Palm Oil: Better with Enzymes
How enzyme technology could make the industry greener and more efficient
Features
After the spill: an introduction to the series
Adam Duckett, Editor of The Chemical Engineer, introduces a series looking at Deepwater Horizon o...
After the spill: research for safer offshore operations
A decade on from the Deepwater Horizon disaster, James Pettigrew discusses the efforts to bring t...
After the spill: safety standards and metrics
Ten years after Deepwater Horizon, US offshore drilling safety improvements remain elusive
After the spill: well incident response
Scott Powell and Scott Vickers look at how industry's emergency response measures have evolved in...
Misleading Metrics?
How can the oil majors best measure energy transition and routes to net zero?
Deepwater Horizon: As it Happened
Geoff Maitland looks back on the Gulf of Mexico oilspill, ten years ago this month
Cross-industry Learning from High Hazard Sectors
How we choose to learn can determine whether we will repeat similar situations, says Gabor Posta
The Carbon Collision Course
Andrew Perry looks at the challenges of tackling global carbon emissions, and asks when the worl...
New narrative needed for CCS
Obtaining wider support for CCS by emphasising its importance in decarbonising numerous industrie...
The Next Best Thing
Ruby Ray and Fabio Ruggeri describe an innovative process to produce substitute natural gas – a s...
Automatic for the People
Sean Loughney asks how safety in the offshore industry might be improved via automation
Uses of Hydrogen in Industry
Hydrogen is recognised as a high purity premium product. Andy Brown describes some of its many ...
Back to the Future
Andrew Coe and James Paterson explain developments on part of the solution to the dual energy cha...
First shipment from Prelude floating liquefied natural gas facility
The first shipment of liquified natural gas (LNG) has sailed from Shell’s Prelude floating LNG (F...
IChemE Members recognised with RAEng Major Project Award 2019
TWO IChemE members, as part of an engineering team, have been awarded the Royal Academy of Engine...
Refinery Safety Failures – Attitude or Engineering?
How proper design is key to avoiding process accidents
BioSNG: Fuelling the Future with Trash
Massimiliano Materazzi and Richard Taylor discuss the promise of a bio-substitute for natural gas
No More Lost Light Gases
Jason Ornstein, Ray Ozdemir & Anne Boehme on adapting failed automotive capture technology for ...
Rigs-to-Reef: Policy Waters Muddied
UK Government needs to take a lead on forming evidence-based policy on rigs-to-reef decommissioni...
Report: Could Do Better
Government reports on the future of the oil and gas industry
Energy Saviours: Part 2
As a follow up to the feature “Energy Saviours” (issue 927, September 2018), this article explore...
Managing ALARP in Major Engineering Projects
How to identify threats and achieve ALARP on a big scale
Abandoned Hope?
Brent Spar: Is it better to dispose of it or leave in place?
Drones: The End of the Rope?
Using drones to replace traditional rope-based visual inspections on offshore platforms
Carbon Capture and Storage: Are We There Yet?
Amanda Doyle travels to Norway on a CCS safari
Developing Policies: What Can We Do?
Increasing chemical engineering contributions to sustainable policy development: an Australian ...
Scottish Government Encourages Plastics Production
On click-bait and the debate around fracking
The Long View on Longford
20 years on from Australia’s infamous gas explosion, what have we learned, and what should we do ...
Do Share
Adam Duckett says we must do all we can to share the lessons of Piper Alpha
Process pioneer: Rodney Allam discusses the development of his CCS technology
As testing begins in Texas, Allam shares his thoughts on building emissions-free natural gas plan...
Piper Alpha Perspectives: Introducing the Series
Adam Duckett, editor of The Chemical Engineer introduces the Piper Alpha Perspectives series laun...
Piper Alpha: The Disaster in Detail
Fiona Macleod, chair of the Loss Prevention Bulletin Editorial Panel, and Stephen Richardson, an ...
Malcolm Banks: Safety Technologist
Robots, big data, wearables, and rig-floor automation are being developed for a transformative bo...
Sam Ash: Apprentice
Personal perspective from Sam Ash, a young technician working offshore
Jo Reynolds: Geophysics Graduate
Insight from a young geophysicist joining the sector, working for BP's offshore operations.
Chris Flint: Energy Regulator
HSE director Chris Flint discusses the need for all of us to seek to improve the approach to regu...
Shahana Buchanan: IChemE Special Interest Group Chair
Shahana Buchanan, chair of IChemE's Safety & Loss Prevention Special Interest Group discusses how...
Shakeel Ramjanee: Offshore Safety Engineer
An offshore safety engineer describes how, as he approaches the ten-year mark of his career, Pipe...
Phil Eames: Process Safety Trainer
Phil Eames recounts ICI’s response to the Piper Alpha tragedy and offers up a video that all youn...
Piper Alpha Perspectives
ON 6 July 1988, 167 men died in the Piper Alpha disaster. This series revisits the accident and ...
Terry Cooper: Preventer of Major Accidents
Terry Cooper is a chemical engineer by training. This article is an adapted version of a speech h...
Drew Rae: Podcaster
Disastercast host Drew Rae offers up a challenging view on the danger of convincing ourselves tha...
Trish Kerin: IChemE Safety Centre Director
A personal perspective from IChemE Safety Centre's Director
Dame Judith Hackitt: Grenfell Tower Fire Investigator
Dame Judith Hackitt remembers Piper Alpha and in light of the Grenfell Tower fire reminds us ther...
Steve Rae: Piper Alpha Survivor
A personal perspective from Steve Rae, a survivor of Piper Alpha who has made it his duty to ensu...
Deirdre Michie: Trade Association Chief
Deirdre Michie reflects on the success of Oil & Gas UK's Safety 30 conference.
Lord Cullen: Piper Alpha Investigator
Lord Cullen of Whitekirk gave this speech at the opening of Oil & Gas UK’s Safety 30 Conference i...
Conor Crowley: Process Safety Consultant
People often say they remember where they were when they heard President Kennedy was shot, when P...
