Naftec SPA, a unit of Sonatrach, is nearing mechanical completion on a paraxylene production plant in Skikda, Algeria, according to technology licensor GTC Technology, Houston.

Lukoil will use Axens technology for a cracked-gasoline desulfurization unit at its 337,000 b/d Kstovo refinery in the Nizhny Novgorod region of Russia.

While total US demand for oil products dipped in April, gasoline demand climbed almost 1% from a year earlier to average 8.842 million b/d, according to the latest monthly statistical report from the American Petroleum Institute.

Imperial Oil Ltd. said it will offer its 88,000 b/d Dartmouth refinery near Halifax, NS, for sale while it studies alternatives for the facility that is not meeting its financial expectations.

Engine durability tests by the Coordinating Research Council, which studies the interaction of engines and petroleum products, found leaks from uneven valve seat wear and pittage in two of eight 2001-09 vehicle engines run for 500 hr on a 15% ethanol-85% gasoline fuel blend, the organization supported by the American Petroleum Institute and automobile manufacturers said.

Copano Energy LLC, Houston, will add 400 MMcfd of cryogenic processing capacity at its Houston Central complex, in Colorado County, Tex., west of Houston, the company reported.

Two companies will study the feasibility of building a facility in Guatemala to upgrade heavy crude oil.