PKN Orlen set up a propylene glycol production plant

PKN Orlen set up a propylene glycol production plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Orlen Poludnie, belonging to the PKN Orlen group, has set up a propylene glycol production plant at the biorefinery in Trzebinia (Malopolska), built at a cost of around PLN 400 million, said the company.

According to the company’s management, it is the first installation of this type in Poland and the largest in Europe.

Its production capacity is 30 thousand. tonnes per year, which means that the company will cover as much as 75 percent. domestic demand for this product. The investment worth approximately PLN 400 million will contribute to the increase in the company's operating EBITDA by over PLN 50 million annually. The first Polish hydrogen hub is an integral part of the complex. The projects implemented in the south of Poland are another step towards achieving the strategic goals of the concern in the area of ??low- and zero-emission energy.

The new investment will strengthen ORLEN Poludnie's position on the domestic biocomponent market, but also as an employer in the region. Several dozen jobs were created in the glycol installation. The company currently employs over 670 people, more than half of which work at the Trzebinia refinery. The construction of the green glycol production plant began in the fall of 2019 and was completed according to the schedule.

As per MRC, KBR has been awarded technology licensing contracts by PKN Orlen for KBR's leading Solvent Deasphalting (SDA) and Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracking (RFCC) technologies as part of PKN's Bottom-of-the-Barrel project for its Plock Refinery in Poland. Under the terms of the contracts, KBR will provide technology licensing and basic engineering design for the SDA and RFCC units.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,638,370 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up by 10% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 989,570 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up by 30% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas shipments of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

PKN Orlen is a leading player on the fuels and energy markets, and the largest company in Central and Eastern Europe, listed in prestigious global rankings such as Fortune Global 500, Platts TOP250 and Thompson Reuters TOP100. The ORLEN Group operates in 6 home markets – Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany, Lithuania, Slovakia and Canada.
MRC

Marathon seeks to sell its Alaska refinery

Marathon seeks to sell its Alaska refinery

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Marathon Petroleum on Nov. 2 said it was "pursuing strategic alternatives" for its Kenai, Alaska, refinery and its related operations "which could include a sale" as it looks to optimize its portfolio, reported S&P Global with reference to the company' statement.

The refinery is located on Cook Inlet, about 60 miles southwest of Anchorage.

It was acquired by Marathon with its acquisition of fellow refiner Andeavor in 2018.

The plant processes mainly Alaska domestic crude such as Alaska North Slope as well as some international crudes, primarily Russian Sokol.

As MRC informed earlier, in May, 2021, US refiner Marathon Petroleum Corp said its board had approved the conversion of the Martinez refinery in California to a renewable diesel plant. Besides, the company made a final investment decision regarding this project. Martinez, once complete, will be one of the largest renewables facilities in the country.

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 1,868,160 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 18% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,138,510 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) is a leading, integrated, downstream energy company headquartered in Findlay, Ohio. The company operates the nation's largest refining system. MPC's marketing system includes branded locations across the United States, including Marathon brand retail outlets.
MRC

Global oil refiners increase output as margins recover to pre-pandemic levels

Global oil refiners increase output as margins recover to pre-pandemic levels

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oil refiners are ramping up output to meet a synchronized uptick in demand across Asia, Europe and the United States, but plant maintenance and high natural gas prices will constrain supply in the fourth quarter, reported Reuters with reference to company officials and analysts' statements.

This comes as profits for producing ground transportation fuels such as diesel and gasoline have rebounded globally for the first time since the start of the pandemic, as countries gradually emerge from COVID-19 movement restrictions.

A coal shortage across Europe and Asia, which has forced some power generators to burn kerosene, diesel or fuel oil and stock up ahead of the peak winter heating demand, is also supporting global oil prices.

Global crude and key refined product prices have risen more than 60% in 2021 to multi-year highs.

"Refining margins have finally found some ground," said Sri Paravaikkarasu, director of Asia oil at energy consultancy FGE, as she forecast a "big increase" in crude runs this winter.

The increase will be "led by India, followed by South Korea, while Taiwan and Japan will increase runs as well, as refiners try to take advantage of the current high margins", she added.

Asia's crude runs are expected to reach 29.5 MM barrels per day (bpd) in the fourth quarter, versus 29.1 MMbpd a yr ago and 30.3 MMbpd over October-December in 2019, Paravaikkarasu said.

Taiwan's Formosa Petrochemical Corp, one of Asia's top fuel exporters, said it plans to process 400,000 bpd in November, up from 370,000-380,000 bpd in October. That is expected to rise to 460,000 bpd, or 79% of Formosa's capacity, in December and January 2022, spokesman KY Lin said.

"The increase in output won't happen so quickly as we have maintenance at a unit in October," he noted.

In South Korea, a major refiner plans to boost output in the fourth quarter by about 5% versus the third quarter, a source familiar with the matter said, declining to name the company.

An executive at India's Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd said the company's group refineries were operating at full capacity.

Singapore complex refining margins, a proxy for refiner profitability in top oil consuming region Asia, hit their highest since September 2019 above USD8 a barrel this month. The margins had turned negative last yearr, plumbing a record low in May, as the pandemic eroded demand.

In Northwest Europe, refining margins topped USD9 in mid-October, the highest since April 2020, while US Gulf Coast refining margins are currently around USD14, up nearly three-fold from the same period a yr ago, Refinitiv Eikon data shows.

The spike in margins comes against the backdrop of a steady drop in inventories across key markets.

