BP installs plant operations advisor on Gulf of Mexico platforms

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BP Plc has successfully installed plant operations advisor (POA), a cloud-based advanced analytics solution developed with Baker Hughes, a GE company, across all four of its operated production platforms in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, as per Worldofchemicals.

The announcement comes after an initial deployment of POA proved the technology could help prevent unplanned downtime at BP’s Atlantis platform in the Gulf. The technology has now been successfully installed and tested at BP’s Thunder Horse, Na Kika and Mad Dog platforms – and it will continue to be deployed to more than 30 of BP’s upstream assets across the globe.

Built on GE’s Predix platform, POA applies analytics to real-time data from the production system and provides system-level insights to engineers so operational issues on processes and equipment can be addressed before they become significant. POA helps engineers manage the performance of BP’s offshore assets by further ensuring that assets operate within safe operating limits to reduce unplanned downtime.

Now live across the Gulf of Mexico, POA works across more than 1,200 mission-critical pieces of equipment, analyzing more than 155 million data points per day and delivering insights on performance and maintenance. There are plans to continue augmenting the analytical capabilities in the system as POA is expanded to BP’s upstream assets around the globe.

BP and BHGE announced a partnership in 2016 to develop POA, an industry-wide solution for improved plant reliability. The teams have built a suite of cloud-based Industrial 'internet of things' (IoT) solutions that have been tailor-fit for BP’s oil and gas operations.

BP is currently in the process of deploying POA to its operations in Angola with additional deployments in Oman and the North Sea scheduled for 2019.

"BP has been one of the pioneers in digital technology in our industry, and co-development of Plant Operations Advisor with BHGE is a key plank of modernizing and transforming our upstream operations. We expect the deployment of this technology not only to deliver improvements in safety, reliability and performance of our assets but also to help raise the bar for the entire oil and gas industry," said Ahmed Hashmi, BP’s global head of upstream technology.

"The partnership between BP and BHGE has resulted in a unique set of capabilities that quickly find valuable insights in streams of operational data. Together, we are creating leading-edge technologies to automate processes and increase the safety and reliability of BP’s upstream assets. As we extend the solution globally, this will become the largest upstream Industrial IoT deployment in the world when complete," added Matthias Heilmann, president and CEO of digital solutions and chief digital officer for Baker Hughes, a GE company.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Total announced that it sold its equity in India’s Hazira Terminal to Shell and signed an LNG sales agreement with the company, as per Process-worldwide.

The French group has signed a binding Letter of Intent (LOI) with Shell for the sale of its 26?% minority equity stake in Hazira LNG regasification terminal in India. The transaction remains subject to the approval of regulatory authorities.

In parallel, Total has signed an agreement to sell 0.5?million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year to Shell over 5 years, on a delivery basis to supply the markets of India and neighboring countries. The deliveries will be sourced from the company’s global LNG portfolio and are expected to begin in 2019. Philippe Sauquet, President Gas, Renewables and Power, said that the deal would enable Total to capture value through an asset disposal, while the LNG sales contract allowed them to maintain the balance of our LNG portfolio.

The Hazira Terminal includes a liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage and re-gasification terminal within a deepwater seaport.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell has announced that Shandong Chambroad Petrochemicals Co. Ltd., (Shandong Chambroad), has selected the LyondellBasell Hostalen "Advance Cascade Process" (Hostalen ACP) technology, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The low-pressure slurry process technology will be used for a 350KTA high-density polyethylene (HDPE) unit to be built in their petrochemical complex in Binzhou city, Shandong province, P.R. China.

"Hostalen ACP meets the market demand with products exhibiting a combination of properties not achievable with unimodal or bimodal grades," said Dan Coombs, executive vice president Global Manufacturing, Project, Refining and Technology at LyondellBasell. "We are pleased to enable Shandong Chambroad to achieve their HDPE ambitions."

Mr. Luan Bo, President of Shandong Chambroad stated: "We selected the Hostalen ACP process technology for its extraordinary ability to produce high-performance HDPE products."

Hostalen ACP process technology manufactures high performance, multi-modal HDPE resins with an industry-leading stiffness/toughness balance, impact resistance, high stress cracking resistance and process advantages used in film, blow molding and pipe applications.

As MRC reported before, in April 2017, LyondellBasell announced Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Chemical Co., Ltd. had selected LyondellBasell Hostalen ACP PE process technology. The technology will be used for a 400 KTA HDPE unit to be built in the Hengli Petrochemical Industrial Park (HPIP) on Changxing Island in Dalian, Liaoning Province, China.

LyondellBasell is one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world. Driven by its 13,000 employees around the globe, LyondellBasell produces materials and products that are key to advancing solutions to modern challenges like enhancing food safety through lightweight and flexible packaging, protecting the purity of water supplies through stronger and more versatile pipes, and improving the safety, comfort and fuel efficiency of many of the cars and trucks on the road. LyondellBasell sells products into approximately 100 countries and is the world's largest licensor of polyolefin technologies.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell (LBI), one of the world's largest plastics, chemical and refining companies and its joint venture partner Covestro, one of the world's largest polymer companies, have kicked-off a large investment project at their site in Maasvlakte-Rotterdam, the Netherlands, as per LBI's press release.

The Circular Steam Project incorporates an innovative technology into the existing production plant to convert its water-based waste into energy. The new installation will take the site's existing production process to a higher level of efficiency and sustainability, resulting in an overall annual reduction of ca. 140,000 metric tons CO2 emissions, 0.9 Petajoule of energy and avoiding the release of 11 million kilograms of salt residue into the surface water.

