Shell Convent refinery FCCU down for two weeks

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s 45,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) heavy oil hydrocracker at its Convent, Louisiana, refinery remained shut following a Sunday fire, reported Reuters with reference to sources familiar with plant operations.

Also, the refinery’s 92,000-bpd gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) may be shut up to two weeks for repairs to a malfunctioning compressor, the sources said.

Shell spokesman Ray Fisher declined to comment on operations at the 209,787-bpd Convent refinery.

On Sunday, Fisher said there were no injuries or offsite impact from the early morning fire at the heavy oil hydrocracker, called the H-Oil Unit.

Shell attempted to restart the H-Oil Unit late on Sunday, the sources said.

The FCCU was completely shut for a planned overhaul from May 30 until Thursday, when workers were attempting to get products from the unit back into specification. A compressor on the unit began malfunctioning with excessive vibration, the sources said.

The H-Oil Unit is an atypical hydrocracker because it converts residual crude oil into motor fuels, especially diesel. Residual crude is normally processed by coking units.

Hydrocrackers use hydrogen and a catalyst under high heat and pressure to produce motor fuels, usually starting with gas oil as a feedstock.

FCCUs use a catalyst under high heat and pressure to convert gas oil into gasoline.

The planned overhaul on the FCCU is intended to keep the unit in operation for another five years. Until last year, Shell had planned to shutter the FCCU to reduce redundant operations at the company’s two refineries in Louisiana, which are to be linked by pipelines.

As MRC informed before, in March 2018, Shell EP Middle East Holdings B.V. completed the sale of the entire share capital of Shell Iraq B.V (SIBV), which held its 19.6% stake in the West Qurna 1 oil field, for USD406 million, to a subsidiary of ITOCHU Corporation.

Royal Dutch Shell plc is incorporated in England and Wales, has its headquarters in The Hague and is listed on the London, Amsterdam, and New York stock exchanges. Shell companies have operations in more than 70 countries and territories with businesses including oil and gas exploration and production; production and marketing of liquefied natural gas and gas to liquids; manufacturing, marketing and shipping of oil products and chemicals and renewable energy projects.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Plastic footwear manufacturer Crocs Inc is closing down its two remaining own manufacturing facilities in Mexico and Italy as part of its turnaround program that launched in 2014, as per Plasticsnews.

In an Aug. 8 investors presentation, the Niwot, Colo.-based company said it would outsource all production and close down 160 stores to bring the total number of outlets to 400.

Additionally, to improve profitability, the company is looking to reduce its SG&A (selling, general and administrative) run rate by approximately USD75 million to USD85 million by 2019.

This, Crocs said, will be achieved 70 percent through store closures and 30 percent by increasing operating efficiencies, which will include global ERP (enterprise resource planning) and standardization.

Crocs reported strong sales in the second quarter results of 2018, with sales growing 4.7 percent year-on-year to USD328 million.

The growth was achieved despite a USD22 million loss due to operating fewer stores and business model changes.

The company’s e-commerce grew 23.8 percent, wholesale grew 7.2 percent, and retail comparable store sales increased 7.1 percent.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Mexican state oil company Pemex said its Salina Cruz refinery resumed processing crude on Friday after a power outage had shut it down since Wednesday night, reported Reuters.

The Salina Cruz refinery, Pemex’s largest, has an installed capacity to process 330,000 barrels of crude oil per day (bpd).

As of June, the facility was processing slightly more than 200 Mbpd of crude, according to Pemex data.

As MRC informed previously, in June 2018, Petroleos Mexicanos disclosed the results of the bidding process for the rehabilitation and commissioning works to be carried out on the H-Oil Plant located in the Miguel Hidalgo refinery in Tula, in the state of Hidalgo. This project will increase the production of ultra-low sulphur gasoline, in compliance with environmental regulations in effect, and the handling of crude oil for production of other fuels, such as diesel and jet fuel.

Pemex, Mexican Petroleum, is a Mexican state-owned petroleum company. Pemex has a total asset worth of USD415.75 billion, and is the world's second largest non-publicly listed company by total market value, and Latin America's second largest enterprise by annual revenue as of 2009. Company produces such polymers, as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- As part of pledge to use only recycled plastic nationwide by 2025, France has announced plans to introduce a penalty system next year that would increase the costs of consumer goods with packaging made of non-recycled plastic, as per Canplastics.

As reported by French news outlets, Brune Poirson, secretary of state for ecological transition, said the move was one of several to be implemented in coming years, including a deposit-refund scheme for plastic bottles.

"Declaring war on plastic is not enough. We need to transform the French economy," she told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper on Aug. 12.

Under the new plan, products with recycled plastic packaging could cost up to 10 per cent less, Poirson said. “When there’s a choice between two bottles, one made of recycled plastic and the other without, the first will be less expensive,” she said. "When non-recycled plastic will cost more, it will eliminate much of the excessive packaging."

France – which currently recycles around 25 per cent of its plastic – has already outlawed single-use plastic bags in supermarkets unless they can be composted.

The French government also aims to increase taxes on burying trash in landfills while cutting taxes for recycling operations, hoping to address what it sees as the growing problem of tons of plastic finding its way into oceans.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- To combat a global shortage of nylon 6/6 resin, materials firm Invista will build a USD1 billion plant in Shanghai making adiponitrile, a key nylon 6/6 feedstock that’s been in short supply, as per Plasticsnews.

Construction on the plant would begin in 2020, with production starting in 2023, officials with Wichita, Kan.-based Invista said in an Aug. 8 news release. They added that they’ve started the project “to satisfy the strong, local demand for the nylon 6/6 intermediate chemical."

Engineering work for the plant is underway. The plant will have a USD1 billion price tag and annual production capacity of at least 660 million pounds of ADN.

Invista Intermediates Vice President Kyle Redinger has accepted a newly created role dedicated to meeting China’s long-term needs for ADN through capital investments, asset development and commercial arrangements.

"Given China’s strong demand for ADN and its commitment to advanced, energy-efficient technologies, Invista’s butadiene-based ADN is the best choice for capital investment in the region," he said in the release.

Invista "supplies more of the merchant market than any other ADN producer, so we want to ensure those customers have the best technology available," he added.

The last world-scale ADN plant was built more than 35 years ago, according to Redinger, so “this is a special time for the industry, and I’m extremely proud to lead Invista’s efforts to deliver this new facility."

ADN is used to make nylon resins, fibers and other specialty materials such as hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) for coatings. Invista Intermediates president Bill Greenfield added that officials “are pleased by the feedback we have received in the market and are confident we will reach agreements with selected partners over the next few months."

Officials added that, over the past five years, Invista has invested more than USD600 million in China to support the nylon market, including a 475 million pound capacity HMD plant and a 330 million pound capacity resin plant, at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park.

Invista ranks as one of the world’s largest producers of fibers and related specialty chemicals and resins.

Higher-than-expected demand for nylon 6/6 — which is used in many automotive parts — and lack of investment in new ADN capacity has created global tightness for nylon 6/6. This in turn has led to higher selling prices for the material, longer delivery times and in some cases has led processors to consider using replacement materials.
MRC