KBR awarded contract to revamp Haifa Chemicals nitric acid plant in Israel

MOSCOW (MRC) -- KBR announced that it has been awarded a nitric acid plant revamp contract by Haifa Chemicals Ltd for its plant in Mishor-Rotem, Israel, as per the company press release.

Under the terms of the contract, KBR subsidiary Weatherly, Inc. will design, supply and commission a complete system for the Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) of nitrogen oxides (NOx), with additional catalyst beds for N2O and NH3 slip abatement. The SCR system will be integrated into two existing Nitric Acid plants of 240 mtpd and 147 mtpd capacity that Haifa operates in Israel. Both plants were designed by KBR Weatherly and commissioned in 1987 and 1999 respectively.

"We are proud of these two successful plants that were designed by KBR Weatherly and we look forward to modifying them to meet stricter environmental regulations," said John Derbyshire, KBR President, Technology. "This revamp contract is a testimony to the trust placed by our clients in technologies from KBR Weatherly during the past six decades."

Weatherly Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of KBR, has a distinguished history serving the fertilizer industry with over 250 installations worldwide including over 75 nitric acid plants.

KBR is a global provider of differentiated professional services and technologies across the asset and program lifecycle within the Government Services and Hydrocarbons sectors. KBR employs approximately 34,000 people worldwide (including our joint ventures), with customers in more than 75 countries, and operations in 40 countries, across three synergistic global businesses
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The European Commission on Wednesday cleared U.S. chemical group Tronox to buy Saudi Arabia’s Cristal, on the condition that it sells its global business in titanium dioxide pigment for paper laminate, as per Reuters.

The Commission had investigated the market of titanium dioxide pigment, which is used in the production of products such plastics or paper, and found that the companies needed to divest a business to get approval.

"Tronox and Cristal are two of the four major players in this market but we can approve their merger because the companies offered a suitable remedy that fully addresses our competition concerns," the Commission, which oversees mergers in the European Union, said.

The Commission will have to approve the buyer of the business that Tronox will sell before clearing the deal.

Reuters reported in June that the deal would be approved.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sempra LNG & Midstream, a unit of Sempra Energy has announced that a TechnipFMC and Kiewit partnership has been selected as the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPC) contractor for the Energia Costa Azul (ECA) liquefaction project under development in Baja California, Mexico, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The TechnipFMC-Kiewit partnership will perform the engineering, planning and related activities necessary to prepare, negotiate and finalize a lump-sum EPC contract for the project, leveraging the two companies' extensive experience on liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects worldwide.

"The ECA liquefaction project is one of three North American LNG export projects we are developing - two on the Gulf Coast and one in the Pacific Basin - to help meet global demand for LNG," said Joseph A. Householder, president and chief operating officer of Sempra Energy. "This project is an exciting part of our LNG growth strategy and geographically positioned to serve Asian natural gas markets."

Permitted to be built adjacent to the existing ECA regasification facility, the liquefaction project is being developed by Sempra Energy to provide customers with direct access to west coast LNG supplies.

"Having two highly qualified construction companies, TechnipFMC and Kiewit, with international liquefaction experience will contribute to the project's success," said Octavio M.C. Simoes, president of Sempra LNG & Midstream. "ECA liquefaction will help us achieve our LNG development objectives of having a world-class LNG export terminal on the west coast of North America."

Development of the ECA liquefaction project is contingent upon: obtaining customer commitments; completing the required commercial agreements (including a definitive EPC contract); securing all necessary permits and approvals; obtaining financing and incentives; reaching a final investment decision; and other factors associated with the investment and the size, phasing and schedule of the development.

In addition to the ECA liquefaction development, Sempra LNG & Midstream is developing a three-train, 14-million-tonnes-per-annum (Mtpa) liquefaction facility at Cameron LNG in Hackberry, La., that is currently in construction. Last week, Sempra LNG & Midstream announced that Bechtel was selected as the EPC contractor for a third project, Port Arthur LNG, a two-train 11-Mtpa liquefaction facility in Port Arthur, Texas. Completion of these projects is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties.

