Saudi Aramco to deliver 500,000 barrels per month of crude to Egypt refineries -minister

MOSCOW (MRC) - Saudi Aramco has agreed to deliver more than 500,000 barrels of crude oil every month to Egyptian refineries starting in January, Egyptian Petroleum Minister Tarek El Molla said, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The minister told Reuters that the agreement would be effective for a period of six months.

As MRC informed earlier, Saudi Aramco signed an agreement to invest in a refinery-petrochemical project in eastern China, part of its strategy to expand in downstream operations globally.

Saudi Aramco, officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a Saudi Arabian national oil and natural gas company based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco"s value has been estimated at up to USD10 trillion in the Financial Times, making it the world"s most valuable company. Saudi Aramco has both the largest proven crude oil reserves, at more than 260 billion barrels, and largest daily oil production.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- India's Reliance Industries Limited or RIL will make its first term paraxylene (PX) export to China from the second phase of its new 2.2 million mt/year plant at Jamnagar in late April, as per Apic-online with reference to industry sources.

Of the 35,000 mt of PX due to load from Sikka in Gujarat on the MT Bunga Angelica, 15,000 mt will be discharged at Dalian in China under term contracts, sources said. The rest will form part of Reliance's regular shipments to the region.

The volume en route to China is output from the second phase of Reliance's aromatics plant, which a source close to the company said had been ramping up since early April and was operating at a "fairly high rate now."

The first phase of the plant was commissioned last December.

In addition, 10,000 mt of benzene output from the plant was heard to have been sold on a spot basis for May loading, industry sources said, although further details could not be verified.

The No.2 Reliance plant at Jamnagar has a nameplate production capacity of 2.2 million mt/year of PX and 500,000 mt/year of benzene.

It more than doubles RIL's PX production capacity to 4.2 million mt/year, making it the world's second-largest PX producer with 9% of global PX capacity and 11% share of global production, the company said in a statement announcing the commissioning the first phase of the plant last December.

As MRC informed before, in February 2016, RIL was awarded a contract worth Rs. 100 crore to Petron Engineering Construction Ltd for its linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) plant in Gujarat. The LLDPE plant is part of RIL's J-3 project in Jamnagar in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The J-3 project boasts of a petroleum refinery and allied petrochemical plants for the production of plastics and fibre intermediates.

Reliance Industries is one of the world's largest producers of polymers. Thus, the company produces among others polypropylene, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Invistaб a world leader in fibers, resins and chemical intermediates, and the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP) have signed a memorandum of cooperation related to Invista's new adiponitrile (ADN) facility planned to be built in Shanghai, China, according to Apic-online.

The 400,000-t/y ADN unit, on which engineering has already begun, is estimated to cost over USD1-billion. Construction is expected to begin in 2020 with start-up by 2022.

According to the memorandum of cooperation, Invista will advance its internal decision-making process for the project with strong support from the Shanghai government and SCIP, including commitment to intellectual property protections and joint efforts to execute an investment agreement.

"With this memorandum of cooperation and a commitment to work toward an investment agreement, we are pleased to be taking the next step toward finalizing the investment and its location," noted Invista Chairman and Chief Executive Jeff Gentry.

"Shanghai is an attractive location in part due to the benefits of integrating the new facility into our existing HMD (hexamethylene diamine) and polymer plants at SCIP."

As MRC informed before, to combat a global shortage of nylon 6/6 resin, materials firm Invista will build a USD1 billion plant in Shanghai making adiponitrile, a key nylon 6/6 feedstock that’s been in short supply, said producer in August 2018. Construction of the plant would begin in 2020, with production starting in 2023, officials with Wichita, Kan.-based Invista said in an Aug. 8 news release. They added that they’ve started the project "to satisfy the strong, local demand for the nylon 6/6 intermediate chemical."

Invista is one of the world's largest integrated producers of polymers and fibers, primarily for nylon, spandex and polyester applications. With a business presence in over 20 countries, Invista's global businesses deliver exceptional value for their customers through technology innovations, market insights and a powerful portfolio of global trademarks.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- State oil giant Saudi Aramco said on Wednesday it expects to decide by mid-2019 how to finance the acquisition of Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), reported Reuters.

"The decision on financing the SABIC acquisition is expected to be taken in the first half," said Amin Nasser, chief executive of Aramco.

"We have internal resources, then of course there are banks and the bond market, which we are evaluating at the moment," he added.

As MRC informed before, in October 2018, Saudi Aramco signed an agreement to invest in a refinery-petrochemical project in eastern China, part of its strategy to expand in downstream operations globally.

Saudi Aramco, officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a Saudi Arabian national oil and natural gas company based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco"s value has been estimated at up to USD10 trillion in the Financial Times, making it the world"s most valuable company. Saudi Aramco has both the largest proven crude oil reserves, at more than 260 billion barrels, and largest daily oil production.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sasol announced today that Mr Stephan Schoeman, the Group Executive Committee (GEC) member responsible for, among others, Sasol's Lake Charles Chemicals Project in Louisiana in the United States (LCCP), will be retiring from the Company after 30 years of service, said the company.

Stephan joined Sasol in 1989 and has held various management positions in Sasol. He played a key role in our international expansion strategy when he was placed in Hong Kong and Germany. Stephan served as Managing Director of Sasol Infrachem from 2009 and was appointed Managing Director of Sasol Synfuels in 2011.

In 2014, he was appointed to the GEC as Executive Vice President (EVP): Technology. In 2016, Stephan took on responsibility for the LCCP and has since been instrumental in overseeing the engineering and construction works of the new plant.

With effect from 1 April 2019, project accountabilities for the LCCP will report to Mr Fleetwood Grobler in his capacity as EVP: Chemicals Business. The commissioning and operations of the LCCP already report to Mr Bernard Klingenberg, who is the EVP responsible for Sasol operations globally.

As announced on 8 February 2019, engineering and procurement activities were substantially complete at the end of December 2018, and construction progress was at 84%.
MRC