Massive blaze erupts at Pertamina oil refinery in Balongan

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Firefighters in Indonesia are working to put out a massive fire that has broken out at one of the country's largest oil refineries, reported BBC.

The fire broke out at the Balongan refinery, run by state oil firm Pertamina, at 00:45 local time on Monday (17:45 GMT Sunday).

At least five people are injured and around 950 residents have been evacuated to safety. A handful of people have been reported missing.

According to the regional disaster management agency, five people were being treated in hospital for serious burns with another 15 with minor burns.

The Balongan Refinery is one of Indonesia's largest refineries and also one of its most crucial, as it feeds fuel and petrochemicals to the greater Jakarta area.

Questions have now been raised on how this incident will affect plastics and chemicals businesses and factories, though Pertamina has told the public that "fuel delivery to the public is undisturbed and currently still ongoing".

Pertamina said the cause of the fire was unknown, but that it started during heavy rain and lightning.

In a press conference later on Monday, the firm said the fire had not damaged the refinery's processing capabilities and that operations could hopefully return to normal in the next five days.

The fire was focused on the refinery tanks, with no damage to the processing plant, said Reuters, citing Pertamina Chief Executive Officer Nicke Widyawati.

The oil firm also said it was shutting down the refinery and conducting "oil flow control" to prevent any further spread.

The Balongan refinery, which is located approximately 200km (125 miles) east of the capital Jakarta and measures at least 340 hectares, can process 125,000 barrels per day.

As MRC informed before, PT Pertamina shut its cracker in Indonesia for maintenance works from 18 March, 2020. This cracker with a production capacity of 578,000 tons remained off-stream until 18 April 2020.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 241,030 tonnes in January 2021 versus 217,890 tonnes a year earlier. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 141,870 tonnes in January 2021 versus 123,520 tonnes a year earlier. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.

Pertamina is an Indonesian state-owned oil and natural gas corporation based in Jakarta. It was created in August 1968 by the merger of Pertamin (established 1961) and Permina (established 1957). Pertamina is the world's largest producer and exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Hyundai Engineering Co. Ltd. will construct of a petrochemical complex in the Kambarsky district of Udmurtia, which is planned to be launched by Udmurt Petrochemical Company LLC in 2023, said the Minister of Construction and Trade of the Republic Viktor Lashkarev to reporters.

"Petrochemical complex -" Udmurt Petrochemical Company "will be its investor, with the involvement of a syndicate of banks. Production volume - up to 2 mln tonnes of processing raw materials, investment volume - up to EUR3 bn euros," V. Lashkarev said.

"We plan to carry out design work on the construction of the complex during 2021-2022 and, accordingly, start its construction in 2023," the minister added. He specified that the complex will be engaged in the processing of oil raw materials, the production of polyethylene, polypropylene, aromatic hydrocarbons and products of their deep processing.

V. Lashkarev said that it will be a new site. In October 2019, the head of Udmurtia, Alexander Brechalov, signed an order on the allocation of 335 hectares and 85 hectares of land plots to Udmurt Petrochemical Company LLC in the Kambara region of the republic. The document said that it was planned to build a complex for the processing of oil raw materials and the production of polyethylene, polypropylene, aromatic hydrocarbons and products of their deep processing with a volume of 2 mln tonnes per year at these sites.

Earlier it was reported that on 29 May 2020, representatives of Hyundai Engineering, the state-owned Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corporationt (KIND), Poland's largest chemical enterprise Grupa Azoty and the Lotos refinery signed an agreement on joint investment of $733.3 mln in the construction of the plant for the production of polypropylene. It is noted that South Korean companies are investing USD130 mln in this project.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 241,030 tonnes in January 2021 versus 217,890 tonnes a year earlier. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 141,870 tonnes in January 2021 versus 123,520 tonnes a year earlier. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.

Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Dangjin, South Korea, Hyundai Engineering Plastics Co., Ltd. develops, manufactures and supplies various engineering plastics both to the South Korean market and to other global markets. Among the manufactured products are such polymers as PP, PE, PS and PET compounds, elastotemoplastics, binders based on ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), etc.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sinopec posted a 42.4% decline in net profit last year as the coronavirus pandemic hit demand and caused sharp falls in petrochemical prices, said Reuters.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, better known as Sinopec, plans a 23.8% increase in capital spending to 167.2 billion yuan in 2021 following recovery of oil prices and energy demand as the COVID-19 epidemic subsided.

Sinopec expects to spend 66.8 billion yuan on upstream exploration focusing on shale gas development in southwest China and construction of liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in coastal areas, up from 56.4 billion yuan last year.

The company on Sunday also reported a 42.9% drop in net profit to 32.92 billion yuan last year, the lowest since 2015, as the pandemic dented fuel consumption amid months-long lockdowns.

In That just beat analysts’ forecast for net profit of 32.3 billion yuan, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

In 2020, Sinopec’s crude oil throughput fell 4.7% from a year earlier to 236.91 million tonnes, with gasoline and diesel output down 7.7% and 4.3%, respectively, while kerosene production plunged 34.6%.

Its crude oil production was 280.22 million barrels in 2020, down 1.4% year-on-year, and natural gas output at 1,072.3 billion cubic feet, was up 2.3% from 2019.

