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.

Petroplus Holdings AG reported Dec. 30 it will start the temporary shutdown of three of its refineries in Europe next month after lenders froze a $1 billion credit facility.

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.

Total, through its 100% affiliate PetroFina SA, has agreed to acquire the 35% interest held by ExxonMobil Petroleum & Chemical BVBA in Fina Antwerp Olefins.

South Refineries Co., a part of the Republic of Iraq’s Ministry of Oil, has awarded Shaw Group Inc. a contract to provide a feasibility study for the rehabilitation of its 140,000-b/d refinery in Basra. Shaw’s announcement did not disclose a contract value.

Saudi Arabia’s refining capacity will reach 3.5 million b/d and its production of natural gas will hit 15 bcfd by 2016, according to a senior official.

Newfield Exploration Co. has signed an agreement to supply 18,000 b/d of crude oil from its Uinta basin fields to Tesoro Corp.’s 60,000 b/d Salt Lake City, Utah, refinery.

During this year’s first half, ethylene and propylene producers in countries that comprise the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development enjoyed good margins, supported by strong demand, according to the latest monthly Oil Market Report, released by the International Energy Agency. In second-half 2011, however, those margins have weakened.

Continental Refining Co., Somerset, Ky., said it has purchased the inactive Somerset refinery and plans to resume processing crude by early summer 2012.

Essar Oil Ltd. has commissioned a large C₅-C₆ isomerization unit at its 300,000-b/d Vadinar refinery under expansion and upgrade in Gujarat, India (OGJ Online, Oct. 24, 2011).