US Gulf oil companies resume efforts to repair major damage after Hurricane Ida as Nicholas recedes

US Gulf oil companies resume efforts to repair major damage after Hurricane Ida as Nicholas recedes

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Energy companies worked to restore pipeline service and electricity after Tropical Storm Nicholas passed through, allowing them to resume efforts to repair the significant damage caused by Hurricane Ida two weeks ago, reported Reuters.

Nicholas, downgraded to a tropical depression late Tuesday, caused rain, flooding and power outages in Texas and Louisiana, where some refineries remained offline in the wake of Hurricane Ida. The earlier storm shuttered most US Gulf offshore oil and gas production.

Colonial Pipeline, the largest US fuel line, resumed gasoline and diesel shipments on Wednesday after Nicholas passed.

Royal Dutch Shell said it can resume production at its Perdido offshore oil platform that was shut by Nicholas once power is restored at another facility. US liquefied natural gas producer Freeport LNG said processing at its Texas coast facility was halted, likely due to a power outage.

Oil prices rose about 2% on Wednesday after a larger-than-expected decline in US crude inventories. Markets are very tight, said Infrastructure Capital Advisors analyst Andrew Meleney, with gasoline and other refined product inventories near five-year lows.

More than 39% of the US Gulf of Mexico's production of crude and natural gas remained shut, offshore drilling regulator Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) said, following Hurricane Ida.

The storm has removed 25 million barrels of oil and 30.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas from the market. About 720,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude production and 1.075 billion cubic feet per day of gas remained offline on Tuesday.

Nicholas caused widespread power outages as it passed over the Houston area Monday night and Tuesday morning. There were 116,000 homes and businesses in Texas without power early on Wednesday, down from more than 500,000 on Tuesday.

Texas coastal oil refineries sailed through Nicholas. But a few in Louisiana are working to restart after Hurricane Ida, including Valero Energy Corp's refineries in St. Charles and Meraux and PBF Energy's refinery in Chalmette.

As informed previously, Shell said earlier this month it observed damage from Hurricane Ida to its transfer station West Delta-143 offshore facilities in the Gulf of Mexico. West Delta-143 serves as the transfer station for all production from its assets in the Mars corridor in the Mississippi Canyon area of the Gulf of Mexico to onshore crude terminals. Shell said then it was not yet safe to send personnel offshore to learn the full extent of the damage and estimate the effect on production.

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

RusKhimAlyans, Linde, and Renaissance Heavy Industries signed EPC contract to build a natural gas liquefaction plant

RusKhimAlyans, Linde, and Renaissance Heavy Industries signed EPC contract to build a natural gas liquefaction plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- RusKhimAlyans, Linde, and Renaissance Heavy Industries signed today in St. Petersburg an ЕРС contract to build a natural gas liquefaction plant within the Gas Processing Complex near Ust-Luga (GPC, part of the Complex for processing ethane-containing gas; the GPC operator is RusKhimAlyans, a joint venture of Gazprom and RusGazDobycha), said the company.

The document was signed in the presence of Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Wolfgang Reitzle, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Linde.

According to the ЕРС contract, the consortium of Linde and Renaissance Heavy Industries is going to provide for the design works and supplies of equipment and materials, as well as to perform the construction and installation of two production trains with a total capacity of 13 million tons of liquefied natural gas per year.

A technology patented in Russia will be used to produce this LNG. The patent holders for the technology are Gazprom and Linde.

RusKhimAlyans is implementing the project for the Gas Processing Complex (GPC) within the Complex for processing ethane-containing gas (CPECG) near the settlement of Ust-Luga.

The GPC of the CPECG is an integrated complex for natural gas processing and liquefaction. The complex will have the biggest capacity in Russia and one of the largest in the world in terms of gas processing (45 billion cubic meters per year), and will be the leader in northwestern Europe in terms of liquefied natural gas production (13 million tons of LNG per year). Approximately 18 billion cubic meters of processed gas will be going into Gazprom’s gas transmission system. Among the GPC’s most important marketable products will be ethane, a valuable raw material for the gas chemical industry.

