Solvay completes sale of Formulated Resins business to Altana

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Solvay has completed the sale of its Formulated Resins business to ALTANA AG’s ELANTAS PDG Inc., as per the company's press release.

The divested Formulated Resins business line, formerly part of Solvay's Technology Solutions Global Business Unit, includes the product portfolio, manufacturing and R&D facility in Olean, New York, USA, and all associated technical, commercial and administrative staff.

As MRC informed before, in late 2016, Solvay completed the sale of its 70.59% stake in Solvay Indupa to Brazilian chemical group Unipar Carbocloro, following the approval earlier this month of the Brazilian antitrust authority CADE.

Besides, in early July 2016, Solvay completed the divestment of its shareholding in Inovyn (London), bringing to an end Solvay's chlorvinyls joint venture with Ineos. Solvay received exit cash proceeds amounting to EUR335 million (USD370.7 million). The dissolution of the jv follows regulatory clearances from the relevant authorities.

Inovyn was formed on 1 July 2015 as a jv between Ineos and SolVin, a subsidiary of Solvay. Solvay and Ineos signaled their decision to end their chlorvinyls jv in March this year.

Solvay is headquartered in Brussels with about 27,000 employees spread across 58 countries. It generated pro forma net sales of EUR10.9 bn in 2016, with 90% made from activities where it ranks among the world’s top 3 players.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ineos has announced plans to construct a world-scale PDH (Propane Dehydrogenation) unit in Europe, as per the company's press release.

The plant will produce 750,000 tonnes per annum of propylene for Ineos units across the continent.

A number of possible locations are currently being considered including a number of Ineos sites at Antwerp in Belgium.

Ineos currently produces nearly 4.5 million tonnes of ethylene and propylene across Europe, but remains the largest buyer of ethylene and propylene in the region.

As MRC informed before, in April 2016, Ineos Europe and Rex Energy Corp. said that they had concluded a new natural gas liquids (NGLs) sale and purchase agreement covering ethane, propane and butane. The NGLs will be transported through the Mariner East infrastructure and exported by sea to Ineos's European cracker complexes. Transportation of ethane supplies commenced in April 2016 while propane and butane supplies will start with the completion of Mariner East 2 pipeline in 2017.

Ineos Group Limited is a privately owned multinational chemicals company consisting of 15 standalone business units, headquartered in Rolle, Switzerland and with its registered office in Lyndhurst, United Kingdom. It is the fourth largest chemicals company in the world measured by revenues (after BASF, Dow Chemical and LyondellBasell) and the largest privately owned company in the United Kingdom.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- KP Engineering will provide process engineering services in support of a Cold Eyes Review of the Fluidized Catalytic Cracking Unit (FCCU) for one of the largest refineries in the Unites States, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The company will evaluate the FCCU Reactor and Regenerator operation, equipment and unit constraints. The process study is expected to take one month to complete and will be performed by KPE refining process experts with recognized expertise in FCCU technology and troubleshooting.

As MRC informed previously, in October 2016, KP Engineering, an industry leader in engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) solutions, has been awarded a fixed-price EPC contract by Praxair, Inc. to expand carbon monoxide production at its Geismar, Louisiana plant.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A fire broke out in an oil refinery on Jurong Island on Tuesday (June 13) morning, although no one was hurt in the incident, said Straitstimes.

The blaze occurred in one of the facility's three crude distillation units, a spokesman for the Singapore Refining Company (SRC), which owns the refinery, told The Straits Times.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) first said it received reports of a fire on the premises of Merlimau Road at 9.50am and dispatched resources to the scene.

In a subsequent update, SCDF said the fire alarm was sounded and SRC's in-house emergency response team was immediately activated. Water monitors and several large capacity fire extinguishers were deployed to mitigate the blaze.

The fire was put out at 11.10am by SCDF and the response team using ground monitors and several handheld jets.

Foaming operations were also carried out, SCDF added. No casualties were reported.

It was written earlier, in 2016, Amec Foster Wheeler was awarded a contract by Singapore Refining Company (SRC), a joint venture between Singapore Petroleum Company and Chevron, to undertake Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) and Detailed Engineering Services for upgrade of its Crude and Vacuum heater efficiency which includes revamp of burners, air preheater and a common new chimney stack, in Jurong Island, Singapore.

Singapore Refining Company Private Limited (SRC) is a joint venture between Singapore Petroleum Company Limited on one part and Chevron (namely, Chevron Singapore Pte. Ltd. & Chevron Trading Pte. Ltd.) on the other. Located on Jurong Island, SRC operates a refinery that is capable of processing 290,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- June 10, 2017, in Astana, Minister of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kanat Bozumbayev met with Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Khalid Abdulaziz Al-Falih, said Government of Kazakhstan.

The ministerial meeting was held within the framework of the agreements reached between the Heads of State of Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia on October 24-25, 2016 in Riyadh.

Within the framework of the meeting, a bilateral memorandum of cooperation was signed between LLP United Chemical Company (operator of the state program for accelerated industrial and innovative development in the chemical industry) and SABIC (Saudi Basic Industries Corporation), a public joint-stock company from Saudi Arabia specializing in chemical and metallurgical industry, one of the five largest petrochemical companies in the world.

This document is fundamental in studying the feasibility of implementing projects for the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and methanol in Kazakhstan. The Memorandum was signed by Zhenis Osserbay, Chairman of the Board of United Chemical Company LLP and Yousef Al-Benyan, CEO of SABIC.

As Minister of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kanat Bozumbayev noted during the meeting: "The signing of this memorandum is a good example of strengthening cooperation in the oil and gas sector. There is a certainty that the experience of SABIC will help prepare an optimally effective model for implementing oil and gas chemical projects in view of world trends".

These projects are planned to be implemented on the territory of the petrochemical zone in Atyrau region, which provides for a special legal regime, which presupposes tax, customs and other benefits.
MRC