Fire extinguished at Marathon Louisiana refinery after blast

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A fire at Marathon Petroleum Corp's 578,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) crude oil refinery in Garyville, Louisiana, the third-largest US refinery by processing capacity, has been extinguished, reported Reuters with reference to a company spokesperson's statement.

Thus, the fire at this refinery was put out on Monday afternoon.

"All employees and contract workers have been accounted for," said Marathon spokesperson Jamal Kheiry. "Five contract workers sustained injuries, four of which were treated on-site, and one is currently being evaluated at a local healthcare facility as a precaution."

Two sources said an explosion occurred on Monday morning in the 110,000-bpd gas oil hydrocracker, which makes diesel. Marathon was overhauling multiple units at the refinery at the time of the fire. It was unclear if work was being done on the hydrocracker.

Local media reports said the fire began after an explosion felt for miles around the plant. A nearby highway was closed for about an hour afterwards, according to law enforcement officials.

The fire broke out at 9:30 a.m. CST (1530 GMT), Kheiry said. Emergency officials in St. John the Baptist Parish said the explosion was heard at about 9 a.m. CST.

The Garyville refinery, which completed a major expansion in 2009, can process a variety of crude oils into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and distillates. The refinery also produces asphalt, petroleum coke and feedstocks to make plastics.

As MRC informed earlier, in May, 2021, US refiner Marathon Petroleum Corp said its board had approved the conversion of the Martinez refinery in California to a renewable diesel plant. Besides, the company made a final investment decision regarding this project. Martinez, once complete, will be one of the largest renewables facilities in the country.

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 2,487,450 tonnes in 2021, up by 13% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 1,494.280 tonnes, up by 21% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whreas.shipments of PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) is a leading, integrated, downstream energy company headquartered in Findlay, Ohio. The company operates the nation's largest refining system. MPC's marketing system includes branded locations across the United States, including Marathon brand retail outlets.
MRC

Dear readers!

MRC company works with clients from 80 countries of the world, including through offices in Russia and Ukraine.

We cannot be silent and stand aside when peaceful people are dying!

We are categorically against the hostilities unleashed by Russia.

No war!

Sincerely yours, MRC team.

mrcplast.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF-2-ME-facility-ludwigshafenA new BASF production plant for the intermediate 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME) at the Ludwigshafen Verbund site started regular operations in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to SpecialChem.

After a trial run of several months, it replaces the previous plant at the Ludwigshafen site, which is being closed after more than 40 years of operation.

The new plant is fully integrated into BASF's production Verbund and, with more than 10,000 metric tons of 2-ME per year, has the same production capacity as the previous plant. 2-ME has proven its value in the production of plastics, coatings, crop protection products and oilfield chemicals (Basocorr ME).

"The new plant will enable us to supply our customers all over the world with 2-mercaptoethanol even more reliably. Our global logistics network, which our customers can further rely on, also contributes to this," says Frank Stein, head of the regional business unit Europe in BASF's Intermediates division.

As MRC wrote before, Air Liquide, BASF and Shell are joining Calpine, Chevron, Dow, ExxonMobil, INEOS, Linde, LyondellBasell, Marathon Petroleum, NRG Energy, Phillips 66 and Valero to collectively evaluate and advance emissions reduction efforts in and around the Houston industrial area. Three additional companies have announced their support for exploring the implementation of large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology in and around the Houston industrial area. The 14 companies are evaluating how to use safe, proven CCS technology at Houston-area facilities that provide energy and products for modern life, including advanced manufacturing for plastics, packaging, motor fuels and power generation.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,487,450 tonnes in 2021, up by 13% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 1,494.280 tonnes, up by 21% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whreas.shipments of PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The largest petrochemical plant in Ukraine - Karpatneftekhim (Kalush, Ivano-Frankivsk region) shut production on 24 February amid the introduction of martial law in Ukraine, the company said.

According to the Law of Ukraine “On Approval of the Decree of the President of Ukraine “On the imposition of martial law in Ukraine” No. 7111 dated 24 February, 2022, martial law is imposed from 5:30 a.m. 24 February, 2022 throughout Ukraine.

To prevent any potential adverse consequences and taking into account the fact that Karpatneftekhim Ltd. is a critical infrastructure entity, we report of the shutdown of production facilities for a duration of martial law.

At the same time, Karpatneftekhim Ltd. announces its readiness to implement the measures of the martial law regime in compliance with the current statutory requirements of Ukraine.

The production capacity is 250,000 tonnes of ethylene, 117,000 tonnes of propylene, 110,000 tonnes of LLDPE, 300,000 tonnes of PVC and 100,000 tonnes of benzene per year.

Earlier it was reported that on February 8, at 09:45, a pyrolysis furnace caught fire in one of the buildings on the territory of Karpatneftekhim LLC. Rescuers who arrived on call localized the fire on an area of 70 square meters. There was no threat of the fire tipping onto other equipment.

LLC "Karpatneftekhim", created on the basis of the facilities of the Kalush "Oriana", produces ethylene, polyethylene, vinyl chloride, caustic soda, chlorine and suspension PVC. According to the state register, the owner of the LLC is Karpaty Chemical B.V. (Netherlands), the beneficiaries of which, without specifying the shares, are the owner of the Techinservice production group, Igor Shutsky, and the former head of the Ukrainian business of LUKOIL, Ilham Mamedov.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China will participate in international efforts to combat plastic pollution and build on its existing policies to cut waste, the environment ministry of the world's top producer said on Wednesday, a week before talks on a new global plastic pact, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

More than 100 countries will meet in Nairobi next week to discuss a treaty aimed at tackling plastic pollution, with some calling for production caps as well as commitments to phase out more single-use plastic products. "China has introduced punishments and other legal constraints aimed at curbing plastic pollution," said Ministry of Ecology and Environment spokesman Liu Youbin. "China would actively participate in international pollution control efforts."

China, which produces about 60 MMt of plastics annually, published a "five-year plan" on plastic pollution last September, calling for the creation of a "control mechanism" covering the entire production and consumption chain by 2025. It is phasing out single-use products in major cities, including straws and bags, as well as the thin plastic film used on farms to retain crop moisture.

"After banning the import of foreign plastic trash, China played a "constructive role" in 2019 to amend the Basel Convention on hazardous waste to include plastics," said Patrick Yeung, Ocean and Plastic Program Lead with the Worldwide Fund for Nature in China. "We hope to see more of such moves from China if it wishes to continue to be seen as demonstrating leadership in pushing for global environmental progress."

More than 50 countries are calling for the new pact to set a plastic production cap, but China's position remains unclear. The environment ministry declined to comment. Wang Wang, Chairman of the China Scrap Plastic Association said "restricting plastic production is a non-industry viewpoint and won't solve the real problem, which requires the responsible use of plastic."

As per MRC, SABIC action with Alliance to end plastic waste. The 2021 annual progress report highlights how the organization’s projects are beginning to deliver impact, after two years of foundation-laying work. Since 2019, the Alliance has developed a portfolio of more than 35 projects, currently in various stages of implementation, across 80 cities. The third edition of the report ‘Alliance in action’ showcased a year of actions and outlined its strategy to deliver ambition of greater impact, inspired by the collective action of partners around the world.
MRC