Karpatneftekhim resumed production

MOSCOW (MRC) - The largest petrochemical plant in Ukraine, Karpatneftekhim (Kalush, Ivano-Frankivsk region), resumed operation on 9 June after five years of shutdown, the company's press service said.

The whole production complex will be put into operation in the middle of June, and in July it should reach full capacity - 250,000 tonnes of ethylene in annual equivalent.

"Preparatory work started in February this year and was held in all production facilities. The raw material for processing is straight-run gasoline," - said Karpatneftekhim.

The launch of production after five years of the shutdown took place due to the introduction in Ukraine of the world practice of taxing petrochemical raw materials, the company said earlier.

The Tax Code of Ukraine expanded the list of raw materials subject to a zero excise tax rate in the case of further processing in December 2016. Liquefied gases and butane were added to straight-run gasoline and diesel fuel. By Resolution No. 229 of 26 April, 2017, the government determined for the Karpatneftekhim quota for the supply of raw materials: Liquefied gas - 1070 mln liters per year; straight gasoline - 1 170 mln liters per year; diesel fuel - 985 mln liters per year.

The processing of each of these volumes can ensure the production of 250,000 tonnes of ethylene per year.

Karpatneftekhim declares a zero probability of misuse of raw materials, supplied on preferential terms.

Karpatneftekhim (Kalush, Ivano-Frankivsk region) is the largest producer of polymers in Ukraine. Company produces polyolefins (ethylene and propylene), polyethylene, chlorine, caustic soda and polyvinyl chloride. Capacities of the enterprise allow to produce annually 300,000 tonnes of ethylene, 100,000 tonnes of HDPE, 180,000 tonnes of caustic soda and 300,000 tonnes of PVC.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) — Global oil and gas recruitment specialist, Petroplan, announced they have been awarded a contract to provide consultancy and managed services in the UK, South Africa and Mozambique for international integrated chemicals and energy company Sasol, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Petroplan already has a long-standing working relationship with Sasol through the provision of both contract and permanent oil and gas professionals in the UK and South Africa.

"We are delighted to be able to continue supporting Sasol’s growth in these regions and at the same time offer even more exciting career opportunities from this respected industry leader to our qualified candidate network," Petroplan said in a press release.

As MRC informed earlier, Sasol will apply to postpone a 2020 deadline for meeting stricter air pollution laws. South Africa, the continent's worst polluter and most advanced economy, emits millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere each year, much of it from coal-fired power plants that still provide most of the country’s energy.

Sasol Limited is an integrated energy and chemical company based in Johannesburg, South Africa. It develops and commercialises technologies, including synthetic fuels technologies, and produces different liquid fuels, chemicals and electricity.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) — DuPont Clean Technologies announced that Dangote Oil Refinery Company Ltd has commissioned a range of advanced proprietary equipment from DuPont for the construction of a new refinery in Lekki, near Nigeria’s capital, Lagos, said Prweb.

The new refinery is set to become the largest single-train refinery in the world and the complex will include a petrochemical plant, a fertilizer plant and a subsea pipeline project.

DuPont will be supplying Dangote with proprietary equipment for STRATCO alkylation unit, MECS sulfuric acid regeneration (SAR) unit, MECS DynaWave sulfur recovery unit (SRU) tail gas scrubbing, and BELCO EDV fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) stack scrubbing that will help Dangote meet gasoline pool octane and emissions requirements.

"We are delighted to be supporting Dangote on a project that is of such critical importance to creating economic growth and opportunity in Nigeria,” said Eli Ben-Shoshan, global business leader, DuPont Clean Technologies. “Our aim is always to enable our customers to meet their emissions targets easily and efficiently with the help of cost-effective technologies and services that offer them value and flexibility while minimizing the impact on the environment."

