ExxonMobil and Sabic select location for proposed petchem project on US Gulf Coast

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil Chemical Company and Sabic each announced the selection of a site in San Patricio County, Texas for potential development of a jointly owned petrochemical complex on the US Gulf Coast, reported Reuters.

The proposed multibillion dollar investment would include a world-scale ethane steam cracker capable of producing 1.8 MMt of ethylene per year, which would feed a monoethylene glycol unit and two polyethylene units.

The proposed project, one of 11 ExxonMobil announced as part of its 10-year, USD20 billion Growing the Gulf initiative, is expected to create thousands of jobs during the construction phase, as well as 600 new, full-time jobs and 3,500 indirect jobs during operations. It is also expected to generate more than USD22 billion in economic output during the construction phase and more than USD50 billion in economic output during the first six years of operations.

"This decision represents a significant milestone for both the local community and the state of Texas," said Neil Chapman, president of ExxonMobil Chemical Company. "We wish to thank local and state officials who have been instrumental in the site selection process, as well as everyone in the community who attended meetings to learn more about the project and provided us with constructive feedback. We will continue listening to local residents and businesses and look forward to continuing to work together."

With site selection completed, ExxonMobil and Sabic will now apply for the necessary air and wastewater permits from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Each company will make a final decision on the investment after the required permits have been granted.

"We are focused on geographic diversification to supply new markets," said Sabic vice chairman and CEO Yousef Abdullah Al-Benyan. "The proposed venture would capture competitive feedstock, capitalize on the growing global demand for ethylene-based products, and reinforce Sabic’s strong position in the value chain."

As MRC wrote before, ExxonMobil and SABIC have worked together for 35 years in major chemical joint ventures in Saudi Arabia.

Sabic ranks among the world's top petrochemical companies, and is among the worldпїЅs market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene, advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers. Sabic manufactures on a global scale in Saudi Arabia, the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. The company operates in more than 50 countries across the world with 40,000 employees worldwide.

ExxonMobil Chemical Company is one of the largest petrochemical companies worldwide. The company holds leadership positions in some of the largest-volume and highest-growth commodity petrochemical products in the world. ExxonMobil Chemical Company has manufacturing capacity in every major region of the world, serving large and growing markets. More than 90% of the company's chemical capacity is integrated with large refineries or natural gas processing plants.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Siemens opened the doors of a new service center in Geismar, La, devoted to serving the region’s oil and gas industry, and related markets. Judy Marks, CEO for Siemens USA and Executive Vice President for New Equipment Solutions at the Dresser-Rand business, and Tim Holt, CEO for Siemens Power Generation Services Division, were among several senior executives who joined employees for a special ribbon cutting ceremony at the facility, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

With 28,000 square feet of shop floor space, onsite engineers and manufacturing technicians at the service center bring global technology to the Gulf Coast’s oil and gas market. The service center features the latest technology to repair and rebuild critical equipment such as centrifugal and reciprocating compressors, steam turbines, expanders, pumps, and rotary compressors.

"Siemens is a global company that is also a local partner. That’s particularly true here in the Gulf Coast," said Judy Marks, CEO Siemens USA and Executive Vice President for New Unit Solutions at the Dresser-Rand business. "As Louisiana continues to help lead America’s oil and gas revolution, this new facility will bring the services we provide our customers to an even higher level."

For oil and gas customers, Siemens supplies a broad spectrum of products, services and solutions that support upstream, midstream and downstream applications. With its acquisition of Dresser-Rand and the addition of Rolls-Royce Energy’s aero-derivative gas turbine business, Siemens has an installed base of more than 130,000 compressors, gas turbines and steam turbines.

Siemens has over 200 employees in Louisiana, serving the energy, healthcare and building technologies sectors.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Akzo Nobel NV has outlined a new strategy which will see its Specialty Chemicals unit separated into a new business unit and divested within 12 months, said Plasticsnews.

In a 19 April statement, the Amsterdam-based chemicals company said the new strategy aimed to "accelerate growth and value creation" and will involve the creation of two "focused, high-performing businesses - Paints & Coatings and Specialty Chemicals."

The restructuring which comes in the face of Akzo Nobel’s takeover bid by U.S. rival PPG Industries pledges to give EUR1 billion special dividend to shareholders in November, "reflecting confidence in the planned separation," the company added. Under the new structure, the company will either list the Specialty Chemicals unit as a separate entity or sell it and focus on Paints & Coatings business with "fit-for-purpose” structure and processes".

The unit, which had a EUR4.8 billion in 2016 sales, makes ingredients for products including plastics, detergents and pharmaceuticals. This new strategy, said Akzo Nobel, will make EUR150 million annual savings from continuous improvement programs in Paints and Coatings, while the separation of the Specialty Chemicals will add an extra EUR50 million cost savings.

