Indonesia's Pertamina to slash capacity at second-biggest refinery due to upgrade

Indonesia's state energy company Pertamina will reduce production capacity at its Balikpapan refinery starting in the third week of February as an upgrade of the facility advances, the company said.

The "plant stop revamp" at the country's second-largest refinery will last for two months, the company said, during which capacity will be reduced to 60,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 260,000 bpd normally.

Pertamina is revamping Balikpapan to increase its capacity to 360,000 bpd and to be able to produce fuel with Euro V emission standards.

As of last month, 87% of the upgrade had already been completed.

The Balikpapan project is part of Pertamina's long-term refinery upgrade plans. It is aiming to complete the first phase of Balikpapan upgrade this year.

We remind, Pertamina expects to complete the capacity upgrade at its Balikpapan refinery in April next year, Nicke Widyawati, chief executive of Pertamina, the parent company of PHE. Pertamina is expanding Balikpapan's capacity to 360,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) from 260,000 bpd currently. The refinery would also be able to produce fuel to Euro V emission standards.

mrchub.com

W.R. Grace & Co. announced that China Coal Shaanxi Energy & Chemical Group Co., Ltd. has expanded its license for Grace’s UNIPOL PP process technology, doubling its polypropylene production capacity from 300 to 600 kilotons per annum, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The agreement also includes Grace’s UNIPOL UNIPPAC process control software enabling China Coal Shaanxi Company to drive improvements in metrics such as throughput, onstream time, and continuity.

Located in Yulin City, Shaanxi province, China, the new reactor line is expected to begin producing high-quality homopolymers, random and impact copolymers, and terpolymers in 2025.

Thomas Deman, President, Specialty Catalysts, Supply Chain and Procurement, Grace, said: "We are delighted to support China Coal Shaanxi Company in expanding their PP production capabilities to meet customer demand. Combining Grace’s UNIPOL® PP technology and UNIPOL UNIPPAC® process control software together is the fastest, most efficient way for China Coal Shaanxi Company to maximize reactor performance while realizing competitive advantages in product differentiation, quality, and cost."

China Coal Shaanxi Company stated: "We licensed our first 300 KTA line from Grace in 2011 and are pleased to expand the relationship with this newest reactor line that will double our PP resin production capacity and enhance our product portfolio. We chose Grace because of the proven advanced PP technology, reliable production capabilities, technical service, and UNIPOL UNIPPAC® process control software.”

Grace is a leading global licensor of the process technology for producing polypropylene, a highly durable and tough plastic. In 2023, Grace secured nearly 2.5 million tons of licensed capacity with five polypropylene manufacturers, worldwide. Fully recyclable, the high-performance polypropylene resins produced using UNIPOL® PP process technology are ubiquitous and can be found in automotive parts, packaging, and consumer goods.

We remind, W. R. Grace & Co, the leading independent supplier of polyolefin catalyst technology and polypropylene process technology, announced that Oriental Energy Co. Ltd. has started up a new plant with Grace’s UNIPOL PP Process Technology. Located in Maoming, China, the new 400 Kpy reactor line began producing high-quality homopolymers and random copolymers on September 15, 2023.

mrchub.com

Russia's export-oriented Ilsky oil refinery plans to resume operations at its damaged primary processing unit this week, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

A fire broke out on Friday at the refinery in Russia's southern Krasnodar region and was extinguished in about two hours. Ukraine has in recent weeks launched a series of drone attacks on Russian refineries, some of which have been successful and caused significant damage and stoppages.

The governor of Russia's Oryol region, Andrei Klychkov, said on Friday that air defenses there thwarted a Ukrainian drone attack on fuel and energy facilities. The Ilsky refinery is one of the main fuel producers in southern Russia, with a capacity to refine 6.6 million tons of crude a year (132,000 barrels per day).

The sources said that Ilsky's CDU-6 unit with an annual capacity of 3.6 million tons was damaged. The press service at the refinery did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In 2023, the plant processed 5.3 million tons of crude oil, producing 2.3 million tons of fuel oil, 1.1 million tons of naphtha, and other distillates.

