Tesoro Corp. (TSO) shipped its first barrels of crude oil through a reversed Panama pipeline, which runs from the Atlantic to the Pacific Basin. Owned by Petroterminal de Panama (PTP), a cooperative venture between the Government of the Republic of Panama and private industry, the 81-mile pipeline formerly flowed from the Pacific to the Atlantic.   At the time of signing the agreement to use the PTP pipeline in December 2008, Tesoro said that it will ship 107,000 barrels per day (Bbl/d) of crude through the pipeline under a seven-year agreement.   Reversal of the pipeline establishes a new conduit for crude oil transportation and will help Tesoro to economically deliver a broader range of crude oils produced in Africa, the Atlantic region of South America and the North Sea, through Panama, to the company's five Pacific Rim refineries (two in California and one each in Washington, Hawaii ...

Axial Vector Energy Corp. announced this morning that its PETRO AVEC JV partner, Petrosonics LLC, was recently awarded a patent in Egypt (Egyptian Patent Application No. PCT/NA/122/2006). This patent protects the process of removing sulfur from all types of crude oil fractions through sonic energy, oxidation as well as the removal of all of the oxidized sulfur through hydrotreatment. The patent will remain effective for 20 years.

According to the Oil and Gas Journal and the U.S. Department of Energy, Egypt’s proven oil reserves currently hold about 4 billion barrels. Egypt also has the largest refining sector on the African continent with nine refineries that have a combined crude oil processing capacity of 726,000 bbl/d.

Dr. Mazin Samman, lead PETRO AVEC licensing negotiator for Egypt stated, “International Oil Companies (IOCs), such as ENI, BP, Petronas, KUFPEC and others play a significant

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In May, Axial Vector Energy Corp. announced that its PETRO AVEC Joint Venture partner, Petrosonics LLC, recently received a Russian patent protecting the purification process that removes sulfur and nitrogen compounds from diesel oil, FCC cycle oil, FCC slurry oil, light/heavy gas oil and coker gas oil fractions. The patent will remain in effect for 20 years with the possibility of an additional five-year extension.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Russia has 41 oil refineries with a total crude oil processing capacity of 5.4 million bbl/d, and produces significant amounts of heavy fuel oil, middle distillates, and gasoline. Roughly 20.5% of Russia’s total diesel output is exported. However, their refineries need to modernize in order to meet Europe’s growing demand for low sulfur fuels.

Dr. Mazin Samman, lead PETRO AVEC licensing negotiator for Russia, stated, “Russian oil companies are prime licensing

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Axial Vector Energy Corporation announced this morning that its PETRO AVEC Joint Venture partner, Petrosonics LLC, was recently awarded a Russian patent that protects the process by which sulfur and nitrogen bearing compounds are removed from diesel oil, FCC cycle oil, FCC slurry oil, light gas oil, heavy gas oil and coker gas oil fractions, utilizing sonic energy and oxidation. According to the press release, the patent will remain in effect for two decades with the possibility of a five year extension.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Russia has 41 oil refineries with a total crude oil processing capacity of 5.4 million bbl/d. Russian refineries produce approximately 1.2 million bbl/d of Mazut (heavy fuel oil), 1.3 million bbl/d of middle distillates, and 815,000 bbl/d of gasoline, but require modernization to meet Europe’s growing demand for low sulfur fuels.

Dr. Mazin Samman, lead

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Shanghai PetrochemicalÂ’s (SHI) exposure to the fast-expanding Chinese economy and strong petrochemical product demand make us confident of strong volume growth. However, revocation of government price controls in the future, higher crude oil prices and increased competition are some of the major concerns for the company.

As expected, the companyÂ’s first half 2008 net profit declined by more than 50% from the year-ago period. The company expects profits to fall further in the second half of the year. Thus, we rate the stock a Hold with a six-month target price of $33.

On August 27, Shanghai Petrochemical reported first-half 2008 results. In the first six months of 2008, the company recorded a net loss of $47.72 million, compared to a profit of $230 million in the prior-year period. The company reported diluted loss per ADS of $0.01 in the first half of 2008.

Substantial increase in international crude oil prices

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