Chevron to restart Richmond refinery CDU

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chevron has annonced that the process of introducing feed to its Richmond, Calif., refinery's crude unit is underway and, at the same time, other process units are in restart mode, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The crude distillation unit (CDU) was shuttered last Aug. 6 when a leak in associated piping caused a major fire. Other plants at the refinery have been operating at reduced rates since then.

"This is one step in a thorough and methodical process in allowing the refinery to resume normal operation of the crude unit. We are taking the time necessary to perform this work safely and effectively," Chevron spokeswoman Melissa Ritchie said in an emailed statement.

Earlier this month, the company said repairs to the 245,000-bpd crude unit had been completed and that normal operations were expected to resume within the month.

As MRC informed earlier, in early February this year Chevron was cited for fines worth almost USD1 million stemming from a major fire at its Richmond refinery in Richmond. Chevron will appeal the citations, company spokesman Sean Comey said.

Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States, and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining, marketing and transport; chemicals manufacturing and sales; and power generation. Chevron is one of the world"s six "supermajor" oil companies.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) announced income from continuing operations of USD1.4 billion for the first quarter of 2013, compared with USD1.6 billion for the first quarter of 2012, said OXY.

Net income for the first quarter of 2013 was also USD1.4 billion.
In announcing the results, Stephen I. Chazen, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Our first quarter domestic production of 478,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, of which 342,000 barrels per day were liquids, set a record for the tenth consecutive quarter. Our total company production of 763,000 barrels of oil equivalent in the first quarter of 2013 was 8,000 barrels higher than production in first quarter of 2012.

"We executed well in the first quarter and to date are running ahead of our full-year objectives in our program to improve domestic operational and capital efficiencies. We have reduced both our domestic well and operating costs by about 19 percent relative to 2012. Overall, we generated cash flow from operations of USD2.9 billion before changes in working capital for the first quarter of 2013 and invested USD2.1 billion in capital expenditures."

Chemical segment earnings for the first quarter of 2013 were USD159 million, compared with USD184 million in the first quarter of 2012. The lower earnings resulted from weaker chlorinated organics demand and pricing combined with higher natural gas costs, partially offset by higher caustic soda exports.

Midstream segment earnings were USD215 million for the first quarter of 2013, compared with USD131 million for the first quarter of 2012. The increase mainly reflected improved marketing and trading performance.

As MRC wrote earlier, Occidental Chemical (OxyChem) and Mexichem are targeting February 2017 for possible launhc of a proposed new ethane cracker at an existing Occidental site near Ingleside, Texas.

Occidental Chemical Corporation (OxyChem) is a leading North American manufacturer of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resins, chlorine and caustic soda – key building blocks for a variety of indispensable products such as plastics, pharmaceuticals and water treatment chemicals. Other OxyChem products include caustic potash, chlorinated organics, sodium silicates, chlorinated isocyanurates and calcium chloride. For every product it markets in the U.S., OxyChem’s market position is No. 1 or No. 2. Based in Dallas, Texas, the company has manufacturing facilities in the United States, Canada and Latin America.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Tosoh is in plans to shut its No.1 vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) plant for maintenance, said Apic-online.

A source in Japan informed that the plant will be shut on May 16, 2013. It will remain off-stream till June 25, 2013.
Located in Nanyo, Japan, the plant has a production capacity of 260,000 mt/year.

In addition, Tosoh also produces VCM at its complex in Yokkaichi to the tune of 250,000 t/y. Once the expansion at Nanyo's number 3 plant is completed, this facility alone will turn out 600,000 t/y of VCM.

As MRC wrote earlier, Tosoh's proposed restructuring of operations in Nanyo could lead to a net loss of 320,000 tpa of vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) capacity, thereby tightening feedstock supply to the polyvinylchloride (PVC) industry. Almost one year after a fire seriously damaged its complex in Nanyo, Tosoh Corporation (Tokyo, Japan) has touted plans to raise output at the site"s number 3 vinyl chloride monomer plant. The building phase of the 200,000 t/y capacity expansion was to kick off in November last year, with completion scheduled for October 2014.

Tosoh is one of the largest chlor-alkali manufacturers in Asia. The company supplies the plastic resins and an array of the basic chemicals that support modern life. Tosoh's petrochemical operations supply ethylene, polymers, and polyethylene.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Aker Solutions has decided to disclose preliminary information on its performance in the first three months of 2013 as the results considerably lag current consensus market estimates, said the producer.

