State oil company of Azerbaijan selects Honeywell for modernization program

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Honeywell announced that the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) will use Honeywell UOP's Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) technology to supply high-quality hydrogen as part of the modernization of the Heydar Aliyev Oil Refinery (HAOR) in Baku, Azerbaijan, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Pure hydrogen is essential to the refining process, where it is used to decontaminate oil and facilitate catalytic processes that produce clean-burning fuels, including those that meet Euro V standards for vehicle emissions. The PSA technology will help Azerbaijan meet growing domestic demand for transportation fuels that meet the Euro V standards.

"Honeywell UOP's hydrogen technology is an important element of SOCAR's modernization program for the Heydar Aliyev Oil Refinery," said Nigel Orchard, regional vice president – Europe, Africa and Central Asia, at Honeywell UOP. "The modernization program will help SOCAR to remain among the most advanced refiners in the region, further improving environmental protection along with the quality of life in Azerbaijan."

Honeywell UOP will provide two PSA units to the refinery, both of which will be controlled by Honeywell Process Solutions C300 distributed control systems.

When completed, the modernization will enable the refinery to process 7.5 million metric tons per annum of crude oil blended from local sources, including heavier Neft Dashlari and lighter Surakhani and Shirvan crude oils and efficiently produce Euro V gasoline and diesel, jet fuel and asphalt.

"Hydrogen is an important element in the refining process, being produced as a byproduct of refining, and on-purpose from a steam methane reformer," Orchard said. "UOP's PSA technology purifies this hydrogen so it essentially can be recycled into the refinery to remove impurities and to perform catalytic processes that transform crude oil into clean fuels and other products."

The Heydar Aliyev Oil Refinery was originally established in 1953 by the Ministry of the Oil Industry of the former Soviet Union. In 1980, UOP installed the refinery's first CCR Platforming™ and naphtha hydrotreating units, marking an important step in the transition to high-octane gasoline production throughout the Soviet Union. On its 50th anniversary in 2003, the refinery was renamed in honor of Heydar Aliyev, the leader of Azerbaijan.

The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) is involved in exploration of oil and gas fields; producing, processing, and transporting oil, gas, and gas condensate; and marketing petroleum and petrochemical products in domestic and international markets.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shanghai SECCO Petrochemical is in plans to restart its polystyrene (PS) plant following a maintenance turnaround, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the plant is expected to be brought on-stream this weekend. The plant was under maintenance from early-October, 2018.

Located in Shanghai, China, the PS plant has a production capacity of 300,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed before, in May 2017, BP announced that it had agreed to sell its 50% stake in the Shanghai SECCO Petrochemical Company Limited (SECCO) to Gaoqiao Petrochemical Co Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), BP’s joint venture partner, for a total consideration of USD1.68 bln.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- North America’s three largest plastics trade groups are praising the Nov. 30 signing of a new trade agreement between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, as per Canplastics.

The Canadian Plastics Industry Association (CPIA), the Washington. D.C.-based Plastics Industry Association, and the Asociacion Nacional de Industrias del Plastico in Mexico City have issued a joint statement in response to the signing of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), in which they “applaud the work of negotiators from the U.S., Mexico and Canada on the signing of a new, modernized trade agreement that sets the stage for greater certainty throughout the continent – certainty that will support continued business growth and innovation for the plastics industries of each party to the agreement."

"The USMCA makes crucial upgrades and updates to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that will enable the world’s strongest trilateral trade relationship to become even stronger,” the statement said. "We urge the legislatures of the U.S., Canada and Mexico to ratify this agreement and give the industry the certainty it needs to hire new workers and invest in the future, safe in the knowledge that North America once again has a vibrant, reliable trade regime to build on."

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) also issued a statement in support of the USMCA signing, but also called on U.S. President Donald Trump to use the agreement to cancel tariffs on steel and aluminum. “The Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum still cast a shadow over the zero-tariff philosophy of the USMCA,” ACC said. “We urge President Trump to rescind all tariffs and avoid any quotas on steel and aluminum in order to maximize the job and economic growth made possible by the USMCA."
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Paul Polman, the CEO of global consumer goods manufacturer Unilever, will retire from the company effective January 1, 2019, to be replaced byAlan Jope, who is currently the president of Unilever’s beauty and personal care division, as per Canplastics.

Polman has been Unilever CEO for over 10 years, during which time the company transitioned towards what it calls a “new model of sustainable growth.” Among other initiatives, Unilever announced plans to have all of its plastic packaging fully reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.

“Paul is an exceptional business leader who has transformed Unilever, making it one of the best-performing companies in its sector, and one of the most admired businesses in the world,” Unilever chairman Marijn Dekkers said in a statement. “His role in helping to define a new era of responsible capitalism, embodied in the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, marks him out as one of the most far-sighted business leaders of his generation.”

Jope, 54, has led beauty and personal care, Unilever’s largest division, since 2014, and has been on the company’s Leadership Executive since 2011. He joined the company as a graduate marketing trainee in 1985.

Unilever is one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies. Its Canadian division, Unilever Canada, is headquartered in Toronto.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oil refiners’ profits in Asia have slumped to the lowest in more than four years after refineries ramped up output in the fourth quarter and churned out excess fuel in anticipation of stronger demand during winter, reported Reuters.

Oil inventories are building as new refineries in China and Vietnam are running at full tilt, adding to Asia’s supplies.

Oil demand also slowed after global Brent crude prices jumped to more than USD80 a barrel in September and as the global economic outlook turned gloomy, although a sharp retreat in prices in the past month to below $60 could start to spur demand again.

Factory activity and export orders weakened in November, prompting analysts to predict no quick rebound amid persistent trade tensions.

The margins at a typical Singapore complex refinery, a reference for profits at refineries across Asia, fell to USD2.49 a barrel on Thursday, the lowest since August 2014, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.

The margins are also the lowest for this time of the year since 2008, the data showed.

Weakness in the oil complex started in October in gasoline and naphtha, a feedstock for petrochemicals, as refiners processed more light oil that gives a bigger yield on these products also known as light distillates.

"The glut in the market is in light oil," Martijn Rats, Morgan Stanley’s global oil strategist said.

"The gasoline crack has deteriorated an enormous amount and is very close to zero at the moment which is very unusual."

Refiners now face losses of more than USD1 a barrel for every barrel of gasoline they produced.

Spot gasoil and jet fuel cargoes are also being sold at deeper discounts after China issued more export quotas for state refiners to ship products overseas and added to supplies within Asia.

The discount for gasoil, the main diesel grade with 10 parts per million (ppm) sulphur, is at its widest since 2011 when Reuters first started assessing the grade.

Several oil tankers are storing gasoil off Taiwan amid a mild winter that reduces demand to burn oil for heating purposes, traders said.

"It’s weather driven ... a mild winter so far in Europe and Asia is the killer. The volatility will continue till you get strong weather support," said Sri Paravaikkarasu, head of east of Suez oil for consultants FGE in Singapore.

KY Lin, a spokesman at Formosa Petrochemical Corp, one of the largest fuel exporters in Asia, is hopeful that the recent drop in oil prices could boost demand.

"Even though there’s an ongoing trade war, countries will still need to use oil," he said.
MRC