Under One Roof
The University of Cambridge’s new chemical engineering and biotechnology building is open for b...
Brownfield and Beyond
Innovation is needed to develop systems to identify problems before they occur
Flare System Modelling for Dummies
Flare system design and modification.
It’s a Gas, Gas, Gas
H21: why we need bold thinking for a greener, cleaner, low-cost future
Shale Gas: Friend or Foe?
An overview of the scientific and technical challenges that have surfaced because of shale gas
Applying Chemistry
How chemical engineering developed in Nigeria
Decommissioning: The Inconvenient Truth
A further call for authorities to leave UK offshore oil assets in place – after making them safe ...
Overcoming CDU Challenges
How refineries can overcome CDU challenges to boost the bottom line
Ditch the Deluge
An argument for using insulation rather than fixed firewater deluge to protect bulk LPG storage t...
Solar-Powered Water Purification Wins Top Prize
Helen Tunnicliffe reviews the winners of IChemE’s annual awards programme
Increasing Ethylene Conversion and Plant Reliability
Effective use of control valves at critical points can increase conversion and reliability in ole...
An urgent request: new decommissioning head must bring fresh-thinking to wrong-headed plans
THE appointment this week of a new head of decommissioning at the UK’s Oil & Gas Authority (OGA) ...
Scotland’s Fracking Ban – Politics Trumps Expert Advice
THE Scottish government’s recent announcement on fracking was no surprise. No amount of evidence-...
Gassnova’s Trude Sundset on the importance of CCS
Trude Sundset, CEO of Gassnova and a chemical engineer by training, tells Helen Tunnicliffe why c...
Transformational Technologies
Transformational technologies in oil and gas. Could we learn future direction from past innovations?
Thomas Midgley – A troubled legacy
From fuel hero to climate zero: Claudia Flavell-While on the turbulent life of Thomas Midgley
News
NSW gives greenlight to Santos’ controversial coal seam gas project
AUSTRALIA’S New South Wales government has backed Santos’ A$3.6bn (US$2.54bn) Narrabri gas develo...
Chevron sells Australian LNG stake
CHEVRON is selling its stake in Australia’s North West Shelf, the county’s biggest liquified natu...
BP exits petrochemicals, sells plants to Ineos
BP is selling its petrochemicals business, including interests in 14 production sites, to Ineos f...
Explosion at UK oilseed plant injures three
AN explosion at an oilseed processing plant in the UK has injured three people.
Study predicts substantial job losses in oil and gas following price collapse
A STUDY examining prospects for activity in the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) has projected a sharp...
Saudi Aramco completes acquisition of stake in SABIC
SAUDI Aramco has announced that it has successfully completed its acquisition of a 70% stake in p...
BP cuts 10,000 jobs
BP has announced that it will cut 10,000 jobs by the end of the year due to the economic impact o...
Total sets net zero target
TOTAL has become the latest oil major, along with BP, Shell, and Repsol, to pledge to reach net z...
UK gas networks join forces for net zero
THE engineering expertise of the UK’s gas network operators have joined forces to outline how to ...
Sasol cuts production to mitigate coronavirus impacts
SOUTH African integrated energy and chemicals company Sasol has announced production cuts to help...
OGUK calls for urgent action to prevent up to 30,000 job losses
UPTO 30,000 jobs in the UK's oil and gas industry are at risk due to the coronavirus pandemic and...
Shell delays several major projects
FOLLOWING a decision last month to reduce capital spending by 20%, Shell has postponed a number o...
Shell makes pledge to be net zero by 2050
SHELL has announced that it aims to cut emissions from its operations to net zero by 2050 or soon...
Shell and PetroChina give green light to Australian coal-seam gas project
SHELL and PetroChina have approved the first stage of their A$10bn (US$6.3bn) Surat Basin coal-se...
Organisations call for halt to US mining and drilling decisions, due to coronavirus
ONE hundred and one environmental and public health organisations have sent a letter to the US Go...
OPEC agrees to cut global oil by 10% but there are fears it is not enough
OPEC has agreed to cut global oil output by around 10% in response to the coronavirus pandemic, e...
Exxon cuts spending in response to coronavirus
EXXONMOBIL is cutting capital spending this year by 30% and operating expenses by 15% in response...
Update: Coronavirus delays Forties shutdown to 2021
INEOS has extended plans to postpone the shutdown of the Forties oil pipeline which transports to...
Woodside CEO: Browse project could get carbon capture from day one
WOODSIDE says it will add a carbon capture project to its Browse gas project off the coast of Wes...
BP protects jobs for three months
BP has announced that it will not be cutting any jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Coronavirus delays Forties shutdown
INEOS is postponing the shutdown of the Forties oil pipeline which transports to shore around 40%...
Victoria lifts ban on onshore gas development
AUSTRALIA’s Victoria state Government is lifting a ban on conventional onshore gas development an...
Industry pushes to keep staff safe and plants running
Industry reacts to keep staff and plants running during pandemic
ENGIE to supply Heathrow Airport with ‘green gas’
ENERGY and services company ENGIE is to supply ‘green gas’ to Heathrow Airport, the major interna...
ExxonMobil releases model methane emissions regulatory framework
EXXONMOBIL has released an industry-wide model regulatory framework for methane, and urged stakeh...
First Australian plant to deliver hydrogen blended gas across a city
AUSTRALIAN Gas Networks (AGN), which owns distribution networks across the country, is to constru...
LNG demand to reach 700m t by 2040, says Shell
ACCORDING to Shell’s LNG Outlook 2020, published on 20 February, global demand for LNG is to doub...
Equinor withdraws from plans to drill for oil in Australian marine park
EQUINOR has pulled out of controversial plans to drill for oil and gas in the Great Australian Bi...
BP to leave three US trade associations due to misalignment of climate policies
BP HAS announced that it will leave the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM), the...
BP commits to net zero by 2050
NEW BP Chief Executive Bernard Looney has pledged that BP will reduce its emissions to net zero b...
