Citgo, Aruba reach deal to transfer control of refinery to island government

MOSCOW (MRC) -- U.S. refiner Citgo has reached an agreement with Aruba to transfer control of the San Nicolas refinery to the island’s government, Citgo said, after the two parties last year suspended a contract to overhaul the facility, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Citgo, a unit of Venezuelan state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela [PDVSA.UL], has been under the control of the South American country’s opposition for more than a year after Washington slapped sanctions on PDVSA in a bid to oust socialist President Nicolas Maduro.

That transition left the future of the 209,000 barrel-per-day refinery uncertain. Citgo and Aruba in 2016 reached a 25-year, USD685 million deal to refurbish and reopen the facility, which had been idled since 2012, but little progress has been made.

Citgo in a statement said the transfer agreement was the first step in a process that would result in the Aruba government taking full control of the refinery by March 16, following approval by the island’s parliament.

Aruba’s government has said it is looking for outside candidates to take over the refinery.

Citgo Petroleum Corporation, a separate entity, would continue to supply fuel to the island’s airport and gas stations, Citgo said.

As informed before, in May 2019, Citgo restarted larger reformer at its US Corpus Christi 52,000 bbl/day refinery with capacity 225,000 benzene; 180,000 toluene tonnes/year.

Benzene is a feedstock for the production of styrene monomer (SM), which, in its turn, is a feedstock for manufacturing polystyrene (PS).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated consumption of PS and styrene plastics was 46,260 tonnes in December 2019, up by 8% year on year. The estimated consumption of PS and styrene plastics totalled 500,660 tonnes in 2019, down by 1% year on year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil Chemical has completed the restart of its Fife ethylene plant at Mossmorran, Scotland, reported S&P Global with reference to a spokesman's statement Friday.

With its 830,000 mt/year of ethylene production capacity, the plant is one of Europe's largest petrochemical cracker sites.

It has returned to the market after a shutdown of almost six months due to planned and unplanned works since August.

"In re-starting equipment after an extended period, we took the time required to diligently test and re-test processes and safety procedures," the company said in its community announcement.

"While I am sure we would all have liked to have returned to production more quickly, we will never compromise the safety of our staff or the public," ExxonMobil said.

The restart adds to the a lengthy ethylene complex, especially along the Northwest European coast where the market has struggled on the coronavirus fallout impact on downstream demand with Asian exports opportunities also remaining closed, market sources said.

As MRC informed before, in September 2019, ExxonMobil announced plans to spend GBP140 million over the next two years in an additional investment program at its Fife ethylene plant, which has a capacity of more than 800,000 t/y.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,093,260 tonnes in 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments rose from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,260,400 tonnes in January-December 2019, up by 4% year on year. Supply of almost all grades of propylene polymers increased, except for statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers).

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) -- Showa Denko (SDK) received an award from Chairman of the Japan Business Federation for its used-plastic chemical recycling business, said the company.

This award is part of Fujisankei Communications Group’s 29th Grand Prize for the Global Environment Award, and recognizes contributions by the business toward reducing environmental burdens through low-carbon conversion to raw materials for chemicals and resource recycling.

A presentation ceremony will be held on April 8 at Meiji Kinenkan in Tokyo with the presence of Their Imperial Highnesses Crown Prince and Crown Princess Akishino.

SDK has been conducting the used-plastic chemical recycling business since 2003. At its Kawasaki Plant, used plastic collected from home is gasified by thermal decomposition to generate hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide from this process is used for production of carbon-based chemical products. Hydrogen is used as raw material for ammonia production, in fuel-cell vehicles, and for power generation at hotels using fuel cells. Thus, this business is contributing toward promotion of a low-carbon society.

While reducing CO2 emissions by avoiding incineration of used plastic, the business promotes resource recycling on land and reduces marine pollution by plastic.

As MRC informed earlier, Showa Denko K.K. (SDK) decided to establish its subsidiary’s second factory in Shanghai to produce high-purity gases for electronics.

