Environment news

• A research project coordinated by UC3M helps reduce the cost of parallel computing

  29-07-2016 23:41 via feedproxy.google.com
  Heterogeneous parallel computing combines various processing elements with different characteristics that share a single memory system. Normally multiple cores (like the 'multicores' in some smart phones or personal computers) are combined with graphic cards and other components to process large quantities of data."We hope to help transform code so that it can be run in heterogeneous parallel platforms with multiple graphic cards and reconfigurable hardware," explains the project's coordinator,
  
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• ORNL-led study analyzes electric grid vulnerabilities in extreme weather areas

  29-07-2016 23:25 via feedproxy.google.com
  Climate and energy scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a new method to pinpoint which electrical service areas will be most vulnerable as populations grow and temperatures rise."For the first time, we were able to apply data at a high enough resolution to be relevant," said ORNL's Melissa Allen, co-author of "Impacts of Climate Change on Sub-regional Electricity Demand and Distribution in the Southern United States," published in Nature Ener
  
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• Rice crops that can save farmers money and cut pollution

  29-07-2016 22:31 via feedproxy.google.com
  A new U of T Scarborough study has identified "superstar" varieties of rice that can reduce fertilizer loss and cut down on environmental pollution in the process.The study, authored by U of T Scarborough Professor Herbert Kronzucker in collaboration with a team at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, looked at 19 varieties of rice to see which ones were more efficient at using nitrogen."We have this bucolic idea of agriculture -- animals grazing or vast fields of majestic crops -- but the global re
  
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• Oil ends July with worst monthly loss for WTI in a year

  29-07-2016 22:21
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices steadied on Friday after touching three-month lows amid a week-long selloff but still finished the month nearly 15 percent lower, with U.S. crude declining the most in a year because of a persistent glut. Slower economic growth and high inventories of crude and refined oil products have driven Brent and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures 20 percent below from their 2016 highs, technically placing them in bear market territory. Hedg
  
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• Changing Arctic Tundra Could Radically Alter Shorebird Breeding Grounds

  29-07-2016 22:21 via feedproxy.google.com
  A new study projects that global warming could dramatically affect the tundra breeding habitat of 24 shorebird species, with 66 percent to 83 percent losing most of their suitable nesting territories. Researchers modeled breeding conditions for these migratory shorebird species — some of which travel more than 10,000 miles from Antarctica or southern South America to breed in the Arctic — and compared projected 21st century conditions to the last major warming event more than 6,000 y
  
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• Heavy lifting

  29-07-2016 21:51 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Andy Green looks at the logistics involved in getting the Bloodhound supersonic car to South Africa next year so that it can begin its assault on the world land speed record.
  
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• Petrobras sells oilfield asset to Statoil for $2.5 billion

  29-07-2016 20:53
  By Jeb Blount and Stine Jacobsen RIO DE JANEIRO/OSLO (Reuters) - Brazil's Petrobras on Friday agreed to sell one of its largest oil and gas prospects to Norway's Statoil for $2.5 billion (1.89 billion pounds), the boldest step yet by the state-led energy company to advance its stagnant asset-sale plan and repair its battered finances. The agreement will give Statoil ASA 66 percent ownership and operator status in a block that is home to Carcará, a prospect that Statoil says contains 700 m
  
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• Just as we need friends, May is busy ruffling feathers over Hinkley Point | Deborah Orr

  29-07-2016 20:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Delays, bad manners and petulance: Theresa May’s government is not showing its best side with the nuclear power station hold-upThere are a number of things that I really don’t want to hear discussed on the news, especially in a manner that resembles the couple of expository lines frantically shouted at the start of a disaster movie. Nuclear power is very much one of those things. Nevertheless, here we all are, speculating as to whether the Chinese might build weaknesses int
  
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• 'Worse than one thousand pukes': fetid corpse flower overwhelms New York