Innovative sponge for offshore oil drilling wastewater cleanup
RESEARCHERS at Imperial College London, UK and the University of Toronto (UoT), Canada have devel...
IEA calls on oil and gas to ‘step up’ its climate change efforts
THE oil and gas industry needs to “step up” climate change efforts, says the International Energy...
OGA Chairman calls on industry to do more for the energy transition
TIM Eggar, Chairman of the UK’s Oil and Gas Authority (OGA), has said the industry’s “social lice...
BP sells North Sea assets to Premier Oil
BP is selling its North Sea interests in the Andrew area and its non-operating interests in the S...
UK’s landmark trial to heat buildings with hydrogen is fully operational
THE UK’s first project to inject hydrogen into the gas grid is underway at Keele University.
Malaysia PM: Petronas could be sold to pay down debt
STAKES in state-energy firm Petronas could be sold to Malaysia’s oil-producing states to raise mo...
Repsol outlines net zero 2050 target
SPAIN’S oil and gas firm Repsol has outlined plans to be carbon neutral by 2050.
Saudi Aramco public share sale is world’s largest
SAUDI Aramco has raised US$25.6bn in its initial public offering (IPO), making it the world’s lar...
UK oil contractors report rising green demand
UK oil and gas contractors have reported a significant increase in demand for their services from...
Saudi Aramco gives go ahead for largest ever stock listing
SAUDI Aramco has announced its intention to proceed with its long-awaited public stock listing, w...
UK Government issues temporary ban on fracking
THE UK Government has temporarily halted fracking on the basis of a new scientific study from the...
Oil and gas innovation to benefit Japanese nuclear sector
RAWWATER Engineering Company, which developed specialist alloys for the oil and gas industry that...
Novel process recovers high-value products from natural gas
LINDE has developed a novel process to recover high-value products, including helium, from natura...
Petronas triumphs at IChemE’s Malaysia Awards 2019
OIL and gas company Petronas scooped four out of the eight trophies given at IChemE’s Malaysia Aw...
Husky receives approval for refinery rebuild
HUSKY Energy has received the required permit approvals to move forward with its more than US$400...
Shell and BP join consortium to tackle methane emissions
OIL and gas companies Shell and BP have joined the Collaboratory to Advance Methane Science (CAMS...
Gorgon LNG project faces emissions penalties
CHEVRON’s Gorgon liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, one of the world’s largest LNG projects, co...
ExxonMobil to sell 50% stake in Bass Strait assets
OIL and gas company ExxonMobil is to sell its 50% stake in its Bass Strait oil and gas assets, of...
Clariant’s new HTE lab in the US energy capital to support oil and gas
SPECIALTY chemicals company Clariant has opened a new High-Throughput Experimentation (HTE) Labor...
ExxonMobil sells US$4.5bn of Norwegian upstream assets
EXXONMOBIL has signed an agreement with Vår Energi to sell its upstream assets in Norway for US$4...
Cuadrilla fracking suspended until further notice
FRACKING at Cuadrilla’s Preston New Road site in Lancashire, UK, will remain suspended until a fu...
Drone attack cuts global oil capacity by 5%
DRONES have targeted the world’s biggest oil exporter, Saudi Aramco, reducing the state-owned Sau...
Record-breaking analysis
THE Barrow Group, in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Warwick, UK, has developed ...
BP on continuous hunt for methane leaks
BP says it is deploying technology to continuously detect, measure and reduce methane emissions f...
Food, fuel and drug supplies at no-deal Brexit risk, Government warns
THE UK Government has warned in a document it has been forced to disclose that a no-deal Brexit c...
Rejigged rigs could kickstart North Sea CCS, study finds
USING North Sea oil rigs to generate power from methane and bury the resulting emissions would be...
Current European estimates likely underestimate fracking emissions
RESEARCHERS at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies Potsdam (IASS) have concluded th...
Oil and gas majors are undermining climate goals, report warns
OIL and gas companies have approved US$50bn of investment since 2018 in major projects that under...
Santos and Perdaman sign HoA for an ammonium plant
OIL and gas company Santos and diversified company Perdaman have signed a heads of agreement to f...
BP sells Alaska business to Hilcorp for US$5.6bn
BP is selling its entire Alaska business to energy company Hilcorp for US$5.6bn, including its sh...
Worsley Alumina signs contracts to receive 1.75m t of LNG
CHEVRON and Woodside Energy are to supply South32-operated joint venture (JV) Worsley Alumina wit...
BHP announces US$400m Climate Investment Program
MINING company BHP has announced a five-year, US$400m Climate Investment Program (CIP) to develop...
Occidental and Ecopetrol form US$1.5bn joint venture
OCCIDENTAL Petroleum and Colombian state-run oil company Ecopetrol have entered into a US$1.5bn j...
Gorgon CCS plant starts up after two-year delay
CHEVRON’S US$54bn Gorgon LNG project has started operation of one of the world’s largest carbon c...
ExxonMobil plant explosion injures 37
ON 31 July an explosion and subsequent fire broke out at an ExxonMobil plant in Baytown, Harris C...
Cuadrilla to start fracking second well
CUADRILLA plans to frack a second well in Lancashire, UK, before its planning permission expires ...
Aramco awards US$18bn in contracts to expand oil and gas production
SAUDI ARAMCO has awarded contracts worth US$18bn to build process plants and expand oil productio...
LPG industry aims for 100% transition to bioLNG by 2040
Liquid Gas UK (formerly UKLPG) has launched its new vision, which sets a goal for the liquid petr...
Understanding localised corrosion of steel pipes
LOCALISED corrosion can cause failures in steel pipes used in the oil and gas industry, but new r...
BP warns that world is on unsustainable path
BP HAS warned of a “worrying vicious cycle” of energy use in its new global energy report, as ext...
Chevron Phillips and Qatar Petroleum to build world’s largest ethane cracker
Qatar Petrochemical and Chevron Phillips Chemical have signed agreements to jointly develop petro...
Petronas agrees partnership to develop oil industry chemicals
PETRONAS Chemicals Group (PCG) and Scomi Energy Services have agreed to work together to research...
