Why Canada is the next frontier for shale oil

MOSCOW (MRC) - The revolution in U.S. shale oil has battered Canada's energy industry in recent years, ending two decades of rapid expansion and job creation in the nation's vast oil sands, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Now Canada is looking to its own shale fields to repair the economic damage. Canadian producers and global oil majors are increasingly exploring the Duvernay and Montney formations, which they say could rival the most prolific U.S. shale fields.

Canada is the first country outside the United States to see large-scale development of shale resources, which already account for 8 percent of total Canadian oil output. China, Russia and Argentina also have ample shale reserves but have yet to overcome the obstacles to full commercial development. Canada, by contrast, offers many of the same advantages that allowed oil firms to launch the shale revolution in the United States: numerous private energy firms with appetite for risk; deep capital markets; infrastructure to transport oil; low population in regions that contain shale reserves; and plentiful water to pump into shale wells.

Together, the Duvernay and Montney formations in Canada hold marketable resources estimated at 500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, 20 billion barrels of natural gas liquids and 4.5 billion barrels of oil, according to the National Energy Board, a Canadian regulator. "The Montney is thought to have about half the recoverable resources of the whole oil sands region, so it's formidable," Marty Proctor, chief executive of Calgary-based Seven Generations Energy, told Reuters in an interview.

Canada's shale output stands at about 335,000 bpd, according to energy consultants Wood Mackenzie, which forecasts output should grow to 420,000 bpd in a decade. The pace of output growth could quicken and the estimated size of the resources could rise as activity picks up and knowledge of the fields improves, according to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.

Seven Generations and Encana Corp, also based in Calgary, are among leading producers developing the two regions. Global majors including Royal Dutch Shell and ConocoPhillips - who pulled back from the oil sands last year - are also developing Canadian shale assets.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SunPower Corp. announced that an 8-megawatt SunPower Oasis Power Plant was recently completed and is now operating at Total's La Mede refinery in Chateauneuf-les-Martigues, France, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Total Solar is proud of the start-up of its photovoltaic power plant in La Mede. The project was completed in a very short time and in accordance with the strict safety standards specific to a refinery," said Julien Pouget, senior vice president Renewables at Total. "It demonstrates our willingness to continue to actively help drive the growth of solar power in France through the solarisation of industrial sites."

"SunPower delivers cost-competitive solar energy through innovative, integrated complete solutions such as our Oasis platform," said Tom Werner, SunPower president and CEO. "We commend Total for this forward-thinking, milestone project, and for using high performance SunPower technology to ensure long-term value."

The SunPower Oasis platform is a fully integrated power plant solution designed to streamline construction, reduce operations and maintenance costs, and maximize value for customers. The high efficiency SunPower E-Series solar panels that are mounted on the Oasis solar trackers at the La Mede facility produce 30 percent more energy than conventional solar panels in the first year of operation.

As MRC informed before, in March 2016, The National Petrochemical Company (NPC) of Iran and France-based Total signed an memorandum of understanding (MoU) to build a petrochemical complex in Iran. The complex will include a world-scale steam cracker unit in the coastal area. It will be based on a combination of feedstocks comprised of ethane, naphtha and LPG, as well as other available feed. In addition to steam cracker unit, the complex will include relevant downstream units for supplying its products to domestic and international markets.

SunPower is a majority-owned subsidiary of Total SA.

Total S.A. is a French multinational oil and gas company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world with business in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. The company's petrochemical products cover two main groups: base chemicals and the consumer polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene) that are derived from them.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Production of polypropylene (PP) in Russia increased to about 1.4 mln tonnes in 2017, up 2% compared to 2016.
The greatest increase in production was shown by SIBUR Tobolsk and Tomskneftekhim, according to MRC ScanPlast.

