API updates fire prevention and safety recommended practice for refineries

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The American Petroleum Institute (API) published an updated standard to address fire prevention and improve safety across the downstream segment of the industry, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

RP 2001, Fire Protection in Refineries, includes important revisions on hazard analysis, new ways to improve the design of refineries to help prevent fires, and new information on managing the potential environmental impact of firefighting foams and marine firefighting. API convened experts across the natural gas and oil industry, and collaborated with important stakeholders, including the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the United States Coast Guard on important updates made to this safety standard.

"API experts used state of the art information and key recommendations from NFPA, EPA, OSHA, and the U.S. Coast Guard to develop the new edition of Fire Protection in Refineries. Implementation of RP 2001 will advance the safety of downstream facilities’ operations, and safeguard the environment and surrounding communities," said Debra Phillips, Vice President, API’s Global Industry Services.

"API RP 2001, Fire Protection in Refineries, is consistent with Chevron’s approach, which gives considerable attention to fire prevention practices and is not just about fire extinguishment. Implementation of the concepts within this document by corporate and field personnel will make their facilities safer for their workforce and neighbors as well as help protect their assets," said Tim Blackford, Team Lead - Process Safety Engineering at Chevron Energy Technology Company.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Nelipak Corp., a supplier of rigid packaging for the medical device and pharmaceutical industries, has been acquired by Kohlberg & Co. LLC, a private equity firm headquartered in Mount Kisco, N.Y.? cjj,oftn Canplastics.

Nelipak was sold to Kohlberg & Co. by Wisconsin-based investment firm Mason Wells; the terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Nelipak, headquartered in Cranston, R.I, manufactures thermoformed medical trays and blisters, pharmaceutical handling trays, surgical procedure trays and lidding materials. The company’s products are primarily designed for Class II and Class III medical devices, which are high-value, implantable devices.

It will continue operating with Nelipak Healthcare Packaging as its name. In addition to its Rhode Island facility, Nelipak’s six other facilities are located in Arizona, Pennsylvania, the Netherlands, Ireland, Puerto Rico and Costa Rica.

"We are proud of our efforts to help transform Nelipak from a corporate division within Sealed Air Corp. to a leading global healthcare packaging company,” Jay Radtke, senior managing director of Mason Wells, said in a statement. “Back in 2013, the company was primarily European-focused. Over the last six years, we have hired a world-class management team led by CEO Mike Kelly, launched the Nelipak Healthcare Packaging brand, completed three acquisitions to significantly increase Nelipak’s U.S. market presence and built a global ‘one team, one Nelipak’ culture that has really resonated with customers."
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- U.S.-based packaging and tubing supplier Tekni-Plex Inc. continues its buying spree with the purchase of Italian healthcare packaging company Lameplast SpA from Milan-based private equity firm Aksia Group for an undisclosed amount, said Canplastics.

Headquartered in Rovereto sul Secchia near Modena, the company is described as a leading Italian manufacturer of plastic single/multi-dose containers for pharmaceutical, diagnostic, medical device, veterinary and cosmetic applications, with an emphasis on ophthalmic, vaccine, vaginal and rectal applications. “Lameplast is also known for its injection molding, blow molding and injection blow molding expertise which enables it to produce custom packaging solutions for demanding applications,” Tekni-Plex said in a July 2 press release.

"We continue to drive our strategy by growing our business organically and through mergers and acquisitions (M&A),” Paul Young, Tekni-Plex’s president and CEO, said in the press release. “We have specifically focused on expanding our healthcare packaging offerings, with M&A in product or technology adjacencies. Lameplast brings Tekni-Plex specific expertise in unit and multi-dose packaging that was not part of our portfolio previously. We will now be able to offer a rigid packaging solution for prescription and over-the-counter medications and vaccines, in addition to our Tekni-Films flexible packaging options."

The acquisition adds approximately 130 more employees to Tekni-Plex’s 3,000-strong global workforce; Lameplast general manager Luca Iulli will continue to oversee the operation.

The company’s quality management system is ISO 15378 and ISO 9001 certified. Lameplast is also a CE-mark holder for Class I medical devices, which indicates compliance with applicable European Union (EU) regulations and enables the commercialization of products in the 32 EU countries. Production is carried out in Class ISO 7 (Class 10,000) and ISO 8 (Class 100,000) controlled contamination environments according to ISO 14644-1.

Lameplast is the twelfth acquisition that Wayne, Pa.-based Tekni-Plex has made in the past five years. Tekni-Plex supplies products for such end markets as medical, pharmaceutical, food, beverage, personal care, household, and industrial.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- JG Summit Petrochemical has restarted its polypropylene (PP) plant following a maintenance turnaround, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in the Philippines informed that the company has resumed operations at its plant on July 1, 2019. The plant was shut for maintenance in early-June, 2019.

Located in Batangas City, the Philippines, the plant has a production capacity of 190,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote before, in November 2017, JG Summit Olefins Corp. awarded an engineering, procurement and construction contract to Posco Engineering & Construction to expand an existing naphtha cracker and build a hydrogenation unit in Simlong, Batangas, Philippines.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Venezuela’s Amuay and Cardon refineries are halted following a blackout in the early morning hours, reported Reuters on Sunday with reference to two oil industry sources with knowledge of the issue.

The twin refineries together form the 955,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Paraguana Refining Center, which has been operating well below capacity for years because of chronic operational problems that have been aggravated by Venezuela’s economic crisis.

"Blackout in both refineries," one employee who works in the complex wrote in a text message. "It’s going to be difficult to get the system back up."

We remind that, as MRC informed before, in late February 2019, Houston-based Citgo Petroleum slowed work on an overhaul of its 235 Mbpd Aruba refinery due to a lack of financing stemming from US sanctions on Venezuela's state-run PDVSA.
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