CSB calls for new onshore drilling rules after blowout kills five
THE US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has urged regulators to develop safety standards for onshore o...
Philadelphia oil refinery to shut down following fire
REFINERY owner Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES) has announced that it is to permanently close ...
Sleipner partnership to release CO2 storage datasets
EQUINOR and its partners are to release datasets from the Sleipner field, the world’s first offsh...
New report assesses gas-to-hydrogen transition
ON 14 June, as part of a cross-professional engineering institution working group, IChemE release...
Hurricane Energy produces first oil at fractured basement field
HURRICANE Energy has produced first oil from the UK’s first fractured basement field in the North...
First shipment from Prelude floating liquefied natural gas facility
The first shipment of liquified natural gas (LNG) has sailed from Shell’s Prelude floating LNG (F...
Wood awarded contract for petrochemicals project in Oman
WOOD has been awarded a contract by Duqm Refinery and Petrochemicals Industries Company (DRPIC) f...
Ithaca Energy acquires North Sea oil and gas fields
OIL and gas company Ithaca Energy is to acquire ten of Chevron’s UK North Sea producing fields fo...
Saudi Aramco and Sempra Energy sign HoA for proposed LNG project
SUBSIDIARIES of energy infrastructure company Sempra Energy and Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s stat...
A novel EOR surfactant
SCIENTISTS at Swansea University, UK have developed a novel, ‘green’ surfactant which improves oi...
Anadarko accepts Occidental bid
ANADARKO Petroleum has accepted Occidental’s hostile acquisition bid, after Chevron announced tha...
BP and partners to invest US$6bn for oilfield development
BP AND its partners are to invest US$6bn in the Azeri Central East (ACE) project to further devel...
ExxonMobil to invest US$2bn in Texas plant expansion
EXXONMOBIL is to invest US$2bn to expand its chemical plant in Baytown, Texas, US, to maximise th...
ExxonMobil stops unplanned flaring at UK plant
EXXONMOBIL has announced that it has ceased unplanned flaring at its Fife Ethylene Plant (FEP) at...
Anadarko agrees to review Occidental’s hostile bid
CHEVRON’S agreed merger with Anadarko Petroleum looks under threat after the US independent said ...
Occidental makes hostile US$57bn bid for Chevron
OCCIDENTAL has made a hostile bid for Anadarko Petroleum, trumping a US$50bn bid from Chevron.
Aramco buys Shell’s 50% stake in SASREF
SAUDI ARAMCO is buying Shell’s 50% share of the SASREF joint venture in Jubail Industrial City, S...
Chrysaor buys ConocoPhillips UK oil assets
CHRYSAOR has agreed to buy ConocoPhillips North Sea assets for US$2.67bn, making it one of the la...
CEO wants Occidental to become carbon neutral
OCCIDENTAL Petroleum CEO Vicki Hollub has said she wants the international oil firm to become car...
Removing oil from produced water
A PROCESS has been developed that can remove nearly all traces of oil in produced water.
Chevron set to become fourth ultramajor with US$33bn buyout of Anadarko Petroleum
CHEVRON has agreed to buy Anadarko Petroleum for US$33bn, propelling it into the position of four...
Fire at Petronas refinery in Malaysia
AN explosion and fire occurred at the Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC) in Johor, Malaysia, a re...
ExxonMobil plans multi-billion dollar investment in Singapore complex
EXXONMOBIL has announced that it is investing in an expansion project for its Singapore refining ...
Saudi Aramco set to take 70% stake in SABIC
SAUDI Aramco has agreed to buy a 70% stake in SABIC for US$69.1bn. It is part of national plans t...
BP says it could keep some oil and gas resources in the ground
BP has reduced its oil and gas exploration activities and could keep some of its resources in the...
BP agrees to disclose how its strategies align with the Paris Agreement
BP HAS agreed to a resolution from investors to disclose how its greenhouse gas reduction and fut...
Shell plans to becomes world’s largest power firm
SHELL is set to become one of the largest power companies in the world, its Director of New Energ...
OGTC funds effort to create digital twins of pressure vessels
THE UK’s Oil & Gas Technology Centre (OGTC) is funding a project for software firm Akselos to dev...
ExxonMobil awards contract for new PP unit in Baton Rouge
EXXONMOBIL is investing in a new polypropylene production unit at its Baton Rouge complex in Loui...
BASF and Linde team up to serve natural gas processes
BASF and The Linde Group’s Engineering Division have announced a collaboration to serve natural g...
Largest Indonesian gas find in 18 years
SPANISH energy company Repsol has made the largest gas discovery in Indonesia for 18 years. It is...
India to move planned refinery
WESTERN Indian state Maharashtra, is to relocate a planned Saudi Aramco refinery due to protest b...
Ineos commits £1bn for UK oil pipeline and new chemicals plant
INEOS will invest £1bn (US$1.3bn) in the UK, modernising the Forties pipeline system, building a ...
Texas set for world’s greenest refinery
MERIDIAN Energy Group has announced plans to build what it claims will be the world’s cleanest re...
BP invests in AI to accelerate upstream projects
BP has invested US$5m in artificial intelligence technology in a bid to speed up projects.
Permian growth prompts Exxon to build third unit at Beaumont refinery
EXXONMOBIL has started building a third crude unit at its Beaumont refinery in Texas, US, in a mo...
ADNOC sells refining stake to European partners
THE Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has sold off a 35% stake in its refining business to I...
Wood and KBR win backfill project for Shell’s Prelude FLNG
WOOD and KBR have won a contract to design the facility that will provide backfill gas to Shell’s...
ExxonMobil commits to US LNG export investment
EXXONMOBIL and Qatar Petroleum will invest more than US$10bn in the Golden Pass LNG export projec...
Saudi Arabia to invest in South African plants
SAUDI Arabia plans to build an oil refinery and a petrochemicals complex in South Africa. This is...
Saudi Arabia to build plants in Pakistan
SAUDI Arabia is to invest US$10bn in Pakistan. The Wall Street Journal reports that this investme...
