ZPC mega-cracker Zhoushan plant achieves rapid startup using TechnipFMC proprietary technology

MOSCOW (MRC) -- TechnipFMC provided the proprietary technology and process design for part of ZheJiang Petroleum & Chemical Co., Ltd.’s(1) (ZPC’s) successful startup of its mega 1,400 KTA(2) ethylene plant in Zhoushan City, Zhejiang Province, China, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The startup took only about three days to complete. The liquids ethylene cracker is part of ZPC’s grassroots integrated refining and petrochemical complex which broke ground in 2016.

In addition to the ethylene cracker technology, TechnipFMC provided key proprietary technology components including a Heat Integrated Rectifier System, Ripple Trays and Wet Air Oxidation process. TechnipFMC’s Ultra Selective Conversion (USC®) U-coil ethylene technology is preferred for its high energy efficiency and high yields.

Stan Knez, President of TechnipFMC Process Technology, commented: “We are very pleased with the successful startup of the ZPC cracker. This is a great milestone for the complex and another example of our proven ethylene technology”.

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.

ZPC: Zhejiang Petroleum & Chemical Co., Ltd, established in Zhoushan, Zhejiang on June 18, 2015, is a mixed-ownership enterprise jointly formed by the private enterprise Rongsheng Petrochemical Co., Ltd. ( holding 51% of shares ), provincial state-owned enterprise Zhejiang Juhua Investment Co., Ltd. ( holding 20% of shares ) , the private enterprises Zhejiang Tongkun Investment Co., Ltd. ( holding 20% of shares ) and Zhoushan Marine Comprehensive Development and Investment Co., Ltd.(holding 9% of shares), which will be the first kind of mixing economy enterprise in China in the Refinery and Petrochemical Industry. ZPC’s first phase project includes 20 million tons per year refinery and 1400 KTA Ethylene Complex.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shandong Yangmei Hengtong Chemical, has restarted its methanol-to-olefins (MTO) plant following a maintenance turnaround, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that, the company resumed operations at the plant on May 5, 2020. The plant remained under maintenance for about one month.

Located in Shandong province, China, the MTO plant has an ethylene production capacity of 120,000 mt/year and propylene capacity of 180,000 mt/year.

We remind that, as MRC reported earlier, 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. 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.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing 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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp said it will shut down its 110,000-barrel-per-day Tabangao refinery in the Philippines for one month from mid-May as the coronavirus pandemic has hammered oil demand, reported Reuters.

"In response to the drastic decline in local product demand and the significant deterioration of regional refining margins brought about the COVID-19 pandemic, the company will temporarily shut down its refinery operations for approximately one month starting mid-May 2020," the unit of Anglo-Dutch energy firm Royal Dutch Shell said in statement.

Pilipinas Shell said it will continue to comply with the government’s minimum inventory requirement during the shutdown of the refinery in Batangas City, south of the capital Manila.

Manila and some parts of the main island of Luzon as well as a few other Philippine provinces will remain under “enhanced community quarantine” until May 15 to curb the coronavirus spread.

"The temporary shutdown will help insulate the company from further potential drops in refining margins and will also aid in its cash conservation initiatives," it said, adding that it can switch to importation of petroleum products if necessary.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday temporarily increased tariffs on imported crude oil and refined petroleum products to fund measures aimed at mitigating the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

The Tabangao facility is one of the two refineries in the Philippines. The country’s largest refiner Petron Corp operates a 180,000 barrel-per-day facility in Bataan province, also in Luzon.

As MRC informed before, Royal Dutch Shell said it is planning a major maintenance turnaround at its Pernis oil refinery in the Netherlands starting on May 4, 2020.

We also remind that Shell Singapore restarted its naphtha cracker in Bukom Island this week 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, 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.

Royal Dutch Shell plc is an Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the biggest company in the world in terms of revenue and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors". Shell is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oil prices fell on worries that a global oil glut may persist even as coronavirus pandemic lockdowns start to ease and amid a fresh spat between the United States and China over the origin of the virus, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Brent crude was down 7 cents, or 0.3%, at $26.37 at 1339 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 39 cents, or 2%, to USD19.39.

While global oil demand is expected to recover modestly from April lows as countries ease some lockdown measures, the glut created over months in storage facilities will loom over the markets.

“As oil inventories are likely still increasing over the coming weeks, oil prices remain vulnerable to renewed setbacks,” said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo. However, Goldman Sachs was more optimistic than before about the rise of oil prices next year due to lower crude production and a partial recovery in oil demand.

The Wall Street bank raised its 2021 forecast for global benchmark Brent to $55.63 per barrel from $52.50 earlier. The bank hiked its estimate for WTI to USD51.38 a barrel from USD48.50 previously.

Signs that the output cuts may help reduce the supply overhang have emerged with the narrowing of Brent’s contango - the market structure in which later-dated prices are higher than prompt supplies.

The six-month spread of Brent futures LCOc1-LCOc7 hit its narrowest in almost a month at a discount of around $6.50, up from a record wide discount of almost USD14 in late-March, reflecting decreasing oversupply expectations and making storage for later sale less profitable.

The re-emergence of trade tensions between the United State and China also weighed on prices. Adding to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat last week to impose tariffs on China, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday there was “a significant amount of evidence” that the new coronavirus emerged from a Chinese laboratory.

“Demand projections have sobered up last week’s enthusiasm and this, together with the prospect of new U.S.-China trade tensions, have weighted heavily on prices today,” said Rystad’s senior oil markets analyst Paola Rodriguez-Masiu.

Oil prices recovered some of their losses after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he expected China to make good on its trade agreement with the United States. He also said he expected oil markets to rebound, and that the Trump administration was looking for more storage capacity. Concerns about weak manufacturing data in Asia and Europe, assessed by Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) of manufacturing companies, also put pressure on oil prices.

In Asia, a series of PMIs from IHS Markit fell deeper into contraction from March, with some diving to all-time lows and others hitting levels last seen during the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. PMIs in France, the euro zone’s second-biggest economy, dropped in April to the lowest level on record. IHS Markit’s Final PMI for German manufacturing, which accounts for about a fifth of Europe’s largest economy, shrank at the fastest rate on record.

The U.S. dollar surged against most major currencies on Monday amid fears that last year’s U.S.-China dispute will be re-ignited. Oil is usually priced in dollars so a stronger greenback makes crude more expensive for buyers with other currencies.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brazil’s state-owned oil giant Petrobras will raise the average price of gasoline at refineries by 12% as of Thursday, but is keeping diesel prices unchanged, reported Reuters with reference to the firm’s press office's statement.

The pass through to final consumers at gas stations will not be immediate, and will depend on a series of factors such as distribution and resale margins, taxes, and the mandatory addition of anhydrous ethanol.

As MRC wrote previously, the chief executive of Brazilian state-run oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro said in December 2019 he wants to sell the company's stake in petrochemical company Braskem within 12 months.

Besides, Braskem is no longer pursuing a petrochemical project, which would have included an ethane cracker, in West Virginia. And the company is seeking to sell the land that would have housed the cracker. The project, announced in 2013, had been on Braskem's back burner for several years.

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.

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