California regulator approves funding for ClearSign refinery demonstration

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ClearSign Combustion Corporation, a provider of industrial combustion technologies that deliver reduction of pollutant emissions, announced unanimous approval for funding by the Board of the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) during their Sept, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

1 meeting to demonstrate ClearSign's Duplex products within the Torrance Refinery. The collaborative project, which includes shared funding by the air district, ClearSign, and the Torrance Refinery, will demonstrate ClearSign's Duplex technology as a best available control technology (BACT) candidate to achieve ultra-low emissions levels in refinery process heaters and boilers. The project, as approved, is slated to span one year.

Duplex has significantly lower operating expenses than competitive technologies, such as selective catalytic reduction (SCR) and achieves record low emissions without GHG pollution, the company stated in a press release.

There are eight active refineries in the South Coast Air district. A key element of its regulatory mandate, SCAQMD is committed to supporting emerging technologies that reduce criteria pollutants including NOx, CO, and greenhouse gases. ClearSign is a development company whose mission is the design, development and supply of combustion control platforms that reduce emissions while increasing operational efficiency of industrial process heaters.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Santos announced that, together with Origin, it had signed a new agreement continuing its support for the manufacturing industry through the supply of ethane gas to Qenos, Australia’s sole producer of polyethylene and a leading supplier of world class polymers, said Yourpetrochemicalnews.

Under the agreement, Santos and Origin will supply an estimated 27 petajoules to Qenos for the remainder of 2017 until the end of 2019.

The ethane is processed at the Santos-operated Moomba gas plant and piped to Qenos’ operations at Botany Bay in Sydney for use as a feedstock in the manufacture of polyethylene. The polyethylene produced by Qenos is used across a range of industries and applications, including consumer and industrial packaging, water conservation, waste management and agriculture.

Santos Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Gallagher said he was pleased Santos could continue to provide ethane to the New South Wales manufacturer.

"The Cooper Basin has been supplying ethane to Qenos for over 20 years, and I am delighted we have been able to agree new supply arrangements with the company and reinforce our support for Australia’s manufacturing industry,” he said.

"The agreement also highlights the point that gas is not only a clean, reliable energy source, it is a critical constituent in a range of manufactured products."
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oil and petrochemical plants along the US Gulf Coast intend to go ahead with plans for near record spending on expansions next year, despite Hurricane Harvey driving up labor costs and slowing work, experts said, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Harvey largely spared oil and petrochemical plants along the US Gulf Coast from significant damage but thousands of homes and businesses were not as fortunate. Refiners and recovery projects will complete for the same labor, driving up costs or causing labor shortages.

Industrial investment in the Gulf Coast is expected to hit USD51.9 B next year, near the 2015 peak, requiring an army of pipefitters, ironworkers and other craftsman, said Industrial Information Resources (IIR), which tracks labor supply for refiners and other industrial companies.

"We had a labor shortage before Harvey, but now it's significantly worse," said IIR's Anthony Salemme. "It's going to spread to soft crafts like painters and insulators."

Investments have soared in recent years because the shale revolution fed off an existing infrastructure. The region's deep water ports and expanding pipeline and storage networks offer an easy outlet to global markets. It also boasts a welcoming regulatory climate and skilled workforce.

Since 2010, USD85 B worth of petrochemical projects have started or been completed across the United States, nearly all of them in the Gulf Coast region, according to the American Chemistry Council.

But the concentration along the Gulf of Mexico leaves these facilities and supporting networks exposed to the brutal force of tropical storms and hurricanes, as Harvey laid bare last month.

The storm shut roughly a quarter of the nation's refinery capacity and more than a dozen petrochemical plants halted operations. Ports were closed and key fuel pipelines serving the Midwest and US Northeast were partially or completely shut, driving up pump prices as fears of fuel shortages took hold.

Preliminary assessments suggest that storm's hit to the region is not deterring companies from going ahead with existing projects. But global commodities buyers such as Ineos Group and Reliance Industries Ltd that relied on existing facilities shut by the storm may now consider putting some warehouses and stock elsewhere.

"The robustness of the supply chain is brought a little more under attention," said David Witte, a senior vice president at consultants IHS Markit. "They may be looking at it differently."

There is no sign that major new projects are under threat. Several with plans on the drawing board, including BASF SE, DowDuPont Inc and Exxon Mobil Corp are sticking to growth plans. Others said they will repair Harvey's damage before making any decisions on long-term strategy for the region.

