Wanhua to use Honeywell connected plant in Eastern China

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Honeywell announced that Wanhua Chemical Group Co., Ltd. will use the Honeywell Connected Plant Process Reliability Advisor to provide prescriptive monitoring of its UOP C3 Oleflex™ unit at its plant in Shandong Province in Eastern China, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

This is the first application of the process reliability advisor service in China. Wanhua operates the world’s largest Oleflex unit, which converts propane into 750,000 tons per year of propylene, the primary component in many plastic resins, films and fibers.

Process Reliability Advisor continuously feeds plant data through Honeywell UOP process and fault models with sophisticated software to provide key performance information and process recommendations. It helps plants run more smoothly and detects problems before they can affect production and plant profitability.

"Process Reliability Advisor is unique in the industry because it applies Honeywell UOP’s proprietary process knowledge and deep troubleshooting experience to recommend operational adjustments much sooner and more accurately than has ever been possible before," said Zak Alzein, vice president, Connected Plant at Honeywell UOP. “Plants with this service can run consistently at the top of their capability."

Honeywell’s Connected Plant technologies combine the company’s industrial expertise, software and digital technologies to make customers’ operations more reliable, profitable and secure than previously possible. As part of Honeywell’s Connected Plant portfolio, Process Reliability Advisor gives refineries, petrochemical and gas processing plants greater visibility into their operations, helping to identify and resolve problems that often avoid detection and hamper production, and reducing unplanned shutdowns that can deprive plant operators millions of dollars per year in lost productivity.

"Process Reliability Advisor is a software-based service that combines a plant’s data with UOP expertise," Alzein said. “This service can tie plant data to the right domain knowledge to gain new insights to improve operational reliability."

Honeywell UOP’s C3 Oleflex technology is a propane dehydrogenation process that converts propane to propylene. Its low energy consumption, low emissions and fully recyclable, platinum-alumina-based catalyst system minimizes its impact on the environment, and has a lower cash cost of production and higher return on investment compared to other technologies. Honeywell UOP has licensed 35 Oleflex units in China since 2011.

Wanhua Chemical Group Co., Ltd. is a leading manufacturer propylene and isobutane and derivatives. Its main products are isocyanate (MDI, TDI, ADI), propylene, propylene oxide (PO), tert butyl alcohol (TBA), methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), acrylic acid/acrylic ester (AA/AE), n-butanol and neopentyl glycol (NPG), liquefied propane, liquefied butane, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) --The historic shift in energy use, from West to East, coupled with the rapid adoption of advanced technologies, are creating new challenges and opportunities for the global oil and gas industry as it changes gear to meet the growing energy demand from the high-growth economies of Asia, according to H.E. Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Speaking at the panel session titled ‘Energy Challenges in the New Economies’, at the inaugural Bloomberg New Economy Forum (NEF) in Singapore, of which ADNOC is a Founding Partner, H.E. Dr. Al Jaber highlighted the evolving energy demand will be driven by the rapid growth of the middle class in Asia over the next few years. India’s middle class will shortly exceed 500 million – twice the population of the entire United States, and China’s middle class is expected to grow to 750 million by 2025.

Commenting alongside Aliko Dangote, President and Chief Executive, Dangote Industries Limited and Darren M. Woods, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ExxonMobil, H.E. Dr. Al Jaber said as the global economy continues to expand, the world is witnessing unprecedented demand for energy. He also noted that in the evolving energy landscape, the industry must find innovative ways to ensure a reliable, equitable and sustainable supply of energy and energy-based products to new economy markets.

"The goals of the New Economy Forum are in line with the UAE’s 2071 strategy to prepare for the future and capture the opportunities that lie ahead. It also aligns with the UAE’s vision for building bridges, connecting global economies, and enabling sustainable prosperity," H.E. Dr. Al Jaber said.

"Energy demand is growing globally, but demand in Asia is growing over twice as fast as the rest of the world. Oil and gas will play a fundamental role as part of a diversified energy mix. And ADNOC is stepping up to ensure it continues to be a trusted and reliable supplier of oil and gas to meet the increasing demand from growing economies."

H.E. Dr. Al Jaber noted that Abu Dhabi’s recent concession agreements with both India and China, two economic powerhouses that are redrawing the global energy map, demonstrate the historic shift taking place toward the New Economies of the East. He also highlighted the rapid advance of digital technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, and Blockchain, canl transform the oil and gas industry’s ability to respond to this step change in global energy demand.

"The world around us is transforming at an unprecedented rate, and we are witnessing a revolution in digitization. The UAE recognizes digital technology is a game changer that can positively shape societies, lift economies and transform the potential of all people. At ADNOC we are leveraging the latest technology, artificial intelligence, and big data to empower our thinking and propel our business forward."

