Indian Oil reviews refinery expansion plans

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indian Oil Corp (IOC) India's largest refiner, is reviewing its refinery expansion plans because of a gradual rise in use of cleaner fuels and changing demand patterns in Asia's third-largest economy, reported Reuters with reference to IOC's chairman's statement.

In 2018 India set a target for a 77% jump in refining capacity to about 9 MM barrels per day (bpd) by 2030, with IOC raising capacity to 2.6 MM bpd.

However, Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell, an oil ministry think-tank, is revising the supply and demand scenario for the country.

"Based on that study we will revise our numbers as well," IOC Chairman S.M. Vaidya told a news conference on Monday.

"Demand is not really destructive in our country. It has got deferred. Nevertheless, we are reviewing our refinery expansion plans."

Vaidya said that IOC's focus is on adding higher capacity through expansion of existing units and raising petrochemical capacity to protect margins.

"As far as grassroots projects are concerned, we are reviewing all projects," he added.

IOC will also review expansion of its Paradip refinery when the revised supply and demand figures are available, he said.

As MRC informed previously, Indian Oil Corp, the country’s top refiner, is close to winning its first contract to export up to 720,000 tons of clean products to Mauritius under an annual deal from November.

We remind that Indian Oil says it will build an integrated paraxylene (PX) and purified terephthalic acid (PTA) facility at Paradip in Odisha State, India, at an estimated investment of 138 billion Indian rupees (USD1.84 billion). The project will be completed by early 2024, with the complex planned to produce 800,000 metric tons/year of PX and 1.2 million metric tons/year of PTA, it says.

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 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.

Indian Oil Corporation Limited, or IndianOil, is an Indian state-owned oil and gas corporation with its headquarters in New Delhi, India.
MRC

Medical parts maker Saint-Gobain acquires Pompey

MOSCOW (MRC) -- In a move that broadens its medical components capabilities, Solon, Ohio-based medical device maker Saint-Gobain Life Sciences has acquired Pompey, France-based MS Techniques and Transluminal, a designer and extruder of minimally invasive catheter systems, specifically for the cardio-vascular market, said Canplastics.

The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed. In a press release, Saint-Gobain said that MS Techniques/Transluminal – which employs 137 people – will be integrated within Saint-Gobain Life Sciences’ Medical Components business unit.

"We are looking forward to welcoming MS Techniques and Transluminal to the Saint-Gobain Medical family," said John Schmitz, general manager, Saint-Gobain’s medical components and electronics. “Aligning with our growth strategy, they strengthen our presence in Europe, broaden our precision extrusion capabilities and catheter design expertise, helping us further expand into the interventional and minimally invasive market."

As MRC informed earlier, Sika acquired Modern Waterproofing Group, a leading manufacturer of roofing and waterproofing systems in Egypt. The acquisition supplements and rounds off the product portfolio of Sika Egypt and offers new opportunities for growth in the Egyptian construction market. The acquired business generates annual sales of CHF 26 million.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall PE production totalled 1,712,400 tonnes in the first seven months of 2020, up by 58% year on year. Linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) accounted for the greatest increase in the output. At the same time, overall PP production in Russia increased in January-July 2020 by 24% year on year to 1,063,700 tonne. ZapSibNeftekhim accounted for the main increase in the output.

Saint-Gobain Life Sciences is part of the Saint Gobain group, which is headquartered near Paris. The group operates in 70 countries with more than 180,000 employees. It reported sales of 42.6 billion euros in 2019.

Sika, a specialist in sealants and adhesives with origins dating back to 1910, employs some 25,000 people and has more than 300 plants worldwide. The group reported sales of CHF8.1 billion in the financial year 2019.

mrcplast.com

Shell launches major cost-cutting drive to prepare for energy transition

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Royal Dutch Shell is looking to slash up to 40% off the cost of producing oil and gas in a major drive to save cash so it can overhaul its business and focus more on renewable energy and power markets, reported Reuters.

Shell’s new cost-cutting review, known internally as Project Reshape and expected to be completed this year, will affect its three main divisions and any savings will come on top of a USD4 billion target set in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. Reducing costs is vital for Shell’s plans to move into the power sector and renewables where margins are relatively low. Competition is also likely to intensify with utilities and rival oil firms including BP and Total all battling for market share as economies around the world go green.

“We had a great model but is it right for the future? There will be differences, this is not just about structure but culture and about the type of company we want to be,” said a senior Shell source, who declined to be named.

Last year, Shell’s overall operating costs came to USD38 billion and capital spending totalled USD24 billion.

The company’s integrated gas division, which runs Shell’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) operations as well as some gas production, is also looking at deep cuts, the sources said.

For downstream, the review is focusing on cutting costs from Shell’s network of 45,000 service stations - the world’s biggest - which is seen as one its “most high-value activities” and is expected to play a pivotal role in the transition, two more sources involved with the review told Reuters.

Besides cutting costs at its downstream retail business, Shell is pressing ahead with plans to reduce the number of its oil refineries to 10 from 17 last year. It has already agreed to sell three.