We remind, Tatneft has decided to produce car tires under the Attar brand ("attar" means "horses" in Kazakh) at a newly built tire plant in the city of Saran in Kazakhstan, the oil company's press service said. Earlier, it was reported that KamaTyresKz LLP, a joint venture of Tatneft and Kazakhstan's Allur, had begun producing tires in December 2022 at a new plant in the city of Saran, Karaganda region of Kazakhstan. This was reported by the press service of the Head of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov, who heads the board of directors of Tatneft. The annual production capacity is 3.5 million tires: 3 million tires for passenger cars, and 500,000 tires for trucks.

mrchub.com

A major capacity expansion has been completed at AkzoNobel’s Powder Coatings site in Como, Italy, which will help secure supply to customers across Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), said the company.

Four new manufacturing lines are now operational following the €21 million project – two of them dedicated to automotive primers and two to architectural coatings. New bonding equipment lines have also been added, ensuring that the products meet and exceed industry standards.

“Increasing our capabilities in Como is a significant milestone which supports our ambition to create safety of supply for our customers,” explains Sanal Limoncuoglu, Commercial Director of AkzoNobel’s Powder Coatings business in South and East Europe (S&EE) and Middle East Africa (MEA). “We’re now well equipped to serve all our customers in the EMEA region with highly efficient lines that are state-of-the-art in terms of consistency and quality.”

The extra capacity in Como has been installed in a renovated building where powder coatings were originally made – a sustainable reuse of an existing part of the site, which was established in 1992. The new lines also use recycled energy and are focused on meeting the highest standards in sustainable production, supporting the company’s ambition to reduce its carbon emissions by 50% by 2030.

We remind, мore than 82 companies, businesses and social organizations – including AkzoNobel – are involved in a major Dutch research program focused on developing new technologies that will help solve some of today’s societal challenges. Seven broad consortia have been established as part of the government-funded “Perspectief” program, with AkzoNobel set to play a leading role in the SusInkCoat project, which will explore how to make inks and coatings more sustainable.

AkzoNobel’s Como site is the company’s largest plant for producing powder coatings. It supplies products for seven main market segments: home appliances; architecture; automotive; agriculture and construction machinery; trade coaters; furniture; and general industry.

mrchub.com

ConocoPhillips reported fourth-quarter 2023 earnings of USD3.0 billion, or USD2.52 per share, compared with fourth-quarter 2022 earnings of USD3.2 billion, or USD2.61 per share, said the company.

Excluding special items, fourth-quarter 2023 adjusted earnings were USD2.9 billion, or USD2.40 per share, compared with fourth-quarter 2022 adjusted earnings of USD3.4 billion, or USD2.71 per share. Special items for the current quarter were comprised of a benefit related to the reversal of a tax reserve, partially offset by a loss on foreign exchange contracts.

Full-year 2023 earnings were USD11.0 billion, or USD9.06 per share, compared with full-year 2022 earnings of USD18.7 billion, or USD14.57 per share. Excluding special items, full-year 2023 adjusted earnings were USD10.6 billion or USD8.77 per share, compared with full-year 2022 adjusted earnings of USD17.3 billion, or USD13.52 per share.

“During 2023, ConocoPhillips continued to demonstrate strong financial and operational performance, executing on our returns-focused value proposition,” said Ryan Lance, chairman and chief executive officer. “We achieved record production, reached several key milestones across our global operations and returned $11 billion to shareholders. We also continued to enhance our portfolio by opportunistically acquiring the remaining 50% of Surmont, reaching a final investment decision on the Willow project in Alaska and further progressing our global LNG strategy. We remain committed to our Triple Mandate of responsibly and reliably meeting energy transition pathway demand, delivering competitive returns on and of capital, and achieving our net-zero operational emissions ambition. Our deep, durable, and diversified portfolio continues to generate robust cash flow, enabling us to start the year with a $9 billion return of capital target.”

We remind, ConocoPhillips had 3Q 2023 earnings of $2.8 bn, a decrease from $4.5 bn in 3Q 2022, said the company.
Excluding special items, 3Q 2023 adjusted earnings were $2.6 bn, compared with 3Q 2022 adjusted earnings of $4.6 bn. Special items in the current quarter mainly consisted of a tax reserve reversal benefit and a gain associated with the divestiture of a Lower 48 equity investment. The operator detailed a 14% increase in its quarterly dividend due to higher-than-expected earnings for the quarter.

mrchub.com