Essar Oil Ltd. has commissioned a large amine regeneration unit in the first phase of expansion of its 300,000 b/d Vadinar refinery in Gujarat, India, after commissioning a pentane-hexane isomerization unit last month (OGJ Online, Dec. 12, 2011).

HollyFrontier Corp. will expand crude capacity at its 31,000-b/d refinery at Woods Cross, Utah, to 45,000 b/d with idle equipment from Western Refining Inc.’s facility at Bloomfield, NM.

PBF Holding Co. LLC and affiliate Delaware City Refining Co. LLC have reported conditional plans to build a mild hydrocracker and hydrogen plant at their 190,000 b/d Delaware City, Del., refinery.

Cenovus Energy Inc., Calgary, says expansion of the 306,000 b/sd Wood River refinery at Roxana, Ill., is essentially finished as start-up of the expanded coker approaches by mid-November.

Mongstad Refining has let a $39.8 million fabrication and construction contract to Kvaerner for a revamp of the delayed coker at its 200,000-b/d refinery at Mongstad, Norway.

The Middle East appears set to dominate the expansion of global refining capacity in the latter half of this decade, eclipsing Asia as projects there come on stream.

Weakening of the Indian rupee against the US dollar is magnifying losses on product sales incurred by India’s state-owned refiners and marketers under price controls.

Ecopetrol SA has moved into the second phase of a major upgrade and expansion of its 250,000-b/sd Barrancabermeja refinery in Colombia.

Brazil’s state-run Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) said Venezuela's state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) faces an August deadline to fund its participation in the $16.25 billion Abreu e Lima refinery joint venture.

Even as Allied warplanes continue their bombing campaign against Libya’s ruling regime, the US and the European Union have announced extended sanctions against 14 separate companies owned by Libya’s state-owned National Oil Corp.

ExxonMobil Corp.’s Shiogama Terminal in Sendai, which reopened on Mar. 20, has received its first tanker shipment of much-needed fuel, including 2 million l. of gasoline, light oil, and kerosine.

The unfolding crisis in Japan—the world’s third largest economy and fifth largest energy user—has major implications for both the nuclear and the oil and gas sectors, said industry analysts.

The Japanese government, confirming earlier reports, will urge utilities to increase output at fossil fuel-fired electric power plants to boost power shortages after an earthquake and tsunami crippled Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and other facilities.

GS Caltex, Seoul, plans to add upgrading capacity at its 760,000 b/cd refining complex at Yeosu, South Korea.