Poland's 210,000 b/d Gdansk refinery is increasing production after completing scheduled maintenance earlier this month. Most of the units taken off line for between late February and early April have restarted, as planned, operator Rafineria Gdanska said on 7 April. Maintenance was conducted on crude and vacuum distillation units, a diesel hydrotreater, the MHC mild hydrocracker, a reformer, the jet fuel Merox and hydrogen generation units, and two sulphur recovery units. A second phase of planned maintenance at Gdansk takes the refinery's three base oil units off line from 8 April until mid-May. Rafineria Gdanska is a joint venture of state-controlled Orlen with 70pc and state-controlled Saudi Aramco holding 30pc. Orlen is planning maintenance on a hydrocracker at its 373,000 b/d Plock refinery in Poland from 13 May until 24 June. The Polish company's 63,000 b/d Kralupy refinery in the Czech Republic has been shut down for scheduled maintenance since mid-March and should restart in early May. Orlen's 190,000 b/d Mazeikiai refinery in Lithuania was off line for 30 days of planned maintenance last month.
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Thailand's PTTGC, SCGC target petchems JV in 2H27
Thailand's PTTGC, SCGC target petchems JV in 2H27
Singapore, 29 October (Argus) — Thailand's PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) and Siam Cement Group Chemicals (SCGC) have finalised the proposed joint venture (JV) for their olefins and polyolefins operations and expect to obtain regulatory approvals by the second half of 2027. PTTGC and SCGC will hold 56pc and 44pc stakes, respectively, in the JV company following the completion of the merger, according to a filing with the Stock Exchange of Thailand on 28 October. The strategic JV aims to "bring together PTTGC's strengths in upstream production, access to competitive feedstock with refinery integration and integrated infrastructure with SCGC's downstream manufacturing capabilities, diversified product portfolio, proprietary technology and expertise in high-value-added and differentiated products," the statement said. PTTGC operates five crackers at the Map Ta Phut and Rayong industrial zones, with combined ethylene capacity of 2.88mn t/yr. Its downstream assets include 850,000 t/yr of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) capacity, a 300,000 t/yr low-density polyethylene (LDPE) plant and two 400,000 t/yr linear low-density polyethylene/high-density polyethylene (LLDPE/HDPE) swing units. The company is also a major shareholder of HMC Polymers and supplies propylene through local pipeline transfers. Meanwhile, SCGC operates two crackers in the same industrial zones, with total ethylene capacity of 2.1mn t/yr. Its affiliated polyolefins companies include Thai Polyethylene and Siam Polyethylene. Thai Polyethylene operates 980,000 t/yr of HDPE capacity, a 152,000 t/yr LDPE unit, a 140,000 t/yr LLDPE/HDPE swing line and three PP lines totalling 890,000 t/yr. Siam Polyethylene owns two LLDPE plants with combined capacity of 650,000 t/yr. The firms first announced in late April that they were studying a potential partnership . Both companies will continue to operate independently until the JV obtains regulatory approvals, according to a 29 October statement to customers from PTTGC and SCGC. The JV comes southeast Asian petrochemical market participants turning to rationalisation and restructuring to manage the persistent production losses in the petrochemical sector over the past few years. In recent developments, Thailand has imposed a three-year safeguard measure on selected PP imports into Thailand as a move to protect its domestic industry. The safeguard duties ranging from 7.63-7.73pc will be phased in over a three-year period, effective from 28 December this year. By Zong Ming Shin and Ishika Gupta Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Incoming BC gov't questions oil tanker ban: Update
Incoming BC gov't questions oil tanker ban: Update
Adds results from vote in Ottawa. Calgary, 28 October (Argus) — British Columbia's (BC) newly elected government is questioning the oil tanker ban along its northern coast but says debate over the federal law belongs in Ottawa. The federal Oil Tanker Moratorium Act, which went into effect in June 2019, prohibits tankers carrying more than 12,500 metric tonnes of oil from loading, unloading or stopping at ports from the northern tip of Vancouver Island to the Alaska border. The ban has effectively made crude exports from BC's northern coast impossible, to the ire of oil-rich Alberta, and was supported by the outgoing New Democratic Party (NDP) provincial government. But a 24 October majority win by the Conservative Party of BC may suggest an appetite to revisit the law that premier-elect Lorne Doerkson says "applies to Canadians and nobody else". "American tankers move oil down this same coast from Alaska every day, and the law says nothing to them. Those are real concerns and British Columbians should know I share them," Doerkson said in a statement to Argus on 27 October. Issues regarding Canada's west coast waters and the tanker moratorium fall under federal jurisdiction, so cannot be undone by BC. Prime minister Mark Carney agreed with outgoing BC premier David Eby in July to leave the tanker ban intact in exchange for BC to not resist the proposed 1mn b/d Pacific Link pipeline from Bruderheim, Alberta, to Delta, BC. Doerkson said his focus is on Pacific Link, which was initially spearheaded by the Alberta government but is now a joint venture between Alberta, Canada and Pembina Pipeline. Conservative-led Alberta seeks to capitalize on a change in government in its western neighbour, calling on Carney this week to end the tanker ban and take advantage of the port of Prince Rupert, the deepest port in North America and Canada's closest to Asia. A proposal to repeal the ban, brought forward by the federal Conservatives, failed to advance beyond the second reading in the House of Commons on Wednesday by a 132-191 count with the Liberal-majority voting against. Bill C-264 would have required Carney to reverse his position on the ban only months after his pact with Eby. By Brett Holmes Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US pushing further cuts to methane regulations