As MRC wrote before, in June 2016, Technip, a world leader in project management, engineering and construction for the energy industry announced the acquisition of Hummingbird ethanol to ethylene technology from BP Chemicals.

Technip is a world leader in project management, engineering and construction for the energy industry.
Present in 45 countries, Technip has state-of-the-art industrial assets on all continents and operates a fleet of specialized vessels for pipeline installation and subsea construction.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- S&B announced that it was selected by Phillips 66 to perform engineering, procurement, and construction for two NGL fractionation plants at the client’s Sweeny Hub in Old Ocean, Texas, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The plants will have a combined capacity of 300,000 barrels per day (BPD) and will be based on S&B’s proven fractionation plant design.

“This contract represents the twelfth fractionation plant awarded to S&B in the last five years,” said James Brookshire, CEO of S&B. "With over 1.3 million BPD of fractionation capacity successfully designed and constructed across the country, and another 900,000 BPD of capacity currently in progress, S & B continues to be the go-to contractor for NGL fractionation projects in the USA."

The work will be executed by a proven project team using S&B’s industry-leading project management system (iPIMS) and innovative advanced work packaging process (IPPTM). This execution approach will ensure the project delivery is consistent with S & B’s uncompromising commitment to safety and quality.

As MRC reported earlier, US-based Phillips 66 remained open to developing another ethane cracker for its Chevron Phillips Chemical (CP Chem) joint venture, the refiner's CEO said in March 2018.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Arlanxeo, a leading global manufacturer of synthetic elastomers, has launched Levapren PXL, a new ethylene-vinyl acetate rubber (EVM), as per the company's press release.

The new EVM products are characterized by a particularly high viscosity and easier processing, which is needed when manufacturing high-quality hoses, cable sheathings and floor coverings.

Arlanxeo utilizes reactive extrusion for the production of this new EVM series. In contrast to precrosslinking via radiation, this technology uses very small amounts of peroxide to precrosslink the polymer, while ensuring that no traces of the crosslinker are left in the finished product. The result is a homogeneously precrosslinked, free-flowing granulate with very good rheological properties. "Levapren PXL can be processed quickly and easily in various mixing procedures; extrudates show very good surface quality,: says Jorg Stumbaum, Technical Manager at the Arlanxeo High Performance Elastomers business unit.

Higher Tensile Strength, Less Adhesion

Reinforcing fillers, such as highly active carbon blacks, can be efficiently dispersed with Levapren PXL. A dual advantage: "This allows for the production of hoses with a tensile strength up to two megapascals higher than those with conventional EVM types," says Stumbaum. The PXL variants also show a significantly reduced tack and adhesion to metal, which is good for processing in internal mixers and on rolling mills.

With Levapren PXL, Arlanxeo now offers a precrosslinked EVM variant that is tailor-made for high-quality, oil and fuel-resistant rubber hoses. In addition to the use in the wire and cable or automotive industries, the free-flowing granulates are also suitable for rubber and plastics processors with continuous mixing processes, who were previously unable to use Levapren. This means that the EVM rubber from Arlanxeo can now be used in an even more flexible and versatile manner.

The Levapren 500 PXL, 600 PXL, 700 PXL and 800 PXL variants with vinyl acetate contents between 50 and 80 percent have been introduced to the market since early 2018.

As MRC informed before, in March 2018, Arlanxeo signed an agreement with Saudi Aramco Products Trading company, headquartered in Dhahran, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, pertaining to the marketing and sales of EPDM rubber.

Arlanxeo was established in April 2016 as a joint venture of Lanxess - a world-leading specialty chemicals company based in Cologne, Germany - and Saudi Aramco - a major global energy and chemicals enterprise headquartered in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The two partners each hold a 50-percent interest in the joint venture. The business operations of ARLANXEO are assigned to the High Performance Elastomers and Tire & Specialty Rubbers business units.
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