Shell began restarting the second stage of the hydrocracker in Louisiana

Shell began restarting the second stage of the hydrocracker in Louisiana

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shell began restarting the second stage of the hydrocracker at its 230,611-bpd Norco, Louisiana, said sources familiar with plant operations, said Reuters.

A Shell spokesman did not reply to a request for comment. The second stage of the 40,000-bpd hydrocracker was shut on June 18. The first stage of the hydrocracker continued to operate, the sources said.

Shell issued a notice on Thursday to nearby residents in the Norco area of the start-up of an unidentified unit, which may cause flaring and greater noise at the refinery.

As per MRC, by the end of 2021, Royal Dutch Shell will have just one operating crude oil refinery in the United States: The 227,400-bpd refinery in Norco, Louisiana. Sources familiar with Shell’s plans say the company will likely hang on to the Norco refinery because of its role in supplying the company’s chemical plants. "Norco is integrated with them," one of the sources said of the refinery, 25 miles (40 km) west of New Orleans.

As MRC informed previously, in late May, 2021, Shell agreed to sell its controlling interest in a Texas refinery to partner Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) for about USD596 million. And in early May, Shell announced the sale of its 149,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery in Washington to Hollyfrontier Corp.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 744,130 tonnes in the first four month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, PP deliveries to the Russian market were 523,900 tonnes in January-April 2021, up by 55% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas shipments of PP random copolymers decreased.

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

Blast at Rompetrol refinery kills one, injures five

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A blast at Romania's biggest crude oil refinery killed one person and injured five others, authorities and the company which runs the Petromidia plant on the Black Sea said, as per Reuters.

Video footage from a nearby beach in the coastal resort of Mamaia showed black smoke rising from the area next to the refinery and some tourists reported hearing a loud bang. Rompetrol Rafinare, part of KMG International Group, said the explosion was inside the diesel oil refining installation, and that processes had been halted safely.

"Five of our colleagues are in medical care at Constanta County Hospital, and we are sorry to inform you that a person has been identified as deceased," it added in a statement.

Rompetrol declined to comment on the likely financial damage but said the fire had been "isolated and stabilised".

Raed Arafat, head of the Department for Emergency Situations said the danger of further blasts was diminished dramatically as firefighters have been putting out the fire.

Petromidia is based on the shores of the Black Sea in Navodari, 20 km (12.5 miles) north of the country's biggest port, Constanta. It said it processed a total of 1.26 million tonnes of raw materials in the first quarter of this year, a similar level to a year before, and had been running at 84% capacity. Rompetrol was trading 1.96% down at 0.05 lei by 1225 GMT.

As MRC informed earlier, the petrochemical activities of Romanian Rompetrol Group have been integrated in the refinery arm since November, 2013, in a move designed to cut costs and increase the overall efficiency of the group’s operations. "The integration of the two companies represents the continuation of Rompetrol Group’s strategy to concentrate the production activity in a single activity", said then Rompetrol in a statement.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 744,130 tonnes in the first four month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, PP deliveries to the Russian market were 523,900 tonnes in January-April 2021, up by 55% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas shipments of PP random copolymers decreased.

Rompetrol, the only producer of PP and PE in Romania, is majority owned by Kazakhstan’s KMG International Group with a 54.63% shareholding, with the Romanian government owning the remaining 44.7%.
MRC

Workers will return to work at Marathon refinery

Workers will return to work at Marathon refinery

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Unionized workers will return to work at a Minnesota refinery after reaching a six-year contract agreement with Marathon Petroleum that ends a months-long work stoppage, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Teamsters Local 120 in St. Paul Park, Minnesota, approved a revised contract offer from Marathon Petroleum after fighting proposals that could have cut jobs and subcontracted maintenance work. The local, which represents nearly 200 jobs, will return to work at Marathon's 104,000 barrel-per-day refinery on July 6, ending a stoppage that began in January.

The company is the second-largest independent U.S. refiner behind Valero, with plants in Illinois, Minnesota, and other states. Marathon had brought in out-of-state workers to operate the facility while the workers were locked out.

The revised agreement does not address all of the union's concerns, and the Teamsters will continue to advocate for refinery safety through its grievance process and legislatively through policy change, according to business manager Scott Kroona.

He said a major factor in the union's decision was the inclusion of language in a state public safety bill requiring Minnesota refineries to maintain a full-time paid fire department to respond to emergency situations. "The ratified contract focuses on safety, the continuous improvement of our refinery, fair wage increases for our employees, and contracts out only one, non-safety sensitive job," a Marathon spokesperson said.

