Honeywell technology to purify hydrogen for petrochemical complex

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Honeywell announced that Zhejiang Satellite Petrochemical Co., Ltd. is using a Honeywell UOP Polybed pressure swing adsorption (PSA) unit to supply high-purity hydrogen to its integrated refining and petrochemicals complex in China, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The PSA unit purifies hydrogen generated by its UOP C3 Oleflex propane dehydrogenation unit.

Zhejiang Satellite, which recently announced a second C3 Oleflex unit to meet the growing propylene demand in China, has used the PSA technology to upgrade the purity of hydrogen to meet refining needs. In addition to technology licensing, Honeywell UOP, a technology leader in the oil and gas industry, provided services, equipment, catalysts and adsorbents for the Satellite plant.

“In the last five years, we’ve worked with Zhejiang Satellite to construct new petrochemicals facilities centered around our Oleflex technology, which helped to maximize operating flexibility and onstream reliability,” said Bryan Glover, vice president and general manager, Petrochemicals & Refining Technologies at Honeywell UOP. “Their selection of our PSA technology further enhances the reliability of their operations and provides a steady, stable source of high-purity hydrogen.”

The PSA process uses proprietary UOP adsorbents to remove impurities at high pressure from hydrogen-containing process streams, allowing hydrogen to be recovered and upgraded to more than 99.9% purity to meet refining needs.

In addition to recovering and purifying hydrogen from steam reformers and refinery off-gases, the Polybed PSA system can be used to produce hydrogen from other sources such as ethylene off-gas, methanol off-gas and partial-oxidation synthesis gas. Polybed PSA systems are skid-mounted, modular units complete with hardware, adsorbents, control systems and embedded process technology, enabling quick and efficient installation to reduce cost and downtime.

Since its introduction in 1966, UOP has improved Polybed PSA technology with new generations of adsorbents, enhanced cycle configurations, modified process and equipment designs and more reliable control systems and equipment. Today, Honeywell UOP has installed more than 1,100 Polybed PSA units in more than 70 countries. As a result, Polybed PSA is a proven technology with dozens of large-scale unit references globally.

As MRC reported earlier, in August 2019, Honeywell announced that PetroChina Guangdong Petrochemical Company will adopt advanced heavy oil processing technology from Honeywell UOP for its integrated petrochemical complex in China. The new facility will have an annual crude processing capacity of 20 million tons, helping to meet a national energy security strategy while transforming PetroChina Guangdong into a more fully integrated petrochemicals supplier.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 557,060 tonnes in the first three month of 2020, up by 7% year on year. High density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments rose because of the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. Demand for LDPE subsided. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market was 267,630 tonnes in January-March 2020, down 20% year on year. Homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers accounted for the main decrease in imports.
MRC

Phillips 66 Q1 chem earnings rise

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Phillips 66’s Q1 chemical segment earnings rose quarter on quarter as the company’s Chevron Phillips Chemical (CP Chem) petrochemical joint venture benefited from higher polyethylene (PE) sales volumes, said the company.

PE demand increased, primarily for food packaging and medical supplies. CP Chem’s Olefins & Polyolefins (O&P) business ran at 98% utilisation in Q1.

Q1 adjusted pre-tax income in CP Chem’s Specialties, Aromatics and Styrenics business fell sequentially, primarily due to lower margins and higher turnaround activity. Year on year, total adjusted chemical segment earnings fell from USD227m in Q1 2019. Phillips 66 did not comment on the year on year decline.

Phillips 66 added that CP Chem was “closely monitoring” economic developments and has deferred a final investment decision on a US Gulf Coast petrochemical project it is working on with Qatar Petroleum.

Overall, Phillips 66 swung to a $2.5bn Q1 loss, from positive earnings of USD736m in Q4 2019 and USD204m in Q1 2019.

Excluding special items of USD2.9bn in Q1, primarily impairments related to goodwill and the company’s investment in DCP Midstream, adjusted earnings were USD450m.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 383,760 tonnes in the first two month of 2020, up by 14% year on year. High density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments increased due to the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 192,760 tonnes in January-February 2020, down by 6% year on year. Homopolymer PP accounted for the main decrease in imports.
MRC

Oil prices rise with hopes for demand rebound

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oil prices climbed at the end of last week on as countries including Australia moved ahead with plans to relax economic and social lockdowns put in place to halt the coronavirus pandemic, kindling market hopes for a boost in demand for crude and its products, reported Reuters.

Brent crude was up by 87 cents, or 3%, at USD30.33 a barrel by 0630 GMT on 8 May, having fallen nearly 1% on Thursday.

US oil gained USD1.12, or 4.8%, to USD24.67 a barrel, after a decline of nearly 2% in the previous session.

Both contracts are heading for a second week of gains after the lows of April, when US oil crashed below zero, with Brent up around 15% for the week and WTI more than 24% higher.

However, crude is still being pumped into storage, raising the prospect that any gains prompted by stronger demand will be capped.

"Oil is rallying on expectations of better demand. There are green shoots there but I think the market will need to see those broaden and extend to sustain the rally," said Lachlan Shaw, head of commodities research at National Australia Bank in Melbourne.

On the supply side, North American oil companies are cutting production quicker than OPEC officials and industry analysts expected and are on track to withdraw about 1.7 million barrels per day of output by the end of June.

