Industry News
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Investigation finds Suncor's Colorado refinery meets environmental permits
A Colorado refinery owned by Canadian firm Suncor Energy Inc meets required environmental permits and is adequately funded, according to an investigation into a series of emissions violations at the facility between 2017 and 2019.
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Grace licenses PP process technology to new MTO Gas Chemical Complex
W. R. Grace and Co. has licensed its UNIPOL® PP Process Technology to the new MTO Gas Chemical Complex located in the Bukhara region of Uzbekistan to Enter Engineering.
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Central natural gas clearinghouse could prepare refiners for future storms
Texas should consider a central clearinghouse around natural gas availability in the case of future cold weather events like Winter Storm Uri, according to a Phillips 66 refining executive speaking at an industry conference Monday.
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Santos greenlights Australia’s largest oil and gas investment in close to a decade
SANTOS has sanctioned a US$3.6bn investment in the Barossa gas project off Australia’s Northern Territory, extending the life of the Darwin LNG plant and marking the largest investment in the country’s oil and gas sector since 2012. Concerns about the climate impacts of the project have prompted one group to label the project “a carbon bomb”.
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New fund seeks to boost investment and diversity of South Africa energy
A R1.5bn (US$102m) investment fund has been launched in South Africa to boost investment in the country’s energy sector and encourage more black participants, especially women, in the sector.
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Honeywell enables large U.S. carbon capture and storage project
Honeywell announced Wabash Valley Resources LLC has selected a range of Honeywell UOP technologies to capture and sequester up to 1.65 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually and to produce clean hydrogen energy from a repurposed gasification plant in West Terre Haute,
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U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions declined by 11% in 2020
Energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions decreased by 11% in the United States in 2020 primarily because of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions. U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions fell in every end-use sector for the first time since 2012.
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Clariant expands in China by opening JV production facility for high-end stabilizer additives
Clariant announced the opening of a new world-class production facility for process and light stabilizers. The facility is jointly owned by Clariant and Beijing Tiangang Auxiliary Co., Ltd.
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2021 AFPM Annual Meeting Virtual Edition: Access the full Agenda and a list of Sponsors
The AFPM Annual Meeting, the world's premier refining meeting, assembling key executives, decision-makers and technical experts from refining businesses, technology providers, contracting and consulting firms, and equipment manufacturers around the world, is going virtual in 2021.
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Wastewater leak causes concern for Florida marine life
ENVIRONMENTALISTS are concerned about the impacts on marine life after days of leakage of contaminated wastewater into a local creek leading to Tampa Bay, Florida’s largest open-water estuary. Researchers are currently investigating the effects.
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Total begins producing sustainable aviation fuel in France
Total has begun producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at its La Mède biorefinery in southern France and its Oudalle facility near Le Havre. The biojet fuel, made from used cooking oil, will be delivered to French airports starting in April 2021.
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Pilot plant will convert soybean waste into bioplastic
A FINNISH consortium is building a pilot plant to convert waste from soybean processing into compostable bioplastic.
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Fire hits Ergon’s West Virginia refinery
Ergon Inc. has extinguished a fire that occurred on Apr. 7 at subsidiary Ergon-West Virginia Inc.’s (EWV) 21,850-b/d refinery in Newell, WV.
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Exxon says it may close down its oil refinery in Norway
Exxon is considering whether to close down its Slagen oil refinery in Norway, which has a capacity to process 120,000 barrels of crude per day, turning the site into an import terminal, the U.S. energy major said.
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Biden admin's methane emission curbs to exceed Obama's -EPA chief
The Biden administration’s curbs on methane from the U.S. oil and gas industry will be more ambitious than those imposed by former President Barack Obama and will go a long way to helping the United States achieve its overall targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade, the nation’s top environmental regulator told Reuters.
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Fire occurs at oil refinery in Mexico
A FIRE broke out at the Lazaro Cardenas oil refinery in Minatitlan, Mexico, resulting in seven people getting minor injuries.
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Wood strengthens its commitments to sustainability
WOOD has announced a decade of action with new goals to improve lives, reduce impact on the planet, and sustain growth.
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BASF sets target for net zero emissions by 2050
BASF has raised its climate goals and now aims to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
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Covestro pilots chemicals recycling process to close loop on used mattress foam
COVESTRO has begun to pilot a chemical process to recycle the foam from used mattresses. If successful, the initiative will recover two key raw materials that will be used to produce fresh foams.
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Partners to build world-first commercial recycling facility
WOOD and advanced recycling company ReNew ELP have partnered to build the world’s first commercial-scale plastic recycling plant using Hydrothermal Plastic Recycling Solution (HydroPRS) technology to process end-of-life plastic waste.
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Agreement to support Covid-19 vaccine manufacture
BIOPHARMACEUTICAL company Takeda and IDT Biologika have announced an agreement to use IDT capacity reserved for Takeda to fill and package Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot Covid-19 vaccine.
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Australian Government announces recycling and clean energy fund
THE Australian Government has announced that funding is now available for recycling and clean energy projects as part of the A$1.3bn (US$1bn) Modern Manufacturing Initiative (MMI).
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Eni starts production at new biorefinery
ENI’s new biomass treatment unit (BTU) has begun production at its site in Gela, Italy.
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BPCL takes full control of BORL’s Bina refinery
Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd. has bought out joint-venture partner OQ SAOC to take 100% ownership of equity share capital in Bharat Oman Refineries Ltd.
