TOYO awarded naphtha cracking furnace expansion project in Japan

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Toyo Engineering Corporation (TOYO) was awarded a project to construct a naphtha cracking furnace of Tosoh Corporation for producing ethylene at its Yokkaichi Complex in October, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

TOYO had participated in this construction project from an early stage. This naphtha cracking furnace employs advanced technology developed by CB&I Technology Inc. (Lummus Technology) with which TOYO maintains a mutually beneficial relationship for more than half a century. The cracking furnace is of the latest type with improved ethylene yield based on Lummus’ method, which is the first to be introduced in Japan.

Lummus’ technology has been adopted in approximately 40% of the world’s ethylene plants. TOYO has constructed 45 Lummus-based ethylene plants around the world and will continue to cooperate with Lummus to be engaged in more ethylene projects.

Our domestic subsidiary TEC Project Services Corporation (TPS) will take part in the construction work. TOYO and TPS will cooperate to promote our business in Japan.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil Chemical Company has appointed authorized distributor BLS Syn Inc. to solely represent and market its Group IV and Group V synthetics base stock portfolio in Korea, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The strategic relationship was formed based on BLS Syn Inc.’s technical expertise and strong knowledge of the local lubricants industry, combined with ExxonMobil’s broad portfolio and global supply reliability.

"We are excited to bring a new level of service and technical capabilities to customers in Korea developing innovative lubricants for some of the most complex and challenging industries in the world," said Michael Chuah, Asia Pacific sales manager, ExxonMobil Chemical Company. "As industry needs continue to evolve, we are confident that BLS Syn Inc.’s knowledge of sector-specific customer needs together with our leading synthetics products and services will enable customers to develop high performance lubrication solutions."

Headquartered in Seoul, BLS Syn Inc. has an established supply chain and logistics system including locally-based warehouses and drumming facilities. The company will be responsible for reliable delivery of Group IV and Group V synthetic base stocks and providing technical support to the local customer base.

"At BLS Syn Inc., providing exceptional customer service and ensuring supply reliability is an integral part of our operations," said Mr. Song Seong-Han, Chief Executive Officer, BLS Syn Inc. "We are thrilled to partner with ExxonMobil Chemical Company and combine the collective strengths of both companies to supply the Korean market with a wide-array of industry leading base stocks and application expertise."

ExxonMobil Chemical Company and BLS Syn Inc. have begun preparation for joint consultative services pertaining to Group IV and Group V synthetics products to Korean customers which will commence from 1st January 2018.

As MRC informed previously, in Decmeber 2016, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has received an order for supply of systems to support a large-scale polyethylene production train for ExxonMobil's Beaumont Polyethylene plant. The new production train is slated to be completed in 2019, and will produce 650,000 tons of polyethylene per year.

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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) — ExxonMobil Corp Chief Executive Darren Woods is reorganizing the company's refining operations, part of a push to boost profits amid volatile oil and natural gas prices, said Reuters.

The changes at the world's largest publicly traded oil producer are the most sweeping to date by Woods, who became chief executive in January after former chief Rex Tillerson resigned to become US secretary of state.

Woods has moved first to reshape the parts of the businesses he knows best, according to sources familiar with the matter. Before taking the helm at Exxon, Woods ran Exxon's refining operations.

Exxon spokeswoman Charlotte Huffaker confirmed the downstream business overhaul in a statement, adding the company expects it will "improve decision making and enhance performance in the market." The parts of the business impacted were refining and marketing divisions, said spokesman Scott Silvestri.

Company sources told Reuters Exxon's chemical operation also has been restructured, but Silvestri denied this. It was not immediately clear if the changes will involve job cuts or executive departures. Exxon's Huffaker said she could not say if there would be any impact on jobs.

The reorganization aims to squeeze more profits from the downstream business as the company works to improve its exploration and production operations, which have struggled since 2014 to adjust to lower oil and gas prices.

The downstream restructuring, disclosed internally last month, will combine the fuels and lubricants division with the supply and refining divisions. Financial responsibility for the merged operation will rest with country and regional chiefs who report to Exxon's Irving, Texas, headquarters rather than divisional bosses as previously, according to people familiar with the matter.

The changes are designed to simplify operations and increase accountability for profitability, the sources said.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Denka Singapore has restarted a polystyrene (PS) plant following a maintenance turnaround, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Singapore informed that the company completed maintenance at the plant in first half November 2017. The plant was shut for maintenance in early-October 2017.

Located on Jurong Island, Singapore, the plant has a production capacity of 200,000 mt/year.

We remind that, as MRC reported before, Grand Pacific Petrochemical Corp (GPPC) conducted a scheduled turnaround at its No. 2 styrene monomer (SM) plant in Taiwan from in mid-February 2017 to 9 April 2017. Located at Tashe in Taiwan, the No. 2 SM plant has a production capacity of 130,000 mt/year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Rosneft and Indonesian state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina completed the establishment of the joint venture for the development of Tuban grass root refinery and petrochemical complex (TGRR) in Tuban in the East Java province of Indonesia, said Rosneft.

The joint venture company (JV) PT Pertamina Rosneft Pengolahan dan Petrokimia (Indonesia) was established in accordance with the joint venture agreement (JVA) signed in October 2016. The JVA envisages the following participants shares in the JV: Rosneft – 45%, Pertamina – 55% and sets out the JV's governance principles.

Rosneft and Pertamina conducted the project feasibility study and moved to basic engineering and design (BED) of TGRR. The attractive market conditions of Indonesia and the expected consumption growth enabled the working group of Rosneft and Pertamina to develop a competitive concept of the new refinery and petrochemical complex. The parties confirmed possibility of arranging project financing after bankability study performed with the international financial institutions.

The planned refining capacity is 15 MMtpy and the targeted capacity of the petrochemical complex is over 1 MMtpy of ethylene and 1.3 MMtpy of aromatics. The feedstock for TGRR will be medium and heavy sulfur crude oil grades. The crude oil terminal will be able to accommodate VLCCs of up to 300 Mt.

TGRR is an important part of Rosneft strategy targeting growth in Asia-Pacific market of refined products.
MRC