KBR awarded contract by Indorama for ammonia plant in Nigeria

MOSCOW (MRC) -- KBR, Inc. announced today that it has been awarded a contract from Indorama Eleme Fertilizer & Chemicals Limited (Indorama) and Toyo Engineering Corporation (Toyo) for the Train 2 ammonia plant at Indorama's Port Harcourt site in Nigeria, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Under the terms of the contract, KBR will provide technology licensing, basic engineering design, proprietary equipment and catalyst for Indorama's planned second ammonia plant in Port Harcourt.

"We are privileged to have the opportunity to work with Indorama and Toyo on Indorama's second fertilizer complex in Nigeria," said John Derbyshire, President, KBR Technology & Consulting. "This contract builds on our long-established relationship with Indorama and Toyo and further highlights our clients' trust in KBR's ammonia technology."

KBR is a leader in ammonia technology and has been involved in the licensing, design, engineering, and/or construction of more than 230 grass roots ammonia plants and over 100 revamp ammonia projects globally.

Revenue associated with this project was booked into backlog of unfilled orders for KBR's Technology & Consulting Business Segment in Q4 of 2017.
MRC

PolyOne expands specialty color and additives expertise with acquisition of IQAP Masterbatch

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PolyOne Corporation, a premier global provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions, has announced the acquisition of IQAP Masterbatch Group S.L., a privately owned and innovative provider of specialty colorants and additives based in Spain with customers throughout Europe, as per the company's press release.

Founded in 1979 by Xavier Rovira, IQAP has built a technical and broad solutions portfolio that serves high-growth end markets consistent with PolyOne's focus, including transportation, packaging, consumer, wire & cable, and textiles. With two production facilities and a technology lab located in Spain, plus additional manufacturing capability in the Czech Republic, PolyOne will implement its proven invest-to-grow approach to integration and customer service.

"IQAP is a fantastic addition to our longstanding and growing expertise in color and additives innovation," said
Robert M. Patterson, chairman, president and CEO, PolyOne Corporation. "The end markets that IQAP serves are perfectly aligned with areas PolyOne knows very well, and together we will advance the possibilities for our European customers working to meet demanding new standards for design, functionality and performance."

Mr. Rovira added, "I'm thrilled for IQAP customers and employees whose future can continue to grow and prosper as part of the global PolyOne family. We evaluated many potential buyers for IQAP, and PolyOne was the clear choice that best aligns with our vision and ideals for world-class innovation and customer service."

As MRC wrote earlier, in February 2016, expanding on its global footprint and expertise in thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) innovation and design, PolyOne Corporation announced it has acquired certain technologies and assets from Kraton Performance Polymers, Inc.

PolyOne Corporation is a premier provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions with operations in specialty polymer formulations, color and additive systems, polymer distribution and specialty vinyl resins.
MRC

Rising Brent crude price shuts window on European oil exports to Asia

MOSCOW (MRC) - European crude oil loadings bound for Asia have dropped to their lowest in four years at the start of 2018 as rising Brent prices shut the arbitrage window, causing the premiums of similar Middle Eastern and Russian grades to rise as refiners make up the shortfall, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

That refiners are willing to pay up for these grades underscores the demand in Asia for light crudes, which typically yield a high volume of diesel fuel when refined, in order to cash in on high profit margins for diesel and jet fuel.

The volume of crude loading in the North Sea and the Mediterranean for Asia slumped in January to 7.6 million barrels, less than half of the 17 million barrels in January 2017, Thomson Reuters trade flow data showed.

The drop reflects the widening of the premium of European benchmark Brent to Middle East benchmark Dubai, a proxy measure of the economic viability of shipping arbitrage cargoes from Europe to Asia.

The monthly average of the Brent-Dubai spread widened in November to above USD3 a barrel, a level where the arbitrage window is considered shut, for the first time since June 2016, Thomson Reuters data showed. In mid-2017 that spread narrowed to below USD1.

The spread widened as Brent prices rose after a pipeline disruption blocked supplies of Forties, a North Sea crude grade that is key in pricing the benchmark. The wider spread combined with rising tanker rates and strong European crude demand that kept supplies there to further cut arbitrage supplies to Asia.
MRC

Indian Oil shuts Panipat HDPE/LLDPE swing plant after fire

MOSCOW (MRC) -- State-owned Indian Oil Corp shut its 350,000 mt/year high density polyethylene/linear low density polyethylene swing plant in Panipat, Haryana, following a fire at the unit Monday, a company source said Tuesday, reported Apic-online.

There are no further details on the length of the shutdown or the impact to customers, the source said.

A 300,000 mt/year HDPE plant and a 600,000 mt/year polypropylene plant at the complex are not affected, the source added.

The upstream naphtha-fed steam cracker at the site is also not affected and operating normally, the source said. The cracker has a nameplate capacity of 857,000 mt/year of ethylene.

As MRC informed before, one contractual employee of IOCL was reportedly killed in the accident while 5 others were injured. An investigation by technical team is underway to understand the cause of the accident.

Indian Oil Corporation Limited, or IndianOil, is an Indian state-owned oil and gas corporation with its headquarters in New Delhi, India.
MRC

Egypt paid USD200MM in foreign oil company arrears in January

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Egypt's Finance Minister Amr El Garhy said on Sunday the country had paid USD200 million in arrears owed to foreign oil companies in January, and would pay another USD550 million in February and March, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Egypt owed foreign oil companies USD2.4 billion at the end of June 2017, the petroleum ministry said this week. There was no newer figure.

Cairo has pledged to eliminate arrears by the end of June 2019 and not to accumulate more, part of its drive to draw new foreign investment to an energy sector that is attracting interest following several major gas discoveries.

As MRC informed before, by 2020, Egypt plans to produce more than three million tons of chemical products, under a 20-year national plan, which involves a range of products from ethylene and polyethylene (PE) to olefins and aromatics.
MRC