China Zhoushan city woos Exxon Mobil for a USD7 billion ethylene plant

MOSCOW (MRC) - The Chinese city of Zhoushan is in talks with oil major Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) to build a USD7 billion ethylene plant in the city south of Shanghai, it said in a statement released, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The facility would have annual production capacity of 1.5 million to 1.8 million tonnes, the statement said, making it larger than the 1.2 million-tonnes-per-year plant Exxon plans in the city of Huizhou in the southern province of Guangdong.

The move comes as China, the world’s top chemical consumer, sets out to complete the biggest expansion in petrochemical production in its history, with at least 13 ethylene complexes already planned in the next five years.

The push will include giving greater access to global majors to its massive chemicals market to produce plastics, coatings and adhesives for fast-growing consumer industries.

Exxon Mobil said last month it signed a preliminary deal to build a petrochemical complex including an ethylene plant in Huizhou.

At the same time, it also agreed to participate in a provincial project to build an liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in the city and to supply LNG for it though no details on timing were given.

Exxon also owns a 25 percent stake in a refinery and petrochemical plant in Fujian province in partnership with China’s top state refiner Sinopec.

Zhoushan, an island about 145 km (90 miles) south of Shanghai and east of the port of Ningbo, said it wants to attract investment in downstream chemicals, particularly in ethylene, with local refiner Zhejiang Petrochemical ready to start a 20-million-tonnes-per-year oil refining and petrochemical complex.

The city government also said it is in talks with United States-based conglomerate Honeywell for a 10,000-tonnes-per-year catalyst production project.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Exxon Mobil Corp is looking to sign a long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply deal with Zhejiang Provincial Energy Group, which would be Zhejiang Energy’s first long-term supply deal, reported Reuters with reference to a senior executive's statement on Thursday.

Peter Clarke, president of Exxon Mobil gas and power marketing, was speaking at the International Petroleum and Natural Gas Enterprise conference at Zhoushan, near Shanghai.

Exxon Mobil is stepping up its efforts to meet soaring LNG demand, coupling multi-billion dollar production projects around the world with its first mainland storage and distribution outlet.

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 PE 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) – XOS announced the worldwide release of Petra Series Autosampler, an automatic sampler with sample tracking and continuous sample loading. The autosampler is an add-on feature to the Petra MAX and Petra 4294 analyzers launched by XOS in 2017, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Michael Palmer, Vice President of Sales for XOS, believes this will deliver the flexible and efficient workflow that users want and need. "After speaking with dozens of customers about the drawbacks of their carousel autosamplers, we created a novel design with sample tracking, continuous sample loading and customizable software features. This is truly the next-generation autosampler."

Typical XRF benchtop automatic sampler systems, often known as a “carousel”, require users to manually enter each sample name into the system. This can result in data errors and in turn, rework. In addition, once the carousel has been loaded, it cannot be interrupted until the analyzer has finished analysis. This is not an ideal process for third-party test labs who work in a fast-paced environment and often receive urgent sample requests.

With the new Petra Series Autosampler, users simply scan the QR-coded sample cup with a handheld scanner and the analyzer scans the sample again when it reaches the measurement chamber, ensuring the correct sample name and measurement parameters are paired with results. Users can eliminate data errors and add urgent samples to the queue as needed. The Autosampler is an optional add-on feature and users have the option to use X-ID Sample Cups (QR-coded) or standard XRF cups.

Along with this launch, XOS is rolling out new Gen 4 software upgrade for Petra Series. This release offers novel features for a simple, intuitive operation including preset measurement configurations, streamlined custom calibration set-up, enhanced LIMS compatibility, and additional matrices like water and catalysts.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PJSC SIBUR Holding, Russia’s largest integrated petrochemicals company, announces the successful completion of the tender offer announced on 9 October 2018 to purchase part of the USD 500 m Eurobond notes issued in October 2017 and maturing in 2023 with a coupon rate of 4.125% per annum, said the company.

As part of the offer, the Company accepted for purchase an aggregate principal amount of Eurobonds equal to USD 192,023,000 at a price of 97.4% of the par value. The buyback price was set at a premium to the notes’ market price as at the time of the tender offer announcement. Most of the tendered Eurobond notes came from Russian holders. The Company used excess liquidity coming from its steadily growing cash flow to finance the transaction.

Alexander Petrov, member of the Management Board and Managing Director for Economics and Finance, commented: "We are well positioned to manage the Company’s debt and efficiently deploy available liquidity thanks to SIBUR’s stable operating cash flow generation and access to long-term financing, which secures financing of the ZapSibNeftekhim construction project. Hence, SIBUR decided to benefit from the favourable securities market environment to optimise its debt portfolio."

Citigroup Global Markets Limited and J.P. Morgan Securities PLC acted as dealer managers under the transaction. The buyback is performed by Sibur Securities DAC (the “Issuer”, a 100% subsidiary of PJSC SIBUR Holding) on behalf of PJSC SIBUR Holding (the “Guarantor”).

Settlement is expected to take place on 19 October 2018.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Motiva Enterprises shut the gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) at its 603,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Port Arthur, Texas, refinery to fix a mechanical problem, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing with reference to sources familiar with plant operations.

The refinery's 18,000-bpd alkylation unit is also out of production while the FCCU repairs are underway, the sources said. There is no time frame for completion of the work.

As MRC informed before, in mid-July 2018, Motiva Enterprises completed repairs to the FCCU at its 603,000 barrel per day (bpd) Port Arthur, Texas.

Besides, later, on 27 August 2018, Motiva Enterprises returned the gasoline-producing, alkylation and small coking units to normal operation at its 603,000 bpd Port Arthur, Texas, refinery, the nation’s largest. The 82,000 bpd gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracking unit (FCCU 3) and the 18,000-bpd alkylation units were knocked out of production on 26 August by a malfunction. The units began restarting at night on the same day.

Motiva is a subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s national oil company.
MRC