Idemitsu shuts desulphurisation unit after fire

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Japanese oil refiner Idemitsu Kosan Co said it conducted an emergency shutdown of a desulphurisation unit at its 200,000-bpd Chiba refinery after a fire near a heat exchanger, said Reuters.

The crude distillation unit at the plant, east of Tokyo, is continuing to operate, with no impact on cargoes being sent from the facility's truck terminal or by sea, a company spokesman said.

The fire at the 60,000 bpd No.3 light gas oil hydrodesulphurisation unit occurred at around 4:40 a.m. on Wednesday and the local fire department confirmed that it was extinguished at 7:30 a.m., the company said in a statement.

There were no injuries and there was no schedule for the restart of the unit as an investigation into the cause of the fire is underway.

The company did not immediately say whether the operations of other secondary units had been affected by the fire.

As MRC informed earlier, Idemitsu Kosan Co. and smaller rival Showa Shell Sekiyu will merge on April 1 2017.

Idemitsu Kosan is a Japanese petroleum company. It owns and operates oil platforms, refineries and produces and sells petroleum, oils and petrochemical products. The company runs two petrochemical plants in Chiba and Tokuyama. The two naphtha crackers can produce up to 997,000 tonnes of ethylene per year.
MRC

Saudi Aramco shelves USD27-B refining, petrochemical project JV with Petronas

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Aramco has shelved plans for a partnership with Malaysian state-oil firm Petroliam Nasional Berhad in a USD27 billion refining and petrochemical project in the southeast Asian country, industry sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Aramco had been in talks with Petronas about a joint venture in the Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) project in the southern Malaysian state of Johor. Aramco and Petronas officials did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

"I believe the proposal was still in an initial discussion phase," said Sadad al-Husseini a former senior executive at Saudi Aramco and now an energy consultant.

"In any case, considering the scale of the investment, China's growing regional exports of refined products, Singapore's existing refining capacity and the competition this project would have created to Aramco's own JV refineries in Korea, China and Japan, its deferral was probably a very well considered and prudent Aramco management decision at this time."

The RAPID project, launched in 2012 and expected to begin operations in the first quarter of 2019, is designed to have a 300,000-bpd oil refinery and a petrochemical complex with a production capacity of 7.7 MMt.

Petronas last year sought proposals for a USD7.2 billion loan for the project, with separate guarantees from the company and Aramco, Thomson Reuters IFR reported in June.

Aramco's move to suspend plans for the Malaysian venture comes at a time when Petronas is struggling with the slump in oil prices.

In early 2016 Petronas said it would cut spending by up to USD11.27 billion over the next four years. It has also slashed the dividend it pays to the Malaysian government.

Petronas also has yet to make a final investment decision on a controversial USD27 billion liquefied natural gas project in Canada that has come criticism from aboriginal and environmental groups.

As MRC informed earlier, Saudi Arabia has promised it will reduce the overall tax rate paid by its national oil company to make its 2018 initial public offering -- potentially one of the largest in history -- more appealing to investors.

Saudi Aramco, officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a Saudi Arabian national oil and natural gas company based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco's value has been estimated at up to USD10 trillion in the Financial Times, making it the world's most valuable company. Saudi Aramco has both the largest proven crude oil reserves, at more than 260 billion barrels, and largest daily oil production.
MRC

Global superabsorbent polymers market to grow to USD8.6 bln in 2020

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The global superabsorbent polymers market is expected to reach around USD 8.60 Billion by 2020 at a CAGR of about 5% , as per Plastemart with reference to Zion Research.

The global demand for superabsorbent polymer was valued at USUSD6.4 bln and at 1950 kilo tons in 2014.

The process of converting a monomer molecule together in a chemical reaction to form a polymer chain is called as polymerization. A superabsorbent polymer is a three-dimensional network form by chemical cross linking or physical cross linking of large number of molecules composed of certain repeating units.

The superabsorbent polymer has capability to absorb a liquid. And this absorbency and capacity of polymer depends on degree of cross linking. The superabsorbent polymer products are mostly used in personal disposable hygiene products. It also used for blocking water absorption in underground power or communications cable, horticultural water retention agents. The first commercial use of SAP was in 1978 for the production of feminine napkins in Japan.

SAP can be classified on the basis of product type such as sodium polyacrylate, polyacrylamide copolymer and others. Sodium polyacrylate dominated the SAP market with around 60% share of the total volume of SAP consumed in 2014. Polyacrylamide copolymer was the second largest product segment of SAP in terms of volume. Baby diapers, adult incontinence products, feminine hygiene and others are the key application markets for the superabsorbent polymers. Baby diaper is the most dominant application market for superabsorbent polymers. It accounted for around two third shares of the total market in 2014. Adult incontinence products accounted for second largest application market for SAP in 2014. Adult incontinence products market for superabsorbent polymers is expected to be the fastest growing application market during the forecast period.

