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Industry news
News and events from around the industry.
Lead news
Flagship facility opens in Port Allen.
In a strategic move to meet the increased requirement for hydroprocessing catalysts for producing clean fuels, Criterion Catalysts & Technologies (Criterion) has opened a catalyst manufacturing facility in Port Allen, Louisiana, USA.
Since purchasing the site in 2006, Criterion has invested $350 million in upgrading and expanding the facility and has increased its workforce from 17 to 80.
Downstream
Bahrain to increase refining capacity
Bahrain plans to review its refining capacity post-2012 to give it an edge over other Gulf states, according to an announcement by the Oil and Gas Affairs Minister and National Oil and Gas Authority Chairman, Dr Abdulhussain Mirza, at the Middle East Petrotech 2010 conference in Bahrain.
Capacity doubling at Brazilian refinery
South American petroleum giant Petrobras is studying plans to increase the refining capacity at its Comperj petrochemicals complex. Petrobras’s Downstream Director, Roberto Costa, announced the objective as part of the company’s 2010–2014 strategic plan, and indicated that fuel production could increase from 165,000 to over 330,000 barrels a day.
Floating refinery for the Timor Sea
The Indonesian government has confirmed reports that the world’s largest floating refinery is currently being constructed in the sea off Timor. The Masela gas and oil production facility is being constructed by BP Migas and is a considerable investment; the platform will cost between $600 and $800 million, and the refinery could cost close to $9 billion. INPEX Masela Ltd will own the facility.
Chinese joint refinery venture with Kuwait Petroleum
China’s National Development and Reform Commission has approved the construction of a major new refinery in Guangdong. The facility will be a joint venture between Sinopec and the Kuwait Petroleum Corp. The state-run businesses plan to start operations in 2013 at crude throughput capacity of 300,000 barrels a day and an ethylene output capacity of 1 million tonnes a year. The two companies will hold equal stakes in the project; Kuwait Petroleum will supply all the crude oil.
Upstream
Alaskan oil exploration postponed
According to the US Ministry of the Interior, exploration of Alaskan oil reserves, which was scheduled to begin summer 2010, will be put on hold until 2011 at the earliest. The delay is the result of concerns that an oil leak in the Arctic similar to that in the Gulf of Mexico would cause even greater environmental damage owing to the region’s limited infrastructure and icy seas.
Drilling ban in the Gulf of Mexico costly
Business analyst Datamonitor’s research indicates that if the BP spill were to lead to long-term restrictions on drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, this would have a considerable impact, not only on producers but also on those supplying equipment to the offshore oil sector. The figure relating to suppliers is estimated to be $11 billion.
Indonesia to cut red tape to encourage exploration
Indonesia’s Vice President Boediono announced to delegates attending the Indonesian Petroleum Association’s annual conference that the government in Jakarta intends to cut bureaucracy in a bid to encourage foreign exploration of the country’s reserves.
Industrial markets
US tests genetically modified trees for paper production
The US paper sector plans trial plantings of genetically modified eucalyptus trees across seven southern states. The test locations will cover a total of about 300 acres in Florida, Alabama, South Carolina, Texas, Mississippi, Georgia and Louisiana. Eucalyptus trees are originally native to frost-free Australia; the modified varieties have been developed by ArborGen to withstand the colder winters of the more northerly states, where the temperature can drop below freezing.
Indian paper industry set to grow
The Indian Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry has predicted that the country’s paper production will grow from 9.18 million to 11.5 million tonnes between 2011 and 2012. The Chamber’s study showed that the annual personal consumption of paper is rising in India: per capita use increased during 2009–2010 from 8.3 to 9.18 kg. Despite this, India still uses considerably less paper than China, with its per capita annual average of 42 kg, and the Western nations, where annual consumption averages 350 kg per person.