Fire at Revap refinery brought under control

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brazilian state-controlled oil company Petrobras said a fire broke out at its Revap refinery, in the city of Sao Jose dos Campos, on Sunday afternoon, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as the company is formally known, said in a statement the fire had already been brought under control without any casualties.

The blaze broke out in tanks that store materials used to produce asphalt and fuel.

Petrobras said the cause of the fire was still under investigation. It did not say immediately if production at Revap had been halted.

As MRC informed earlier, in June 2019, Petroleo Brasileiro SA said it has signed a deal with local antitrust regulator CADE regarding the proposed sale of some of its refining installations. The company said the agreement will allow for increased competition in Brazil’s refining sector, by attracting new players to the business. Petrobras, as the oil firm is known, will sell eight refineries in seven different Brazilian states.

Headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Petrobras is an integrated energy firm. Petrobras' activities include exploration, exploitation and production of oil from reservoir wells, shale and other rocks as well as refining, processing, trade and transport of oil and oil products, natural gas and other fluid hydrocarbons, in addition to other energy-related activities.
MRC

Two more Saudi Arabian petrochemical firms announce normal feedstock supplies

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Two more petrochemical companies in Saudi Arabia announced over the weekend that feedstock supplies from Saudi Aramco have returned to normal levels, said Spglobal.

Sadara and Advanced Petrochemical Co. were the two companies that announced resumption of normal supplies.

Late last week, six of Saudi Arabia's petrochemical firms said feedstock ethane supplies from Saudi Aramco returned to normal. The companies were -- Sipchem, Saudi Kayan, Tasnee, Yansab, Sabic and Petro Rabigh.

Feedstock supplies were cut to crucial Saudi petrochemical companies after the attacks on key Saudi Aramco oil facilities on September 14. The attacked oil field also produces and supplies gas for petrochemical production, and the country's petrochemical industry was particularly hit by the gas supply cut.

Feedstock ethane supplies were cut 16%-50% just after the attacks.

As MRC reported before, a number of Saudi Arabia's companies, such as Tasnee, Sadara, Advanced Petrochemical and Saudi Kayan, announced a curtailment of feedstock to their petrochemical plants, including polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) facilities, by an average of 30-50% due to the attacks on key Saudi Aramco facilities on Saturday.

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. At the same time, 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

KickStarter initiative to boost large-scale commercial carbon capture, use and storage worldwide

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) today announced further initiatives to accelerate the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and support the goals of the Paris Agreement, ahead of OGCI’s annual event in New York City, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

First, OGCI launched a new initiative to unlock large-scale investment in carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS), a crucial tool to achieve net zero emissions. OGCI’s CCUS KickStarter initiative is designed to help decarbonize multiple industrial hubs around the world, starting with hubs in the US, UK, Norway, the Netherlands, and China. The aim of the KickStarter is to create the necessary conditions to facilitate a commercially viable, safe and environmentally responsible CCUS industry, with an early aspiration to double the amount of carbon dioxide that is currently stored globally before 2030.

Second, OGCI showed progress towards its methane intensity target announced last year. Members are on track to meet the methane intensity target, having reduced collective methane intensity by 9% in 2018. In addition to the methane intensity target, OGCI is now working on a carbon intensity target to reduce by 2025 the collective average carbon intensity of member companies’ aggregated upstream oil and gas operations.

Third, all OGCI member companies have pledged to support policies that attribute an explicit or implicit value to carbon. Acknowledging the role that attributing a value to carbon plays as one of the most cost-efficient ways to achieve the low carbon transition as early as possible, OGCI supports the introduction of appropriate policies or carbon value mechanisms by governments.

OGCI Climate Investments, OGCI’s USD1 billion-plus fund, has nearly doubled the number of investments in promising clean technologies over the year. The fund now has a total of 15 investments in its portfolio. Climate Investments actively supports these companies in deployment and scale-up as well as continuing to search for additional opportunities in its focus areas.

In a joint statement, the heads of the OGCI member companies said: “We are scaling up the speed, scale, and impact of our actions in support of the Paris Agreement. Accelerating the energy transition requires sustainable, large-scale actions, different pathways and innovative technological solutions to keep global warming well below 2°C. We are committed to enhancing our efforts as a constructive partner with governments, civil society, business and other stakeholders working together to transition to a net zero economy."

