PPG сompletes first dual project in Querétaro, Mexico

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PPG recently completed its first dual science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and COLORFUL COMMUNITIES project in Queretaro, Mexico, said Coatingsworld.

The initiative brought the science of color and paint to more than 200 schoolchildren and revitalized the playground of Mano Amiga School in partnership with Universidad Anahuac.

In the first phase of the project, PPG's technical color team and students from Universidad Anahuac developed a full day of classroom activities that taught the elementary school’s students about the anatomy of the eye, primary colors, rainbows and paint production.

“The STEM fields are the pillars of a society that looks to the future,” said Antonio Paredes, PPG color core manager. “Through this experience, university students had the opportunity to pass on their passion and knowledge about STEM to the younger generation. At PPG, we see education as a way to enable possibilities and progress through learning, curiosity and discovery.”

During the Colorful Communities phase of the project, 30 volunteers from PPG, Universidad Anahuac and the community spent one day painting the basketball court at the Mano Amiga School’s playground alongside their families. PPG provided more than 270 gallons (1,020 liters) of COMEX™ paint products to support the project.

The Colorful Communities program provides PPG volunteers and products along with financial contributions to bring color and vitality to communities where the company operates around the world, such as in the state of Queretaro, where PPG has manufacturing, research and development, and distribution operations.

“We are infinitely grateful to PPG,” said Andrea Rodriguez, promotion leader, Mano Amiga School. “Thanks to programs like these, we can break the cycle of poverty in which our students live. Bringing them closer to science opened their minds and allowed them to envision a better future.”

PPG has completed 13 Colorful Communities projects throughout Mexico since the program’s launch in 2015.
MRC

Linde signs USD1.4bn in Singapore gas supply deal with ExxonMobil

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Linde announced it has signed a long-term agreement with ExxonMobil Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. to support the latest multi-billion dollar expansion of the company's integrated manufacturing complex in Singapore, said the company.

This will be the single largest sale of gas contract in the history of the newly merged Linde and of its legacy companies. Linde will invest USD1.4 billion to expand its existing gasification complex at Jurong Island, integrating it with ExxonMobil's project to produce and supply additional hydrogen and synthesis gas. The project will include building and operating four additional gasifiers, a 1,200 metric ton per day air separation plant, as well as Linde's proprietary downstream gas processing units and sulphur recovery plants. Linde's gasification complex will produce and supply hydrogen and synthesis gas to ExxonMobil by upgrading the heavy residue feedstock from its new facilities.

Linde will also invest in a dedicated set of pipelines for the transfer of feedstocks and products between ExxonMobil and Linde facilities. Upon completion, the investment will also supply hydrogen, carbon monoxide and synthesis gas to other customers on Jurong Island and quadruple Linde's present capacity.

Linde's Engineering division will design and build the new facility. Construction is expected to start in the second half of 2019, with start-up anticipated in 2023.

Sanjiv Lamba, Executive Vice President, Linde Asia-Pacific, said, "Our Jurong Island facility has a long-standing history of processing refinery residue to produce carbon monoxide and hydrogen. This expansion will allow us to process these additional heavy residues efficiently while delivering a highly competitive and reliable source of hydrogen and synthesis gas to ExxonMobil and other customers.

"We are proud to be a strategic partner for ExxonMobil's Singapore integrated manufacturing complex. We appreciate ExxonMobil's recognition of Linde's engineering, operational capabilities and commitment to safe and sustainable solutions to help realize the full potential of their world scale investments," Mr Lamba added.

Gan Seow Kee, Chairman & Managing Director, ExxonMobil Asia Pacific, said: "This agreement marks an important milestone in our partnership with Linde, and the integration will further enhance the operational capabilities of our respective facilities. We look forward to this being the start of a long and successful collaboration."

Linde is a leading industrial gases and engineering company with 2018 pro forma sales of USD 28 billion (EUR 24 billion). The company employs approximately 80,000 people globally and serves customers in more than 100 countries worldwide. Linde delivers innovative and sustainable solutions to its customers and creates long-term value for all stakeholders. The company is making our world more productive by providing products, technologies and services that help customers improve their economic and environmental performance in a connected world.
MRC

Output of polymer products in Russia up by 2.5% in Jan-May

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia's output of products from polymers decreased in May by 5.6% year on year.
However, this figure increased by 2.5% year on year in the first five months of 2019, reported MRC analysts.

According to the Russian Federal State Statistics Service, May production of unreinforced and non-combined films was 96,700 tonnes, compared to 103,000 tonnes a month earlier. Output of films products grew in January-May 2019 by 8.2% year on year to 451,600 tonnes.

Last month's production of non-porous boards, sheets and films rose to 33,000 tonnes from 31,700 tonnes in April.
Thus, overall production of these products reached 151,100 tonnes over the stated period, up by 13.4% year on year.

May production of polymer porous boards, sheets and films was 21,200 tonnes, compared to 20,500 tonnes a month earlier. Overall production of these products reached 101,200 tonnes in the first five months of 2019, compared to 108,400 tonnes a year earlier.

May production of plastic bottles and flasks decreased to 1,809,000 items from 1,785,000 items a month earlier.
Overall output of these plastic products totalled 8,540,000 units in January-May 2019, compared to 8,280,000 units a year earlier.

