Lummus Technology announces the start-up of ZPC mega alkylation unit in China

Lummus Technology announces the start-up of ZPC mega alkylation unit in China

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Lummus Technology announced the start-up of its CDAlky alkylation unit at Zhejiang Petroleum & Chemical Co. Ltd.'s (ZPC) refinery in Zhejiang Province, China, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The unit has a capacity of 45,000 BPSD of alkylate product, making it the largest alkylation unit ever licensed by Lummus.

"The successful start-up for ZPC, plus the one we announced recently for Valero, underscore the best-in-class technology solutions we offer to major operators all over the world," said Leon de Bruyn, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lummus Technology. "Given the unit's unique and advanced features, such as the scale and the nature of the feedstock, this achievement reflects Lummus' ability to adapt, innovate and collaborate closely with our customers."

The start-up is the second Lummus CDAlky unit at ZPC's complex for a combined capacity of 59,000 BPSD of alkylate production, making it the second largest alkylation complex in the world.

The new alkylation unit processes C4s from upstream refining and petrochemical units, resulting in a very high concentration of isobutylene in the total olefins blend while producing a superior alkylate quality.

Earlier this year, Lummus announced the successful start-up of the first C5 CDAlky unit in the world, and Lummus' first CDAlky unit in the US located at Valero's Saint Charles Refinery in Norco, Louisiana. The ZPC and Valero start-ups demonstrate CDAlky's flexibility to process olefins from different sources and to produce premium alkylate with lower capital and operating costs.

As MRC reported before, in June 2021, DuPont Clean Technologies (DuPont) announced the startup of the STRATCO alkylation units at the Zhongke Refinery and Petrochemical Company LTC refinery in Zhejiang, China and the Sinopec Shanghai Company (SPC) refinery in Jinshan, Shanghai, China. Both STRATCO alkylation units at Sinopec Zhongke and Sinopec Shanghai are designed to process MTBE raffinate feedstock and produce 9,240 bpsd (360 kmta) and 10,240 bpsd (400 kmta) of alkylate, respectively.

We remind that state-backed Sinopec Corp. has recently started a 5.17 billion yuan (USD811 million) refinery upgrade at a subsidiary plant in eastern China that aims to produce cleaner fuels and boost output of higher-value chemicals. The investment in Yangtze Petrochemical Corp, in Nanjing city in the province of Jiangsu, covers eight key facilities, such as a 2.6-million-tonne-per-year residue hydrocracker and a 2.8 MMtpy catalytic cracker.

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 1,176,860 tonnes in the first half of 2021, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.
MRC

ExxonMobil an Chevron seek to make renewable fuels without costly refinery upgrades

ExxonMobil an Chevron seek to make renewable fuels without costly refinery upgrades

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil, along with Chevron, is seeking to bulk up in the burgeoning renewable fuels space by finding ways to make such products at existing facilities, reported Reuters with reference to sources familiar with the efforts.

The two largest US oil companies want to produce sustainable fuels without ponying up billions of dollars that some refineries are spending to reconfigure operations to make such products. Renewable fuels account for 5% of US fuel consumption, but are poised to grow as various sectors adapt to cut overall carbon emissions to combat global climate change.

Both Chevron and Exxon have massive refining divisions that contribute heavily to their overall carbon emissions. The companies have been criticized for a less urgent approach to renewable investments than European rivals Royal Dutch Shell Plc and TotalEnergies, and have generally spent a lower percentage of their capital than those companies on "green" technologies.

The companies are looking into how to process bio-based feedstocks like vegetable oils and partially-processed biofuels with petroleum distillates to make renewable diesel, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable gasoline, without meaningfully increasing capital spending.

Commercial production of renewable fuels is costlier than making conventional motor gasoline unless coupled with tax credits.

A task force was created at Exxon's request within international standards and testing organization ASTM International to determine the capability of refiners to co-process up to 50% of certain types of bio-feedstocks to produce SAF, according to the sources.

