US Coast Guard, EPA cleaning up a dozen Texas chemical spills after Harvey

MOSCOW (MRC) — The US Coast Guard and the Environmental Protection Agency are working with Texas state regulators to clean up oil and chemicals spilled from a dozen industrial facilities after flooding from Hurricane Harvey, authorities said, said Reuters.

The spills came from oil refineries, fuel terminals and other businesses, but EPA spokeswoman Terri White said it was not possible to provide an estimate for the amounts spilled. "Initial reports were based on observation," White said. "Some spills were already being cleaned up by the time EPA or other officials arrived to assess them and others had already migrated offsite."

Refineries owned by Valero Energy Corp in Houston, Motiva Inc in Port Arthur, and ExxonMobile Corp in Baytown, were among the facilities that had reported spills, according to White. Representatives for those companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Officials also reported spills at Kinder Morgan Inc's Pasadena fuel storage terminal and at an oil terminal in Texas City owned by NuStar Energy LP.

Kinder Morgan spokeswoman Lexey Long said on Monday the company reported a spill of 500 bbl of gasoline on Aug. 27. Workers covered the spill with a foam blanket and set up a barrier to keep the public away. "The spill has been fully remediated," she said.

NuStar spokesman Chris Cho said a small amount of petroleum contact water spilled out of a storage tank into a containment area and was quickly cleaned up. "There were no injuries and no environmental impact," he said.

Two wastewater treatment plants—Integrity Golden Triangle Marine Services of Port Arthur and San Jacinto River and Rail in Beaumont—also appeared on the list of spill response locations that EPA provided to Reuters. A San Jacinto River and Rail spokesman said the plant had spilled a "foamy emulsion" when floodwaters overtopped the berms around its facility but its operators did not expect any health or environmental impacts.

Integrity Golden Triangle President Robert Goolsby said a wastewater pit at his plant overflowed into a concrete moat designed to contain such spills, and plant workers were already cleaning it up when state regulators and the Coast Guard arrived.

The liquid spills come in addition to more than a million pounds of toxic emissions above legal limits that spewed from industrial facilities following Harvey, according to reports from companies filed with the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality.

The EPA and other authorities had warned people affected by the flood that waters could contain bacteria and toxic chemicals, but have said little yet about the specific origins or quantities of substances. Residents in Baytown, where houses sit along the Houston Ship Channel next to several major refineries and chemical plants, said they were concerned about the impact of the spills and releases on health.

"I'm against the sword and the wall, what can I do?" said Carlos Caban, one of the residents, whose son had taken pictures of contaminated-looking floodwaters in nearby refinery site.

Several residents reported seeing a metallic sheen on water flowing near the plants during the heaviest flooding, posting videos to YouTube.
MRC

Shandong Shougang to utilize LyondellBasell technology in its new HDPE plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shandong Shougang Luqing Co. has chosen LyondellBasell's Hostalen ACP polyethylene (PE) process technology for a new high-density PE (HDPE) facility in China, according to GV.

The 350,000 t/y HDPE plant will be built within Shandong Shougang's petrochemical complex at Bohai Industry Park in Shouguang, Shandong province. No other details of the project were available.

"With this contract, LyondellBasell has licensed 1.5 million tons of annual Hostalen ACP capacity this year," noted Dan Coombs, executive vice president, global manufacturing, refining, projects and technology at LyondellBasell.

As MRC informed before, in March 2017, LyondellBasell PE process technology ‘LyondellBasell Hostalen ACP’ was chosen by Shandong Yuhuang Shengshi Chemical for a 200,000 tpa HDPE unit at its petrochemical complex in Heze, Shandong, China.

LyondellBasell is one of the world's largest plastics, chemical and refining companies. The company manufactures products at 57 sites in 18 countries. LyondellBasell products and technologies are used to make items that improve the quality of life for people around the world including packaging, electronics, automotive parts, home furnishings, construction materials and biofuels.
MRC

Largest US refinery restarts production after Harvey

MOSCOW (MRC) — The largest US refinery was restarting production on Monday for the first time since being shut nearly two weeks ago by Hurricane Harvey, said sources familiar with plant operations, said Reuters.

