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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Lukoil Overseas has said it is ready to begin recovering costs and getting paid for production at its West Qurna-2 project in Iraq, said Upstreamonline.
The Russian operator informed the Iraqi Ministry of Oil that it has "fulfilled its contractual obligations for first commercial production" at the major project on Wednesday. Lukoil said it had "successfully maintained an average daily production of at least 120,000 barrels for 90 days", meaning it has passed the threshold to begin recovering costs and receiving remuneration.
Daily production is currently at 200,000 bpd, it added. Lukoil brought the field on stream at 120,000 bpd in late March after a series of delays. The Russian operator is looking to hit 400,000 bpd by the end of this year and has already set its sights on a start of exports by around the start of August.
In August, Lukoil plans to complete work on the central processing facility for the field, which will include nine trains, each capable of handling as much as 50,000 bpd. That ramp-up will eventually include a natural gas processing plant, and Lukoil’s goal is to boost production to a maximum of 550,000 bpd from its Mishrif activities.
Earlier this month Lukoil penned a new agreement to allow investors to get a faster return on costs for the construction project at West Qurna-2. The agreement has been changed to include the construction of the Tuba-Fao pipeline and will allow for change in the procedure for project investors to recover costs.
The Tuba-Fao project will see the construction of two pipelines between the Tuba tank farm and the Fao tank farm, the main export hub in Iraq on the Persian Gulf coast. Pre-front end engineering design studies have already been carried out for the Tuba-Fao project which detailed a direct connection of the pipeline to single-point mooring facilities and an upgrade of the pumping systems.
West Qurna 2 is expected to provide a backbone of production for Iraq’s aspirations to boost its oil exports to 3.4 million bpd this year. Lukoil holds 75% of the field and operatorship, while Iraq’s state-controlled North Oil Company holds the remaining 25%.
Ultimately, Lukoil believes it can produce 1.2 million bpd from West Qurna with its next project after Mishrif — known as Yamama — expected to add another 650,000 bpd.Lukoil will complete front end engineering and design for Yamama in the middle of next year and hopes to begin construction by the end of 2015.
As MRC informed before, Lukoil is set to drill deep for unconventional gas in Saudi Arabia's challenging "Empty Quarter" desert region early next year after a decade-long hunt for conventional deposits that has proved futile. Lukoil Overseas official said the joint venture will drill the first well in the first quarter of 2015 and the second during the last six months.
Lukoil is one of the world's biggest vertically integrated companies for production of crude oil & gas, and their refining into petroleum products and petrochemicals. The company is a leader on Russian and international markets in its core business, which accounts for over 20% of Russian oil production and 18% of the total Russian oil refining. Lukoil also controls two of the largest petrochemical plants in Russia and Ukraine: Stavrolen and Karpatneftekhim.
MRC
Lukoil is ready to be paid at West Qurna-2
SABIC in move to support cleaner diesel technology
The new grade will be produced at SABIC’s manufacturing affiliate, Al-Jubail Fertilizer Company (Al-Bayroni) in Jubail, with a capacity of 80,000 tons per year. SABIC’s technical grade urea will enable cleaner diesel technology in engines through liquid injection of urea solution into the exhaust stream of the diesel engine prior to its catalytic converter. This allows the engine to perform better, to use fuel more efficiently while destroying the increased nitrogen oxides with urea.
Khaled Al-Mana, SABIC executive vice president, Fertilizers Strategic Business Unit, commented: "As a company with a strong commitment to a cleaner environment through sustainable products, SABIC has developed this strategic, innovative idea to produce high quality urea that helps reduce hazardous NOx emissions from diesel exhausts and industrial processes. The project is part of our sustainability strategy to share our expertise closely with our customers to develop products, applications and solutions that respond to their sustainability needs."
TGU is pure urea that will be produced in pastilles using the energy-saving Rotoformer technology, which gives the product superior physical and mechanical properties. TCU applications include heavy duty trucks, power and cement plants, non-road machinery, and marine transport.
As MRC wrote before, SABIC has broadened its stretch film portfolio to include one of the first commercially available materials in Europe to combine polypropylene (PP) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE). The film’s high holding force (up to 12% compared to current solutions) for superior load stability is ideal for protecting heavy loads and is the result of SABIC’s constant focus on innovation and expertise in combination know-how. This film solution helps customers meet the demand for high-performance and optically-clear solutions, and can help them reduce costs.
SABIC is a diversified manufacturing company, active in chemicals and intermediates, industrial polymers, fertilizers and metals. It is the largest public company in Saudi Arabia. It is the largest company in the Middle East.
SABIC is currently the second largest global ethylene glycol producer and is expected to become number one after the introduction of these new projects. SABIC is the third largest polyethylene manufacturer, the fourth largest polyolefins manufacturer and the fourth largest polypropylene manufacturer. It is also the world's largest producer of mono-ethylene glycol, MTBE, granular urea, polyphenylene and polyether imide.
MRC
Washington Penn buys specialty compounded PP business from ExxonMobil
The deal follows ExxonMobil’s decision to stop producing those products in North America, officials with Washington, Pa.-based Washington Penn said in a June 6 news release. ExxonMobil customers impacted by the move now will transition to Washington Penn, they added.