Exxon did not respond to a request for comment.

Chevron is looking into how to run those feedstocks through their fluid catalytic crackers (FCC), gasoline-producing units that are generally the largest component of refining facilities.

"Our goal is to co-process biofeedstocks in the FCC by the end of 2021," a Chevron spokesperson told Reuters, to supply renewable products to consumers in Southern California.

The company is partnering with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California Air Resources Board (CARB) to develop a path to produce fuel that would qualify for emissions credits.

A source familiar with the matter said if approved by the EPA and CARB, Chevron would be able to produce and generate credits for renewable gasoline. That product is not yet commercially available, but can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 61% to 83%, depending which feedstock is used, according to the California Energy Commission.

Chevron said on its earnings call earlier this month that in the second phase of its process, it would be the first US refiner to use the cat cracker to produce renewable fuels.

We remind that, as MRC informed earlier, ExxonMobil and SABIC have announced that their joint venture, Gulf Coast Growth Ventures located near Corpus Christi, Texas, has reached mechanical completion of a monoethylene glycol (MEG) unit and two polyethylene (PE) units. Project startup is expected to begin ahead of schedule, likely in the fourth quarter of 2021.

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.

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.
MRC

Shintech to start up first phase of its PVC expansion project in Louisiana in September

Shintech to start up first phase of its PVC expansion project in Louisiana in September

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shintech, a subsidiary of Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. and the largest US polyvinyl chloride (PVC) producer, will start up the first phase of an expansion across the PVC production chain at its Louisiana complex in September, according to Yasuhiko Saitoh, president of Shintech's Japanese parent Shin-Etsu, reported S&P Global.

Saitoh's comments were in a transcript of discussions stemming from Shin-Etsu's Q2 2021 earnings posted on the company's website Aug. 5. Shin-Etsu reported quarterly earnings July 27, but typically posts transcripts of discussion related to results days later.

"We plan to start up the new plant in September," he said, referring to the first phase of the expansion.

"The housing shortage in major countries is serious, and demand for PVC is increasing not only as a housing construction material, but also as an infrastructure material for residential land," Saitoh said.

Saitoh said the company had hoped to report full operation status by mid-2021, but construction was interrupted and delayed because of COVID-19 protocols enacted in 2020, as well as hurricanes and cold snaps.

"We expect the demand itself will remain strong and therefore believe that the slight delay in the launch will not be a problem at all," he said. "We are making careful preparations for the maximum production from the startup."

US PVC supply has been tight throughout 2021, pushing prices to record highs. Supply entered 2021 tight after two hurricanes hit Louisiana in 2020, and then a deep freeze hit the US Gulf Coast in mid-February, forcing widespread weeks-long petrochemical shutdowns.

PVC demand cratered in April 2020 at the height of COVID-19 shutdowns, but began rebounding when those restrictions eased. US housing construction entered a boom that is ongoing, fueled by consumers seeking more space while working from home amid the pandemic.

Shintech is the largest US producer of PVC, which is a construction staple used to make pipes, window frames, vinyl siding and other products.

The project had originally been slated for completion by the end of 2020, with startup in Q1 2021. Completion was pushed to mid-2021, with startup in Q3 that could stretch into Q4.

The USD1.49 billion first phase of a two-phase expansion will increase output at Shintech's current PVC unit at the Plaquemine complex by 48% to 890,000 mt/year. The first phase also involves increasing upstream vinyl chloride monomer output by 34% to 2.37 million mt/year, and caustic soda output by 21% to 1.55 million mt/year.

The USD1.25 billion second phase involves building a new 380,000 PVC plant and an additional 580,000 mt/year of VCM capacity and another 390,000 mt/year of caustic soda capacity. That phase is slated for completion in 2023.

Shintech also has permits that allow for an additional 680,000 mt/year in ethylene dichloride capacity across both phases. EDC is the direct precursor to VCM, which is the precursor to PVC.

