Saudi Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical signed licensing agreement

Saudi Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical signed licensing agreement

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Aramco Technologies Company and Sumitomo Chemical Company, Limited, have formed a technology partnership with Axens in support of Axens’ AlphaButol licensed process to enhance 1-butene production by using the AFA (anti-fouling agent) technology, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The AFA technology, jointly developed by Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical, works in conjunction with Axens’ catalyst system to substantially reduce undesired polymeric fouling in 1-butene units. Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical have granted Axens the right to sublicense this beneficial technology to existing and prospective licensed units of AlphaButol.

Rabigh Refining & Petrochemical Company, an affiliate of Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical, and a licensee of AlphaButol, is the first to benefit from this technology. The AFA technology was effective in broad ranges of industrially relevant operating windows and duration in its 1-butene production units. “The AFA has demonstrated a real breakthrough in unit operation profitability, via higher production rates and reduced maintenance costs, due to lower levels of fouling. Removability of the fouling has also been improved with a substantially easier way to clean the unit, leading to shorter maintenance periods,” said Mohammed A. Basaffar, Section Head of Polymer section of the Process Engineering Department in Rabigh Refining & Petrochemical Company.

"We are very pleased that Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical have selected Axens as their partner, and we are looking forward to contributing to the success of AFA technology with our expertise in this area. We are glad to assist in achieving this milestone, which is a stepping stone to further commercialization of the AlphaButol technology in the coming years," said Axens’ Chairman and CEO Jean Sentenac.

As per MRC, Saudi Aramco said it restructured its debt financing for Sadara Chemical Company, its joint venture (JV) with Dow Chemical, an American petrochemical major. The Saudi national oil company also said an agreement had been reached to allocate more natural gas feedstock to the joint venture, which has been building the world’s biggest chemical complex ever delivered in a single phase, in Jubail. Saudi Aramco and Dow have agreed to guarantee up to an aggregate of USD3.7 billion of senior debt principal in proportion to their ownership interests in Sadara, Aramco said in a stock exchange filing.

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.

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

Polief installed all PV modules of the solar power plant

Polief installed all PV modules of the solar power plant

MOSCOW (MRC) - Blagoveshchensk Polief has installed all 10,080 photovoltaic modules of the future solar power plant (SPP), the company said.

Now work is underway to connect the modules to inverters and work has begun on the installation of a transformer substation. "The completion of the installation of photovoltaic modules of the solar power plant is the next and most noticeable step towards the implementation of the project. Eight hectares of solar panels can be seen even from space. And space technologies themselves are already coming into our life - from the attributes of satellites and orbital stations, becoming part of the equipment of modern enterprises all over the world. Implementation of such innovative projects contributes to the improvement of environmental friendliness and efficiency of production ", - said General Director of Polief Evgeny Semenko.

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. The readiness of the facility at this stage of construction has reached 80%.

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 over 250 million 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 early 2022.

Earlier it was reported that Polief continues to implement the project to launch the production of "green" PET pellets containing secondary raw materials. The enterprise loaded the first pile into the base of the production foundation. It is planned to launch the line in the first half of 2022. The production of PET with recycled content is an important part of SIBUR's sustainable development strategy until 2025. The technology that is planned to be used at Polief is environmentally friendly and belongs to the advanced methods of involving recycled PET in the production cycle.

According to MRC's ScanPlast, the estimated PET consumption in Russia in October of this year increased by 17% compared to the previous year and amounted to 67,970 tonnes against 58,030 tonnes in October 2020. According to the results of ten months of 2021, 661,830 tonnes of PET were processed in the Russian Federation, which is 13% more than the same indicator last year.

Polyef is the largest producer of terephthalic acid (TPA) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in Russia (raw material for polymer food packaging). The TPA production capacity is 350 thousand tons per year, PET - 219 thousand tons 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

COVID-19 - News digest as of 08.12.2021

1. Oil prices grow on easing Omicron coronavirus variant fears and Iranian crude delay

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oil prices rose nearly USD2 on Tuesday, extending the previous day's almost 5% rebound as concerns over the impact of the Omicron coronavirus variant on global fuel demand eased and Iran nuclear talks stalled, delaying the return of Iranian crude, reported Reuters. Brent crude futures were up USD1.67, or 2.3%, at USD75.75 a barrel by 1323 GMT, having registered a 4.6% gain on Monday. US West Texas Intermediate crude was up USD1.90, or 2.7%, at USD71.39, building on a 4.9% gain in the previous session. Oil prices were pummelled last week by concerns that vaccines might be less effective against the Omicron variant, sparking fears that governments could impose fresh restrictions to curb its spread and hit global growth and oil demand.

