Hyundai & Sulfindo Adiusaha sign MoU for VCM, PVC expansion in Indonesia

MOSOW (MRC) -- Hyundai Engineering said it has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Sulfindo Adiusaha to expand a vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) facility managed by Sulfindo in Merak, Indonesia, reported Pulse News, as per GV.

The project will increase VCM production capacity to 370,000 t/y from 120,000 t/y and PVC capacity to 360,000 t/y from 110,000 t/y. A schedule for the project was not given. The Export-Import Bank of Korea will provide financing in the form of on-lending loans.
MRC

Petronas-Saudi RAPID refinery offloads first oil cargo

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A supertanker carrying the first crude oil cargo to a refinery being jointly built by Malaysia’s Petronas and oil giant Saudi Aramco has arrived at Pengerang, as the two companies enter the commissioning and testing phase at the plant, reported Reuters.

Construction of the 300,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) refinery at the Pengerang Integrated complex is nearing completion, Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) said in a statement issued late on Monday.

The cargo of 2 million barrels of crude oil supplied by Petronas and Aramco will be used for the commissioning and testing activities which are scheduled to start in October, Petronas added.

"The arrival of the cargo signifies our readiness to move forward to start-up and commercial operations," said Colin Wong Hee Huing, chief executive of PRefChem which is an alliance of both companies.

He added that the refinery was on track to start up in the first quarter of 2019.

Once completed, the refinery will produce a range of refined oil products including gasoline and diesel which meet Euro 5 fuel specifications, Petronas said.

Additionally, the refinery will provide feedstock for the integrated petrochemicals complex.

Speaking earlier at the Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference, Ibrahim Al-Buainain, Aramco Trading Company’s president and chief executive, said that the first crude oil cargo for the Malaysian project was discharging out of a very large crude carrier (VLCC).

The supertanker Navarin carrying 1 million barrels each of Saudi Arab Medium crude and Iraqi Basra Light crude arrived in Malaysia on Sept. 21 and is now moored off the Pengerang oil terminal, according to trade sources and shipping data on Thomson Reuters Eikon.

The USD27 billion refining and petrochemical project located between the Malacca Strait and the South China Sea, is a conduit for Middle East oil and gas bound for China, Japan and South Korea.

"This is part of our downstream strategy," Buainain said. "Asia is a key market for us and most of the demand is from this region."

As MRC informed earlier, in January 2017, Malaysia's state oil firm Petroliam Nasional Berhad said its new USD27 billion refining and petrochemical complex project in the southeast Asian country is on track for start-up in 2019.

Petronas, short for Petroliam Nasional Berhad, is a Malaysian oil and gas company wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia. The Group is engaged in a wide spectrum of petroleum activities, including upstream exploration and production of oil and gas to downstream oil refining; marketing and distribution of petroleum products; trading; gas processing and liquefaction; gas transmission pipeline network operations; marketing of liquefied natural gas; petrochemical manufacturing and marketing; shipping; automotive engineering; and property investment.

Saudi Aramco is an integrated oil and chemicals company, a global leader in hydrocarbon production, refining processes and distribution, as well as one of the largest global oil exporters. It manages proven reserves of crude oil and condensate estimated at 261.1bn barrels, and produces 9.54 million bbl daily. Headquartered in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, the company employs over 61,000 staff in 77 countries.
MRC

Eni signs Memorandum of Understanding with Pertamina

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Eni and PT Pertamina (Persero) signed in Porto Marghera, at Eni Green Refinery, a Memorandum of Understanding further expanding the relationship into green refinery, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The Parties agreed to explore a wide array of new opportunities across the entire energy value chain. This Memorandum of Understanding represents a step forward in Eni’s strategy to strengthen its presence in the Far East, looking for new business opportunities with a particular focus in the Downstream sector; leveraging also Eni unrivaled experience in converting & operating first-class bio-refinery assets.

Eni has been present in Indonesia since 2001, conducting operations of exploration and production. Today production derives from Muara Bakau block (Eni’s interest 55%) where Jangkrik field started-up in 2017.

As MRC informed previously, in February 2018, Italy’s Eni and France’s Total discovered a promising natural gas field off Cyprus. Eny said then that the find looked geologically similar to the mammoth Zohr field off Egypt.

ENI is an Italian multinational oil and gas company headquartered in Rome. It has operations in in 79 countries, and is currently Italy's largest industrial company with a market capitalization of EUR68 billion (USD 90 billion), as of August 14, 2013. The Italian government owns a 30.3% golden share in the company, 3.93% held through the state Treasury and 26.37% held through the Cassa depositi e prestiti. Another 39.40% of the shares are held by BNP Paribas.
MRC

Dongming Hengchang gets board approval to construct new PP plant in China

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shandong Dongming Hengchang Petrochemical, a subsidiary of Sinostar PEC Holdings, has received board of directors' approval to build a new polypropylene (PP) facility in Heze City, Shandong Province, China, as per Apic-online.

The proposed PP project, estimated to cost RMB 1.2-billion, would have a production capacity of 200,000 t/y, increasing the group's capacity to 250,000 t/y. It would take about two years to complete construction and be ready for trial runs.

Sinostar earlier announced it was purchasing Dong-ming Qianhai Petrochemical, which would give it an additional 90,000 t/y of propylene capacity for the further production of PP. An expected completion date was not given.

As MRC reported earlier, in March 2018, Dongming Hengchang Petrochemical selected Spheripol PP technology from LyondellBasell for implementation at a plant in Heze City, Shandong Province, China.
MRC

Chevron California refinery restarting gasoline unit

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chevron Corp was attempting to restart the gasoline-producing unit at its 269,000 barrel per day (bpd) El Segundo refinery in California, reported Reuters with reference to the El Segundo police.

The 72,500 bpd Fluidic Catalytic Cracking Unit released silica catalyst during the restart on Thursday morning, the police department said. Nearby residents were warned they may find the powdery catalyst on their vehicles or property.

As MRC wrote before, in May 2018, Chevron Products Company, a division of Chevron U.S.A. Inc., and Novvi LLC announced that they entered into an agreement to jointly develop and bring to market novel renewable base oil technologies. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation. One of the successor companies of Standard Oil, it is headquartered in San Ramon, California, and active in more than 180 countries. Chevron is engaged in every aspect of the oil, natural gas, and geothermal energy industries, including hydrocarbon exploration and production; refining, marketing and transport; chemicals manufacturing and sales; and power generation.
MRC