"The supply cuts we have seen announced, particularly in North America, are also giving the market confidence," Shaw said.

Still, US crude inventories at the Cushing storage hub in Oklahoma increased by around 407,000 barrels in the week through May 5, traders said on Thursday, citing Genscape data.

Australia on Friday became the latest country to plan an easing of lockdown restrictions as infections from the virus slow to a trickle, aiming to relax social distancing restrictions in a three-stage process.

France, parts of the United States and countries such as Pakistan are also planning to ease the restrictions instituted to stop the spread of the world’s worst health crisis in a century.

In the US, the biggest consumer of oil and its products, motorists are starting to take to the roads as the lockdowns ease. Gasoline supplied to the U.S. market rose to almost 6.7 million barrels per day (bpd) last week, according to estimates from the US Energy Information Administration.

Prices moved higher later in the session after US and Chinese officials discussed a trade deal agreed earlier this year before the coronavirus outbreak, with both sides agreeing to implement the agreement.

"The apparent de-escalation of potential trade hostilities from this morning’s US-China phone call has seen bullish sentiment return," said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA.

As MRC informed earlier, global oil consumption cut by up to a third. What happens next in the oil market depends on how quickly and completely the global economy emerges from lockdown, and whether the recessionary hit lingers through the rest of this year and into 2021.

Earlier this year, BP said the deadly coronavirus outbreak could cut global oil demand growth by 40 per cent in 2020, putting pressure on Opec producers and Russia to curb supplies to keep prices in check.

We remind that, in September 2019, six world's major petrochemical companies in Flanders, Belgium, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and the Netherlands (Trilateral Region) announced the creation of a consortium to jointly investigate how naphtha or gas steam crackers could be operated using renewable electricity instead of fossil fuels. The Cracker of the Future consortium, which includes BASF, Borealis, BP, LyondellBasell, SABIC and Total, aims to produce base chemicals while also significantly reducing carbon emissions. The companies agreed to invest in R&D and knowledge sharing as they assess the possibility of transitioning their base chemical production to renewable electricity.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 557,060 tonnes in the first three month of 2020, up by 7% year on year. High density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments rose because of the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. Demand for LDPE subsided. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market was 267,630 tonnes in January-March 2020, down 20% year on year. Homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers accounted for the main decrease in imports.
MRC

API expects Falconara refinery to restart next week

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Italian oil refiner API said it expected its Falconara Marittima facility to restart production early next week after shutting down at the end of March as a result of COVID-19, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

“The refinery ... has launched preliminary operations for the restart,” the group said in a statement.

The lockdown imposed by the Italian government to stop the spread of the pandemic led to a sharp fall in demand for oil products with excess supply saturating storage capacity.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing PE and PP.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 383,760 tonnes in the first two month of 2020, up by 14% year on year. High density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments increased due to the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 192,760 tonnes in January-February 2020, down by 6% year on year. Homopolymer PP accounted for the main decrease in imports.
MRC

Reliance Industries to sell its stake in Asian Paints

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Reliance Industries Ltd. is considering selling its stake in India’s largest paint maker valued at about USD989 million as the conglomerate steps up efforts to trim its debt, reported Kemicalinfo with reference to Bloomberg's report.

RIL is in discussions with banks for a potential sale of its 4.9% stake in Asian Paints Ltd. through a series of block trades, according to the report. Reliance holds the stake through Teesta Retail.

The size and timing of any potential sale haven’t been finalized, and Reliance could decide not to pro-ceed with a deal, the people said," the report added.

The sale of stake in Asian Paints is part of RIL’s string of fundraising plans unveiled in order to bolster investor confidence, even as the crash in oil prices pulled down profit at the company’s oil-to-chemicals business.

Last month, Reliance said that the group’s net debt would be slashed to zero ahead of its previous target of early 2021.

Asian Paints is India’s largest paints & coatings manufaturer by revenue. The company operates in 15 countries with 26 paint manufacturing facilities globally.

On report of RIL stake sale, the stock of Asian Paints has underperformed the market by falling 15%, as compared to a 0.55% rise in the S&P BSE Sensex.

As MRC informed before, in November 2019, Reliance Industries confirmed plans to invest 700 billion Indian rupees (USD9.75 billion) to establish a crude-oil-to-chemicals (COTC) complex at the company's Jamnagar, India.

The MCC/HSFCC complex will have combined capacity for 8.5 million metric tons/year (MMt/y) of ethylene and propylene, and total extraction capacity for 3.5 MMt/y of benzene, toluene, and xylenes. It will also have combined capacity for 4.0 MMt/y of para-xylene (p-xylene) and ortho-xylene. The steam cracker will have combined capacity for 4.1 MMt/y of ethylene and propylene, and feed crude C4s to a 700,000-metric tons/year butadiene extraction plant. Reliance will also add 1.3 MMt/y of p-xylene capacity at existing plants at Jamnagar.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 557,060 tonnes in the first three month of 2020, up by 7% year on year. High density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments rose because of the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. Demand for LDPE subsided. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market was 267,630 tonnes in January-March 2020, down 20% year on year. Homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers accounted for the main decrease in imports.

Reliance Industries is one of the world's largest producers of polymers. Thus, the company produces among others polypropylene, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride.
MRC