PBF completes Chalmette, La. refinery restart following lightning strike

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PBF Energy completed restarting its 190,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Chalmette, Louisiana, refinery, reported Reuters with reference to sources familiar with plant operations' statement on Friday.

The refinery was knocked offline by a lightning strike on April 18 and began restarting on April 19, the sources said.

As MRC wrote before, US refiner PBF Energy has completed its acquisition of Shell’s 157,000 bbl/day Martinez refinery near San Francisco, California. The USD1bn deal, agreed in June 2019, was completed effective 1 February 2020.

Besides, in late March 2020, PBF Energy Inc said it was operating its refineries at minimum rates, with throughput about 30% lower than the refiner’s expectations, as coronavirus-driven travel curbs hit fuel demand.

We also remind that Shell Singapore restarted its naphtha cracker in Bukom Island in early December 2019, following a two months maintenance shutdown since the beginning of October 2019. Thus, this cracker was taken off-stream for the turnaround on 1 October 2019. The cracker is able to produce 960,000 tons/year of ethylene and 550,000 tons/year of propylene.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, 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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- On April 20, 2020, the first phase of Connell Chemical Industry Ltd.'s 600 KTA MTO complex, a 300 KTA MTO plant, successfully started up and produced on-spec ethylene and propylene, reported Markets Insider.

This project is the first large-size chemical project brought online during period when Chinais in the process of restarting the economy while fighting COVID-19 pandemic. The MTO plant started feed-in at 8:18 AM on April 15, produced on-spec propylene at 7:00 AM on April 18, and produced on-spec ethylene at 4:00 AM on April 20.

This plant is deployed with Honeywell UOP's advanced MTO/OCP reaction technologies and Wison Engineering's olefin recovery and separation technology – "Pre-cutting + Oil Absorption" process. The project was built by Wison Engineering through an EPC contract. The integrated process with UOP MTO/OCP technology and Wison Engineering's olefin recovery and separation technology is the most advanced MTO process in the world, featured by advantages of high feedstock yield and low catalyst consumption. This commercialization is the 10th successful commercial application for Wison Engineering's olefin recovery and separation technology. This successful startup has once again proved the reliability of this olefin separation technology and Wison Engineering's leading capability in MTO technology and engineering.

In July 2016, Wison Engineering was awarded an EPC contract for Connell Chemical Industry's 300 KTA MTO project. At the same time, Wison Engineering and Connell also signed a licensing agreement on process design package (PDP) contract for Wison's proprietary olefin separation technology. Wison Engineering was responsible for engineering design, procurement and construction of MTO reaction and concentration unit, olefin separation unit, olefin cracking unit and additional auxiliaries. Following the contract signing, site construction started in the same month.
In October 2016, Honeywell UOP and Connell signed the licensing agreement on MTO+OCP technology.

In September 2017, the project handover ceremony for 300 KTA MTO plant was successfully held at project site.
On April 20, 2020, 300 KTA MTO plant successfully started up and produced on-spec ethylene and propylene.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, 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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Kuwait National Petroleum Co. (KNPC) said work on a project linked to the Al-Ahmadi oil refinery was halted because a worker was diagnosed with the new coronavirus, said Reuters.

The worker, an Indian national, was employed by a contractor, KNPC said on Twitter, without giving details about the project.

"Work has stopped on the project until precautionary measures are taken to identify those who came in contact with him and the necessary tests are done," it said.

As MRC informed earlier, Kuwait National Petroleum Co (KNPC) on Thursday announced the operation of naphtha conversion unit number 107 in the Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery with a production capacity of 30,000 bpd.

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

1. Saudi Aramco, Reliance Industries deal at risk amid oil price rash

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Aramco’s plan to buy USD15-billion stake in Reliance Industries hydrocarbon business may not go through due to the rising risk of collapsing oil prices, US-based brokerage Bernstein has warned, reported Kemicalinfo. The unique combination of excess crude oil global supply, 30% drop in demand due to coronavirus crisis and continuous price fall weighed heavily on Aramco’s investment plans.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Aramco’s plan to buy USD15-billion stake in Reliance Industries hydrocarbon business may not go through due to the rising risk of collapsing oil prices, US-based brokerage Bernstein has warned, reported Kemicalinfo.

The unique combination of excess crude oil global supply, 30% drop in demand due to coronavirus crisis and continuous price fall weighed heavily on Aramco’s investment plans.

"With the collapse in oil prices, the risk is rising that the deal will not go has increased although we now value downstream at USD55 billion gross, which is a 20% discount to Aramco valuation," Bernstein said in a report on Wednesday.

Last August, Saudi Aramco entered into a non-binding initial agreement to buy 20% stake in Reliance Industries’ oil to chemicals divisions with an enterprise value of USD75 billion. The oil to chemicals division included RIL’s Jamnagar refining complex, petrochemicals and fuels marketing businesses.

Apart from Reliances oil to chemicals business, Aramco also agreed last year to buy the controlling stake in SABIC from the kingdom’s wealth fund for USD69.1bn, sealing one of the biggest-ever deals in the global chemical industry.

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

Saudi Aramco is an integrated oil and chemicals company, a global leader in hydrocarbon production, refining processes and distribution, as well as one of the largest global oil exporters. It manages proven reserves of crude oil and condensate estimated at 261.1bn barrels, and produces 9.54 million bbl daily. Headquartered in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, the company employs over 61,000 staff in 77 countries.

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