Chevron and Occidental invest in capturing CO2 from the air
CHEVRON and Occidental Petroleum have invested in Canadian direct air capture (DAC) company Carbo...
Shell to invest in Shearwater gas infrastructure hub
SHELL and its partners ExxonMobil and BP have announced a final investment decision (FID) for a S...
Neste to invest €1.4bn in renewable products
THE oil company Neste is to invest €1.4bn (US$1.6bn) to enable the production of additional renew...
Explosion at natural gas facility injures four
AN explosion at MarkWest natural gas processing facility in Pennsylvania, US, has injured four pe...
HSE feedback on HCR challenge
Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Britain’s national workplace health and safety regulator, has ...
YPF and Petronas partner on Argentina oil and gas project
ARGENTINA’s state-owned energy company YPF has entered into a US$2.3bn joint venture with Malaysi...
Bacton terminal begins receiving gas from Clipper South
OIL and gas major Shell has started to supply energy from the Clipper South gas field into the UK...
BP starts production at Clair Ridge oil field
BP has started production at the £4.5bn (US$5.75bn) Clair Ridge oil field in one of the largest n...
Shell commits to stricter targets on cutting emissions
SHELL has given in to pressure from investors to commit to specific goals in limiting climate cha...
UK moving forward with CCUS plans
THE UK government has unveiled an action plan for developing carbon, capture, utilisation and sto...
World’s first commercial full-chain CCUS project announced for Teesside
THE Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) has announced a strategic partnership with six oil and ...
Engineers publish £22bn blueprint for UK to take global lead on hydrogen heating
ENGINEERS have called on the UK government to immediately spend £125m (US$159m) designing a hydro...
Impossible to clean Husky oil spill
Husky Energy has spilled an estimated 1572 barrels of oil off Canada’s Atlantic coast. CBC News r...
Saudi Aramco signs agreement with ADNOC to collaborate in natural gas sector
SAUDI Aramco has signed a framework agreement with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) to ...
INEOS in talks to buy ConocoPhillips’ North Sea assets
INEOS is in talks with ConocoPhillips to acquire its North Sea oil and gas fields.
Air Products to buy General Electric’s gasification business
AIR Products has agreed to buy General Electric’s gasification business, which will expand Air Pr...
Fluor awarded contract for Valero’s refinery in Wales
FLUOR has announced that it has been awarded a contract for Valero Energy’s combined heat and pow...
Flooding causes damage to Dangote refinery
FLOODING due to heavy rainfall has caused damage to the US$10bn Dangote refinery site in Nigeria.
Understanding why fracking wastewater contains radioactive waste
RESEARCHERS at Dartmouth College, US, have released a study explaining the transfer of radium to ...
ExxonMobil starts new unit at Antwerp refinery
EXXONMOBIL has started operations of a new unit for producing high-value transportation fuels at ...
Eni and Total sign agreement for offshore exploration in Algeria
ENI and Total have signed an agreement with Sonatrach for offshore oil and gas exploration in Alg...
More than US$50bn worth of deals for Saudi Arabia
SAUDI Arabia has announced more than US$50bn worth of deals in oil, gas, infrastructure and other...
New catalyst reduces carbon dioxide emissions in coal-to-liquids process
A CATALYST has been developed that almost eliminates carbon dioxide emissions in the Fischer-Trop...
A membrane technology breakthrough
RESEARCHERS from the Livingston Group at Imperial College London, UK, in collaboration with BP, h...
UK set to see surge in biomethane plants
THE UK is set to see a 50% rise in biomethane plants operating by 2020, with as much as £400m (US...
UK fracking set to resume today after seven-year break
FRACKING is set to restart in the UK today after a High Court judge dismissed a last-minute legal...
Improving water purification
A NEW, multi-university research centre, headquartered at the US' University of Texas at Austin (...
UN climate experts warn society must make unparalleled shift
LIMITING global warming to 1.5°C requires rapid and unprecedented changes to society, UN climate ...
BASF and LetterOne agree to merge oil interests
GERMANY’S BASF and LetterOne have agreed to merge their oil and gas subsidiaries Wintershall and ...
Canada's LNG project gets green light
A large-scale LNG project in Canada has been given the final go-ahead by project partners.
Drax in talks to acquire Scottish Power assets
DRAX, the UK power company, has entered talks to discuss acquiring Scottish Power energy assets f...
Total announces major gas discovery
TOTAL, the world’s fourth-largest oil and gas company, has announced a major gas discovery on the...
Second Cuadrilla approval for onshore fracking
CUADRILLA, the natural resource company, has been granted government approval for fracking at a s...
Three US oil majors commit to climate change action
EXXONMOBIL, Chevron, and Occidental Petroleum have joined the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGC...
Trump administration scraps methane emission laws
THE Trump administration has rolled back two Obama-era laws on reducing methane emissions in the ...
Major new refinery proposed for Canada
INDIGENOUS communities and Chinese companies are planning to build a 167,000 bbl/d refinery in Al...
Shell sets methane reduction target
SHELL has said it will reduce methane leaks by installing new equipment at its operations, as the...
ExxonMobil plans US$650m upgrade to Fawley refinery
EXXONMOBIL is planning on upgrading its Fawley refinery, in the company’s biggest investment in t...
Pulling oil from water
ENGINEERS at Rice University, US, in conjunction with Shell Global Solutions, have developed magn...
Landmark Piper Alpha Cullen report now free to download
THE Cullen Report into the Piper Alpha disaster is now available to download for free from the He...
Equinor floats plan to power oil platforms with wind
NORWAY could become the first country to directly connect an offshore wind farm to oil and gas pl...
Wood awarded new contracts at Norwegian refinery
WOOD has been awarded two strategic modifications contracts for Equinor’s Mongstad refinery in No...
Air Products to build a coal-to-syngas facility for Jiutai New Material
AIR Products, a world-leading industrial gases company, headquartered in Pennsylvania, US, has be...
Fire at chemical plant on Stanlow refinery site
A fire broke out yesterday at a chemical plant on the same site as the Stanlow oil refinery in Ch...
