Aramco says to boost refining capacity by 50%

Fracking isn’t just for shale. In Russia, producers are importing techniques from the U.S. to squeeze billions of dollars of extra oil from Soviet-era fields. TNK-BP, Russia’s third-largest producer, will use hydraulic fracturing combined with horizontal drilling in almost half the wells it sinks this year, a sixfold increase in just two years, the company said. OAO Rosneft, OAO Lukoil and OAO Gazprom Neft have similar plans.

CALGARY — TransCanada Corp.’s bid to funnel Alberta crude oil east to Quebec refineries and potentially to Canada’s busiest oil port opens the door to new markets for oil sands producers beyond those promised by the long-delayed Keystone XL project.

Oil refiners in Europe will shut 10% of their plants this decade as fuel demand falls to a 19-year low.

SINGAPORE/SEOUL — South Korea’s Samsung Total Petrochemicals Co has revived a contract to buy Iranian oil after a year’s hiatus, as thin margins in plastics make the cheap fuel from Iran hard to resist, people familiar with the deal said on Friday. Stringent U.S. and European sanctions aimed at reducing Iran’s oil income and forcing Tehran to curb its nuclear programme have made shipping and paying for the oil hard, halving the Islamic Republic’s crude exports.

Wall of Supertankers Heads For US Brent crude at $125, US Crude at $110, and soaring gasoline prices everywhere have caused quite a stir. See Highest Price Ever of Gasoline in March; State-by-State Gas Price and Gas Tax Comparison for a discussion. In response to high prices, Saudi Arabia has a plan to send a wall of supertankers to the U.S. to knock down prices and Republicans have attacked President Obama for not doing enough.

<p>Saudi Aramco, the largest crude oil exporter in the world is to expand its refining capacity and increase its oil and gas exploration activities.</p> <p>The company has a $200 billion spending program which it plans to implement over the coming decade with a heavy focus on China and Indonesia.</p> <p>Aramco’s CEO Khalid al-Falih said in a recent interview, "<em>The company plans to boost its global refining capacity to 8 million barrels a day in 10 years, including projects yet to be announced.”</em></p> <p>According to Al-Falih…