Motiva Enterprises restored the 325,000 bpd VPS-5 crude distillation unit at its 603,000 bpd Port Arthur, Texas, refinery to minimum production levels early in the day, the sources said.

After bringing VPS-5 online, Motiva began restarting the 105,000-bpd Hydrocracking Unit 2, the sources said. The HCU-2 is a lucrative source of motor fuel exports for Motiva. Motiva confirmed the refinery was restarting units on Monday.

"Motiva can confirm that the restart of the Port Arthur Refinery is progressing well, and we expect to continue to ramp up production rates over the next few days as the area’s logistics infrastructure continues to improve," the company said.

The refinery was shut Aug. 30 due to flooding from Harvey. Last Thursday, VPS-5, HCU-2 and the 110,000-bpd coking unit were ready to resume production after being placed on circulation in which the units were at operating temperatures and circulating feedstock, the sources said.

However, Motiva had been waiting for adequate crude supply to be restored to VPS-5 before restarting production, according to the sources. Motiva said last week the Port Arthur refinery would resume production at 40% capacity by Monday. Motiva did not give a timeline for fully restoring output.

Sources have said it will take four to eight weeks to return to full production at the refinery. CDUs do the initial refining of crude oil and provide feedstock for all other units.

Hydrocrackers use hydrogen to produce motor fuels, especially diesel, from gas oil. Cokers produce motor fuel feedstocks and convert residual crude to petroleum coke, a coal substitute.
MRC

Mexican agency finds irregularities in Pemex, Odebrecht contract

MOSCOW (MRC) — Mexico's top anti-corruption agency said on Monday it had identified USD6.7 MM in "new irregularities" from a contract between state oil company Pemex and Odebrecht, the Brazilian engineering firm that has admitted paying bribes in a dozen countries in recent years, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Mexico's Public Administration Ministry (SFP), the government's main anti-corruption auditor, said in a statement that the contract was for work at Pemex's second biggest refinery, the Miguel Hidalgo facility in Tula, Hidalgo state and involved an unnamed employee of the national oil company.

The SFP has launched preliminary sanctioning procedures, but this did not amount to a final verdict and would not prejudice the remaining steps in the investigative process, the statement added.

The SFP investigation began late last year, and covers the awarding and execution of public works contracts between Pemex and a unit of Odebrecht.

The embattled Brazilian firm is involved in a sprawling corruption saga in which it has already paid USD3.5 B in settlements in the United States, Brazil and Switzerland, embroiling politicians across Latin America.

Odebrecht has admitted to US and Brazilian prosecutors that it paid USD10.5 MM in bribes in Mexico, but details have not been made public.

In June, Pemex said it notified Odebrecht that it was canceling the 2015 engineering, procurement and construction contract at the Tula refinery, following an investigation into "administrative irregularities."
MRC

Reliance Industries to acquire Kemrock assets

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), the oil-to-telecoms conglomerate, said it would buy assets of Kemrock Industries and Exports Ltd, in a move to enter the composites and carbon fibre manufacturing business, as per the company's press release.

RIL said it won an e-bidding process for Kemrock Industries, a company based in Gujarat. The e-bidding process was conducted by a consortium of 11 banks, led by Allahabad Bank.

This participation is a part of Reliance's efforts to enter the Composites business and establish a leadership position in this large and growing market in India. Composites are used in a variety of applications and industries such as renewable energy, mass transportation, infrastructure and a host of other industrial products.

The assets will pave the way for Reliance to foray into new materials (Composites and Carbon Fibre) and further strengthen its petrochemicals business portfolio.

The company is in the process of complying with the necessary formalities for acquisition of assets.

As MRC informed before, in February 2016, RIL was awarded a contract worth Rs. 100 crore to Petron Engineering Construction Ltd for its linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) plant in Gujarat. The LLDPE plant is part of RIL's J-3 project in Jamnagar in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The J-3 project boasts of a petroleum refinery and allied petrochemical plants for the production of plastics and fibre intermediates.

Reliance Industries is one of the world's largest producers of polymers. Thus, the company produces among others polypropylene, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride.
MRC