Praxair starts up first Russia air separation plant

(hydracarbonprocessing) -- The plant has a capacity of 350 tpd and will reduce Kaustik’s electricity consumption at the site by approximately 30%, according to Praxair officials. The plant will also supply merchant products to local markets such as metals, metal fabrication, glass, automotive, food, electronics and healthcare.

Praxair on Tuesday announced the startup of its first large-scale air separation plant in Volgograd, an industrial region in southern Russia.

This plant will produce oxygen, nitrogen and compressed air for Kaustik, a division of the Nikochem Group, under a long-term contract.

The plant has a capacity of 350 tpd and will reduce Kaustik’s electricity consumption at the site by approximately 30%, according to Praxair officials.

The plant will also supply merchant products to local markets such as metals, metal fabrication, glass, automotive, food, electronics and healthcare.

“The Volgograd facility represents our vision to become a world-class industrial gases organization in Russia," said Todd Skare, president of Praxair Europe.

"The startup of this plant will allow Praxair to efficiently and reliably supply Kaustik, while also supplying liquefied and packaged gas products in the region and nearby areas where we see enormous potential for growth."

"We have received the full support of the Volgograd administration for this project and are confident that we will continue to identify opportunities for additional investments in the region."
MRC

(hydrocarbonprocessing) -- The deal involves PetroChina buying BHP's 8.33% stake in the East Browse joint venture and its 20% interest in the West Browse joint venture in offshore Western Australia. Existing participants Woodside Petroleum and Shell hold the right to match PetroChina's offer, which also needs regulatory approval.

BHP Billiton said Wednesday it had agreed a USD1.63 billion cash deal to sell its stake in the proposed Browse liquefied natural gas project in Australia to PetroChina, China's largest listed oil producer by market value.

The deal involves PetroChina buying BHP's 8.33% stake in the East Browse joint venture and its 20% interest in the West Browse joint venture located in offshore Western Australia state.

Existing participants including Woodside Petroleum and Royal Dutch Shell hold the right to match PetroChina's offer, which also needs regulatory approval.

International companies have committed more than USD170 billion to build LNG projects on Australia's coastline, putting the country on track to overtake Qatar as the world's top exporter of liquefied natural gas by the end of the decade. LNG is natural gas chilled to a liquid so that it can be shipped by sea.
MRC

(hydrocarbonprocessing) -- The closely watched annual forecast of energy trends, set to be released Tuesday, concludes the growth of US and Canadian oil and gas production has staying power and could lead to more international shipments of oil and gas, said Exxon's vice president of corporate strategic planning, who led the study.

North America will become a net energy exporter by 2025, thanks to a surge in oil and gas production and rapid improvements in energy efficiency, ExxonMobil predicts in its latest long-term energy outlook.

The closely watched annual forecast of energy trends concludes the growth of US and Canadian oil and gas production has staying power and could lead to more international shipments of oil and gas, said Bill Colton, Exxon's vice president of corporate strategic planning, who led the study.

Exxon's forecast follows similar estimates by the US Energy Information Administration and the International Energy Agency, which have recently predicted North America will produce more energy than it uses in just a few decades, a shift with geopolitical as well as economic ramifications.

Exxon predicts that an anticipated decline in coal usage by power plants will accelerate as more efficient natural-gas-fired plants are built. The Irving, Texas, company forecasts coal use will drop 33% from 2010 to 2025,substantially more than its previous 23% estimate.

The net energy exports forecast for North America by Exxon don't mean the US would be energy independent, however, as it will still rely heavily on Canadian crude production, Mr. Colton said.

Global energy demand will increase 35% from 2010 to 2040, with most of the increased demand coming from developing nations like India and China, the Exxon report says.

Developed regions like the US, Canada and Europe will see their demand flat or declining as they become more efficient, the company said.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Swiss group INEOS along with German company TGE Gas Engineering plans to build a new ethane tank at its Rafnes site in Norway, according to Ineos.

The construction is scheduled to begin in February-March, 2013, and the start-up of the production is to take place in 2015. The new facility will complement the existing storage at Rafnes.

As MRC reported previously, INEOS had already signed a long-term agreement on imports of ethane to Europe since 2015 for its cracker in Norway. The feedstock will be supplied by the U.S. company Range Resources Appalachia from the industrial complex located at Marcus Hook (Philadelphia, USA). In addition, Ineos signed a 15-year contract with Sunoco's subsidiaries for the feedstock transportation through the pipeline from Houston to the Marcus Hook's facility, from where it will be delivered to Ineos' cracker in Rafnes.

Ineos said that the construction project will allow the company to get access to the global ethane markets and ensure long-term competitiveness of the company.

David Thompson, Procurement & Supply Chain Director at INEOS Olefins & Polymers Europe says: "The construction of the tank will give Rafnes and our business in Norway additional capacity and enormous flexibility to benefit from globally available ethane. Combined with the recent supply agreements, I believe that we significantly strengthen the competitive position at Rafnes for the foreseeable future."
MRC

(Taipei Times) -- Formosa Petrochemical Corp plans to start an expansion project of its naphtha cracker in Yunlin County’s Mailiao Township after winning an administrative appeal against the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), as per Taipei times.com.

The Executive Yuan overruled the strict environmental conditions the EPA had set on the project, a joint venture with the US-based Kraton Performance Polymers to produce hydrogenated styrenic block copolymer (HSBC), a high value-added rubber product.

"Once we receive the official document on the ruling, we will contact Kraton to continue the project in Yunlin," Formosa Petrochemical chairman Chen Bao-lang said, without elaborating on when the company would begin the project.

Formosa Petrochemical and Kraton would share the cost equally, with each holding 50% in the venture, which was previously set to become operational by H2-2013. The project is expected to cost more than USD200 million.

We remind that earlier this year Kraton Performance Polymers Inc. exited its joint venture deal with Taipei, Taiwan-based Formosa Petrochemical Corp. (FPCC), seeking instead to expand hydrogenated styrenic block copolymer (HSBC) manufacturing capability in Asia on a stand-alone basis due to the project delay, as MRC informed earlier.

Formosa Petrochemical is involved primarily in the business of refining crude oil, selling refined petroleum products and producing and selling olefins (including ethylene, propylene, butadiene and BTX) from its naphtha cracking operations. Formosa Petrochemical is also the largest olefins producer in Taiwan and its olefins products are mostly sold to companies within the Formosa Group.

Kraton Performance Polymers, Inc. is a leading global producer of engineered polymers, including styrenic block copolymers (SBC).
MRC