Formosa partially restarts its PVC operations in Baton Rouge after Hurricane Ida

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Formosa Plastics USA, part of Formosa Petrochemical, partially restarted its Baton Rouge operations, which include a 513,000 mt/year polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plant, post-Ida on September 7, 2021, reported S&P Global with reference to sources familiar with company operations.

Meanwhile, the company is awaiting full restoration of normal industrial gas feedstock supply, according to sources.

Formosa declared force majeure on PVC on 3 September, 2021, in light of reduced output after the storm's assault, according to a customer letter seen Sept. 7.

Formosa did not respond to a request for comment.

As MRC wrote previously, Formosa Plastics USA has postponed the start-up of its expanded PVC production capacities at its existing plant in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to Q4 2022. Initially, the company planned to launch the expanded capacities at its 513,000 mt/year of PVC plant in Q4 2021. Formosa did not respond to inquiries about the delay. The company intends to debottleneck production at this plant, adding 130,077 mt/year of PVC capacity, according to permitting documents.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall production of unmixed PVC totalled 580,500 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, up by 4% year on year. At the same time, one producer reduced its output.

Formosa Petrochemical is involved primarily in the business of refining crude oil, selling refined petroleum products and producing and selling olefins (including ethylene, propylene, butadiene and BTX) from its naphtha cracking operations. Formosa Petrochemical is also the largest olefins producer in Taiwan and its olefins products are mostly sold to companies within the Formosa Group. Among the company's chemical products are paraxylene (PX), phenyl ethylene, acetone and pure terephthalic acid (PTA). The company"s plastic products include acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) resins, polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP) and panlite (PC).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Linde has said it will construct a proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser plant in Niagara Falls to produce green hydrogen for the state – and the company says it will be operational in 2023, said Gasworld.

The project, expected to start production in two years, has a USD17.3 million price tag and includes two parallel systems to maximize daily production of emission-free hydrogen, using the hydropower generated by Niagara Falls.

The hydrogen is produced through electrolysis, with an electric current splitting water into its hydrogen and oxygen components, without pollution. Water and heat are the byproducts.

"By providing an emission-free fuel that can be used for hard-to-electrify industrial and other power needs, Linde’s project will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support the State’s climate goals, as well as fulfill the WNYREDC’s focus on innovation and sustainability in its tradable sector of advanced manufacturing,” said Kevin Younis, COO and executive deputy commissioner at Empire State Development.

Empire State Development used the Excelsior Jobs Program to offer tax credits of up to USD671,000 and a Regional Council Capital Fund Grant is providing USD250,000.

“As we strive to rebuild and restart our economy following the COVID-19 pandemic, the opportunity to retain 86 jobs in Niagara Falls is more than welcome," said state Sen. Republican Leader Rob Ortt (R-North Tonawanda). "The significance of these career opportunities to our area cannot be overstated."

As it was earlier reported, BASF SE (Germany), Sabic (Saudi Arabia) and Linde (Germany) signed an agreement to develop electrically heated cracking furnaces. Steam cracking units require significant amounts of energy to break down hydrocarbons into olefins and aromatics.

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.

Linde is a leading global industrial gases and engineering company with 2020 sales of USD27 billion (EUR24 billion). We live our mission of making our world more productive every day by providing high-quality solutions, technologies and services which are making our customers more successful and helping to sustain and protect our planet.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The US Energy Department approved a second loan of 1.5 million barrels of oil to ExxonMobil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) after damage from Hurricane Ida devastated offshore oil production, reported Reuters.

"The SPR's ability to conduct exchanges is a critical tool available to refiners to strengthen the fuel supply chain and mitigate disruptions following emergencies, like Hurricane Ida," the department said on its website after authorizing the additional loan to Exxon's Baton Rouge refinery.

Exxon is transporting the oil to the 520,000 barrels per day refinery, "which will help us completely restore normal operations and continue providing fuel to the impacted area," said Julie King, a company spokesperson. The plant resumed normal operations earlier in the day.

The Energy Department has now authorized loans totaling 3.3 million barrels to help refiners cope with the dearth of oil coming from the US Gulf.

As MRC informed earlier, on 2 September, US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm authorized the first loan to Exxon's Baton Rouge. That day it also loaned 300,000 barrels of oil to Placid Refining Company LLC's refinery near Baton Rouge.

