SABIC signs MOU to build petrochemical complex in China

MOSCOW (MRC) - Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with China’s Fujian provincial government to build a petrochemical complex, as per Reuters.

SABIC is the third company to announce a large chemical investment in China over the past two months.

SABIC did not give any details of the investment or a timeline in a brief release, saying this is part of the firm’s strategy to diversify its operations and strengthening its position in the world’s top petrochemicals market.

The deal comes as U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil and Germany’s BASF have separately announced plans to build ethylene complexes in southern China’s Guangdong province, part of the country’s massive petrochemical building boom.

SABIC is already a partner with Chinese state oil and gas firm Sinopec Corp in an ethylene plant owned by Sinopec’s Tianjin Petrochemical Corp.

In Fujian on the east coast, Sinopec operates a joint-venture refining, petrochemical complex in city of Quanzhou in partnership with Saudi Arabian state oil and gas firm Saudi Aramco and Exxon Mobil.

The Chinese major is also building a separate ethylene plant in Gulei, in the same province.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PetroChina’s Yunnan refinery completed a new pipeline to transport fuel from Xundian to Kunming, PetroChina said on its official news website, as per Reuters.

The 81-kilometer pipeline has an annual capacity to transport 1.68 million tonnes of gasoline and diesel.

PetroChina’s Yunnan plant is one of its two largest refining projects that came on stream in 2017 with 260,000 barrels per day of crude refining capacity.

As MRC informed earlier, Chinese state-run oil and chemicals group Sinochem is in advanced talks to transfer its 33.6 percent stake in a debt-laden refinery to state giant PetroChina, part of Sinochem’s plan to shed non-core assets ahead of a USD2 billion listing of its energy arm.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ABB has won an order from Hyundai Engineering to modify existing and install new electrical systems and electrical network monitoring and control system (ENMCS) at Malaysia’s biggest crude oil refinery at Melaka, in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Hyundai Engineering was appointed earlier this year by Malaysian Refining Company Sdn. Bhd’s to deliver the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) turnkey contract to upgrade the existing oil refining facilities to meet the new Euro-5 standard of maintaining sulfur levels to a maximum of 10mg per kg to improve air quality.

ABB has been appointed to design and supply medium and low voltage switchgears, variable speed drives, a direct current (DC) uninterruptible power supply system and an alarm and supervisory system for the project that comprises a new substation and modification to existing substations.

The company is installing its ABB Ability™ System 800xA based process power manager that will integrate the new and existing electrical systems to provide overall control and monitoring of the electrical network.

"Our solutions will help Malaysian Refining to generate insights that can help them drive performance and productivity improvements," says Zeng Tao, Singapore Hub Manager, ABB. "With the ABB AbilityTM System 800xA-based electrical monitoring and control system including substation technology, the refinery will be empowered to embrace digital, enabling its operators to improve performance by accessing more accurate information that will better inform decisions. With our local service teams in Malaysia, supported by our competency center in Singapore, the customer can be assured of expert support."

The refinery has been operating since 1994 and houses two refinery trains with a total capacity of 270,000 barrels per day. It is owned by Malaysian Refining Company Sdn. Bhd. wholly owned subsidary of Malaysia’s state-run oil company Petronas. The refinery complex is operated by Petronas Penapisan (Melaka) Sdn. Bhd. (PPM).

As MRC informed earlier, in March 2018, ABB signed technology agreement with Chinese Yitai Group. A framework agreement between ABB and one of China’s leading coal producers, the Yitai Group, will bring deeper cooperation in applying digital technologies, solutions, services and expertise to improve performance across Yitai’s plants.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil Chemical has undertaken a planned shutdown at its one of the two polypropylene (PP) plants in Jurong Island, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Singapore informed that the company has commenced maintenance at the plant in early-September 2018. The plant is expected to remain shut for around 2-4 weeks.

Located on Jurong Island in Singapore, the PP plant has a production capacity of 500,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed before, in October 2017, ExxonMobil Chemical Company commenced production on the first of two new 650,000 tons-per-year high-performance polyethylene (PE) lines at its plastics plant in Mont Belvieu, Texas. The full project, part of the company’s multi-billion dollar expansion project in the Baytown area and ExxonMobil’s broader Growing the Gulf expansion initiative, will increase the plant’s polyethylene capacity by approximately 1.3 million tons per year.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world's oil and about 2% of the world's energy.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Executives at Brazil’s Petroleo Brasileiro SA said they have hosted meetings with economic advisors to presidential candidates ahead of wide-open elections next month, and could adopt a diesel price hedge similar to one announced for gasoline prices last week, as per Reuters.

Speaking at an event in Sao Paulo, executives said Petrobras officials had shared business plans with the campaign advisors during the meetings, which were cordial and interesting and began two weeks ago.

In August 2018, Petroleo Brasileiro SA began procedures to reopen its largest refinery, closed after an explosion and fire, last week-end, Gustavo Marsaioli.

Headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Petrobras is an integrated energy firm. Petrobras' activities include exploration, exploitation and production of oil from reservoir wells, shale and other rocks as well as refining, processing, trade and transport of oil and oil products, natural gas and other fluid hydrocarbons, in addition to other energy-related activities.

MRC