Indian Oil Corp issues five-year tanker tender to import Iraqi oil: document

MOSCOW (MRC) -- India’s top refiner, Indian Oil Corp (IOC), has issued a global tender to charter scrubber-fitted oil tankers for at least five years to import Iraqi oil, a tender document seen by Reuters showed.

The tender says Indian shippers will be given first right of refusal for the contract as the nation seeks to boost its shipping industry. It is seeking bids from vessels that are less than 10-years old.

A scrubber is a product that strips out sulfur emissions and, in doing so, can allow shippers to use dirtier fuel oil but still meet new global requirements for lower emissions.

IOC and the country’s second biggest state-owned refiner, Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL), last year also issued similar tenders seeking vessels for five years.

The two refiners, however, could not award the tenders as there were very few bids by shippers because at the time they were seeking clarity on the new fuel emissions requirements.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is introducing the rules on marine fuels from the beginning of 2020, limiting the sulfur content to 0.5 percent, down substantially from the current 3.5 percent, to curb shipping pollution.

IOC’s tender document is seeking global bids for a very large crude carrier (VLCC) capable of carrying Iraqi Basra Light and Basra Heavy crude for five years and grants Indian shippers the right of first refusal.

BPCL will soon issue a domestic tender seeking to hire Suezmax tankers capable of carrying up to 1 million barrels of oil for a five-year period, two industry sources said.

The IMO says that when the new rules come into force it will ban ships that do not have scrubbers from carrying any fuel oil, making it easier to catch cheaters.

The duration of the IOC contract can be extended by another two years to a total of seven, the tender document showed. The tender will close on January 7 and bids will remain valid until March 11, the document showed.

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

KRAIBURG TPE achieves new Asia Pacific milestone with additional production line

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The addition of a new production line in the Malaysia plant emphasizes KRAIBURG TPE’s commitment to providing customers with the best quality, satisfaction and value, as per the company's press release.

Kuala Lumpur, December 2018, KRAIBURG TPE’s will begin operations of a new production line at its Malaysia plant this month to boost production capacity by 35% and increase KRAIBURG TPE’s total production capabilities to 60,000mt worldwide.

KRAIBURG TPE is expanding its offices and warehouse in Malaysia in tandem with the new production line to complement its production expansion. The company will also be extending its sales network in Hanoi, Vietnam, to increase its brand presence and enhance its customer serve in the region.

KRAIBURG TPE has relied on its three production sites for many years, namely Waldkraiburg (Germany), Atlanta (Georgia, USA) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) to guarantee delivery of its TPE compounds on a long-term basis.
Franz Hinterecker, CEO of KRAIBURG TPE says: "Our success in the market is based on strong customer orientation, global presence and influential innovations. Continuously investing in the international network of our production plants and sales offices is a mainstay of our strategy."

The consistent expansion of production capacities follows KRAIBURG TPE’s strategic approach to focus on its core competences. KRAIBURG TPE measures its success by customer satisfaction through a unique quality concept that takes people, processes and products into account, centred on exceptional, high quality and custom-engineered compounds.

As MRC wrote before, in October 2018, KRAIBURG TPE has presented its market-driven and customer-oriented development expertise. In addition to current applications for its thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs), the company also showcased two advanced new material series that provide excellent properties for automotive interior and consumer applications.

Kraiburg Rubber (Suzhou) Co. Ltd. was established in 2005 and is part of the Waldkraiburg-based German company Kraiburg Holding GmbH & Co. KG. The company produces a wide range of standard rubber compounds (based on NR, EPDM, CR, AEM, SBR, FKM, etc.) for automotive, building and construction applications, and other industrial markets as well as highly customised products for all kinds of industries at its Suzhou site. The compounds are produced on highly automated and fully process-controlled mixing lines, based on state-of-the-art technology. The company has 130 employees.
MRC

Sonatrach closes ESSO Italiana refinery transaction

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The national hydrocarbons group Sonatrach and ESSO Italiana (a subsidiary of the US group ExxonMobil) closed Saturday in Milan (Italy) the transaction on the Augusta refinery, said Sonatrach in a statement, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The scope of this transaction includes the Augusta refinery (Sicily), the three oil terminals in Palermo, Naples and Augusta, as well as interests in pipelines linking the refinery to the various terminals, the source said.

As a result, Sonatrach's Italian refining subsidiary, named Sonatrach Raffineria Italiana Srl, became the owner of these assets from Saturday, December 1, 2018.

The closing of this transaction follows a 6-month transition process that allowed Sonatrach '' to lift all suspensive conditions, including those related to anti-trust agreements '', explains Sonatrach. Through this acquisition, the Sonatrach refining system will be reinforced with an additional refining capacity of 10 million tons of treatment per year and a storage capacity equivalent to an additional autonomy of 3 days of gas oil consumption. and 3 days of fuel consumption.

