(World Fertilizer) - OCP Group has become a member of the European Sustainable Phosphorus Platform (ESPP) for the promotion of sustainable phosphorus management. OCP will exchange knowledge and best practices with the ESPP's 40+ members and wide network of scientists and companies, who span the entire value chain of phosphate and phosphorus.
(The St. Thomas Source) - Limetree Bay Refinery’s parent company Limetree Bay Energy announced Monday it is “suspending its plans to restart the refinery indefinitely, due to severe financial constraints.” It initially shut down temporarily pursuant to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency order in the wake of several polluting incidents, including a large accidental flare that sprayed oil over some 137 homes in May.
(Eurek Alert) - Injecting sulphur into the stratosphere to reduce solar radiation and stop the Greenland ice cap from melting. An interesting scenario, but not without risks. Climatologists from the University of Liège have looked into the matter and have tested one of the scenarios put forward using the MAR climate model developed at the University of Liège. The results are mixed and have been published in the journal The Cryosphere.
(SP Global) -Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. has awarded a $510 million contract to Italy's Saipem to expand the capacity of Shah sour gas plant as the UAE's biggest energy producer seeks gas self-sufficiency. ADNOC Sour Gas, a joint venture between the oil company and US energy major Occidental, awarded the engineering, procurement and construction contract for the expansion of the Shah gas field, which will be completed in 2023, ADNOC said in a statement June 15.
(Trade Arabia) - A key milestone has been reached in the delivery of the Yibal Khuff project, among the big-ticket integrated Oil & Gas developments of Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), the project’s principal contractor announced.
(Inform.kz) - NUR-SULTAN. KAZINFORM - Prospects for the implementation of the project in the chemical industry were discussed during the visit of Turkish investors to Kazakhstan, organized by «NC «KAZAKH INVEST» JSC. During the working trip, the founder of the Turkish company «BRIMSTONE Sulphur Provider Company» Efe Munip Nurdogdu held a meeting with the Chairman of the Board of «NC «KAZAKH INVEST» JSC Meirzhan Yusupov, Kazinform has learnt from KAZAKH INVEST’s press service.
(TTNews) - The Surface Transportation Board is taking public comments until June 28 on the proposed multibillion dollar merger of Class I freight rail companies Canadian National and Kansas City Southern. The STB also said the railroads will have until July 6 to respond to those public comments. As part of the review process, Canadian National and Kansas City Southern are asking the STB to approve what’s called a plain vanilla trust.
(This Day Live) - Oil refineries in Africa will require approximately $15.7 billion to upgrade the existing 36 facilities to produce petroleum products that will conform with the planned level of sulphur content, the African Refiners and Distributors Association (ARDA) has said.
(Mining) - Vale said in a securities filing on Tuesday it will suspend operations at its Sudbury, Canada nickel mine, after its proposal for a five-year contract was rejected by the United Steelworkers union. United Steelworkers Local 6500, which represents 2,600 workers at the mine, said in a statement that 70% of those who voted were opposed to the Vale offer and wanted the union — whose bargaining committee had recommended the preliminary deal — to return to the bargaining table.
(Bloomberg/gCaptian) - The world’s largest container shipping line has called for a $150-a-ton carbon tax on shipping fuel that would drive up the costs for an industry that delivers 80% of world trade. A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S says such a levy would help bridge the price gap between fossil fuels that vessels consume today and greener alternatives that are currently much more expensive. Fuel costs would effectively almost double if the measure were imposed today because of how carbon dioxide emissions are counted.
(Lesprom) - Andritz has received an order to supply a sulfuric acid plant for Klabin’s Ortigueira mill in Brazil. The plant will be the first of its kind worldwide and is designed to produce 150 tons of commercial-grade (>98%) sulfuric acid per day from concentrated odorous gases and elemental sulfur. It will serve Klabin’s Puma I and Puma II pulp lines at Ortigueira once completed and make Klabin’s Ortigueira site completely self-sufficient in sulfuric acid.
(Physics World) - Researchers in the US have created a new solid-state lithium-metal battery that can charge and discharge over a record-breaking number of cycles at a high current density. The proof-of-concept device, which is fundamentally different to existing liquid electrolyte lithium-ion batteries, could extend the lifespan of electric vehicle batteries to 10-15 years, similar to that of petrol and diesel cars.
(Yahoo Finance/Bloomberg) - Add sulfuric acid to the list of challenges facing copper miners as the world clamors for more of the wiring metal. The compound, used to extract copper from ore, is getting harder to come by. A slowdown in oil refining during the pandemic has resulted in less availability of sulfur, a key input for the acid. At the same time, more acid made in Asia is being used locally as industries there rebound. At least one copper mine in top-producer Chile has already been impacted and spot prices have surged.
