Marine fuel drives ExxonMobil European refinery investment
A substantial investment in a Norway refinery following reduction in allowed sulphur content in marine fuel
ExxonMobil gave the go-ahead for a substantial investment at its Slagen, Norway, refinery in September, just two months after it said it would spend more than $1 billion at its Antwerp, Belgium, facility. Behind both investments is the sharp reduction, taking effect in January next year, in the allowed sulphur content of marine fuel oil used in the world’s control areas. The company is to construct a residue flash-tower - a vacuum distillation unit - at Slagen to extract vacuum gasoil from the refinery’s heavy fuel oil stream. The vacuum gasoil will in turn be upgraded into road diesel or marine fuels, while the remaining heavy fuel oil will be sent to the existing Visbreaker for upgrading i
Also in this section
23 April 2026
The addition of an oil pipeline to the Power of Siberia 2 gas project could ensure deliveries of Russian oil to China, materially shorten logistics lines between West Siberia and final customers, and—amid disruption in the Strait of Hormuz—offer a land-based export route that reduces exposure to maritime chokepoints
23 April 2026
There is a clear push to bolster exports to Asia amid uncertainty around its North American neighbour, but there are limits to the benefits from the energy crisis
23 April 2026
Shell made the play-opening discovery in Namibia’s Orange basin back in 2022, but its next well could decide whether the project can actually be commercialised
22 April 2026
The failure of OMV Petrom’s keenly watched exploration campaign at Bulgaria’s Han Asparuh block highlights the Black Sea’s uneven track record, despite major successes like Neptun Deep and Sakarya