  29-07-2016 20:42 via theguardian.com
  
  One of the world’s largest flowers, Amorphophallus titanum takes around a decade to bloom and promptly dies two days later in a foul-smelling crescendoVisitors crowded the New York botanical garden in the Bronx and began to sniff. On a rainy Friday morning, they traveled en masse to witness one of the world’s largest and smelliest flowers – Amorphophallus titanum, also known as the corpse flower. It’s the first time the flower, which takes around a decade to bloom and the
  
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• Oil rout erodes 2nd-quarter profits for U.S. majors Exxon, Chevron

  29-07-2016 20:38
  By Ernest Scheyder HOUSTON (Reuters) - Chevron Corp posted its worst quarterly loss since 2001 on Friday and Exxon Mobil Corp reported a 59 percent slide in profit, as the long crude price rout and tumbling refining income inflicted pain across the energy sector. "The key is to manage the cash flow as best they can and continue to execute on projects, which they do appear to be doing." Exxon, the world's largest publicly traded oil producer, shocked Wall Street as its quarterly profit missed exp
  
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• From feast to farce: how the big Hinkley Point C party and project got put on ice

  29-07-2016 19:59 via theguardian.com
  
  The UK government was meant to celebrate its project with EDF and Chinese nuclear bosses, but delays and second thoughts have left the project stalledIt was the lunch that never was. Cantonese style pork crackling, Somerset brie, and fresh mackerel ceviche with creme fraiche were all the menu for the 150 VIP guests invited to Hinkley Point in Somerset on Friday. The guests were due to celebrate a third nuclear power station at the site finally being approved.However, in keeping with the rest of
  
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• Flint water crisis: attorney general files charges against six more employees

  29-07-2016 18:56 via theguardian.com
  
  Michigan attorney general filed charges Friday against state employees for alleged involvement in lead contamination of the water supplyThe Michigan attorney general filed charges against six more state employees on Friday for their alleged involvement in lead contamination of the water supply in Flint, Michigan.Three other employees were previously charged, bringing the total to nine.Continue reading...
  
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• Hinkley Point C delay points to renegotiation rather than rethink

  29-07-2016 18:46 via theguardian.com
  
  Government is still committed to nuclear power as part of UK energy mix so don’t expect a return to renewable-only days Theresa May’s government has read the small print of the Hinkley deal and maybe it’s become spooked. But whether ministers are specifically anxious by the phenomenal long-term cost of the project, the Chinese state’s involvement, or the design and near-impossible construction of what would be the most ambitious and expensive power station in the world is
  
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• Oil steadies but U.S. crude faces biggest monthly loss in a year

  29-07-2016 18:16
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices steadied on Friday amid short-covering after a week-long selloff but were on track to end the month about 15 percent lower on persistent glut concerns, with the biggest decline seen for U.S. crude in a year. Slower economic growth and high inventories in crude and refined oil products have pressured Brent and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures some 20 percent lower from their 2016 highs, technically placing both in bear market terr
  
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• Five fuel efficiency myths steering businesses towards £1bn fleet losses

  29-07-2016 16:59
  
  Misconceptions about how to reduce fuel costs is causing as much as £1bn in unnecessary fleet management costs per year and resulting in needless emissions for English business, according to new research.
  
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• OPEC oil output set to reach record high in July - survey

  29-07-2016 16:47
  By Alex Lawler LONDON (Reuters) - OPEC's oil output is likely in July to reach its highest in recent history, a Reuters survey found on Friday, as Iraq pumps more and Nigeria manages to export additional crude despite militant attacks on oil installations. Top OPEC exporter Saudi Arabia has kept output close to a record high, the survey found, as it meets seasonally higher domestic demand and focuses on maintaining market share rather than trimming supply to boost prices. The increase in OPEC pr
  
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• Oil rout erodes second-quarter profits for U.S. majors Exxon, Chevron

  29-07-2016 16:14
  By Ernest Scheyder HOUSTON (Reuters) - Chevron Corp posted its worst quarterly loss since 2001 on Friday and Exxon Mobil Corp reported a 59 percent slide in quarterly profit, both victims of a prolonged rout in crude prices and sinking income from refining, a sign of the broad malaise across the energy sector. The weak results from two of the world's largest oil producers come as the energy industry is at a crossroads, trying to survive in an era of low prices, which many analysts see as the new
  
