Downstream

As Waha natural gas prices languish below $1/MMBtu, attention is increasingly turning to Mexico as a possible outlet for incremental gas volumes from the Permian Basin. With more than 6 Bcf/d of LNG export projects in varying stages of development, Mexico presents an interesting opportunity to move West Texas gas to the global LNG market,…

Amid record profits across the globe for oil and gas giants, Mexico’s national oil company Petróleos Mexicanos, aka Pemex, posted yet another loss in the fourth quarter of 2022. The company reported a fourth-quarter net loss of 172.4 billion pesos ($9.4 billion) after a 52- billion peso loss in the third quarter. In 4Q2021, Pemex…

Phillips 66 has been certified to process oil made from waste plastics into feedstock at its Sweeny Refinery southwest of Houston in Brazoria County. The Houston-based company achieved an International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) Plus for the facility in Old Ocean near the Texas coast. The global sustainability certification system covers all sustainable feedstocks,…

ExxonMobil has ramped up more polypropylene production at its petrochemicals complex in Baton Rouge, LA, increasing capacity to 450,000 metric tons/year. The integrated Louisiana complex produces transportation fuels and various products including polypropylene.  “With the startup of this new production unit, we are well positioned to responsibly meet the growing global demand for these high-performance…

Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. LLC and QatarEnergy on Wednesday sanctioned an $8.5 billion integrated polymers facility east of Houston that promises more than 500 full-time jobs and billions in revenue for the Golden Triangle hub. A 2 million metric ton/year (mmty) ethane cracker and two 1 mmty high-density polyethylene units are planned at the site…

Mexico’s state oil and gas giant Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) had a strange third quarter. Amid record commodity prices, the company posted a massive loss. But it also produced more hydrocarbons, in particular natural gas. In an earnings call last week, executives tried to put a positive spin on the results. They highlighted that Pemex liquids…

Houston-based Par Pacific Holdings Inc. is snapping up ExxonMobil’s 63,000 b/d Billings, MT, oil refinery and associated assets to expand and diversify its portfolio. The transaction also is to include hydrocarbons and inventory, which would be valued at closing.  Par’s total throughput capacity would increase to 218,000 b/d. More than $30 million in commercial and…

Two major petrochemical projects planned for Louisiana’s St. James Parish are facing permitting obstacles following recent decisions that may affect them moving forward. A court ruling has stalled FG LA LLC’s plan to build a massive $9.4 billion plastics facility. The affiliate of global conglomerate Formosa Group has had the Sunshine Project on the drawing…

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s campaign promise of a refinery for his home state of Tabasco is being delivered this week. The 340,000 b/d Olmeca refinery in Dos Bocas will be inaugurated on Friday, July 1, exactly four years after López Obrador won the presidency. “With president López Obrador inaugurating his flagship Olmeca refinery,…