January 5, 2013:

The Holly refinery, which already spews tons of noxious chemicals into the air over the Salt Lake Valley, wants to more than double its output — not of pollution but of fuel. Still, in doing so, it would pump an additional 220 tons of carbon monoxide and 196 tons of greenhouse gases into the air Utahns breathe. The refinery says the expansion, which must be approved by the state, would bring small declines in the amounts of PM 10, PM 2.5, nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds and a 280-ton-per-year drop in sulphur dioxide. So the overall difference in pollution generated by producing 60,000 barrels of oil per day instead of the current 26,000 barrels per day would be a decrease of 125 tons per year. That raises a question: If the refinery can reduce overall emissions that much by using technology and increase production, why has it not already reduced its pollution output? And, perhaps the better question that nobody has so far attempted to answer: How much would the additional diesel truck traffic coming to and from the refinery from the Uintah Basin oil wells further pollute the air? And how would the added vehicle emissions affect the state’s effort to meet federal air quality standards? The Utah Division of Air Quality was sent back to the drawing board after failing to come up with a comprehensive plan to meet Environmental Protection Agency requirements by the deadline last year. But the state agency is caught between higher federal standards and the Utah Legislature, whose members would rather admonish individuals to change their driving habits and ask companies to voluntarily clean up their operations than impose stricter pollution limits on big businesses.

State regulators must listen to the rightly frustrated Utahns and groups such as the Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah, the Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, Breathe Utah and the League of Women Voters who reasonably criticize policies that threaten the health of Utah children, pregnant women and the elderly. But the regulators do not have authority to deny a permit to expand the refinery as long as it doesn’t exceed allowable limits, no matter what the consequences of increased greenhouse gases and vehicle emissions. As Gov. Gary Herbert continually reiterates, economic development and jobs take precedence over any other issue of state government. So it is clear that as long as public health is not a top priority, Utah’s toxic air will not become any less hazardous.

By The Salt Lake Tribune

January 5, 2013:

Kochi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will on January 7 lay the foundation stone for the Rs 14,225 crore BPCL-Kochi Refinery's Integrated Refinery Expansion project, near here, which aims to meet the country growing energy needs and make auto fuels more environment friendly. The foundation stone will be laid at the Kochi-BPCL Refinery complex at nearby Ambalamugal. Governor H R Bhardwaj, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Union ministers-- M Veerapa Moily, Vayalar Ravi, K V Thomas and Lakshmi Panabaaka will be among those present. The project envisages increasing the refining capacity of the Kochi refinery from the present 9.5 MMTPA to 15.5 MMTPA, modernising of refinery to produce auto fuels complying with Euro IV/ Euro V specifications, upgradation of low value refinery residue stream to value added products, refinery sources said. The refinery presently produces Euro-III/IV compliant auto-fuels and various other petroleum products. From the initial capacity of 2.5 Million Metric Tonnes Per Annum (MMTPA), it has progressively grown to its present level of 9.5 MMTPA, refinery sources said. Kerala Government has signed an MoU with BPCL during the Emerging Kerala Investors Meet for implementation of the project, which is scheduled to be completed by December 2015.

One of the major initiatives identified by BPCL is to utilize the propylene to make petrochemical products like Acrylate and Super absorbent Polymer which are predominantly imported into the country today. This propylene based petrochemical complex is envisaged as Joint Venture where the JV partner's technology and marketing expertise will be used. BPCL has already signed an MoU with Petrochemical major M/s LG Chem, South Korea. The estimated investment on this Petrochemical JV is estimated to be in the range of Rs 5000-Rs 6000 crore and the complex is expected to be on stream in tandem with the above expansion project. This investment totalling to about Rs 20,000 crore is the single largest investment in Kerala, which can generate ample employment.

