Shell raises oil storage capacity at Singapore Bukom refinery

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Royal Dutch Shell has increased the storage capacity at its Bukom refinery in Singapore by nearly 1.3 million barrels by building two crude oil tanks, reported Reuters with reference to the company's statement.

Shell said the project was part of its ongoing effort to improve competitiveness by investing in storage and logistics at its core refineries.

"This project positions Shell to capture stronger margins and better manage market volatility over the coming years," said Robin Mooldijk, executive vice president for manufacturing at Shell, in a statement.

"These new facilities enable us to buy more oil when market conditions are attractive," he added.

The Pulau Bukom manufacturing site is an integrated refinery and chemicals site and can process up to 500,000 barrels per day of oil.

Singapore is Shell’s largest petrochemical production and export centre in the Asia-Pacific region.

The company added that demand for some oil products, including diesel, jet fuel and bitumen, is expected to increase over the next two decades as population grows and more people achieve a higher standard of living.

As MRC wrote previously, in May 2018. China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and Shell Nanhai B.V. (Shell) announced the official start-up of the second ethylene cracker at their Nanhai petrochemicals complex in Huizhou, Guangdong Province, China.

Royal Dutch Shell plc is incorporated in England and Wales, has its headquarters in The Hague and is listed on the London, Amsterdam, and New York stock exchanges. Shell companies have operations in more than 70 countries and territories with businesses including oil and gas exploration and production; production and marketing of liquefied natural gas and gas to liquids; manufacturing, marketing and shipping of oil products and chemicals and renewable energy projects.
MRC

MOSOCW (MRC) -- There were active negotiations over prices of European polyvinyl chloride (PVC) for June shipments to the CIS markets this week. Amid steadiness of feedstocks prices, European producers maintained their export prices at the level of May with a slight increase from some producers, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

The June contract price of ethylene was agreed at the level of May, despite a major fall in oil prices in the last two weeks. On the back of steady prices of the main feedstock - ethylene - European producers did not adjust their export PVC prices for deliveries to the CIS countries either, only in some cases, prices rose by EUR5/tonne from May.

Negotiators said some producers still had export restrictions due to scheduled shutdowns for maintenance. Also, because of problems in Brazil, some manufacturers promptly switched their export flows.

Demand for PVC increased from the main consumers in the CIS countries in June, but high export prices of European producers limited the growth in purchases.

Deals for June shipments of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) to the CIS markets were done in the range of EUR720-810/tonne FCA, whereas last month's deals were done in the range of EUR720-805/tonne FCA.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SIBUR Holding and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) signed a Term Sheet for a potential joint venture (JV) that could be based at Amur Gas Chemical Complex (AGCC), said the producer on its site.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China, and Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation. Subject to SIBUR's final investment decision, Sinopec is expected to have a 40% share in the JV.

“The partnership will allow the parties to tap into shared expertise and experience to maximise efficiency of new large-scale projects and to exchange best practices”, said Dmitry Konov, Chairman of the Management Board at SIBUR Holding.

"The AGCC is another profound and pragmatic cooperation since Sinopec becoming a strategic investor in SIBUR Holding. Through joint effort of both parties, sharing of best industry practices, and further exploiting advantages and synergies of the two companies, we expect build to the project successfully and make it a model for the extension of the bilateral energy cooperation from upstream to the petrochemical sector." Said Dai Houliang, Chairman of Sinopec.

As MRC reported earlier, in May 2015, Sibur signed a contract with Sinopec to establish a joint venture for the construction of a 50,000 tpa butadiene nitrile rubber (or "NBR") plant at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park, 50km south of Shanghai.

SIBUR is a uniquely positioned vertically integrated gas processing and petrochemicals company. We own and operate Russia’s largest gas processing business in terms of associated petroleum gas processing volumes and are a leader in the Russian petrochemicals industry. As of 31 March 2014, SIBUR operated 27 production sites located all over Russia, had over 1,400 large customers engaged in the energy, chemical, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), automotive, construction and other industries in approximately 70 countries worldwide and employed over 27,000 personnel.

Sinopec Corp. is one of the largest scale integrated energy and chemical company with upstream, midstream and downstream operations. Its principal business includes: exploring, developing, producing and trading crude oil and natural gas; producing, storing, transporting and distributing and marketing petroleum products, petrochemical products, synthetic fiber, fertilizer and other chemical products. Its refining capacity and ethylene capacity rank No.2 and No.4 globally. Sinopec listed in Hong Kong, New York, London and Shanghai in August 2001. Sinopec Group, the parent company of Sinopec Corp., is ranked the 5th in Fortune Global 500 in 2012.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SIBUR, the largest integrated petrochemicals company in Russia, and Norner, a global leader in petrochemical R&D services, have signed an agreement to cooperate in product development and polymer recycling at SIBUR’s PolyLab, as per SIBUR's press release.

