MOSCOW (MRC) -- An explosion at Total's Antwerp refinery in Belgium, Europe's second-largest, killed two people, forced the evacuation of the site and caused the shutdown of a gasoline producing unit on Tuesday, reported Reuters.
Two people have died following an explosion at a Total refinery in Belgium. A third person who was missing following the blast at the facility in Antwerp has now been found safe.
"The explosion occurred in a steam system of a gasoline producing unit," Total said in an emailed statement.
Industry intelligence firm Genscape said the 57,500 barrel per day (bpd) gasoline hydrotreater was shut at 1402 GMT shortly after the explosion.
French supermajor and refinery operator Total said the situation is now under control and there was no release of hydrocarbons. There was also no resultant fire or environmental damage.
We remind that, as MRC informed previously, last autumn Total announced its plans to invest over EUR1 billion into its Belgian refining and petrochemical complex to boost its diesel-making capacity and create cost-cutting synergies. This investment could bring Europe's largest refiner extra cash of USD500 mln a year.
Total S.A. is a French multinational oil and gas company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world with business in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. The company's petrochemical products cover two main groups: base chemicals and the consumer polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene) that are derived from them.
MRC
MOSCOW (MRC) -- Colombia is planning to build a new pipeline to export oil via its Pacific coast to Asia, as increased production from United States shale fields forces South American third-biggest crude producer to seek new markets, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.
"There’s a re-figuration of the international energy market, especially with what is happening in the United States," Colombia Mines and Energy Minister Amylkar Acosta said in an interview in his Bogota office. "Colombia is almost the only country in Latin America where oil exports to the United States haven’t declined. But it is foreseeable that it will happen in the future."
China and India represent important growth markets, with Colombia planing to connect its Cano Limon pipeline with Venezuela’s Guafita in the short term, and build a separate pipeline to the Pacific coast in the medium to long term, Acosta said. The route of the new pipeline is being studied.
The majority of Colombian oil is currently exported through the Caribbean port of Covenas, according to the website of Ecopetrol. "From a security perspective, Colombia can’t keep relying on a single port for oil exports," Acosta said. “We must have alternatives, and this would be via the Pacific."
Plans announced in October for a joint venture between Ecopetrol and Petroleos de Venezuela, to develop mature fields in Venezuela will go ahead, helping Ecopetrol increase reserves using its expertise in secondary oil recovery, Acosta said.
As MRC wrote before, state-run China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) and Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) will begin construction work late this month to build a new USD9.08bn refinery in Jieyang, China. The 400,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) refinery will process Venezuelan heavy oil, thereby tripling oil sales from the South American nation to the world's second-largest oil user.
MOSCOW (MRC) -- Qatar is set to step up its chemicals, petrochemicals and LPG output in the coming years, said HE the Minister for Energy and Industry, Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada, as per Zawya.
Qatar will raise its output of chemicals and petrochemicals to 23mn tonnes per year (tpy) by 2020, he said. Some important contributing projects are Al-Karaana and Al-Sejeel, in addition to a Qafco expansion, which is the world's largest single-site producer of both ammonia and urea.
Al-Sada said Qatar's LPG production, which currently stands at 11mn tonnes per year, will go up by 0.5mn tpy next year with the 2014 commissioning of the Barzan Gas Project. In 40 years since the North Field gas discovery, Qatar's LPG industry has grown rapidly, particularly so, in the last decade, the minister said.
More LPG volumes are expected from the Bul-Hanaine oil field development, which will not just enhance crude oil production, but will also add important quantities of ethane, propane, and butane.
Upcoming expansions in the oil and gas sector include the Barzan Gas Project in 2014, which will play a significant role in meeting the needs of giant projects, including the facilities planned for hosting the World Cup in 2022.
Some of the energy demand is driven by Qatar's large-scale expansion of the petrochemicals sector, which supports the diversification and growth of the Qatari economy. Such developments, the minister said, will be important for a region such as the Middle East, where the commissioning of several new petrochemical supply projects will substantially increase the amount of LPG that is available to the international markets.
Having said that, al-Sada pointed out there were still several key issues confronting the LPG industry, such as the current outlook for LPG demand growth in developing markets, and whether supply growth was enough to support projected growth in regional and global LPG demand.
As MRC wrote before, Qatari government established the Qatar Chemical and Petrochemical Marketing and Distribution Company (Muntajat), which now holds the exclusive rights to purchase, market, distribute and sell the emirate’s chemical and petrochemical output on the global market. Muntajat is headed by CEO Abdulrahman Ali Al Abdulla, and will establish 36 global offices in addition to logistics establishments and warehouses across the world to support its marketing, sales and distribution activities.
MRC
MOSCOW (MRC) -- Reliance Industries board is strongly backing telecom, its latest venture, and petrochemicals that propelled it to fame in its early years but it is reluctant to invest in the oil and gas which has swallowed USD14 billion but plunging output along with regulatory and pricing uncertainty has clouded the outlook, said Indiatimes.
A senior company executive told ET that the board has questioned further investment in exploration and production (E&P) that was once the key driver of its profits but is now almost irrelevant to the valuation of its shares that have lagged the market in recent years.
The company's directors are merely following the verdict of the market. "Currently RIL's E&P business is completely ignored by the market but we are very excited about the new expansion planned at its refinery complex in Jamnagar. Markets are particularly excited about the new cracker project that will greatly enhance RIL's ethylene production and also reduce its use of expensive imported liquid gas by 50%. This cracker will make RIL's petrochem division comparable or even better than refineries in the US and the Middle East and can give an RoI of 20%," said Jal Irani, oil and gas expert. The company's petrochemicals business has done well, while the telecom venture has enormous potential. The retail business has also gathered momentum in recent quarters.
Company executives say that these businesses will overtake oil and gas production.
The performance of the business has fallen drastically. In April 2010, when gas output touched the peak of 60 mmscmd, the group's oil and gas business posted a segment revenue ofRs 4,318 crore and a EBIT of Rs 1,702 crore. In October 2011, output fell 20% from a year ago and the segment's revenue fell to Rs 3,563 crore and EBIT dropped to Rs 1,531 crore. In the following October, output plunged 35.1%, revenue dropped to Rs 2,254 crore and EBIT sank to Rs 866 crore. In October this year, segment revenue and EBIT dropped to Rs 1,464 crore andRs 356 crore, respectively.
Reliance Industries is one of the world's largest producers of polymers. The company's polymer production in 2010-11 (polypropylene, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride) made 4,094 kilo tonnes.
MRC