Bharat Petroleum to expand Kochi refinery by end of 2015

(hydrocarbonprocessing) -- India's second-largest state-run refiner and fuel retailer will raise the Kochi refinery's output by 120,000 bpd to 310,000 bpd, seeking to keep up with higher sales volumes.

Bharat Petroleum said Friday it will spend INR142.25 billion (USD2.8 billion) by December 2015 to expand its Kochi refinery in southern India by 63%, as it seeks to keep its capacity in line with its refined fuel products sales volume.

India's second-largest state-run refiner and fuel retailer by capacity will increase the Kochi refinery's capacity by 120,000 bpd to 310,000 bpd, it said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Weakness in demand for refined petroleum products amid the global economic slowdown has led several European and US refiners to shut capacity.

However, state-run refiners in India and other emerging markets are ramping up capacities as the expanding economies drive demand for products.

The South Asian nation's state-run refiners and retailers also have an advantage over their private-sector peers as the government partly subsidizes them for selling diesel and cooking fuels at controlled rates.
MRC

(hydrocarbonprocessing) -- Technology company The Linde Group signed a long-term contract with the Sadara Chemical joint venture in which Linde will supply Sadara with carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen (H2) and ammonia (NH3) at a chemical complex being built by Sadara in Jubail, Saudi Arabia.

The project will be the world's largest chemical complex ever built in a single phase. The on-site gases supply contract includes a HyCO facility for the production of CO and H2 plus an ammonia plant. Overall, Linde will be investing USD380 million in the project, it said.

Sadara, established in October 2011, is a joint venture developed by Saudi Aramco and Dow Chemical. ⌠This contract is an excellent opportunity from several perspectives, said Professor Dr. Aldo Belloni, member of the Linde executive board.

⌠It is Linde's largest on-site petrochemical project in this region, and our first in Jubail. It thus strengthens our position as a global leader in the generation and supply of carbon monoxide for MDI and TDI production plants at integrated chemical hubs, he continued.

⌠The petrochemical industry is expanding rapidly in Saudi Arabia. We expect that this growth will give added momentum to the expansion of our gases and engineering business in the Middle East.

Linde's engineering division will design, deliver and construct the new turnkey gases facilities at Sadara's site in the Jubail 2 petrochemical cluster, the company said.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- In Europe, contract prices of olefins for April rose by EUR40-50/tonne. On the back of rising prices of feedstock European producers in April plan to increase export prices of polyolefins in the CIS countries by EUR20-60/tonne, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

In Europe, the contract prices of ethylene and propylene for April increased by EUR40-50/tonne compared to the March prices. This month European producers on the back of the growth in contract prices of olefins are planning to reach increase in export prices of polyethylene and polypropylene in the markets of CIS countries by EUR20-60/tonne.

Amid a small domestic deficit in Apri, European producers aim to achieve increase in export prices of LDPE by EUR50-60/tonne, though export quotas will be cut even more due to the scheduled turnarounds of some plants. The situation in the market of LLDPE C6 follows the same trend. The stable demand for polyethylene and reduced production volumes made European suppliers plan to achieve increase in export prices by at least EUR50/tonne.

The prices of LDPE and LLDPE for March were at EUR1,360-1,440/tonne, FCA, and EUR1,460-1,540/tonne, FCA, respectively. European producers plan to raise export prices of HDPE by EUR20-40/tonne compared with the prices for March .

Volumes of polypropylene production in Europe was seriously reduced. There is a small deficit in the domestic market, export quotas are also significantly reduced. As a result, European producers aim to achieve increase in April export prices of polypropylene by EUR50-60/tonne. The European export prices of PP-homo for March were at EUR1,320-1,400/tonne, FCA.

MRC

MRC

(plasteurope) -- As part of its Efficiency for Growth plan, first launched in 2011, US chemical giant Dow (Midland, Michigan) has said it will close some of its plants in Europe as well as in both North and South America.

The move, which Dow said comes in response to the ongoing weakness in Europe's economy, will see the group shed about 900 jobs worldwide. The actions are expected to generated annual saving of about USD 250m, the chemical group said, adding that these were part of its goal to deliver an additional USD 250m in cash flow from cost interventions launched this year. As a result of the actions, Dow said it would take USD 350m in charges in Q1 2012 related to asset impairments and write-offs as well as severance payments and other costs.

Dow's "Styrofoam" production plant in Charleston, Illinois, is one of the facilities earmarked for closure (Photo: Dow)
As part of the plan, Dow will shut down three of its ⌠Styrofoam production plants, located in Estarreja / Portugal, Balatonfuzfo / Hungary as well as Charleston, Illinois / USA. The group also said it would idle its XPS line in Terneuzen / The Netherlands. In Latin America, Dow plans to shut its 60,000 t/y TDI plant in Camacari / Brazil. In addition to the closures, the US group said it would consolidate some of its other polyurethane and epoxy assets.
MRC