"The product technologies are very complementary, and offer some exciting new opportunities to support the needs of our customers," Washington Penn President Martin Devine said in the release.
In a June 6 e-mail, an ExxonMobil spokesman said that the firm had made those PP compounds at a plant in Baton Rouge, La. That plant had been operated for ExxonMobil by Chemtrusion Inc., a toll compounding firm based in Houston. Production there will stop by the end of 2014, the spokesman added.
No further details were included in the release, and officials with Washington Penn declined to comment on what facilities or equipment are included in the deal. Both Washington Penn and ExxonMobil rank among North America’s 30 largest compounders, according to Plastics News estimates.
The deal is the second in two months for Washington Penn parent Audia International. On May 20, Audia — also based in Washington, Pa. — announced that it would spend more than USD50 million to build a major plastic materials plant in Nobles, Georgia. A local media report said that the new plant will cover 240,000 square feet on a 25-acre lot.
Audia officials said the new Georgia plant will support the three U.S.-based materials companies that the firm owns — Washington Penn; Uniform Color Co., a color concentrates maker in Holland, Mich.; and Southern Polymer Inc., a resin distributor in Atlanta.
Audia employs more than 1,000 at 10 manufacturing sites worldwide, including six used by Washington Penn. Earlier this year, the firm bought a liquid masterbatch plant in France from BASF SE.
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
INEOS licenses technology for new Turkmenistan petrochemical plant
MOSCOW (MRC) -- INEOS has licensed its Innovene S process to Hyundai Engineering for the Turkmengas new greenfield world-scale petrochemical complex in the Balkan region of Turkmenistan, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.
The contract for construction of the gas-chemical complex in Turkmenistan, including polyethylene, will be built by a consortium consisting of LG International Corp., TOYO Engineering Corp. and Hyundai Engineering. This is the first Innovene S license awarded to INEOS Technologies in Central Asia.
The complex, which will be operated by Turkmengas, will include a 386,000 tpy line of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) using Innovene S technology alongside a 50,000 tpy black compounding line.
"INEOS is very pleased to support the development of the petrochemical industry in Turkmenistan with Turkmengas and Hyundai Engineering and look forward to working with both companies to ensure the successful start-up of this world-scale petrochemical complex on the Caspian Sea," said Peter Williams, CEO of INEOS Technologies.
The Turkmengas plant will serve their customers with a broad product range, including Bimodal PE 100 Pressure Pipe, ensuring a competitive advantage for their customers both in domestic and global markets.
As MRC wrote before, Sasol Chemicals North America and INEOS Olefins & Polymers announced Monday that they have reached final investment decision to form a joint venture to build a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plant in La Porte, Texas. The 50/50 joint venture will produce 470,000 tpy of bimodal HDPE using Innovene S process technology licensed from INEOS Technologies.
INEOS is a global manufacturer of petrochemicals, speciality chemicals and oil products. It comprises 15 businesses each with a major chemical company heritage. Its production network spans 51 manufacturing facilities in 11 countries throughout the world.
MRC
PP production in Russia increased by 24% in January - May 2014
MOSCOW (MRC) - Production of polypropylene (PP) in Russia increased by 23% in the first five months of this year, compared to the same period in 2013. Predictably, the main contribution to the production growth made new PP plants: Tobolsk-Polymer and Poliom, as per MRC ScanPlast.
Russia's PP production in Russia rose to 90,000 tonnes in May, compared with 87,500 tonnes in April. Total PP production in Russia was 410,100 tonnes in January - May 2014, compared with 329,400 tonnes in the same period of 2013.
Increased production rates at new plants in Tobolsk and Omsk were the main reason for such a serious production growth. Structure of PP production over the reported period was as follows.
Russia's largest producer of polypropylene - Tobolsk-Polymer (SIBUR) increased production volumes to 23,900 tonnes in May. The company produced 76,200 tonnes of PP in the five months of this year. We informed previously that Tobolsk-Polymer began PP production in late May 2013.
The second producer who started production last year - Poliom (Titan Group, Omsk). The producer in May kept the April level of capacity utilisation, and PP production volumes were 15,700 tonnes. Poliom's PP production over the reported period was about 70,000 tonnes.
Nizhnekamskneftekhim and Ufaorgsintez because of the higher capacity utilisation also managed to increase PP production, but not so significantly. May PP production at these plants totalled 18,800 tonnes and 11,100 tonnes, respectively. Nizhnekamskneftekhim and Ufaorgsintez produced 87,800 tonnes (up 2% year on year) and 53,800 tonnes (up 5% year on year) of propylene polymers in the first five months of the year.
Neftekhimia (Kapotnja) kept production at the last year's level. The company produced 9,600 tonnes of PP in May, total PP production over the first five months of this year was 49,200 tonnes. Tomskneftekhim kept the April level of capacity utilisation in May, last month's PP production was 11,100 tonnes. The company produced about 55,000 tonnes of PP in January - May of the current year, down 5% year on year.
MRC