CKPC selects Jacobs for FEED for Greenfield petrochemical facility in Alberta

MOSCOW (MRC)-- Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. has been awarded a contract by Canada Kuwait Petrochemical Corporation (CKPC) to provide front-end engineering design (FEED) services for a proposed greenfield, integrated propane dehydrogenation and polypropylene facility located in Sturgeon County, Alberta, Canada, as per company's press release.

CKPC is a joint venture of Pembina Pipeline Corporation (Pembina) of Canada and Petrochemical Industries Company of Kuwait. "Jacobs’ strength in front end project delivery, combined with our team’s proven performance in propane dehydrogenation and polypropylene technologies, supports CKPC in the development of this complex,” said Jacobs Global Head of Petroleum and Chemicals Vinayak Pai. “Beyond this project, we look forward to working with CKPC to help them add value to Western Canada's hydrocarbon production and to meaningfully increase local market demand for propane."

"CKPC is looking forward to working with Jacobs for the FEED phase of this project," said Director of CKPC Waleed Al-Bader. "Jacobs was selected after an extensive global search process, by demonstrating vast petrochemical experience, a well-qualified project team and an organizational-wide commitment to CKPC's success."

In execution of the FEED, Jacobs will utilize resources from multiple centers of excellence located in Calgary, Houston and Charleston, West Virginia, with a significant portion of the project scope performed in Canada. Jacobs will fully support CKPC’s vision of engaging and developing the local workforce. The project is expected to mobilize immediately.

Jacobs is one of the world’s largest and most diverse providers of full-spectrum technical, professional and construction services for industrial, commercial and government organizations globally. The company employs over 54,000 people and operates in more than 25 countries around the world.

MRC

Trinseo announces quarterly dividend

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo, a global materials solutions provider and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders and synthetic rubber, has announced that its Board of Directors authorized a quarterly dividend of USD0.36 per share, as per the company's press release.

The dividend will be a cash distribution payable on January 23, 2018, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on January 9, 2018.

As MRC wrote before, Trinseo and its affiliate companies in Europe increased prices for all polystyrene (PS), polycarbonate (PC), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and acrylonitrile-styrene copolymer (SAN) grades. Effective December 1, 2017, or as existing contract terms allow, the contract and spot prices for the products listed below rose as follows:

- STYRON general purpose polystyrene grades (GPPS) - by EUR95 per metric ton;
- STYRON and STYRON A-TECH high impact polystyrene grades (HIPS) - by EUR95 per metric ton;
- CALIBRE Polycarbonate Resins - by EUR200 per metric ton;
- MAGNUM ABS resins - by EUR60 per metric ton;
- TYRIL SAN resins - by EUR85 per metric ton.

Trinseo is a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber. Trinseo's technology is used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires. Formerly known as Styron, Trinseo completed its renaming process in 1Q 2015. Trinseo had approximately USD3.7 billion in net sales in 2016, with 15 manufacturing sites around the world, and nearly 2,200 employees.
MRC

Exxon climate-change probe goes to Massachusetts top court

MOSCOW (MRC) — ExxonMobil Corp will urge Massachusetts' top court on Tuesday to allow it to avoid handing over records to the state's attorney general amid a probe into whether the oil company misled investors and consumers about its knowledge of climate change, as per Reuters.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is scheduled to hear arguments over Exxon's bid to overturn a lower-court ruling that required the company to turn over documents to Attorney General Maura Healey as part of the investigation.

Healey, a Democrat, and New York Democratic Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sought records after news reports in 2015 about how Exxon's own scientists determined that reducing fossil fuel combustion was needed to mitigate the impact of climate change. Healey's office says those documents from the 1970s and 1980s suggested that Exxon failed to disclose what it knew to consumers and investors and engaged in a campaign to sow doubts about the science of climate change.

Exxon contends that the documents, published by InsideClimate News and the Los Angeles Times, were not inconsistent with its public positions.

After Healey issued a civil investigative demand for documents in April 2016, Exxon filed a lawsuit challenging the records request and another case in federal court challenging her and Schneiderman's investigations.

In January, Suffolk County Superior Court Judge Heidi Brieger denied Exxon's request for an order exempting it from handing over the documents.
mrcplasr.com

India MRPL makes its first US oil purchase

MOSCOW (MRC) -- India’s state-run Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd has made its first purchase of US crude oil, buying high-sulfur grade Southern Green Canyon through a buy tender for an early February delivery, the head of its refinery said, reported Reuters.

MRPL bought a 1 MMbbl cargo for a Feb. 1–10 delivery, M. Venkatesh told Reuters.

Other Indian refiners - Indian Oil Corp Ltd, Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd and Reliance Industries Ltd - have also bought US oil in recent months.

"Pricing is competitive to the similar grades from other regions," Venkatesh said. "As long as it (US crude) is economical we will try exploring it."

Venkatesh declined to give details on pricing or say who was the seller of the US oil.

He also declined to elaborate on the award of a separate MRPL buy tender for 1 MMbbl of sour grades for January loading.

Trade sources said MRPL bought Oman crude in the January tender. Both cargoes were sold by Royal Dutch Shell, one of the sources said.

A Shell official in Singapore said the company does not comment on commercial agreements or the movement of cargoes.

Venkatesh said a delayed coker unit at MRPL’s 300,000 bpd coastal refinery is operating at full capacity since end-November, making it possible for the plant to resume processing high sulfur crude grades.

The 3 MMtpy coker unit had been operating at half of its capacity for about 45 days due to a technical glitch.

As MRC wrote before, in June 2015, MRPL successfully commenced commercial production of PP from its polypropylene plant as part of its phase-III refinery expansion and upgradation project in Mangaluru. The plant has a capacity to produce 4,40,000 tonnes of PP per annum. Feedstock for the PP plant - polymer grade propylene - is being produced from upstream petrochemical fluidised catalytic cracking unit of the refinery. Technology provider for the PP plant is Novolen of Germany. The plant has been engineered and constructed by Engineers India Ltd.

Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL), is an oil refinery at Mangalore and is a subsidiary of ONGC, set up in 1993. The refinery is located at Katipalla, north from centre of Mangalore city. The refinery was established after displacing five villages of Bala, Kalavar, Kuthetoor, Katipalla, and Adyapadi.
MRC

Emerson completes Paradigm acquisition

MOSCOW (MRC) — Emerson announced it has completed the purchase of Paradigm, a leading provider of software solutions to the oil and gas industry, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The combination of Paradigm with Emerson’s Roxar software business creates a comprehensive Exploration & Production (E&P) software portfolio offering.

Paradigm is headquartered in Houston and has more than 500 employees globally. The company provides an array of tools that enable customers to gain deeper insight into the subsurface, reduce uncertainty and support responsible asset management.
MRC