Siemens takes USD240 mln project on KNPC refinery

МOSCOW (MRC) -- Siemens has been awarded a turnkey contract by the Kuwait National Petroleum Co., known as KNPC, to supply high-voltage substations at refineries south of the city of Kuwait, said Arabianoilandgas.

The project, valued at USD240 million, will provide reliable power supply to two of KNPC’s biggest refineries. The project is scheduled for completion in December 2015.

Under the contract, one of the largest for the Siemens Energy Transmission busi-ness in Kuwait, Siemens will supply and install a 132kV substation AHRF "C" at the Mina Al Ahmadi Refinery (MAA) and a 300/132kV substation MARF "W" at the Mina Abdulla Refinery (MAB), including high-voltage cable connections.

The works will fit in with KNPC’s Clean Fuels Project, which will see a major upgrade and expansion of the MAA and MAB refineries to integrate the company’s Refining System into one Refining Complex. The Clean Fuels Project seeks to make fuel production in Kuwait more environmentally-friendly.

"Siemens is proud to be supplying the latest high-voltage technology to KNPC," said Adrian Wood, CEO of Siemens EES, the Kuwaiti unit of Siemens AG.

As MRC wrote before, Kuwait National Petroleum Co.awarded engineering firms Amec and Foster Wheeler consultancy contracts for its new refinery and clean fuel projects. The contracts allow the two companies to prepare the bids and technical specifications for the projects.

The Kuwait National Petroleum Company is the national oil refining company of Kuwait. Established in October 1960, KNPC handles the responsibility of oil refining, gas liquefaction, and distribution of petroleum goods within the local market.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Nizhnekamskneftehim resumed production of polypropylene (PP) after a scheduled maintenance works, according to MRC.

Yesterday, on 23 September, Nizhnekamskneftehim (group TAIF) resumed production of polypropylene after a brief shutdown for the scheduled maintenance works.

The plant was shut down on 16 September. The PP production capacity of the plant is 220,000 tonnes/year.

The output of PP by Nizhnekamskneftehim's production in the eight months of this year totalled about 141,300 tonnes.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Kazanorgsintez, Russia's largest polyethylene (PE) producer, has announced an increase in contract high density polyethylene (HDPE) prices, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

Kazanorgsintez announced an increase in contract prices for blow moulding and injection moulding HDPE on 23 September by Rb1,000-4,000/tonne from the level as of 2 September. Namely, prices for blow moulding HDPE grew by Rb1,000-4,000/tonne, while prices for injection moulding HDPE rose by Rb4,000/tonne.

As reported earlier, Kazanorgsintez raised contract prices for coloured pipe HDPE - PE100 in early September. Prices went up by Rb2,000/tonne.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The scheduled outage for maintenance at Tomskneftekhim and reduced capacity utilisation at Polyon and Stavrolen in August have led to a reduction in polypropylene (PP) production in Russia. The total August PP output in Russia dropped by 5% from July to 67,900 tonnes, while in July it reached 71,200 tonnes, according to MRC ScanPlast.

Tomskneftekhim (SIBUR group) resumed production later than planned after a scheduled outage for maintenance (from 19 July for three weeks). The capacity utilisation at Omsk and Budennovsk plants was also reduced last month.

Neftekhimia (Kapotnya, SIBUR) increased its capacity utilisation by 3% in August, the overall PP output reached about 10,800 tonnes from 10,500 tonnes in July. Nizhnekamskneftekhim and Ufaorgsintez virtually kept last month the July's level of capacity utilisation. The August PP output by these plants totalled 18,500 tonnes and 9,400 tonnes, respectively.

Stavrolen was forced to cut its PP output because of techinical issues at its ethylene production (there was a failure in mid-month). The plant's August PP output fell to 10,400 tonnes from 11,200 tonnes in the previous month.

Polyom (Titan Group) reduced its capacity utilisation in August by 16% from July and shut down its production on 1 September for a scheduled turnaround. The overall August PP output at the plant dropped to 13,300 tonnes from 15,800 tonnes in July.

The overall PP output in Russia reached more than 541,000 tonnes in the first eight months of 2013 from 436,000 tonnes in 2012. The launch of a new plant in Omsk with the nominal capacity of 180,000 tonnes per year accounted for such a significant increase in the output.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Nizhnekamskneftekhim (NKNKh), one of the largest Russian producers of petrochemical products, shut down its polypropylene (PP) production for scheduled maintenance works on 17 September, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

On 17 September, Nizhnekamskneftekhim shut down its PP production for a week-long turnaround. The plant's annual PP production capacity is 220,000 tonnes. The overall PP output by the plant exceeded 141,000 tonnes in the first eight months of 2013. The other polymer production (polyethylene and polystyrene) will not be shut down for maintenance.

Earlier, on 10 September, Nizhnekamskneftekhim shut down its ethylene production for a scheduled 20-day maintenance. The plant's annual ethylene production capacity is 600,000 tonnes. The company intends to commission a new ethylene complex with the capacity of 1 million tonnes per year in 2017. The cost of its construction is estimated at USD3 billion.

Nizhnekamskneftekhim is the largest petrochemical company, a leader in the production of synthetic rubber and plastics in the Russian Federation. The range of products includes more than 120 items. Major commodities are: synthetic general and special-purpose rubber, polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE).
MRC