Qatar to raise LNG output capacity to 110 million t/y

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Qatar Petroleum (QP), the world’s top supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG), has announced further increase in the capacity of Qatar’s LNG expansion project, by adding a fourth liquefaction train, to raise the country's liquefied natural gas capacity to 110 million t/y, as per GV.

The fourth liquefaction train, like the three trains announced earlier as part of a project to develop additional gas from the North Field, will be of nearly 8 million t/y capacity. When the project is completed, Qatar’s LNG production capacity will scale up by almost 43% from the current 77 million t/y, enabling the country to consolidate its position as the world's largest LNG producer and exporter, said Qatar Petroleum President & CEO Saad Sherida al-Kaabi.

He said the expected delivery of the first LNG from the new project would be either in end-2023 or early 2024. The production from the four trains will be "staggered in a sequence" to attain the first delivery in end 2023 or early 2024. With the addition of the fourth train, the new project will produce about 32 million t/y of LNG, 4,000 t/d of ethane, 260,000 b/d of condensate, and 11,000 t/d of LPG, in addition to approximately 20 t/d of pure helium.

Addressing a press conference at the Qatar Petroleum headquarters on Wednesday, al-Kaabi said: "As we have announced last year, Qatar Petroleum has embarked on a project to develop additional gas from the North Field and build three new LNG mega trains. Based on the good results obtained through recent additional appraisal and testing, we have decided to add a fourth LNG mega train and include it in the ongoing front-end engineering of the project.

"When the project is completed and all four new trains are online, Qatar’s LNG production capacity will reach 110 million t/y. This will increase Qatar’s total production capacity from 4.8 million to 6.2 million b/d of oil equivalent."

Al-Kaabi said the North Field Expansion Project is well underway with various activities currently ongoing, including the Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) of the onshore facilities, which is being executed by Chiyoda Corporation of Japan. Al-Kaabi said when the FEED contract was awarded earlier, it was stated that engineering would be done for three trains with an option to add a 4th LNG train in future.

As MRC informed before, in September 2017, QP was talking to German energy firms Uniper and RWE about cooperating on a potential local LNG terminal.

We also remind that in July 2017, QP successfully completed the integration of Qatar Vinyl Company (QVC) into Qatar Petrochemical Company (Qapco), six months before the deadline of last year end.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Toray Industries Inc., Japan’s leading advanced materials maker, will invest KRW 100 billion (~ USD 89.3 million) over the next three years to bump up polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) resin output capacity at its plant in Gunsan, South Korea, reported GV.

The North Jeolla provincial government office said Thursday (13 September 2018) that Akihiro Nikkaku, president and chief executive officer of Toray Industries, met with its governor to submit the company’s investment plan.

According to the office, the Japanese firm will spend up to KRW 100 billion from 2019 to 2021 to add production lines at its PPS manufacturing plant in Gunsan. The expansion will take place at Toray Industries’ PPS factory that was built on reclaimed land in the southwestern coastal area of Saemangeum in Korea in July 2016 at an initial cost of KRW 200 billion. The plant is the world’s first integrated plant that can produce sulfureted hydrogen sodium, paradichlorobenzene, PPS resin, and PPS compounds.

The company plans to break ground for the new lines around June next year with an aim to complete construction within the first half of 2021 and start production from that year. The full capacity is unknown. PPS is a high-performance material that is often called "super engineering plastic" for its light and heat-resistance features. Commonly used to produce semiconductors, automotive and medical products, its demand has increased due to its applications in electric and hybrid vehicles.

As MRC informed previously, in June 2018, Toray Industries, Inc.announced that it had decided to establish a production facility for nylon and PBT resin compounds at its Indian subsidiary Toray Industries (India) Private Limited (TID).
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MOSCOW (MRC) - Libya’s state oil firm NOC warned it would have to suspend operations at its 120,000 barrels per day (bpd) Zawiya refinery unless security improved after two recent attacks, as per Reuters.

The refinery west of the capital Tripoli supplies western and southern Libya with fuel. Its port also exports crude from the southern El Sharara oilfield.

Gunmen attacked the site on Wednesday, trying to break into the oil mixing operation and stealing a company car, NOC said in a statement.

