ExxonMobil and SABIC reach mechanical completion of MEG and two PE plants in Texas

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil and SABIC have announced that their joint venture, Gulf Coast Growth Ventures located near Corpus Christi, Texas, has reached mechanical completion of a monoethylene glycol (MEG) unit and two polyethylene (PE) units, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Project startup is expected to begin ahead of schedule, likely in the fourth quarter of 2021.

“Gulf Coast Growth Ventures is a key development of our plan to serve growing demand for our high value performance products,” said Karen McKee, president of ExxonMobil Chemical Company. “This is truly a best-in-class project, as demonstrated in schedule acceleration and cost competitiveness, despite the many challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“We are very proud to bring GCGV one step closer to operations,” said Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh, SABIC’s executive vice president of petrochemicals. “Not only are we ahead of schedule, but we have executed this project with the highest commitment and emphasis on safety with nearly 18 million safe person-hours worked, all while acting on the promises we made to the community when we started this journey four years ago.”

The project, which includes a 1.8 million metric ton ethane steam cracker, is expected to be delivered under budget and approximately 25% less than the average cost of similar projects along the US Gulf Coast. When completed, GCGV will produce 1,100 kilotons of MEG and 1,300 kilotons of PE per year.

As MRC wrote previously, a little more than two years after announcing it had selected San Patricio County as the site for its new ethylene cracker plant, ExxonMobil and Saudi Basic Industries Corp. celebrated the groundbreaking for the new facility (September 2019).

MEG is commonly used in the manufacturing of polyesters and automotive coolants, and as a building block to create various forms of high-performance plastics. PE is commonly used in protective film, packaging and bottles and containers that prolong the shelf-life of food and medicines, as well as in various automotive parts that improve fuel efficiency and performance, and in medical applications.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 953,400 tonnes in the first five months of 2021, which virtually corresponded to the same figure a year earlier. High denisty polyethylene (HDPE) shipments decreased.

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.

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) ranks among the world's top petrochemical companies. The company is among the world's market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- TotalEnergies (formerly Total), through its Belgian subsidiary Lampiris, has signed a corporate power purchase agreement with Air Liquide for the supply of 50 GWh/year of renewable electricity for 15 years, reported S&P Global with reference to the company's statement July 26.

TotalEnergies will source the power from an offshore wind farm in the Belgian North Sea, it said in a statement.
Air Liquide will use the electricity to power industrial and medical gas production sites in Belgium, avoiding around 270,000 mt of CO2 emissions over the course of the contract, TotalEnergies said.

"A growing number of companies are shifting to renewable energy, and we want to support them on their path towards carbon neutrality," TotalEnergies senior vice president renewables Julien Pouget said. "There is a dynamic market for corporate PPAs in Europe, and we want TotalEnergies to take a strong leadership position."

TotalEnergies signed several other corporate PPAs earlier in 2021 with Orange, Microsoft and Merck.

The company had 7 GW of renewable energy generation in operation at the end of 2020, of a total 12 GW power generation capacity. It aims to have 35 GW of renewable production capacity by 2025, rising to 100 GW by 2030.

As MRC informed before, earlier this month, Air Liquide, Borealis, Esso S.A.F., TotalEnergies and Yara International ASA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore the development of a CO2 infrastructure including capture and storage, to help decarbonize the industrial basin located in the Normandy region, France.

Besides, in June 2021, TotalEnergies and Novatek signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly work on sustainable reductions of the CO emission resulting from the production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) including with the use of renewable power, to develop large-scale carbon capture and storage solutions (CCS) and to explore new opportunities for developing decarbonized hydrogen and ammonia.

TotalEnergies is a broad energy company that produces and markets energies on a global scale: oil and biofuels, natural gas and green gases, renewables, and electricity. Its 105,000 employees are committed to energy that is ever more affordable, clean, reliable and accessible to as many people as possible. Active in more than 130 countries, TotalEnergies puts sustainable development in all its dimensions at the heart of its projects and operations to contribute to the well-being of people.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. announces that its subsidiary Tecnimont S.p.A. has been awarded a contract by Repsol for the realization of a polypropylene (PP) Unit and a linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) unit on an EPC (Engineering Procurement and Construction) Lump Sum Turn-Key basis, as part of Repsol’s expansion of Sines Industrial Complex in Portugal, as per Maire Tecnimont's press release.

