Worley awarded services contract by Oxy Low Carbon Ventures

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Worley has been awarded a services contract by Oxy Low Carbon Ventures (OLCV), a subsidiary of Occidental, for a facility in British Columbia, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

It’s being designed to produce renewable fuels by capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere using Carbon Engineering’s Direct Air Capture and AIR TO FUELS technologies.

The facility is expected to produce up to 100 MM liters of ultra-low carbon fuel annually. It’s being developed by OLCV and Squamish Huron Clean Energy Corporation and is expected to be the first commercial-scale project of its kind.

When built, the low-carbon fuels are expected to provide a new option for hard-to-decarbonize industries such as marine, air, rail and truck transportation. This will give transporters the option to reduce their fleets’ carbon dioxide footprint without modifying their vehicles.

As MRC reported earlier, in October 2021, Worley was selected to provide detailed design and procurement services to support the development of a low-carbon fuels facility at the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rotterdam in the Netherlands, formerly known as the Pernis refinery. Once built, it’s expected to be one of the biggest of its kind in Europe.

The facility will produce 820,000 tons of sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel every year. These fuels will be produced from waste including used cooking oil, certified sustainable vegetable oils, waste animal fat and other industrial and agricultural residue using advanced technology developed by Shell. They will be used for blending in support of the EU legislation and commitments under the Paris Agreement.

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 January-September 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 statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) decreased significantly.
MRC

Clariant partners with Technip to reduce CO2 emissions

Clariant partners with Technip to reduce CO2 emissions

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant has collaborated with Technip Energies to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from hydrogen production through its steam methane reforming process, said the company.

Stefan Heuser, Senior Vice President and General Manager at Clariant Catalysts, explained the urgent need for the new technology, stating, “Producing hydrogen from hydrocarbons calls for reducing the CO2 footprint. With EARTH technology, we can make a huge difference by significantly reducing the CO2 footprint of the steam reformer. Moreover, EARTH will not only help producers meet their sustainability targets, but will also greatly improve the productivity and efficiency of their plants."

Stan Knez, Chief Technology Officer at Technip Energies added, “We are very excited to present EARTH in collaboration with our catalyst partner Clariant. It is a key technology of our BlueH2 by T.EN®suite of solutions to achieve more sustainable hydrogen and syngas production the market has been seeking. We look forward to furthering outstanding performance results."

The EARTH system is designed as a drop-in solution, thus it is well suited to both existing and new reformer tubes. It is already in operation in the Akkim hydrogen (HyCO) plant since January 2019 and shows excellent and stable performance. Results to date are outstanding: 20% less CO2 emissions and nearly 40% lower fossil fuel consumption– all at equal hydrogen and CO output.

Clariant and Technip Energies have also been awarded two further contracts for EARTH. In the first of them, Repsol has selected the technology for a 21,000 Nm3/h hydrogen plant in Cartagena, Spain. Scheduled to start up in February 2023, the plant will use multiple feed sources, including natural gas and H2 rich off-gases, as feedstock.

The second assignment is for an upgrade of an existing European hydrogen plant. At either site, the expected results are the same: considerable environmental and economic benefits.

EARTH technology, developed and patented by Technip Energies, comprises a concentric tubular assembly in the steam methane reformer with a structured catalyst loaded in the outer annular space. The setup ensures simultaneously heat recuperation and high conversion rates. The technology uses a newly designed structured catalyst, jointly developed by Clariant and Technip Energies, which offers, next to low pressure drop, maximum activity, and heat transfer. Due to its outstanding stability and mechanical robustness, the catalyst can deliver excellent performance despite the thermal and mechanical stress of the reforming process and the reduced volume of the EARTH catalyst bed.

It has been awarded a further two contracts – by Repsol at a 21,000 Nm3/h (normal cubic metre/hour) hydrogen plant in Cartagena, Spain, scheduled for start-up in February 2023, using natural gas and H2 rich off-gases as feedstock, and in an upgrade of an existing European site.