As per MRC, Sinopec Maoming Petrochemical Company, part of Sinopec, has delayed the turnaround at its No. 2 low density polyethylene (LDPE) unit in Guangdong, China until 24 March. Initially the company intended to take off-stream its 250,000 tons/year No. 2 LDPE unit on 15 March, 2021. However, Sinopec Maoming Petrochemical decided to delay the shutdown slighlty. The outage is expected to last for 63 days.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, January estimated LDPE consumption in Russia grew to 61,210 tonnes from 43,090 tonnes a year earlier. Russian producers increased their capacity utilisation, and export LDPE shipments decreased. Russia's estimated LDPE consumption was about 563,730 tonnes in 2020, up by 1% year on year.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mura Technology, the UK-based technology company, has announced that construction has started on the world’s first commercial-scale plant to use its revolutionary “hydrothermal” process, able to recycle all forms of plastic waste and provide the raw ingredients for a sustainable circular plastic economy, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

HydroPRS (Hydrothermal Plastic Recycling Solution) is a revolutionary advanced recycling process designed to tackle plastic that cannot currently be recycled and instead ends up polluting the natural environment.

The first plant to use the technology has begun construction in Teesside, UK, to be operational in 2022 and able to process 80,000 tonnes of plastic waste per year. It will form the blueprint for a rapid global rollout that will see one million tonnes of capacity in development worldwide by 2025 – equivalent to nearly half the plastic packaging waste produced in the UK each year. Sites are planned in Germany, the US and Asia.

Mura’s proprietary HydroPRS™ process uses supercritical steam to convert plastics back into the oils and chemicals they were made from, ready to be used for new virgin-grade plastic products. It can recycle all forms of plastic – including ‘unrecyclable’ products such as multi-layer, flexible plastics used in packaging – with no limit to the number of times the same material can be recycled. This means it has the potential to eliminate single use plastic and make the raw ingredients for a circular plastics economy, creating value, not waste.

Global plastic production also creates an estimated 390m tonnes of CO2 every year – equivalent to over 172m cars.It accounts for 6% of global oil consumption today and is set to increase to 20% by 2050.[xi] Advanced recycling processes reduce the need for fossil fuel extraction for virgin plastics. In addition, they can save approximately 1.5 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of plastic recycled compared to incineration.[xii] On completion, the Teesside plant has the potential to eliminate up to 120,000 tonnes of CO2 per year, compared to incineration of the same plastic waste.

As per MRC, Russia's output of chemical products rose in February 2021 by 5.3% year on year. Thus, production of basic chemicals increased year on year by 7.5% in the first two months of 2021. According to the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, mineral fertilizers accounted for the greatest increase in the January-February output.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 241,030 tonnes in January 2021 versus 217,890 tonnes a year earlier. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 141,870 tonnes in January 2021 versus 123,520 tonnes a year earlier. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Lummus Technology entered into a Distributor Agreement with Saudi ICON Oil & Gas (ICON), a subsidiary of Salem Balhamer Holding, one of The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s leading industrial conglomerates, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The agreement is for heat transfer opportunities in KSA, and will leverage the strengths of both companies. The agreement is designed to create heat transfer opportunities in KSA, and has the opportunity to strengthen Lummus’ competitiveness and client engagement in KSA.

Under the agreement, Both companies will leverage expertise, capabilities, local knowledge and local resources. ICON will offer the deep knowledge of the local industry and construction experience in The Kingdom. Lummus will offer heat transfer equipment expertise, engineering, design and supply chain capabilities, as well as Lummus’ legacy and brand name.

"Our agreement with ICON enhances our competitiveness and client engagement in KSA, and more broadly, it strengthens our position in The Middle East,” said Fadi Mhaini, Managing Director of Lummus’ Middle East Region. “This is a critical and growing market for petrochemicals, and as a result, it is critical for Lummus to capitalize on these opportunities."

"With ICON, we are partnering with a company that has in-depth relationships with clients and potential clients in The Kingdom’s market,” said Rutger Theunissen, Vice President of Lummus Heat Transfer (LHT). “And like Lummus, ICON has the drive and entrepreneurial spirit to play a key role in KSA’s petrochemical industry."

Asc per MRC, Lummus Technology will design and supply 14 cracking furnaces for the Baltic Chemical Plant (BCP) for the gas chemical complex under construction in Ust-Luga, Russia. The contract for the design and supply of SRT VI furnaces was concluded under the EPC contract with the EPC contractor of the project - China National Chemical Engineering & Construction Corporation Seven, Ltd. (CC7).

Besides, Lummus Technology has announced an award for its ethylbenzene technology from a customer in Jiangsu Province, China. Once complete, the unit will produce 508,000 tonnes/year of ethylbenzene via the EBOne technology.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 241,030 tonnes in January 2021 versus 217,890 tonnes a year earlier. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 141,870 tonnes in January 2021 versus 123,520 tonnes a year earlier. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased

Lummus Technology is a master licensor of proprietary technologies in refining, petrochemicals, gas processing and coal gasification sectors, as well as a supplier of proprietary catalysts, equipment and related engineering services. It has about 130 licensed technologies and more than 3,400 patents and trademarks.
MRC