Thaioil chooses SNOX air quality control for Sriracha refinery

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Thai Oil Public Company Limited (Thaioil) has signed an agreement for Topsoe’s SNOX solution to efficiently remove sulfur and nitrogen oxides and dust emissions from their Sriracha Refinery in the Chonburi province in the east of Thailand, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

This is part of Thaioil’s 5-billion-dollar Clean Fuel Project to produce cleaner transport fuels in a more environmentally friendly way. The project is expected to boost capacity from 275,000 to 400,000 barrels per day - while improving energy efficiency and the impact on the environment.

The agreement comprises proprietary equipment and catalyst supply for Haldor Topsoe's air quality control technology SNOX. This initiative to secure compliance with air emission regulations for a new energy recovery unit at the Sriracha Refinery is part of Thaioil’s Clean Fuel Project.

The Sriracha Refinery’s new energy recovery unit will use three parallel SNOX lines to remove sulfur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and dust from the new circulating fluidized bed boilers. Sulfur is recovered as commercial grade concentrated sulfuric acid and the nitrogen oxides are reduced to free nitrogen.

The SNOX process includes energy recovery by recycling of surplus heat to reduce energy consumption in the boilers. Another benefit of using SNOX in a refinery is that it can also handle additional sulfurous waste streams such as H2S gas, sour water stripper gas and Claus tail gas.

Thaioil has also chosen other Topsoe technologies and licenses for its new and environmentally friendly Sriracha Refinery, including hydrotreater.

We remind that, as MRC reported earlier, PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC), another major petrochemical producer in Thailand, fully restarted its No. 2 cracker in Map Ta Phut in early March, 2020, after a planned turnaround. The company started resuming operations at the cracker by end-February, 2020. The cracker was shut for maintenance on January 20, 2020. Located at Map Ta Phut, Thailand, the No. 2 cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 400,000 mt/year.

The company also operates No. 1 cracker at the same site with a capacity of 515,000 tonnes of ethylene and 310,000 tonnes of propylene per year, which was also shut on 23 January, 2020, for a 40-day turnaround.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, estimated PE consumption totalled 383,760 tonnes in the first two month of 2020, up by 14% year on year. High density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments increased due to the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 192,760 tonnes in January-February 2020, down by 6% year on year. Homopolymer PP accounted for the main decrease in imports.
MRC

Brazil gasoline, ethanol sales down 30-35% amid coronavirus

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brazilian fuel distributor Petrobras Distribuidora SA, better known by its BR Distribuidora brand name, has seen demand for gasoline and ethanol plummet during the new coronavirus outbreak, its chief executive officer told Reuters.

CEO Rafael Grisolia said the company’s sales for those fuels initially fell 60% after the arrival of the disease in Brazil, and in recent days has recovered slightly with demand down 30-35%, compared to levels prior to the outbreak.

As MRC informed earlier, Brazilian imports of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) products were up 22.3% in January compared to a year earlier, at 37,661 mt. The imports were valued at USD34.37 million FOB. In January 2019, the 30,803 mt imported were valued at USD28.01 million FOB.

As per MRC"s DataScope report, last month"s SPVC imports into the Ukrainian market decreased to 3,700 tonnes from 4,200 tonnes in February, plastic products producers fell in purchases, including due to the spread of coronavirus. Overall SPVC imports reached 11,500 tonnes in January-March 2020, compared to 11,300 tonnes a year earlier. The high level of capacity utilisation and the steady demand for polymer from foreign markets helped the Ukrainian producer to seriously increase export volumes.
MRC

Saudi Aramco offers struggling refiners sweeter terms for crude

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Aramco has offered oil refineries in Asia and Europe the option to defer payments for crude cargo deliveries by up to 90 days as plants struggle with shrinking demand, reported Reuters with reference to refining industry sources.

The credit terms, which Saudi Arabia’s national oil company has offered through unnamed Saudi banks, are also seen as part of the country’s efforts to increase its market share, the sources told Reuters.

Aramco “are asking us to amend our existing agreement to include a bill of exchange which will give you basically an opportunity to pay through a bank in 90 days time,” one source at an Asian refiner said.

Under the terms, Aramco will receive the payment for the cargoes from the same bank within 21 days of shipment, he said.

Saudi Aramco declined to comment.

The new terms, offered to at least four refiners in Asia and Europe, could alleviate the short-term financial burden for refineries, which have struggled with a collapse in oil demand around the world due to coronavirus-related movement restrictions.

They will however lead to overall higher costs due to more expensive financing terms, according to sources at the refineries.

As a result, at least three refineries have rejected the terms, the sources said.

“It is... useful for people who are actually looking at rolling or rotating money (but) it comes at a cost. We are actually trying to reduce our overall cost,” the first source said.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, along with Russia and other oil producers - a group known as OPEC+ - last week joined with other producing countries, including the United States, for an agreement which is set to remove a total of around 19.5 million barrels per day (bpd) from the market in the face of the demand collapse.

The agreement followed a sharp drop in oil prices to below USD20 a barrel after Saudi Arabia and Russia launched a price war to try to increase their market share after ending a four-year production cut deal.

“Following the OPEC+ deal, Saudi’s agenda remains broadly intact in as far as maintaining pressure on U.S. and international oil companies while continuing its passive-aggressive price war with other producers,” said Christyan Malek, JPMorgan’s top European oil and gas analyst.

As MRC informed before, Saudi Aramco will continue reducing operations at its local refineries in April and May to boost the state energy company’s potential to export crude oil, a company official said in March.

