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.

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.

The Technology Center Mongstad, built to test technologies for capturing carbon dioxide from post-combustion gases, has been inaugurated near Bergan, Norway (OGJ Online, Nov. 10, 2011).

Reliance Industries Ltd., Mumbai, has let a contract to Fluor Corp. covering project management services for a new petcoke gasification plant and expansion of petrochemical facilities at its complex at Jamnagar, Gujarat, India, where it has 1.24 million b/d of refining capacity.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC is withdrawing from plans to build a cellulosic ethanol plant in Canada through Iogen Energy, which it jointly owns with Iogen Corp. of Ottawa.

A Delta Air Lines Inc. subsidiary has agreed to buy the 185,000-b/d Trainer, Pa., refinery near Philadelphia from Phillips 66 Co. for $180 million, the companies reported Apr. 30.

Abu Dhabi National Chemicals Co. has let a contract to Foster Wheeler’s Global Engineering & Construction Group covering production management consultancy services for an aromatics complex at Ruwais, Abu Dhabi.

Philadelphia area refinery closures will be only the beginning of shutdowns nationwide if the federal government does not change several key regulations, two oil industry officials warned on Apr. 26.

Air Liquide Large Industries US LP has started up a 120 MMscfd steam methane reformer in La Porte, Tex., able to supply hydrogen to refineries in Port Arthur, Tex., via a new 85-mile expansion of its Texas Gulf Coast pipeline system.

Hess Corp. agreed to pay an $850,000 civil penalty and spend more than $45 million in new pollution controls to resolve Clean Air Act violations at its Port Reading, NJ, refinery, said the US Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Justice.