EU investigation into USD130-B Dow, DuPont deal resumes

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dow Chemical and DuPont have provided key data allowing EU antitrust regulators to resume scrutiny of their USD130-B merger, said Reuters citing the European Commission.

The EU competition enforcer stopped its investigation last month after the companies failed to submit crucial information.

"We have received the missing information and the clock has been re-started. The new deadline for the Commission to take a decision is 28 February, 2017," a Commission spokesman said in an email.

The Commission is worried the merger to create a giant in crop protection and seeds may reduce competition in these areas as well as certain petrochemicals.

The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation. Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, and synthetic rubber. In 2014, Dow had annual sales of more than USD58 billion and employed approximately 53,000 people worldwide.
MRC

KP Engineering to provide process engineering services

MOSCOW (MRC) -- KP Engineering will provide process engineering services to a mid-continent refiner as part of a FCCU study. Per client request, KPE will evaluate the FCC main column, debutanizer, stripper, primary absorber and associated equipment, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

KPE will also evaluate the recovery of LPG and gasoline products from the off gases. The feasibility study will identify system bottlenecks, determine desired process configuration to meet new performance objectives, and outline any modifications required along with budgetary cost information. The process study is expected to take two months to complete and will be performed by KPE refining process experts.

As MRC informed earlier, KP Engineering, an industry leader in engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) solutions, has been awarded a fixed-price EPC contract by Praxair, Inc. to expand carbon monoxide production at its Geismar, Louisiana plant.
MRC

Honeywell сonnected performance services to help PetroVietnam improve refinery efficiency

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A subsidiary of PetroVietnam will use Honeywell’s new IIoT-based Connected Performance Services(CPS) offering to improve the performance of its manufacturing operations in Quang Ngai City, Vietnam, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Co. (BSR) will use Honeywell’s CPS technology which integrates Honeywell UOP’s deep process knowledge to improve refinery and plant performance at its naphtha complex. CPS is part of Honeywell’s Connected Plant initiative, which leverages IIoT technologies, services and domain expertise to improve all aspects of industrial operations from supply chain efficiency to asset optimization.

CPS gives refineries and petrochemical and gas processing plants greater visibility into their operations. Problems that reduced plant efficiency and productivity and that persistently avoided detection can be quickly identified and resolved using recommendations from CPS. As a result, plants can produce more and avoid unplanned shutdowns for maintenance and repair, resulting in millions of dollars per year in increased productivity.

The service continuously monitors streaming plant data and applies UOP process models and best practices, big data analytics, and machine learning to find latent and emerging performance problems, alert plant personnel and make specific operational recommendations. These recommendations are reported simultaneously to a dedicated Honeywell UOP process advisor, who also monitors performance and provides additional direction and resources.

The service also can also help manage energy consumption to maintain compliance with regulatory standards, and also bridge knowledge gaps among personnel by leveraging the full breadth of Honeywell UOP’s troubleshooting expertise, available at their fingertips. Taken together, the features of CPS allow refineries to operate more efficiently and make the best use of every barrel of feedstock.

According to the US Energy Information Administration, Vietnam produced an estimated 355 Mbpd of petroleum and other liquids in 2015. While it is a net exporter of crude oil, without additional domestic conversion capacity, it will need to import significantly more oil products. Vietnam currently has oil reserves of about 4.4 Bbbl, giving it the third-largest reserve of crude oil in Asia, after China and India, even though its offshore reserves remain largely unexplored.

Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Co. produces, refines and trades crude oil and finished petroleum products, bio-fuel, polypropylene pallets, and other products. The company also provides maintenance and technical consultation, training and manpower, marine, and port services in the oil refining and petrochemical field and develops oil and gas projects and bio-fuel. The company was founded in 2008 and is based in Quang Ngai, Vietnam. It operates as a subsidiary of Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam).

We remind that, as MRC wrote before, Vietnam Polystyrene had expanded the production capacity of its expandable polystyrene (EPS) plant by 50,000 mt/year by end-April 2014. Located in Vietnam, the plant has a production capacity of 40,000 mt/year.
MRC

China company signs MOU with BP to supply crude to Isla refinery

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Commodity trader Guangdong Zhenrong Energy Co. has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with BP for commercial cooperation on an oil refinery in the Caribbean, according to a senior executive and a statement from the Chinese company, said Reuters.

Guangdong Zhenrong, with support from China's oil majors, plans to upgrade the Isla refinery on the Caribbean island of Curacao and also to build a gas terminal there, at a total estimated cost of USD5.5 B.

That would give China, the world's second largest oil consumer, a foothold in a strategic hub for energy supply. Under the MOU signed on Tuesday, BP would supply crude oil to the 335 Mbpd refinery, located just 30 miles northwest of Venezuela, and also take all refined fuel from the plant, said Chen Bingyan, a senior Guangdong Zhenrong advisor.

BP's role is subject to parties agreeing on commercial terms, said a second industry official with direct knowledge of the matter.

"BP has an established network in fuel marketing in the Americas," said Chen, adding that the Chinese firm did not rule out working with Venezuela's state oil firm PDVSA as a crude oil supplier.

State energy group CNPC, which via its trading arm Chinaoil has been a large lifter of Venezuelan oil, is also expected to supply the plant, said Chen.

The Isla refinery has for decades been operated by PDVSA under a lease agreement, but the cash-poor company has been reluctant to meet Curacao's requests to modernize the plant, which local residents in the touristy island blame for pollution.
MRC

Kuwait Petroleum to invest in Oman Oils Duqm refinery

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oman Oil Company (OOC), the Sultanates investment arm in the energy and energy related sectors, and Kuwait Petroleum International Ltd. (KPI), the international subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corp. (KPC), have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to cooperate in the development of Duqm Refinery and Petrochemical Complex in the Duqm Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Oman’s Al Wusta Governorate, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

This strategic partnership is part of the efforts being made to seek further investment opportunities that open doors to develop major industrial projects in Duqm.

Duqm Refinery project is located in the special economic zone in Al Duqm, in the South East Al Wusta Governorate of the Sultanate of Oman. This gives the project a strategic maritime location and a competitive advantage being in the path of international shipping lines in the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea thus easing the process of transport in and out of the region. The refinery once completed will have the capacity to process 230 Mbpd of crude oil that will serve both local and international markets.

The Duqm Refinery and Petrochemical Industries Company was founded in 2012 as a JV between OOC and the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC). This partnership has resulted in the completion of substantial work, driven through the project steering committee and board of directors. However, IPIC concluded this year that the proposed new direction of the project, which includes petrochemicals, does not fit its investment strategy and decided to pave the way for new partners to enter the project".

Duqm Refinery will be one of the growth engines for the special economic zone. It will provide development opportunities for new projects that will directly and indirectly interface with the refinery.
MRC