UAE buys first US oil cargo to replace Qatar condensate

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The United Arab Emirates will import the country's first oil cargo from the United States, two sources familiar with the matter said, as the OPEC producer sought substitutes to replace Qatari condensate supplies after a diplomatic row, reported Reuters.

The UAE halted condensate imports from Qatar after it, along with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain, severed diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar after accusing it of supporting terrorism, a claim which Doha denies.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) bought a US Eagle Ford condensate cargo in a tender for September arrival, the sources said on Wednesday.

Specific volumes were not available but the cargo will arrive in a supertanker that can carry up to 2 MMbbl of oil, one of the sources said.

ADNOC declined to comment.

ADNOC faced limited options in sourcing for condensate substitutes as strong demand for the ultra-light oil in South Korea and Indonesia tightened supplies in Asia, trade sources said.

This forced the state oil company to look for supplies from other regions, including Eagle Ford condensate from the United States.

ADNOC used to receive 1 MMbbl to 1.5 MMbbl of Qatari condensate every month under a term agreement with Qatar Petroleum, trade sources said earlier.

Condensate is a byproduct of natural gas production and the oil is processed at refining units to produce mainly naphtha, a petrochemical raw material.

ADNOC earlier bought Khuff condensate from Saudi Arabia to replace Qatari supplies, the trade sources said, but the production volume of this oil is small and it is usually consumed locally.

As MRC informed before, in mid-July, 2017, ADNOC and Borealis signed a framework agreement, under which the companies will advance two key projects that will expand both ADNOC and Borealis downstream petrochemicals business and support the delivery of ADNOC’s integrated smart growth and partnership strategy.
MRC

PTTGC brought on-stream cracker No. 2 in Thailand

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) is likely to brought on-stream its I-4 No.2 cracker in Map Ta Phut, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Thailand informed that the company has planned to complete maintenance at the cracker by this weekend. The turnaround at the cracker started on July 12, 2017.

Located at Map Ta Phut in Thailand, the No.2 unit has an ethylene production capacity of 400,000 mt/year & a propylene production capacity of 50,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed previously, PTT Global Chemical Public Company Ltd., whose subsidiary may build a multibillion-dollar ethane cracker complex in Belmont County along the Ohio River, bought 168 acres for USD13.8 mln in early July 2017. The Thai company is considering building a petrochemical facility in eastern Ohio, and has bought property that used to house a FirstEnergy Corp.

Besides, PTT is on track to start commercial operations at its new 400,000 mt/year metallocene C6 linear low density polyethylene plant at Map Ta Phut, Thailand, in the first quarter of 2018. PTT will start up the plant by the end of this year. PTT currently has a total capacity of 800,000 mt/year of high density polyethylene (HDPE), 300,000 mt/year of low density polyethylene and 400,000 mt/year of LLDPE at the same site.

PTT Global Chemical is a leading player in the petrochemical industry and owns several petrochemical facilities with a combined capacity of 8.45 million tonnes a year.
MRC

Oil rallies 2% as Saudi promises to cut exports

MOSCOW (MRC) — Oil rose by more than 2% on Tuesday after Saudi Arabia vowed to reduce exports from next month and OPEC called on members to boost compliance with agreed output cuts to help curb oversupply and support flagging crude prices, said Reuters.

Brent crude futures rose USD1.01 to USD49.64 a barrel by 1342 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures also rose by USD1.01 to USD47.35 a barrel.

At a meeting in the Russian city of St. Petersburg on Monday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC producers discussed extending their deal to cut output by 1.8 MMbpd beyond March 2018, if necessary.

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said that his country would limit its crude exports to 6.6 MMbpd in August, almost 1 MMbpd lower than the same month a year earlier. "But the most concrete indication coming out of the meeting was that Nigeria would agree to implement production adjustments," Vienna-based consultancy JBC Energy said.

