Petronas and Sarawak State undertake petrochemical master plan study

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Petronas and the Sarawak state government are currently working on the Sarawak Petrochemical Master Plan study, which covers the coastal areas of Sarawak in Malaysia, according to the Borneo Post, reported Apic-online.

The study will look into the technical, commercial and economic feasibility of developing the petrochemical industry in Sarawak, said the report citing Datuk Julaihi Narawi, Sarawak's assistant minister of industrial development (investment and promotion).

"Gas-based petrochemical industry is being pursued by the state," he said. "In view of the gas composition, which is high in methane content, therefore ammonia (and its derivatives) or methanol (and its derivatives) are the most viable options for the state's petchem industry," he noted, adding that "one petchem project has been approved, while the other is under consideration."

Last month, Petronas signed a memorandum of understanding with Yayasan Hartanah Bumiputera Sarawak, an entity of the Sarawak state government, to jointly conduct a pre-feasibility study for a methanol plant in Bintulu, Sarawak.

The parties will assess the overall technical and commercial viability and feasibility of building a methanol and methanol derivatives complex at the Samalaju Industrial Park.

As MRC informed before, Petronas was seeking to raise USD7.2 bln (RM29.5 bln) for its Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (Rapid) project in one of the largest project financings from Asia in recent years. The state-owned oil company asked banks for underwriting commitments of at least USD500 mln (RM2 bln) in June 2016. The project in the southern state of Johor is set to be Malaysia’s largest liquid-based green-field downstream development. It will consist of a 300,000-bpd refinery and petrochemical complex, with a combined chemical output capacity of 7.7 mln tpa.

Petronas, short for Petroliam Nasional Berhad, is a Malaysian oil and gas company wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia. The Group is engaged in a wide spectrum of petroleum activities, including upstream exploration and production of oil and gas to downstream oil refining; marketing and distribution of petroleum products; trading; gas processing and liquefaction; gas transmission pipeline network operations; marketing of liquefied natural gas; petrochemical manufacturing and marketing; shipping; automotive engineering; and property investment.
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Indian BPCL to increase naphtha exports from Kochi in 2017 with refinery upgrade

MOSCOW (MRC) -- India's state-run Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd. is set to boost its naphtha exports next year with the completion of expansion works at its Kochi refinery to 15 million mt/year from 9.5 million mt/year, scheduled around the first quarter, industry sources said last week, as per Apic-online.

The expansion is expected to increase BPCL's naphtha production by 10%-15% - at least 550,000 mt/year, or around 13,500 b/d - which would enable the refiner to restore monthly exports from Kochi on the Indian southwest coast, to two cargoes, one source familiar with the matter said.

But the increase in exports from Kochi would only last for around a year, as naphtha would be diverted as feedstock into BPCL's new petrochemical project, the source said.

The propylene derivatives petrochemical project in Kochi is expected to be completed around the end of next year, and is due for commissioning around the first-quarter of 2018, industry sources said.

It will have the capacity to produce 47,000 mt/year of acrylic acid, 92,000 mt/year of oxo-alcohols and 190,000 mt/year of acrylates and will require 250,000 mt/year of propylene to produce 329,000 mt/year of petrochemicals.

BPCL in late December last year commissioned a new 6 million mt/year crude distillation unit, replacing two old CDUs with 2 million mt/year and 4 million mt/year capacity, at its Mumbai refinery on the Indian west coast. The new CDU gives BPCL the option of processing an equal volume of high and low sulfur crude grades, a refinery official had said.

With the new CDU, the Mumbai refinery can process up to 14 million mt/year of crude.

As MRC wrote before, in January 2015, Bharat Petroleum Corporation planned to invest Rs. 4,800 crore in the propylene derivative petrochemical project in Kochi, which was earlier planned as a joint venture. Cost of the integrated refinery expansion and petrochemical project is Rs. 25,000 crore and is the single largest investment in Kerala. Propylene for the project will be sourced from the expanded refinery. The capacity of the refinery is being raised from 9.5 mln tpa to 15.5 mln tons.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) is an Indian state-controlled oil and gas company headquartered in Mumbai, India. Bharat Petroleum owns refineries at Mumbai, Maharashtra and Kochi, Kerala (Kochi Refineries) with a capacity of 12 and 9.5 million metric tonnes per year.
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Cabot Corporation announces new capacity of conductive and engineering thermoplastics

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Cabot Corporation has announced a planned investment in new capacity to enhance its production capabilities for plastic formulations specifically for conductive compounds and masterbatches for engineering thermoplastic applications, as per Plastemart.

The strategic investment at its manufacturing facility in Pepinster, Belgium will support continued growth of Cabot’s Specialty Compounds business which aligns with Cabot’s broader strategy to drive application innovation and develop in the area of formulation solutions.

