Unscheduled maintenance on the scrubber at the Valero Energy Corp.’s Paulsboro, NJ, refinery’s 55,000-b/d fluid catalytic cracking unit will force its shut down later this month, according to a company news release.

The Fujian Integrating Refining and Ethylene Joint Venture Project in Quanzhou, China, has reached full operation, partners said Nov. 11.

Western Refining Inc., El Paso, is consolidating operations of its two small refineries in New Mexico to reduce operating costs in a period of shrunken refining margins.

A team from the US Chemical Safety Board was sent to investigate an Oct. 21 fire at Tesoro Corp.’s 58,000-b/d Salt Lake City refinery, it was reported on Oct. 23.

The US Environmental Protection Agency issued an objection regarding a federal air permit for BP North America's refinery in Whiting, Ind., leaving the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) to review an existing permit.

Another US independent refiner is slashing operations in response to low refining margins.

A fire that errupted early Sept. 28 in the coking unit of Tesoro Corp.’s 100,000-b/cd Wilmington, Calif., refinery, has been extinguished, the San Antonio-based company reported.

Valero Energy Corp. is shutting down the coker and gasifier complex at the 210,000-b/cd refinery operated at Delaware City, Del., by its Premcor Refining Group Inc. subsidiary.

Vietnam has asked general contractor Technip to deal swiftly with the breakdown at the country’s first refinery at Dung Quat so that operations can resume as soon as possible.

Total SA will shut down for a few weeks beginning mid-September its 137,000 b/d Flanders refinery near Dunkirk, France, because surplus supply has undercut refiners’ margins on products.

South African refiners will need to invest $4.95 billion by 2014 to comply with clean-fuel specifications, a senior Sasol SA official said earlier this month.