-Venezuela state oil company PDVSA has completed maintenance work at its Petrocedeno heavy crude upgrader, Reuters reports. PDVSA said the plant restarted last week and it is now processing 240,000 barrels of crude per day. The unit converts Venezuelan heavy crude into lighter oil.
-A pipeline at Shell’s Martinez, Calif., refinery leaked about 80 gallons of oil and water Tuesday afternoon. Via the San Jose Mercury News, the leak was stopped in less than 30 minutes and Shell used absorbent booms and skimmer boats to contain the oil.
-At least three workers were killed in an explosion today at an offshore oil and gas platform owned by Brazil state oil company Petrobras. Via Reuters, the explosion was evidently triggered by a gas leak aboard a floating oil production, storage and offloading ship. The fire was quickly contained and no oil was leaked into the ocean. Petrobras has suffered a string of accidents in recent months, as financial woes have forced it to operate facilities at full capacity without maintenance.
-Power generators used a record amount of natural gas to supply electricity in January, Reuters reports. The power sector consumed an average 23 billion cubic feet per day of gas last month as low prices made it cheaper to burn than coal. Gas prices at the Henry Hub averaged $2.97 and $30.51 per million Btus in New York in January.
-Pembina Pipeline Corp. will spend $85 million to expand its Vantage pipeline system, which delivers ethane from the Bakken region to Alberta’s petrochemical market. The pipeline’s mainline capacity will increase from 40,000 barrels per day to 68,000 barrels per day through the addition of new pump stations and a new gathering lateral.