"This future investment will position Cabot to better serve our customers with new conductive solutions and masterbatch formulations, while at the same time increasing our ability to meet the needs of engineering thermoplastic segments. We expect recent growth trends to continue, especially in automotive applications, given macro trends such as light-weighting and the need for our customers to innovate in ways that reduce overall cost," said Aaron Johnson, vice president for specialty compounds, EMEA and Americas. "The investment clearly demonstrates our commitment to our Specialty Compounds business and our willingness to invest to further serve evolving customer needs."

Cabot has been formulating and selling conductive compounds for more than 30 years, and is a leader in the development and manufacture of products for use in applications including transportation, industrial packaging, electronic and electrical, and industrial safety.

This planned investment will further strengthen Cabot’s commercial delivery capabilities and enable the company to expand into additional applications. "Cabot is the only global integrated carbon black and black masterbatch producer. As such, we are uniquely positioned to engage with our customers to understand their specific requirements and deliver formulated solutions to meet their needs," added Johnson.

We remind that, as MRC informed before, Borealis (Vienna), a leading producer of polyolefins, said in September 2016 that it plans to study the feasibility of a new, world-scale propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant at its existing production site at Kallo, Belgium. The study will be carried out over the next nine months with the final investment decision expected in the third quarter of 2018. Potential start-up is scheduled for the second half of 2021.

Cabot Corporation is an American specialty chemicals and performance materials company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The company operates in over 20 countries with 36 manufacturing plants, eight research and development facilities and 28 sales offices.
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Eastman increases acetic acid prices on 1 January, 2017

MOSCOW (MRC) -- US-based Eastman Chemical Company is increasing prices on the following products Jan. 01, or as contracts allow, said the producer on its site.

These increases are due to elevated operating costs, especially in raw materials, and will be, as follows:

- acetic acid, all grades: List and Offlist Price increase of USD 0.030/LB (USD 0.070/KG) in North America and Latin America;
- acetic acid, dilute: list and offlist price increase of USD 0.030/PAI in North America and Latin America.;
- acetic acid-anhydride blend: list and offlist price increase of USD 0.030/LB (USD 0.070/KG) in North America and Latin America.

As MRC wrote previously, in February 2016, Eastman Chemical said that it was seeking options to off-load its excess ethylene and other olefin intermediates in the US. Eastman has four crackers in Longview, Texas, which are able to produce ethylene and propylene. The company was seeking to monetize its excess ethylene as well as olefin intermediates, according to Eastman CEO Mark Costa.

Eastman is a global specialty chemical company that produces a broad range of products found in items people use every day. With a portfolio of specialty businesses, Eastman works with customers to deliver innovative products and solutions while maintaining a commitment to safety and sustainability. Its market-driven approaches take advantage of world-class technology platforms and leading positions in attractive end-markets such as transportation, building and construction and consumables. Eastman focuses on creating consistent, superior value for all stakeholders. As a globally diverse company, Eastman serves customers in approximately 100 countries and had 2015 revenues of approximately $9.6 billion. The company is headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee, USA and employs approximately 15,000 people around the world.
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Sturgeon Refinery project nears completion of phase one in Canada

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Phase one of the Sturgeon Refinery, which will process bitumen and produce primarily diesel fuel in Alberta, is nearing completion, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The project shows that additional economic value can be generated within the province, according to a Conference Board of Canada report, "Is There Value in Adding Value?" an assessment of the Sturgeon Refinery.

"Alberta is considering its options to add value to its resources and to diversify its economic base. Adding value to bitumen by refining it within Alberta at the Sturgeon Refinery clearly creates benefits," said Len Coad, Research Director, Public Policy. "Over a broad range of pricing assumptions, the refinery would be able to recover its investment as well as return a profit to both the shareholders and toll payers. The Sturgeon Refinery creates value because of a combination of guaranteed supply, risk allocation, revenue sharing, cost recovery, and financing."

The report says that long-term supply commitments and long-term cost of service processing agreements are two of the main reasons that the project has been able to achieve a low cost of capital, using only 20% equity and debt rates below 5%. The unique financial and processing agreement structures are fundamental to the value proposition of the refinery.

The Sturgeon Refinery has been designed to capture approximately 1.2 MMtpy of CO2 per phase. This CO2 will be sold to Enhance Energy Inc. and injected into depleted oil reservoirs for enhanced oil recovery.

The refinery is designed to ultimately consist of three identical phases. The first phase is to be completed and brought into operation in late 2017.

The Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission and Canadian Natural Resources Limited will supply the first phase of the refinery with feedstock for a period of 30 years. The initial phase of the Sturgeon Refinery is designed to process 78,630 bpd of diluted bitumen, which will contain a minimum of 50,000 barrels of raw bitumen.
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