SENER designs an innovative LNG unit for Panfido

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SENER has signed a contract with the owner Rimorchiatori Riuniti Panfido & C.s.r.l for delivering the basic engineering and technical assistance in the construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) SBBT unit, which will operate in Italy and the Adriatic, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Panfido is one of the most important tug and barge owners in Europe, with 130 years of experience in marine services. This project is co-funded by the European Union through the Poseidon MED II program.

This new contract consolidates SENER’s role as a pioneer in the design of innovative LNG marine technology units. In this regard, the SBBT unit’s design is a combination of an LNG fueled tractor tug (powered unit) and an LNG bunkering non-propelled pontoon of 4,000 m3 (cargo unit).

The tug will be designed and constructed as a dual fuel driven, towing, escorting, rescue, supply and salvage tug, propelled by Voith and with 65 tons of bollard pull. For its part, the pontoon will have a storage capacity of 4,000 m3 of LNG and 1,000 m3 of marine diesel oil (MDO), and it will be used for bunkering service. Among other benefits, SENER’s innovative design focuses on wave signature and ballast water management.

SENER has announced this new contract in the framework of the 2018 edition of the Gastech exhibition and conference that takes place in Barcelona (Spain) from September 17 to 20. The company is showing at Gastech (in its booth n? G175) its floating solutions in LNG, where SENER is able to offer an integral project of the entire LNG value chain using its own technology and engineering.

With more than €2.5 billion in LNG contracts and references as EPC contractor such as Sagunto in Spain, Dunkirk in France, Zeebrugge in Belgium or Gate terminal in the Netherlands. SENER has become a leader in the LNG sector, applying technologies developed in-house.

Besides, SENER has developed a comprehensive project portfolio in marine and naval architecture since its foundation, in 1956, as a marine engineering company. On this regard, SENER has developed its own bunkering vessel with an innovative design using its own CAD/CAM/CAE shipbuilding software FORAN, which is one of the advanced solutions presented at Gastech.
MRC

China sets tariff on U.S. LNG just as exports ramp up

MOSCOW (MRC) - China has set a 10 percent tariff on imports of U.S. liquefied natural gas just as trade of the super-chilled fuel between the two nations started to ramp up and exports from new terminals on the U.S. Gulf Coast are poised to begin, Reuters.

Beijing announced on Tuesday it would tax thousands of U.S. products worth USD60 billion in retaliation for tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump as the trade war between them escalated.

China became the world’s second-largest importer of LNG last year, behind Japan and ahead of South Korea, driven by a push to convert to cleaner gas from coal generation energy.

At the same time, the United States is poised to become a major exporter with the majority of LNG supply growth in coming years from new terminals being planned or built now.

China imported 1.6 million tonnes of the 14.9 million tonnes of LNG that has been exported from the United States so far this year, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Analysts and traders have said that although China is a huge buyer of LNG especially in the run-up to and during winter, it should easily find supplies from other large exporters such as Qatar and Australia.

State-owned Qatargas said this month it had signed a 22-year deal to supply a unit of PetroChina with 3.4 million tonnes a year.

For U.S. companies developing LNG export terminals such as Cheniere Energy, Sempra and Kinder Morgan , the tariff casts doubt over their projects’ final investment decisions (FIDs), which trigger construction of facilities.

"It’s a problem for Cheniere as it makes their LNG uncompetitive in China," Noel Tomnay, vice president for gas and LNG consulting at Wood Mackenzie, told Reuters on the sidelines of an industry event in Barcelona, Spain.

"But the biggest problem is for all those U.S. LNG projects trying to get FID. China would be the biggest market for all of them. While these tariffs last, it’s unlikely they can take off. That’s a potential opportunity for non-U.S. projects (e.g. Canada) to go ahead."

