MEGlobal project named Best Project Winner

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The EQUATE Group is proud to announce that the MEGlobal BookraMEG Oyster Creek Project has been named the 2020 Best Project in the Industrial/Energy category by ENR Texas & Louisiana, said the company.

The project – nicknamed BookraMEG (meaning “future MEG”) – is a world-scale 750,000 metric-ton-per-annum monoethylene (MEG) glycol and di-ethylene glycol facility (DEG) built in Oyster Creek, TX as part of EQUATE’s subsidiary, MEGlobal. In addition to being completed ahead of schedule, below budget and with an excellent safety record, it was the first time the EQUATE Group constructed a new EG facility in the United States.

"During a period when there was an extraordinary number of construction projects in the US Gulf Coast, MEGlobal was able to capitalize on the expertise of its shareholders and the collaboration of its contract partners,” said Dr. Ramesh Ramachandran, CEO of EQUATE. “Dow’s world class engineering and procurement support coupled with the active participation of the global engineering work force of EQUATE enabled us to select the best work practices across the world. We will forever be grateful to this ?project team that delivered a world scale plant safely and ahead of schedule."

The project was co-submitted for award by MEGlobal, Worley (general contractor) and Fluor (construction contractor) and was one of 18 selected from more than 130 submissions. "This was an outstanding project in every sense and we are incredibly proud to be recognized for the teamwork, safety commitment and operational excellence demonstrated by the entire organization," said Clarence Stadlwieser, MEGlobal Project Director.

The project was judged on its safety, international teamwork, ability to overcome challenges, innovation, complexity, contribution to the industry/community, construction quality and craftsmanship, and functionality of design and aesthetic quality.

Jason Kraynek, Fluor’s Senior Vice President – Energy & Chemicals, said safety was the first priority of the project. “MEGlobal, Worley, and Fluor were fully aligned that safety was the overriding project objective and nothing would compromise this attitude. As other project contractors were brought on board, they were aligned with this objective and a key part of contractor selection was the contractor’s past safety record.

The entire project senior management team continuously emphasized focus on safety, both in design and execution of construction,” he said. As a result, the Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) was TRIR of 0.054. Stephen Hillier, Worley’s President added, “It was no small feat, but working together, we were able to complete this world-scale facility eight months faster than the industry average. The success of the project is testament to the rigor and dedication of the team – always collaborating towards a common goal. Over the course of the project, we achieved continuous safe work, minimized rework and met project requirements. I’m grateful to MEGlobal for the trust they had in Worley and Fluor to partner with them and accelerate construction in a safe manner."

MEG is mainly used in the production of polyester fibres, resins and films (around 80% of global consumption), followed by use in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin. It is also used as automotive antifreeze.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PET consumption totalled 367,720 tonnes in the first six months of 2020, up by 19% year on year. Russian companies processed 62,910 tonnes of material in June.

The EQUATE Group is a global producer of petrochemicals and the world’s second-largest producer of ethylene glycol (EG). The Group owns and operates industrial complexes in Kuwait, North America and Europe that annually produce over 6 million tons of ethylene, ethylene glycol (EG), polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), styrene monomer (SM), paraxylene (PX), heavy aromatics (HA) and benzene (BZ). The EQUATE Group includes EQUATE Petrochemical Company (EQUATE), The Kuwait Olefins Company (TKOC), as well as a number of subsidiaries such as MEGlobal and Equipolymers. Their products are marketed throughout Asia, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The EQUATE Group’s shareholders are Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC), The Dow Chemical Company (Dow), Boubyan Petrochemical Company (BPC) and Qurain Petrochemical Industries Company (QPIC). Employing more than 1,500 people worldwide, the EQUATE Group is a leading enterprise that pursues sustainability wherever it operates through partnerships in fields that include the environment, economy and society.