The review of refining operations also includes finding ways to sharply increase the production of low-carbon fuels such biofuels, chemicals and lubricants. That could be done by using low-carbon raw materials such as cooking oil, one source said.

As MRC wrote previously, Shell has recently announced that it will replace the ethylene steam cracker furnaces at its Moerdijk petrochemicals complex, The Netherlands, in a move that will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall PE production totalled 1,712,400 tonnes in the first seven months of 2020, up by 58% year on year. Linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) accounted for the greatest increase in the output. At the same time, overall PP production in Russia increased in January-July 2020 by 24% year on year to 1,063,700 tonne. ZapSibNeftekhim accounted for the main increase in the output.

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

Court orders recalculation of USD1.4 billion in damages in lawsuit between Dow and Nova Chemicals

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Alberta Court of Appeal has ordered a recalculation of a decision that awarded USD1.4 billion in damages to Dow Chemical Canada in a dispute with Nova Chemicals Corp, said Canplastics.

As is being reported by The Canadian Press, the appeal court agreed with the original judge who ruled that Dow was correct in its interpretation of an operating agreement for a jointly owned ethane cracker at the Joffre petrochemical complex in central Alberta.

The cracker, one of three at the complex and dubbed E3, was built by Nova and Union Carbide through a 1997 joint venture agreement and designed to supply ethylene feedstock for a new polyethylene plant being built by Union Carbide. In 2001, Dow merged with Union Carbide in 2001 and took over its half ownership of the ethane cracker.

Dow argued that the Joffre petrochemical complex had been operated by Nova at less-than-agreed-upon volumes for a 10-year period until 2012.

"The Court of Appeal of Alberta affirmed the trial court’s ruling that E3 must be run to its full productive capability, and that Nova committed gross negligence and wilful misconduct in failing to do so,” Dow spokeswoman Ashley Mendoza said in an email to The Canadian Press. "The trial court’s finding in Dow’s favour on Nova’s liability has been affirmed, as has its ruling on the great majority of Dow’s damages through 2012."

The appeal court found that the trial judge’s inclusion of lost polyethylene profits from the lack of ethylene production was improper and Dow should only be compensated for direct damages, to be calculated by the trial court.

"We are pleased with the appellate court’s decision on our appeal, and we look forward to continuing to improve the ongoing operations and relationships at our world-class Joffre facility," Nova spokeswoman Jennifer Nanz said in an emailed statement to The Canadian Press.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall PE production totalled 1,712,400 tonnes in the first seven months of 2020, up by 58% year on year. Linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) accounted for the greatest increase in the output. At the same time, overall PP production in Russia increased in January-July 2020 by 24% year on year to 1,063,700 tonne. ZapSibNeftekhim accounted for the main increase in the output.

MRC

Thyssenkrupp opens new engineering office in Pune

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Thyssenkrupp group inaugurated its newest engineering office in Pune, India, in a bid to keep pace with its steady growth and accommodate its workforce in a more advanced state-of-the-art facility, said Themachinemaker.

Dr. Sami Pelkonen, CEO thyssenkrupp Business Unit Chemical & Process Technologies Germany (tkIS- CPT) and P D Samudra, CEO & MD and Member of Board, thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions India attended the inauguration ceremony. thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions (India) Pvt Ltd, is one of the leading engineering companies in India for chemical plants and projects.

According to Dr. Pelkonen, thyssenkrupp’s operations have been a unique success story over the last four decades in the chemical process sectors. thyssenkrupp is playing a significant role for Indian and international projects covering fertilisers, polymers, petrochemicals, refinery units, electrolysis, cryogenic storages etc. in the chemical sectors and plants for metallurgical sectors among others.

Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions India is the largest subsidiary of thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions – Chemical Process & Technologies globally. It has a track record of over 750 large, medium, and small size projects in India and abroad. The company has implemented EPCM services as well as EPC projects in the past 20 years.

“In addition to our initiatives at our Head Office in Mumbai, we had made a small beginning with our Pune operations in 1997 at Bibwewadi on the outskirts of Pune City with less than 50 engineers. This means we are relocating our Pune office after growing steadily over two decades”, Mr Samudra said. He added that Pune Operations have been independently executing projects with minimum support from the Head Office in Mumbai and have several successfully-implemented projects to their credit.

The new ultra-modern engineering office will accommodate approximately 350 engineers out of the total strength of 1,400 employees of thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions India.

As MRC informed earlier, Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions said it has won an order from Turkish packaging producer Koksan Pet Packaging Ind Co to build a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plant in Gaziantep, in the southeast of the country. Thyssenkrupp will supervise the construction and commissioning of the plant and provide the main equipment, engineering works, licence and staff training, the German company said in a statement.

As per ICIS-MRC Price Report, demand continued to subside in the Russian polyethylene terephthalate (PET) market. Some sellers reported a decrease in spot market activity compared to the beginning of the month. Some Russian factories have free volumes of PET chips. On the other hand, a large PET preform producer reported that he had met its target sales of finished products in the current month and that consumption of finished products was quite high.
MRC