Three-quarters of US Gulf of Mexico oil production remain offline after Ida made landfall over a week ago. Ida was one of the worst hurricanes for oil producers since back-to-back storms in 2005.

We remind that ExxonMobil was restarting its 517,700 b/d refinery at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after it was shut down ahead of Hurricane Ida. a company spokesperson said Sept. 1.

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) -- Most of the nine Louisiana refineries shut by Hurricane Ida have restarted or were restarting, nearly two weeks after the powerful storm came ashore, a Reuters survey showed, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Refiners are coming back faster than oil production, a reverse of past storm recoveries. Just three of the nine refineries were completely idled, accounting for about 7% of Gulf Coast refining, compared to shut-ins of two-thirds of oil output.

Valero Energy Corp’s Meraux refinery on the Mississippi River east of New Orleans was restarting units on Friday, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Valero also is preparing its St. Charles refinery to restart, the company has said.

Royal Dutch Shell’s Norco refinery was receiving limited power on Friday, and is planning to begin restarting in one to two weeks, according to company reports and people close to the company.

PBF Energy’s Chalmette refinery has restarted some units but has not resumed production, sources told Reuters.The state's two largest refineries - Marathon Petroleum’s 578,000 barrel per day (bpd) Garyville and Exxon Mobil Corp's 520,000 bpd Baton Rouge plant - have returned to operation, the companies said on Friday.

Exxon is operating its two gasoline-producing units at maximum capacity, said people familiar with plant operations. It has received 3 million barrels of crude from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).

The hardest hit refinery, Phillips 66’s 255,600 bpd Alliance plant in Belle Chasse, faces months of repairs that could rival those needed after 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, sources familiar with the situation said.

It was continuing to pump water out of the refinery on Friday, the sources said. Phillips 66 had repaired a broken flood wall that allowed storm waters to enter the plant, a spokesperson said.

Two other refineries: Placid Refining's 75,000-bpd Port Allen refinery and Delek US Holdings' 80,000-bpd plant in Krotz Springs restarted early this week. Placid has received 300,000 barrels of crude oil from the SPR.

As MRC informed earlier, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, one of the largest operators in the Gulf of Mexico, declared force majeure on some oil deliveries due to damage from Hurricane Ida, which has crippled U.S. offshore oil production. More than three-quarters of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico's offshore oil output remained shut following Ida. Crude buyers said the full restart of production remained unclear due to extensive damage to various facilities. The hurricane was one of the most devastating for offshore producers since back-to-back storms in 2005 cut output for months.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Royal Dutch Shell, the largest oil producer in the US Gulf of Mexico, cancelled some export cargoes due to damage to offshore facilities from Hurricane Ida, signaling energy losses would continue for weeks, reported Reuters.

About three-quarters of the Gulf's offshore oil production remains halted since late August following Ida, one of the most devastating hurricanes for oil companies since back-to-back storms in 2005. Shell and other oil firms warned they could not yet say when full output would resume.

Shell owns about 80% of the Mars offshore oilfield, and in total pumps about 332,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) from its eight facilities in the region. Damage assessments at a transfer hub that moves oil and gas from three deepwater oilfields are underway, the company has said.

Shell's crews are working to assess how long production from the Mars corridor will be affected, spokesperson Curtis Smith said in a statement.

Shell declared force majeure on "numerous contracts that we anticipate will be impacted by the damage." Force majeure is a legal provision used when unforeseen events such as storms prevent companies from meeting contractual obligations.

At least two large cargoes of Mars crude sold by Shell to Chinese buyers were canceled, according to people familiar with the matter.

BP Plc, co-owner of the Mars oilfield and the second largest Gulf oil producer, said last week it was resuming operations at some of its own platforms. But it declined comment on the status of Gulf crude exports on Thursday.

Two people familiar with BP's operations said the company last week negotiated the cancellation of a Mars crude cargo to South Korea. A US Gulf Coast refiner separately bought a cargo of Russia's Urals medium crude in anticipation of a long suspension of Mars supplies to US coastal refineries, the people added.

Almost 1.4 million bpd of offshore oil production remains shut and 1 million bpd of refining capacity is also offline. Refineries could fully recover before Gulf output does. However, imported crude is plentiful, the sources said.

As MRC wrote previously, Shell found evidence of building damage at its 230,611-bpd Norco, Louisiana refinery. But sources familiar with plant operations 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.

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