As per MRC, Clariant says that its board has appointed Conrad Keijzer as the company’s new CEO, effective 1 January 2021. Hariolf Kottmann, Clariant’s executive chairman ad interim, will return to his position as chairman of the board, once Keijzer assumes responsibility.

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.

Clariant AG is a Swiss chemical company and a world leader in the production of specialty chemicals for the textile, printing, mining and metallurgical industries. It is engaged in processing crude oil products in pigments, plastics and paints.
MRC

Stronger fuel demand boosts profits at Asia crude oil refineries

Stronger fuel demand boosts profits at Asia crude oil refineries

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Stronger fuel demand has boosted profits at crude oil refineries across Asia in recent weeks, but they have also been given a helping hand by lower exports of refined products from regional heavyweight China, reported Reuters.

China's exports of refined fuels dropped in October to 3.95 MM tons, snuffing out what was a slight rise in shipments in September and reverting to the declining trend seen since April.

The past four months have been the weakest for fuel exports from China since a slump in mid-2020. That was largely the result of plummeting fuel demand across Asia as many countries locked down their economies in a bid to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

October's exports of refined products were also nearly a third below the same month in 2020. Although the year-to-date figure is still up 3.8%, this is a reflection of strong exports in the first half of 2021.

There are several reasons for China's decline in fuel exports in the second half of this year - but chief among them is lower refinery utilization as independent refiners exhausted crude import permits and had to cut throughput.

A shortage of power because of constrained coal supplies also impacted refineries, with September processing of 13.64 MM barrels per day (bpd) being the lowest in 16 mos.

The decline in China's refined product exports has coincided with stronger demand in Asia, which has in turn boosted margins at the region's export-oriented refineries, notwithstanding the rally in crude oil prices.

A measure of the profit of turning a barrel of Dubai crude into products at a Singapore refinery stood at USD6.46 a bbl in early Asian trade on Thursday, while the 15-day moving average was at USD7.80.

As recently as June, the profit margin was as low as USD1.37 a bbl for the month. The recent peak of around USD8.44 in late October was the highest since September 2019.

It's perhaps no surprise that refinery margins peaked in October, as Chinese fuel exports were slipping.

There was more good news for refiners in Asia. India's fuel demand rose in October to the highest in seven mos as economic activity recovered in the world's third-biggest oil consumer.

Outside China, there are also encouraging signs of a recovering demand for fuel in Asia. Refinitiv Oil Research forecasts crude imports will rise in November from October in Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan - Asia's biggest importers behind China and India.

A ongoing recovery in fuel demand as more countries in Asia fully re-open their economies should help keep refinery margins elevated.

The 'X-factor' is whether Chinese refiners will return to the export market to capture some of the strong margins currently on offer.

As MRC informed earlier, the tight supply situation of natural gas in the global markets is expected to ease to a certain extent in 2022 as production growth is forecast to outpace demand, said Luo Yizhou, vice president of PetroChina International Co. Ltd, a subsidiary of state-owned PetroChina.

We remind that PetroChina, Asia's largest oil and gas producer,aims to have oil, gas and green energies to each account for a third of its portfolio by 2035, as the Chinese oil major shifts toward a lower-carbon future.

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 January-September 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 statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) decreased significantly.
MRC

Chinese state-owned refiners cut October capacity utilisation to five-month low of 81.5%

Chinese state-owned refiners cut October capacity utilisation to five-month low of 81.5%

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The average utilisation rate at China's four state-owned refiners fell to a five-month low of 80.6% in October from 81.5% in September while independent refiners also maintained run rates at low levels due to feedstock shortage, S&P Global data showed.

These would likely lead the country's crude throughputs to extend the downward trend in October from the 17-month low of 13.7 million b/d, or 56.07 million mt, in September, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

The four state oil companies -- Sinopec, PetroChina, CNOOC and Sinochem - plan to process a total 7.67 million b/d of crudes in October, against their nameplate capacity of 9.52 million b/d, Platts data showed. This compared with a planned throughput of 7.7 million b/d in September.

In November, the state-run refiners plan to lift throughput from the low base in October to boost gasoil and gasoline supplies for meeting domestic demand, refining sources said.

