Indian refiner Reliance to resume using Iranian oil

MOSCOW (MRC) -- India's Reliance Industries, owner of the world's biggest refining complex, is preparing to lift oil from Iran next month after a gap of about five years, said Hydrocarbonprocessing with reference to an industry source with knowledge of talks between the two.

The Indian conglomerate, controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, stopped Iranian oil imports in 2010 because it was worried that the threat of US sanctions on companies doing business with the Islamic republic would complicate its efforts to boost market share for its fuels in the US.

Now with an end this year to the Western sanctions that had halved Iran's oil exports to about 1 MMbpd, Tehran is trying to recoup lost market share and Reliance is keen to get Iranian barrels back into its crude diet.

Officials from India's biggest private refiner recently visited Iran to chalk out the details for resumption of trade ties with Tehran, the source said, and to begin with, National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC) will be supplying a million spot barrels each of condensate and crude oil to Reliance in a single cargo.

The shipment will make Reliance Iran's first new Indian oil customer since the lifting of the sanctions.

Reliance is also talking to NIOC for a term deal to buy 100,000 to 120,000 bpd of oil, the same level it used to buy before sanctions hit its imports.

Reliance's sophisticated complex at Jamnagar in western Gujarat state can refine 1.24 million bpd of crude as varied as light West African to heavy sour Middle East and Latin American grades, allowing it to switch to whatever crude is cheapest.

We remind that, as MRC informed previously, in April 2015, Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) successfully put into operation two plants in Dahej, Gujarat, India. The first is a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin plant, which consists of two lines with a combined manufacturing capacity of 650 KTA. This is one of the largest bottle-grade PET resin capacity at a single location globally, and consolidates Reliance’s position as a leading PET resin producer with a global capacity of 1.15 MMTPA. The second facility is a new purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant that provides a capacity of 1,150 KTA. With the commissioning of this plant, also built with Invista technology, Reliance’s total PTA capacity will increase to 3.2 MMTPA, and its global capacity share will rise to 4%.

Reliance Industries is one of the world's largest producers of polymers. The company's polymer production in 2010-11 (polypropylene, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride) made 4,094 kilo tonnes.
MRC

Hengli Petrocheical shut No.1 PTA unit amid compressor issue

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China's Hengli Petrochemical has shut its No. 3 purified terephthalic acid (PTA) production unit on Feb 19, company sources told TPS.

The unit was shut unexpectedly due to an air compressor failure, according to a company source.

"This cut in our operations will affect our consumption of paraxylene (PX)," the source added.

Hengli operates three units in Dalian that have an annual production capacity of 2.2 million mt/year each. The two remaining units are currently running at 100%.

"We do not expect a disruption in PTA supplies to our customers, as we have inventory," the source added.

The source was unable to estimate how long repairs will take.

We remind that, as MRC wrote previously, in December 2015, Hengli Petrochemical's 74 billion yuan refining and petrochemical complex started construction in Changxing Island Industrial Zone, Dalian, Liaoning Province, marking the first private company entering the oil refining industry. The project locates in petrochemical industrial park of Changxing Island and is near the company's PTA plant. The project includes 4.5 mln tpa aromatics complex and 20 mln tpa refining and petrochemical facility.

PTA is feedstock which is used in production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

Hengli is the second-largest PTA producer in China.
MRC

Index of chemical production in Russia increased by 4.7% in January

MOSCOW (MRC) - Production of basic chemicals Russia increased by 4.7% in January 2016 compared with the same period in 2015. The growth in production was seen in all basic chemical products, the exception was only xylenes, as per Rosstat's data.

According to the Federal Service of State Statistics, January production of ethylene was 266,000 tonnes, while in Jan 2015 it was 230,000 tonnes (in December 2015 - 266,000 tonnes).

Russia's production of benzene increased to 115,000 tonnes in January compared to 106,000 tonnes in January 2015 (in December 2015, this figure amounted to 117,000 tonnes).

