In its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, the US Energy Information Administration forecasts the price of Brent crude oil to average $34/bbl in 2016 compared with an earlier forecast of $37/bbl. In 2017, EIA forecasts Brent to average $40/bbl compared with $50/bbl in last month’s forecast. Source: News

Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Co. Ltd. (HPDC) has let a contract to a division of E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. to provide process technologies for an alkylation unit to be built at HPDC’s grassroots crude-to-paraxylene integrated refining and petrochemical project in Hengli Petrochemical Industrial Park (HPIP) on Changxing Island in Dalian, Liaoning Province, China. […]

State Oil Co. of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) has let a contract to the SOCAR-KBR LLC joint venture to provide project management consultancy (PMC) for the ongoing modernization and expansion of the Heydar Aliyev refinery at Baku in Azerbaijan. Source: News

Malaysia’s state-owned Petronas said its first floating LNG (FLNG) facility is expected to sail in the second quarter. A Mar. 4 naming ceremony marked completion of construction at the Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. Ltd. (DSME) shipyard in Okpo, South Korea. Source: News

Algeria’s state-owned Sonatrach SPA has let a series of contracts to Amec Foster Wheeler (AFW) to provide front-end engineering and design (FEED) for three grassroots refineries that will add a total of 15 million tonnes/year in refining capacity in the country. Source: News

Persistence of low crude oil prices through 2021 would hurt more than help the Canadian economy by constricting oil-producing and affiliated industries, finds a study by the Canadian Energy Research Institute. Source: News

Light, sweet crude oil prices for April delivery on the New York market continued climbing Mar. 7, gaining $1.98 to settle at $37.90/bbl, but various Middle East high-ranking oil representatives have started questioning news reports regarding the scheduling of a production freeze meeting. Source: News