Motiva Port Arthur gasoline, alky, coking units return

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Motiva Enterprises returned the gasoline-producing, alkylation and small coking units to normal operation at its 603,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Port Arthur, Texas, refinery, the nation’s largest, on Monday, reported Reuters with reference to sources familiar with plant operations.

Motiva’s media relations office declined to comment.

The 82,000 bpd gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracking unit (FCCU 3) and the 18,000-bpd alkylation units were knocked out of production on Sunday by a malfunction, the sources said. The units began restarting on Sunday night.

A control valve on the 54,000-bpd coker malfunctioned early on Monday but the unit did not shut down, the sources said. The coker is the smaller of two at the refinery.

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

Alkylation units convert refining by-products into octane-boosting components of gasoline.

Cokers convert residual crude oil into feedstock for motor fuels and petroleum coke, a coal substitute.

As MRC informed before, in mid-July 2018, Motiva Enterprises completed repairs to the gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) at its 603,000 barrel per day (bpd) Port Arthur, Texas.

Motiva is a subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s national oil company.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shenhua Xinjiang Mining Co has restarted its low density polyethylene (LDPE) plant, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source informed that the company has resumed operations at the unit on August 28, 2018. The plant was shut for maintenance on August 4, 2018.

Located at Xinjiang in China, the plant has a LDPE production capacity of 270,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote previously, in late July, 2017, Shenhua Xinjiang Mining Co took off-stream its LDPE plant at Xinjiang owing to technical issues. The unplanned outage at the unit remained in force until August 10, 2017.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- At the beginning of September, Unipetrol will start the planned shutdown of its steam cracker unit at Litvinov, as per the company's press release.

It will also suspend operation of two polyethylene units and one polypropylene unit. From to September 3 to 30, Unipetrol will suspend operation of the entire petrochemical complex to carry out maintenance and upgrades. The total cost will reach CZK 180 million, half of which is intended for new investment projects.

"The construction of a new boiler house for the steam cracker unit has reached the stage when we need to provide a connection to the existing steam cracker technology. This implementation of so-called linking points is the most important task of the planned technological shutdown. We will use this necessary shutdown to perform maintenance on and modernize all the production units in the petrochemical production section," explained Lubos Bernard, Head of Steam-Cracker Unit Production Team at the Unipetrol Group.

Besides implementing the linking points for the new steam cracker boiler house, a new operator interface in the control room will be installed, several pipeline routes will be changed, and regular cleaning of the technological equipment will be carried out during the shutdown of the petrochemical section. The most important part of the shutdown of the polyethylene and polypropylene units will involve installing a so-called intelligent shutdown system, which in the event of a power outage will ensure a controlled shutdown of major electrical equipment. Installing this system to oversee the new PE3 polyethylene unit will further enhance safety in the petrochemical section.

Shutdown of the steam cracker unit at Litvinov will also affect Spolana Neratovice, which connects to the chemical plant at Litvinov via an ethylene pipeline. Even there, however, they will use this shutdown and partial reduction in production to carry out regular maintenance and modernization of their technology.

The gradual suspension of production begins on August 28. Complete production shutdown is scheduled for September 3. Termination of the shutdown and subsequent gradual restart of the production units is scheduled for September 25 to October 2. "We expect individual production units to reach full capacity during the first week of October," informed Lubos Bernard.

The shutdown of the petrochemical complex will not cause any increase in road traffic near the Litvinov plant. Shutdown and restart of the production units will be accompanied by burning off production at the flare stack (flaring). "We apologize for the temporary light and sound effects that accompany flaring. They are necessary for the safe interruption of production and safety for the population in surrounding towns and villages," said Lubos Bernard.

The refinery and petrochemical group Unipetrol are the Czech Republic’s only crude oil importer and are an important producer of fuels, plastics and fertilizers and the owner of the Benzina filling station network – the largest network in the Czech Republic with 406 stations. Crude oil is brought to the Czech Republic from Russia via the Druzhba pipeline. From Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, the Arabian peninsula and Africa, oil flows through the IKL pipeline (Ingolstadt – Kralupy nad Vltavou – Litvinov) which flows from the TAL oil pipeline from Trieste, Italy. Oil is then processed in the Czech Republic at the Unipetrol Group’s two refineries – Kralupy nad Vltavou and Zaluzi u Litvinova, where related petrochemical products are also produced. The total volume of oil supplies to the Czech Republic reaches eight million tonnes per year, of which about two thirds are processed at the Litvinov Refinery.
MRC

MOSCOW (Market Report) -- Nizhnekamskneftekhim increases its September polystyrene (PS) prices by Rb5,000/tonne, according to ICIS-MRC's Price report with reference to market sources.

Market participants expected higher prices of Russian high impact polystyrene (HIPS) and general purpose polystyrene (GPPS), following a sharp increase in the dollar and euro exchange rates against the rouble in August. Higher styrene monomer (SM) prices in Europe also put pressure on prices in the domestic market.

Overall, August prices of Nizhekamskneftekhim's GPPS were at Rb108,000-114,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, whereas HIPS prices were at Rb111,000-114,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT.

Next month's prices of Gazprom neftekhim Salavat's PS are expected to be adjusted similarly to prices of Nizhnekamskneftekhim's material. August prices of Gazprom neftekhim Salavat's GPPS were in the range of Rb104,000-107,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, whereas HIPS prices were in the range of Rb108 000-110 000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT.

Penoplex announced in mid-August that its September GPPS prices of Stairovit grade would grow by Rb5,000-7,000/tonne.
MRC

MOSCOW (Market Report) -- Ufaorgsintez (petrochemical asset of Bashneft, which is part of Rosneft) plans to shut down its low density polyethylene (LDPE) and polypropylene (PP) production capacities for maintenance in September. The outage will be long, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

The plant's customers said the plant's production capacities are scheduled to be taken off-stream for a turnaround in several stages from 1 September. The outage will be quite long and its each stage will last for about 30 days.

Thus, the plant's production of 108 grade LDPE is scheduled to be shut for almost a one-month maintenance on 1 September, whereas the second part of the plant's production capacities (158 and 153 grades), as well as its PP production, will be taken off-stream on 19 September. Ufaorgsintez's overall LDPE and PP production capacities are about 90,000 and 120,000 tonnes per year, respectively.

As already reported, Kazanorgsintez also plans to shut down some of its LDPE production capacities (108 and 115 grades) for almost a one-month turnaround on 26 September.

PJSC Ufaorgsintez produces phenol, acetone, synthetic ethylene-propylene rubber, high and low density polyethylene, polypropylene, over 30 types of petrochemical products and over 25 items of consumer products. Ufaorgsintez's net profit was Rb5.41 billion in 2017, down by 7% year on year.
MRC