January output of xylenes fell to 50,400 tonnes compared to 51,200 tonnes n the same period last year (in December 2015 - 51,300 tonnes).

January production of sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) rose to 98,800 tonnes (100% of the basic substance) against 85,600 tonnes in the same month in 2015 (in December 2015 - 104,000 tonnes).

Russia's production of mineral fertilizers in January was 1.803 mln tonnes (in terms of 100% nutrients), up 8.1% from the level in January 2015. In December 2015 the total volume of mineral fertilizers production amounted to about 1.837 mln tonnes.
MRC

Vopak starts up JV LPG plant with SK at Jurong Island

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Vopak, in a partnership with SK Gas, said it has received its first cargo at the new liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) facility on Jurong Island, Singapore, marking the start-up of Southeast Asia's first independent LPG import and storage facility, as per Apic-online.

The facility, located at Vopak's Banyan terminal, has an initial capacity of nearly 80,000 cu m. ExxonMobil Asia Pacific, one of the anchor tenants of the Vopak terminal, will receive the first shipment, fully refrigerated propane.

"The LPG facility will help in providing us increased flexibility in securing advantaged feedstock for our inte-grated refining and petrochemical complex," noted Gan Seow Kee, chairman and managing director of ExxonMobil Asia Pacific.

"With this new LPG facility, crackers can now tap on alternative feedstock," said Damian Chan, executive director, energy and chemicals, Singapore Economic Development Board. "This will strengthen our integrated chemicals value chain and further enhance Jurong Island's attractiveness as a manufacturing location for high-value added chemicals," he added.

As MRC wrote before, in early 2014, ExxonMobil officially opened its multi-billion dollar Singapore chemical plant expansion on Jurong Island, to serve growth markets in the Asia-Pacific region. The expansion included a second 1-million-t/y steam cracker, two 650,000-t/y polyethylene plants, a 450,000-t/y polypropylene plant, a 300,000-t/y specialty elastomers unit, an aromatics extraction facility to produce 340,000 t/y of benzene, and a 125,000-t/y oxo-alcohol expansion.

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.
mcplast.com

Sidel supplies PET line for Montgomery Waters

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Rising customer demand has prompted Montgomery Waters (Montgomery, Powys / UK) to acquire an additional PET production line from Swiss machinery provider Sidel (Hunenberg), said Pasteurope.

With the new line, Montgomery Waters will be able to produce water bottles in four formats, from 330ml to 2l, at speeds of up to 31,000 bottles per hour.

The company supplies still, sparkling, flavoured and vitamin-enriched water under its Aquaroma, Celtic Spring and Aquavit brands, and also provides a bottling operation for other manufacturers.

The line features Sidel’s latest generation equipment, including the compact blow-fill-cap Combi solution along with the roll-fed labeller SL70, which is said to give changeover times 30% faster than previous labeller generations and 40% less downtime required for maintenance. Conveying, shrink wrapping and palletisation equipment are also included.

"Increased demand from both consumers and our customers meant we needed to invest in an additional line – one that offered maximum flexibility and could be integrated with the solutions we had already installed to provide operator flexibility across our lines, reduce training needs and maintenance costs," said Paul Delves, managing director of Montgomery Waters.

Sales of bottled water continue to grow globally. According to market research firm Euromonitor International, sales increased by 28% over the period 2007-2012, and it estimates a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5% from 2014 to 2018. The growth in demand is attributed to healthier lifestyle choices and consumers seeking more natural sources of hydration.

As MRC informed earlier, Sidel (Le Havre/France) developed a PET bottle base for still drinks, which is says is stronger, lighter and cheaper to produce.

Sidel is a manufacturing company providing packaging for liquids such as water; carbonated and non-carbonated soft drinks; and sensitive beverages like milk, liquid dairy products, juices, nectars, tea, coffee and isotonics; as well as edible oil, beer and other alcoholic beverages. Sidel manufacturers and services equipment that enables other companies to package such liquids using one of three main materials: plastic (especially PET, and also HDPE and PP).

MRC