Formosa to expand Texas site with olefins cracker, PDH and LDPE units

(hydrocarbonprocessing) -- Formosa Plastics will build a new, grass-roots 800,000 tpy olefins cracker, an associated 600,000 tpy propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit and a 300,000 tpy low density polyethylene (LDPE) resin plant at its site in Point Comfort, Texas. Details on technologies, costs, start-up dates and contractors were not released.

Formosa Plastics will build a new, grass-roots 800,000 tpy olefins cracker, an associated 600,000 tpy propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit and a new 300,000 tpy low density polyethylene (LDPE) resin plant at its site in Point Comfort, Texas, the company said on Monday.

The moves - part of USD1.7 billion in capital investments - are largely based on affordable US natural gas costs for use as feedstock, the company said. They will create an estimated 1,800 construction jobs and, once completed, an additional 225 long-term operating and maintenance jobs.

The olefins cracker will take advantage of the increasingly reliable and low-cost domestic natural gas and supply feedstock both to existing production units and the new LDPE unit, Formosa said.The PDH unit will produce additional propylene, increasing operational flexibility.

Meanwhile, the addition of a LDPE resin plant will complement the company's existing product line of Formolene polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) and Formolon polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and specialty PVC.
MRC

Shell to buy Cove Energy

(forbes) -- Royal Dutch Shell is making a bet on liquefied natural gas (LNG) in East Africa, bidding to buy Cove Energy for about USD1.56 billion in cash. The bid, expected to be approved by Cove's board, would grant Shell access to the Rovuma Offshore field off Mozambique's coast, which could hold more than 30 trillion cubic feet of LNG.

Headquartered in the Netherlands, Shell is looking to strengthen its position as one of the world's largest LNG producers, and thus offered 195 pence per share, a 73.3% premium over Cove's closing price on January 4, the last day before the bid was announced, to buy the totality of shares outstanding.

Shell is looking to tap Cove's 8.5% participating interest in Mozambique's Rovuma Offshore field. While Cove's board has preliminarily said it would recommend the offer to its shareholders, Shell noted it requires written consent by Mozambique's Ministry of Mineral Resources.

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Shell to buy fuel from Petroplus French refinery

(hydrocarbonprocessing) -- Shell has signed a contract to hire the French refinery owned by insolvent Swiss-based refiner Petroplus to process crude oil for six months.

Royal Dutch Shell has signed a contract to hire the French refinery owned by insolvent Swiss-based refiner Petroplus to process crude oil for six months. Industrial machinery like the refinery cannot stay idle for too long, he said during a trip to the facility, which is located in Petit-Couronne, a town on the French northern coast.

Resuming operations at the refinery, which was gradually shut down in January, requires EUR50 million investment. Shell will transfer EUR20 million to the refinery in advance of future payments to the refinery. The government will finance the remaining EUR30 million.

Petroplus, one of the largest independent European refiners, was forced to file for insolvency in late January after struggling for months with weak demand due to the economic slowdown in Europe and overcapacity amid tighter credit conditions, high crude prices and competition from Asia and the Middle East.

French and German courts have appointed administrators to handle their units of Petroplus after the Swiss-based refiner filed for protection from creditors after running out of cash. French prosecutor is investigating whether there was wrongdoing in the insolvency process.

MRC

Daqing Petrochemical takes offline its cracker along with polyethylene plants

(news.szenergy) -- Daqing Petrochemical Company (China) took its 330,000 ton/year cracker offline, together with its derivative polyethylene facilities at Heilongjiang province for scheduled maintenance.

15-day closure involved Daqing's 65,000 ton/year low density polyethylene line, 80,000 ton/year high density polyethylene three lines, as well as 85,000 ton/year linear low density polyethylene line at the plant.

Daqing Petrochemical Company is a regional branch company of Petro-China Company Limited. It is a giant-scale petrochemical complex producing oil products, chemicals, fertilizers and chemical fiber with the major raw materials of crude oil, light hydrocarbon and natural gas from Daqing oilfield.

MRC

Jinling Petrochemical Corporation takes offline its dioctyl phthalate facility

(news.szenergy) -- Jinling Petrochemical Corporation (China), a Sinopec's subsidiary, took offline its 100,000 ton/year dioctyl phthalate facility due to tight feedstock 2-ethylhexanol supply. Dioctyl phthalate plant is located in east China.

The facility being shut in February 19, is scheduled to be restarted in March 5. Jinling Petrochemical s dioctyl phthalate (DOP) inventory may continue till late February.

Due to its suitable properties and the low cost, dioctyl phthalate is widely used as a plasticizer in manufacturing of articles made of PVC. Plastics may contain 1% to 40% of dioctyl phthalate . It is also used as a hydraulic fluid and as a dielectric fluid in capacitors. Dioctyl phthalate also finds use as a solvent in glowsticks.


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