The total contract value is approximately EUR430 million. The project scope of work entails complete engineering services, equipment and material supply, installation and construction activities and, as an optional part of the scope, commissioning and start up.

The project completion is expected by 2025.

The new PP and LLDPE units, which represent the largest industrial investment in Portugal in the last ten years, will have a capacity of 300,000 tons per year each and will be located inside Repsol’s industrial complex in Sines, Portugal.

The technologies applied in both units will guarantee maximum energy efficiency and will be the first of their kind to be implemented in the Iberian Peninsula, making the Sines Industrial Complex one of the most advanced in Europe due to its flexibility and high degree of integration.

As MRC wrote previously, Repsol shut down its cracker in Tarragona (Spain) for maintenance in the fourth quarter of 2019. The turnaround at this steam cracker, which produces 702,000 mt/year of ethylene and 372,000 mt/year of propylene, was pushed back from Q3 2019. The exact dates of maintenance works were not disclosed.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 953,400 tonnes in the first five months of 2021, which virtually corresponded to the same figure a year earlier. High denisty polyethylene (HDPE) shipments decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 607,8900 tonnes in January-May 2021, up by 33% year on year. Shipments of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas deliveries of PP random copolymers decreased.

Maire Tecnimont S.p.A., listed on the Milan Stock Exchange, heads an industrial group which leads the global natural resource conversion market (downstream oil & gas plant engineering, with technological and executive expertise). Its subsidiary NextChem operates in the field of green chemicals and technologies in support of the energy transition. The Maire Tecnimont Group operates in approx. 45 countries, through approx. 50 operative companies and about 9,000 people. For further information:

Repsol is a global multi-energy company established in Spain and listed on the Spanish Stock Exchange for 25 years. Its products are distributed in nearly 100 countries to around 24 million customers. Repsol Industrial Complex in Sines is the largest chemical site in Portugal.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Total Petrochemicals & Refining USA, the US petrochemical major, has announced an increase of its polypropylene (PP) prices for August shipments in North America, the company said in letters to customers seen by S&P Global.

Thus, the price rise, effective 1 August, 2021, will be by 5 cent/lb or USD100/tonne or as current contracts allow.

The present price increase is in addition to any change in monomer pricing, Total said July 16.

As MRC reported earlier, Total Petrochemicals and Refining USA restarted all of its three PP units in La Porte as of 17 June 2021. At the same time, the force majeure (FM) at this plant with an annual capacity of 1.15 million tons/year remained in place as the company attempts to stabilize operating rates and build inventories ahead of the hurricane season. Total Petrochemical declared FM on its PP output after an abrupt loss of electricity supply during a severe weather condition.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market were 607,8900 tonnes in January-May 2021, up by 33% year on year. Shipments of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas deliveries of PP random copolymers decreased.

Total is a major energy player, which produces and markets fuels, natural gas and low-carbon electricity. Our 100,000 employees are committed to better energy that is safer, more affordable, cleaner and accessible to as many people as possible. Active in more than 130 countries, our ambition is to become the responsible energy major.
MRC

1. India refiners June crude processing bridled by virus curbs

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indian refiners' crude throughput in June was little changed from the previous month when it fell to multi-month lows as a severe second wave of coronavirus restrained demand, forcing refiners to reduce runs, said Reuters. Refiners processed 4.50 million barrels per day (18.4 million tonnes) of crude oil in June, provisional government data showed on Friday. This compares with 4.49 million barrels per day (bpd) processed in May, which was the lowest since October 2020. Crude oil imports also fell to a 9-month low in June as refiners curtailed purchases amid higher fuel inventories due to low consumption and renewed lockdowns in the previous two months, data obtained from trade sources showed.


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