We also remind that 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, estimated PE consumption totalled 383,760 tonnes in the first two month of 2020, up by 14% year on year. High density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments increased due to the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 192,760 tonnes in January-February 2020, down by 6% year on year. Homopolymer PP accounted for the main decrease in imports.

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

Carbios and TechnipFMC to build demonstration plant for depolymerization of waste PET plastics to monomers

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Carbios (Euronext Growth Paris: ALCRB) and TechnipFMC, announced that TechnipFMC’s operating center in Lyon, France will be assisting Carbios to build a plant that demonstrates Carbios’ Enzymatic Recycling Process, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The technology uses proprietary enzymes to recycle waste PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastics into monomers ready for repolymerization into PET with the same technical and physical properties as virgin PET. This collaboration is an important step in the demonstration of the technology and potential future commercialization.
TechnipFMC will provide advisory, engineering, procurement and construction supervision services for this plant, which will be located close to Lyon. Construction will start later this year with first operations expected to begin in 2021.

Alain Francois, Managing Director of TechnipFMC’s Lyon office, said "We are pleased to work with Carbios to demonstrate their plastic recycling technology. This collaboration recognizes our technological know-how and leading-edge approach to commercializing new processes, as well as underlining our ambition to provide services in the field of sustainability and the circular economy."

Jean-Claude Lumaret, CEO of Carbios, noted “Carbios’ collaboration with TechnipFMC has been very successful over the past few years and we are delighted to extend this valuable partnership to the construction of our demonstration plant. This agreement, which will leverage both parties’ expertise, supports our common vision to enhance the sustainability of the plastic industry. Carbios’ technology has proven to be a superior process that efficiently recycles all PET-based plastics. To ensure its implementation at large-scale, it is key for operators to gain insights into operational conditions. Our collaboration with TechnipFMC aims to address this need through a demonstration plant."

As per MRC's ScanPlast report, the estimated PET consumption in Russia increased in January 2020 by 9% year on year. Totally, Russia recycled 55,390 tonnes of PET chips in January (excluding shipments of Russian material to the countries of the Customs Union). Russia's PET chips production totalled 43,200 tonnes in January 2020.
MRC

Sinopec boosts refineries Apr crude run by 8% from March

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China's Sinopec increased its April utilization rate by about eight percentage points from March as more and more of its refineries raised crude runs to levels that were reported prior to the spread of COVID-19, a survey by S&P Global showed.

As a result, China's throughput is likely to hit 12.5 million b/d in April, or 90% of the level achieved in January, after falling by about 3.3 million b/d in February, Platts data showed.

The survey saw 16 refineries - accounting for 68% of Sinopec's total refining capacity - lift their combination run rate to 80% in April, from the 72% polled in March and 64% in February, closing in on January's rate of about 89% when the country had yet to be put under complete lockdown following the outbreak of the coronavirus.

Seven of the polled Sinopec refineries raised their April operating rates to the level recorded in January and December. In contrast, only two had done so in March.

Except for the Zangzhou refinery in central China, the rest of these seven refineries are along the developed coastal regions in the south and east of China, where demand rose at a faster pace than in the north and the landlocked west, where PetroChina's refineries are located.

Almost all the surveyed refineries saw an increase in April planned throughput, than in March, as gasoil and gasoline demand rose with the resumption of economic activity and as the number of fresh COVID-19 cases plateaued in China.

Even the 260,000 b/d Gaoqiao Petrochemical in Shanghai, which had shut its No.3 FCC in April for maintenance, lifted its planned crude run slightly to 73% in April from 72% in March.

Meanwhile, the 170,000 b/d Sinopec-SK Wuhan Petrochemical hiked its utilization rate by two percentage points on the month to 61% in April as Wuhan city is no longer under lockdown since early this month.

Only the flagship 460,000 b/d Zhenhai Petrochemical in eastern China Ningbo reduced its April crude run to 65.6%, from 75% in March, as it has shut a 160,000 b/d CDU for maintenance.

However, throughput recovery is likely to be capped as the outlets for export of oil products are limited in light of lockdowns across the world, which has sapped global demand, a Shandong-based Sinopec refiner said.

Its peer, PetroChina, has cut a combination run rate in six refineries to 60% in April from 63.3% in March and 65% in February, with the heaviest reductions from the exporting PetroChina plants, Platts report previously.

Independent refineries in Shandong province raised their average run rate to over 60% this week and are expected to up this to 70% by the end of this month, Platts reported.

Platts will publish the final April throughput survey for about 19 of Sinopec's refineries, 17 of PetroChina's and one CNOOC refinery later this month.

We remind that, as MRC wrote before, Sinopec Qilu Petrochemical, a subsidiary of Sinopec Corporation, plans to shut the cracker unit in Tianjin in northeast China for scheduled repairs on 15 June, 2020. This cracking unit with a capacity of 900,000 tonnes of ethylene per year and 480,000 tonnes of propylene tons per year will be closed for scheduled repairs until 24 June, 2020.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, estimated PE consumption totalled 383,760 tonnes in the first two month of 2020, up by 14% year on year. High density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments increased due to the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 192,760 tonnes in January-February 2020, down by 6% year on year. Homopolymer PP accounted for the main decrease in imports.

Sinopec corp. is one of the world's largest integrated energy and chemical companies. Business Sinopec Corp. includes oil and gas exploration, production and transportation of oil and gas, oil refining, petrochemical production, production of mineral fertilizers and other chemical products. In terms of refining capacity, Sinopec Corp. ranks second in the world, in terms of ethylene capacity - fourth.
MRC