Exxon earlier this year said it would invest USD20 B to expand Texas refining and petrochemical operations in Beaumont, Corpus Christi and Baytown. All three communities were damaged by Harvey.

As part of that expansion, Exxon and Saudi Basic Industries Corp are proposing an about USD10 B chemical plant in Corpus Christi, near where Harvey made landfall. The project is moving forward, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Exxon spokesman Scott Silvestri declined to comment.

DowDuPont is also undeterred from an ongoing USD4 B expansion project that includes new capacity in Freeport, Texas, on the coast. "Hurricane Harvey does not change our perspective on the region being a great location for our investments," spokeswoman Rachelle Schikorra said in a statement.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc, which is expanding its operations in the Gulf, also has proposed new investments in western Pennsylvania, near the natural gas-rich Marcellus formation.

The plant will help Shell capture a larger share of the US market for polyethylene, more than half of which is concentrated in northern states. It took Shell years to make the decision to build the plant.

Pennsylvania has started to position itself as a second US refining region, even though new plants are years away from opening. The state lacks the specialized refining workforce and proximity to open water - and the Panama Canal - that make the Gulf Coast area still so appealing.

The US Gulf Coast will remain an attractive investment area, said Shell spokesman Curtis Smith and other energy officials.

"What this storm has demonstrated is the resilience of the energy system," said Torgrim Reitan, who runs Statoil ASA's US operations. "Even a Harvey can't take out this capacity."

As MRC informed before, the wake of Hurricane Harvey, which had killed more than 40 people and brought record flooding to the oil heartland of Texas, paralyzed a quarter of the US refining industry. Harvey, downgraded to a tropical storm and losing steam as it moved inland, shut at least 4.4 MMbpd of refining capacity.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The September contract price of ethylene was agreed in Europe up by EUR30/tonne from August. However, European polyethylene (PE) producers raised their export PE prices by an average of EUR40/tonne for September shipments to the CIS countries, as per ICIS-MRC's Price report.

Negotiations over export prices of European PE to be shipped to the CIS markets began last week. Many negotiators said most European producers raised their export PE prices more than the amount of the increase of monomer prices. Only in some cases, there was a price increase of EUR30/tonne, whereas in most cases, the rise was EUR40/tonne or higher.

Deals for September shipments of high density polyethylene (HDPE) were discussed in the range of EUR1,000-1,080/tonne FCA, whereas August deals were done in the range of EUR960-1,040/tonne FCA. Deals for black PE 100 were done in the range of EUR1,230-1,260/tonne FCA.

Deals for low density polyethylene (LDPE) were negotiated in the range of EUR1,150-1,210/tonne FCA.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Croatia’s loss-making refinery in the central town of Sisak could be turned into logistics center and a facility to refine biomass, consultants Deloitte have proposed, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The 60,000-bpd refinery is owned by INA, which is in turn owned by the Croatian government and Hungary’s MOL. INA has a bigger refinery with capacity of 100,000 bpd in the Adriatic port of Rijeka.

INA, which published the proposal by Deloitte on Thursday, said the Sisak refinery generated losses worth USD23.53 MM in the first half of 2017.

"INA’s refining capacities considerably surpass demand on the small regional market," INA said in a statement. "It is now necessary to hold talks with all the relevant stakeholders on the future of the Sisak refinery."

Deloitte’s study suggested the Sisak site could be turned into biorefinery within three years, INA said.

Fearing possible closure, a workers union at Sisak has threatened to block oil being transported to Rijeka unless the smaller plant is kept open. The Rijeka plant is due to be modernized.

Zagreb and MOL have for several years been at odds over management rights and INA’s investment strategy. They have been involved in international arbitrations to resolve the row.

Croatia’s government said in August it was hiring an adviser on a possible transaction to buy back MOL’s 49% stake in INA.

As MRC wrote previously, in 2016, the German Bodo Moller Chemie Group opened a subsidiary in Zagreb, Croatia. According to the company, primarily products from the Huntsman Advanced Materials range will be sold through its new site to the Balkan states. These products predominantly include epoxy resins, polyacrylates and polyurethanes for various bonding and sealing applications. The branch is officially affiliated to Bodo Moller Chemie Austria GmbH.
MRC