Four new U.S. terminals and one extension will come onstream in stages over the next two years. Once they run at capacity, they will constitute 60 percent of all new supplies expected to be added to the global market by 2023.
MRC

John Crane launches innovative Gas Seal technology to significantly reduce methane emissions

MOSCOW (MRC) -- John Crane, a global leader in rotating equipment solutions, today launched its latest gas seal technology designed to be retrofitted into centrifugal compressors with oil seals to significantly lower operating costs, improve reliability and reduce methane emissions by up to 95 percent, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The Aura™ 120 Narrow Section gas seal enables the latest John Crane gas seal technology to be fitted into a larger percentage of older equipment, bringing with it the benefits of non-contacting design. Gas seal technology eliminates the need for oil lubrication associated with contacting seals and the resulting need to address harmful emissions entrapped in the oil. In the natural gas sector, centrifugal compressors equipped with oil seal technology are generally acknowledged as the leading source of methane emissions offshore and the fourth most significant onshore.

"Our expertise in this area has recently led to the development of a lifecycle cost calculator (LCC) that provides a full analysis of the economic case for retrofit from oil seals to gas seals against the next best alternatives," said John Crane Global Product Manager Paul Hosking. "Gas seal technology is proven to reduce the level of damaging methane emissions that are vented or flared into the atmosphere."

John Crane’s LCC takes operational data from rotating equipment and compares the total lifecycle costs of the oil seal operation?including emissions?with the option of capturing the methane and routing to a flare device, capturing the methane and routing for another purpose, and retrofitting to gas seal technology.

John Crane identified four typical scenarios where oil seals are still in use and examined the economic benefits. In all scenarios, converting to gas seal technology provides economic payback, particularly when there is no spare compression and the operator owns the natural gas flowing through the compressor.

Earlier this year, John Crane was invited by a United Nations (UN) panel to showcase how the firm’s technology is reducing methane emissions in sectors of the natural gas industry. The panel is examining the critical role gas will play in achieving the international organization’s Sustainable Development Goals.
MRC

INOVYN to expand General Purpose PVC production at Jemeppe Site, Belgium

MOSCOW (MRC) -- INOVYN has today announced its intention to increase production of general purpose PVC at its Jemeppe Site, Belgium, said the company.

The new investment, which will deliver a further 200ktes of capacity at the Site, is to meet growth in demand across the building and construction, electronics, packaging, food protection, water and energy sectors. The first phase of the expansion programme is to be operational in 2020.

This is in addition to an ongoing investment to increase specialty PVC production at Jemeppe, which forms part of INOVYN’s previously announced pan-European growth strategy.

These major investments will be complemented by an associated step increase in VCM capacity at the Site.

Comments Chris Tane, CEO INOVYN: "As one of the most competitive manufacturing units in Europe, these investments will reinforce Jemeppe as a world-class facility.

"The investment strategy for our PVC businesses, in which Jemeppe will play a vital role, will help to accelerate INOVYN’s global growth whilst reinforcing our leading market positions in Europe. Our focus is to drive innovation to create new markets for PVC, and in doing so deliver global competitive advantage for our customers across all industry sectors."

The announcement was made during a visit to Jemeppe Site by Minister-President of Wallonia Willy Borsus.

Commented Minister-President Borsus: “INOVYN’s ambitious plans are very welcome news and a further demonstration of the Company’s long-term commitment to innovation. I was very impressed to see the Company’s state-of-the-art RT&E Centre at the Site, which underpins the Company’s European growth programme."

Concludes Chris: “By the end of the decade, INOVYN will have invested in the region of €1 billion across its European assets through a range of safety, sustainability and innovation-led projects including its complete transition from mercury to membrane cellroom production."
MRC

PP plant taken off-stream by FREP

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Fujian Refining & Petrochemical (FREP) has undertaken an unplanned shutdown at its No.3 polypropylene (PP) plant in Fujian Province, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the company has halted operations at the plant on September 18, 2018 owing to a technical glitch. The plant is likely to remain off-line for around one week.

Located in Fujian province, China, the No. 3 PP plant has a production capacity of 220,000 mt/year.

The company also operates other two PP plants at the same location with production capacity of 120,000 mt/year and 360,000 mt/year.

FREP is a joint venture between Fujian Petrochemical Co. (50%), ExxonMobil China Petroleum and Petrochemical Co. (25%) and Saudi Aramco Sino Co. (25%). Fujian Petrochemical is a 50:50 JV between Sinopec and the Fujian provincial government.
MRC