SNC-Lavalin awarded FEED conversion to EPC contract by Brahms Oil Refineries

MOSCOW (MRC) — SNC-Lavalin has been awarded a contract by Brahms Oil Refineries Limited to undertake a front-end engineering design (FEED) conversion to EPC contract for a 10,000-bpd crude oil refinery in Kamsar, Guinea, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The FEED will provide a budget cost estimate to obtain a final investment decision (FID) for the project in the third quarter of 2017.

SNC-Lavalin's scope for this phase of the work includes project management, coordination and management of the process licensor, management of the geotechnical and topographic survey contractors, preliminary engineering and procurement, as well as estimating services and EPC execution plan for the complete grassroots refinery, including the tank farm and marine works required for import of crude oil by ship. The contract signed to date is for the short form FEED, with a process to agree a phased development of the project ultimately into an EPC project following FID approval.

The plant will be designed to produce diesel, gasoline and jet A fuel to be sold to the local Guinean market.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) — China's exports of diesel rose in June on a year ago as refiners turn to foreign markets to offload their excess product, while liquefied natural gas imports also rose, customs data showed on Sunday, said Reuters.

Diesel exports rose 19% in June to 1.31 MMt, figures from the General Administration of Customs showed. That is up from 1.23 MMt in May but less than the all-time high of 1.91 MMt hit in April.

Gasoline exports of 770,000 t were down 30% from a record 1.1 MMt last June, but were up from 639,799 t in May.

The data came after figures on Monday showed that oil refineries in one of the world's top crude importers ramped up throughput last month to the second highest on record, even as state oil majors prepared to take drastic steps to cut production during the peak summer season.

The high monthly shipments led to big increases in the first half and will reinforce concerns that China, one of the world's top energy markets, is contributing to a fuel overhang as refiners churn out more products like gasoline and diesel than the market can absorb.

For the first six months of 2017, China's diesel exports were up 21% to 7.97 MMt, Sunday's data showed. China became a net exporter of fuel products in late 2016. China's imports of LNG in June were up 38.6% at 3.04 MMt.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Wison Engineering Services Co. Ltd., one of the leading chemical engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) management service providers in China, announced that its non-wholly owned affiliated company, Wison Engineering (China) Limited, has been awarded an engineering, procurement, fabrication and construction (EPFC) contract for one section of Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) project in Texas by Formosa Plastics Corporation, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

This is Wison Engineering's first contract awarded in the American market, representing a new milestone in the implementation of its internationalization strategy. Wison Engineering will be responsible for modularization engineering, fabrication, transportation and on-site installation for the project.

"Adhering to our internationalization strategy, Wison Engineering has been actively seeking overseas business opportunities and established a management system and execution team with the capabilities to cater to the requirements of international business operations, as well as a global procurement and construction resource network,” said Vivian Li, Vice President of Wison Petrochemicals (NA) LLC. “Following the successful business expansion in the Middle East, South America, and CIS markets, this project signifies an important step in the Company's overseas market development, posting great influence on the Company's global market expansion."

As MRC informed earlier, in June 2017, a weekend power outage at Formosa Plastics USA's Point Comfort, Texas, facility lead to unplanned shutdown of multiple units, according to filings with state regulators. Formosa lost electricity to a pair of olefins units, as well as polyethylene, polypropylene and chlor-alkali plants, according to filings with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Power was lost to units just before noon Saturday, with the event running through Sunday night, according to the filings.

Formosa Petrochemical is involved primarily in the business of refining crude oil, selling refined petroleum products and producing and selling olefins (including ethylene, propylene, butadiene and BTX) from its naphtha cracking operations. Formosa Petrochemical is also the largest olefins producer in Taiwan and its olefins products are mostly sold to companies within the Formosa Group. Among the company's chemical products are paraxylene (PX), phenyl ethylene, acetone and pure terephthalic acid (PTA). The company's plastic products include acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) resins, polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP) and panlite (PC).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A special purpose vehicle for the Rs 2 lakh crore Mega-West-Coast refinery on the Ratnagiri coast of Maharashtra is expected to be up and operative by the first week of August, while the land acquisition process has started around the Ratnagiri coast, said D Rajkumar, chairman and managing director of Bharat Petroleum Corporation, as per Plastemart.