North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle East & Africa are the key regional segments of the global superabsorbent polymers market. Global superabsorbent polymers market was dominated by the North America with around 28% share of the market in 2014. North America was followed by Europe and Asia Pacific. North America and Europe were the major markets for superabsorbent polymers market owing to high level of awareness among the people about personal hygiene. However, rapid growth in population as well as industrial surge in emerging economies is expected to boost demand for SAP in the Asia Pacific region.

As MRC informed before, global super absorbent polymer market is estimated to be worth USD8.9 bln by 2022, registering a CAGR of 3.31% between 2017 and 2022. As of 2015, the major manufacturers of super absorbent polymer were concentrated in Nippon Shokubhai, Evonik Industries, Sumitomo Seika, BASF SE and Danson Technology.
Nippon Shokubhai is the world leader, holding 21.53% sales market share in 2015.
MRC

Petrobras says investors are suing its subsidiaries in Netherlands

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brazil's state-run oil company, Petroleo Brasileiro SA, said on Tuesday in a securities filing that a group of investors is suing two of its subsidiaries in a court in the Netherlands, reported WorldNews.

The Stichting Petrobras Compensation Foundation, a Netherlands-based claim foundation, alleges investors had losses with shares in Petrobras, as the company is known, due to the largest-ever corruption investigation in Brazil involving the company.

Petrobras said in the filing that "Brazilian authorities recognize the company was a victim" of the corruption scheme.

As MRC informed before, Petrobras is seeking to sell its 5.8 billion Brazilian real (USD1.4 billion) stake in petrochemical producer Braskem SA. Petrobras has hired Brazilian bank Banco Bradesco SA as a financial adviser and has started to pitch the sale to foreign investors. Petrobras owns a 36 percent stake in Braskem, Latin America's largest petrochemical producer. The sale would help Petrobras meet its target of selling USD15.1 billion worth of assets in 2015-16, a key part of its plan to cut debt as oil prices plunge to 12-year lows.

Headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Petrobras is an integrated energy firm. Petrobras' activities include exploration, exploitation and production of oil from reservoir wells, shale and other rocks as well as refining, processing, trade and transport of oil and oil products, natural gas and other fluid hydrocarbons, in addition to other energy-related activities.
MRC

India to fill Mangalore strategic reserve with UAE oil

MOSCOW (MRC) -- India has signed a deal with the United Arab Emirates that allows the Gulf nation to fill half of an underground crude oil storage facility at Mangalore that is part of New Delhi's strategic reserve system, reported Reuters.

New Delhi announced a series of pacts with the UAE ranging from defence, trade, maritime cooperation to energy after a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

UAE's Abu Dhabi National Oil Co will store about 6 million barrels of oil at Mangalore, taking up about half of the site's capacity, said Sunjay Sudhir, joint secretary for international cooperation at the Indian oil ministry.

India, hedging against energy security risks as it imports most of its oil needs, is building emergency storage in underground caverns to hold 36.87 million barrels of crude, or about 10 days of its average daily oil demand in 2016.

"This will help to ensure India's energy security and enable us to meet the nation's growing demand for energy," said Indian oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

As one of the fastest growing economies in the world, India needs massive investments in some key sectors, particularly infrastructure.

During Modi's visit to the UAE in 2015, the two countries announced a USD75 billion joint infrastructure fund that would invest in India's infrastructure development. UAE is India's fifth biggest oil supplier.

The crude supplies will begin in the last quarter of this year, Sudhir told Reuters. "We are talking to them (ADNOC) for two-three grades and most likely it will Murban."

The two sides had discussed ways to advance their energy ties through specific projects, including long-term supply contracts and joint ventures in energy, he also said.

India in 2014 began talks to lease part of its strategic storage to ADNOC. Under those discussions, India was to have first rights to the stored crude in case of an emergency, while ADNOC would be able to move cargoes to meet any shift in demand.

India has already filled the other half of the Mangalore storage in Karnataka state with 6 million barrels of Iranian oil.

India, the world's third-biggest oil consumer, has also filled a Vizag storage site in southern Andhra Pradesh with 7.55 million barrels of Iraqi oil and has invited bids from suppliers to fill an 18.3 million-barrel facility at Padur in Karnataka.

The crown prince will be the guest of honor at India's Republic Day parade on Thursday.

As MRC informed earlier, The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has announced it plans to introduce measures that will increase energy efficiency by 10% by 2020. The energy efficiency strategy will reduce ADNOC’s gas consumption by 156 MMcf/d, saving a total of USD1 billion by 2020.
MRC