The CPECG includes a gas chemical complex (the GCC of the CPECG; the project operator is Baltic Chemical Complex, a subsidiary of RusGazDobycha) technically affiliated with the GPC. The GCC will process ethane fraction and produce up to 3 million tons of polymers per year – the largest output by a single facility worldwide.

The feedstock for the GPC of the CPECG will come in the form of high ethane-content natural gas. Initially, this gas will be delivered to the enterprise from fields in the Nadym-Pur-Taz region of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area, and later on it will also be produced at Tambeyskoye, the richest field in the Yamal Peninsula. The gas will be transmitted via gas trunklines specially allocated for ethane-containing gas.

At the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in June 2021, RusKhimAlyans, Linde, and Renaissance Heavy Industries entered into an EPC contract to carry out the design works, equipment supplies, construction, and commissioning of gas processing and off-site facilities at the GPC.

As per MRC, Gazprom and the industrial gases major Linde signed an agreement of intent for Ust-Liga gas processing complex cooperation. The document outlines the main terms and conditions of a prospective EPSS contract providing for engineering services, equipment supplies, and maintenance of gas processing and off-site facilities, Gazprom informed in its 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 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

Lummus Technology globally launches new technological upgrade for FCC systems

Lummus Technology globally launches new technological upgrade for FCC systems

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Lummus Technology announced the launch of its Micro-Jet Flex feed injectors, a new technological upgrade for fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) systems, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

This next generation FCC feed injector provides a host of performance benefits, including lowering pressure drop, reducing droplet size, accelerating feed vaporization and increasing a unit's range of operation.

"Refiners are consistently looking for improved performance and ease of serviceability, while minimizing operational issues such as erosion and mechanical deficiencies," said Todd Vogt, Vice President and Managing Director, Refining and Gas Processing, Lummus Technology. "When we designed the Micro-Jet Flex system, we focused on how to reduce or eliminate these roadblocks, while improving operators' yields and minimizing operational challenges. We are excited to launch this innovative product and implement it at our customers' facilities around the world."

In addition to its comprehensive technology portfolio, Lummus offers proprietary equipment, including feed injectors, to support its customers throughout the lifecycle of their assets. Lummus' earlier feed injectors consistently achieve superior yields of valuable light products when they replace conventional injectors. The new Micro-Jet Flex feed injectors improve upon the original system, the highly successful Micro-Jet Plus feed injectors, delivering improved characteristics including optimal angle, correct exit velocities and thorough feed/catalyst contact necessary to maximize the performance of the unit.

As MRC reported before, earlier this month, Lummus Technology achieved successful plant acceptance from Formosa Chemicals and Fibre Corp. for the company's cumene and phenol plant expansion in Ningbo, China. The expansion was to an existing 450 kMTA cumene and 300 kMTA phenol plant, which now has a 600 kMTA cumene and 400 kMTA phenol capacity.

Phenol is largely used to produce bisphenol A (BPA), which, in its turn, is used in the production of plastics such as polycarbonate (PC) and epoxy resins.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall estimated consumption of PC granules totalled 50,300 tonnes in the first half of 2021 (excluding imports and exports to/from Belarus), compared to 47,300 tonnes a year earlier. Demand increased by 6%.
MRC

Total and Air Liquide plan to decarbonize production in Normandy

Total and Air Liquide plan to decarbonize production in Normandy

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Total and Air Liquide are joining forces to decarbonize hydrogen production at TotalEnergies’ Normandy platform in France, said the company.

This project will enable in time for the supply to TotalEnergies by Air Liquide of low-carbon hydrogen by relying on Air Liquide's hydrogen network in Normandy and the implementation of a large-scale CO2 capture and storage solution (CCS). In line with the objective of both companies to get to net zero by 2050, this ambitious project is part of a sustainable development approach which will help develop a low-carbon hydrogen ecosystem in the Axe Seine in Normandy, progressively supported by technologies such as CCS and electrolysis.

