Pertamina, PTPN III to build combined-cycle power plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- State oil and gas company PT Pertamina (Persero) and the Medan-based state-owned plantation company, PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN) III,will build a steam- and gas- fueled power plant (PLTGU) with a capacity of 250 Megawatts (MW) in Sei Mangkei, North Sumatra, an official said recently, reported The Jakarta Post.

Pertamina president director Dwi Soetjipto said the development of the combined-cycle power plant was aimed at fulfilling electricity demands for industries in Sei Mangkei, which had been named a special economic zone(KEK).

“This cooperation is a synergistic effort between state-owned enterprises to contribute to the development of the national electricity infrastructure targeted to reach 35,000 MW by 2019,” Dwi said as quoted by Antara in Jakarta on Tuesday.

He said the PLTGU would also help tackle the electricity supply deficit in North Sumatra.

Dwi further explained that PLTGU Sei Mangkei was targeted to start its open cycle in the middle of 2017 and 2018 for its combined cycle.

He said the PLTGU would be built with an independent power producer whose electricity products would be sold to state electricity firm PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) Persero.

Based on Government Regulation (PP) No. 29/2012, PTPN III is the management agency of KEK Sei Mangkei.

The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has given the state-owned plantation company a business permit on electricity supply for the public and under the permit, it can conduct electricity sales and purchase agreements with PLN.

Pertamina deputy president for communication Wianda Pusponegoro said the gas supply of PLTGU Sei Mangkei was from the liquefied natural gas(LNG) regasification and receiving terminal in Arun, Aceh.

The gas terminal is operated by PT Perta Arun Gas, the subsidiary of PT Pertamina Gas (Pertagas).

As MRC wrote before, in late August 2014, PT Indo Thai Trading (ITT) launched operations as a joint venture of Indonesia's Pertamina and Thailand’s PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC), which will ultimately be responsible for marketing and distributing production from an integrated petrochemical complex planned by the two companies.

Pertamina is an Indonesian state-owned oil and natural gas corporation based in Jakarta. It was created in August 1968 by the merger of Pertamin (established 1961) and Permina (established 1957). Pertamina is the world's largest producer and exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Evonik Industries is presenting PLEXIGLAS Resist AG 100 - a new specialty molding compound for manufacturing vehicle glazing, as per the company's press release.

Plastics such as polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) have long been established in a variety of vehicle applications, where they are used, for example, as durable taillight covers and non-transparent add-on body parts. In others, they are conquering growing shares of the market. These include applications in vehicle interiors, such as decorative trim, ambient lighting and door entry strips. Glazing with plastics is one of the fields that offer the highest growth potential.

Weight savings, freedom of design and the integration of many different functions: these are the major benefits of plastic glazing as compared with conventional glass.

PLEXIGLAS Resist AG 100 is the world’s first PMMA specialty molding compound for this application. It offers the high resistance to UV light and weathering for which PLEXIGLAS is known, is impact-modified and has up to 30 times the breaking strength of mineral glass. The company's developers have also succeeded in significantly reducing the reversible haze that occurs in conventional impact-modified products at very high and low temperatures.

As MRC reported earlier, Evonik Industries is making an investment in the double-digit-million euro range in a new research center at the Rheinfelden site. Starting at the beginning of 2016, research into silanes will be carried out in modern laboratories in the four-story building.

Evonik, the creative industrial group from Germany, is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. 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 2014 more than 33,000 employees generated sales of around EUR12.9 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of about EUR1.9 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Amec Foster Wheeler has announced the award of a technical services agreement contract by Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Co. SAOC (Orpic) for the Mina Al Fahal refinery and Sohar refinery, aromatics and polypropylene plants, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The value of the three-year contract, which starts immediately, is not disclosed.

Under the contract, Amec Foster Wheeler will provide specialist process and technology engineering support, process safety improvement and maintenance program support for the refineries and chemical plants.

It includes an expert help-desk service to trouble-shoot plant processes, optimize production, reduce energy and utilities costs and improve plant reliability, safety and environmental performance.

The contract will be executed using skills from the company’s Reading, UK, hub of expertise along with local skills in Oman.

"This contract opens up exciting opportunities for us to deliver for a new client in a growth region," said Roberto Penno, Amec Foster Wheeler's group president for Asia, Middle East, Africa & Southern Europe.

"The agreement covers a wide range of our capabilities including increasing optimization and we look forward to being able to demonstrate and deliver our capabilities for Orpic," he added.

As MRC informed previously, in May 2014, ORPIC said it had awarded two contracts for construction of a USD3.6 billion plastics production complex, the Liwa Plastics Project. The plant will be built in Oman's northern industrial city of Sohar, next to ORPIC's oil refinery and petrochemical plants. The Liwa Plastics Project is due to be completed in 2018, doubling ORPIC's profitability by allowing it to extract more value from Omani crude oil and natural gas.

