Maruzen to replace naphtha cracking furnaces

MOSCOW (MRC) --Japan’s Maruzen Petrochemical, a subsidiary of Cosmo Energy Holdings, said it would replace naphtha cracking furnaces at its 525,000 tonnes-per-year naphtha cracker in 2020 for an undisclosed sum, reported Reuters.

Two new bigger furnaces will be installed during a planned maintenance shutdown in around May-June 2020, a company spokesman said.

The company will halt operations of six of 20 existing furnaces, two of which will be scrapped, he said. Four others will be fired up during a maintenance shutdown of other furnaces to minimize the impact to production, he added.

The move will result in no change in the cracker’s annual ethylene output capacity of 525,000 tonnes, he said.

The company has awarded the project to Japan’s Toyo Engineering Corp.

As MRC informed previously, in early March 2015, Maruzen Petrochemical Co shut down its naphtha cracker in Chiba for a one-week maintenance due to a mechanical issue.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co Ltd processed nearly 8 percent more crude oil in the first six months of this year versus a year earlier, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing with reference to the company's statement in its filing to Shanghai Stock Exchange.

The plant, a unit of top state refiner Sinopec Corp, processed 7.34 million tonnes of crude oil in the first half, or about 296,000 barrels per day, 7.9 percent more than a year earlier.

The plant, a major petrochemicals maker, produced 402,500 tonnes of ethylene during the period, 13.3 percent higher than a year earlier.

The plant plans to further expand refinery runs and production of cleaner fuels in the second half. It also aims to expand refined fuel exports.

Overhauls at facilities including an ethylene unit and a diesel hydrocracking unit are planned, the firm said, without giving further details.

It reported first-half net profit up 36.8 percent on the year.

As MRC wrote before, Sinopec Corp shut down its largest refinery for maintenance throughout May 2018, and at least four independent oil plants had started overhauls that month, curbing China's crude oil demand.

China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group) is a super-large petroleum and petrochemical enterprise group established in July 1998 on the basis of the former China Petrochemical Corporation. Sinopec Group's key business activities include the exploration and production of oil and natural gas, petrochemicals and other chemical products, oil refining.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brazil’s state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA has begun procedures to reopen its largest refinery, closed after an explosion and fire, last week-end, Gustavo Marsaioli, reported Reuters with reference to a spokesman for the oil workers’ union.

Marsaioli said Petrobras intends to reopen the Paulinia refinery, known as Replan, at half-capacity given the fire early last Monday that affected part of the facility. The unaffected part may go back into production a week after procedures for reopening are completed, Marsaioli said.

Petrobras did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Replan accounts for about 20 percent of Petrobras’ refining capacity, processing the equivalent of 434,000 barrels of oil per day, according to the company’s website.

A Petrobras executive said the incident was serious but that the company had enough stocks to cover Replan halting operations for 15 days.

As MRC informed before, in October 2017, Petrobras’ minority stakes in Braskem and Deten Quimica was excluded from Petrobras’s divestment program, according to a government decree published in Brazil’s Official Gazette. The decree prevents Petrobras from immediately selling its minority stake in Braskem, which had been announced last year. A new decree will be required to release the stock sale.

Headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Petrobras is an integrated energy firm. Petrobras' activities include exploration, exploitation and production of oil from reservoir wells, shale and other rocks as well as refining, processing, trade and transport of oil and oil products, natural gas and other fluid hydrocarbons, in addition to other energy-related activities.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- US crude oil stockpiles fell more than expected in the fourth week of August as imports declined and refinery runs held close to record highs, while gasoline and distillate inventories rose, reported Reuters with reference to the Energy Information Administration.

Crude futures extended gains after the report, with global benchmark Brent crude up USD1.65 at USD74.28 a barrel by 10:46 a.m. EDT (1446 GMT), and US crude USD1.53 higher at USD67.38 a barrel.

"The report was supportive due to the large drop in crude oil inventories, which occurred due to high demand from refiners," said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital Management in New York. A significant drop in crude oil imports after a spike higher last week also supported prices, he said.

Crude inventories fell 5.8 million barrels in the week to Aug. 17, compared with analysts’ expectations for a decrease of 1.5 million barrels.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub for U.S. crude futures rose by 772,000 barrels, EIA said.

Net crude imports fell last week by 1.1 million barrels per day.

Refinery crude runs slipped 89 Mbpd from the previous week’s record high to 17.9 MMbpd, EIA data showed. Refinery utilization rates remained unchanged at 98.1 percent of total capacity, the highest rates since 1999.

Gasoline stocks rose 1.2 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 488,000-barrel drop.

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 1.8 million barrels, versus expectations for a 1.5 million barrels increase, the EIA data showed.

US crude production rose 100 Mbpd to 11 MMbpd last week, according to the data.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Par Pacific Holdings is shutting its 93,500 barrel per day (bpd) Kapolei, Hawaii, refinery due to the threat posed by approaching Hurricane Lane, reported Reuters with reference to Joseph Israel, president of Par Pacific Petroleum, a subsidiary of Par Pacific Holdings.

Israel said if current forecast models are correct, the company could begin restarting the refinery over the weekend if the plant sustains no damage.

Island Energy Services’ 54,000 bpd Honolulu refinery continued to operate on Thursday as the company monitored the progress of the category 4 Hurricane Lane in the eastern Pacific Ocean, spokeswoman Carina Tagupa said.

Current forecast models predict Lane will turn before making landfall on the island of Oahu where the two refineries are located.

Israel said the company was not going to bet the safety of its employees or neighbors on the forecast.

"You don’t want to be a victim of a bad model," he said.
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