Shell reports building damage at Norco, Louisiana refinery

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shell found evidence of building damage at its 230,611-bpd Norco, Louisiana refinery, reported Reuters with reference to a company spokesman's statement.

"The site did lose power and there is evidence of some building damage," Shell spokesman Curtis Smith said. "We will commence a site start-up when safe to do so."

Sources familiar with plant operations said damage had been found at the Norco refinery but did not know the extent of the damage or time needed to make the repairs.

Shell is awaiting the restoration of external electrical power to the Norco refining and chemical plant complex.

As MRC informed earlier, Royal Dutch Shell plans to reduce its refining and chemicals portfolio by more than half, it said in July 2020 without giving a precise timeframe. The move is part of the Anglo-Dutch company's plan to shrink its oil and gas business and expand its renewables and power division to reduce greenhouse gas emissions sharply by 2050.

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.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Danil Rasskazov was appointed General Director of the SIBUR--Khimprom enterprise; he took up his duties on 1 September, 2021, said the company.

Danil Rasskazov has been working for SIBUR since 2007, where he came after graduating from the Tyumen State Oil and Gas University.

He began his career as a labor organization engineer in the HR department at Nyagangazpererabotka (Nyagan, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug). For 14 years, he held executive positions at SIBUR enterprises in Western Siberia.

"Under the leadership of Danil Rasskazov, the Sibur-Khimprom team will continue the development of the Perm enterprise, bringing it to a new level of operational efficiency, the implementation of current and future projects, as well as strengthening interaction with major partners in the region," the message says.

As per MRC, Glavgosexpertiza of Russia approved the design documentation and the results of engineering surveys for the creation of a new production of special plasticizers using its own technology at SIBUR-Khimprom JSC in the Perm Territory. The design documentation, approved by Glavgosexpertiza, provides for the organization of the production of special plasticizers with a capacity of 25,000 tonnes per year using SIBUR-Khimprom's own technology.

According to MRC's DataScope report, last month"s SPVC imports to Russia grew to 8,700 tonnes from 5,000 tonnes in June. Good seasonal demand and shutdowns for maintenance at two major Russian plants led to a surge in imports in July. Overall imports totalled 28,700 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, compared to 27,900 tonnes a year earlier, with resin from China accounting for the main increase in imports.

SIBUR-Khimprom specializes in the processing of liquid hydrocarbons and is one of the leading Russian producers of a number of important petrochemical products.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil Catalysts and Licensing LLC has introduced ExxonMobil Renewable Diesel process technology (EMRD) to help meet the evolving needs for mobility, while utilizing renewable feedstock, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

This new process technology converts feedstocks including, but not limited to, vegetable oils, unconverted cooking oil and animal fats, into renewable diesel.

The EMRD process is a two-stage process in which hydrotreating and dewaxing are controlled separately. Compared to a single-stage process, this approach provides higher diesel yields and superior control. Additionally, the EMRD process provides the potential to produce jet fuel as a secondary product with added fractionation.

The EMRD process is an integrated solution that leverages ExxonMobil’s BioIsomerization Dewaxing (BIDW) catalyst. This provides refiners and biofuel producers with powerful dewaxing in both winter and summer modes. Improved yields were demonstrated during testing of BIDW catalyst versus other internally formulated zeolite-based alternatives.

“Choosing the right process technology is critical to producing both renewable diesel and jet fuel from bio-feedstocks. The EMRD process provides an advanced solution that enables high yields while meeting stringent seasonal product specifications,” said James Ritchie, president of ExxonMobil Catalysts and Licensing LLC.

As MRC wrote before, ExxonMobil announced its majority-owned affiliate, Imperial Oil Ltd., is moving forward with plans to produce renewable diesel at a new complex at its Strathcona refinery in Edmonton, Canada. When construction is complete, the refinery is expected to produce approximately 20,000 barrels per day of renewable diesel, which could reduce emissions in the Canadian transportation sector by about 3 million metric tons per year. The complex will utilize locally grown plant-based feedstock and hydrogen with carbon capture and storage (CCS) as part of the manufacturing process.

We remind that 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.

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.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) - The Navoiazot enterprise (Uzbekistan, part of Uzkimyosanoat) on 27 August started construction of the second stage of a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plant, the press service of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan reported.

The USD400 m project should increase the capacity for the production of suspension polyvinyl chloride from 100 to 220 thousand tons per year and caustic soda - from 75,000 to 165,000 tonnes.

The commissioning of the second stage of the PVC plant is scheduled for 2023. The general contractors of the project are the Turkish Tatarstan Trade House and the Chinese China National Chemical Engineering No.7 Construction.

The implementation of the projects will triple Navoiazot's sales volume - from USD150 m to USD410 m per year.

Earlier it was reported that Navoiazot put into operation a complex for the production of polyvinyl chloride, caustic soda and methanol at the end of 2019.

According to the ICIS-MRC Price Report, demand for PVC remained at a good level in Uzbekistan last week at the domestic auction, at the same time, prices decreased slightlyin the end of the auction. On Tuesday, a futures volume of PVC was drawn at the auction (one lot for 528 tonnes). As a result of weekly trading, 750 tonnes of acetylene PVC were sold against 750 tonnes a week earlier.

The Navoiazot enterprise was launched in 1964 and currently produces about half of all chemical products in the country. The company employs about 9000 engineers, technologists and workers. Two years ago, the enterprise launched a complex with a capacity of 100 thousand tons of polyvinyl chloride, 75 thousand tons of caustic soda and 300 thousand tons of methanol per year. But on the basis of the Navoiazot enterprise, it is planned to create a large integrated chemical-technological cluster on the basis of Navoiazot and the Electrochemical Plant.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Moody's Investors Service has changed its outlook from "stable" to "positive" on the corporate rating (CFR) and probability of default rating (PDR) of Nizhnekamskneftekhim, the rating agency said.

At the same time, Moody's confirmed the company's CFR at 'B1' and PDR at 'B1-PD'. The outlook was changed to "positive" following the approval by the FAS of Russia of the proposed acquisition by SIBUR (Baa3 stable) of 100% of the voting shares of TAIF, which includes NKNKH, Kazanorgsintez and TGK-16. The combined enterprise will account for about 70% of all petrochemical production in Russia, and it will be one of the five largest world producers of polyolefins and rubbers.

The change in outlook to positive reflects Moody's expectation that the acquisition by SIUBR of a controlling stake in the company through TAIF will, over time, improve NKNK's credit profile through the integration of the two entities and lending support from a stronger parent company. The amount of credit ties and rating support will ultimately depend on the future organizational structure of the larger group, financial policy and the level of minority interests in the company.

As MRC informed earlier, PJSC "Nizhnekamskneftekhim" (NKNKh, part of TAIF) received 27.6 billion rubles in the first half of the year. net profit under the international financial system (IFRS) against 4.6 billion rubles. a year earlier. This is six times more than the same period last year. Revenue in the reporting period increased 1.7 times - up to Rb121.5 bn. Income from operating activities amounted to Rb30.3 bn against Rb10 a year earlier. Profit before tax rose to Rb34.6 bn against Rb5.8 bn in the same period last year.

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.

PJSC "Nizhnekamskneftekhim" (NKNKH) is one of the largest Russian producers of petrochemical products. The production complex of the company includes ten factories of the main production and ten departments (railway transport, main ethylene pipelines, etc.). NKNKh produces over 120 types of chemical products, including synthetic rubber, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, surfactants. Nizhnekamskneftekhim is part of TAIF Group.
MRC