Hydroprocessing technology starts-up at processing facility

MOSCOW (MRC) -- DuPont Clean Technologies (DuPont) announced the successful startup of one of the world’s first IsoTherming hydroprocessing technology applications to treat diesel from a transmix processing facility, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Transmix is a mixture of refined products that forms when transported in pipelines. This mixture is typically a combination of gasoline, diesel and/or jet fuel. The IsoTherming® hydrotreater, located at the Gladieux Processing (Gladieux) transmix facility in Huntington, Indiana, USA, has successfully completed the performance test, certifying that the unit is exceeding performance guarantees and producing 5,000 BPSD of ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) containing less than 10 ppmw sulfur.

Capital cost advantages, as well as comparatively lower utility consumption, were key drivers for Gladieux’s selection of the IsoTherming hydroprocessing technology for this project.

The IsoTherming® hydroprocessing technology utilizes a novel liquid phase reactor system that is superior to conventional hydroprocessing technologies, as it uses the hydrogen and catalyst more efficiently. The IsoTherming® hydroprocessing technology offers lower capital and operating costs compared to conventional hydroprocessing technologies in achieving the desired product quality. The IsoTherming® hydroprocessing technology is suitable for a wide range of applications, including kerosene hydrotreating, transmix hydrotreating, diesel hydrotreating, FCC feed hydrotreating (VGO hydrotreating), mild hydrocracking, dewaxing, gas-to-liquid (GTL) upgrading, and heavy oil upgrading for both grassroots and revamp configurations.

To date, DuPont has 26 IsoTherming® hydroprocessing technology licenses globally, with 15 of these in commercial operation. These licensed units include a diverse set of applications ranging from 100 percent kerosene to 100 percent light-cycle oil (LCO), and various mixtures of distillates and heavy gas oils, including coker blends, with capacities ranging from 1,500 bpd to 80,000 bpd.

Growing global demand for cleaner transportation fuel continues to drive refiners toward operations that maximize hydroprocessing capacity and capability either through unit debottlenecks or new unit construction. More stringent environmental regulations and the processing of cost-advantaged sour and heavy feedstocks make meeting this demand even more challenging. Licensed and marketed by DuPont as part of its Clean Technologies portfolio in Overland Park, Kansas, USA, the IsoTherming® hydroprocessing technology provides a proven solution to meet this growing global demand.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) – Driven by continued increases in cost of key raw materials, transportation, and energy, as well as restricted availability of selected raw materials, BASF has decided to increase prices for paper wet-end and water chemicals in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa), effective October 1, 2018 or as existing contracts allow to compensate those increased costs, said the company.

or the following product lines BASF will implement a minimum price increase:

Cationic Polyacrylamides +8%
Anionic Polyacrylamides +7%
Polyamines, Polydadmac +8%
Polymeric Sizing Agents +4%
Polyvinylamines +5%
Polyethyleneimines +5%
Scale and Foam Control +5%
Dyes product specific

BASF offers a comprehensive and customer-centric range of chemicals for the paper and water industry. Our paper chemicals portfolio comprises dry strength agents, fixing agents, retention and drainage aids, flocculants and coagulants for water management. Furthermore, we offer basic dyes, direct dyes, sizing agents, pigment preparations, wet strength agents and color developers for thermal paper. The water chemicals portfolio includes products used in the key processes of industrial and municipal water treatment. We are a leading supplier of chemicals to purify the raw water used for the production of drinking water, to treat waste water streams and industrial process water, to protect cooling towers, boilers and desalination plants.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- India has set up a panel of officials to suggest ways to settle land acquisition issues for a planned USD44 billion refinery on the west coast, reported Reuters with reference to Indian Oil Corp statement.

Saudi Aramco and ADNOC will hold a 25 percent stake in the planned 1.2 million barrel per day refinery and petrochemical project while a consortium of Indian refiners led by IOC will together hold the remainder.

The committee will also recommend on issues relating to the overall environmental protection and ecological conservation of the region - IOC statement. The panel will submit its recommendation in six months. Thousands of farmers oppose the refinery and are refusing to surrender land.

