ADNOC refining achieves full production of PP from Ruwais facility

MOSCOW (MRC) – ADNOC Refining, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), announced it has reached full production of polymer-grade propylene from its newly commissioned Propane Dehydrogenation (PDH) unit, located in the Ruwais integrated refining and petrochemical hub, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The PDH unit processes propane from two major sources, ADNOC Gas Processing and Ruwais Refinery West, to produce half a million tons per year of polymer-grade propylene. The standalone unit is part of the recently commissioned Carbon Black and Delayed Coker project.

Jasem Al Sayegh, ADNOC Refining CEO, said: "The PDH unit is a key element of ADNOC Refining’s expansion strategy to help create maximum value for ADNOC’s Downstream businesses. It also underlines our intent to continue to expand Ruwais to become the world’s largest integrated refining and petrochemical complex, operating to world-class standards.

"The expansion in propylene production will be over half a million tons per year, adding value to our refining operations by integrating with downstream processing units. It will also help enable our partner company, Borouge, to meet the increasing global demand for specialist polymer products, particularly from the Asia-Pacific region."

Propane dehydrogenation is used to produce polymer-grade propylene from propane independent of a steam cracker, or fluid catalytic cracking unit. It provides a dedicated and reliable source of propylene to meet the growing market demand for propylene and gives more control over propylene feedstock costs.

Propylene is a key ingredient in the production of polymer. The future demand of polymer is expected to be in Asia, which is projected to be the fastest-growing market for the product due to rising automotive production and greater purchasing power of expanding middle-class populations.

In July, as a further sign of ADNOC’s intent to increase its share of the global petrochemicals market, Borouge awarded the Engineering, Procurement and Construction contract for an additional polypropylene plant (PP5), to be integrated with the existing Borouge 3 complex in Ruwais and grow its polymer production capacity to almost 5 million tons per year by 2021.

In May, at its Downstream Investment Forum, ADNOC unveiled plans to upgrade the entire Ruwais refining and petrochemicals complex, designed to substantially increase the company’s flexibility and capabilities to produce greater volumes of higher-value petrochemicals and derivative products. It includes building one of the world’s largest mixed feed crackers, trebling petrochemical production capacity from 4.5 mtpa in 2016 to 14.4 mtpa by 2025.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - U.S. refiners have processed a record volume of crude in the last three months, reversing the previous shortage of distillate but leaving the country with record gasoline stocks at the end of the summer driving season, said Reuters.

Fuel availability has been helped by the absence of a direct hurricane hit on the major refining centers located on the coasts of Texas and Louisiana, in stark contrast to the refinery closures caused by Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

Refiners have carried on processing at elevated rates well after the end of the normal summer driving season and into September in order to rebuild previously depleted distillate stocks.

But the now-plentiful supply of gasoline and to a lesser extent distillate implies refiners will have to cut processing more sharply than usual over the next couple of months to avoid creating a glut of refined products.

U.S. refiners processed 17.4 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil in the week to Sept. 14, up from 15.0 million bpd in 2017 (impacted by Hurricane Harvey) and 16.6 million bpd in 2016.

Refiners produced a seasonal record 5.5 million bpd of distillate last week, up from 4.5 million bpd in 2017 and 5.0 million bpd in 2016, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Distillate stocks have risen to 140 million barrels up from a recent low of just 114 million barrels in mid-May.
Distillate inventories are now just 6 million barrels below the 10-year average compared with a deficit of 25 million barrels as recently as July 20.

Distillate availability has been improving significantly over the last eight weeks after deteriorating more or less continuously since the start of the year.

But the consequence of heavy refining activity to produce distillate has been the emergence of a potential over-supply of gasoline. Gasoline stocks remained plentiful throughout the peak summer driving season and are now at a record for the time of year.
mrcplast.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Engro Polymer and Chemicals has awarded a contract to Tianchen Corp. China for a new 100,000 t/y integrated polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plant in Pakistan, reported GV.

The company announced last December is was planning to invest over PKR 10 billion in an expansion project that would increase production capacities of PVC, vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) and other related products. Besides the new PVC facility, which will increase PVC capacity to 295,000 t/y, Engro will also debottleneck its existing VCM unit to expand VCM capacity by 50,000 t/y by the third quarter of 2020.

In addition, Engro plans to build a new 20,000 t/y caustic flaker production line, which is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2018, as well as expand its sodium hypochlorite and hydrochloric acid plants by the third quarter of this year. Earlier reports also said that Engro would upgrade its caustic soda facility to membrane technology, in order to enhance efficiency and production.

As MRC informed earlier, in 2013, Engro Polymer and Chemicals Limited (EPCL) invested up to USD15 million to enhance the production capacity of PVC resin.

Engro Polymer & Chemicals Limited (EPCL) is the only fully integrated chemical complex in Pakistan. EPCL is a subsidiary of Engro Corporation, involved in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of quality Chlor-Vinyl allied products and PVC under brand name "SABZ".
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - India's Chennai Petroleum will stop processing Iranian crude oil from October to keep its insurance coverage once new sanctions by the United States against Iran go into effect, three sources familiar with the issue said, as per Reuters.

Iran's Naftiran Intertrade Co Ltd, a trading arm for state-owned National Iranian Oil Co, owns a 15.4 percent stake in Chennai Petroleum, which has two refineries with a total combined capacity of 230,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd).

In May, U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of an international nuclear deal with Iran and announced new sanctions against the country, the third-largest producer among the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Washington is pushing allies to cut Iranian oil imports to zero once the sanctions on the petroleum sector startup on Nov. 4.

United India Insurance has informed Chennai Petroleum that its new annual policy that is set to take effect from October will not cover any liability related to processing crude from Iran, the three sources said. This has forced the refiner to cancel a scheduled loading of 1 million barrels in October, they said.

Indian insurers do not fall directly under the sanctions but need to hedge their own risk on the Western reinsurance market, which will not accept Iranian exposure.

"It is quite complicated.. reinsurers are quite apprehensive about extending cover for Chennai Petroleum," said one of the sources, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Chennai Petroleum's reduced demand will further cut India's imports from Iran to about 10 million tonnes in October, lower than previous estimates reported by Reuters.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- IMCD N.V. has announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire 100 % of the outstanding shares of Velox GmbH, a European distributor with a focus on raw material specialities and solutions for the plastics, composites, additives, rubber, and paints & coatings industries with headquarters in Hamburg, Germany, as per GV.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval. Financial details were not disclosed.

Velox was established in 1993 and today has an extensive commercial network across Europe and long-standing relationships with global suppliers in the plastics, composites and other specialities markets. With approximately 225 employees in 18 countries, the company generated EUR 155 million revenue and a normalised EBITDA of EUR 5.4 million in 2017.

Piet van der Slikke, CEO of IMCD, commented: "This acquisition enables IMCD to further strengthen its position as distributor of speciality plastics and additives. Our portfolios very well complement each other, and we expect to be able to create more value for our suppliers and customers."

Francois Minec, General Manager of Velox added: "Joining IMCD will provide Velox with excellent opportunities to further develop and execute its strategy as a leading distributor to the plastics- and composite industries."

As MRC informed previously, in 2013, Arkema appointed Velox GmbH, Hamburg, Germany, as its exclusive distributor for the medical business development in Europe.
MRC