Under a long term contract agreement, Air Liquide will take over and operate the 255 tons-per-day hydrogen production unit at the TotalEnergies platform in Normandy. Connecting the unit to Air Liquide’s hydrogen network will enable to optimize its performance and, ultimately, develop the world’s first low-carbon hydrogen network. The network already includes a hydrogen production facility in Port-Jerome equipped with Air Liquide’s CryocapTM carbon capture solution since 2015. Air Liquide is considering adding a large-scale unit to produce renewable hydrogen via electrolysis.

As per MRC, TotalEnergies (formerly Total), through its Belgian subsidiary Lampiris, signed a corporate power purchase agreement with Air Liquide for the supply of 50 GWh/year of renewable electricity for 15 years, reported S&P Global with reference to the company's statement July 26. TotalEnergies will source the power from an offshore wind farm in the Belgian North Sea, it said in a statement. Air Liquide will use the electricity to power industrial and medical gas production sites in Belgium, avoiding around 270,000 mt of CO2 emissions over the course of the contract, TotalEnergies said.

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.

TotalEnergies is a broad energy company that produces and markets energies on a global scale: oil and biofuels, natural gas and green gases, renewables, and electricity. Its 105,000 employees are committed to energy that is ever more affordable, clean, reliable and accessible to as many people as possible. Active in more than 130 countries, TotalEnergies puts sustainable development in all its dimensions at the heart of its projects and operations to contribute to the well-being of people.
MRC

Gazprom increased gas production and supplies over 8.5 months

Gazprom increased gas production and supplies over 8.5 months

MOSCOW (MRC) -- According to preliminary data, Gazprom produced 357.7 billion cubic meters of gas in the first 8.5 months of 2021, which is 17.8 per cent (or 53.9 billion cubic meters) more than in the same period of last year, said the company.

Gazprom ramped up its domestic supplies from the gas transmission system by 14.8 per cent (or by 21.3 billion cubic meters) over said period of 2021. As many as 25 Russian regions are already receiving heat supplies, almost a week earlier than last year.

The Company increased its gas exports to the countries beyond the FSU to 138.6 billion cubic meters. Gazprom continues to keep the amounts of its gas supplies near the all-time high level (141.3 billion cubic meters for the same period of 2018). This is higher than the figure for the same period of 2020 by 17.4 per cent (or by 20.6 billion cubic meters).

Specifically, Gazprom increased gas supplies to Turkey (+157.7 per cent), Germany (+35.8 per cent), Italy (+15 per cent), Romania (+347.6 per cent), Serbia (+125.9 per cent), Poland (+11.4 per cent), Bulgaria (+52.3 per cent), Greece (+12.8 per cent), and Finland (+19 per cent).

Gas supplies to China via the Power of Siberia pipeline continue growing and are regularly exceeding the daily contractual obligations of Gazprom.

According to Gas Infrastructure Europe, the level of reserves in European underground gas storage facilities remained the lowest in many years as of September 13, 2021. The negative difference between the current inventories and last year's level is 22.8 billion cubic meters of gas. Only 62 per cent of the total amount of gas that was withdrawn in the last heating season has been replenished.

As for Ukraine's UGS facilities, the negative difference versus last year is 30.6 per cent (or 8.2 billion cubic meters of gas). Gazprom is actively injecting gas into Russian UGS facilities. The daily average indicator for the first half of September is 325 million cubic meters.

As per MRC, Gazprom and the industrial gases major Linde signed an agreement of intent for Ust-Liga gas processing complex cooperation. The document outlines the main terms and conditions of a prospective EPSS contract providing for engineering services, equipment supplies, and maintenance of gas processing and off-site facilities, Gazprom informed in its 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 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