Yokogawa collaborates to accelerate adoption of robotics for Inspection of facilities

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExRobotics B.V., a Netherlands-based developer of robotics technology for hazardous environments, and Yokogawa Electric Corporation, a global provider of industrial automation, control, and measurement technology, announce the signing of a licensing agreement that will enable Yokogawa to sell and deploy ExRobotics’ inspection robot hardware and software platforms worldwide, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

ExRobotics was established in 2017 to commercialize robotics technology for use in the potentially explosive atmospheres found at oil and gas production and processing facilities, which are often in remote locations with harsh environments. Even on normally unmanned facilities, a human presence is generally still needed for regular inspection work, so deploying robots can have a significant positive impact on worker safety by minimizing worker field trips, which in turn reduces operating costs.

Equipment operating in these hazardous environments must have IECEx1 Zone 1 certification, and the ExRobotics ExR-1 was the first commercially available robot of its kind to meet the stringent requirements. It can be equipped with a range of sensors and cameras, has 4G LTE wireless network capabilities, and can be monitored and operated from a laptop, tablet, or smartphone by an operator located in a safe control room anywhere in the world. The robot is certified at a module level, which allows for customized configurations. It also has optional modules for gas detection and autonomous navigation.

Under the agreement, Yokogawa will leverage its customer base and global sales and service network to introduce the ExR-1 and future ExRobotics products to offshore and onshore oil and gas production facilities where inspections by humans should be minimized, as well as large refineries and chemical plants.

Ian Peerless, operations director at ExRobotics, commented that, “Together with Yokogawa we are able to speed up the implementation of this new technology and create a safer working environment for operators whilst improving our customers’ financial performance."

Hiroshi Tanoguchi, head of the Lifecycle Service Business Division at Yokogawa, added, “We see huge demand from customers for service solutions that can address the safety, environmental, and economic issues they are facing in the field. The technology approach of ExRobotics, a co-member of the SPRINT Robotics Collaborative*2, meshes perfectly with Yokogawa’s vision for a robotics services platform. We look forward to building on this initial agreement to explore opportunities for collaboration on advanced solutions in the future."

As MRC informed earlier, Yokogawa Electric Corporation announced that it has been selected by ExxonMobil to be the Open Process Automation (OPA) system integrator responsible for establishing the company’s OPA Test Bed.

As MRC reported before, in October 2017, ExxonMobil Chemical Company commenced production on the first of two new 650,000 tons-per-year high-performance polyethylene (PE) lines at its plastics plant in Mont Belvieu, Texas. The full project, part of the company’s multi-billion dollar expansion project in the Baytown area and ExxonMobil’s broader Growing the Gulf expansion initiative, will increase the plant’s polyethylene capacity by approximately 1.3 million tons per year.

MRC reported, that ExxonMobil Corp (XOM.N) began shutting its 369,024 barrel-per-day (bpd) crude oil refinery in Beaumont, Texas, on Thursday morning because of flooding from Tropical Storm Imeld.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption was 1,081,100 tonnes in the first half of 2019, up by 8% year on year. Deliveries of all PE grades increased. Meanwhile, 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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A fire in a canal carrying waste from Iran’s Abadan oil refinery was brought under control, reported Reuters with reference to state media.

"The refinery’s fire department contained the fire and prevented it from spreading to other units," state broadcaster IRIB said on its website.

As MRC informed before, Iran was racing to step up exports of petrochemicals and tap new markets to compensate for sliding oil sales, Iranian and international industry sources said in June 2019, but now risks losing that crucial revenue as Washington tightens the screw on sanctions.

According to MRC's DataScope report, overall imports of general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) and high impact polystyrene (HIPS) from Iran to Russia rose in the first nine months of 2019 by 98% year on year to 5,500 tonnes.
GPPS and HIPS imports from Iran totalled 2,800 tonnes in January-September 2018.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF is to have six board members, effective 1 January, instead of seven as part of its cost-cutting programme, said the company.

Hong Kong-based Sanjeev Gandhi, responsible for Asia-Pacific and for the Petrochemicals and Intermediates divisions, is to leave the board on 31 December. Gandhi will leave the company “at his own request”, according to BASF.

“In addition as part of the ongoing reorganisation, the cross-functional service units Global Engineering Services, Global Digital Services and Global Business Services will provide end-to-end services worldwide,” it said.

The German major said in June it was due to cut 6,000 jobs worldwide as part of its cost-cutting programme. That represents nearly 5% of its 122,000 employees, of which nearly 56,000 are based in Germany.

The company did not clarify, however, the jurisdictions in which it was aiming to reduce its workforce.

As of 1 January, BASF’s board will be formed by: - Martin Brudermuller, CEO and chief technology officer (CTO).
- Hans-Ulrich Engel, CFO.
- Saori Dubourg, in charge of Agricultural Solutions; Care Chemicals; Nutrition & Health; Construction Chemicals (soon to be divested); Bioscience Research; Region Europe. In a company with an unequal gender balance (see bottom graph), Dubourg will be the only woman sitting on the board.
- Michael Heinz, Industrial Relations Director, in charge of Global Engineering Services; Corporate Environmental Protection, Health & Safety; European Site & Verbund Management; Region South America.
- Markus Kamieth, based in Asia and in charge of Catalysts; Coatings; Dispersions & Pigments; Performance Chemicals; Advanced Materials & Systems Research; BASF New Business; Greater China; South & East Asia, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Australia/New Zealand.
- Wayne T Smith, based in North America and in charge of Monomers; Performance Materials; Petrochemicals; Intermediates; Market & Business Development, Site & Verbund Management North America; Country Platforms North America; Process Research & Chemical Engineering.

