Indeed, the impact was already seen in the closing stages of 2015 in the complete absence of the usual end-of-year price drop. Normally, many market players try to end the New Year with low working capital and so reduce their demand or offer bigger discounts on sales, and the result is that prices fall.  Yet in 2015, the uncertainty over supply in the early stages of 2016 prevented this from happening. Either consumers had already sought out new suppliers, meaning any excess supply needed to be retained for the additional demand in 2016, or players with spare volumes decided to hold on to them in expectation of tightness to come.  Conversely, some sources have also suggested that in the early stages of 2016 there could actually be an oversupply, albeit a brief one, as Shell and Kuwait Petroleum look to offload their last remaining volumes. 

As the year unfolds, however, there will be a sizable chunk of supply missing that needs to be replaced.    Firstly, increased imports of Group II base oils from the US will arrive, with a portion of the existing Group I demand in Europe expected to switch over. The switch from Group I to Group II has long been happening at a gradual pace, and the closures have merely served to accelerate that process.  Secondly, the volume of Group I imports from Russia will increase, with Russian producers looking set to capitalise on the closures in northwest Europe.  One producer said that while Europe looks to expand and develop Group II and Group III capacities, Russian producers can satisfy customers with Group I product and therefore expects its sales to remain robust in 2016.  Another source said that European blenders will be key customers in 2016 as they are likely to pay a substantially higher price for base oils than the regular buyers in the Baltic.  Although supply in the Baltic Sea export market improved towards the end of 2015, sources said that producers have sold a lot of inventory for December and even a portion for January and that the year could get off to a tight start as a result.  In addition, buying interest is expected to be healthy as buyers look to replenish stocks following efforts to maintain low inventories ahead of year end.  Demand in the Baltic Sea export market has remained healthy despite the approach of year end, with sources suggesting there is little excess product in the market.  With the Russian New Year holiday lasting until mid-January, market players are under pressure to secure volumes now as if they do not, they will have difficulty procuring product until the second half of the month. 

Lower crude oil prices are not expected to have any immediate effect on base oil values, although some suggest that it could exert some downward pressure in the coming months.  One source said that base oil values are already at their lowest possible level and that as a result, it saw no influence from lower upstream costs.  Elsewhere, other sources believed stability on the pricing of heavier grades was likely in the New Year as they were in less plentiful supply than lighter grades.  There was potential for downward pressure on SN150 values according to one source, which said that lower demand and healthier supply for this product amid lower crude oils made its pricing outlook more bearish than for heavier grades.  Quiet conditions are likely in the Black Sea base oils export market at the start of the year as Turkish players look to renew their import licences. 

By ICIS

4th January, 2016:

WILLEMSTAD – Dutch MP for the GroenLinks party, Liesbeth van Tongeren will make use of her participation in the Inter-Parliamentary Consultation Kingdom (IPKO), which will be held next week in St. Maarten, to delve into environmental issues around the oil refinery Isla in Curaçao.

With the permission of her colleagues in the Dutch delegation, she will not take part at the “Caribbean Netherlands-summit ‘on Saba on January 9, but will be traveling straight to Willemstad after the IPKO to meet with the members of the Clean Environment Foundation (SMOC) and, if possible, to take a look inside the gates of the refinery.

Van Tongeren wants to catch up on all the information needed to be well prepared for the Parliamentary Committee for Kingdom Relations’ debate in late January with the Dutch Minister of Kingdom Relations, Ronald Plasterk.

Van Tongeren, co-author of the book “Sketches of a new economy, realizes that it is too much to ask at this time to close the refinery. The refinery, but also oil transshipment terminals on Bonaire and St. Eustatius supply a significant part of the local economies with the corresponding jobs.

By Curacao Chronicle

4th January, 2016:

A worker at Marathon Petroleum Corp’s Galveston Bay Refinery in Texas City, Texas, was burned by hydrofluoric acid on Saturday while working on an alkylation unit, which was shut as part of a planned three-month, multi-unit overhaul, a source familiar with plant operations said on Sunday.  The worker was taken to an area hospital “as a precautionary measure,” Marathon spokesman Brandon Daniels said. He provided no details about the incident  The 31,500 barrel per day (bpd) HF Alkylation Unit 3 is one of several units shut for the overhaul at the. 451,000 bpd refinery that includes the 120,000 bpd gasoline-producing Fluidic Catalytic Cracking Unit 3, the largest of two FCCUs at the plant.

HF alkylation units produce high-octane gasoline components from refining by-products in a catalyst made from the acid. In addition to being corrosive to skin and eyes, hydrofluoric acid can cause fatal damage to the respiratory system.  The refinery, while under the ownership of BP Plc , was the site of the deadliest refinery accident in the past decade when 15 workers were killed in a March 23, 2005 explosion that injured 180 people.

By Enerrgy Voice

1st January, 2016:

Washington — The average price at the gas pump is below $2.00 a gallon -- which is the cheapest price for fuel on New Year's Day since 2009. Drivers may pay even less for gasoline in 2016 than they did last year. Triple-A estimates the annual average price of gas in 2016 is likely to end up between $2.25 and $2.45 per gallon, which would be cheaper or at least comparable to this year's average of $2.40 per gallon.  But Triple-A spokesman Michael Green warns drivers to expect prices to jump about 50 cents next month during refinery maintenance season.

By The Associate Press