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• Oil faces big monthly loss on slowing economic growth, oversupply

  29-07-2016 15:41
  By Libby George LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell to their lowest levels since April on Friday, with Brent on track for its biggest monthly loss since December 2015, pressured by slowing economic growth that threatened to increase a supply overhang of crude and refined products. Brent crude oil futures were trading at $42.20 by 1422 London time, down 50 cents, after hitting $41.82, their lowest since April. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 18 cents to $40.96 a barrel, after earlier
  
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• Experience: I was stung by one of the deadliest creatures on Earth

  29-07-2016 14:59 via theguardian.com
  
  My first thought was that a shark had taken my right leg. I knew I was in danger. I expected to see my blood billowing around I moved to Sydney, Australia, after finishing my master’s degree at Nottingham University. I was winging it: I just turned up with a suitcase. I got a couple of jobs, in internet marketing and as a private tutor, and met an Australian woman, Chloe. About a year after I arrived, I was off work on a beautiful summer’s day and fancied some pea
  
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• EDF boss confident Hinkley Point C nuclear plant will be built

  29-07-2016 14:54 via theguardian.com
  
  Nuclear power project thrown into doubt late on Thursday after UK government announced fresh reviewThe boss of EDF says he is still confident about Hinkley Point C being built despite the UK government throwing the nuclear power plant into doubt by launching a fresh review.Jean-Bernard Levy, the chief executive of EDF, said on Friday he had no doubt about the government’s support for the £18bn project. Continue reading...
  
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• Certified green energy supplier becomes first in UK to cover switching fees

  29-07-2016 14:44
  
  Renewable energy supplier Bulb has become the first UK supplier to offer to pay-off exiting tariff fees to new customers and businesses who decide to switch suppliers, just a week after receiving new certification for its transparency towards environmental impacts.
  
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• Why have ministers delayed final approval for Hinkley Point C?

  29-07-2016 14:05 via theguardian.com
  
  Possible explanations include fears over China’s involvement, trying to renegotiate costs and looking to scrap nuclear projectThe government’s decision to delay final approval of the controversial Hinkley Point C nuclear power station has cast fresh doubt on the project.Theresa May’s government plans to review the proposed £18bn plant before making an announcement in early autumn.Continue reading...
  
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• China, Laos say rail project to go ahead, pending environment study

  29-07-2016 13:29
  By Simon Webb VIENTIANE (Reuters) - China and Laos are both committed to a high-speed rail project linking the Chinese southwestern city of Kunming with the Lao capital of Vientiane, officials from both countries said this week, and the project will go ahead despite delays. The line should eventually stretch through Thailand and Malaysia to Singapore, and is part of an ambitious plan for China to develop infrastructure links across Asia, known as the "One Belt, One Road" project. Vientiane hoste
  
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• Lava pictures from 'smiling' Hawaiian Kilauea volcano eruption

  29-07-2016 13:21 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Kilauea volcano in Hawaii has erupted, however the volcano appears to be "smiling"
  
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• Taxing times - why Russian pump prices rise as oil prices fall

  29-07-2016 12:22
  By Maxim Nazarov and Olesya Astakhova MOSCOW (Reuters) - The global economic slowdown has hurt millions of households, but has at least had a silver lining: with oil prices falling, the cost of filling up a vehicle with fuel has dropped. Except, that is, in Russia. While in the past two years world oil prices have fallen 60 percent , the prices at the pump for gasoline in Russia - one of the world's biggest oil producers - have risen 11 percent.
  
