June 21, 2013:

The head of Costa Rica’s National Oil Refinery (RECOPE) resigned after the Comptroller General’s Office ordered the state company to halt progress on a planned oil refinery in Moín, Limón, citing weaknesses, legal inconsistencies and bias in its feasibility study.   RECOPE President Jorge Villalobos handed in his resignation on Thursday in the latest setback for the protracted expansion. The troubled refinery project on the northern Caribbean coast has sputtered forward since it was announced in 2007, coming under increased scrutiny after Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Costa Rica early in June. Plans to upgrade the aging refinery were announced when then-President Oscar Arias visited China in 2007 after his administration said it would no longer recognize Taiwan. In 2008, the government ordered environmental impact and feasibility studies for the new refinery, and in 2009, RECOPE and the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) formed a 50-50 partnership called the Chinese-Costa Rican Reconstruction Corporation (SORESCO) to build and finance the refinery, according to RECOPE.

After years of debate over how the project would be financed, the Chinese Development Bank Corporation announced it would put up $900 million toward the project’s estimated $1.5 billion price tag in 2012. The remainder would be split between RECOPE and the Chinese National Petroleum Corporation, according to AmeilaReuda.com. Villalobos was not the first to slip on the refinery upgrade. Monica Araya, a former consultant for the Environment Ministry (MINAE), was allegedly fired for speaking out against the project, according to ClimateWire. Opposition lawmakers are also calling for Environment Minister René Castro to step down over the affair, reported Costa Rica’s Radio Monumental. RECOPE has already spent $50 million on the estimated $1.5 billion project, according to crhoy.com. RECOPE argues that the country needs to replace the aging facility to reduce Costa Rica’s energy dependence and domestic gasoline prices. The state-run company claims the project will save the country $2 billion in annual oil costs and increase the facility’s capacity from 25,000 to 60,000 barrels, reported EFE. A statement from RECOPE also claims the project would generate 2,000 construction jobs in Limón and another 3,000 indirectly. The facility would have a full-time staff of 700.  An environmental impact study accepted by the National Technical Secretariat of the Environment Ministry (SETENA) in October 2012 found that the project would have “minimal” impact on the surrounding area, according to RECOPE.  Environmentalists disagree. They claim the new refinery takes Costa Rica in the wrong direction and will do little to contribute to the country’s goal to become the world’s first carbon-neutral country by 2021. SETENA came under fire from green groups for allegedly ignoring environmental concerns in favor of the project, approving its construction based on RECOPE’s provisional plans and without a required cost-benefit analysis, according to TV’s Channel 7 and crhoy.com. Castro said the company has six months to present an alternative plan that includes a new feasibility study and the possibility of incorporating biofuels, reported the daily La Nación.

By Ticotimes.net

June 21, 2013:

Akure — MEN of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, in Ondo State have arrested seven persons suspected to be operators of an illegal refinery and petroleum depot. Commandant of the NSCDC in the state, Waheed Bamidele Popoola who revealed this, yesterday, in Akure said the suspects were picked up at Iju Osun, Ore, Oniparaga and Onitea area of the state. He said three tankers marked EKY 699 XH, XA 995 KMR and JJJ450 XA were recovered from the suspects. The commandant added that the suspects were currently in prison custody. According to him the incident has been reported to Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) while the illegal depot and refinery have been destroyed Popoola added that no fewer than ten vehicle loaded with adulterated fuel were also recovered from the suspects. He said that the suspects were arrested following a tip- off.

The Commandant said that his men recently discovered at Oniparaga along Lagos Ore road some wells where fuel was been drawn like drawing water from well. Popoola added that surveillance of all notorious areas in the state mostly revirine areas has been beefed up The commandant wondered why some people keep engaging in this illegal business. According to him "Depite the arrest and prosecution after the repair and seal up of the spot, they still go back there in canoe"

By AllAfrica.com

June 21, 2013:

Tesoro Corp. (TSO) reported a power failure earlier this week at its Martinez, Calif., refinery, according to a filing with Contra Costa County health officials made public Friday.  The cause of the outage at the 166,000 barrel-a-day refinery was unknown at the time the company reported it on Wednesday, and there was "no estimate of time available for restart," according to the filing. No flaring was reported.

A spokesman for Tesoro was not immediately available for comment.

By The Wall Street Journal

June 21, 2013:

Every time Frank White fills his gas tank he shakes his head. "I don't think anybody is happy about it," says White, referring to ever-soaring -- and ever-changing -- gas prices. But who's making the extra money when prices go up? Gasoline analyst Charles Langley says it's not the neighborhood gas station, it's the oil companies. "The name of the game for them and the challenge is not to produce too much gasoline because if they produce too much the price will go down," says Langley. Charles Langley says price hikes often take place at the refinery level where oil companies can control the output of fuel. Right now seven companies operate 11 refineries. When there is a disruption of supply, prices go up. Those disruptions take place for safety reasons, fuel blend changes, even a Mylar balloon flying into the wires of a refinery. "This is a local California phenomenon with refineries not being able to supply the market with enough gasoline," says Langley. "And the real question is, are they not able to or is this extremely profitable to the refineries?"

By NBCSandiego.com

June 21, 2013:

Gai made the revelation while addressing thousands of citizens who turned up to witness the historical inauguration of a state house in Kuacjok, the state capital of Warrap State. “The high price of fuel will soon reduce in the country with the presence of our own refinery system in the country,” Gai said. The Governor said the oil refinery has a capacity to produce at least 5,000 barrels of oil per day. Gai however feared that heavy rains may affect the ongoing preparation for the refinery to be operation by the 9 July when the country celebrates its second independence anniversary.  He however decried the threats of Sudan to shutdown flow of South Sudan’s oil within 60 days from 9 June 2013. “Sudan has shutdown our oil from flowing through its Port Sudan on Red Sea to international markets. We are on process to seek any alternative pipeline to reach the international markets,” the governor added.

Sudan recently announce it would halt flow of South Sudan’s oil through its facilities, accusing South Sudan of supporting rebels fighting its government in Southern Kordofan, Darfur, White and Blue Nile states, an allegation Juba brushed aside.

By oyetimes.com