Curacao to choose new refinery operating partner

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Curacao will start evaluating up to 10 proposals from energy firms interested in becoming a partner in the Caribbean nation’s 335,000-barrel-per-day oil refinery, according to a statement by the government owned Refineria di Korsou, reported Reuters.

The company said it has signed non-disclosure agreements with 12 companies, which it did not name, and expects to reach an agreement with a potential partner by November.

The Isla refinery, operated by Venezuela’s state-run PDVSA under a contract that will expire at the end of 2019, has been largely idled this year due to lack of crude following US sanctions on PDVSA.

As MRC informed before, in May 2019, Curacao’s state-owned Isla oil refinery received an exemption from US sanctions on PDVSA, the Caribbean island’s government said in a statement. The US Treasury Department slapped sanctions on PDVSA in late January in a bid to force out socialist President Nicolas Maduro, who has overseen a collapse in the OPEC member nation’s economy. The license for the refinery, along with two other related companies, will allow the facility to continue to do business with US companies through Jan. 15, 2020.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China’s West Pacific Petrochemical Corp, or WEPEC, is set to export 900,000 barrels of gasoline to Mexico this month amid a swelling glut of the motor fuel at home, reported Reuters with reference to sources.

The three 300,000-barrel cargoes will make up WEPEC’s biggest monthly shipment to the Latin American country, said the source, who asked not to be named.

The 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) Dalian-based refinery, one of China’s main export-focused refineries, first sent gasoline to Mexico in the second-half of 2018 as it looked for markets beyond Asian oil hub Singapore, its traditional export destination.

The lower-grade export fuel, which has an octane number of 91, is produced by blending lower-grade gasoline with naphtha, said the source, without giving further details.

Mexico has become increasingly dependent on fuel imports, mainly from the United States, due to a fall in domestic output because of longstanding refinery problems, forcing state-run Pemex to import nearly 600,000 bpd of fuel last year.

The WEPEC refinery, operated by state oil and gas major PetroChina, is one of China’s largest gasoline exporters with monthly overseas shipments estimated at some 1.3 million barrels, said the source.

PetroChina did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

China is facing a growing overhang of refined oil products after the start-up of two new mega plants coincided with a slowdown in domestic demand, forcing some refineries to scale back output.

As MRC wrote before, in H1 June 2019. PetroChina launched its Huabei refinery’s expanded 10 million tons crude processing capacity after it passed preliminary testing.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Tainted oil from the Mendeleev Prospect tanker was unloaded in Klaipeda, Lithuania and will be refined in the Mazeikiu refinery with no impact on the final product, reported Reuters with reference to a board member from Poland's biggest oil refiner PKN Orlen.

"The tanker arrived in Klaipeda and was unloaded there. In the future, oil will be processed in our refinery in Lithuania it will not have an impact on the quality of the processed oil," PKN management board member Zbigniew Leszczynski told reporters.

Leszczynski added that he expects PKN Orlen to present claims to its suppliers within weeks regarding Russian tainted oil.

As MRC wrote before, France's Total sold a cargo of contaminated Russian Urals oil to Poland's PKN Orlen for its refinery in Lithuania, three sources familiar with the shipment told Reuters.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Taiyo Vinyl is in plans to brought on-stream its polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plant following a maintenance turnaround, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Japan informed that the company is likely to resume operations at the plant in end-July, 2019. The plant was shut for maintenance in end-June, 2019.

Located in Senboku in Japan, the PVC plant has a production capacity of 170,000 mt/year.

As MRC reported previously, Taiyo Vinyl took its PVC plant off-stream for a maintenance turnaround in early-March 2018. The planned maintenance remained in force for around 8 weeks. Located in Yokkaichi in Japan, the PVC plant has a production capacity of 310,000 mt/year.

Taiyo Vinyl Corporation, a subsidiary of Tosoh Group, is one of Japan's largest manufacturers of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The plant in Chiba is one of the company's key assests, which supplies 50% of its products to the domestic market. The company also produces PVC at the plants in Yokkaichi and Osaka with the annual capacity of 310,000 and 150,000 tonnes, respectively.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC), has shut its No. 1 high density polyethylene (HDPE) unit for maintenance, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Thailand, informed that, the company has halted operations at the plant for maintenance on July 18, 2019. The unit is expected to remain shut, for about 20 days.

Located at Map Ta Phut, Thailand, the No. 1 HDPE plant has a production capacity of 275,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed earlier, PTT started commercial operations at its new 400,000 mt/year metallocene C6 linear low density polyethylene plant at Map Ta Phut, Thailand, in the first quarter of 2018.

PTT Global Chemical is a leading player in the petrochemical industry and owns several petrochemical facilities with a combined capacity of 8.45 million tonnes a year.
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