The project is an important contribution to the Dutch government's CO2 reduction targets. Jean Gadbois, Senior Vice President Manufacturing Europe, Asia and International of LyondellBasell: "The Dutch government's support is pivotal to the viability of innovative projects like this Circular Steam Project, which will allow us to realize an annual CO2 reduction equal to taking 31,000 cars off the road and will contribute to yearly energy savings equaling the electricity use of the city of Breda's 90,000 households. This is a great step in advancing towards a more sustainable production."

Dr. Klaus Schaefer, Chief Technology Officer of Covestro, added: "Our joint site in Maasvlakte is an important element of Covestro?s production network. We are constantly aiming to reduce our specific emissions. Through this investment we will significantly enhance the efficiency of the existing operations."

LyondellBasell and Covestro will build a new bio plant and incinerator on the Maasvlakte site, in which the production's waste will be treated and transformed into steam. The steam will be used as an energy source in the existing on-site production plant, thus making it a circular process. The construction will employ about 71 people full-time; the new facilities will eventually provide permanent positions for 11 full-time employees. The official start of the project was marked by a ceremony in which LyondellBasell and Covestro, together with a large group of stakeholders, revealed the construction plan and its key benefits.

Allard Castelein, CEO Port of Rotterdam Authority commented: "This project is an important step towards realizing the Dutch ambition of a 49% reduction in CO2 emissions in 2030. The industry in Rotterdam, being an important emitter, plays an pivotal role in this reduction. The initiative by LyondellBasell and Covestro is an inspiring example how this can be done, even in a very competitive market."

As MRC informed earlier, in August 2016, LyondellBasell made the final investment decision to build a high density polyethylene (HDPE) plant on the US Gulf Coast. The plant will have an annual capacity of 1.1 billion pounds (500,000 metric tons) and will be the first commercial plant to employ LyondellBasell's new proprietary Hyperzone PE technology. The start-up of the new plant is scheduled for 2019.

Covestro (formerly Bayer MaterialScience) is an independent subgroup within Bayer. It was created as part of the restructuring of Bayer AG from the former business group Bayer Polymers, with certain of its activities being spun off to Lanxess AG. Covestro manufactures and develops materials such as coatings, adhesives and sealants, polycarbonates (CDs, DVDs), polyurethanes (automotive seating, insulation for refrigerating appliances) etc.

LyondellBasell is one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world. Driven by its 13,000 employees around the globe, LyondellBasell produces materials and products that are key to advancing solutions to modern challenges like enhancing food safety through lightweight and flexible packaging, protecting the purity of water supplies through stronger and more versatile pipes, and improving the safety, comfort and fuel efficiency of many of the cars and trucks on the road. LyondellBasell sells products into approximately 100 countries and is the world's largest licensor of polyolefin technologies.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indonesia’s government confirmed Nicke Widyawati as the permanent chief executive of Pertamina and picked a new upstream director amid pressure on the state-owned energy firm to curb imports, boost refining capacity and biodiesel use, reported Reuters.

Widyawati became the acting chief executive officer (CEO) in April after Elia Massa Manik was fired after repeated clashes with the government over fuel price controls, criticism over his handling of an oil spill and for failing to meet mandates on fuel sales.

Widyawati, a former human resources director at the company, is the third CEO at Pertamina in just three years.
"There are three mandates from the government - reduce imports, start development of refineries and implement the B20 biodiesel project," Widyawati told reporters at a press conference at the State-Owned Enterprises Ministry after her appointment by Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

The B20 project starting next month will require all diesel fuel to contain at least 20 percent biocontent, typically palm oil, to boost palm oil consumption, slash fuel imports, and narrow a yawning current account gap.

Indonesia, one of Southeast Asia’s biggest fuel importers, also aims to reduce its import bill by improving its aging domestic refineries, but some projects have been delayed because of financing issues.

The government also appointed Dharmawan Samsu, the country head of BP Plc’s (BP.L) Indonesia unit, as Pertamina’s upstream director.

Indonesia was once a major crude oil producer and exporter, and a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, with output reaching more than 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd) in 1995.

Since then, the international oil majors that had dominated the country’s oil development have scaled back their operations because of uncertainty around regulations. The lack of investment in new reserves and rising fuel demand has caused Indonesia to become a net oil importer.

Pertamina is due in 2021 take over as operator of the Rokan block, Indonesia’s second-largest oilfield, from Chevron, though production is falling.

Tanri Abeng, Pertamina’s president commissioner, told reporters that Samsu was appointed because there was a need for someone with experience from a multinational.

"Blocks that have been given to Pertamina are not easy, very difficult tasks but also an opportunity for us. We will be able to increase our production which is only about a third of the domestic output," said Abeng.

Pertamina said this week it aims to lift overall oil output to 407,000 bpd in 2019, up from 2018’s goal of 400,000 bpd.

Abeng urged the government not to keep shaking up management at Pertamina, which faces frequent interference from the government due to its importance on the economy, particularly at a time when the rupiah currency is under pressure.

As MRC wrote previously, in May 2016, PT Pertamina and Russia’s Rosneft OAO signed a cooperation agreement that includes a plan to build a new oil refinery in the Southeast Asian nation.

Pertamina is an Indonesian state-owned oil and natural gas corporation based in Jakarta. It was created in August 1968 by the merger of Pertamin (established 1961) and Permina (established 1957). Pertamina is the world's largest producer and exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
MRC