Exxon expects Papua New Guinea LNG project to restart in May

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil Corp expects to restart production from its Papua New Guinea liquefied natural gas (LNG) project at the start of May after it was shut following an earthquake in February, reported Reuters with reference to ExxonMobil LNG Vice President Emma Cochrane.

The $19 billion LNG facility, opened in 2014 in a remote location in one of Asia’s poorest and most politically troubled countries, has been closed since the powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake.

The project is considered one of the world’s best-performing LNG operations, despite the challenge of drilling for gas and building a plant and pipeline in the remote Papua New Guinea jungle. Australia’s Oil Search and Santos are Exxon’s main partners in the project.

The LNG export terminal may not be able to produce at full capacity at first and will likely ramp up gradually, Cochrane said on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum.

"We are hopeful that we will be able to start in the beginning of May. We are actually ahead of schedule," Cochrane told Reuters.

ExxonMobil has said there has not been any indication that the 700 km (435 mile) pipeline that delivers gas to its coastal LNG plant had been damaged by the quake, which flattened villages, killed dozens of people and spoilt water sources.

Cochrane also said the company has recertified the reserves in its P’nyang field in Papua New Guinea, and the reserves are higher than it previously thought.

"That gives us the potential to expand the facilities in the P’nyang field for the PNG LNG foundation project," she said.

Exxon is likely to take a final investment decision this year on expanding its Golden Pass LNG terminal in Texas - a joint venture between Qatar Petroleum, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips, Cochrane said.

The company intends to expand its facility in Qatar, but "they have still not made a decision on partnering," Cochrane said.

"We very much hope that Exxon Mobil will be a part of that story. But Qatar Petroleum is still considered their partnership choices."

As MRC informed before, in December 2016, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) received an order for supply of systems to support a large-scale polyethylene production train for ExxonMobil's Beaumont polyethylene plant. The new production train is slated to be completed in 2019, and will produce 650,000 tons of polyethylene per year.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world's oil and about 2% of the world's energy.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Wacker Metroark Chemicals Pvt. Ltd. (WMC) has expanded its existing silicone production at its Amtala site near Kolkata, India, with a new hydrosilylation plant for manufacturing functional silicone fluids, as per GV.

The plant with an annual capacity of over 6,000 t was officially opened on 20 March 2018.

According to the company, the expansion is a response to growing regional demand for speciality silicones for use in the textile, personal-care, rigid and flexible polyurethane foam, and agrochemical sectors. In PU foams, e.g., for car interior trim and insulation materials, functional silicone fluids serve as additives for adjusting the cell structure. The investment for the plant amounted to around EUR 6 million.

"With this expansion of our production, we are broadening our product portfolio and can thereby open up new markets in the growth regions of India and Southeast Asia," said Christian Hartel, Executive Board member at Wacker Chemie AG.

WMC has its registered office and production facilities near Kolkata, while sales are headquartered in Mumbai. The company is responsible for all marketing and sales activities in the Indian subcontinent relating to Wacker silicones. Wacker owns a 51 % share in the joint venture, which was set up in 1998 and is active in Greater India's most important trade centers, maintaining sales offices and warehouses in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, as well as a liaison office in Dhaka, Bangladesh. WMC currently has 260 employees.

As MRC wrote before, Wacker Chemie AG is expanding its existing production plants for dispersions and dispersible polymer powders in South Korea. In early November 2017, Wacker celebrated the official start of construction on the major project during a symbolic ground-breaking ceremony. The Group is building a new spray dryer for dispersible polymer powders at its Ulsan site, which will have a total capacity of 80,000 metric tons per year. The Munich-based chemicals company is also constructing an additional reactor for dispersions based on vinyl acetate-ethylene copolymer (EVA), which are needed as the raw material for the spray dryer to produce dispersible polymer powders.

Wacker Chemie AG is a worldwide operating company in the chemical business, founded 1914. The company is controlled by the Wacker-family holding more than 50 percent of the shares. The corporation is operating more than 25 production sites in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The product range includes silicone rubbers, polymer products like ethylene vinyl acetate redispersible polymer powder, chemical materials, polysilicon and wafers for semiconductor industry.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- BP announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding to explore areas of cooperation with Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras), as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Through this strategic alliance, Petrobras and BP have committed to exploring potential joint commercial agreements in areas of mutual interest in upstream, downstream, trading and across low carbon initiatives, inside and outside Brazil. The alliance is also expected to include the transfer of technology, as well as joint training and research.

Pedro Parente, president of Petrobras, commented: “Our partnership is based on common values and business principles that guide both companies. We started by joining forces in the last bidding rounds and now we are working to expand the partnership further, beyond upstream."