MRC

Borouge selects Technip Energies for construction of new ethane cracker in Ruwais

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Technip Energies has been awarded a substantial Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract in consortium with TARGET Engineering by Abu Dhabi Polymers co. Ltd. (Borouge), a joint-venture between ADNOC and Borealis, for the construction of a new ethane cracker init, to be integrated in the Borouge 4 petrochemical complex in Ruwais, UAE, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The contract was signed by H.E Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Managing Director and Group CEO of ADNOC and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Polymers Co Ltd. (Borouge), and Technip Energies CEO Arnaud Pieton, in presence of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron during the French delegation’s visit to the UAE.

This EPC contract covers the delivery of a new ethane cracker unit, in excess of 1,500 KTA, based on proprietary Technip Energies technology.

The new Borouge 4 complex will be located in the Ruwais industrial area in Abu Dhabi. It is considered as one of the major strategic projects to enable ADNOC to meet its target growth, which would sustain its current market share in the growing polyolefin market.

This award follows the successful execution of FEED competition, reflecting Technip Energies’ selective approach to be involved at a very early stage of any development and TARGET growth strategy to cooperate with major international contractors for projects in the country.

As MRC reported earlier, in mid-November 2021, ADNOC signed of a strategic partnership with Borealis AG that confirms a USD6.2 B (AED22 B) investment agreement between the companies to build the fourth Borouge facility - Borouge 4 - at the polyolefin manufacturing complex in Ruwais, United Arab Emirates (UAE), which will produce 1.4 MM tons of polyethylene (PE) per year.

Expansion project includes construction of a 1.5 MM tons ethane cracker, two state-of-the-art Borstar PE plants and a cross-linked PE plant. Borouge 4 will meet growing customer demand across the Middle East, Africa and Asia with differentiated polyolefin solutions in energy, infrastructure, and advanced packaging.

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

Leonid Alekhin appointed head of Gazprom neftekhim Salavat

Leonid Alekhin appointed head of Gazprom neftekhim Salavat

MOSCOW (MRC) - Leonid Alekhin has been appointed the head of the Bashkir enterprise Gazprom neftekhim Salavat, said the company.

The report notes that a large project will be implemented in the near future on the basis of the Salavat petrochemical complex. As part of the creation of a new large-scale gas chemical cluster, the company focuses on the development and modernization of capacities. To provide raw materials for the enterprise in Salavat, it is planned to supply 28 billion cubic meters. meters of gas annually.

Leonid Alekhin was born in 1955 in the Samara region. Graduated from the Kazan Institute of Chemical Technology named after Kirov. He held various positions at the enterprises of the petrochemical complex of Russia, including from 2003 to 2012 he was the general director of Kazanorgsintez, and from 2012 to 2019 - OJSC TANECO.

According to the ICIS-MRC Price Report, Gazprom neftekhim Salavat (STS, Salavat, Bashkortostan) resumed production of low-pressure polyethylene (LDPE) after stopping for a long planned preventive maintenance. GNS from 1 October resumed production of low-pressure polyethylene (LDPE) after stopping for scheduled maintenance works. The idle capacity was quite long and started on the 20th of July. The annual production capacity is 45,000 tonnes per year.

OJSC Gazprom neftekhim Salavat (formerly OJSC Salavatnefteorgsintez) is one of the leading petrochemical companies in Russia, which carries out a full cycle of hydrocarbon processing. The list of commercial products manufactured by the enterprise includes more than 140 names, including 76 names of the main products: motor gasolines, diesel fuels, kerosene, heating oil, toluene, solvent, liquefied gases, benzene, styrene, ethylbenzene, butyl alcohols, phthalic anhydride and plasticizers, polyethylene, polystyrene, silica gels and zeolite catalysts, corrosion inhibitors, elemental sulfur, ammonia and urea, glycols and amines, a wide range of plastics household products, surfactants and much more.
MRC