India aims to start production from the planned project by 2022.

As MRC wrote before, Indian Oil Corporation's Rs 34,555-crore 15 million tonnes per annum Paradip Refinery was commissioned in phases from March 2015 onwards. Indian Oil Corporation was conducting feasibility studies to set up a petrochemical complex at Paradip in Odisha for Rs 20,000 crore. The petrochemical complex will be built in the vicinity of the company’s to-be-commissioned 15-mln tpa greenfield refinery at Paradip. The petrochemical complex will be in addition to the already announced Rs 3,150-crore polypropylene project at the same location, the foundation stone for which was laid by MOS for petroleum and natural gas.

Indian Oil Corporation Limited, or IndianOil, is an Indian state-owned oil and gas corporation with its headquarters in New Delhi, India.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Canadian oil and gas producer Husky Energy Inc said it has made an unsolicited bid to acquire rival MEG Energy Corp in a deal valued at USD5 billion including debt, said Hyfrocarbonprocessing.

The combined company would have total production of more than 410,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) and refining and upgrading capacity of about 400,000 barrels per day (bpd), Husky said in a statement.

The offer comes as many Canadian oil producers have struggled with transportation bottlenecks as output has surged, pushing Canadian heavy crude to near-historic discounts to U.S. light crude.

Husky Chief Executive Rob Peabody told Reuters that the combination of MEG’s top-quality assets and staff with its own production and downstream network would allow MEG to circumvent some of the effects from the Canadian crude discount, and provide benefits for both sets of shareholders.

The Husky offer comes less than two months into the tenure of Derek Evans, an industry veteran who took over as chief executive of MEG in August. MEG Energy’s board will consider and evaluate the Husky’s unsolicited offer and the related takeover bid circular, if and when received, MEG said in a statement.

MEG said it has formed a special committee of independent directors and has retained financial and legal advisers. “No formal offer has been made,” MEG said. “MEG shareholders are advised to take no action with respect to any Husky offer until the Board of Directors has had an opportunity to fully review the offer, when received, and to make a recommendation as to its merits."

Under the terms of the proposal, MEG shareholders will have the option to choose to receive consideration of CD11 in cash or 0.485 of a Husky share for every share held.

That offer is subject to a maximum aggregate cash consideration of CD1 billion and a maximum aggregate number of Husky shares issued of about 107 million.

Husky’s offer delivers a 44 percent premium to the 10-day volume-weighted average MEG share price of C$7.62 as of Friday, and a 37 percent premium to MEG’s Friday close of CD8.03.

Goldman Sachs Canada Inc is acting as financial adviser and Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP is acting as lead legal adviser to Husky. The proposal, which has been unanimously approved by Husky’s board of directors, is expected to result in CD200 million per year in near-term, realizable synergies.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PetroChina Daqing Petrochemical has shut its No. 2 low density polyethylene (LDPE) unit for a maintenance turnaround, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the company has commemced turnaround at the unit on September 24, 2018. The unit is likely to remain under maintenance till mid-October, 2018.

Located in Heilongjiang, China, the No. 2 LDPE unit has a production capacity of 200,000 mt/year.

As MRC reported earlier, PetroChina has nearly doubled the amount of Russian crude being processed at its refinery in Dalian, the company’s biggest, since January 2018, as a new supply agreement has come into effect. The Dalian Petrochemical Corp, located in the northeast port city of Dalian, is expected to process 13 million tonnes, or 260,000 bpd of Russian pipeline crude this year, up by about 85 to 90 percent from last year’s level. Dalian has the capacity to process about 410,000 bpd of crude. The increase follows an agreement worked out between the Russian and Chinese governments under which Russia’s top oil producer Rosneft will supply 30 million tonnes of ESPO Blend crude to PetroChina in 2018, or about 600,000 bpd. That would represent an increase of 50 percent over 2017 volumes. The additional oil sent to Dalian is about 120,000 bpd and will make up the bulk of the Russian increases.

PetroChina Company Limited, is a Chinese oil and gas company and is the listed arm of state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation, headquartered in Dongcheng District, Beijing. It is China's biggest oil producer.
MRC