US pushing further cuts to methane regulations
Washington, 28 October (Argus) — President Donald Trump's administration has unveiled a proposal to roll back methane regulations on the oil and gas industry, ahead of a subsequent initiative that could end further federal regulation of the potent greenhouse gas. The proposal — released on Tuesday — is meant to provide "near-term relief" on oil and gas methane rules that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said were unachievable, unreasonable or lacked clarity. The administration said the existing methane rules, which were issued under former president Joe Biden, will result in 100,000-200,000 low-producing wells closing by 2030 because of the costs of coming into compliance. "I'm officially terminating Biden's expensive and unnecessary methane regulations to save consumers and energy producers $45bn in costs," Trump said at an event in Texas on Tuesday. The proposal rollback, which will be open to comment through 16 December, would dismantle key parts of Biden-era regulations that were expected to cut the industry's methane emissions by nearly 80pc below baseline levels. EPA plans to eliminate a program to monitor for massive methane leaks called "super emitter" events it said was unnecessary, while ending a ban on flaring of associated gas at oil wells it said was infeasible in some locations. Another major cut to the rules would cut methane detection at the estimated 1mn "marginal" wells in the US that produce less than 15 b/d of oil equivalent (boe/d) but account for roughly half of the industry's methane emissions. EPA said weakening those rules will mean only about 25,000 wells will be decommissioned in 2029, rather than nearly 200,000 wells if the rules stayed intact. Those and other changes will result in 55,000 boe/d more oil and gas production by 2030 compared to a baseline scenario, the agency expects. EPA began dismantling the methane rules soon after Trump started his second term. The agency already cut back on mandatory flare testing and delayed some compliance deadlines by 18 months or longer. In the latest proposal, EPA said it will decide whether to eliminate the methane rules entirely once it finalizes a rule where it claims to have no authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. "EPA's proposal sets the stage for the complete deregulation of methane under the Clean Air Act even after a decade of widely supported standards and multiple congressional actions mandating that EPA regulate methane," Clean Air Task Force methane regulatory director Darin Schroeder said. Oil and gas groups lauded EPA for its proposal to cut back on methane regulations. The regulations as initially finalized under Biden would have "threatened the continued operation of hundreds of thousands of marginal wells nationwide", Independent Petroleum Association of America chief executive Edith Naegele said. EPA expects the rule will result in 54mn-80mn metric tonnes of additional methane emissions through 2050, which at the high end would produce the same annual greenhouse gas emissions of 24 coal-fired power plants. Another effect of the rollback will be increased ozone emissions and smog, particularly in oil-producing states such as Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma, EPA found. By Chris Knight Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Oil futures: WTI rises above $102/bl
Oil futures: WTI rises above $102/bl
Houston, 28 October (Argus) — US benchmark WTI crude futures rose today after two days of declines as the market focused on signs of military escalation in the Middle East. December Nymex WTI rose by $2.88/bl to $102.78/bl while December Ice Brent rose by $1.44/bl to $115.32/bl. The December Brent-December WTI spread narrowed by $1.44/bl to $12.54/bl. WTI at the Magellan East Houston terminal was discussed at a prompt 80-85¢/bl premium bid-ask spread to the Cushing benchmark at 3pm ET, according to the Argus Crude Market Ticker, down from Tuesday's $1.01/bl volume-weighted average premium. The US has warned commercial vessels to plan for additional transit times near the strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman as military forces step up the blockade of Iranian ports and coastlines, an advisory released Wednesday by the Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) said. The US said the enforcement is in response to "Iran's continued aggression and illegal attempts to control the strait of Hormuz". October has recorded the highest number of attacks on commercial shipping since the US-Iran war started at the end of February, while the threat level remains severe, according to JMIC. US president Donald Trump has also indicated a likely increase in attacks on Iran would follow the US midterm elections being held on 3 November. Increased shipping traffic and military operations around the Mideast Gulf could delay voyages, the advisory said. In Israel an inconclusive parliamentary election is likely to keep prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in office in a caretaker capacity in the near future. Trump endorsed Netanyahu last week, calling on the citizens of Israel to turn out in his support. Iran and Israel have not exchanged direct strikes since June. Nigerian conglomerate Dangote is considering building a third 700,000 b/d refinery in Africa , alongside its existing Lekki refinery and a second plant under construction in Kenya, group vice-president Devakumar Edwin told Argus . In economic news, the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday held its target interest rate steady at 3.75-4pc, pausing after last month's increase as policymakers weighed renewed inflation pressures against signs of a softer US labor market. The Federal Open Market Committee voted to keep the federal funds target range unchanged, saying it would await the "accumulation of more information" to help it set policy. Nymex RBOB rose by 3.58¢/USG to $3.1734/USG while Nymex ultra-low sulphur diesel rose by 4¢/USG to $4.8152/USG. By Eunice Bridges Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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