-A string of project completions in Latin America’s refining sector could deflate the strong profit margins U.S. refiners enjoy right now, Reuters reports. Approximately 300,000 barrels per day at three refineries in Ecuador, Colombia and Brazil will come on line in the fourth quarter of this year, potentially reducing demand for refined products from the U.S. The report echoes assertions made last week by the International Energy Agency that global refining profits would shrink as new refineries and expansions start up.
-Renewable Energy Group (REG) will spend $31 million to upgrade its biodiesel refinery in Danville, Ill., the company announced today. REG said the project would include adding biodiesel distillation capabilities to the refinery, improving its pretreat capacity and enhancing storage and logistics, among other upgrades. REG has made upgrades to five other biorefineries it owns in the past three years, including ongoing enhancements at its site in Geismar, Louisiana.
-Two men were injured at an oil rig site in Woods County, Oklahoma, Tuesday when they were struck by a pipe that fell from a forklift. Via EnidNews.com, the two men are in serious condition at a hospital in Oklahoma City. One of the men is a consultant at Midstates Petroleum and the other is an employee of Felderhoff Drilling Co.
-A Nexen Energy feeder pipeline spilled approximately 1.3 million gallons of bitumen, water and sand at the company’s oil sands site in Fort McMurray, Alberta. Via CBC, it is one of the largest leaks in Alberta history. A spokesman for the Albert Energy Regulator said Nexen had shut-in the pipeline and contained the leak. Efforts are underway to clean up the spill, which covered more than two acres.
-Dow Chemical said today it received a favorable private letter ruling from the IRS in its bid to spin off part of its chlorine value chain and merge it into Olin Corp. The two firms in March struck a $5 billion deal in which Dow will separate its Gulf Coast chlor-alkali and vinyl, global chlorinated organics and global epoxy businesses and merge them with Olin.