Thanks to their durability, strength, eco-friendliness and other advantages, such polymers as polyethylene and polypropylene are some of the most widely used synthetic materials, popular with the construction, utilities, automotive, healthcare, food and other industries. PolyLab’s key priority is to promote the use of polymers both to manufacture existing products, and to design innovative product solutions to drive technological advancement in healthcare, consumer goods, automotive, and construction industries. PolyLab will foster the use of recycled materials and the application of polymers in circular economy. To this end, samples of new PE and PP grades will be transformed at the Centre's pilot manufacturing lines into pipes, medical goods, films, food packaging, canisters and other products. This will provide a deeper insight into polymers’ properties and their impact on the end product quality to further improve the materials and boost production efficiency.

A leader in R&D services in polymers, Norway’s Norner АS has many years of practical and theoretical experience in synthesising, modifying and recycling polymers and adapting to the needs of end customers. Norner has been working with SIBUR in several projects during the last seven years, reducing cost and promoting value added polymer grades.

Under the cooperation agreement, SIBUR and Norner will jointly develop new product solutions and optimise polymer stabilising formulas. These will include innovative green polymer grades, catalysis testing, as well as new chemical and technical recycling technologies.

“Partnering with Norner will take our polymer production to the next level and will help us launch advanced grades in line with the highest environmental standards. I am certain that our joint expertise will move the recycling market forward,” said Management Board Member, Executive Director at SIBUR Sergey Komyshan.

"We are proud to see the PolyLab as a result of our cooperation with SIBUR" said Lars H. Evensen Director Business Development at Norner. "The plastics industry believes that plastics are a valuable resource that bring numerous benefits to modern society, significantly contributing to sustainable solutions. Investing in R&D like demonstrated by SIBUR is the only way to a more sustainable polymer industry."

As MRC reported before, in late May 2019, Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev cut the ribbon of the first domestic R&D centre for the development and testing of polymer products - SIBUR PolyLab located at the Skolkovo Innovation Centre.

SIBUR is a uniquely positioned vertically integrated gas processing and petrochemicals company. We own and operate Russia’s largest gas processing business in terms of associated petroleum gas processing volumes and are a leader in the Russian petrochemicals industry. As of 31 March 2014, SIBUR operated 27 production sites located all over Russia, had over 1,400 large customers engaged in the energy, chemical, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), automotive, construction and other industries in approximately 70 countries worldwide and employed over 27,000 personnel.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- More than a million tonnes of organic chloride contaminated oil from Russia's Druzhba ("Friendship") pipeline is expected to be shipped back from Belarus. The oil, diluted to usable levels is routed for Russian refineries and export ports, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The pipeline was halted in April after excessive levels of organic chloride used in oil extraction were found on the million-barrel-per-day pipeline that crosses Belarus and serves customers as far west as Germany.

Pipeline operator Transneft, which denies responsibility for the contamination, has agreed to pump back 1.3 million tonnes of oil from Belarus and has begun doing so.

It has pledged to reduce organic chloride levels that in some places topped 300 parts per million (ppm) to a usable 6 ppm by blending tainted crude with clean oil in its network, according to three industry sources who spoke to Reuters on Friday.

"Dirty oil will be stored and slowly diluted with clean volumes that go to Russian refineries and to all main ports - Novorossiisk, Primorsk, Ust-Luga," the source said.

Primorsk - the biggest Urals export port by volume - is currently the only purely clean Urals export route.

The oil will first be stored in tanks along the Russian part of the Druzhba pipeline, one of the sources said.

From Unecha near the border with Belarus it will be sent along the Unecha-Samara pipeline to storage in the Samara region which can store up to 1.5 million tonnes of oil, the source said.

Once mixed with clean flows it will be delivered to refineries in European Russia, the Baltic Sea export ports of Ust-Luga and Primorsk and Novorossiisk on the Black Sea, the sources said.

Transneft and the Energy Ministry did not reply to Reuters requests for immediate comment.

As MRC wrote before, in early June 2019, the Czech oil refinery at Litvinov, owned by PKN Orlen unit Unipetrol, started receiving oil from state emergency reserves due to halt in Russian supplies via the Druzhba pipeline.
MRC