“The progress towards our methane intensity target makes us confident that the actions we are taking deliver results. We are on track to reach our methane intensity target of 0.25% by 2025. Encouraged by our experience of working together on reducing methane emissions, we are now working on a target to reduce by 2025 the collective average carbon intensity of our aggregated upstream oil and gas emissions."
MRC

Sonatrach says it discussed partnerships with Exxon Mobil

MOSCOW (MRC) - Algeria’s state-owned Sonatrach held meetings with Exxon Mobil last week to discuss possible partnerships, a Sonatrach statement said on Monday, a week after it said it had talked with Chevron Corp., said Reuters.

Sonatrach gave no further details of the September 25 and 26 meetings but the energy producer has said it wants to boost output to increase revenues after a decline in prices hit its budget.

Some 95% of Algeria’s foreign revenue comes from oil and gas sales. Since energy prices dropped in 2014, its foreign exchange reserves have fallen to USD72.6 billion from USD178 billion.

The talks with foreign oil majors come at a sensitive time for Algeria after mass protests in February unseated veteran president Abdleaziz Bouteflika, creating a constitutional limbo that the army hopes to resolve with an election in December.

Algeria, a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and a major gas supplier to Europe, has struggled to lift production to meet rising domestic demand, while foreign investors have often baulked at contract terms.

As it was informed earlier, Sonatrach's petrochemicals joint venture with Total has selected Honeywell UOP's C3 Oleflex technology for its proposed 565,000 tonne/year polymer-grade propylene project in Arzew, Algeria. The catalytic dehydrogenation technology converts propane into propylene.

Propylene is a feedstock for producing polyprolypele (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's 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.

STEP was created last year as a 51:49 JV between Algeria’s state oil company Sonatrach and French energy and petrochemicals major Total to develop the Arzew petrochemicals project.
MRC

MOL began building polyol project in Tiszaujvaros

MOSCOW (MRC))--MOL has broken ground on its 200,000 tonne/year polyol production project at Tiszaujvaros in northern Hungary, said Hydrocarbonengineering.

MOL will invest EUR1.2 billion to construct the plant, which will be able to produce around 200 000 tpy of polyols. The plant is expected to be commissioned in 2021.

Zsolt Hernadi, Chairman and C-CEO of MOL Group, Dr. Sami Pelkonen, CEO Chemical & Process Technologies at thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions, Ferenc Koncz, Member of the Hungarian Parliament and Mihaly Varga, Finance Minister, took part at the foundation stone laying ceremony.

MOL Petrochemicals in Tiszaujvaros will be the only company in Hungary and the entire Central and Eastern European region with an integrated value chain from crude oil extraction to the production of polyether polyols (widely used raw materials in plastics). The polyol project will provide long-term employment opportunity for 200 people.

According to MOL’s estimates, the plant will contribute approximately €150 million/yr to MOL Group’s financial results (EBITDA). Polyol is an important and highly sought-after plastic raw material that is used in numerous industries, from automotive manufacturing to construction to the clothing industry. The Tiszaujvaros complex will produce polyol using efficient and environmentally friendly technologies such as the HPPO process (propylene oxide from hydrogen peroxide) developed by thyssenkrupp and Evonik.

One of the cornerstones of MOL Group 2030 - Enter Tomorrow strategy is to expand the company’s petrochemicals value chain and produce more valuable products. The polyol plant and the previously opened synthetic rubber plant are the milestones of this strategy.

As MRC informed before, MOL Petrochemicals Company (formerly known as TVK, part of the MOL Group), the only Hungarian producer of olefins and polyolefins, on 23 September announced force majeure on the supply of polypropylene (PP) from plant No. 4 at the petrochemical complex in Tiszaujvaros (Tiszaujvaros, Hungary).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, the estimated consumption of PP in the Russian market totalled 694,210 tonnes in January-June 2019, up by 14% year on year. The supply of propylene block copolymers (PP-block) and propylene homopolymers (PP-homo) increased.

MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas PLC is an integrated oil and gas company. The Company produces crude oil, petroleum products, bitumens, lubricants and natural gas. MOL owns and operates refineries, oil and gas pipelines, service stations, and natural gas storage facilities.
MRC