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• Chernobyl could be reinvented as a solar farm, says Ukraine

  29-07-2016 12:04 via theguardian.com
  
  Ministers create presentation to show how idle land around nuclear disaster site can be used to produce renewable energyThe contaminated nuclear wasteland around Chernobyl could be turned into one of the world’s largest solar farms, producing nearly a third of the electricity that the stricken plant generated at its height 30 years ago, according to the Ukrainian government.In a presentation sent to major banks and seen by the Guardian, 6,000 hectares of “idle” land in Chernoby
  
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• Oil rally to resume later this year, demand to offset glut - Reuters poll

  29-07-2016 12:03
  (Reuters) - Oil analysts still expect a rise in the crude price this year, thanks to improving demand growth that should help offset any bearish headwinds from a stubborn supply surplus, a Reuters poll showed on Friday. A survey of 29 economists and analysts forecast Brent crude will average $45.51 per barrel in 2016, up marginally from last month's forecast of $45.20, and about $3.55 higher than the $41.96 average so far this year. "We project solid global demand growth in 2016 (1.4 million bar
  
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• Waitrose cooks up new food waste packaging for pasta range

  29-07-2016 12:02
  
  Waitrose has announced it will become the first supermarket in the UK to launch to new pasta ranges where the packaging is made, in part, from waste food produce.
  
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• UK government delays Hinkley decision

  29-07-2016 12:02
  
  Hinkley has suffered a setback almost immediately, as the government delays a decision on whether or not to approve the £18 billion nuclear project until the autumn.
  
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• Oil faces big monthly loss as oversupply bites

  29-07-2016 11:40
  By Libby George LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell to their lowest levels since April on Friday, with on Brent track for its biggest monthly loss since December 2015, pressured by slowing economic growth that threatened to increase a supply overhang of crude and refined products. Brent crude oil futures were trading at $41.89 by 1008 London time, down 81 cents, their lowest since April. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 54 cents to $40.60 a barrel, slipping below $41 for the first ti
  
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• Australia plans new co-ordinates to fix sat-nav gap

  29-07-2016 11:17 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Australia is to shift its longitude and latitude to address a gap between local co-ordinates and those from global navigation satellite systems (GNSS).
  
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• Hinkley Point is bad business. Theresa May should put it out of its misery | Simon Jenkins

  29-07-2016 11:13 via theguardian.com
  
  David Cameron has bequeathed Britain the worst deal in the history of procurement. May cannot cave in like she did with TridentThe message of last night’s Hinkley Point fiasco could not be clearer. The project cannot go ahead. But who in government has the guts to say so?No one without an interest in this £18bn project believes it should proceed. The sole interest of the French and Chinese builders is that David Cameron, in the worst deal in the history of procurement, effectively st
  
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• Plant lambs' ears and keep wool carder bees happy

  29-07-2016 11:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Kate Bradbury’s wildlife garden is less than a year old, but her lambs’ ears plants are already attracting new pollinators to the plot Wool carder bees are nesting in my garden. I’m proud and happy and slightly obsessed – I sneak out during the day and sit by my patch of lambs’ ears (Stachys byzantina): the bees seem particularly fond of both its nectar and pollen, as well as using it as nesting material. I watch aggressive males fight each other in hilarious territ
  
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• Civic pride 'can help sustain urban biodiversity'

  29-07-2016 09:44 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The establishment of community gardens in inner city areas can boost social and ecological wellbeing, suggest researchers.
  
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• Large Abelisaurus Dinosaur dinosaur footprint found in Bolivia

  29-07-2016 09:12 via bbc.co.uk
  
  One of the largest ever dinosaur footprints has been found in Bolivia, of the Abelisaurus dinosaur
  
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• Oil prices fall to fresh April lows as oversupply bites

  29-07-2016 08:22
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices fell to fresh April lows on Friday as slowing economic growth threatened to worsen ongoing oversupply of crude and refined products. International Brent crude oil futures were trading at $42.51 at 0617 GMT, down 19 cents, or 0.4 percent, from their previous close, the lowest since April. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 26 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $40.88 a barrel, slipping below $41 for the first time since April.
  