The mega refinery and the petrochemical complex will be set up in two phases. Phase-1 will be 40 mtpa plant along with an aromatic complex, naphtha cracker and polymer complex as part of the petrochemical complex. The cost for setting up phase-1 would be somewhere between Rs 1.2-1.5 lakh crore and “will come up between 36 months to 48 months from the date of land acquisition and statutory clearances,” Rajkumar said. The entire refinery will include three crude units of 20 million tonnes each - first of these will be part of phase-1. The second phase will cost Rs 50,000-60,000 crore.

“After signing the joint venture agreement between us (IOC-BPCL-HPCL) we are working on getting the JV, SPV into operation next, and expect by end of July or first week of August the JV company should be up and operative," Rajkumar said on the sidelines of an event in Mumbai. On June 14 the three joint venture partners - IOC, HPCL and BPCL signed the joint venture agreements between them with IOC holding 50%, HPCL 25% and BPCL the remainder 25%.

The joint venture would require around 10,000 acre to 15,000 acre of land for setting up 60 million tonne per annum refinery and a mega petrochemical complex. The refinery would require around 10,000 acre while the petrochemical complex would require 5,000 acre of land. "Our location around Babulwadi has already been finalised and the activities related to land acquisition have started. The land is around 50-100 km from the coast. We will be acquiring the land through Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) and the government of Maharashtra has been very co-operative," Rajkumar said.

We remind that, as MRC informed before, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has delayed the start-up of its new monoethylene glycol (MEG) plant until Q2 2017. As per the earlier plans, the plant was to be started in December 2016. Located at Jamnagar, Gujarat in India, the plant has a production capacity of 750,000 mt/year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Henkel has opened a state-of-the-art test facility for composites in Japan. The new Composite Lab in Isogo-ku, Yokohama, will allow automotive customers from across Asia to team up with Henkel experts to develop and test composite parts, and to establish the best process conditions to make their ideas ready for market, as per the company's press release.

Interest in the use of composites to reduce vehicle weight and increase performance is rising rapidly among automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers. But their demands are strict: they require cost-effective processes suitable for production of more than 10,000 parts per year. In practical terms, this means they often want custom-formulated, fast-curing resins for use in short production cycles. This magnifies the importance of having reliable partners with in-house test capabilities.

This is why Henkel, a global leader in composite matrix resins, adhesives, sealants and functional coatings for the automotive industry, has opened the new Composite Lab, where automotive customers can work with Henkel experts to develop and test composite parts, and also optimize series production process conditions. They can carry out trials with different test molds on Henkel’s own High Pressure Resin Transfer Molding (HP-RTM) equipment. The HP-RTM machine includes a 380 tons press for trials close to series production conditions.

Last year, Henkel also opened a Composite Lab in Europe – in Heidelberg, Germany. The new test center in Asia reflects Henkel’s commitment to deliver high levels of service, quality, service and know-how close to its customers around the world.

Frank Kerstan, Global Program Manager Automotive Composites, says: “We are very proud to have this new state-of-the-art test center in Asia. As vehicle manufacturers worldwide look to reduce weight in cars and trucks to help boost fuel economy and reduce emissions, they are having to set aside the mindset that has dictated traditional material and process choices, and look at new and emerging technologies. Both our Composite Labs offer OEMs and Tier-One suppliers the opportunity to work together with our experts to learn first-hand what the options and possibilities may be for using advanced composite materials with short production cycle times in their vehicles.

Henkel strives to create a competitive advantage for its partners along the value chain. We continue to work closely with our customers to create cost-effective integrated solutions that are suitable for high volume production. Henkel products make vehicles quieter, lighter and more durable, while providing comfort, strength and safety."

Henkel’s diverse composites portfolio includes composite matrix resins and adhesives. The Loctite MAX series of matrix resins is suitable for use with glass and carbon fiber preforms designed for the RTM process. This range also includes binders and release agents for fiber-reinforced components. Loctite composite adhesives are ideal for multi-material bonding and assembly. All these materials are backed up by extensive process know-how and engineering expertise for the RTM process and the simulation and characterization of composite parts.

As MRC reported previously, in 2015, Henkel Russia opened a new dry building mixes plant in the Novosibirsk region. The new production site reportedly places the company closer to customers in the Siberian and Far East regions of Russia.

Henkel operates in three business units, including laundry and home care, beauty care and adhesive technologies.
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