(Railway Age) - Picture a customer who receives a hefty invoice from an auto repair shop with several additional charges and no details regarding the nature of these fees. The customer is left facing the question of whether to dispute the bill, and if so, how. Such has been the experience of U.S. rail shippers in recent decades when receiving invoices from the railroads for demurrage charges, which are applied by railroads for costs incurred when shipments are held up beyond a reasonable time.
(Science Mag)- In an unwelcome twist, a global effort to curb pollution from the heavy fuel oil burned by most big ships appears to be encouraging water pollution instead. A 2020 regulation aimed at cutting sulfur emissions from ship exhaust is prompting many owners to install scrubbing systems that capture pollutants in water and then dump some or all of the waste into the sea.
(Washington.edu) - The air in the United States and Western Europe is much cleaner than even a decade ago. Low-sulfur oil standards and regulations on power plants have successfully cut sulfate concentrations in the air, reducing the fine particulate matter that harms human health and cleaning up the environmental hazard of acid rain.
(Patch) - ST. CROIX, USVI -- Limetree Bay refinery has agreed to resume sulfur dioxide monitoring. This decision from the executive management comes days after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that Limetree Bay was in violation of the Clean Air Act.
(Hellenic Shipping News) - Lower bunker fuel prices in China following tax changes last year that have underpinned a ramp-up in production are drawing demand away from the key regional bunkering hub of Singapore and other ports across the region, according to market sources. "Prices are so low [in China] there is no reason not to go to China now," a Singapore-based bunker trader said.
(Finance.Yahoo) - For a look at how dramatically U.S. oil consumption is roaring back, consider this: Bennie Baucham, a trucker for four decades, hasn’t been this busy in years.
Baucham is making three round trips a night with containers from the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports to warehouses in Southern California’s Inland Empire, up from two a night during more normal times. The drive is an hour each way. He’s got to fill the tank on his 65-foot-long 18-wheeler every other day for all the shoes, clothing and electronics he’s moving.
(Ajot) - The Engen oil refinery in South Africa, the country’s oldest, will be converted into a terminal capable of importing cleaner fuels after suffering annual losses for much of the past decade.
It would be too costly to refit the plant in Durban, which opened in 1954, to meet evolving emissions regulations, Engen Chief Executive Officer Yusa Hassan said in an interview. The move will be closely watched by companies including Glencore Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc, which own stakes in other processors in the country that have experienced accidents or are under review.
(MSN) - Exxon Mobil aims to become a leading producer of lithium for electric vehicle batteries through a drilling operation the oil giant is launching in Arkansas, the company announced Monday.
(The Wall Street Journal) - Exxon Mobil struck a nearly $60 billion agreement Wednesday to buy Pioneer Natural Resources in the largest oil-and-gas deal in two decades, tying the energy giant's future to fossil fuels.
Tessenderlo Kerley, Inc. held a celebratory groundbreaking to mark the commencement of construction on a new liquid fertilizer facility in Defiance, Ohio. The new 50,000-square-foot production facility will occupy 50 acres and is set to become operational in 2024. The facility will service the Eastern Great Lakes Region through its distribution partners and will include terminal loadouts for rail cars and tanker trucks.
(Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (F.N) said on Thursday it will buy lithium from ioneer Ltd's (INR.AX) Rhyolite Ridge mining project in Nevada and use the metal to build electric vehicle batteries in the United States.
(The Daily Scoop) - "The closing of this acquisition marks Koch's first substantial investment on the African continent," said Brad Razook, Executive VP of Koch Industries and CEO, Resources. "We are excited to add another nutrient to the KAES portfolio in collaboration with a world-class partner."
(The Wall Street Journal) - Political uncertainty is clouding prospects for new drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, but Shell PLC—the Gulf’s biggest producer—is still investing billions of dollars in its waters to pump oil for years to come.
(Elko Daily) - Alot has been happening with the Rhyolite Ridge lithium/boron project in recent months.
“On March 31, U.S. President Joe Biden announced plans to invoke the Defense Production Act to provide hundreds of millions in new subsidies for the mining of minerals critical for the wind, solar and electric vehicles industries.
(MSN) - Penflex Corporation recently became the newest member of The Sulphur Institute (TSI), an international, non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for the safe use of sulfur.
(Agri Business Global) - Koch Ag & Energy Solutions (Koch) and OCP have signed an agreement under which a Koch affiliate will acquire a 50% interest in Jorf Fertilizers Company III (JFC III) from OCP, the world's largest phosphate mining and leading global fertilizer group. When closed, the transaction will establish a 50/50 joint venture.
(Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) on Tuesday reported a fourth-quarter profit of $8.87 billion, its largest in seven years, as the top U.S. oil producer benefited from strong energy prices.