By ZEEBIZ

January 5, 2013:

Indonesia’s oil and gas companies need incentives to encourage them to build much-needed refineries, a top government official says. Deputy Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources Rudi Rubiandini said on Friday that without assistance, oil companies will be reluctant to invest in the refinery business. “The refinery industry is not attractive and therefore incentives are needed so that the internal rate of return can be boosted to a minimum of 12 percent, and thus become profitable for the owners,” Rudi said in Jakarta. The government, through state oil and gas company Pertamina, is planning to build two refineries in cooperation with Kuwait Petroleum Corporation and Saudi Aramco. The refineries will each have a processing capacity of 300,000 barrels of crude per day. Operations are intended to start in 2018. Pertamina and its partners have submitted a proposal to the government seeking incentives. Instead of giving approval, the government has asked Pertamina to review the list. Last year, Pertamina signed memorandums of understanding with the two Gulf companies regarding a feasibility study for the refineries. Pertamina has six refineries with a total capacity to process 1.031 million barrels of crude per day, but more are needed to meet rising domestic demand. The Dumai refinery in Riau has a capacity of 170,000 barrels per day, the Plaju refinery in South Sumatra 118,000 bpd and Cilacap in Central Java 348,000 bpd.

By JakartaGlobe

January 4, 2013:

After a year of struggle trying to keep Nova Scotia’s pulp and paper industry going, the shoe is about to drop on yet another aging industry early in this new year.

Imperial Oil put its 94-year-old Dartmouth refinery on the sales block last May. At that time, company CEO Bruce March indicated it was a difficult decision. That may have been true, considering about 200 refinery workers and another 200 contractors will likely be losing their jobs if the refinery shuts down. But logically, from a corporate point of view, Imperial’s decision to cut an inefficient, 88,000-barrel-a-day refinery from its roster couldn’t have been too difficult. After all, Imperial isn’t the only oil company to jettison smaller, older refineries. It is estimated there are about 10 refineries for sale in North America at the moment, with few finding new owners. mperial, Canada’s second largest oil company, has said it would try to sell the refinery as a going concern but, if no buyer could be found, it would consider turning the property into a tank farm — large storage facilities used to hold product refined elsewhere. A tank farm would only employ about 25 workers. The traditionally tight-lipped company indicated last fall that there have been a number of potential suitors willing to enter a second phase of negotiations to acquire the Dartmouth operation that requires potential buyers to demonstrate their commitment by signing confidentiality agreements.

But that’s all we’ve been told about the sales process. A date has not been set for a decision other than an expressed desire to have things settled early in the new year. Imperial may be holding off announcing what it plans to do until after it has exhausted its marketing effort to sell the Dartmouth asset, but only the company knows for sure. One observer told me Friday that there is a general assumption that Imperial will provide some guidance on the fate of the facility when it reports its 2013 first-quarter results in February. The facts remain that demand for refined products has been slowly dwindling, refineries are experiencing increased input costs and more efficient refineries make it difficult for operations like Dartmouth to remain viable. It is also likely that the aging demographics in Atlantic Canada also play a role. Oder people simply don’t drive their cars as much. And expected demand for greater efficiency standards from automobile manufacturers will also make it more difficult for smaller refineries to stay relevant. The odds of finding a buyer for the Dartmouth refinery appear to be slim, if history is anything to judge by. Ultramar shut down its refinery in Eastern Passage more than a decade ago for similar reasons, leaving a few storage tanks behind. More recently, Shell decided to close its 76-year-old Montreal refinery rather than sell for what it considered too low a price. Instead, the global energy giant converted the Montreal refinery to a tank farm. The loss of the Dartmouth refinery could have an impact on local energy prices. Some have speculated that the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board will have to be more flexible in its price settings for gasoline and diesel. They say that’s because the small Nova Scotia market will need to become more attractive to fuel suppliers, rather than the traditional practice of relying on a local refinery to supply the local demand no matter how unattractive the price may be.

By Herald Business

December 24, 2012:

YORKTOWN (AP) -- A former oil refinery in Yorktown is getting a makeover for a new mission. The Virginian-Pilot reports that Plains All American Pipeline LP is converting the 600-acre facility into a storage depot and transportation hub for petroleum products. The project will cost at least $35 million. The previous owner, Western Refining, close the refinery two years. It was the only oil refinery in Virginia.

By Associated Press