Saudi Aramco awards service contract to Worley for its Ras Tanura refinery

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Worley has been awarded a services contract for a residue upgrade project at Aramco’s Ras Tanura refinery, as per Worley's press release.

The project will convert low-value refinery residue into higher-value products including gasoline, jet fuel and ultra-low sulfur diesel.

Under the contract, Worley will provide early front-end engineering design (pre-FEED), front-end engineering design (FEED) and project management services for the entire project. These services cover upgrades to the atmospheric and vacuum gas oil from the crude distillation unit, and an upgrade to the atmospheric gas oil from the Khuff condensate unit.

Advisian, Worley’s consulting business, led the front-end conceptual studies evaluating multiple process configurations. This included the development of cost estimates for possible options, integration of technology licensors, and optimization of existing brownfield assets.

“Worley has a long-standing relationship with Aramco and this important project builds on our extensive experience at the Ras Tanura refinery,” said Mark Brantley, President of Europe, Middle East and Africa at Worley. “We will combine our global refining and in-kingdom engineering and project management expertise to continue delivering sustainable operations to Aramco, while also remaining committed to upskilling our Saudi workforce.”

As MRC wrote before, Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), said in June 2021 that he expects the company's deal with Saudi Aramco to materialise this year. RIL had in 2019 announced its interest to sell 20% stake in the company’s flagship chemicals and refining business to Saudi Aramco in a deal valued at USD15 billion. Last fiscal, RIL carved out its oil-to-chemicals business into a separate entity, to facilitate on boarding of strategic partners like Aramco.

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 1,396,960 tonnes in January-July 2021, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 841,990 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, up by 29% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

Saudi Aramco, officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a Saudi Arabian national oil and natural gas company based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco's value has been estimated at up to USD10 trillion in the Financial Times, making it the world"s most valuable company. Saudi Aramco has both the largest proven crude oil reserves, at more than 260 billion barrels, and largest daily oil production.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Britain threw refiner Essar Oil UK a lifeline with a phased tax payment deal, allowing it to keep producing just as the country struggles with motorists draining petrol stations in a panic-driven buying frenzy, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Essar Oil (EOUK), which runs the 200,000 barrel-per-day Stanlow refinery, had been in talks with HM Revenues & Customs (HMRC) over extending a January deadline to repay hundreds of millions of pounds in deferred taxes. "With this time to pay arrangement, we now have significant runway to stabilise our balance sheet which has been adversely impacted by the pandemic," EOUK's Chief Financial Officer Satish Vasooja said in a statement.

Britain, which is preparing to hold the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow in November, has seen drivers snarled in queues to fill their tanks and dozens of forecourts closed, with fuel prices reaching record levels. "The improved environment around margins gives us the confidence to continue to serve as one of the UK key fuel suppliers with a 16% market share," Vasooja added.

A post-Brexit shortage of truck drivers, exacerbated by a halt to truck-driving-licence testing during COVID lockdowns and people leaving the haulage industry, has sown chaos through supply chains, raising the spectre of shortages and price rises.

Essar Oil has said it still needed to pay 223 million pounds ($305 million) to HMRC by January. It said the new deal with HMRC was designed to fit with its revenues.

"Road fuel sales volumes from EOUK’s Stanlow, Northampton and Kingsbury terminals over the last weekend (25—26 September) were up 22% against a "normal" weekend (pre-Covid)," Essar said as many petrol stations saw long queues.

As per MRC, Essar Oil (UK) Ltd resumed a cracking unit at its Stanlow facility, which had previously been shut down due to a power outage. This cracking unit with a capacity of 45,000 tonnes of ethylene and 165,000 tonnes of propylene was shut down on 11 September, 2019 due to a power failure.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,396,960 tonnes in January-July 2021, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 841,990 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, up by 29% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Aramco has allocated full-term crude volumes to most Asia-Pacific refiners, with some buyers seeking incremental volumes to take advantage of the recent sharp cuts in official selling prices, sources at refineries in China, Japan, Malaysia and India told S&P Global Oct. 11.

Refiners in the region are expecting to receive full-term nominations following a cut in official selling prices as well as producers adding more crude supplies to the market, the sources said.

"Demand increase versus incremental, if Saudi and AG producers give enough to cover demand increase, market wont get support (and) vice versa," a crude oil trader in Singapore said.

Earlier this month, OPEC and its allies stuck to their original plan to increase crude oil production in November by just 400,000 b/d at the Oct. 4 meeting.

Oil prices have been on the rise amid stronger winter season demand, further boosted by spiralling gas and coal prices.

