Enterprise Products shut Texas PDH unit following leakage

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Enterprise Products Partners reported flaring at its propane dehydration, or PDH, unit in Mont Belvieu, Texas, reported S&P Global with reference to the company's statement in a filing to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, or TCEQ.

According to the filing made public Aug. 10, the 750,000 mt/year PDH unit was shut down following a leak on Aug. 9.

Sources confirmed on Aug. 10 that the unit was offline, but did not give an estimated timeframe of when the unit is expected to come back online.

As MRC informed previously, Enterprise Product Partners' PDH unit in Mont Belvieu was taken off-line for a turnaround in early February. Thus, the PDH unit was shut for scheduled maintenance on Feb. 1 for approximately six weeks. This PDH unit has the capacity of 750,000 mt/y of propylene.

Propylene is the main feedstock for the production of polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. is an American midstream natural gas and crude oil pipeline company with headquarters in Houston, Texas. It acquired GulfTerra in September 2004. The company ranked No. 105 in the 2018 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- An oil spill off Russia's Black Sea coast over the weekend spread over an area of nearly 80 square kilometres and was much larger than initially thought, reported Reuters with reference to the statement of scientists at Russia's Academy of Sciences (RAN) that cited satellite imaging.

A leak occurred as the Greek-flagged Minerva Symphony tanker took on oil at the Yuzhno-Ozereyevka sea terminal near Novorossiysk in southern Russia, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium that owns the terminal said on Monday.

The consortium, which transports oil from Kazakhstan, said on Monday the spill had spread over 200 square metres and involved 12 cubic metres of oil. It said the spill was quickly contained and posed no threat to people or wildlife.

But on Wednesday, RAN's space research institute said a satellite image taken on Sunday and studied by two RAN scientists showed the leak had covered a much bigger area.

"The oil slick stretched from the shore into the open sea over a distance of 19 kilometres on Aug. 8," said the company.

The CPC consortium did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

As MRC wrote earlier, in June 2021, Taiwan's state-owned refiner CPC Corp started cleaning up an offshore oil spill caused by a pipeline that cracked during the discharging of oil from a vessel at its Talin refinery. The oil leak occurred on Tuesday, 22 June, at 2:18 a.m. (1818 GMT) and was likely caused by bad weather, the company said in a statement. CPC immediately halted oil discharge following the incident.

We remind that in January, 2021, CPC Corp bought a piece of land in Kaohsiung on which it plans to build a new naphtha cracker to replace its No. 4 cracker at a cost of NTD82.3 billion (USD2.94 billion). CPC's No. 4 cracker in Kaohsiung's Linyuan District has been in operation for 37 years and has an annual ethylene production capacity of 380,000 metric tons, which cannot meet the demand of its customers, CPC spokesman Chang Ray-chung said then.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,176,860 tonnes in the first half of 2021, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mammoet has executed its first operation using low-carbon HVO fuel. The operation, to transport two topsides, is another step towards more sustainable operations for the world’s leading heavy lifting and transportation company, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

In the past, Mammoet’s worldwide fleet has run on conventional diesel. With new diesel products entering the market, Mammoet has been at the forefront of adoption of these new fuels, embracing the benefits they bring for the environment. This began in 2015 with its fleet in the Netherlands moving to GTL fuel, which emits fewer particulates.

This latest development involves the use of low-carbon HVO in Mammoet’s SPMT powerpacks. HVO is an alternative to traditional diesel, made primarily from waste and residues, such as waste cooking oil. Because this diesel is both derived from renewables and reduces waste it is considered 90% carbon free. It also gives off fewer direct exhaust emissions, including a reduction in nitrogen oxides.

Since 1984, when Mammoet and Scheuerle jointly launched the first SPMT, Mammoet has led the industry in new technologies and ways of working. When launched, the SPMT had a significant impact on the way construction and maintenance projects in heavy industries are executed. More recently, the partnership with Scheuerle has led to a number of developments in more sustainable trailer technology such as the Trailer Power Assist and an electric SPMT power pack, currently in its testing phase.

Mammoet is working to improve sustainability across its business, by lowering its own carbon footprint and also supporting and enabling heavy renewable energy projects. The use of HVO fuel to power the SPMT transport for HSM Offshore is a further demonstration of Mammoet’s commitment to leading the field in more sustainable operations.

As MRC informed previously, tasked by company Grupa Azoty ((Tarnow, Poland), one of the main players on the European fertilizer and chemical market, Mammoet has recently completed the first scope of work that will lead to the construction of the propane dehydrogenation and polypropylene (PDH/PP) blocks of its client’s chemical facility. The project took place in the town of Police, in the northwest of Poland, and involved the lifting and transport of more than 480 items from a small port to the construction site six kilometers away.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Jinneng Science & Technology Co Ltd is planning to start up its new propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant by mid-August 2021, according to CommoPlast with reference to market sources.

Based in Shandong, China, the company has a 900,000 tons/year PDH unit and two polypropylene (PP) lines each with 450,000 tons/year.

Market sources reported that Qingdao Jinneng Science & Technology Co has conducted trial production on its new PDH and PP plants and successfully produced prime cargoes recently.

As MRC informed earlier, initially, the company planned to launch these units with in April last year. Construction was delayed due to longer-than-expected land-use permit procedures, the company said.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

Located in the Industrial Park of Qihe County (Shandong Province, China), Jinneng Science and Technology Company, Limited is an energy-focused high-tech industrial enterprise based on the production and distribution of fine chemical products and coal chemical products with total assets of 4 billion RMB (USD640 million) and over 3,000 employees. The company was founded in 1998.
MRC

1. US crude production to decrease less in 2021 than previously forecast

MOSCOW (MRC) -- US crude oil production is expected to fall by 160,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2021 to 11.12 million bpd, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a monthly report, a smaller decline than its previous forecast for a drop of 210,000 bpd, reported Reuters. Oil prices have rebounded from the historic lows seen last year, prompting some US producers to boost drilling activity. The total US rig count has more than doubled since falling to a record low in August last year. The EIA said it expects production to be relatively flat through October before beginning to rise in November and December and throughout 2022.

MRC