Sonara refinery Cameroon offline for a year after fire

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Cameroon’s 42,000-barrel-per-day Sonara oil refinery will be shut for a year following a fire earlier this month, a spokesman for the ministry of commerce told Reuters.

Operations came to a halt at the country’s only refinery in Limbe this month after a storage tank exploded.

Sonara produces 20 percent of Cameroon’s gasoline demand, the rest of which is imported, said ministry spokesman Eric Epoune. It also supplies to other countries in the region, including Nigeria, Togo and Ghana, according to its website.

Epoune said extra imports will cover the shortfall and that a fuel shortage will be avoided.

As MRC wrote before, in early June 2019, Cameroon’s state oil refinery declared force majeure after a storage tank exploded overnight, causing a fire that shut down output at its main refinery in Limbe but caused no deaths.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Tornio Manga LNG (liquefied natural gas) receiving terminal has been inaugurated in Tornio, northern Finland, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The project was led by Manga LNG Oy, a joint venture between the Finnish companies Outokumpu Group, SSAB, Gasum Oy and EPV Energy Ltd. Wartsila was brought into the project for its long and proven expertise and experience in project execution, LNG handling systems, and the use of LNG as fuel.

Wartsila's EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) solution for the Tornio Manga LNG receiving terminal includes complete unloading, storage, pipeline distribution, regasification, truck loading, and ship bunkering facilities. This terminal is the largest such facility in the entire Nordic region. An efficient logistics chain developed around the terminal creates a diversified fuel market benefiting both Northern Finland and Sweden. The terminal will supply natural gas to Outokumpu’s Tornio steel mill and LNG to local industries, mines, and other consumers in the region. LNG from the terminal will be supplied also to the LNG storage facility, also supplied by Wartsila, at the SSAB Raahe steel mill. The terminal also supplies LNG as fuel to ships, such as the new icebreaker Polaris, operating in the Gulf of Bothnia. Truck access to the terminal facilitates fast and efficient deliveries of the LNG.

Wartsila will serve the Tornio Manga LNG terminal under a 10-year maintenance agreement. This agreement ensures reliable gas send-out and maximises uptime of the LNG terminal. Wartsila has unique experience of the entire LNG distribution chain.

The Tornio Manga LNG receiving terminal will play an extremely significant role in reducing the carbon footprint and emissions such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphur oxides (SOx) and particulates of the region's industrial operations. It is, therefore, an important environmental milestone for the Baltic Sea area, and especially for Northern Finland and Sweden.

"The Tornio Manga LNG terminal is creating a long-term platform for cost-efficient, environmentally more sustainable energy supply in Northern Europe. The beneficiaries include industrial and mining companies, shipping and road transportation companies, power and heat utilities in this area. Wartsila, with special value-adding capabilities in this field, was a natural choice to participate in the project and a valuable partner,” said Matti Suurnakki, Chairman of the Board, Manga LNG Oy.

"This project demonstrates our know-how on gas technology and gas as fuel as well as our expertise in medium-scale LNG distribution. We are proud to work together with Manga LNG Oy to deliver this terminal and enable a sustainable energy supply for an energy-intensive industrial region,” said Antti Kami, Vice President, Engine Power Plants, Wartsila Energy Business.

Liquefied natural gas is a low emission fuel, which can be utilised by the land-based industry, the shipping industry and the energy industry. Compared to alternative fossil fuels, substantial reductions can be obtained in carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide and particulate matters emissions.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Royal DSM, a global science-based company in Nutrition, Health and Sustainable Living, announced the strengthening of its leadership in high-performance specialty polymers with the operational launch of a new production line for Arnitel® in Emmen, the Netherlands, said the company.

The capacity will be expanded by 20% and will enable greater supply flexibility and security.

The new production line will allow DSM to meet the growing demand for Arnitel® high-performance ThermoPlastic Copolyesters (TPCs). These materials are known around the world for their unique combination of elasticity, high temperature resistance and mechanical properties, as well as excellent processing characteristics. What’s more, Arnitel® is increasingly being used as a lighter, greener alternative to conventional rubbers in automotive applications – reducing environmental impact and, ultimately, system costs.

The new production line underlines DSM’s contribution to the economic development of the Drenthe region, in the Netherlands.

Lu Zhang, Global Business Director at DSM Engineering Plastics: “We see increasing demand of Arnitel® in various application areas including automotive, consumer and industrial. This capacity expansion shows DSM’s commitment to our customers and industries we serve."

As MRC wrote earlier, in November 2017, Royal DSM announced a new approach for its additive manufacturing (AM) activities. By aligning all its AM activities within the Materials cluster and promoting a partnership approach, DSM can provide customers an open and flexible infrastructure. This will help customers to find exactly the right materials and production systems for their applications. The new customer-centric organization will build on experience and expertise from all of DSM’s existing materials businesses, combining deep market segment-specific application understanding and expertise in all polymer AM processing technology platforms.

Royal DSM is a global science-based company active in health, nutrition and materials. DSM delivers innovative solutions that nourish, protect and improve performance in global markets such as food and dietary supplements, personal care, feed, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, automotive, paints, electrical and electronics, life protection, alternative energy and bio-based materials.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Reliance Industries (RIL), in an application to the envi-ronment ministry, said it was planning to increase petrochemical capacity at its Vadodara Manufacturing Division (VMD) in India, through the removal of bottlenecks, as per Apic-online with reference to the Economic Times.

The company produces polybutadiene rubber and emulsion styrene butadiene rubber at Vadodara, according to earlier reports.

The project, estimated to cost Rs 2,270 crore, is expected to add the production of diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, heavy normal paraffin, light normal paraffin, heavy alkylates and heavy aromatics.

Naphtha feedstock will be supplied from RIL's Jamnagar refinery. No other details were available.
"A majority of the offsite and other infrastructure facilities required for the petrochemical manufacturing and production are already available through the existing VMD facility," RIL noted in the application.

"Therefore, the proposed modifications and debottlenecking would result in enhanced production with minimum investment on supporting facilities than that required for setting up new stand-alone production units."

As MRC reported earlier, Saudi Aramco’s Chief Executive Officer Amin Nassar said in February 2019 that the company was in talks with India’s Reliance Industries Ltd for possible investments and is seeking other opportunities in the country.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Two Chinese companies, Beijing BECA Sci-tech Co Ltd and Sinopec Engineering Inc have inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Sarawak state government to invest USВ5 billion for the development of an integrated oil and gas (O&G) complex in Lawas, said Theedgemarkets.

Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said Sarawak’s O&G policy welcomed the participation from the private sector in the development of the state’s O&G sector.

"This MOU is an auspicious step towards expanding our capacity and capability in the sector,” he said at the signing ceremony here.

Also present were Deputy Chief Minister, Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan, who is also Minister of Industrial and Entrepreneur Development, Beijing BECA Sci-Tech president Hao Liang and Sinopec Engineering vice-president Zhao Xiangdong.

Hao said the MOU marked a significant milestone in the petrochemical development project.

"To ensure the project is operational as soon as possible and contribute to Sarawak’s economic development, BECA will ensure that this industry is further refined, making it stronger and bigger, while working with the people of Sarawak to create a better future," he added.

The joint venture project will be implemented in stages starting from the fourth quarter of this year and is expected to be completed by 2022.

As MRC informed earlier, in 2016 Russian petrochemical company Sibur was in talks with shareholder Sinopec about investing in a planned gas chemical plant in Russia's Far East. Sibur plans to buy gas from fields which Russia's Gazprom will develop in Eastern Siberia.

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.
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