Aker Solutions expects to report revenue of NOK 11.1 billion and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of NOK 868 million for the first quarter of 2013.

Aker Solutions will present a full set of first-quarter earnings on May 8, 2013. The figures reported today are preliminary and have not been discussed or approved by the Aker Solutions Board of Directors.

"The slow start to 2013 is truly disappointing," says Oyvind Eriksen, Executive Chairman of Aker Solutions ASA. "As lost or postponed contract awards are part of the game, some of the quality issues are, simply speaking, unacceptable. We have worked hard to avoid such mistakes, but there is still a way to go. My hope is that the customers appreciate our efforts to deliver according to our commitments to safeguard their commercial interests and that we ultimately will be able to find amicable solutions to some of the additional costs."

The slow start to 2013 reflects both increased market uncertainty and portfolio sensitivities. While Aker Solutions still experiences a high level of tender activity, the order intake in the next quarters is more at risk than in previous quarters because of recent postponements or cancelations of some projects. We expect greater clarity in the next three months on how significant portfolio sensitivities, such as Ekofisk Zulu and Skandi Aker, will develop. Provided that these projects are completed as planned and that the various business areas have a normal capacity utilisation, Aker Solutions expects the financial performance, excluding one-off items, to be better in the third and fourth quarters of 2013 than in the corresponding quarters a year ago and in line with the company's five-year plan.

"Notwithstanding the recent setbacks, we are committed to developing and growing Aker Solutions in line with our five-year plan," says Oyvind Eriksen.

As per MRC, Aker Solutions has invested heavily to support the growth of the Asia Pacific region. This service base is a response to several new orders and recognition of the growing market demand in the region. Recently, Aker Solutions announced several investments in Malaysia including a new umbilical and a subsea service base, in addition to new equipment for its high-tech subsea manufacturing centre in Port Klang.

Aker Solutions provides oilfield products, systems and services for customers in the oil and gas industry world-wide.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell Industries, the world's largest maker of polypropylene, has posted that its first-quarter profit rose 50% as the plastics and chemicals company reported lower input costs that outweighed a slump in revenue, while logging fewer charges, as per The Wall Street Journal.

LyondellBasell, which makes chemicals and polymers, emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2010. The company, like others in the chemicals industry, has benefited from low U.S. natural-gas prices, with its North America olefins segment logging strong margins due to low-priced natural gas liquid raw materials. But LyondellBasell has said the global olefins industry outside of North America has hurt its European olefins and commodity polyolefin businesses.

Chief Executive Jim Gallogly said that "the situation in European olefins and polyolefins continued to be difficult," noting that although "results improved from recent quarters, underlying economic and industry conditions have not."

LyondellBasell posted a profit of USD901 million, or USD1.55 a share, versus a profit of USD600 million, or USD1.04 a share, a year earlier. The year-ago period included charges of USD22 million tied to impairments and USD10 million tied to warrants. Revenue fell 9.1% to USD10.67 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters most recently forecast earnings of USD1.45 a share on USD11.14 billion in revenue.

The company's input costs dropped 13%.

Operating income in olefins and polyolefins in the Americas rose 58%, while in the Europe, Asia and International segment this surged to USD93 million from USD3 million a year ago.

Meanwhile, in the intermediates and derivatives segment, operating income fell 13%, while the refining swung to an operating loss.

As MRC wrote previously, global major LyondellBasell had posted higher profits both for the fourth quarter and the full year of 2012 as strong profits from the company’s operations in the Americas help offset the operating losses seen in their European business. For the full year, LyondellBasell’s profits rose from USD2.14 billion in 2011 to USD2.83 billion in 2012. The company reported that profitability in their North American olefins and polyolefins business more than doubled over the same period of last year to reach USD693 million in the fourth quarter, helping to offset steeper losses outside the Americas. The company’s olefins and polyolefins business outside the Americas witnessed an operating loss of USD94 million in the fourth quarter of 2012 after the same segment had recorded a loss of USD73 million for the same period of 2011.

Headquartered in the Netherlands, LyondellBasell is one of the world's largest plastics, chemical and refining companies. LyondellBasell manufactures products at 58 sites in 18 countries. The company produces chemicals, fuels, and polymers used for packaging, clean fuels, durable textiles, medical applications, construction materials, and automotive parts. LyondellBasell is also a leading licensor of polypropylene and polyethylene technologies. The more than 250 polyolefin process licenses granted by LyondellBasell are twice that of any other polyolefin technology licensor.
MRC