Union workers repeatedly argued that Marathon's proposals jeopardized safety, and various members accused the company of fostering an unsafe work environment at the refinery, which Marathon denied. read more. The Teamsters and Minnesota building trades pushed for a bill requiring state refinery workers to undergo training similar to a union apprenticeship. Legislators stripped out that provision from a state jobs bill last month.

As MRC informed earlier, Marathon Petroleum shut down a catalytic cracking unit in Galveston Bay on 18 June for scheduled maintenance. Maintenance at the 250,000 tonnes of propylene per year cat cracking unit will continue for 14 days.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 744,130 tonnes in the first four month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, PP deliveries to the Russian market were 523,900 tonnes in January-April 2021, up by 55% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas shipments of PP random copolymers decreased.

Marathon Petroleum was founded in 2005 as the oil transportation, refining and marketing division of Marathon Oil. In 2011, the division became completely independent from the parent company.
MRC

Qatar Petroleum with Shell to supply China of LNG for ten years

Qatar Petroleum with Shell to supply China of LNG for ten years

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Qatar Petroleum entered into a long-term Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Shell for the supply of 1 million tons per year of LNG to the People's Republic of China for ten years, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

LNG deliveries will commence in January 2022 to various LNG terminals in China. Commenting on this occasion, His Excellency Mr. Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, said, “We are pleased to enter into this new LNG SPA with our trusted partner, Shell. I am especially delighted that this agreement will meet part of the demand of Shell’s end customers in China, thereby further supplementing Qatar’s contribution to meeting China's growing energy needs."

H.E. Minister Al-Kaabi concluded his remarks by saying, “This SPA further highlights our ability to meet the requirements of our customers and partners across the world. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the management and staff of Shell for the successful conclusion of this SPA, which is another testament to our long and fruitful partnership. I would also like to thank Sheikh Khalid Khalifa Al Thani, the CEO of Qatargas, and his team for their valuable contributions to reinforce Qatar’s position in the LNG market, and meet the needs of our customers."

Qatar Petroleum plans to supply the LNG volumes contracted under this agreement from its Qatargas 1 venture, which will become 100% owned by Qatar Petroleum as of January 1st 2022.

China is considered a major customer for the State of Qatar and a strategic partner in the energy sector. With the conclusion of this agreement, China will be supplied with approximately 12 MPTA of LNG under long term SPAs from Qatar.

As MRC informed earlier, in July 2020, the Chevron Phillips joint venture postponed final approval for a USD8 billion Gulf Coast plant, which it planned to approve next year with Qatar Petroleum. Chevron Phillips Chemical and Qatar Petroleum signed an agreement to build a 1.9 MTPA ethane cracker and 1.68 MTPA HDPE in the industrial city of Ras Laffan in Qatar.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 744,130 tonnes in the first four month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, PP deliveries to the Russian market were 523,900 tonnes in January-April 2021, up by 55% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas shipments of PP random copolymers decreased.
MRC

Vopak awarded contract for terminal to serve ExxonMobil chemical complex in Huizhou

Vopak awarded contract for terminal to serve ExxonMobil chemical complex in Huizhou

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Huizhou QuanMei Petrochemical Terminal Co. has awarded a contract to Vopak for storage and services of a liquid products terminal that would be constructed and operated as part of ExxonMobil?s proposed Huizhou chemical complex project in China, according to Apic-online.

The complex, to be located in Daya Bay Petrochemical Park, will include a 1.6-million-t/y flexible feed ethylene steam cracker, two performance polyethylene (PE) lines and two differentiated performance polypropylene (PP) lines.

The project was earlier scheduled to start up in 2023.

The new 560,000 cu m terminal would serve the steam cracker, and would include pipelines to connect a jetty to the chemical complex, which is still subject to a final investment decision.

Under Vopak?s contract, it would obtain a 30% ownership interest in the terminal and pipelines.

As MRC informed previously, in June 2021, Gov. John Bel Edwards and ExxonMobil Baton Rouge Refinery Manager David Oldreive announced the company’s final investment decision for more than USD240 million in capital improvements at the ExxonMobil Baton Rouge Refinery.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 744,130 tonnes in the first four month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, PP deliveries to the Russian market were 523,900 tonnes in January-April 2021, up by 55% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas shipments of PP random copolymers decreased.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world's oil and about 2% of the world's energy.
MRC