"To secure the supply of oil products in domestic market is the top priority," said a source with a Sinopec-owned major refinery in eastern China.

Sinopec led the utilization cut among the state-run refiners in October. Its run rate was down two percentage points from September at 82%, processing 4.3 million b/d in October. This was mainly due to scheduled maintenance works at several refineries while the operating ones maintained throughputs with limited feedstocks.

Its 260,000 b/d Gaoqiao Petrochemical and 264,000 b/d Guangzhou Petrochemical have shut units since Oct. 8 and end-October, respectively, till December.

The reductions in these two plants were unable to be compensated by the boost from the 200,000 b/d Shijiazhuang Petrochemical, which resumed operation Oct. 25, and the increased throughput in the flagship Zhenhai Refining & Petrochemical.

Zhenhai started up its new 80,000 b/d crude distillation unit in end-September to lift its primary capacity to 540,000 b/d - the largest in China. As a result, its throughput also rose to 463,000 b/d in October from 452,000 b/d in September.

The other Sinopec refineries more or less kept their run rates stable from September.

PetroChina, however, raised its run rate by one percentage point through the month to about 76% as its refineries raised throughputs to meet domestic oil products demand in second-half October.

Its refineries along the coast have largely maintained stable run rates, while those in the interior have lifted throughputs slightly. These include the Lanzhou Petrochemical, Urumqi Petrochemical and Sichuan Petrochemical that have raised run rates by about two to seven percentage points. They were also required by PetroChina's sales arms to supply more gasoil during the month.

In addition, Sinochem's crude throughput also recovered since its catalysts replacement was completed. This came despite the power rationing in the Fujian province, as Sinochem had intended to raise outputs to meet strong domestic demand ahead of a scheduled maintenance early-November.

As MRC wrote before, Sinopec will increase its gasoil supply by 19% in November from October to meet domestic demand. Sinopec will run its refineries at full capacity while adjusting yield to lift gasoil supply in November by 29%, it said without giving the actual number.

We remind that in August, 2021, Sinopec, the world's petrochemical major, launched the first phase of the Gulei refining complex in Zhangzhou city in China’s southeastern Fujian province. The refining complex, a 50:50 joint venture between Sinopec’s Fujian Petrochemical Company Ltd and Taiwan Xuteng Investment Company Ltd, invested 27.8 billion yuan (USD4.28 billion) in the first phase. That will result in an 800,000 tonnes per annum ethylene plant, a 600,000 tonnes per annum styrene unit and seven other downstream petrochemical units, Sinopec said.

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 January-September 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 statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) decreased significantly.
MRC

Evonik and The Vita Group to recycle PU

Evonik and The Vita Group to recycle PU

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Evonik is working with polyurethane (PU) specialist The Vita Group to develop a recycling process to convert foams from used mattresses back to the polyol raw material, said the company.

The hydrolysis recycling processes developed by the partnership will enable used flexible PU foams and mattresses to be recycled and used in different applications.

The European association of flexible polyurethane foam blocks manufacturers (EUROPUR) stated that 40m mattresses are discarded each year in Europe alone, the majority of which end up in landfill, creating the equivalent of 600,000 tonnes of waste, including more than 300,000 tonnes of PU foam.

Evonik’s technology will reduce PU waste while increasing the use of renewable raw materials, closing the loop to support the circular economy, and reducing the number of mattresses that are incinerated or sent to landfill each year.

The Vita Group currently recycles and rebonds more than 30,000 tonnes/year of trim as part of its sustainability practices.

This builds on Evonik's recent inauguration of its PU additives site in Essen, which is focusing on sustainable production.

As MRC informed earlier, in February, 2020, Dow and Evonik entered into an exclusive technology partnership. Together, they plan to bring a unique method for directly synthesizing propylene glycol (PG) from propylene and hydrogen peroxide to market maturity.

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 January-September 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 statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) decreased significantly.

Evonik Industries is one of the world's leading chemical companies in the promising areas of specialty chemistry. The company's products are focused on the high growth rates of megatrends, especially healthcare, nutrition, resource efficiency and globalization.
MRC