Poland resells US LNG to Ukraine

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Polish oil and gas company PGNiG said Thursday it will resell U.S. natural gas to Ukraine’s Energy Resources of Ukraine (ERU), moving a step closer to becoming a gas exporter in the region, Kallanish Energy reports.

Under the deal, PGNiG will receive a liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo from the U.S. in early November. The gas will be injected into the Polish transmission system after regasification, from where it will reach Ukraine and ERU via the gas connection in Hermanowice, near the border with Ukraine.

Supplying the Ukrainian company will continue until the end of 2019. The companies didn’t provide further details such as pricing, volumes and suppliers.

PGNiG CEO Piotr Wozniak noted the company has the opportunity to purchase LNG on “competitive terms,” has reserved full capacity at the domestic Swinoujscie LNG terminal and has available capacity in the gas pipeline system in Poland and on its borders.

“This makes PGNiG a natural partner for cooperation in building a modern and secure gas market in our part of Europe,” he said. The only current limitation in the development of large-scale exports to Ukraine is the capacity of gas pipelines in Poland in the direction of Silesia–Podkarpacie. However, such capacity should be expanded by 2021 “at the latest,” Wozniak added.

As Poland continue its campaign to reduce the Russian monopoly concerning European gas supply, LNG imports to the country accounted for 20% of total imports in 2018, compared to an 8.5% share in 2016.

Roughly 7.5 billion cubic meters (Bcm) of gas have been imported in nearly 70 cargos – which include spot deliveries and medium- and long-term contracts.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russian gas giant Gazprom has started pumping gas into the Power of Siberia Pipeline bound for China, Kallanish Energy reports, which cited the governor of the Republic of Yakutia making the statement.

The pipeline will deliver 38 billion cubic meter per year (Bcm/y) of natural gas from eastern Siberian fields to China. Under the 30-year contract signed in 2014, deliveries start of Dec. 1.

Gazprom didn’t confirm the news, but had said in June start-up operations for the onshore pipeline were underway. It also said construction of the border-adjacent Atamanskaya compressor station, which will maintain the required pressure during gas deliveries to China, was nearing completion.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Alliance to End Plastic Waste announced that Jacob Duer will serve as the inaugural President and CEO of the newly formed not-for-profit, effective October 1, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Duer joins the AEPW from the United Nations, where he most recently served as a Program Director for the UN Environment Program.

"Jacob is an experienced, impact-driven, global leader with a breadth of expertise working across a broad range of stakeholders in the public and private sectors," said David Taylor, Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of Procter & Gamble, and Chairman of the AEPW. "His demonstrated leadership, passion for promoting sustainability, and track record of building solution-oriented multilateral partnerships will be an invaluable asset as the AEPW grows into this next phase."

In this newly created role, Duer will advance the Alliance mission to develop, deploy, and bring to scale solutions that will minimize and manage plastic waste and promote solutions for used plastics. This includes plastic reuse, recovery, and recycling to keep it out of the environment. Since launching in January, the Alliance has initiated projects focused on: river renewal; municipal and city partnerships; idea incubation; and IT infrastructure.

"Being strongly committed to environmental sustainability, I am honored to lead the Alliance as a unique solution model to address plastic waste as one of the most pressing environmental issues of today," said Duer. "Working with all stakeholders, the Alliance will play a lead role in driving sustainable solutions for the future."

The Alliance is the only organization bringing together the entire plastics value chain (manufacturing, packaging, collecting, and converting) and the associated technical, materials, logistics, and engineering expertise. In total, the Alliance has committed to a goal of USD1.5 billion to deliver sustainable solutions over five years.

"As a strategic partner to the AEPW, we are excited about the vision and leadership that Jacob will bring to this role,” said Peter Bakker, President, World Business Council for Sustainable Development. “This is an important inflection point as we build an unparalleled force to systematically and sustainably bring solutions to scale that will end plastic waste in the environment."

The Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW) welcomed 12 new companies from across the plastics value chain, including Chinese state-owned Sinopec. The new members expand both the global footprint of the Alliance and the participation of companies across the plastics value chain seeking to develop and bring to scale solutions to help eliminate plastic waste in the environment.

As MRC informed before, in mid-January 2019, an alliance of global companies from the plastics and consumer goods value chain launched a new organization to advance solutions to eliminate plastic waste in the environment. BASF co-founded a global alliance of nearly 30 companies to advance solutions that reduce and eliminate plastic waste in the environment, especially in the ocean. The Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW) has committed over USD1.0 billion with the goal of investing USD1.5 billion over the next five years to help end plastic waste in the environment. New solutions will be developed and brought to scale that will minimize and manage plastic waste. This also includes the promotion of solutions for used plastics by helping to enable a circular economy.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- KBC (A Yokogawa Company) is extending its engineering simulation capabilities through a strategic partnership with AVGI, the leading source of simulation and optimization software for modeling olefin technologies. The software solution will deliver capital efficient plant design and optimization through end-to-end modeling of integrated oil refining, aromatics, and steam cracking complexes, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Petrochemical demand growth is rapidly becoming the largest driver of global oil consumption. The International Energy Agency forecasts that petrochemicals will account for more than a third of the growth in oil demand by 2030, and nearly half by 2050. Yet, most oil refineries only convert c. 5–20% of crude feedstocks into petrochemicals. This creates incentive to optimize and re-configure existing facilities, as well as invest in new capacity to meet the demand.

Using reactor simulations for a broad range of feedstocks, furnace and coil geometries, and operating conditions will optimize yield and energy. Integration and data exchange between Petro-SIM and COILSIM1D will enable integrated refinery-petrochemical complexes to maximize their profitability.

"Integration of COILSIM1D with Petro-SIM will open up a wide range of steady state, online and offline simulation opportunities," comments Andy Howell, CEO of KBC. "Integrated models supporting dynamic real-time optimization will further mitigate the risk in transitioning to more petrochemicals in the product slate."

"Through our research capabilities with Ghent University, we are continuing our extensive research into steam cracking technologies. We value this new partnership with KBC for expanding industry access to our know-how and intellectual property," said Kevin Van Geem, Managing Director of AVGI. "We know a large proportion of the oil refining industry get a lot of benefit from KBC's Petro-SIM. Its interoperability with COILSIM1D and use in end-to-end simulation for petrochemicals will unlock even more value for them."

The COILSIM1D module will be available for use in Petro-SIM by October.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polyprolypele (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,255,800 tonnes in the first seven months of 2019, up by 9% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. Meanwhile, the estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 796,120 tonnes in January-July 2019, up by 11% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Matrix Service Co. has announced that its subsidiary Matrix Service Inc. has been awarded a five-year contract as the primary onsite mechanical services contractor at the Shell Puget Sound Refinery, providing a variety of embedded services including daily onsite maintenance, small capital projects, and turnaround support, said Hydrocarbonengineering.

“We are very proud of our long-standing relationship and history of service to Shell, which has included turnaround, tank repair and industrial cleaning services at a number of its refineries, including Shell Martinez, Shell Deer Park, Shell Puget Sound and the Shell Carson Complex,” said Matrix Service Company President and CEO John R. Hewitt.

“We look forward to expanding the services we provide to Shell to include routine mechanical maintenance services and appreciate their continued trust as demonstrated by the award of this important multi-year contract. We share the commitment Shell has to world-class safety and look forward to providing continued service excellence to support their business objectives.”
MRC