Drax: Stepping closer to coal-free
DRAX, which operates the largest power station in the UK, and supplies 6% of the country’s energy...
Picky porous electrodes take out toxins
RESEARCHERS at Rice University, US, are developing a novel water treatment technology to selectiv...
ExxonMobil starts up new ethane cracker
EXXONMOBIL has announced that its new 1.5m t/y ethane cracker has commenced operations at its int...
BP buys BHP’s US oil and gas assets
BP has announced that it will be buying BHP’s US shale oil and gasfields for US$10.5bn.
Onshore fracking given go ahead in UK
CUADRILLA has been granted permission to begin fracking in the UK’s first onshore horizontal shal...
Saudi Aramco confirms interest in potential stake at SABIC
SAUDI Aramco is evaluating the possibility of buying a stake in petrochemical company SABIC, whic...
US$11bn petrochemicals complex to be built in Egypt
A MULTI-BILLION dollar petchems complex is to be built in Egypt, and is expected to create thousa...
Fine investment: coal miner and oil trader invest in novel coal-to-fuel developer
VITOL and Peabody Energy have invested US$20m in a firm that has developed technology that it say...
Oil and gas wastewater spread on roads releases harmful toxins
WASTEWATER from oil and gas facilities can be spread on roads for dust suppression or de-icing, b...
SNC-Lavalin partners with Florexx International Investments to build UAE refinery
SNC-Lavalin has signed an agreement with Florexx International Investments to construct an advanc...
Fire at Kemaman Bitumen Company refinery injures four
A FIRE at the Kemaman Bitumen Company (KBC) refinery in Malaysia has destroyed two crude oil tank...
Chevron’s delayed CCS project due to begin this year
CHEVRON expects to start its carbon capture and storage project for the Gorgon liquified natural ...
Militia causes catastrophic damage at Libyan oil port
AN ARMED assault has caused catastrophic damage to two oil storage tanks at the Ras Lanuf termina...
Update: Chester engineering faculty faces relocation due to proximity to oil refinery
THE University of Chester is facing the possibility of relocating its science and engineering fac...
Chester engineering faculty faces relocation due to proximity to oil refinery
THE University of Chester is facing the possibility of relocating its £120m (US$160m) science and...
Piper Alpha conference: Chrysaor CEO issues list of challenges to oil industry
PHIL KIRK, CEO of Chrysaor, has issued challenges to the oil industry community at a UK conferenc...
Piper Alpha conference: oil industry urged to maintain a chronic sense of unease
THE oil and gas community has been urged to “maintain a chronic sense of unease” at a conference ...
Petronas invests in LNG Canada
PETRONAS is buying a 25% stake in LNG Canada, after previously scrapping plans to develop its own...
SUEZ agrees to help improve water treatment at Rosneft sites
SUEZ has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Rosneft to improve water and wastewater pr...
Repsol to use Google technology to improve refinery efficiency
SPANISH energy company Repsol has announced that it is working with Google to use big data and ar...
ExxonMobil sets methane reduction targets
EXXONMOBIL has announced plans to cut methane emissions by 15% and reduce flaring by 25% by 2020.
New oil and gas exploration licences issued for North Sea
The UK Oil and Gas Authority has granted oil and gas exploration licences to 61 companies in its ...
BASF and ExxonMobil form gas-treating alliance
BASF and ExxonMobil Catalysts and Licensing will work together to develop new gas-treating solven...
Abu Dhabi outlines US$45bn plan to become key downstream chemicals player
IN a bid to diversify its economy away from oil production, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (A...
KBR wins contract for Saudi Arabia’s crude-oil-to-chemicals complex
KBR has been named the second project management contractor for the design of Saudi Aramco and SA...
Offshore industry has come “perilously close to disaster”, warns HSE
HSE has warned the UK’s offshore oil and gas operators that they must do more to tackle hydrocarb...
BP announces two new North Sea developments
BP has given the green light for the development of two North Sea oil fields worth a combined £42...
Saudi Aramco signs deal with Indian consortium for new refinery
Saudi Arabia’s state oil company Saudi Aramco has made an agreement with a consortium of Indian o...
New Zealand bans future offshore oil and gas exploration
New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has announced that no future permits will be awarded fo...
Piper Alpha Monopoly sparks backlash
THE release of an edition of Monopoly that marks the anniversary of the tragic Piper Alpha oil pl...
Motiva joins forces with UOP and TechnipFMC to fuel push into petrochemicals
MOTIVA ENTERPRISES has signed MoUs with UOP and TechnipFMC worth as much as US$10bn to explore us...
Santos agrees to takeover talks with Harbour Energy
HARBOUR ENERGY has made a A$13.5bn (US$10.4bn) bid for Australian oil and gas producer Santos.
200 GW: Saudi Arabia plans world’s largest solar development
SAUDI ARABIA and Japan’s Softbank have agreed to build the world’s largest solar power project, w...
Chemical companies review lessons learned from Hurricane Harvey
AN INDUSTRY forum held in Texas has discussed the response of chemical companies to Hurricane Har...
Explosion at Unipetrol chemical plant in Czech Republic
AN EXPLOSION at a Unipetrol refinery is reported to have killed six people and injured others.
National Grid report says gas can decarbonise heat, transport, and industry
THE UK’s gas and electricity operator, National Grid, has set out its long-term goals in its repo...
Liveris to step down as chair of DowDuPont in April
CHEMICAL engineer Andrew Liveris will step down in April as executive chair of DowDuPont, the hol...
UK carbon dioxide emissions fall to same level as 1890
AN ANALYSIS by climate science website Carbon Brief has shown that the UK's carbon dioxide emissi...
Exxon’s algae biofuel venture enters new phase, targeting 10,000 bbl/d
EXXONMOBIL and biotech pioneer Synthetic Genomics are starting field trails for their joint algae...
Trialling hydrogen in the UK gas network
AN ENERGY trial at Keele University, UK, will assess the feasibility of adding hydrogen to the ga...