The new 27,000 bpd alkylation unit and the 260 mtpd SAR unit will allow the facility to produce high octane, low sulfur, low RVP alkylate with zero olefins. Designed to meet world standards for particulate matter and SOx emissions, the DynaWave wet gas scrubber will ensure full-time compliance with emissions regulations on both 115 tpd SRUs, and the BELCO EDV wet gas scrubber will reduce the stack emissions from the FCCU as well as provide a purge treatment to condtion the scrubber effluent. Both of the SRUs and the FCCU are supplied by other licensors.

Despite producing 2.12 MMbpd crude oil in 2015, Nigeria traditionally imports 80% of domestically consumed refined product as national refining capacity is low, at 0.002 bpd per capita. With a production capacity of 650,000 bpd, the new refinery, targeted for completion in the last quarter of 2019, will boost Nigeria’s limited domestic refining production.

Licensed and designed by DuPont, the STRATCO alkylation technology is the established global leader in the industry with over 90 units licensed worldwide and more than 850,000 bpsd of installed capacity. For over 80 years, the STRATCO technology has helped refineries safely to produce cleaner-burning fuel with high octane, low RVP, low sulfur and zero olefins.

Also, licensed and designed by DuPont, the MECS SAR technology is the leading technology for sulfuric acid regeneration in the market. This reliable, dry gas technology produces the desired 99.2 wt% sulfuric acid strength for optimum alkylation unit performance. Reliability and on-stream time are the most important considerations when selecting an SAR technology. The MECS SAR units are designed for a high on-stream time to avoid disrupting the alkylation unit’s operation and production schedule.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Porvoo is the first city in Finland to start using Neste MY Renewable Diesel, produced 100% from waste and residues, in all of its diesel-fueled vehicles during this year, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The municipal engineering department of Porvoo and the free summer bus Rinkeli will start using the product immediately.

"Neste MY Renewable Diesel is an excellent solution for many cities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," said Sam Holmberg, Vice President responsible for Neste's Marketing and Services business area in Finland. "We are proud and happy to see that Porvoo, the hometown of one of our refineries, is the first city in Finland to start using our premium-quality product to reduce the emissions of all of their diesel-fueled vehicles. In California in the US, our products are already used in Sacramento and San Diego."

Compared to conventional fossil diesel, Neste MY Renewable Diesel has up to 90% lower greenhouse gas emissions during the lifecycle of the fuel, the company said in a press release.

The use of Neste MY Renewable Diesel does not require any modifications to vehicles. It is fully compatible with current diesel grades, and it can be added to the fuel tank at any point, even when there is some traditional diesel left in the tank.

The raw material base that Neste uses to produce its renewable diesel includes already more than 10 raw materials.

As MRC informed earlier, Borealis, a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers, has announced a EUR 40 million investment to upgrade its steam cracker in Porvoo, Finland.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) — A major fire broke out at Mexican state oil producer Pemex's Salina Cruz refinery on Wednesday after a crude spill, injuring nine people and extending the shutdown of the plant into a second day, said Reuters.

The blaze began in the pump house of Salina Cruz, Mexico's largest refinery, on Wednesday morning, and the company was working to put it out, a Pemex spokeswoman said.

A Pemex spokesman said the fire had not yet reached the refinery's nearby massive storage tanks, adding that efforts were under way to prevent that from happening.

Eight of the injured have been released from the hospital, the company said on its Twitter page.

Images sent by local emergency workers showed a tall, thick plume of black smoke spewing from towering flames at the refinery on the Pacific Coast in the southern state of Oaxaca.

An official at the Oaxaca state emergency services said some of the local neighborhoods near the refinery had been evacuated.

The fire occurred a day after heavy rains prompted the refinery to suspend operations and evacuate personnel.

Tropical Storm Calvin provoked flooding that busted though dams meant to contain a form of heavy oil, causing a spill that later ignited, the company statement said.

It added the blaze had been contained. However, it was unclear when operations might resume. The refinery has a capacity of 330,000 bpd.

For over a year Pemex has been searching for investment partners to boost the aging facility's productivity, but with no takers to date.
MRC