Sabic and ExxonMobil to proceed with specialty elastomers project at Al-Jubail

(news.exxonmobil) -- Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) and affiliates of ExxonMobil announced today they will construct a world-scale specialty elastomers facility at the Al-Jubail Petrochemical Company (Kemya) manufacturing joint venture.

The facility will be integrated with the existing Jubail complex and is expected to be completed in 2015. The companies have approved the next stage of project development -- engineering, procurement and construction (EPC).

The facility will have the capacity to produce up to 400,000 tonnes per year of rubber -- including halobutyl, styrene butadiene, polybutadiene, and ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubbers -- thermoplastic specialty polymers, and carbon black to serve local markets, the Middle East and Asia. Kemya has awarded the EPC contract for the elastomers facility to Technip, Tecnicas Reunidas and Daelim.

Kemya is a 50-50 joint venture between Sabic and Exxon Chemical Arabia Inc., an affiliate of ExxonMobil Chemical Company. The two companies have collaborated closely since 1980 when they established the joint venture, which produces polyethylene, ethylene, and propylene. The new synthetic rubber project represents a significant broadening of Kemya’s product portfolio.
MRC

(upstreamonline) -- US Gulf of Mexico operators on Monday began to restaff workers and restart production after Tropical Storm Debby turned to Florida away from the heart of the region's oil patch.

Still, 44.1% of area oil production, or 608,025 barrels per day, remained shut in, the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said early Monday afternoon. Of gas production, 34.8% was shut in, or 1.56 billion cubic feet per day.

Workers had been evacuated from 189 platforms and 22 rigs, about 30% of Gulf facilities, BSEE said.

"Re-start and ramp-up of the minimal subsea production shut-in has also begun today," Shell said in a statement, among the companies that had pulled staff. "By end of day Tuesday, we will be back to normal operations across the Gulf."

A spokesman for BHP Billiton said the company was restaffing its Shenzi and Neptune platforms Monday, with a production restart expected Tuesday.

The storm affected markets as well. Reuters reported that early Monday afternoon natural gas futures were up 7 cents, or 2.7%, at $2.695 per million British thermal units after climbing early to a near five-week high of $2.731.

According to the National Hurricane Center, Debby is forging a slow, wet course towards Northern and Central Florida, where it is expected to bring tropical storm conditions, dump as much as 20 inches of rain and cause mild to moderate flooding.
MRC

(plasticsnews) -- The Scottish Government is set to launch a three-month consultation on the possibility of retailers charging a 5-pence levy (about 8 cents) on plastic carrier bags.

Scotland’s environment secretary, Richard Lochhead, said: "Carrier bags are a highly visible aspect of litter. By reducing the amount being carelessly discarded we can cut litter and its impact on our environment and economy. A small charge should also encourage us all to stop and think about what we discard and what can be reused."

"This initiative will see retailers donating the proceeds to charitable good causes. It is hoped this could be up to 5 million pound sterling per year (about USD7.78 million) after retailers have covered their costs."

The Scottish proposals are similar to the system brought in by the Welsh government in October. Early indications from Wales suggest a reduction in carrier bag use of between 60-80 percent.
MRC

(newsobserver) -- Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation, or JOGMEC, and Gazprom Neft, a major state-run Russian oil company, will jointly develop an oil field in eastern Siberia, the two parties announced Friday.

The Japanese side is expected to eventually hold a 49 percent stake in the project, according to officials.

The project is expected to diversify Japan's oil supply sources, mitigating the impact of the increased reliance on thermal power generation since nuclear power plants nationwide were idled after last year's Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster. Currently, about 90 percent of Japan's crude oil imports are from the Middle East.

Russia plans to complete a pipeline connecting eastern Siberia and the Sea of Japan in November. Crude produced at the oil field will be transported to Nakhodka/Kozmino, a shipping port near Vladivostok, via the new pipeline and then shipped to Japan.
MRC

(morningstar) -- A line leak was reported on Monday at the 282,000 barrel-a-day La Porte, Texas, refinery owned and operated by Lyondell Basell, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

The line has been blocked and the leak stopped.

LyondellBasell has 789,000 tonnes/year of ethylene capacity in La Porte.
MRC