ExxonMobil pulls out of deal with Rosneft
EXXONMOBIL is pulling out of its joint venture with Rosneft, Russia's largest oil company, follow...
Can oil-eating microbes clean up spills in the Arctic?
MICROBES that use oil as a food source offer the only way to degrade oil after a spill, however a...
BP’s crystal ball suggests oil demand plateau and electric car increase
BP has released its annual Energy Outlook report, which suggests a significant increase in the us...
Wan Zulkiflee will head Petronas for another three years
ICHEME Fellow Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee Wan Arrifin has had his contract as CEO of Petronas extended ...
Ineos restarts Forties system after unexpected shutdown
INEOS has restarted the UK’s Forties Pipeline after the closure of a valve forced a shutdown of t...
Angola to end fuel imports by building refineries
Angola’s state oil company Sonangol has announced plans to reduce the country’s fuel imports by b...
ExxonMobil expects to pump out majority of its oil, even in a low-carbon future
EXXONMOBIL says there is little risk that climate change policies will force it to leave its prov...
Five people missing after Oklahoma rig explosion
FIVE people are missing after an oil and gas drilling rig near Quinton in Oklahoma, US, exploded ...
Saudi Aramco, CB&I and Chevron Lummus Global in new JDA
SAUDI ARAMCO, CB&I and Chevron Lummus Global (CLG) have signed a joint development agreement (JDA...
Shell and ITM to build world’s largest electrolysis plant
SHELL and ITM Power have announced a plan to build the world’s largest hydrogen electrolysis plan...
Shale gas ruled one of the least sustainable options for power
SHALE gas is one of the least sustainable options for producing electricity, according to a new s...
Shell commits to Penguins North Sea investment
SHELL will redevelop the Penguins oil and gas field 240 km northeast of the Shetland Islands, a p...
Burning oil tanker sinks off China
AN oil tanker that had been ablaze since it collided with a freight ship in the East China Sea on...
New York City sues five oil majors over climate change
NEW YORK CITY has filed a lawsuit against five of the world’s largest investor-owned fossil fuel ...
UCL, Tufts find new catalyst to turn shale gas into fuel
A NEW platinum and copper alloy catalyst developed at University College London, UK, and Tufts Un...
Huge oil tanker ablaze off China
AN oil tanker is on fire and at risk of exploding after colliding with a freight ship off the eas...
Trump proposes opening most US waters to drilling
PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s administration has revealed a plan to open almost all US offshore waters...
Nexen charged after oil sands explosion deaths
CANADA’s Alberta province has brought eight charges against Nexen Energy after an on-site explosi...
Eni and Shell to face Nigeria bribery charges
AN Italian judge has ruled that Shell and Eni must face charges of aggravated international corru...
French bill banning fossil fuel exploration passes in parliament
A BILL banning new fossil fuel exploration licences in France immediately and all fossil fuel ext...
Statoil buys 25% of Brazil’s Roncador field
STATOIL has bought a 25% stake in Petrobras’ Roncador oil field in the Campos Basin in Brazil.
World Bank to stop lending to oil and gas
WORLD BANK GROUP president Jim Yong Kim has announced that the organisation will no longer financ...
One dead, 21 injured in Austrian gas hub explosion
ONE person has been killed and 21 are injured after a huge explosion and fire at the Baumgarten N...
INEOS shuts Forties pipeline
INEOS has closed its Forties oil pipeline, which transports 40% of the UK’s oil production, aroun...
BASF and LetterOne to merge oil and gas units
BASF and LetterOne have signed a letter of intent to merge their oil and gas subsidiaries, Winter...
One dead, one injured in Maersk oilfield accident in Norway
A MAERSK Drilling employee has died after falling into the sea during maintenance work on the Mae...
Maersk Oil gets approval for US$3.36bn Tyra gas investment
THE Danish Underground Consortium (DUC) has approved a DKK21bn (US$3.36bn) investment, allowing M...
Saudi giants agree to develop largest oil-to-chemicals complex
SAUDI ARAMCO and SABIC have agreed to develop plans for the world’s largest crude oil-to-chemical...
Government outlines plan to make UK world’s most innovative nation
THE UK government has published its long-awaited Industrial Strategy as it seeks to boost industr...
ExxonMobil to revamp refining and chemical operations
EXXONMOBIL will reorganise its refining and chemical operations in an attempt to boost profits am...
BASF in talks for DEA oil and gas merger
BASF has announced that its Wintershall unit is in talks to merge with Letter One’s oil and gas a...
ExxonMobil made gold partner
EXXONMOBIL has been awarded IChemE Gold Corporate Partner status for its UK sites in Fawley, Hamp...
Energy majors commit to reducing methane emissions
EIGHT global energy majors have committed to reducing methane emissions from their natural gas as...
INEOS expands North Sea oil and gas operations
INEOS will move into deep water oil and gas exploration, after agreeing to buy a majority stake i...
First kerosene made from solar syngas
SYNGAS made from solar energy has been processed into kerosene for the first time, which research...
Bechtel signs US$15.2bn in LNG contracts with Tellurian
TELLURIAN has awarded four contracts worth US$15.2bn to Bechtel for the engineering, procurement ...
Shell sells further stake in Woodside for US$1.7bn
Shell has sold two-thirds of its remaining stake in Woodside Petroleum to two unnamed investment ...
Saudi Aramco signs ‘diversification’ deals worth US$4.5bn
SAUDI ARAMCO has signed eight agreements, worth around US$4.5bn, with oil and gas service contrac...
Air Products and Yankuang to build US$3.5bn syngas plant
AIR PRODUCTS has signed an investment cooperation agreement with Yankuang Group to build a US$3.5...
Alaska and China sign LNG development deal
ALASKA and China have signed an historic joint development agreement for the Alaska LNG project, ...
Total buys Engie upstream LNG for US$1.49bn
TOTAL has bought Engie’s upstream liquefied natural gas assets for US$1.49bn.
Natural gas emissions threaten EU carbon budget
METHANE emissions from natural gas have been underestimated by governments, and the “bridging fue...
