ExxonMobil Basestocks strengthens branded distributor network with Zestcor in South Africa

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil announced it has signed a new distributor agreement with Zestcor, an experienced sales, procurement and supply chain management company in South Africa, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The agreement is designed to support an efficient and reliable supply of high-quality base stocks in South Africa and the sub-Saharan region.

Zestcor has a distinct local business footprint in the South African petrochemicals industry as a Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Company. This commercial relationship will expand ExxonMobil’s global presence and provide local customers additional access to base stocks capable of meeting a broad range of blending needs.

“We are committed to providing a reliable supply of high-quality products to our valued customers around the world,” said Julia Ruessmann, EAME Basestocks and Specialties Sales Manager at ExxonMobil. “Zestcor not only complements ExxonMobil’s position in South Africa by providing local supply chain solutions but supports our long-term commitment to meeting customer demands in country."

Zestcor is uniquely equipped to receive bulk ExxonMobil shipments and handle both truck loading and delivery, as well as pipeline transfers, with their strategically placed bulk onshore tank storage facilities at Bidvest Tank Terminals in Island View, Durban.

“At Zestcor, product integrity and quality control are at the forefront of what we do,” said Nic Dunn, Director at Zestcor. “Partnering with a global leader like ExxonMobil, who not only shares these values, but promotes them as a pillar of their business operations, makes perfect sense for us. We also believe that South Africa will benefit by having additional local access to high-quality base stocks."

As a distributor of ExxonMobil base stocks, Zestcor must adhere to the company’s product integrity systems to ensure product quality and consistency.
MRC

Fluor awarded contract for Marathon Petroleum STAR program at Galveston Bay Refinery

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Fluor Corporation announced that it was selected by a division of Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) to execute the engineering and procurement scope for MPC’s South Texas Asset Repositioning (STAR) program at its Galveston Bay refinery in Texas City, Texas. Fluor booked the undisclosed contract value into backlog in the first quarter of 2018, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

“This project will continue the development of MPC’s Galveston Bay refinery into a world-class refining complex,” said Mark Fields, president of Fluor’s Energy & Chemicals business in the Americas. “Fluor and MPC have a proven track record of delivering similar programs, most recently in Detroit and Garyville, Louisiana. Fluor values its strong working relationship with MPC and is excited to be part of the STAR program.”

The STAR program further integrates MPC’s former Texas City refinery into the adjacent Galveston Bay refinery, which is now the second largest refinery in the U.S. It will improve the refinery’s efficiency and reliability by increasing the residual oil processing capabilities, upgrading the crude unit and integrating facility logistics.

Fluor has been engaged in the STAR program since 2013, performing the feasibility studies and early engineering work. The program is scheduled to be completed in 2022.

Fluor is also currently providing engineering, procurement and construction management services on the reconfiguration that will enable the Galveston Bay refinery to achieve updated U.S. Environmental Protection agency Tier 3 gasoline sulfur standards.
MRC

Chinese refineries process record amount of crude oil in March

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chinese refineries processed a record of more than 12.1 MMbpd of crude oil in March, boosted by ample government import quotas and steady margins, reported Reuters.

The world's second-largest oil user processed 51.51 million tonnes of crude last month, equivalent to 12.13 million bpd, according to the National Statistical Bureau. That beat the previous record of 12.03 mln bpd, set last November, the bureau's data showed.

Last month's number compared with an average of 11.56 MMbpd for the first two months, and 11.19 MMbpd in March last year.

Throughput for the first quarter gained 7.5 percent on-year to 148.72 million tonnes, or 12.06 MMbpd. That represents an increase in runs of 841,600 bpd during the period.

The record March refinery output echoes bumper crude oil imports into the world's top buyer, which made its second-highest purchases on record last month.

At the end of last year, China issued 121.3 million tonnes of crude oil import quotas under its first batch of allowances for 2018, mostly to independent plants. That compared with a total of 93.2 million tonnes of quotas issued to independents in 2017.

But crude runs are now expected to head lower as refiners enter the peak maintenance season.

