Sarawak inks MoU with Sinopec, Beijing BECA to develop USD5b O&G complex

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.
MRC

Oil company says bombing on pipeline caused spill

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A bomb damaged a section of Colombia’s Cano Limon pipeline, state-run oil company Ecopetrol said, causing a crude oil spill around the site of the explosion, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The bombing, the eighteenth on the pipeline this year, occurred in the rural municipality of Saravena, in the province of Arauca near the border with Venezuela.

“The attack caused a rupture in the tubing and a spill of crude on the ground and into vegetation. Some of the oil was contained in the crater made by the bomb,” Ecopetrol said in a statement.

The company will send in a clean-up crew as soon as the military has secured the area, Ecopetrol said.

The company did not attribute the attack to a particular armed group.

The leftist National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels, considered a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, regularly attacks oil infrastructure.

There have been more than two dozen attacks on Colombian pipelines so far in 2019.

The 485-mile (780-km) Cano Limon, which can transport up to 210,000 barrels per day, was kept offline for most of 2018 because of more than 80 bombings.
MRC

PetroChina launches expanded Huabei refinery

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PetroChina launched its Huabei refinery’s expanded 10 million tons crude processing capacity after it passed preliminary testing, reported Reuters with reference to the state-run Economic Information Daily.

At present, the new 2.9 million tonnes per year residue hydrocracking unit and the 1 million tonnes per year aviation fuel hydrotreating unit are in the preparatory stage for test operations. The annual production capacity of aviation fuel will reach 1.7 million tonnes after these units are put into operation.

The Huabei project is the only refining and chemical enterprise which will directly supply to the new and under-construction Beijing Daxing International Airport, according to the report.

The Huabei refinery, one of the largest under PetroChina, expanded its crude processing capacity to 10 million tonnes (200,000 bpd) from 5 million tonnes with a total investment of more than 31 billion yuan (USD4.48 billion).

The refinery will help in meeting increasing demand for fuel from the Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei region.

As MRC informed before, in April 2019, LyondellBasell (Rotterdam, the Netherlands) announced that PetroChina will use the LyondellBasell Hostalen “Advanced Cascade Process” (Hostalen ACP) technology to produce 1,100,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr) of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) capacity.

PetroChina has designated three refineries in northeast China - Dalian, Liaoyang and Jilin - as the main receiving points for the increased Russian supply. Liaoyang will begin taking more crude once a major upgrade is completed at the end of this year. The new volumes will flow as a result of Russia and China expanding the East Siberian Pacific Ocean pipeline that starts at Rosneft’s oilfields in East Siberia and enters China at border town of Mohe.
MRC

PVC production in Russia up by 6% in January-May 2019

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Overall production of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) totalled 422,900 tonnes in the first five months of 2019, up by 6% year on year. At the same time, not all Russian producers raised their output of PVC, according to MRC's ScanPlast report.

May total production of unmixed PVC decreased to 79,600 tonnes from 83,200 tonnes a month earlier, Kaustik Volgograd and RusVinyl decreased their capacity utilisation. Overall PVC production reached 422,900 tonnes in January-May 2019, compared to 400,700 tonnes a year earlier. All plants raised their output, except for Kaustik Volgograd.

The structure of PVC production by plants looked the following way over the stated period.

RusVinyl (JV of SIBUR and SolVin) produced about 24,600 tonnes of PVC in May, with emulsion polyvinyl chloride (EPVC) accounting for 2,600 tonnes, compared to 26,700 tonnes a month earlier. Overall PVC production at RusVinyl was 140,700 tonnes in January-May 2019, up by 11% year on year. Such a significant increase in production was a result of the absence of long maintenance works.

SayanskKhimPlast produced 27,600 tonnes of suspension PVC (SPVC) last month, whereas this figure was 27,200 tonnes in May. The Sayansk plant managed to produce about 135,700 tonnes of resin in January-Mary, compared to 122,800 tonnes a year earlier.

Baskhir Soda Company produced 23,800 tonnes of SPVC in May versus 22,200 tonnes a month earlier. Total SPVC production at Baskhir Soda Company increased to 114,900 tonnes in the first five months of this year, compared to 111,400 tonnes in the same period in 2018.

Kaustik (Volgograd) produced about 3,500 tonnes of SPVC in May, compared with 6,900 tonnes in April. The reduction in production was a result of scheduled maintenance works, which started on 15 May. Kaustik's overall production of PVC reached 31,800 tonnes in the first five months of 2019 versus 39,500 tonnes a year earlier.


MRC

Improving Canad’s plastics recycling rate will take “radical changes”

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A new report shows that Canada’s plastic industry is far larger than the recycling industry, which means that it will take “radical changes” to get to zero plastic waste in this country, said Canplastics.

The report, completed by consulting firms Deloitte and ChemInfo Services, concludes that getting to zero plastic waste will require big alterations in consumer behaviour, a major increase in the number of recycling facilities in Canada, investments in recycling technology, and a range of government policies such as landfill taxes or requiring products to include a certain proportion of recycled material. Requiring more recycled content would help create market demand in Canada for recycled plastic, the report said, regardless of the cost of new plastic.

The report, which was commissioned by Environment and Climate Change Canada to guide its plan to cut the country’s plastics waste to zero, found the plastics manufacturing industry is a significant economic driver in Canada, worth $35 billion in sales of resins and plastic manufactured goods in 2017, and supporting about 93,000 jobs across more than 1,900 companies.

By comparison, there were fewer than a dozen recycling companies, employing about 500 people and generating about USD350 million in revenue.

In 2016, 3.3 million tonnes of plastic ended up in the trash, 12 times the amount of plastic that was recycled. A small number of plastics are burned for energy at five Canadian waste-to-energy plants. Almost 90 per cent of the plastic that is recycled in Canada is from the packaging.

Generally, the analysis says, it is cheaper and easier to produce new plastic, use it and then throw it away than it is to recycle, reuse or repair it. The voluntary standards for contents of plastic products, and additives like glues and labels, mean there is a lack of consistency in the plastic materials available for recycling. That, in turn, makes them more expensive to recycle.

Canada also has very little demand for recycled plastic, which is why so much plastic has been shipped overseas to countries such as Malaysia. But the markets for recycled plastic are falling apart all over the world, leading shipments of Canadian plastics to be dumped in landfills or burn piles on foreign soil as well.

The report suggests that Canada could get to the point where 90 per cent of plastic avoids landfill by 2030 with an investment of between USD4.3 billion and USD8.6 billion, the addition of 167 new sorting and recycling facilities, plus significant government regulation and consumer willpower. That would increase revenues in the recycling industry from USD500 million to USD3 billion, and create 42,000 new direct and indirect jobs.

As MRC informed earlier, operation Clean Sweep (OCS), the international program designed to prevent plastic pellets, flakes, and powder from being lost from factory floors and winding up in lakes and oceans, is being successfully embraced by European plastics processors, a new study shows. Following the release of its first Operation Clean Sweep report in 2017, industry association PlasticsEurope made the OCS program a top priority in 2018, setting new targets for its members as part of its Plastics 2030 Voluntary Commitment.
MRC