Worlds largest refining company forecasts 50 pct jump in 2018 profit

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China Petrochemical Corp. (Sinopec Group), the world's largest refining company, forecasts that its 2018 profit jumped over 50 percent on the back of lower costs and rising sales as the group improved efficiency despite a tough economic environment, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Sinopec, whose mission is to "provide energy for better life", achieved the stellar performance with an unwavering commitment to high quality and a focus on deepening supply-side reforms. Sinopec made big strides in 2018 in expanding market share both at home and abroad. In the domestic oil & gas exploration and production business, Sinopec stabilized and revived the upstream production of crude oil, and effectively scaled up production of natural gas, while slashing the total cost of production per unit through improved efficiency. Domestic sales of oil products also increased amid fierce competition as the group enhanced collaboration between production and sales segments.

Chemicals marketing volume also rose from the previous year as the group deepened integration between production, marketing, research and application, while fine-tuning services to meet customers' individual needs. The group also aggressively expanded sales of refined oil, which exceeded 40 million tonnes for the first time and total sales of lubricant rose 5 percent from last year; of which high-end products jumped 10 percent.

The group also strove to meet diversified demands for chemical feedstock and oil products at home, and overseas with an expansion in exports. In its overseas oil & gas business, Sinopec reinforced cost control in managing existing upstream portfolios, and actively pushed ahead with asset disposals, resulting in a continuous reduction in the group's overseas cash operating cost per barrel.

In its oil refining business, Sinopec maintained strong sales momentum as the group enhanced coordination between production and marketing, while vigorously optimizing product slate based on market conditions and profitability. Diesel to gasoline ratio was lowered to 1.06, as the group completed quality upgrading of the fuel.

In the chemicals production and operation segment, Sinopec capitalized on favorable market conditions to boost efficiency, by closely integrating production with sales, and speeding up adjustment of product slate. The cost of producing each tonne of ethylene continued to fall, while the proportion of synthetic chemical products with high added value continued to rise.

In the field of natural gas, Sinopec strengthened coordination between self-produced gas and imported LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) and accelerated the pace of entering the end user market by building pipelines and LNG receiving facilities.

Good progress was also made in the petroleum engineering services segment. The value of newly-signed domestic and overseas contracts rose from a year earlier as the group further consolidated the business and disposed of loss-making projects. In refining and petrochemical engineering services, Sinopec optimized its business structure and increased contract sales by expanding into new markets, including areas along China's milestone "Belt and Road" initiative.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - State-run Bharat Petroleum Corp will import 1 million barrels of Iranian oil in February after a gap of three months, with the nation's overall purchases from Tehran remaining at 9 million barrels, three industry sources said, as pe Reuters.

The United States in early November granted India a six-month waiver from sanctions on Iran's oil exports. Under the agreement, New Delhi must restrict its Iranian oil purchases to 1.25 million tonnes, or 9 million barrels.

BPCL and Hindustan Petroleum Corp will lift 1 million barrels each of Iranian crude oil in February, the sources said. HPCL this month resumed purchases of Iranian oil after a gap of six months. The company halted Iranian oil purchases in July after its insurance company refused to provide cover for the crude because of U.S. sanctions, although its chairman said HPCL may resume buying Iranian oil under sanctions waivers.

Indian Oil Corp, the country's top refiner, will lift 5 million barrels of Iranian oil in February, the same as this month. Mangalore Petrochemicals Ltd will buy 2 million barrels compared with 3 million barrels this month, the sources said.

An IOC official had previously said his firm would lift 180,000 bpd - the full volume contracted under an annual deal with Iran for this fiscal year ending March 31, 2019.

India recently exempted rupee payments to the National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC) for crude oil imports from a steep withholding tax, paving way for pending dues to be cleared.

HPCL, IOC and BPCL did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while MRPL declined comment.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Malaysian state oil company Petronas started trial runs at the crude distillation unit (CDU) for a joint-venture refinery with Saudi Aramco in Malaysia last week, two sources with knowledge of the matter said, as per Reuters.

The move marks a major milestone for the USD2.7 billion project known as RAPID - or Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development - located in Pengerang in Johor, at the southern tip of peninsular Malaysia. The test runs put the project on track for commercial operation in 2019.