At least three major state refineries, with a combined crude processing capacity of 860 Mbpd, have kicked off overhauls that will last 40-60 days between April and May. Four independent plants with a combined capacity of 200 Mbpd also started maintenance this month.

Meanwhile, the statistics bureau data showed China's March crude oil output stood at 15.96 million tonnes, or 3.76 MMbpd, flat compared with the average levels in the first two months and near the lowest since June of 2011.

While higher-cost producers like top state giants PetroChina and Sinopec may be slower to ramp up production as benchmark Brent crude tops USD70 a barrel, lower-cost offshore producer CNOOC Ltd is set to pump more.

CNOOC, which reported all-in per barrel development costs of USD32.50 last year, aims to speed up development projects this year. The offshore oil and gas specialist has targeted output of 470-480 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) this year, up from 469 million boe in 2017.

China's natural gas output last month came in at 13.5 billion cubic meters (bcm), up 0.2 percent from the same month a year earlier, the statistics bureau said. That compared with a total of 26.2 bcm in the first two months of the year.

The world's No.3 consumer of the fuel last week began injecting gas into 25 underground storage units as demand drops after the peak heating season ended in March.
MRC

Formosa Petrochemical completes maintenance at RFCC unit

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Formosa Petrochemical Corp (FPCC) has brought on-stream its residual fluid catalytic cracker (RFCC) unit in Mailiao, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Taiwan informed that the company has resumed operations at the unit on April 12, 2018. The unit was taken off-line for for maintenance in early-March 2018.

Located in Mailiao, Taiwan, the RFCC has a propylene capacity of 350,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed before, on 19 March, 2018, FPCC undertook an emergency shutdown at its No. 1 cracker in Mailiao owing to technical issues. The plant was expected to remain off-line for around one day. Located at Mailiao in Taiwan, the No. 1 cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 700,000 mt/year, propylene production capacity of 350,000 mt/year and butadiene production capacity of 109,000 mt/year.

Formosa Petrochemical is involved primarily in the business of refining crude oil, selling refined petroleum products and producing and selling olefins (including ethylene, propylene, butadiene and BTX) from its naphtha cracking operations. Formosa Petrochemical is also the largest olefins producer in Taiwan and its olefins products are mostly sold to companies within the Formosa Group. Among the company's chemical products are paraxylene (PX), phenyl ethylene, acetone and pure terephthalic acid (PTA). The company's plastic products include acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) resins, polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP) and panlite (PC).
MRC

AkzoNobel names new UK and Ireland managing director

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Paints and coatings giant AkzoNobel Decorative Paints UK has appointed a new managing director for the UK and Ireland, as per Insidermedia.

Matt Pullen, who has been managing director of AkzoNobel Decorative Paints UK and Ireland and UK country director since January 2015, will leave the business at the end of May 2018. He will be succeeded by UK and Ireland sales director Alistair McAuley.

Pullen joined the manufacturer in 2010 from Norfolk turkey farming business Bernard Matthews. He was originally marketing director for the UK and Ireland, adding the Northern Europe region to his portfolio in 2011.

In 2016, he established the Dulux Academy training centre. He managed the opening of the company's GBP100m paint factory in Ashington at the end of 2017, while also overseeing the closure of the Slough Manufacturing factory where paint has been made for nearly a 100 years.

Alistair McAuley joined AkzoNobel in 2000 when his family business was acquired by ICI. He has held senior roles in marketing, sales and the Dulux Decorator Centre (DDC), and co-authored the company's new three-year strategy with Pullen, launched earlier this year.

Jan-Piet van Kesteren, managing director, decorative paints, Europe and Africa, said: "Matt made a vital contribution to AkzoNobel over a critical time. He steered the UK through an unprecedented period of change across the market, in the UK economy and within the business. AkzoNobel's UK market share continued to grow throughout this time against enormous pressures.

"In Alistair McAuley, we have a worthy successor with significant industry experience in a very wide variety of roles across the business."

AkzoNobel employs more than 3,500 people across the UK, with sites in Slough, Ashington, Felling, Stowmarket, Leicester, Southampton, Birmingham, Hull, Deeside, Leyland, Cork, Dublin, Altrincham, Runcorn and Didcot.
MRC