Last month's production of polymer pipes, hoses and fittings was 50,800 tonnes versus 50,200 tonnes in April.
Overall output of these products was 210,100 tonnes in the first five months of 2019, up by 1.3% year on year.

May production of sacks and bags from ethylene polymers exceeded 1,901,000,000 units, compared to 1,996,000,000 units a month earlier. Overall output of these plastic products totalled 9,857,000,000 units over the stated period, compared to 9,857,000,000 units a year earlier.

May production of plastic windows and door blocks was 1.88 mln sq metres and 78,100 sq metres, respectively, versus 1.81 mln sq metres and 77,000 sq metres a month earlier. January-May volume of production of this product was 7.72 mln sq meters and 344,500 km m against 7.49 mln sq meters and 357,400 sq meters, respectively, a year ago.

MRC

Small fire remains a day after major Philadelphia refinery blast

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A small fire was burning at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions plant on Saturday, a day after a massive blaze ripped through the largest oil refinery on the US East Coast, reported Reuters with reference to city officials.

Several explosions sent a huge fireball into the sky in the early morning hours of Friday, engulfing the surrounding areas in smoke after a fire started in a tank at the 335,000 barrel-per-day refining complex, also the oldest in the Northeast.

Four workers were injured, according to a company statement, and treated on-site, while city emergency workers treated one person, who did not need to go to a hospital.

The plant was likely to remain shut for an extended period, according to Philadelphia city officials and company sources.

"A very small fire remains on the unit impacted," the city of Philadelphia said in a statement, citing the company as its source.

"PES continues to work to isolate the remaining line and PFD (Philadelphia Fire Department) emergency responders remain on scene to monitor the area."

The fire department's hazardous materials task force was monitoring air quality every two to three hours, the city said, focusing on the perimeter of the refinery and surrounding neighborhoods.

"As has been the case since Friday morning, the city has no findings that would point to any immediate danger in the surrounding community at this time," the statement said.

PES said on Friday it believed the product that was burning was "mostly propane."

An estimated 300,000 people live within three miles (5 km) of the Philadelphia refinery.
MRC

US refiner Phillips 66 enters offshore oil export race

MOSCOW (MRC) -- US oil refiner Phillips 66 is proposing a deepwater crude export terminal off the US Gulf Coast, the company said on Wednesday, challenging at least eight other projects aiming to send US shale oil to world markets, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The project, called Bluewater Texas Terminal LLC, signals another major expansion of its logistics operations. The fourth-largest US refiner last week formed joint ventures to build pipelines linking shale fields in West Texas and North Dakota to the Cushing, Oklahoma, oil hub and the US Gulf Coast.

Phillips 66 has applied for federal and state permits to build an export port about 20 miles (32 km) off Corpus Christi, Texas, and related crude pipelines, according to documents viewed by Reuters and people familiar with the filings.

The people did not want to be named because the information is not public.

The project, which is being developed with the Port of Corpus Christi, would compete with nearby shale export terminals proposed by investor Carlyle Group and commodities trader Trafigura AG. Its project would be at least the ninth project proposed for the Gulf Coast.

US crude exports hit 3.12 million barrels per day (bpd) this month from zero before the US lifted a ban on exports in late 2015. Shale oil from fields in Texas, Colorado, New Mexico and North Dakota is projected to push US output to 12.32 million bpd this year, according to US forecasts.

Phillips 66’s proposed project "would provide an additional safe and environmentally sustainable solution for the export of abundant domestic crude oil supplies from major shale basins to global markets," spokesman Dennis Nuss said.

The offshore port would provide an outlet for oil coming from recently proposed Liberty and Red Oak pipeline joint ventures that start in early 2021. Phillips will operate the USD1.6 billion Liberty pipeline and help finance the USD2.5 billion Red Oak pipeline.

Phillips 66 aims to reinvest 60 percent of its annual cash flow into its business, Chief Executive Greg Garland said on Tuesday during a presentation at a JPMorgan Chase & Co energy conference in New York. He did not mention the project at the conference.

"We’ll do USD1.5 billion to USD2.5 billion of growth investments" and spend a similar amount of cash flow on share buybacks each year, Garland said.

Bluewater Texas Terminal has proposed to run two 30-inch oil pipelines to buoys off San Jose Island in San Patricio County, according to a May 2019 document outlining the project.

The facility could load up to 1.56 million bpd, nearly the capacity of a supertanker. If approved by the U.S. Maritime Administration, U.S. Coast Guard and Texas regulators, operations could begin in mid-2021, said a person familiar with its plans.

Phillips 66 currently owns a 25% stake in Buckeye Partners LP’s South Texas Gateway export terminal, which is under construction in Corpus Christi.

US pipeline operator Enterprise Products Partners LP in May had hired RBC Capital Markets LLC to advise on the sale of its 50% stake in a recently completed Corpus Christi oil export terminal, according to a marketing document viewed by Reuters.

As MRC wrote previously, US-based Phillips 66 remains open to developing another ethane cracker for its Chevron Phillips Chemical (CP Chem) joint venture, the refiner's CEO said in March 2018.
MRC