Bloomberg’s New Economy Forum has convened 400 preeminent leaders to begin seeking private sector-led solutions to challenges created by a world economy in transition, increasingly led by China and India as well as rising powers in Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo, a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders and synthetic rubber, and its affiliate companies in Europe have announced price decrease for all polystyrene (PS) grades in Europe, as per the company's press release.

Effective November 1, 2018, or as existing contract terms allow, the contract and spot prices for the products listed below were reduced as follows:

- STYRON general purpose polystyrene grades (GPPS) - by EUR80 per metric ton;
- STYRON and STYRON A-Tech high impact polystyrene grades (HIPS) - by EUR80 per metric ton.

As MRC informed before, Trinseo last adjusted its prices for all PS, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and acrylonitrile styrene copolymer (SAN) grades on 1 September 2018. Thus, September prices for the said products rose, as stated below:

- STYRON GPPS grades - by EUR85 per metric ton;
- STYRON and STYRON A-Tech HIPS grades - by EUR85 per metric ton;
- MAGNUM ABS resins - by EUR60 per metric ton;
- TYRIL SAN resins - by EUR60 per metric ton.

Trinseo is a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber. Trinseo's technology is used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires. Formerly known as Styron, Trinseo completed its renaming process in 1Q 2015. Trinseo had approximately USD4.4 billion in net sales in 2017, with 16 manufacturing sites around the world, and approximately 2,200 employees.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- CPC Corp. of Taiwan and Indonesia's PT Pertamina have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to set up a new naphtha cracker in Indonesia, reported Apic-online with reference to the Taipei Times, citing CPC Chairman Tai Chein.

The project, expected to cost USD6.47-billion, would in-volve the production of almost 1-million t/y of ethylene, meeting local demand. Investment plans are expected to begin to "take shape" in the middle of 2019, Tai noted.

CPC has begun feasibility studies and is considering one of five sites proposed by the Indonesian govern-ment. In addition, the government is offering an incentive package for petrochemical projects, which waives all corporate income taxes for the first 20 years and then provides a 50% tax cut for the following two years.

The partners would each have a 45% interest in the plant, with the remaining 10% to be held by Taiwanese and foreign petrochemical investors.

As MRC wrote before, in early December 2017, CPC Corporation resumed operations at its residue fluid catalytic cracker (RFCC) unit in Dalin following a turnaround. The unit was shut for maintenance in mid-September 2017. Located at Dalin in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, the RFCC has a production capacity of 400,000 mt/year.

CPC Corporation, Taiwan, is engaged in the exploration, production, refining, procurement, transportation, storage, and marketing of oil and gas. The company provides fuel oil, including automotive unleaded gasoline and diesel fuel, low-sulfur fuel oil, marine distillate fuels, marine residual fuels, and aviation fuel; petrochemicals, such as ethylene, propylene, butadiene, benzene, para-xylene, and ortho-xylene; liquefied petroleum gas products comprising liquefied petroleum gas, propane, butane, and a propane/butane mixture; lubricants, motor oil, industrial oil, grease, and marilube oil; SNC products, including petroleum ether, naphtha, toluene, xylene, crude octene, methyl alcohol, normal paraffin, viscosity-graded asphalt cement, and sulfur; and natural gas.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Italian refiner Saras is constructing a ship-refueling terminal at its Sardinia plant and will market a new, cleaner marine fuel ahead of a major regulatory change in 2020, its chief executive told Reuters.

From January 2020, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) will ban ships from using fuels with a sulfur content above 0.5 percent, compared with 3.5 percent now, in one of the biggest changes in the oil market in decades.

Refineries around the world have been gearing up for the switch by reducing output of high-sulfur fuel and upgrading plants to maximize production of the cleaner, more expensive fuel, which is similar to diesel.

Saras is investing in infrastructure that will allow ships to dock outside its 300,000-barrels-per-day Sarroch refinery in Sardinia to directly load ultra-low-sulfur marine fuel oil (ULSFO), in what is known as bunkering, CEO Dario Scaffardi said.

"Today, bunkering is based mainly on blending. In the Mediterranean you have Malta, where people bring different fuels and blend it. With the new specs, this (blending) will be very difficult to achieve for technical reasons so people like us, who will be able to produce directly the new fuel, will have the competitive advantage," Scaffardi said. "With a small investment, we will have bunkering infrastructure and a lightering vessel and start selling locally fuels to expand the market."

The company did not disclose the size of the investment. Saras, one of Europe's most modern refineries which also has a trading desk in Geneva, is developing its own ULSFO that the company will start marketing directly to shippers. The plant will initially produce 500,000 to 600,000 tons of ULSFO per year, he said.
MRC