Hengyi opens Singapore trade office for Brunei oil-petchem project

MOSCOW (MRC) — Privately-run Chinese company Hengyi Group has started a trading office in Singapore to buy crude and trade oil products from its USD3.4 B Brunei project, company officials said on Monday, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The office will also handle third-party trading and use derivatives to hedge risks, said Michael Zhang, managing director of the trading arm Hengyi Industries International Pte Ltd. The refinery-petrochemical project will be mechanically completed by the end of 2018 and start operations in the Q1 2019, Zhang said.

The project, at Brunei's Pulau Muara Besar island, includes a 175,000-bpd refinery that will produce gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. The complex also houses an aromatics plant to produce 1.5 MMtpy of paraxylene (PX) and 400,000 tpy of benzene.

Hengyi also signed in September a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Brunei's Economic Development Board to expand the project in a second phase.

The expansion includes a 14 MMtpy (281,150 bpd) refinery and units to produce 1.5 MMtpy of ethylene and 2 MMtpy of PX, the company said last month.

The second phase is estimated to cost USD12 B, Qiu Jianlin, chairman of Zhejiang Hengyi Group, told the industry at the Singapore office's opening ceremony on Monday.
MRC

ADNOC brings subsidiaries together in new brand identity

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has launched its new unified brand, bring together the company’s various subsidiaries under a common identity in a move designed to highlight the scale of its business and its contributions to the UAE’s economy, as per ArabianBusiness.

According to ADNOC, the unified brand will also help create a more integrated and progressive corporate culture, in which each company will maintain operational autonomy under a centralised governance model.

The launch event was attended by more than 3,000 employees and a number of dignitaries including Suhail Mohammed Bin Farj Al Mazroui, Minister of Energy and Minister of State for Federal National Affairs Noura Bint Mohammed Al Kaabi.

"The ADNOC Group has been given a unique responsibility, which is to harness energy resources in the service of our nation. To ensure we continue to deliver on this responsibility we must constantly look for ways to further enhance and evolve our company and adapt to the demands of the global energy industry," said Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber UAE Minister of State and ADNOC Group CEO.

"We are confident that bringing the Group together, under one brand, will significantly enhance the visibility and positioning of ADNOC at a local, regional and international level, he added.

Additinally, Dr. Al Jaber said that the single brand identity "will increase our brand equity, reinforcing our 2030 integrated strategy to further unlock, enhance and create value."

Alongside the unveiling of ADNOC’s new identity, the company outlined a set of brand values that were identified and voted for by the company’s employees, which include encouraging a culture of inclusivity, working with partners and peers to leverage collective strengths, and being an efficient, performance driven company.

As MRC reported earlier, ADNOC plans to almost triple its petrochemical production to an annual 11.4 MMt by 2025 from 4.5 MMt at present, group chief executive Sultan Al Jaber said in November 2016.

Besides, ADNOC is targeting rapid growth in demand for its polymer products from China’s automotive industry and the country’s investment in gas and electricity infrastructure. The company is focused on market expansion in China and Asia, where demand for petrochemicals and plastics, including light-weight automotive components, essential utility piping and cable insulation, is forecast to double by 2040.
MRC

BPCL sells its first low sulfur diesel cargo for export

MOSCOW (MRC) — Indian oil refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd sold a low sulfur diesel cargo through an export tender for the first time as its refineries upgrade units and due to higher inventory of the fuel, three industry sources said on Monday, as per Reuters.

The state-owned refiner, which was once a net importer of diesel, is typically well-balanced with its diesel stocks and rarely ships the fuel out of the country. India’s refiners have increased their diesel output and upgraded their plants to meet the new Euro IV fuel standards, which set the sulfur content of diesel at 50 parts per million (ppm), that were adopted in April.

A spike in domestic inventory is also contributing to the rare exports of the fuel, one of the sources familiar with the matter said. "Diesel demand in September was more than expected, but in October it’s down...so stocks are more," the source said, adding that monsoon season was still ongoing in certain parts of India.

Monsoon rains typically curb diesel use for irrigation pumps. While BPCL has exported higher sulfur gasoil grades in the past, this is the first time the refiner is exporting the 50-ppm sulfur diesel grade through a tender, the source added.

BPCL may have one more diesel spot cargo to export in November, the source said. In its latest tender, BPCL sold a combination cargo comprising 15,000 t of 350 ppm sulfur diesel and 20,000 t of 50 ppm sulfur diesel for loading from Mumbai over Oct. 21 to 25, the sources said.

The cargo was sold to Unipec at a discount of about $1 a barrel to Singapore quotes, they added.
MRC

SABIC appoints Abdulaziz al-Jarboo as chairman

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) has named Abdulaziz al-Jarboo to replace long-serving chairman Prince Saud bin Abdullah Bin Thenayan al-Saud, reported Reuters with reference to the company's statement.

SABIC, which aims to be the world’s third-biggest petrochemicals producer, makes plastics, fertilisers and metals for use in construction, agriculture and manufacturing.

The company added in a statement that two non-Saudis - Calum Mclean and Roberto Gualdoni - had also joined the board.

As MRC informed before, SABIC continued its global expansion with the inauguration of a new polypropylene (PP) pilot plant in Geleen, the Netherlands, in September 2017, and the announcement of a new investment in a state-of-the-art PP extrusion facility to be built at the same location.

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) ranks among the world's top petrochemical companies. SABIC is 70% owned by the Saudi Arabian government, with the remaining 30% of its shares publicly traded on Tadawul, the Saudi stock exchange. The company is among the world's market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.
MRC

HIPS and GPPS imports to Russia rose by 7% in the first nine months of 2017

MOSCOW (MRC) - Russia's imports of high impact polystyrene (HIPS) and general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) reached 37,000 tonnes in the first nine months, up 7% year on year on the back of an increase in imports of HIPS and slight decrease in imports of GPPS, as per MRC DateScope.

September GPPS imports were 1,700 tonnes versus 3,200 tonnes a month earlier. The imports of Styrolution production material decreased to 420 tonnes against 680 tonnes a month earlier.

Imports from China were 540 tonnes, compared to 780 tonnes in August. Imports of GPPS in January-September reached 19,300 tonnes, down 2% year on year.

Styrolution accounted for 10,100 tonnes or 52% from the total GPPS imports in January-September 2017. September HIPS imports were 2,000 tonnes, compared to 2,400 tonnes a month earlier.

Speaking about producers, it should be noted that the supply of Styrolution's material decreased to 620 tonnes against 890 tonnes in August and Iranian material imports in the amount of 200 tonnes against 20 tonnes for the entire period since the beginning of the year. Overall HIPS imports rose by 19% year on year in the first nine months of 2017 to 17,700 tonnes from 14,900 tonnes a year earlier.

As a result of three quarters, the volume of imports from all major suppliers of HIPS increased to Russia. Styrolution's shipments grew by 19% to 6,900 tonnes, compared to 5,800 tonnes a year earlier.

Polimeri Europa's shipments increased by 22% to 4,800 tonnes versus 4,000 tonnes, LG Chem's imports - by 6% to 2,500 tonnes versus 2,400 tonnes.

Converters directly purchased 14,700 tonnes or 83% of the total GPPS imports in January-September 2017. Demand for Russian HIPS and GPPS was strong in September.


MRC