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General Oil and Gas News

Main Update Highlights from entire month of June, 2013

Shell launches inhibited transformer oil based on gas‐to‐liquids technology.

Exxon Mobil breaks new ground with food grade lube last month. ExxonMobil has expanded the
range of its food grade lubricants that have won ISO 22000 accreditation.

Phillips 66 to sell Ireland’s only refinery, another blow to Europe’s ailing oil refining industry.

United Airlines has signed a new deal aimed at advancing the commercial production of aviation
biofuel.

EU tariffs could slow global pace of biodiesel production ‐ The production of biodiesel
throughout the world could reach the slowest pace seen since 2008, according to Oil World. The global
output of biodiesel has been damaged by the decline in Argentine production since the EU imposed
limits on exports. The import tariffs imposed upon Argentina ‐ the third‐largest biodiesel producer in the
world ‐ and Indonesia by the EU’s European Commission came as a result of the countries allegedly
selling biodiesel to cheaply. The EU penalised the two production countries for biofuel ‘dumping’ in the
27‐country bloc, following complaints from other companies in the industry that the low prices were
unfair and couldn’t be matched. As a result biodiesel exports from Argentina declined by 320,000 tonnes
between January and April. The EU could benefit from the export tariffs against Argentina and
Indonesia, with an increase of 1.3 per cent on biodiesel production in 2013, making total production
somewhere in the region of 9.6 million tonnes. The US could see an increase of around 18 per cent to
3.9 million tonnes and Brazil’s production could increase to 2.6 million tonnes ‐ an increase of 8.8 per
cent.

Ultrasound can improve biodiesel production ‐ Researchers at Iowa State University have begun
experimenting with the use of sound waves in the creation of biodiesel. The team involved is exploring
whether high‐frequency sound waves can be used to successfully break down plant matter for the
creation of high grade biofuels.

Oil prices turn higher in Asian trade ‐ Oil prices turned higher in Asian trade Wednesday, as
investors await the outcome of a US Federal Reserve meeting for clues on when it will begin scaling back
its massive stimulus programme.