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Plastic Energy joins forces with ExxonMobil on plastic waste
PLASTIC ENERGY has agreed another partnership with an industry heavyweight – this time ExxonMobil – to build a plant that will turn waste plastic into chemicals feedstock.
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BioNTech expects 2.5bn Covid-19 vaccines in 2021
BioNTech expects to expand manufacturing capacity for the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine to up to 2.5bn doses by the end of 2021.
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Fonterra supports NZ industry switch from coal – but outlines significant challenges
FONTERRA – New Zealand’s huge dairy cooperative – has come out in support of plans to end coal use for industrial heat by 2037 but has warned there are significant challenges to achieving this deadline.
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INEOS Energy sells its Norwegian oil and gas business
INEOS Energy has announced that it is selling its oil and gas business in Norway to PGNiG Upstream Norway for US$615m.
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GSK supports UK vaccine manufacture
GSK, Novavax, and the UK Government Vaccines Taskforce have reached an agreement in principle for GSK to support the manufacture of up to 60m doses of Novavax’ Covid-19 vaccine candidate, for use in the UK.
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Five seriously injured in Indonesian refinery explosion
AN EXPLOSION, which occurred at 00:45 local time on 29 March at an Indonesian refinery, has seriously injured at least five people.
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Tatneft adding new units at Taneco’s Nizhnekamsk refinery
PJSC Tatneft has received support from Russia’s Ministry of Energy to help finance the addition of several new advanced processing units at the more than 10-million tonnes/year refinery of subsidiary JSC Taneco’s complex in Nizhnekamsk, Russia.
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£40m water challenge to launch in May
6 May will see the first round of a new £40m (US$55.2m) collaborative competition expected to encourage innovation in water and wastewater services and drive transformational change for the sector.
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Petrobras inks official deal for sale of RLAM refinery, related assets
Petrobras formally approved its previously proposed sale of the 333,000-b/d Refinaria Landulpho Alves refinery in São Francisco do Conde in the Recôncavo Baiano region of Bahia, Brazil, to Mubadala Capital.
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Oil and gas industry agrees transition deal with UK Government
THE UK oil and gas industry has come to an agreement with the UK government over how the industry will manage the green energy transition while still supporting workers.
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Greener chemicals: steam cracking could go electric by 2023
BASF, SABIC and Linde aim to construct a multi-megawatt plant to demonstrate that steam crackers can be heated by electricity rather than fossil fuels, in a move that could eliminate 90% of emissions from the heart of chemicals processing.
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Strategy for decarbonising industry released by UK Government
THE UK Government has released its Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy, outlining its plans to reduce emissions from heavy-carbon industries in line with the net zero by 2050 target.
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Partners to convert waste sewage into hydrogen
Organics Group, Severn Trent, and researchers at Coventry University, UK, are collaborating to convert sewage waste into clean hydrogen fuel for tankers and other vehicles.
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Researchers look to recover waste anaesthetics
A TEAM of chemical engineers and doctors are developing a new membrane to capture and reuse anaesthetic gas that is currently vented from hospitals.
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Energy and medical research experts to share Covid-19 safety lessons at IChemE Hazards conference
ICHEME has announced that process safety experts from the energy and medical research sectors will discuss the challenges faced dealing with Covid-19, at the Institution’s coming Hazards Australasia conference.
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BP plans 1 GW hydrogen hub for Teesside
BP is planning to build a 1 GW hydrogen production project in Teesside, UK, that would meet 20% of the UK’s hydrogen targets and capture the emissions from the heating of 1 m homes.
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DuPont buys Laird Performance Materials
DUPONT has agreed to buy Laird Performance Materials for US$2.3bn.
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Jacobs awarded US$10.4m Dounreay nuclear contract
JACOBS and its supporting partners have been awarded a six year contract, worth an estimated US$10.4m, to lead an integrated design management for cleanup of the UK’s deepest historic radioactive waste store at the Dounreay site in Scotland, UK.
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Petronas and CNOOC sign MoU for extended partnership
Petronas and Chinese National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a strategic partnership that will see them expand on existing collaboration.
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Partnership aims to permanently store CO2 captured from the air
CLIMEWORKS and Northern Lights have agreed to explore the possibility of capturing CO2 using direct air capture and permanently storing it in an offshore reservoir in the North Sea.
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UNESCO report highlights importance of engineering for sustainability goals
THE second UNESCO Engineering Report, Engineering for Sustainable Development: Delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals, has been published just over a decade after the original report.
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Richardson: Make systems thinking education mandatory
ICHEME President Stephen Richardson has recommended to a House of Lords select committee that systems thinking skills should be mandatory in engineering education for effective risk management.
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Yallourn coal plant will shut early, replacement battery planned
AUSTRALIA’S Yallourn coal-fired power plant, which meets 20% of electricity demand in Victoria, will close four years early, with a battery planned to replace some of the output.
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UK Government criticised for inconsistency on green policies
DESPITE some new announcements for funding for green industrial projects, the UK Government has been criticised for a lack of a coordinated plan on reaching net zero and for a lack of strong leadership as COP26 host.
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SABIC and BP join forces on circular plastics
SABIC and BP are working together to produce recycled plastics at the Gelsenkirchen chemical complex in Germany.
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Novartis joins effort to produce CureVac vaccine for Covid-19
NOVARTIS has signed an agreement to manufacture CureVac’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate at its site in Kundl, Austria.
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