As MRC wrote previously, Shintech replaced a damaged transformer at its Plaquemine, Louisiana, complex and the units were running at normal rates on July 26. One of two transformers at the complex was hit by lightning and caught fire July 2, prompting the company to shut multiple units. Thus, one unit with the capacity of 445,000 mt/year of PVC was shut on 2 July, 2021.

Shintech Inc. is the world's largest producer of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). PVC is a general-use resin that is finding wide application in goods used in daily life and a significant number of industrial materials. Shintech is committed to operating safe and environmentally responsible facilities
MRC

Chevron Phillips to make final investment decisions on new cracker in 2022

Chevron Phillips to make final investment decisions on new cracker in 2022

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chevron Phillips Chemical will make a final investment decision on a new cracker in far southeast Texas in 2022, followed by an FID in 2023 on an USD8 billion joint venture petrochemical complex along the US Gulf Coast in 2023, reported S&P Global with reference to Phillips 66 CEO Greg Garland's statement in early August.

An analyst asked during Phillips 66's second-quarter earnings call about the status of the projects, each of which include a new cracker.

He said during the company's Q2 2021 earnings call that CP Chem was "looking at FID next year" for a possible new cracker on the US Gulf Coast, "and the Qatar project is about a year behind that."

Garland said market fundamentals have "improved dramatically" since the company initiated the projects in 2019, and it would take about four years from FID to startup.

"We've got our foot forward on these," he said. "We are ready to move, and we're working with contractors to make sure that we're getting the capital costs right."

While global markets are seen improving after coronavirus' worst effects in 2020, Garland noted some disruption remains in the world economy. The delta variant's spread has increased uncertainty amid uneven vaccination rates worldwide.

"We'd like to see a little clearer path to a fully resolved economic recovery from COVID. Get the delta variant and any other variants behind us," Garland said. "But we are leaning in and ready to move with FID on that project next year."

The potential southeastern Texas cracker project, with at least one derivative unit, has an estimated cost of $2.9 billion, according to documents dated December 2018 that were made public by the Texas Comptroller's Office in January 2019.

The documents did not reveal capacities for the plants or further details but noted that the company was evaluating other proposed sites in Texas and Louisiana.

The CP Chem and Qatar Petroleum in July 2019 announced plans to build their USD8 billion joint venture on the US Gulf Coast, without further specifying a location. That project's proposed 2 million mt/year cracker would be one of the two largest crackers in the world, along with Dow Chemical's 2 million mt/year facility at its Freeport, Texas, complex. The complex also would, as proposed, including two 1 million mt/year high density polyethylene (HDPE) plants.

As MRC informed earlier, Phillips 66 in July 2020 announced that FID on the joint venture was deferred from 2021, but did not specify a new FID target date at that time.

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 1,176,860 tonnes in the first half of 2021, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

CP Chem is a joint venture of Phillips 66 and Chevron.

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.
MRC

MEGlobal nominates ACP for September 2021 at USD870 per tonne

MEGlobal nominates ACP for September 2021 at USD870 per tonne

MOSCOW (MRC) -- MEGlobal has announced its Asian Contract Price (ACP) for monoethylene glycol (MEG) to be shipped in September 2021, according to the company's press release.

Thus, on 11 August, the company said ACP for MEG would be at USD870/MT CFR Asian main ports for arrival in September 2021, up by USD30/tonne from the previous month.

The August 2021 ACP reflects the short term supply/demand situation in the Asian market.

As MRC reported earlier, MEGlobal announced its August ACP for MEG at USD840/MT CFR Asian main ports, up by USD10/tonne from July.

MEG is one of the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, Russian producers raised their July contract PET prices to the range of Rb102,000-114,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT. In the absence of sharp fluctuations in the rouble exchange rate in August, contract prices are likely to continue rising in September.

MEGlobal is a fully integrated supplier of monoethylene glycol (MEG) and diethylene glycol (DEG), collectively known as ethylene glycol (EG).
MRC