Don't miss out on the latest business and technology news for chemical engineers, featuring select items in relation to Fuels & Petrochemicals.
US East Coast refiners race to secure cheap Permian oil
US crude shipments from the US Gulf Coast to the East Coast averaged 2.8 million barrels per month in the December-to-February period -- the highest level in three years -- as East Coast refiners rushed to take advantage of the steep discounts of Permian Basin crude relative to benchmark US prices. Refiners including Monroe Energy and Phillips 66 have been delivering crude to their East Coast facilities by sea, but they're now considering ramping up rail shipments as insufficient pipeline capacity in West Texas leaves little room to boost volume by sea.
Waivers help small refineries save millions of dollars
The Environmental Protection Agency's expansion of the biofuel waiver program has resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in savings for the US refining industry, public filings show. Waivers granted to Andeavor, HollyFrontier and Delek US Holdings helped them save between $71 million and $100 million each, while larger refiners that are not eligible for exemptions have benefited too as the waivers caused prices of compliance credits to fall by 70% since late 2017.
Researchers transform solar energy to chemical energy for biofuel production
A group of scientists from the University of Turku in Finland found a way to convert solar energy into biohydrogen using green algae photosynthesis. "The research provides important information on how to avoid 'wasting' solar-driven energy in biomass production and how to apply this energy directly for the production of useful bio-products," says group leader Yagut Allahverdiyeva-Rinne.
AI can boost ROI for oil explorers
The oil and natural gas industry has done well in tapping into computing power for seismic interpretation, but it has yet to use data analytics for other disciplines, says Barry Zhang, CEO of Quantico Energy Solutions. Reservoir drainage and well spacing techniques can be improved with data interpretation, he adds, and artificial intelligence can yield a good return on investment.
Trump administration to announce RFS program changes soon, source says
The Trump administration is preparing to formally announce changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard, a source familiar with the plans said Friday. The changes would include reducing the number of waivers granted to small refineries, redistributing waived obligations to other refineries and counting biofuels exports toward annual quotas.
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