As per MRC, Showa Denko K.K. in March 2018, it stopped production at a cracking unit in Oita (Oita, Japan) for preventive maintenance. Maintenance at this enterprise with a capacity of 691 thousand tons of ethylene per year continued until April 19, 2018.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,904,410 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments increased from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,161,830 tonnes in January-November 2019, up by 7% year on year. Deliveries of all grades of propylene polymers increased, with the homopolymer PP segment accounting for the largest increase.

Showa Denko K.K. Mainly engaged in the petrochemical business. The company's petrochemical division produces and markets industrial gases, olefins, organic chemicals, and others.
MRC

MOSCOSW (MRC) -- Chevron Corp asked about 300 British employees to work temporarily from home after an employee in its Canary Wharf office in London reported a flu-like illness, said the Financial Times.

Traders, exploration and refining unit staff were assigned to work remotely until test results can determine whether the worker has coronavirus, said a person familiar with the matter.

“Chevron continues to monitor the situation very closely, utilizing the guidance of international and local health authorities,” said a Chevron spokeswoman. "Our primary concern is the health and safety of our employees and we are taking precautionary measures to reduce their risk of exposure. It is our policy to not provide details of our employees."

The employee was sent for testing over the coming days to assess whether the virus was present, according to sources.

Chevron staff, including traders, downstream analysts and office staff, have been told to work from home until the test results are known.

The company said it would “continue to monitor the situation very closely, utilising the guidance of international and local health authorities” and it was “taking precautionary measures to reduce their risk of exposure”.

The company said it would not provide personal details of the employee. Chevron’s office is in Westferry Circus in Canary Wharf, a dense business district that is also the location of a host of banks including Citi, HSBC and Barclays. Its daily working population is about 120,000 people.

Only 13 people in the UK have tested positive for the coronavirus while more than 6,500 people have tested negative, said the Department of Health on Monday.

Italy has locked down 11 towns in northern provinces after the virus flared in the areas in recent days. The government said 11 people in the country had died from the coronavirus, with another case detected in one person in southern Italy.

More than 80,000 people globally have been confirmed infected with the coronavirus and more than 2,700 have died.

As MRC informed earlier, Chevron conducted a planned start-up at the fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit in Pasadena, Texas, US. Chevron conducted an air shutdown at the FCC unit on 17 February.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,093,260 tonnes in 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments rose from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,260,400 tonnes in January-December 2019, up by 4% year on year. Supply of almost all grades of propylene polymers increased, except for statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- World No. 1 oil producer Saudi Aramco has gained unconditional EU antitrust approval for its USD69 billion bid for a 70% stake in petrochemicals group Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), according to an EU filing, said Reuters.

Aramco announced the deal in March last year, a move key to its diversification into refining and petrochemicals.

The European Commission cleared the deal on Thursday, a filing on its site showed. Reuters reported on Feb. 21 that the deal was heading for unconditional EU clearance.

As MRC wrote earlier, in October 2019, McDermott International announced that it had been awarded a contract by Saudi Aramco and Total Raffinage Chimie (Total) for their joint venture (JV) Amiral steam cracker project at Jubail, Saudi Arabia. Amiral is a JV in which Aramco holds 62.5% and Total the rest. The plant, designed to produce 1.5 million metric tons/year (MMt/y) of ethylene, will be one of the world's largest mixed-feed crackers.

Aramco and Total launched their USD5-billion Amiral JV project in October 2018. The steam cracker will be fed with a mixture of 50% ethane and refinery off-gases. It will supply ethylene to a downstream 1 MMt/y polyethylene manufacturing complex and other petrochemical products. The project aims to fully exploit operational synergies with the adjacent refinery, owned by Satorp, another JV between Aramco and Total. Third-party investors, including Daelim and Ineos, will locate plants at the value park adjacent to Amiral with a combined investment of USD4 billion. A final investment decision is expected in 2021.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,093,260 tonnes in 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments rose from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,260,400 tonnes in January-December 2019, up by 4% year on year. Supply of almost all grades of propylene polymers increased, except for statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers).

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