This refining capacity places this refinery second among Sonatrach's capacity positions after the Skikda refinery (16 million tonnes / year). The same acquisition will allow Sonatrach to close its local gas and gasoline deficit and sell surplus products in international markets.

As a reminder, when Sonatrach signed the agreement with Esso Italiana in Rome in May 2018 for this acquisition, it then announced that the transfer of the property of the refinery and its assets would take place at the end of 2018, subject to compliance with certain conditions, including the approval of this sale by the authorities in charge of competition.

Sonatrach, after obtaining the agreement of the Algerian authorities, had responded favorably to the consultation launched by ExxonMobil at the end of August 2017 for the sale of this refinery whose market share in the Mediterranean is 25%.

Capable of processing both Sahara Blend and residual fuel from the Skikda refinery, the Augusta refinery integrates directly into Sonatrach's refining system. It can also directly process products that are surplus in Algeria in order to re-import products that are currently in deficit, such as gas oil and gasoline.

The Augusta refinery is a refinery that processes light crudes such as Algerian Sahara Blend, Arabian Light (Saudi Arabia) or Azeri (Azerbaijan). In the Mediterranean, Augusta is best known for being the leading producer of base oils in this region.

During the 90s, this refinery regularly obtained from Sonatrach in Zarzaitine (Illizi) which offers a good yield in base oil. Until 2009, this refinery also sourced low-sulfur fuel from the Skikda refinery.
MRC

INEOS completed USD80m investment to extend the life of Clipper South, its Southern North Sea gas field

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A new pipeline, subsea infrastructure and processing equipment has been installed to re-route production from the Clipper South field as ConocoPhillips commence the shutdown of operations at the existing Theddlethorpe Gas Terminal, said Ineos.

The new subsea pipeline will now transport production to the Shell-operated Clipper platform and onwards via existing pipelines to the Bacton Terminal.

INEOS Oil and Gas UK has completed a project to re-route production from its Clipper South field via the Shell operated Clipper field into the Bacton processing terminal.

The USD80m investment into a new pipeline and sub-sea equipment will extend the life of the Clipper South field, following closure in October of the existing facilities at the Theddlethorpe Gas Terminal, previously operated by ConocoPhillips.

David Brooks, CEO INEOS Oil & Gas UK commented "The completion of the project is another example of INEOS’ commitment to our Oil & Gas business and supports the Government’s strategy to maximise economic recovery of gas from the North Sea. It is a great achievement for our business and has been made possible through our project team’s hard work and dedication."

"We would like to thank Spirit Energy, our JV partner, for their support throughout the project and the operational, technical and commercial collaboration with Shell as the owner of the facilities."

Eric Marston, Area Manager, Southern North Sea at the Oil and Gas Authority said: “The re-development and re-routing of the gas pipeline showed great adaptability and resolve to extend the life of the Clipper Field. It’s a great example of collaboration between operators INEOS, Shell and Spirit Energy in working together to deliver this project."

INEOS and Spirit Energy look forward to continuing safe operations and further successful collaboration with Shell in the area going forward.
MRC

EPIK to develop “Newcastle LNG” FSRU Import Terminal

MOSCOW (MRC) -- EPIK Co. Ltd. (EPIK), a South Korea-based liquefied natural gas (LNG) floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) project development company, announced that it has entered into a Project Development Option Agreement with Port of Newcastle, Australia to commence preliminary works on a proposed LNG FSRU import terminal, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The project, named “Newcastle LNG,” will be sited within the Port of Newcastle, optimally located to serve the New South Wales gas market where natural gas prices remain higher than Asian LNG prices.

Jee Yoon, EPIK’s Founder and Managing Director, said, "Based on our assessment of the New South Wales gas market, particularly along coastal demand regions such as Newcastle and Sydney, we are confident that by importing LNG via a new, low cost FSRU terminal, we will be able to provide an infrastructure solution that is capable of delivering a cost-efficient source of alternative gas supplies to the region on a long-term basis."

Situated at the back-end of the existing gas transmission network, Port of Newcastle is one of Australia’s largest ports and a major trade and logistics hub, together making it an optimal area to develop an LNG import terminal. Mr. Yoon continued, “We are very excited to be working with Port of Newcastle and hope to expand our relationship by discussing other potential projects, such as a gas-fired power plant and an LNG bunkering facility."

Port of Newcastle’s Executive Manager Customer & Strategic Development, Ian Doherty, said the deepwater port was uniquely placed on Australia’s east coast due to its significant land and channel capacity, making it an attractive location for the Newcastle LNG project. “This type of development opportunity is consistent with our diversification plans and we’re pleased to be supporting EPIK as it conducts preliminary investigation work, especially given its potential benefits for the NSW economy,” Mr Doherty said.

The potential investment for the Newcastle LNG project is estimated to be between US$400M and USD430M, which will include a 170,000m3 class new-build FSRU and associated on-shore infrastructure. EPIK expects to place an order for the FSRU new-build with a shipyard subject to receiving regulatory approvals for the project.
MRC