Though full allocations could sap spot appetite, stronger demand from key economies such as China, Japan and India may sustain momentum when trade commences this month, trade sources said.

"Saudi allocation will keep the spot market in a reasonable range, but the risk is demand, such as RongSheng tender, demand maybe very good this month," another crude oil trader in Singapore said.

As MRC reported earlier, Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), said in June 2021 he expects the company's deal with Saudi Aramco to materialise this year. Meanwhile, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, chairman of Saudi Aramco and the Governor of the Public Investment Fund, joined the board of Reliance as an independent director.

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 1,396,960 tonnes in January-July 2021, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 841,990 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, up by 29% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

Saudi Aramco, officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a Saudi Arabian national oil and natural gas company based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco's value has been estimated at up to USD10 trillion in the Financial Times, making it the world"s most valuable company. Saudi Aramco has both the largest proven crude oil reserves, at more than 260 billion barrels, and largest daily oil production.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SIBUR Holding continues construction of a solar power plant at the Polief plant (Blagoveshchensk, Bashkortostan) for the production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the company said.

The installation of all supporting structures for the photovoltaic modules of the power plant with a total weight of 329,500 tonnes was completed on 5 October. As a result, the construction readiness of the facility reached 60%.

A total of 5460 piles were installed on an area of 8 hectares. In the near future, the installation of 10,080 photovoltaic modules that generate electricity will begin. The design capacity of the power plant will be about 4.9 MW, which is 7.1% of the capacity of all operating solar power plants in the Republic of Bashkortostan.

It is noted that the project will significantly increase the share of "green" electricity in the energy balance of the enterprise and reduce the carbon footprint of production. Investments in the project will amount to more than a quarter of a billion rubles. It is planned to complete the construction of the solar power plant and integrate it into the energy supply chain of the enterprise in January 2022.

Earlier it was reported that SIBUR at the Polief plant in Blagoveshchensk is starting a project to produce "green" PET granules. It is planned to use about 34 thousand tons of secondary raw materials in its production annually. PET-flakes - flakes made from used food packaging - will be involved in the production cycle of the primary polymer synthesis.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PET consumption totalled 411,200 tonnes in the first six month of 2021, up by 12% year on year. Russian companies processed 62,910 tonnes in June, compared to 85,890 tonnes a month earlier.

Polyef is the largest producer of terephthalic acid (TPA) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in Russia (raw material for polymer food packaging). Capacities for the production of TPA are 350,000 tonnes per year, PET - 219,000 tonnes. SIBUR owns 100% of the company's shares.

PJSC SIBUR Holding is the largest petrochemical company in Russia and Eastern Europe with full coverage of the industry cycle from gas processing, production of monomers, plastics and synthetic rubbers to plastics processing.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Finnish oil refiner and biofuels maker Neste said it estimates demand for the aviation fuel to exceed 12 MMtpy by 2030, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The company expects to be able to produce 1.5 MMtpy of biofuels for the aviation industry by the end of 2023 vs. about 100,000 tpy currently.

Renewables now account for 90% of Neste's operating profit and the company says it aims to have three strong renewables businesses by 2030 in sustainable aviation fuel, biodiesel and polymers and chemicals.

In its strategy update it added it sees road transportation biodiesel demand possibly rising to as high as 30 MMt. It also reduced its capital expenditure for 2021 to 1.1 B euros ($1.29 B) from 1.2 B, excluding acquisitions.

The company added it has made no changes to financial targets or dividend policy.

As MRC reported before, Neste, the world’s leading sustainable aviation fuel producer, and TripActions and Reed & Mackay, the fastest-growing travel and spend management group, have announced a groundbreaking global partnership to offer Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel to all TripActions Group customers.

We remind that in July, 2021, Finnish Neste and LyondellBasell announced a long-term commercial agreement under which LyondellBasell will source Neste RE, a feedstock from Neste that has been produced from 100% renewable feedstock from bio-based sources, such as waste and residue oils and fats. This feedstock will be processed through the cracker at LyondellBasell’s Wesseling, Germany, plant into polymers and sold under the CirculenRenew brand name.

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 1,396,960 tonnes in January-July 2021, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 841,990 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, up by 29% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

Neste (Helsinki) creates solutions for combating climate change and accelerating a shift to a circular economy. The company refines waste, residues and innovative raw materials into renewable fuels and sustainable feedstock for plastics and other materials. The company is the world’s leading producer of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, developing chemical recycling to combat the plastic waste challenge. In 2020, Neste's revenue stood at EUR11.8 billion, with 94% of the company’s comparable operating profit coming from renewable products.
MRC