Additionally, the company will be investing EUR1 billion in R&D by 2020 to maintain focus on new product development. The Dutch paint maker also pledged to use 100 percent renewable energy and be carbon neutral by 2050.

With the new layout, Akzo Nobel expects to improve earnings (EBIT) in 2017 by around EUR100 million more than 2016. "The industry-leading performance and outlook of our Specialty Chemicals business gives us the confidence to return proceeds to shareholders in advance of the separation. In addition, we see extensive growth momentum in our Paints and Coatings business, which we expect to keep growing faster than market rates, allowing us to improve our long-term financial guidance," said Ton Buchner, CEO of Akzo Nobel.

The strategy, he added, "will create substantial value for shareholders with significant less risks and uncertainties compared to alternatives."

Also commenting on the new plan, Antony Burgmans, chairman of the AkzoNobel supervisory board, voiced his confidence in the strategy, saying it would deliver "superior shareholder value compared to the alternatives."

"It will be delivered by a competent, experienced management team with a proven track record at a faster pace, with considerably less risk and at significantly lower social cost," he concluded.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- CB&I has announced it has been awarded a contract by Zhejiang Petroleum and Chemical Co. Ltd. for the license and engineering design of a single-train 220 kta diphenyl carbonate (DPC) unit, based on Versalis technology, for a refining and petrochemical complex in China, Hydrocarbonprocessing.

CB&I previously announced the CDAlky license and two Chevron Lummus Global (CLG) hydrocracking units for the project. CLG is a joint venture between Chevron and CB&I.

"CB&I appreciates the opportunity to provide an additional technology to ZPC's complex in China, making it the largest single-train DPC plant in the world," said Philip K. Asherman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "This award underscores the confidence ZPC has in us as a technology leader for the region."

As MRC informed previously, in February 2017, CB&I was also a contract by Dongguan Grand Resource Science & Technology Co. Ltd. for the license and engineering design of a grassroots propane dehydrogenation unit to be built in Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, China. The unit will use CB&I's CATOFIN catalytic dehydrogenation technology and Clariant's CATOFIN catalyst to produce 600,000 mtpy of propylene. This unit has been optimized to reduce equipment piece-count and lower propane consumption.

Besides, in March 2017, CB&I was awarded a substantial contract for the license, engineering design and catalyst supply for five proprietary technologies to be used in an integrated refining and petrochemical project in China. The complex will use BP Paraxylene OPEX advantaged crystallization technology exclusively licensed by CB&I, as well as technology for a vacuum gasoil hydrocracker, diesel hydrocracker, kerosene hydrotreater and delayed coker offered through Chevron Lummus Global (CLG). CLG is a JV between Chevron and CB&I.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chevron Corp. has agreed to sell the Burnaby refinery and gas stations in British Columbia to Parkland Fuel Corp. for about CD1.46 billion (USD1.1 billion) as Chief Executive Officer John Watson unloads assets, reported Bloomberg.

The sale includes 129 retail service stations, 37 commercial cardlock and three marine fueling locations, Red Deer, Alberta-based Parkland said in a statement Tuesday. Parkland also is picking up terminals throughout British Columbia and a wholesale business that provides aviation fuel to Vancouver International Airport.
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The sale is part of Watson’s plan to raise as much as USD10 billion from asset sales this year. The company has been marketing everything from Asian oil fields to African storage facilities to generate cash. For Parkland, the deal complements the 44 Chevron-branded sites it has in the province, and builds on the USD750 million acquisition of CST Brands Inc.’s Canadian assets that it expects to complete this quarter.

As MRC informed before, in July 2016, a USD36.8bn expansion of the Tengiz oilfield in Kazakhstan, the largest investment by private sector oil companies this decade, was given the go-ahead by Chevron of the US, bucking the trend of delays and cancellations resulting from the slump in crude prices since mid-2014. The green light for the plan is a rarity at a time when oil companies worldwide have been slashing capital spending and holding back on new commitments to large developments in particular. The decision to go ahead is a sign of the importance of Kazakhstan to Chevron's long-term future. The investment will add 260,000 barrels a day of crude to production at Tengiz. That would increase the output at TCO, the Chevron-led consortium that runs the field, by 44 per cent from its average of 595,000 b/d last year. The expansion is scheduled to deliver oil from 2022.

Earlier, in December 2014, Chevron Phillips Chemical announced plans to build a state-of-the-art polyethylene (PE) pilot plant at its research and technology facility in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.

Chevron is the second-largest US oil group by production and market capitalisation, after ExxonMobil. Chevron Phillips Chemical (part of Chevron), headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas (north of Houston), US,l is one of the world’s top producers of olefins and polyolefins and a leading supplier of aromatics, alpha olefins, styrenics, specialty chemicals, piping, and proprietary plastics. Chevron and Phillips 66 each own 50% of Chevron Phillips Chemical.
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