BP, Shell lead energy trading blockchain plan
A CONSORTIUM including energy companies BP, Shell and Statoil is developing a blockchain-based di...
IChemE Singapore joins unique alliance on skills certification
ICHEME SINGAPORE has joined a unique alliance with the country’s government and industrial trade ...
OGCI selects first three green investment projects
THE OIL AND GAS CLIMATE INITIATIVE (OGCI) has selected the first three low carbon projects to ben...
YPF to invest US$30bn in Argentina over five years
ARGENTINA’S state energy company YPF is to invest US$30bn to boost hydrocarbon production in the ...
Tetra4 to become first South African LNG producer
ALTERNATIVE and renewable energy firm Renergen says that its gas production subsidiary Tetra4 is ...
Rice solves mystery of asphaltene clearance in oil pipes
ASPHALTENE, the cholesterol of the oil industry, clogs pipelines and interrupts flow, but dispers...
Functionalising waste methane in remote locations
A NOVEL electrochemical process to convert methane into methanol precursors could reduce the need...
Wood Group wins contract for offshore LNG platform
HONGHUA GROUP has awarded Wood Group the front end engineering and design (FEED) contract for its...
One missing after Louisiana rig explosion
A WORKER is missing and five have been taken to hospital in Louisiana, US, after an oil platform ...
Glencore to spend US$1bn on Chevron South African assets
GLENCORE has announced that it will spend US$973m acquiring Chevron’s oil assets in South Africa ...
WorleyParsons buys Amec Foster Wheeler North Sea oil
WORLEYPARSONS has bought Amec Foster Wheeler’s North Sea upstream oil and gas business for a tota...
Plasma synthesis turns CO2 and CH4 into fuels and chemicals
RESEARCHERS have reported a “major breakthrough” in reforming CO2 and CH4 into liquid fuels and c...
Fracking banned in Scotland “indefinitely”
THE SCOTTISH government has announced an effective ban on fracking activities, following “overwhe...
Statoil, Shell and Total in Norwegian CCS partnership
STATOIL, Shell and Total have signed a partnership to further develop CO2 storage on the Norwegia...
Chemical engineer Wirth to be CEO of Chevron
MICHAEL WIRTH, currently Chevron vice chairman and executive vice president of midstream and deve...
UK offers £5m funding for North Sea exploration
NORTH Sea oil and gas exploration will receive £5m (US$6.7m) in funding from the UK government in...
BP and Bridas form JV for Argentinean assets
BP AND Bridas Corporation have formed a joint venture combining their interests in Pan America En...
Acorn CCS gets £100,000 Scottish government funding
THE Acorn CCS project, a full-chain CCS project in northeast Scotland, UK, has been awarded £100,...
Sarawak to set up own oil company
SARAWAK’S state government plans to set up its own oil exploration company, despite the national ...
Safety concerns raised about Arkema Crosby
ARKEMA’S organic peroxide plant in Crosby, which has already suffered reported explosions and a s...
US CSB safety warning after Hurricane Harvey
A SAFETY alert has been issued by the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), ur...
Transocean to buy Songa Offshore
TRANSOCEAN announced today that it has agreed a deal to buy Norwegian offshore drilling competito...
Record-breaking column erected by PETRONAS
PETRONAS has released photos showing the installation of a record-breaking crude distillation col...
Amec Foster Wheeler wins Donges upgrade FEED
AMEC FOSTER WHEELER has been awarded a FEED contract to help upgrade Total’s Donges refinery in F...
Petrofac and Samsung awarded Oman project
PETROFAC and Samsung Engineering say they are to be awarded a US$2bn contract for a 50/50 joint v...
Shell prepared for continued low oil price
SHELL CEO Ben van Beurden says that the company is adopting a “lower forever” mindset as it seeks...
Produce less, pollute more
A STANFORD University study suggests that ageing oilfields can demand more energy even while petr...
PETRONAS cancels Pacific NorthWest LNG
PETRONAS and its project partners have decided to cancel the vast US$28bn Pacific NorthWest LNG p...
Nano-sand in EOR
MORE oil could be recovered from wells by injecting a mixture of ‘nano-sand’ and a surfactant, ac...
Floating cellulose gel cleans up oil spills
A NEW type of cellulose composite material which can turn spilled oil into a rigid floating gel t...
Exxonmobil sues US Treasury
EXXONMOBIL is suing the US Treasury in response to a US$2m fine, which was imposed yesterday for ...
New project to tackle surface corrosion
A NEW £5m (US$6.5m) project led by BP and the University of Manchester, UK, will seek to better u...
Engineers dispel 100-year fluid flow law
A 100-YEAR law used to describe how fluid flows through rocks has been overturned by engineers at...
New guidelines to boost UKCS production
OIL & GAS UK has launched new guidelines aimed at increasing oil and gas production efficiency on...
Chemistry Australia's gas price warning
CHEMISTRY Australia has said that manufacturing and jobs are still being affected by rising gas p...
Ireland bans onshore fracking
IRELAND has passed a private member’s bill that bans onshore hydraulic fracturing, making it the ...
Vattenfall plans gas power station H2 switch
VATTENFALL has signed a memorandum of understanding with Statoil and Gasunie to investigate conve...
Qatar to boost LNG production by 30%
QATAR PETROLEUM has announced that it will ramp up its LNG production by 30% over the next five t...
Gazprom Neft and Repsol form Russian JV
RUSSIAN oil firm Gazprom Neft has formed a joint venture with Spain’s Repsol, taking a 25.02% sta...
Total signs contract with NIOC for South Pars
TOTAL has signed a contract with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), to develop phase 11 of ...
New MOF turns CO2 into methane
A NEW metal-organic framework developed at the University of Adelaide, Australia, can convert CO2...
France to ban oil exploration
FRANCE plans to pass a law later this year to stop granting licences for oil and gas exploration ...
Exxon and partner double algae oil output
EXXONMOBIL and biotech pioneer Synthetic Genomics have announced a breakthrough in biofuels resea...