Nigeria voluntarily agreed to join the deal by capping or cutting its output from 1.8 MMbpd once it stabilizes at that level. But in a sign that production from the OPEC member remains susceptible to disruptions, Royal Dutch Shell's Nigerian subsidiary said on Monday it had shut its 180,000 bpd Trans Niger pipeline because of a leak on July 21.

Ministers at the meeting also highlighted the importance of compliance. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said an additional 200,000 bpd of oil could be removed from the market if there were 100% compliance with the OPEC-led deal.

OPEC said stocks held by industrial nations had fallen by 90 MMbbl in the first six months of the year but were still 250 MMbbl above the five-year average, which is the target level for OPEC and non-OPEC members.

"In our view ... these meetings were aimed at saving face and diverting the market's attention away from Iraq's poor compliance, shale's resilience and Libya's and Nigeria's markedly higher output," Barclays said.

Prices were also supported by a warning from Halliburton's executive chairman that growth in North America's rig count was "showing signs of plateauing", representing a possible threat to continued increases in US shale oil production.

China's crude imports will exceed 400 MMt (8 MMbpd) this year and are likely to grow by a double-digit percentage next year, a Sinopec Group executive said.
MRC

Cal/OSHA, Chevron reach settlement of citations appeal following 2012 Richmond refinery Fire

MOSCOW (MRC) — Cal/OSHA and Chevron have reached a settlement agreement for a comprehensive plan that will improve safety at the Chevron Richmond refinery and for surrounding communities, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The agreement meets and exceeds California's landmark regulation to reduce risk at refineries, which was approved by the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board in May and is currently pending approval by the Office of Administrative Law.

"The settlement requires Chevron to exceed current and upcoming requirements and to use new and innovative methods recently developed by engineering experts in the petroleum refining industry to ensure the safe operation of process safety equipment," said Cal/OSHA Chief Juliann Sum. "This means safer operations at the refinery, which will help protect refinery workers and those who work and live nearby."

The agreement resolves Chevron's appeal of citations issued by Cal/OSHA on January 30, 2013, following an investigation into a fire that occurred at the Richmond refinery on August 6, 2012. Cal/OSHA cited Chevron for 17 workplace safety and health violations, including six serious and nine willful in nature. During the settlement negotiations, Cal/OSHA received input from the United Steelworkers and the US Environmental Protection Agency.

The negotiated settlement requires Chevron to institute the following extraordinary measures to ensure process safety at the Richmond refinery: Replace all carbon steel piping that transports corrosive liquids with chrome-alloy piping, which has better corrosion resistance, at an estimated cost of USD15 million. This exceeds current and upcoming workplace safety requirements for refineries.

Develop and implement criteria and procedures, at an estimated cost of $5 million, to monitor equipment to alert operators when equipment should be replaced. This is a new and innovative practice recently developed by refinery engineering experts.

As MRC informed earlier, the US Supreme Court on Monday handed a victory to Chevron Corp by preventing Ecuadorean villagers and their American lawyer from trying to collect on an USD8.65 billion pollution judgment issued against the oil company by a court in Ecuador.

MRC

PTTGC plans maintenance at HDPE plant No. 1 in Thailand

MOSCOW (MRC) - PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) is likely to shut its No. 1 high density polyethylene (HDPE) plant for maintenance, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Thailand informed that the plant is expected to be shut towards end-August 2017, for a period of around 2 weeks. Earlier the plant was supposed to start maintenance in mid-August 2017.

Located at Map Ta Phut in Thailand, the HDPE plant has a production capacity of 250,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed before, PTT is on track to start commercial operations at its new 400,000 mt/year metallocene C6 linear low density polyethylene plant at Map Ta Phut, Thailand, in the first quarter of 2018. PTT will start up the plant by the end of this year.

PTT currently has a total capacity of 800,000 mt/year of HDPE, 300,000 mt/year of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and 400,000 mt/year of LLDPE at the same site.

PTT Global Chemical is a leading player in the petrochemical industry and owns several petrochemical facilities with a combined capacity of 8.45 million tonnes a year.
MRC