We remind that, as MRC informed before, Formosa Plastics Company (FPC), part of Formosa Petrochemical, took off-stream its No. 1 cracker in Mailiao, Taiwan for a scheduled turnaround on 8 June, 2021. This cracker with an annual capacity of 700,000 tons of ethylene and 350,000 tons of propylene was expected to remain shut unitl mid-July, 2021.

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 1,868,160 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 18% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,138,510 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.
MRC

MOL petchem Q3 earnings increased on stronger margins

MOL petchem Q3 earnings increased on stronger margins

MOSCOW (MRC) -- MOL’s petrochemicals division third-quarter Clean current cost of supplies (CCS) earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose nearly fourfold on the back of stronger margins, said the company.

MOL Group announced its financial results for the third quarter of 2021. Supported by the macro-economic environment, the doubling petrochemicals margins compared to last year and the internal performance of the company, Clean CCS EBITDA strongly rebounded and came in at USD 1,025mn in Q3 2021. This result brought Q1-Q3 2021 EBITDA to USD 2,583mn that allows MOL to further upgrade full year guidance to reach or even exceed USD 3.2bn. Organic capital expenditure was 18% higher year-on-year in Q3 2021, reaching USD 360mn of which USD 68mn was spent on transformational projects including the Polyol plant construction. Meanwhile, world market perturbances, soaring commodity prices, logistics difficulties and the 4th wave of Covid-19 pandemic create an overall relatively unpredictable operational environment.

Chairman-CEO Zsolt Hernadi commented the results: “The good results of the third quarter have been supported by the favorable external environment and the rebounding regional economic growth. At the same time we also leveraged our strengths, the resilient integrated business model and our highly cost-efficient asset base and operation.

"Our very strong year-to-date 2021 delivery allows us to further upgrade our annual EBITDA guidance, which is expected to reach or even exceed USD 3.2bn. At the same time soaring commodity prices and the implications of the
coronavirus pandemic pose a significant risk to the economy and generate a very volatile operational environment.

"As a result, we remain focused to maintain financial and operational resilience and deliver on our longer-term sustainability related commitments. A higher year-to-date free cash flow generation allows us to fund our sizeable upcoming transformational investments within the framework of MOL’s 2030+ strategy."

As MRC informed before, MOL Petrochemicals Company (formerly known as TVK, part of the MOL Group), the only Hungarian producer of olefins and polyolefins, announced force majeure on the supply of polypropylene (PP) from plant No. 4 at the petrochemical complex in Tiszaujvaros (Tiszaujvaros, Hungary) on 23 September 2019.

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 1,638,370 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up by 10% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 989,570 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up by 30% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas shipments of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

MOL Group is an integrated, international oil and gas company with its headquarters in Budapest, with an international and dynamic workforce of 25,000 in more than 30 countries and an industrial history of more than 100 years. MOL's exploration and production activities are supported by more than 80 years of experience in the hydrocarbon industry. It currently has extraction activities in 9 countries and has research assets in 14 countries. MOL Group operates three refineries and two petrochemical plants under integrated supply chain management in Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia, and its retail network includes 1,940 filling stations in 10 countries in Central and South-Eastern Europe.
MRC

Pembina Pipeline looks to work with rival for CC plans

Pembina Pipeline looks to work with rival for CC plans

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Canada's Pembina Pipeline Corp is asking backers of two competing proposals for carbon capture hubs in the oil-producing province of Alberta to combine efforts with its own plan, reported Reuters with reference to the company's chief executive's statement on Tuesday.

Pembina and TC Energy Corp said in June they were looking to develop a system to transport and sequester carbon. The Alberta government, which controls underground space for burying carbon, called for expressions of interest this autumn.

Carbon capture facilities are expected to be a key part of global efforts to contain emissions from fossil fuel production. Canada is the world's fourth-largest oil producer and aims to cut national greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by 2030.

The Pembina-TC plan, called Alberta Carbon Grid, faces competition from at least two others - Oil Sands Pathways, pitched by the largest oil sands producers, and Polaris, a proposal by Royal Dutch Shell.

Pembina has spoken with both groups about joining together and talks remain active, CEO Mick Dilger told Reuters.

"A single, large carbon capture program at scale is by far the most sensible way to do things," Dilger said. "If everybody works together, we'll come up with a more cost-effective solution."

Whether such cooperation happens remains to be seen, Dilger said.

Pembina and TC would need to convince Shell and the Pathways partnership of Canadian Natural Resources, Cenovus Energy, Imperial Oil, Suncor Energy and MEG Energy, of a change in concept, he said.

Pembina and TC proposed a plan that would make use of spare pipelines that they own to reduce costs. The other proposals rely more on new infrastructure, Dilger said.

As MRC wrote previously, Canadian midstream energy companies Pembina Pipeline and Inter Pipeline (IPL) are mulling the prospects of dehydrogenation/polypropylene (PDH/PP) production in Alberta province. On May 31, 2021, Pembina and Inter Pipeline entered into an agreement to create one of the largest and best positioned energy infrastructure companies in Canada. Together the companies' diversified and integrated asset base can support and grow an extensive value chain for natural gas, natural gas liquids and crude oil, from wellhead to end user, that far exceeds anything either company can do separately.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,138,510 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

Pembina Pipeline has been a gas supplier to the North American power system for over 60 years. Pembina owns and operates pipelines that transport a variety of hydrocarbon fluids, including conventional and synthetic crude oil and others, produced in Western Canada and North Dakota.
MRC