As MRC informed earlier, BASF would expand the capacity of ethylene oxide and ethylene oxide derivatives at its Verbund site in Antwerp, Belgium. The total investment adds about 400 000 tpy to BASF’s production capacity for the corresponding products with an expected investment amount exceeding EUR500 million.

Ethylene is a feedstock for producing polyethylene (PE).

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.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- INEOS Olefins & Polymers Europe has announced a range of bio-attributed olefins and polyolefins, based on renewable bio based raw materials that do not compete with food production, according to Kemicalinfo.

Products will be supplied from the INEOS Koln site, Germany, later this year.

The company stated that bio-attribution measures the extent to which fossil fuel-derived feedstocks have been substituted by renewable or bio-feedstocks. Each step in the supply chain has been fully certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) to track the renewable materials through the production system as they are converted into drop-in olefin and polyolefins. The final product carries an attribution according to the displacement of fossil fuel-derived raw materials.

The RSB process also tracks and measures the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Saving through the Lifecyle of the product. The INEOS bio-attributed polyolefins can be made with 100% substitution of bio-feedstock and provide more than 100% Greenhouse Gas savings (GHG). The results are products which have a proven positive impact on the environment without sacrificing any product performance.

RSB is an independent organisation that has built a stringent certification process to help drive the sustainable development of the bio-economy.

Liz Rittweger, Business Director for Olefins and Polymers, "We are very proud to have achieved RSB certification of Olefins and Polyolefins from our Koln site. Being able to offer Bio-Attributed Olefins and Polymers represents another concrete step for INEOS along the path towards a more circular and sustainable economy."

We remind that, as MRC wrote before, in September 2019, INEOS Phenol broke ground at its world scale cumene investment in Marl, Germany. The new state-of-the-art 750 000 t unit is scheduled to be completed in 2021. Its location will help optimise the efficiency of the plant by integrating raw materials from the refinery and cracker complex. The site also benefits from the Marl harbour waterway connection.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,436,390 tonnes in the first eight months of 2019, up by 9% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, the PP consumption in the Russian market was 909,260 tonnes in
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BP and China’s Zhejiang Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (ZPCC) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore the creation of a new equally-owned joint venture to build and operate a 1 million ton per year (Mtpy) acetic acid plant in eastern China, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The proposed facility - in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province - would deploy BP’s CATIVA XL technology to produce acetic acid, a versatile intermediate chemical used in a variety of products such as paints, adhesives and solvents. It is also used in the production of purified terephthalic acid (PTA) of which BP is a leading global manufacturer.

The potential new plant, which would be an addition to ZPCC’s major integrated refining and petrochemical manufacturing complex at Zhoushan, would be BP’s largest acetic acid producing site in the world.

China is the world’s largest acetic acid market and accounts for more than half of global production capacity. BP is a long-term investor in China with a number of existing petrochemical manufacturing facilities in the country, including two existing acetic acid joint ventures.

The MOU was signed by Nigel Dunn, chief executive of BP’s Global Acetyls business and Luo Wei, executive director of ZPCC and was witnessed by Xiaoping Yang, BP China Chairman and President, Li Shuirong, Chairman of ZPCC and senior officials from Zhejiang Province. The signing took place at the third International Petroleum and Natural Gas Enterprises Conference (IPEC 2019) in Zhoushan.

"This is a significant new opportunity for BP in China, one of the world’s fastest-growing markets for petrochemicals," said Rita Griffin, chief operating officer, BP Petrochemicals. "Combining BP Acetyls’ world-leading technology and know-how, with ZPCC’s world-class mega complex and local expertise, our new partnership will help meet demand for these important products."

Li Shuirong, Chairman of ZPCC said: "ZPCC is delighted to sign this MOU with BP to explore this opportunity for acetic acid production. I am confident that this cooperation will help ZPCC to optimize its site structure and improve competitiveness, and together, we shall advance the high-quality development of China’s petrochemical industry."

BP’s proprietary CATIVA® XL technology requires significantly lower capital investment and offers superior operating performance when compared with other acetic acid technologies. In support of BP’s commitment to advancing a low carbon future, CATIVA® XL technology is also more energy efficient and has a high production reliability track record, which also contributes to a lower carbon footprint.

Xiaoping Yang, BP China Chairman and President, added: "We are excited at the potential of this new partnership with ZPCC, a further demonstration of our long-term commitment to the Chinese market. With this proposed investment, we will continue to expand BP’s business footprint in China and to contribute to the country’s economic, environmental and social sustainability."

As MRC reported earlier, BP Plc is expected to resume operation at its small gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) at its 430,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Whiting, Indiana, refinery in late October after about a month of the overhaul. The company began a planned overhaul of the small FCCU on 19 September.

PTA is used to produce polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is used in the manufacturing of plastic bottles, films, packaging containers, in the textile and food industries.

According to MRC's DataScope report, Chinese bottle grade PET deliveries to Russia increased 34% in the first eight months of 2019 to 95,600 tonnes. China accounted for 90% of the total imports, compared to 85% a year earlier.
August imports of material from China decreased by 41% to 7,600 tonnes from 12,800 tonnes in July. Jiangsu Sanfangxiang, Yisheng, Wankai and Sinopec were the leading Chinese suppliersof material to the Russian market.

BP is one of the world's leading international oil and gas companies, providing its customers with fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, retail services and petrochemicals products for everyday items.
MRC