December PP production in the country grew to 126,800 tonnes, compared with 115,300 tonnes in November; SIBUR Tobolsk and Stavrolen increased their capacity utilisation. In general, in January-December PP production in the Russian Federation exceeded the level of 1.4 mln tonnes against 1.377 mln tonnes a year earlier, the greatest increase in production showed SIBUR Tobolsk and Tomskneftekhim, while Neftekhimiya, Stavrolen and Nizhnekamskneftekhim lowered production indicators.

Structure of PP production over the reported period looked as follows.

The largest producer of PP in Russia - SIBUR Tobolsk in December produced about 46,600 tonnes against 45,900 tonnes a month earlier.
SIBUR Tobolsk's PP production exceeded 510,500 tonnes in January-December 2017, up 10% year on year. Such a major increase in the output was caused by the absence of the plant's shutdown for a scheduled maintenance this year.

Nizhnekamskneftekhim decreased capacity utilisation in December, total polypropylene production had decreased to 16,900 tonnes against 18,000 tonnes in November. The producer's PP production in January-December decreased by 3% from last year's level to 210,200 tonnes.

Poliom (Titan Group) also last month increased the capacity utilisation after the problems in November; December PP output was about 18,400 tonnes against 12,600 tonnes a month earlier. Total PP production at the plant over the reported period was about 205,300 tonnes, up 1% year on year.

Tomskneftekhim in December produced about 12,900 tonnes of polypropylene to 12,100 tonnes in November. Total PP production at Tomskneftekhim over the reported period reached 141,500 tonnes, compared with 129,900 tonnes year on year.

December PP production at Ufaorgsintez decreased to about 11,000 tonnes from 11,200 tonnes a month earlier. The producer's PP output decreased to 124,500 tonnes in January-December 2017 compared with 123,100 tonnes year on year.

Neftekhimiya (Kapotnya) decreased capacity utilisation in December, total polypropylene production had increased to 12,200 tonnes against 8,100 tonnes in November. The producer's PP output in 2017 reached 107,100 tonnes, down 17% year on year. A low indicator of the current year was a result of a long scheduled maintenance works in March-April.

Stavrolen (Lukoil) also kept production volumes in December at the lower level, and the final production of propylene polymers was 8,700 tonnes. Overall PP production at the plant reached 101,000 tonnes in January-December, down 10% year on year.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- India needs investment to the tune of 300 billion dollars in the next 10 years to double its oil refining capacity, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing with reference to Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's statement.

"Oil refining capacity in the country stands at over 247 million ton at present and demand for petro products, which is rising rapidly, will touch 600 million ton by the year 2040," Pradhan said.

Noting that the country has built a robust refining and petrochemicals sector over the years, the minister said several brownfield projects are already in the pipeline for creating capacities of around 142 million tons.

Pradhan said two major greenfield projects are all set to be launched to add 69 million ton of new refining capacities soon. The Barmer Refinery in Rajasthan will be of 9 mtpa, while the West Coast Refinery and Petrochemicals will create 60 million ton capacity. To achieve the target of 600 million ton capacity, it is necessary to add over 20 million ton almost every year, he said.

Emphasizing the need for a state-of-the-art refining and petrochemical industry, he said it is necessary to concentrate on research and development in the public sector.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- DuPont has contracted Toyobo to manufacture DuPont Apexa biodegradable polymers, developed by DuPont Industrial Biosciences, using Toyobo's aluminum-based GS Catalyst, as per GV.

Toyobo plans to produce the biopolymers at its Iwakuni production center in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, starting 2018. In addition, the partners have agreed to jointly promote the use of Apexa globally.

"Compared with conventional degradable plastics such as polylactic acids and polybutylene succinate, DuPont Apexa excels in durability and heat-resistance," Toyobo noted.

"It has good processability and practicability, close to those of polyethylene terephthalate plastics," it added.

As MRC informed earlier, on 31 August 2017, Dow Chemical Co and DuPont successfully completed their planned USD130 billion merger to form DowDuPont. Dow and DuPont announced the merger in December 2015.
MRC