Nghi Son oil refinery offers first gasoline cargo for export

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Vietnam’s Nghi Son oil refinery has offered its first gasoline export cargo after receiving approval from the government earlier this month to start exporting fuel products, a source at the refinery told Reuters.

Vietnam’s second refinery is looking to sell up to 30,000 tonnes of 95-octane grade gasoline for Sept. 26-30 loading through a tender due to be awarded next week, Nghi Son said in a statement on its website.

"We received approval from the Ministry of Industry and Trade a week ago to export our refined fuel products," said the source, who was not authorized to speak to the media and declined to be named.

"We don’t plan to export our fuel products for the long term, because we will focus on the local market," said the source.

"In the long term, we will only export our petrochemical products."

Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical LLC, owner of the 200,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery in northern Vietnam, in August asked for government approval to export oil products as domestic traders and consumers were unable to absorb refined fuels from the plant as it ramps up towards commercial operations in November.

Nghi Son is located 260 km (160 miles) south of Hanoi.

The USD9 billion refinery is 35.1 percent owned by Japan’s Idemitsu Kosan Co, 35.1 percent by Kuwait Petroleum (IPO-KUWP.KW), 25.1 percent by PetroVietnam and 4.7 percent by Mitsui Chemicals Inc.

The refinery, still conducting test runs, is scheduled to start full commercial operations in November.

As MRC informed before, Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical started up on Feb. 28, 2018. The plant is designed to help Vietnam cope with a shortage of refined oil products.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Meridian Energy Group, Inc., the leading developer of innovative and environmentally-compliant oil refining facilities, has announced that the company has made arrangements to significantly expand operations in Houston offices, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Meridian has signed a long-term lease with Boxer Property for a 10,000 sq. ft. building to accommodate its Engineering and Projects departments. The new offices, in the Greenspoint district of Houston, are strategically located near both The Woodlands and IAH Airport. This Houston location will include a full digital integration in order to interface in real time with Meridian offices in North Dakota and California.

This expansion comes several months after Meridian was issued the Permit to Construct for the Davis Refinery in Billings County, North Dakota, and subsequently began earthwork and other site preparation work at the Davis site. The continued expansion of the Meridian presence in Houston will ensure the timeline for the Davis Refinery will remain on schedule for design and construction of Davis, with full commercial operation scheduled for late 2020. Meridian’s Houston operations will also facilitate access to the professional staffing required for the development, engineering and contracting for future refining and other projects that are currently in the planning stages.

Lance Medlin, Meridian EVP of Projects, "We went through a lengthy selection process and are fortunate to have developed a partnership with Boxer Property that we allow us to continue the development of the Davis Refinery as well as our future projects. This expansion gives us the ability to house our Project Teams in one facility, giving us better efficiencies and momentum for moving our Projects forward."

Boxer Property Leasing Agent, Wesley King had this to say on Meridian as their new tenant, "Boxer Property is thrilled to welcome Meridian Energy Group, Inc to 16770 Imperial Valley. We are happy to provide the perfect space for their needs."

Chad Hope, Meridian CFO on the continued expansion, "This growth is both a result of Meridian’s progress and the exciting future opportunities we’re being presented with and represents the most cost-effective manner of meeting our current and future needs."

As MRC informed before, in May 2018, Meridian Energy Group, Inc., the leading developer of innovative and environmentally-compliant oil refining facilities, signed a letter of intent with a leading specialty engineering, procurement and construction solutions provider based in Houston, Texas, to initially complete a front end engineering and design (FEED) study for the Davis Refinery in Belfield, North Dakota.
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MOSCOW (MRC) - Rongsheng International Trading Co, the trading arm of Chinese conglomerate Zhejiang Rongsheng Holding Group, has purchased at least two 500,000-barrel cargoes of Oman crude oil to prepare for the start-up of the group’s new refinery, several trade sources said, as per Reuters.

Unipec sold the first cargo for August delivery, and Oman Trading International sold another cargo that will arrive in October, the sources said.

Rongsheng International may have bought a third cargo from the Dubai Mercantile Exchange also for October delivery, one of the sources said. The oil is being held in bonded storage in Zhoushan that Rongsheng has leased from Sinopec and Sinochem, the sources said.

Rongsheng executives declined to comment.