MEGlobal is a global leader in the manufacture and marketing of ethylene glycol (EG). With a worldwide network, MEGlobal markets its products throughout Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Middle East. MEGlobal embraces the principles of Responsible Care®, focusing on the safety of employees, neighbors, communities and the environment in every aspect of its operations. As a subsidiary of EQUATE Petrochemical Company (EQUATE), MEGlobal is part of the EQUATE Group which is the world’s second largest producer of EG.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Crude oil futures were largely stable in mid-morning trade in Asia August 5 as concerns over the demand outlook amid a resurgence in regional coronavirus infections and rising geopolitical tensions between the US and China weighed on sentiment after both key benchmarks settled near five-month highs overnight, reported S&P Global.

At 11:26 am Singapore time (0326 GMT), the ICE Brent October crude futures were up 3 cents/b (0.07%) from the August 4 settle at USD44.46/b, while the NYMEX September light sweet crude contract was 1 cent/b (0.02%) lower at USD41.69/b.

"Oil markets are trading within well-worn ranges. Prices continue to converge around the current center of mass, around Brent USD44/b, supported by signs of improvement in manufacturing and business sentiment across key economies, while coat-tailing upswings in US stock markets are creating an unambiguous "risk-on" habitat this week," AxiCorp chief global markets analyst Stephen Innes said in a note Aug. 5.

There was no immediate market reaction to a massive explosion overnight near Lebanon's main port of Beirut that has left at least 78 dead and 4,000 wounded, which Lebanese interior minister Mohamed Fehmi attributed on local television to stored ammonium nitrate, typically used in fertilizers. The port handles 60% of all Lebanon's imports, and around 85% of the country's cereals are stored in nearby silos that were damaged by the blast, S&P Global Platts reported earlier.

The American Petroleum Institute Aug. 4 reported a larger-than-expected draw in US commercial crude inventories and gasoline stocks, according to analyst reports. US factory orders also rose 6.2% in June in US Census Bureau data released Aug. 4.

"The larger-than-expected drawdown of 8.6 million barrels in US stockpiles had helped to push prices up overnight [and while] prices are evidently not near the high yesterday, prices are still supported," IG market strategist Pan Jingyi, told S&P Global Platts on Aug. 5. "(There is) still a lot of sideways action for crude oil prices and (this is) not a surprise with demand still in question given the persistent COVID-19 stay and geopolitics also returning to the spotlight," she added.

Market participants will look to the more definitive weekly US stocks report due for release by the Energy Information Administration later in the day for further cues.

Tensions between the US and China that have escalated in recent weeks heightened further overnight after US President Donald Trump threatened to ban the TikTok app on national security grounds unless it was sold to an American company by Sept. 15, according to media reports.

As MRC informed before, China's crude stockpiles reached a record high level in July as refiners struggle to digest mass crude oil cargoes purchased during the second quarter, while domestic fuel consumption slowed amid widespread flooding across 23 provinces during the month. In total, at least 20 state-owned refineries across the country, which have no maintenance plan, have cut run rates in July by 1-17 percentage points from June. These comprise seven refineries under PetroChina, 12 from Sinopec, and Sinochem's only refinery Quanzhou Petrochemical.

We remind that Sinopec SABIC Tianjin Petrochemical Co. (SSTPC), a 50-50 joint venture of Sinopec and SABIC, completed the debottlenecking of its ethylene cracker on 11 July 2020, adding another 30,000 tons/year output to its current capacity. Followed the expansion, the Tianjin based plant become the country's largest compressor unit, producing 1.3 million tons of ethylene annually.

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

According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia dropped in January-June 2020 by 7% year on year to 328,000 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the main decrease in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia rose in the first six months of 2020 by 21% year on year to 105,300 tonnes. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China’s Bora LyondellBasell Petrochemical, a JV between the privately owned Bora Enterprise Group and the world's petrochemical major - LyondellBasell, has started up its new steam cracker at the Panjin complex in northeast China last week, reported S&P Global.

The steam cracker, when fully operational, is able to produce up to 1 mln mt/year of ethylene.

Some downstream plants at the Panjin complex also started up on the same day. They include a 350,000 mtyear high density polyethylene (HDPE) unit, a 450,000 mtyear linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE)/HDPE swing plant and a 350,000 mtyear styrene monomer (SM) plant.

