Fluor awarded engineering contract for new LyondellBasell Texas PO and TBA plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Fluor Corporation has announced that it was selected by LyondellBasell, one of the world's largest plastics, chemical and refining companies, to perform the engineering and procurement for its propylene oxide (PO) and tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA) project located at its Channelview and Bayport complexes outside of Houston, as per Fluor's press release.

Fluor booked the undisclosed contract value into backlog in the third quarter of 2017.

The project represents the single-largest capital investment in LyondellBasell’s history. When completed, the plant will produce 1 billion pounds per year of PO and 2.2 billion pounds per year of TBA. At the peak of construction, the project is expected to create up to 2,500 jobs and approximately 160 permanent positions when operational.

PO is a building block of many everyday products, including bedding, furniture, carpeting, coatings, building materials and adhesives. The TBA will be converted to fuel additives that help gasoline burn cleaner and reduce automobile emissions.

"This facility is a strategic part of LyondellBasell’s organic growth plans and we are pleased to continue our partnership on this project," said Mark Fields, president of Fluor’s Energy & Chemicals business in the Americas. "Using our Zero Base ExecutionSM approach, the LyondellBasell and Fluor team developed a fit-for-purpose solution that optimized the plant design, leveraged global procurement opportunities and implemented a cost-effective modularization approach. Our integrated solutions approach substantially reduced the facility’s capital costs and helped LyondellBasell achieve their final investment decision on this world-scale chemical facility."

LyondellBasell is one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world and has world-leading PO/TBA technology. Fluor has participated in the project since the commencement of front-end engineering and design in 2015. Project completion is expected in 2021.

LyondellBasell is one of the world’s largest plastics, chemical and refining companies and a member of the S&P 500. LyondellBasell manufactures products at 56 sites in 19 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

Hanwha Total to shut EVA plant in Daesan for turnaround

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Hanwha Total Petrochemical is in plans to shut its No. 2 ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) plant for a brief maintenance, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in South Korea informed that the plant is likely to be taken off-line for maintenance on November 20, 2017. The plant is slated to remain shut for around 4-5 days.

Located at Daesan, South Korea, the No.2 plant has a production capacity of 280,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed before, in October 2016, Hanwha Total Petrochemical expanded the production capacity of its low density polyethylene (LDPE)/ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) swing plant. Thus, the production capacity of the existing plant was increased by 40,000 mt/year. Located at Daesan in South Korea, the swing plant had a total capacity of 240,000 mt/years.

Hanwha Group is one of the largest business conglomerate in South Korea. Founded in 1952 as Korea Explosives Inc., the group has grown into a large multi-profile business conglomerate, with diversified holdings stretching from explosives, their original business, to retail to financial services.
MRC

Sabic to feature innovative resins and development services to solve water management challenges

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sabic, a global leader in the chemical industry, will showcase at Aquatech Amsterdam its industry-leading water management resources, technical support services and materials that are helping customers address global industry trends in revitalizing infrastructures and raising operational efficiency, said the producer in its press release.

In particular, the company will spotlight its growing portfolio of high-performance engineering resins for the water management industry, extensive application development capabilities, and new Predictive Engineering Services that can enable the industry to solve tough challenges, ranging from optimizing hydrolytic stability and water quality to preventing corrosion and biofouling.

Sabic will demonstrate at Aquatech Amsterdam how its advanced resin technologies can become the materials of choice for a wide array of potable, process and wastewater applications by delivering important design, performance and productivity benefits that could surpass those of metal and other traditional materials. The company will also showcase at its stand the diverse testing capabilities of its recently expanded Water Management Center of Excellence, located in Bergen op Zoom, The Netherlands. Additionally, Sabic will feature new data that reinforces the benefits of using its resins, live simulations and real-world customer applications.

As MRC informed before, in October 2016, Sabic announced that it had developed next generation low density polyethylene (LDPE) foram grades. The first product of a new generation of LDPE foam grades from SABIC was designed to increase production efficiency at the foam manufacturer.

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) ranks among the worldпїЅs top petrochemical companies. The company is among the worldпїЅs market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.
MRC

Norsi oil refinery of Lukoil has not changed overall oil supplies

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia’s Norsi, oil major Lukoil’s largest oil refinery that suffered a fire last week, has not changed the overall plan of oil supplies to its plant this month, Russian pipeline monopoly Transneft said on Monday, reported Reuters.

The country’s second largest oil producer Lukoil said last Friday that output of oil products at the Norsi refinery in the Nizhny Novgorod region was almost unaffected by the fire.

As MRC wrote previously, on 5 May 2017, a fire erupted at a refinery of Russia's No. 2 oil producer Lukoil in the city of Perm in the Urals region the company. The fire was localised at around 0300 GMT and an open combustion was extinguished two hours later.

Lukoil is one of the leading vertically integrated oil company in Russia. The main activities of the company include operations for exploration and production of oil and gas, production and sale of petroleum products. Lukoil is the second largest private oil Company worldwide by proven hydrocarbon reserves. Lukoil structure includes one of the largest Russian petrochemical plant - Stavrolen. In early February 2017, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine gave permission for the purchase of a 75% stake in Lukoil Chemical B.V. (Netherlands), which owned 100% of LLC "Karpatneftekhim" (Kalush, Ivano-Frankivsk region). According to the committee, the company Techinservice Limited (London, UK) was allowed to sell more than 25% of the Dutch Chemical Lukoil to the Ukrainian citizen through Xedrian Holding Ltd (Cyprus) - more than 50% Lukoil Chemical. And in late February 2017, Lukoil completed the sale of Karpatneftekhim, one of the largest producers of polymers in Ukraine.
MRC

Saudi Aramco eyes JV deal in India by next year

MOSCOW (MRC) — State-run oil giant Saudi Aramco is in talks with several Indian refiners and hopes to land a joint venture deal by next year, the company's chief executive told Reuters on Sunday, as per Reuters.

Aramco, like other major oil producers, wants to tap rising demand growth opportunities and invest in the world's third biggest consumer. "We are hoping to land on a JV sometime," Aramco's CEO Amin Nasser said at India Energy Forum by Cera Week in New Delhi. Asked if a deal could be finalised next year, he said: "We hope so. We are in serious discussions."

Aramco wants to buy a stake in the planned 1.2 MMbpd refinery in India's west coast, India's oil minister said in June. The world's biggest oil producer is investing in refineries abroad to help lock in demand for its crude and expand its market share ahead of its initial public offering next year.

Aramco plans to float up to 5% of its shares in 2018 in what could be the world's largest IPO, raising as much as USD100 B. Nasser said Aramco is interested in investing in India's downstream sector—refining, petrochemicals and fuel retailing including lubricants.

Saudi Arabia is competing with Iraq to be India's top oil supplier, with Iraq displacing it for a fifth month in a row in August, data compiled by Reuters showed. Earlier this year Saudi Arabia pledged billions of dollars of investment in projects in Indonesia and Malaysia to ensure long-term oil supply deals.

The International Energy Agency estimates India's refining capacity will lag fuel demand going forward, requiring investment in new plants. Saudi Aramco earlier on Sunday launched a new office in New Delhi as it aims to expands its presence in India.

India's oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who inaugurated Aramco's India unit, said Aramco is interested in investing in refinery projects in the Asian country and "very soon they will come to India."

Nasser said Aramco will increase its staff strength in India by four fold compared to now. The company which had 14 employees has now raised staff numbers to around 30.

"India by itself is an important market. The size of India's market is huge. The growth in India last year is 8% last year as compared to 1.5% globally in energy," Nasser said. "We need to be here."
MRC