Par Pacific Holdings Inc. has completed its previously announced deal to purchase privately held US Oil & Refining Co.’s downstream assets, including the 42,000-b/sd refinery near Tacoma, Wash. Par Pacific finalized the transaction for total consideration of $358 million plus net working capital on Jan. 14, the operator said. Source: News

PJSC Nizhnekamskneftekhim (NKNK) has let a contract to Haldor Topsoe to deliver technology licensing and engineering services for a methanol unit to be built at NKNK’s petrochemical complex at Nizhnekamsk, Tatarstan. The 500,000-tonne/year unit will be used to produce methanol for production of formaldehyde that will be used as a feedstock for NKNK’s isoprene production. […]

The light, sweet crude oil price for February dropped $1/bbl on the New York market Jan 11 while Brent crude settled more than $1/bbl lower on London’s Intercontinental Exchange. Price declines by the benchmarks ended more than a week of consecutive price gains. Source: News

Canada has added 108 rigs for the week ended Jan. 11, according to Baker Hughes data. While the large jump puts the total number of rigs running at 184, the count is less than the 276 units drilling this week a year ago. Source: News

Saudi Arabia reported that it now holds 268.5 billion bbl of proved crude oil reserves—a figure higher than the previously reported 266.3 billion bbl. Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry also revised upward the country’s natural gas reserves to 325.1 tscf as of yearend 2017. Source: News

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s fourth-quarter Energy Survey revealed that Tenth District energy activity declined moderately, and expectations for future activity also turned negative. Source: News

Premier Oil says the first appraisal well in Zama field on Mexico’s offshore Block 7 encountered the main Zama reservoir. Separately in Mexico, Premier Oil plans a 3D seismic survey across offshore Block 30 starting in the second quarter. Source: News

Natural gas production in Louisiana will soon reach record heights thanks to an outstanding resurgence of the Haynesville shale play. Rystad Energy research shows that the Haynesville shale alone was able to add 1.85 bcfd of gross gas production between fourth-quarter 2016 and fourth-quarter 2017. Another 1.3 bcfd was added last year. Production needs to […]

CNOOC Oil & Petrochemicals Co. Ltd., the refining arm of China National Offshore Oil Corp., has completed successful performance testing of a diesel liquid-phase hydrogenation unit for production of China VI diesel at subsidiary CNOOC Huizhou Petrochemicals Co. Ltd.’s two-phased 440,000-b/d Huizhou refinery in China’s Guangdong province. Source: News

Husky Energy Inc. is undertaking a strategic review that could result in the potential sale of its Canadian retail and commercial fuels business, which includes the 12,000-b/d refinery in Prince George, BC. Source: News