Achinsk refinery resumed crude refining on tight schedule

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Achinsk Oil refinery, suspended after the incident of 15 June, 2014 has recovered the processes of primary crude oil processing on a tight schedule, according to the plan of repair activities, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

From 1 September the enterprise has commenced production of the main types of oil products: straight-run gasoline, diesel fuel, marine fuel and aviation fuel, as well as WLHF (wide light hydrocarbon fraction). Concurrently with the primary crude processing plant a VT-Bitumen unit, producing petroleum bitumen, resumed to operating. Achinsk refinery is planned to produce more than 400,000 tonnes of finished product, which makes more than 70% of prefault performance. The production volume will be increased in months to come.

In the period of the refinery’s stoppage the company performed a number of events aimed to compensate oil products supplies to the Krasnoyarsk Territory. To meet this goal, the company increased the production volume at Angara Petrochemical Company and Komsomolsk refinery, an agreement was reached on purchase of oil products from third party manufacturers, supplies from Samara group of refineries were carried out. Retail chains of Rosneft enterprises and end-user consumers were provided with oil products in full extent.

As MRC informed before, last year, Rosneft and Mitsui signed an agreement to jointly develop the massive Far East Petrochemical Company (FEPCO) project. Processing capacity of the petrochemical complex is planned at 3.4 million tpy of hydrocarbon feedstock, predominantly naphtha. The capacity of ethylene and propylene production unit is planned at 2 million tpy.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Rhine-Ruhr consortium of municipal utilities signed a contract with Evonik to take over the remaining 49% in the power utility STEAG, which is headquartered in Essen. The purchase price is about EUR570 million, said the producer in its press release.

The consortium which had already acquired 51% of STEAG in 2011, now becomes the sole owner of STEAG. The closing is expected in early September.

STEAG intends to expand the generation potential, especially in the area of renewable energy, in Germany and abroad, and to diversify itself more intensively in the generation mix. The goal on the one hand is to continue in the future to operate the domestic power plants competitively under the changed conditions of the energy turnaround in Germany and to continue to expand the trading expertise. Internationally, on the other hand, STEAG wants to take part in the growing worldwide market for conventional and renewable energies and to expand its market share in the area of services along the energy generation chain. In Germany, the intention is to establish STEAG as a municipal generation, trading, and service platform and to develop the business with industrial customers and within cooperative municipal enterprises.

As MRC wrote before, Evonik Industries is paving the way for a new technology whose applications include automotive finishes that are more scratch-resistant than ever before, reported the company in its press release.The specialty chemicals company has developed an industrial-scale method for producing silane-modified binders for automotive finishes.

Evonik, the creative industrial group from Germany, is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. Profitable growth and a sustained increase in the value of the company form the heart of Evonik’s corporate strategy. Its activities focus on the key megatrends health, nutrition, resource efficiency and globalization. Evonik benefits specifically from its innovative prowess and integrated technology platforms. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world. In fiscal 2013 more than 33,500 employees generated sales of around EUR12.7 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of about EUR2.0 billion.
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MOCKVA (MRC) -- Bashkir company Gazprom neftekhim Salavat, one of the largest Russian petrochemical producers, shut down its high density polyethylene (HDPE) production on Monday, reported MRC analysts.

Yesterday, on Monday, 1 September 2014, Gazprom neftekhim Salavat suspended its HDPE production because of technical issues, reported by the company's customers. According to unofficial information, the outage will not be long and will not take more than three days. At the same time, the plant's production schedule is expected to be adjusted in September.

Gazprom neftekhim Salavat's annual HDPE production capacity is 120,000 tonnes with the possibility of its increase to 200,000 tonnes with the help of LyondellBasell's technology. The production launch took place in March 2010.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Eastman Chemical Company, a global specialty chemical company, is increasing prices on the following products with effect of 1 September, or as contracts allow, as per the company's press release.

EASTMAN PROPIONIC ACID, all grades: offlist price increase of USD 0.06/lb (USD 0.13/kg) in North America and Latin America.

These increases are due to elevated operating costs, especially in raw materials.

As MRC informed before, earlier this year, Eastman Chemical Company enhanced its medical packaging portfolio with Eastalite copolyester, the company’s first opaque offering, which is styrene-free and can be a sustainable alternative to high-impact polystyrene (HIPS).

Eastman is a global specialty chemical company that produces a broad range of products found in items people use every day. With a portfolio of specialty businesses, Eastman works with customers to deliver innovative products and solutions while maintaining a commitment to safety and sustainability. Its market-driven approaches take advantage of world-class technology platforms and leading positions in attractive end-markets such as transportation, building and construction and consumables. Eastman serves customers in approximately 100 countries and had 2013 revenues of approximately USD9.4 billion. The company is headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee, USA and employs approximately 14,000 people around the world.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil Corp. has started scheduled maintenance on a fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit at its 561,000-b/d integrated refining and petrochemical complex in Baytown, Texas, said Ogj.

Planned maintenance activities at the refinery’s FCC are expected to continue for the next several weeks, stated Nicholas Scinta, ExxonMobil’s public and government affairs advisor, in an e-mail to OGJ. The routine maintenance is part of the company’s ongoing effort to maintain the safety and reliability of operations at the Baytown complex, Scinta said.

Further details regarding the specific nature of work to be performed at the FCC were not disclosed. ExxonMobil said it does not expect the planned shutdown of the gasoline-producing unit during the maintenance period to impact the company’s ability to meet its contractual commitments to customers.

The Baytown refinery, which has the ability to process up to 584,000 b/d of crude oil, operates two FCCs with a combined processing capacity of 204,000 b/d, according to the latest operational data available from ExxonMobil’s web site.

As MRC wrote before, The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in May issued a final notice of decision for the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) for greenhouse gas (GHG) construction permit for the ExxonMobil Olefins Plant in Baytown, Texas. The company proposes to construct a new ethylene production unit consisting of eight ethylene cracking furnaces and recovery equipment to produce polymer-grade ethylene.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world's oil and about 2% of the world's energy.

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