The previous week unidentified people assaulted staff, kidnapping one employee who later was released and stealing cars as well as personal things from workers.

“The NOC board warned that any continuation or failure to address this situation, to ensure staff and site protection and increase security, will affect ongoing operations and result in their suspension,” NOC said in the statement.

Libya is currently producing 1 million bpd of oil on average and plans to increase output, NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanallah said on Wednesday.

Protests, blockages by armed groups or staff and outbreaks of violence have frequently interrupted production in Libya.

Current production levels remain below the OPEC member’s pre-civil war pumping rate of around 1.6 million bpd, but are at their highest since mid-2013, according to Reuters estimates.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Meridian Energy Group has selected Axens as the technology provider for the final stages of basic engineering design for its 49,500 BPD Davis refining complex being constructed in Billings County, North Dakota, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The project will utilize Axens’ Suite of clean fuels technologies to refine local Bakken tight oil and produce ultra-low sulfur transportation fuels while minimizing energy consumption and environmental footprint.

The latest design efforts include Axens’ Octanizing®(CCR reforming) and HyKTM (VGO hydrocracking) units, respectively, for the production of high-octane gasoline and ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD). These units will complete the previously designed Axens’ Prime-DTM (Diesel hydrotreating), Benfree® (Benzene reduction), and Naphtha Hydrotreating units.

Both teams paid special attention to energy efficiency and environmental impacts by optimizing process heat integration and conducting process heater emission reduction studies utilizing Axens’ expertise.

Axens NA, a subsidiary of Axens, is excited to continue its partnership with Meridian Energy Group, as they construct the first new refinery built in the US in over 30 years.

In September 2018, Meridian announced that GATE Energy has been selected to provide commissioning and start-up services to the Davis Refinery team during development and execution of the 49,500 bpd Davis Refinery located in Belfield, North Dakota. This LOI comes only weeks after Meridian has begun Civil Construction of the Davis Refinery. The Davis Refinery will commence construction in 2019 and will be fully operational in 2020.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi International Petrochemical Company (Sipchem) has signed a non-binding agreement to buy Sahara Petrochemicals Company in a deal valued at just over USD2bn, as per TankNews.

The agreement has taken place four years after merger talks stalled.

Aligned with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030, which aims to create a thriving private sector in the Kingdom, the merger is expected to deliver multiple strategic benefits to the combined business, including:

1. Strengthening the product portfolio, diversifying feedstock supply and building out presence along the value chain;

2. Increasing scale and resilience in the evolving petrochemicals sector, both in the Kingdom and internationally;

3. Building on the competitive advantages and complimentary capabilities of Sahara and Sipchem to provide benefits commercially, operationally and functionally;

4. Driving efficiency and productivity of the closely situated industrial asset portfolios of each of Sahara and Sipchem in Jubail; and

5. Creating a platform with improved financial resources, capital market access, and product and technological expertise to take advantage of local and international growth opportunities, both organic and inorganic.

The Proposed Transaction is expected to provide synergy potential, from both a revenue and cost perspective, which is expected to drive value for shareholders. It is also expected to deliver benefits to the combined workforce, and local and international business partners.

Sipchem will make an offer to buy all of Sahara’s shares and each Sahara shareholder will receive 0.8356 new Sipchem shares, the companies said. Sipchem and Sahara are working to enter a binding agreement by February 28.

As MRC wrote before, in March 2018, Sipchem said it was planning to resume proposed merger talks with Sahara Petrochemical 2260.SE in a deal that could create a 14.7 billion riyals (USD3.9 bln) chemicals company. The two companies called off a planned merger in 2014, citing an inadequate regulatory framework in the kingdom for the collapse.

Established in 1999, Saudi International Petrochemical Company (Sipchem) manufactures and markets methanol, butanediol, tetrahydrofuran, acetic acid, acetic anhydride, vinyl acetate monomer. Besides, it has launched several down-stream projects to manufacture ethylene vinyl acetate, low density polyethylene, ethyl acetate, butyl acetate, cross linkable polyethylene, and semi conductive compound that are scheduled to start in 2013.

Sahara Petrochemical is involved in building and operating petrochemical projects, especially propylene, polypropylene, ethylene and mixed polyethylene industries.
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