The company also received its second cargo of 2 million barrels of Saudi crude last week, according to the sources and data on Refinitiv Eikon. Petronas could not be immediately reached for comment.

RAPID consists of a 300,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) refinery and secondary refining units that will allow the companies to produce refined oil products that meet Euro 5 fuel specifications. The refinery is linked to a petrochemical complex with a capacity of 7.7 million tonnes a year.

The first crude oil cargo for RAPID was offloaded at Pengerang in September. The refinery is one of four new complexes in Asia that represent a combined processing capacity of nearly 1.3 million bpd scheduled to start up from late 2018 to 2019.

Another of the four complexes, a 400,000-bpd refinery, owned by Hengli Petrochemical in Dalian in northeast China, started trial runs in December.

These plants will increase Asia’s crude demand while adding to fuel output in the region.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A new bitumen plant and liquefied gas filling station were launched as part of the 1st phase of Heydar Aliyev Refinery’s reconstruction and modernization program, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev attended the opening ceremony.

SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev reported to the head of state that the opening of the bitumen plant would increase the annual production from 250,000 up to 400,000 tons. High-quality bitumen PEN 40/60 will be produced in the plant to meet domestic demand.

The new facility will save energy and make a significant contribution to environment protection in Baku. It will also minimize the plant's operational costs. The construction of the new bitumen plant was necessary because of the reconstruction of the Heydar Aliyev Refinery and the phased cleaning of the former Azerneftyag’s territory to involve it in the White City project.

The 1st phase of the modernization project consists of 3 main parts: construction of the new bitumen plant and gas-filling station, demounting and cleaning work in the areas where new plants are planned to be built in the next phases plus preparation for the construction work.

In 2016, a detailed engineering, procurement, construction and management contract (EPCm) for a new bitumen plant was signed with Poerner Gruppe, Austria. Azfen, the construction contractor began building of the facility in April, 2017. 400 local workers and specialists were involved in the construction.

Reconstruction work at the Heydar Aliyev Oil Refinery is being done in 3 phases. The 2nd phase of reconstruction work to be completed by the end of 2020 will facilitate the production of Euro-5 diesel fuel while the 3rd phase scheduled for the beginning of 2021 will enable the production of Euro-5-standard A-92/95/98 gasoline.

As MRC reported earlier, in October 2018, Azeri state energy company SOCAR started up its new oil refinery in Turkey. The USD6.3 billion Star refinery, the first in Turkey built in 30 years, will supply feedstock to Turkish petrochemicals firm Petkim to help to cut Turkey’s dependence on imported refined oil products. It will boost Turkish refining capacity by 30%.

SOCAR, which is keen on expanding operations in the retail oil products market abroad, is involved in exploring oil and gas fields, producing, processing, and transporting oil, gas, and gas condensate, marketing petroleum and petrochemical products in the domestic and international markets, and supplying natural gas to industry and the public in Azerbaijan.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) – The new application allows personnel to accurately record field condition data and automatically deliver that data to other plant systems where decision makers can drive effective action, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Most plants rely on manual inspection rounds to detect abnormal plant conditions not identified by sensors. With AMS Inspection Rounds, operators on rounds can electronically record any abnormal or hazardous conditions immediately, such as unusual equipment noise, spills, smells, excessive corrosion, or safety hazards. Condition data can be entered on the ruggedized AMS Trex in real-time—timestamped for compliance and audit requirements.

AMS Inspection Rounds delivers condition data to other plant systems via a wired or secure wi-fi connection, eliminating the need for manual entry. It also provides automated workflows to operations and maintenance personnel while they are in the field, ensuring complete, consistent, and repeatable collection of condition data.

"Route-based inspections are a key line of defense for identifying abnormal and unsafe conditions that may reduce efficiency or put personnel in danger,” said Mani Janardhanan, vice president of product management, Plantweb and reliability solutions, Emerson Automation Solutions. “AMS Inspection Rounds helps ensure that issues impacting safety and reliability are detected, reported, and resolved earlier."

With clear dashboards of routes, status, alerts, and action items, users can identify, schedule, and coordinate steps for resolving issues more quickly. Electronic recording of route data saves hours of time typically lost in transcribing paper notes to electronic media and simplifies the generation of audit trails—freeing personnel to focus on more important tasks. Operations and maintenance teams can also access historical data to identify and eliminate root causes of recurring problems.
MRC