The project will boost ORPIC's annual production of polypropylene and polyethylene to 1.4 million tonnes, increasing Oman's exports, while additional production of 1 million tonnes of plastics will help to develop downstream industries within the country.

ORPIC (Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company) is one of the leading companies in Oman and has two refineries in that country, in Sohar and Muscat. ORPIC is owned by the Government of the Sultanate of Oman and Oman Oil Company SAOC, the trading company created by the Government of the Sultanate of Oman for managing investments in the energy sector.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Linde North America has completed installation of its air separation unit (ASU) and associated supporting facilities in La Porte, Texas, said the company in its press release.

The ASU produces oxygen, nitrogen and argon and is part of the USD250 million Linde North America is investing at the site that also includes a new gasification train and ancillary equipment and facilities.

The ASU will produce gaseous oxygen and nitrogen for the existing gasification units as well as a new gasifier under construction at the site. "The new gasification unit will be on stream this year, creating the world's largest gas-based partial oxidation complex for the production of syngas products for petrochemicals," Murphy said.

The new gasifier will convert natural gas into syngas and constituent products such as carbon monoxide, hydrogen and carbon dioxide which are also used to produce methanol, downstream chemicals and cleaner transportation fuels. The syngas products will be shipped by pipeline to a key customer. Linde also owns and operates three additional large, partial oxidation facilities that manufacture syngas products using Linde's world-leading technologies and know-how.

Liquid oxygen, nitrogen and argon produced at the plant is being shipped by truck to serve the rapidly growing merchant market in and around the Houston Ship Channel. The liquid argon is also being shipped by rail to serve customers in Northern California and the Pacific Northwest – and points in between.

The La Porte investment is part of an overall Linde expansion plan that includes a new ASU in Lewisville, Arkansas, a nitrogen liquefier in Delta, Ohio, an expansion of ultra-high purity nitrogen and oxygen in Hillsboro, Oregon, upgrades of ASUs in Trail, BC, Canada, and Braddock, Pennsylvania, as well as a new specialty gases plant in Hammond, Indiana.

As MRC informed earlier, SIBUR, a Russian gas processing and petrochemicals company, and Linde Group, a German Technology company, have signed agreements to build and operate new air separation units in Dzerzhinsk, the Nizhny Novgorod Region. On a long-term basis, SIBUR will provide Linde with a leased site and power supply while Linde, in its turn, will supply technical gases to SIBUR.

Linde North America is a member of The Linde Group. In the 2014 financial year, The Linde Group generated revenue of USD 17.9 bn (EUR 17.047 bn), making it the largest gases and engineering company in the world with approximately 65,500 employees working in more than 100 countries worldwide. The strategy of The Linde Group is geared towards long-term profitable growth and focuses on the expansion of its international business with forward-looking products and services.

mrcplsat.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- DuPont, embroiled in a proxy war with activist investor Trian Fund Management LP for board seats, said it would hold its annual shareholder meeting on May 13, said Reuters.

Trian is seeking four seats on DuPont's board, including one for its Chief Executive Nelson Peltz, to help it force the company to split into two. DuPont earlier this month rejected the hedge fund's proposal to add two nominees each to its board and the board of a unit it plans to spin off.

The chemical conglomerate, in an attempt to end the proxy war, has said it is prepared to accept one of the fund's nominees, but has refused to add Peltz to its board. DuPont had said is would spin off its performance chemicals business, but Peltz wants the company to also separate its volatile but cash flow-strong materials businesses from its nutrition and health, agriculture, and industrial biosciences divisions.

DuPont has rejected the proposal, stressing that keeping its businesses together would allow the company to benefit from its science platform, global scale, market access and brand. Peltz's Trian seemingly softened its stance on the break up in February, saying the fund was "open-minded" about keeping DuPont together.

However, Peltz said in interview to CNBC earlier this month that breaking up the company would be "the most efficient way" to get rid of USD2 billion to USD4 billion in costs.

"Trian's proposal grossly underestimates the significant upfront separation costs and dis-synergies associated with a breakup, both on a one-time and an ongoing basis," DuPont Chief Executive Ellen Kullman said in a letter to shareholders on Monday. A Trian spokeswoman declined to comment.

As MRC informed earlier, DuPont Co. posted an unexpected drop in fourth-quarter sales and forecast 2015 earnings that trailed analysts’ estimates. Revenue fell to USD7.38 billion from USD7.75 billion, Wilmington, Delaware-based DuPont said in a statement Tuesday, compared with the USD7.79 billion average of 12 estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Profit excluding some items was 71 cents a share, matching the average estimate.

DuPont is an American chemical company that was founded in July, 1802. The company manufactures a wide range of chemical products, leading extensive innovative research in this field. The company is the inventor of many unique plastics and other materials, including neoprene, nylon, Teflon, Kevlar, Mylar, Tyvek, etc. DuPont was the developer and main producer of Freon used in the production of refrigeration equipment.
MRC