Zhejiang Petrochemical, 51 percent owned by textile giant Rongsheng Holding Group, was in August awarded a quota to import 5 million tonnes of crude oil this year and the company plans to start up its 400,000-barrels-per-day refinery-petrochemical project in eastern China in late 2018.
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MOSCOW (MRC) – Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, announced the successful start-up of its MegaMax 800 methanol synthesis catalyst at China National Offshore Oil Corporation’s (CNOOC) China BlueChemical methanol plant in Hainan province, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

CNOOC is China’s largest offshore oil and gas producer, and its China BlueChemical subsidiary is a large-scale operation unit specialized in methanol-based chemical products and mineral fertilizers such as urea, phosphates, and compound fertilizers. The Hainan site’s “Phase 2” methanol production plant as CNOOC Kingboard Chemical Ltd, which has been operating since 2010, has an annual capacity of 800 kilotons and runs on DAVY™ methanol process technology. Clariant’s MegaMax 800 was recently installed at the “Phase 2” facility and commissioned on June 28, 2018.

With this catalyst, all key performance indicators were significantly improved compared to the facility’s previous catalyst start-up. Within the first 24 hours, the plant produced around 25 tons (1%) more methanol at 2% less make-up gas feed than in earlier performance runs. The increase in yield is largely due to the catalyst’s improved temperature distribution within the catalyst beds, as demonstrated by lower inlet and hotspot temperatures. Moreover, the steam drum can now be operated at significantly lower pressure while providing higher conversion per catalyst volume. Other improvements include lower operating loop pressure and slightly higher steam production.

Stefan Heuser, Senior Vice President & General Manager Business Unit Catalysts at Clariant, commented, "We are very pleased with the results of MegaMax 800 at CNOOC’s China BlueChemical methanol facility. Building on more than 45 years of experience in methanol synthesis, our catalyst provides excellent activity and selectivity for optimal methanol production in large or small production plants using various process technologies. It is the ideal solution for customers seeking higher profitability, flexibility, and security."

MegaMax 800 is designed to offer up to 40 percent higher productivity than previous catalyst generations and can maintain its performance benefit even at low-temperature conditions. This results in greater carbon efficiency and methanol yield while reducing synthesis gas consumption

Depending on facility design and processes, methanol plant capacity can be increased by up to 10 percent with MegaMax 800.

Another advantage of the new catalyst is its enhanced selectivity. Typically, by-product formation increases with time-on-stream, as the reaction temperature is raised to compensate for activity decay. With MegaMax 800, high selectivity is maintained over the catalyst’s entire lifetime, thereby considerably reducing the specific by-product formation. The catalyst is also exceptionally robust and highly resistant to poisoning, thus it provides the endurance required for demanding daily operation, and protects against process upsets.

In addition to MegaMax 800, Clariant’s ReforMax® 210 LDP and ReforMax 330 LDP catalysts are also used in the “Phase 2” plant, as well as in the “Phase” 1 methanol facility. With high operation loads, the operating life could recently be extended by an additional year and maintains high production rates and low-pressure drop.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Nudura Corp., a Barrie, Ont.-based maker of construction wall systems that use expanded polystyrene (EPS) and concrete, has been bought by Medina, Ohio-based industrial product supplier RPM International Inc., as per Canplastics.

The terms of the deal have not been disclosed. In a statement, RPM noted that Nudura has annual net sales in excess of USD40 million and that Nudura’s wall systems – known as insulating concrete forms (ICFs) – are a growth area in the construction materials market.

Pictured is one of Nudura’s insulated concrete forms (ICF) being installed. Nudura provides four series of ICF wall systems, consisting of foam boards made from expanded polystyrene and integral hinged plastic webs that hold both sides of the boards together. Concrete is then poured into the form to make an insulated concrete wall system. Photo Credit: Business Wire.

Nudura will operate within the RPM Specialty Products Group as a stand-alone operating unit of RPM’s Dryvit business, RPM also said.

Nudura provides four series of ICF wall systems, consisting of foam boards made from EPS and integral hinged plastic webs that hold both sides of the boards together. Concrete is then poured into the form to make an insulated concrete wall system. Nudura also offers a range of complementary building envelope products.

Nudura has three manufacturing plants and an extensive network of 260 locally based professional distributors in key North American markets. Its patented products are sold to design professionals, architects and contractors for residential and commercial applications. They are used to construct homes, schools, medical and commercial facilities, and other buildings that can benefit from the insulative and structural properties of ICF construction.

“Nudura is an excellent strategic fit that offers several key competitive advantages for Dryvit. Its product line will complement and expand Dryvit’s existing product offering, allowing for enhanced cross-selling opportunities,” RPM chairman and CEO Frank Sullivan said in the statement.
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