PESCO Switzerland AG announces a Project Management Services award

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PESCO Switzerland AG, a leading provider of project management services for the energy industry, announced they have been awarded a significant contract by China National Chemical Engineering & Construction Corporation Seven, Ltd. (CC7) for project management of Early Works, LLI procurement and supply for the largest gas-chemical complex in the Russian Federation, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The project management of the complex is for the processing of ethane-rich gas with the participation of leading process technology licensors, EPC contractors and Russian design institutes.

“Being recognized as a contractor of choice for project management services is exciting for PESCO Switzerland AG and adds a critical component to our portfolio,” said Dorus Everwijn, managing director of PESCO Switzerland AG. “This is an excellent demonstration of the quality of our expertise and the project management that PESCO Switzerland AG can bring to a project of such magnitude, applying skills of our top specialists with in-depth know-how from the energy industry”.

PESCO Switzerland AG has been involved in this project since November 2019 by delivering project management services for the Extended Basic Engineering stage through a joint integrated project management team with CC7.

As MRC reported earlier, PetroChina Co Ltd's subsidiary refinery in northeast China's Daqing has started processing its first Russian crude oil transported via pipeline, after completion of plant upgrade. Daqing Petrochemical Corp is expected to process 3.5 MM tonnes of Russian oil annually, transported through the East Siberia Pacific Ocean Pipeline.

We remind that PetroChina Ningxia PC, part of PetroChina, brought on-stream its polypropylene (PP) plant following a turnaround. The company resumed operations at the plant on August 18, 2020. The plant was shut for maintenance on July 1, 2020. Located at Yinchuan, China, the PP plant has a production capacity of 110,000 mt/year.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,496,500 tonnes in the first eight months of 2020, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of all ethylene polymers increased, except for linear low desnity polyethylene (LLDPE). At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 767,2900 tonnes in the eight months of 2020 (calculated using the formula - production minus exports plus imports - and not counting producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply increased exclusively of PP random copolymer.

PetroChina Company Limited, is a Chinese oil and gas company and is the listed arm of state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation, headquartered in Dongcheng District, Beijing. It is China's biggest oil producer.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Crude oil futures ticked lower during mid-morning trade in Asia Oct. 9, but maintained most of their overnight gains, as the market remained lifted by the exacerbating supply disruptions in the Gulf of Mexico and Norway, as well as reports that Saudi Arabia is reconsidering the relaxation of the OPEC+ quotas slated from 2021 onward, reported S&P Global.

At 11.05 am Singapore time (0305 GMT), ICE Brent December crude futures were down 7 cents/b (0.16 %) from the Oct. 8 settle to USD43.27/b, while the NYMEX November light sweet crude contract was down 10 cents/b (0.24%) at USD41.09/b. Both international crude markets had surged 3.22% and 3.10% respectively to settle at USD43.34/b and USD41.19/b respectively on Oct. 8.

The general uptrend in oil prices can be attributed to increasing volumes of crude production being brought offline in the US Gulf of Mexico and Norway.

In the US Gulf of Mexico, according to Oct. 8 data from the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Hurricane Delta has forced oil and gas producers to shut almost 45% of the Gulf's offshore operating facilities, idling around 91.53%, or 1.693 million b/d of crude capacity, along with 61.82%, or 1.675 Bcf/d of natural gas capacity.

In Norway, with the escalation of the Lerderne union's planned strike threatening to affect more fields, including the flagship Johan Sverup field, it will take out up to 966,000 b/d of oil equivalent output, industry group Norwegian Oil & Gas said on Oct. 8. Already since Oct. 5 when the strike began, 330,000 boe/d, or 8% of the Norway's total output, has been shuttered.

Stephen Innes, chief strategy officer at AXI, said in an Oct. 9 note: "The confirmation from Equinor (that it) would need to shut in its giant Johan Sverdrup oilfield if the current [labor strike] was to extend to Oct. 14 takes more barrels off the market, which is always a welcome relief for the oil complex that is struggling to rebalance."

Reports that Saudi Arabia is reconsidering the 2021 roll-back in OPEC+ production quotas may have provided additional relief to the market.

The OPEC+ alliance relaxed its historic 9.7 million b/d production cut to 7.7 million b/d in August, and is scheduled to further roll it back to 5.8 million b/d at the start of 2021.

"Saudi Arabia is said to be concerned about the rising infections of COVID-19 around the world and its impact on demand. They also need to make allowances for a return of Libyan oil to the market," ANZ analysts said in an Oct. 9 note.

On a bullish note, US President Donald Trump told Fox Business on Oct. 8 that negotiations over a new US stimulus package were back on, two days after he unexpectedly shut them down. A stimulus package has long been seen by the oil markets as critical to the US economic recovery and to oil demand.

Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA, said: "Crude prices are also benefiting from optimism over a stimulus deal...Even if Congress is unable to reach an agreement before the election, financial markets are confident something will quickly get done after the election aftermath settles."