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• Hinkley Point C in doubt after British government delays approval

  29-07-2016 08:22 via theguardian.com
  
  Ministers to conduct fresh review into much delayed project, with no green light expected until autumn despite EDF’s confirmationBritain’s first new nuclear power station for a generation is in fresh doubt after the government delayed making a final decision on the £18bn Hinkley Point C, despite EDF’s directors voting to start work on the project.The government said ministers would now conduct another review of the controversial project and make an announcement in the ear
  
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• Hugh’s War on Waste: taking the lid off the coffee cup scandal

  29-07-2016 08:10 via theguardian.com
  
  Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is an entertainingly sarcastic environmental champion. Plus: Roger Bannister, track champ and thoroughly decent chapI had no idea. Like these other early morning caffeine enthusiasts Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is accosting in the street in Hugh’s War on Waste: The Battle Continues (BBC1). What will they do when they finish their takeaway coffee from Starbucks, Costa, Caffe Nero? They’ll put the cup in the recycling, because these people are aware and resp
  
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• Thorn tree tangle of pagans and poets

  29-07-2016 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Langley Bush, Cambridgeshire A bronze age grave, Roman shrine, gibbet mound, parish marker, gypsy haunt - centuries of decisions and deaths right hereOdd, the durable significance of some places. You can understand a mountain or cliff or sprawling forest – places that awe the eye on the ground, horizon or map. More enigmatic are the little places. Slid away, unremarkable but exquisite in appearance or legacy, for reasons frequently forgotten but strangely lingering.This one, historically,
  
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• Scientists endure extreme Antarctic temperatures to extract ice cores – video

  29-07-2016 05:37 via theguardian.com
  
  This footage from the Antarctic summer of 2007-08 shows how Australian scientists endure extreme conditions to drill ice cores from Antarctica’s Law Dome area. Law Dome is a spot in eastern Antarctica where scientists have been drilling to gather historic climate datat. New research using Law Dome ice cores suggests the world might be able to burn less fossil fuels than previously thought Continue reading...
  
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• What the Earth's frozen burps tell us about global warming

  29-07-2016 04:56 via theguardian.com
  
  Analysis of bubbles trapped in ancient Antarctic ice suggests that as the planet heats up, plants and soils will add more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere“When the earth burps, Law Dome records it,” says Australian climate scientist Dr David Etheridge.
  Law Dome is a special spot in eastern Antarctica where scientists have been drilling down into the continent’s long-frozen surface to pull out cores of ice. Continue reading...
  
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• Renewables coast past coal to provide a quarter of UK electricity generation

  29-07-2016 02:17
  
  Renewable energy sources are emerging as the dominant means of generating power and electricity in the UK, after annual Government energy statistics revealed that a quarter of all UK electricity was generated from renewables in 2015.
  
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• Have you ever seen one of these?

  29-07-2016 02:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  It's a rare albino squirrel, living in a garden in Sussex.
  
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• Debate needed on 1.5C temperature target

  29-07-2016 02:06 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists are calling for a "thoughtful debate" about the wisdom of global attempts to limit temperature rises under 1.5C.
  
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• English Bulldog health problems prompt cross-breeding call

  29-07-2016 01:07 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Crossing the English Bulldog with another breed is the best way to ensure its survival, according to US scientists.
  
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• Hinkley Point C in fresh doubt after government delays approval

  29-07-2016 00:35 via theguardian.com
  
  Ministers to conduct fresh review into much delayed project, with no green light expected until autumn despite EDF’s confirmationBritain’s first new nuclear power station for a generation is in fresh doubt after the government delayed making a final decision on the £18bn Hinkley Point C, despite EDF’s directors voting to start work on the project.The government said ministers would now conduct another review of the controversial project and make an announcement in the ear
  
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• Chinese rocket lights up skies over Utah and California

  29-07-2016 00:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  People in the US have filmed a Chinese rocket body streaking across the sky over Utah and California.
  
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• Brazil's Petrobras in talks to sell assets to Mexico's Alpek

  29-07-2016 00:01
  Brazil's state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA said in a statement on Thursday it is in exclusive talks for 60 days with Mexico's Alpek over the potential sale of PetroquimicaSuape and Citepe assets in Brazil's northeast. Mexico's Alpek is the petrochemicals unit of Mexican conglomerate Alfa . Petrobras' subsidiary PetroquimicaSuape in the state of Pernambuco had revenues of 1 billion reais ($304 million) in 2015 and posted a net loss of 65 million reais.
  
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