Meanwhile, trade participants are closely monitoring Bora LyondellBasell Petrochemical's new 600,000 mt/year new polypropylene (PP) plant status in Northeast China.

As MRC informed earlier, LyondellBasell has already invests in several chemical plants in China, including a joint venture with a unit of state refiner Sinopec Corp.

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

According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia dropped in January-June 2020 by 7% year on year to 328,000 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the main decrease in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia rose in the first six months of 2020 by 21% year on year to 105,300 tonnes. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.

Bora is one of more than 40 independent Chinese refiners that have grown rapidly since late 2015 to account for a fifth of China’s total crude oil imports.

LyondellBasell is one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world. Driven by its 13,000 employees around the globe, LyondellBasell produces materials and products that are key to advancing solutions to modern challenges like enhancing food safety through lightweight and flexible packaging, protecting the purity of water supplies through stronger and more versatile pipes, and improving the safety, comfort and fuel efficiency of many of the cars and trucks on the road. LyondellBasell sells products into approximately 100 countries and is the world's largest licensor of polyolefin technologies.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Equinor has appointed Anders Opedal as its new chief executive as the Norwegian oil and gas group looks to speed up a move into renewable energy, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The new CEO, who had been Equinor’s head of technology, projects and drilling and is the first engineer to lead the company, replaces Eldar Saetre who will retire after more than 40 years at Norway’s biggest company. Opedal’s appointment is effective from Nov. 2.

European oil companies are pushing ahead with plans to develop emissions-free sources of energy, with some, such as BP and Eni promising to cut their oil and gas production. Equinor is maintaining a target of expanding its oil and gas output by 3% a year until 2026, Opedal told Reuters. After that, things could change.

"I am willing to reallocate capital between oil and gas and renewables,” he said an interview. “It will depend on the opportunities we will have at that point in time." Sources last month told Reuters that Opedal was one of four internal candidates short-listed. "Equinor is entering a phase of significant change as the world needs to take more forceful action to combat climate change,” Chairman Jon Erik Reinhardsen said.

"The board’s mandate is for Anders to accelerate our development as a broad energy company and to increase value creation for our shareholders through the energy transition." Saetre in 2018 changed the majority state-owned company’s name from Statoil to Equinor and promised to increase investment in renewable energy.

Opedal said the company would also seek to build new business within hydrogen, carbon capture and storage as well as other low-carbon solutions, bringing down the cost of such technologies to make them commercially viable.

Opedal, a former chief operating officer, has also been in charge of Equinor’s Brazil business, where the company plans a big offshore oil expansion in the coming years.

Saetre’s six years at the helm came at a time of upheaval in the energy industry, with a plunge in oil prices in 2014-2015 and again this year triggering large losses and write-offs. “The focus will remain on low cost oil and gas assets, but there is an opportunity to reallocate capital towards the renewables and low carbon business,” Barclays said in a note.

“This (is) likely to represent a further evolution of the existing strategy rather than a revolution,” Barclays said. Shares in Equinor were up 0.8% at 1208 GMT, broadly in line with the European oil and gas index.

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

According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia dropped in January-June 2020 by 7% year on year to 328,000 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the main decrease in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia rose in the first six months of 2020 by 21% year on year to 105,300 tonnes. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- India’s commerce and industry ministry recently suggested a provisional anti-dumping duty (ADD) of USD15.54- 200.66 per metric tonne (MT) on the import of polyethylene terephthalate (PET resin) from China, said Fibre2fashion.

Reliance Industries and IVL Dhunseri Petrochem Industries Pvt Ltd had filed a complaint claiming injury resulting from the alleged dumping. Petrochemicals CrudeOil Nylon6 ACN.

"Having initiated and conducted the investigation into dumping, injury and causal link in terms of the provisions laid down under the Anti-Dumping Rules, the authority is of the view that imposition of provisional duty is required to offset dumping and injury, pending completion of the investigation," the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) said in its preliminary findings.

The probe began on October 1 last year.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PET consumption totalled 367,720 tonnes in the first six months of 2020, up by 19% year on year. Russian companies processed 62,910 tonnes of material in June.
MRC