Accident kills worker at Pemex refinery, output not affected

MOSCOW (MRC) -- An accident at the Ciudad Madero refinery of Mexican state-owned oil firm Pemex killed one worker on Thursday, but the incident will not affect production, said Reuters, citing a company spokesperson.

Pemex said that three workers were exposed to hydrogen sulfide released during maintenance of one of the refinery's diesel plants. One of the three died.

The Madero plant, the smallest of Pemex's six domestic refineries, is near the port of Tampico on the Gulf coast and can process as much 186,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

As MRC informed earlier, in April 2016, a massive explosion rocked Pemex in the Gulf state of Veracruz on Wednesday, killing at least three people, injuring dozens more, and pumping a cloud of noxious chemicals into the sky. Three people had died in the blast and as many as 45 were injured.

Pemex, Mexican Petroleum, is a Mexican state-owned petroleum company. Pemex has a total asset worth of USD415.75 billion, and is the world's second largest non-publicly listed company by total market value, and Latin America's second largest enterprise by annual revenue as of 2009. Company produces such polymers, as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The professional Western European Building Material Business sold under the Thomsit and Ceresit brands for flooring and tiling systems and waterproofing have become part of the portfolio of the PCI Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary of BASF, BASF said on its site.

The management team welcomed the new colleagues to the German facilities in Dusseldorf and Unna as well as the plant in Oosterhout, the Netherlands.

The transaction includes Henkel’s flooring technology business under the brand name of Thomsit in Western Europe as well as the global rights to the Thomsit brand. Also included in the transaction is the business of Henkel with flooring and tiling systems as well as waterproofing products in Western Europe, which is operated under the licensed brand of Ceresit. "This transaction underlines our clear commitment to the expansion of our construction chemicals portfolio and to the PCI brand," said Ralf Spettmann, President of BASF’s Construction Chemicals division.

PCI Augsburg GmbH will be establishing a flooring technology business area under the lead brand of Thomsit. "The brand will continue to be supported by the Thomsit sales and service employees who are well known in the marketplace and will complement PCI brand products in the flooring technology field," said Marc C. Koppe, Chairman of the Board of Management of PCI Augsburg GmbH.

PCI will lease the Henkel plant in Unna for two to three years and then continue production at its three existing facilities. There are plans for investments especially at the Hamm plant, which is located close to Unna. Among other investments, a new high-bay warehouse and additional production facilities will be installed.

"We will integrate the Thomsit and Western European Ceresit business into the PCI structures rapidly and efficiently. Our top priority is to meet customers’ requirements in the manner to which they have been accustomed without any interruptions or restrictions," Koppe emphazised.

As MRC informed earlier, in September 2016, BASF unveiled its intention of integration of Thomsit and the Ceresit flooring, tiling and waterproofing business in Western Europe into PCI Group.

BASF is the largest diversified chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries. BASF generated sales of more than EUR70 billion in 2015.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- India's annual oil imports from Iran surged to a record high in 2016 as some refiners resumed purchases after the lifting of sanctions against Tehran, according to ship tracking data and a report compiled by Thomson Reuters Oil Research and Forecasts, reported Reuters.

The sharp increase propelled Iran into fourth place among India's suppliers in 2016, up from seventh position in 2015. It used to be India's second-biggest supplier before sanctions.

For the year, the world's third biggest oil consumer bought about 473,000 bpd of oil from Iran to feed expanding refining capacity, up from 208,300 bpd in 2015, the data showed.

In December, imports from Iran trebled from a year earlier to about 546,600 bpd.

In 2015 refiners slowed purchases due to sanctions which choked payment routes, insurance and halved Iran's exports.

Indian refiners Reliance Industries, Hindustan Petroleum, Bharat Petroleum and HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd (HMEL) last year resumed imports from Tehran, attracted by the discount offered by Iran.

"In most of 2016 there was a fight among Gulf producers to increase their market share and lifting of sanctions against Iran has intensified that fight," said Ehsan ul Haq, senior analyst at London-based consultancy KBC Energy Economics.

In April-December, the first nine months of this fiscal year, Iranian supplies to India averaged a record 530,300 bpd, up from about 400,000 bpd before sanctions tightened against Tehran.

India's 2016 Iranian oil imports were the highest in at least six years, according to the Reuters data.

Government data going back over a longer period shows the average was the highest since the 2001-02 fiscal year.

Overall, India imported 4.3 MMbpd oil in 2016, up 7.4% from the previous year.

We remind that, as MRC informed previously, India's daily oil imports from Iran in August 2016 surged to their highest in at least 15 years as the OPEC producer boosted its shipments to recoup market share ceded to rivals Saudi Arabia and Iraq under pressure from economic sanctions.

Besodes, India is set to buy 6 MMbbl of Iranian crude for its strategic oil reserves as negotiations with the United Arab Emirates' national oil company for supplies are stuck over commercial terms. Such purchases by the world's third largest crude importer would boost Iran's drive to ramp up its oil shipments as it looks to regain market share following the lifting of sanctions over its disputed nuclear program.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia's Tuapse oil refinery, which is owned by Rosneft and suffered a fire on Wednesday, has resumed production in full, including vacuum gasoil output, a Rosneft representative told Reuters on Friday.

Plant officials earlier said nobody had been injured and that the fire at the Black Sea refinery had been quickly put out.

As MRC informed before, in June 2016, Rosneft and China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group) signed a Framework Agreement on joint pre-feasibility study of the project related to the construction and operation of a gas processing and petrochemical complex in East Siberia. The Agreement signed in furtherance of the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in petrochemical projects, provides to select a technology for natural gas processing from its components to polymers.

Rosneft became Russia's largest publicly traded oil company in March 2013 after the USD55 billion takeover of TNK-BP, which was Russia’s third-largest oil producer at the time.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Supervisors of a western Pennsylvania township have granted a conditional use permit for a USD6 billion petrochemical, or ethane cracker, plant proposed by Shell Chemicals, said Michigansthumb.

A 10-hour hearing last month ended without a decision because the Potter Township supervisors wanted Shell and the Clean Air Council, an environmental group that opposes the plant, to file legal arguments.

At Wednesday night's two-hour meeting, the supervisors imposed noise limits, and pledged to investigate any complaints of light pollution or traffic disruptions that could occur once construction begins in the next two years.
Shell has said the plant will create 6,000 construction jobs, and 600 permanent jobs once the plant opens.

But most of the 12 citizens who spoke at the meeting opposed the plan — though only three were from Beaver County which contains Potter, the township where the plant will be built, about 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.
Lewis Braham, from neighboring Allegheny County, said approving the plant is "backward-looking," and argued the area shouldn't welcome heavy industry once again.

"Gone are the days where we were dismissed as an industrial wasteland," he said. The opponents chanted "No" before the vote and "Shame" after the township's commissioners approved the permit.
Shell still needs state environmental regulators to modify two pollution permits held by the property's former owner, and to get federal permits, before construction begins.

Another Shell subsidiary, Shell Pipeline Co., also said three pipelines need to be built to feed the plant, one to carry nitrogen, another for natural gas and a third for ethane. The plant will break down — or crack — ethane molecules to produce pellets that can be used to make various plastics.
MRC