As MRC wrote before, global oil demand may have already peaked, according to BP's latest long-term energy outlook, as the COVID-19 pandemic kicks the world economy onto a weaker growth trajectory and accelerates the shift to cleaner fuels.

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.

And 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 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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A large and powerful Hurricane Delta dealt the greatest blow to US offshore Gulf of Mexico production in 15 years, halting most of the region's oil and nearly two-thirds of its natural gas output, reported Reuters.

Delta was packing 120 mile-per-hour (195 km) winds Friday as it churned through the Gulf's prime oil-producing area toward landfall on coastal Louisiana in the evening. It was about 160 miles south of Cameron, Louisiana, according to a 7 a.m. CDT update from the US National Hurricane Center.

Delta has shut 1.67 MM barrels per day (bpd), or 92% of the Gulf's oil output, the most since 2005 when Hurricane Katrina destroyed more than 100 offshore platforms and hobbled output for months.

Oil prices eased in London trading on Friday, but were on track for gains of about 10% for the week, boosted by outages in the Gulf of Mexico and a labor dispute in the North Sea. The two combined have removed 2 MM barrels per day from the market.

US natural gas prices on Friday were on track to close at the highest since November 2019 on the shut-ins. Front-month gas futures rose 11 cents, or 4.3%, to USDUSD2.74 per MM British thermal units.

Workers had evacuated 279 offshore Gulf of Mexico facilities and producers moved 15 drilling rigs away from Delta's large and strong wind field. Tropical force winds stretched up to 160 miles from its center, the NHC said, a sign of its large size.

Delta's force will decrease as it approaches the coast but is expected to remain at or near a Category 3 storm on the 5-step Saffir-Simpson scale. It will bring a 4- to 11-foot (1.2-3.3 meters) storm surge to the coast near landfall, the NHC said.

In addition to oil, producers have halted nearly 62% of the region's natural gas output, or 1.675 billion cubic feet per day. Offshore Gulf of Mexico fields produce about 15% of US crude oil and 5% of its natural gas production.

Total SA on Thursday began shutting an oil processing unit at its 225,500 bpd, Port Arthur, Texas refinery because of the threat from Hurricane Delta, people familiar with plant operations said.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc said it would continue operating its refineries in Convent, Geismar and Norco, Louisiana, through the storm.

Earlier, as MRC wrote before, Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s oil refineries in Convent, Geismar and Norco, Louisiana, were monitoring and preparing responses to the threat from Hurricane Delta.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing 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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Rockwell Automation, Inc. (Milwaukee, Wisc.) announced that it has acquired Oylo, a privately-held industrial cybersecurity services provider based in Barcelona, Spain, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Oylo is dedicated to providing a broad range of industrial control system (ICS) cybersecurity services and solutions including assessments, turnkey implementations, managed services and incident response.

"As connected smart devices are introduced into the plant floor, having a comprehensive cyber security strategy that spans across industrial operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) is more critical now than ever before. We are dedicated to the success of our customers in their Connected Enterprise journey, and the deep domain expertise that Oylo brings to Rockwell Automation will further accelerate our ability to provide this expertise globally," said Frank Kulaszewicz, senior vice president, Lifecycle Services at Rockwell Automation.

The acquisition of Oylo demonstrates Rockwell Automation’s commitment to providing best-in-class cybersecurity services and solutions. Oylo’s OT cybersecurity expertise complements the IT cybersecurity expertise gained through the recent acquisition of Avnet Data Security. The addition of Oylo further accelerates our global delivery capability in this rapidly developing market and expands the offering of cybersecurity services available to the industrial market.

"We look forward to continuing to serve our loyal customers and partners while expanding our services to organizations around the globe," said Eduardo Di Monte, founder and CEO of Oylo.

Oylo will be reported as part of the Lifecycle Services operating segment. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chevron Phillips Chemical (CPChem; The Woodlands, Texas) has announced its first commercial-scale production of polyethylene (PE) using chemical recycling technology, reported Chemweek.

The company says it is now taking steps to increase production by working with proven suppliers of pyrolysis oil, a feedstock made from waste plastic. CPChem is also pursuing certification of its circular PE through the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification Plus (ISCC Plus) approach, which employs a mass-balance methodology.

“We are exceptionally proud to be the first company to announce production of a circular polyethylene on this scale in the US,” says Jim Becker, vice president/polymers and sustainability.

Upon certification, CPChem intends to market its new circular PE products under the trade name Marlex Anew Circular Polyethylene.

CPChem says it has been exploring the technical viability of producing circular polymers from waste plastic for two years.

As MRC informed earlier, Chevron Phillips Chemical, part of Chevron Corporation, declared force majeure Sept. 1 on its PE products after assessing the impact of Hurricane Laura to its Gulf Coast PE operations.

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.

Headquartered in San Ramon, California, Chevron Corporation is the the second-largest integrated energy company in the United States and among the largest corporations in the world. Chevron is involved in upstream activities including exploration and production, downstream activities including refining, marketing and transportation, and advanced energy technology. Chevron is also invested in power generation and gasification processes.
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