Bob Dudley, BP chief executive officer, said: “Petrobras is a world-class energy company with which BP has built strong relationships over many years. We are now excited to deepen our partnership and explore even more opportunities together across all our businesses – in the upstream, downstream, trading and low carbon – both in Brazil and beyond. We believe that working together in this alliance can deliver real value for both BP and Petrobras."

BP has been present in Brazil for over 60 years, supplying fuels and lubricants, exploring for oil and gas, and developing biofuels. BP and Petrobras currently partner in 16 exploration blocks in Brazil and are both members of the Oil & Gas Climate Initiative, a voluntary, CEO-led initiative which aims to lead the oil and gas industry response to climate change.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Supervisory Board of Covestro has agreed on an amicable retirement of Patrick Thomas’ tenure as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) effective May 31, 2018, at today’s meeting, as per Automotiveworld.

Patrick Thomas contract as CEO would have originally ended on September 30, 2018. Already in May 2017, Patrick Thomas had informed the Supervisory Board that he would not be available for a further term beyond 2018. Subsequently, the Supervisory Board appointed Dr. Markus Steilemann as his successor as CEO of Covestro thus ensuring continuity and a smooth transition.

Dr. Richard Pott, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, said: "We have deep respect for Patrick Thomas’ excellent work at Covestro. He has significantly contributed to Covestro’s remarkable success story. Ever since Covestro became independent in 2015, the company achieved record results continuing its profitable growth path until today. Not only the financial metrics are notable: Under his leadership, Covestro developed an independent corporate culture and became a forerunner in innovation and sustainabilty in the chemical industry and a highly attractive employer. I would like to express my sincere gratitude for Patrick Thomas on behalf of the Supervisory Board and all Covestro employees."

Patrick Thomas has been CEO of Covestro and its predecessor Bayer MaterialScience since 2007. Prior to that, he held various positions across the chemicals industry. Thomas has been taking leading roles in numerous industry associations such as Cefic (Conseil Europeen de l’Industrie Chimique / European Chemical Council), WPC (World Plastics Council) and VCI (Verband der Chemischen Industrie). Furthermore, he was president of PlasticsEurope from 2011 to 2017. Patrick Thomas is also a member of the global jury of the ‘Young Champions of the Earth’ competition, an initiative by the United Nations and Covestro for young people to showcase innovative projects to save the environment.

Dr. Markus Steilemann, currently Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), will succeed Patrick Thomas, as announced already in May 2017. With the retirement of Patrick Thomas and Dr. Markus Steilemann becoming CEO of Covestro, the company’s Board of Management will consist of three members. Dr. Klaus Schafer, whose contract has been renewed in January 2018 until the end of 2022, will continue to act as Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Dr. Thomas Toepfer, Covestro’s new Chief Financial Officer (CFO), came into office on April 1, 2018.

With 2017 sales of EUR 14.1 billion, Covestro is among the world’s largest polymer companies. Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, construction, wood processing and furniture, and electrical and electronics industries. Other sectors include sports and leisure, cosmetics, health and the chemical industry itself. Covestro has 30 production sites worldwide and employs approximately 16,200 people (calculated as full-time equivalents) at the end of 2017.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Orion Engineered Carbons LLC has signed a contract for Topsoe’s sustainable flue gas cleaning technology, SNOX, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The solution will remove SOx, NOx and dust particles from tail gases at Orion’s carbon black plant in Ivanhoe, Louisiana, USA. It is the first time that SNOX is applied in the carbon black industry.

Since 2014, Orion has conducted in-depth analyses of the SNOX process, including investigative site visits to existing Topsoe plants and testing the concept at one of Orion’s manufacturing facilities. In particular, Orion was convinced by the second-to-none sustainability profile of SNOX, which does not consume any reagents, apart from ammonia for the NOx reduction, and does not consume any water. Other factors that played a major role in their selection were the highest available energy efficiency and the very low emissions level that meets the stringent environmental regulations.

The agreement with Orion includes engineering, license, proprietary equipment, spare parts, catalyst, and future
supervision tasks during commissioning and start-up, as well as service obligations during commercial operation. The
SNOXplant is scheduled to be in full commercial operation by April 2021.

The SNOX™ process removes sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulates from flue gases. The sulfur is recovered as sellable sulfuric acid and the nitrogen oxides are reduced to harmless free nitrogen. The process is based on catalytic reactions and does not consume water or absorbents. Neither does it produce any waste.
The heat generated in the process can be reused to preheat air in Orion’s process which improves overall efficiency
and economics considerably.
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