SIBUR to revise strategy on Amur Gas Chemical Complex

SIBUR, Russia's largest petrochemical producer, plans to revise its strategy for developing the Amur Gas Chemical Complex (AGCC) with Sinopec, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The company reported that a decision on the matter would be made soon. Sources told Reuters in March that the state-run Sinopec Group had suspended talks on a major petrochemical investment and a gas marketing venture in Russia.

AGCC is set to be one of the world's largest polymer production facilities. Upon completion, the project will have a capacity of 2.3 MMtpy of polyethylene and 400 ktpy of polypropylene.

The facility is to be located near Svobodny town in the Amur Region, close to the Russian-Chinese border. Due to the location, the products were to be aimed toward Asian markets, mainly China, which is the global leader in the consumption of polymers.

The original completion of construction and commissioning of the project is scheduled for 2024.

We remind, ZapSibNeftekhim becomes first in Russia to produce maleic anhydride. The new MAN facility located at ZapSibNeftekhim in Tobolsk produced its first tonnes of commercial MAN. In late March, it was presented to Russian manufacturers of construction materials and fuel components for homologation.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,487,450 tonnes in 2021, up by 13% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 1,494.280 tonnes, up by 21% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whreas. Shipments of PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

SIBUR is the largest vertically integrated gas processing and petrochemical company in Russia, uniting a number of production sites in various regions of the Russian Federation. The company sells products to consumers in the fuel and energy complex, automotive, construction, consumer goods, chemical and other industries in more than 80 countries around the world.
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MRC) -- Negotiators from Chevron Corp and the United Steelworkers union (USW) are scheduled to meet to discuss a possible end to a strike at the company’s oil refinery in Richmond, California, reported Reuters with reference to spokes people from both sides.

The talks will be the first face-to-face meeting in nearly two weeks between Chevron and USW Local 12-5. Some 500 workers at the 245,271 bpd refinery formally began the strike on March 21 after the two sides failed to reach agreement on a new labor contract.

As MRC reported earlier, Chevron plans to begin an overhaul of the crude distillation unit (CDU) at its 245,271-bpd Richmond, California, refinery in mid-April, 2022. Chevron spokesman Tyler Kruzich declined to comment on day-to-day operations. Chevron will shut the 240,000-bpd CDU for the overhaul. The CDU breaks down crude oil into hydrocarbon feedstocks for all other units at the refinery.

We remind that Chevron Phillips Chemical, a joint venture of Phillips 66 and Chevron, will make a final investment decision on a new cracker in far southeast Texas in 2022, followed by an FID in 2023 on an USD8 billion joint venture petrochemical complex along the US Gulf Coast in 2023.

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 2,487,450 tonnes in 2021, up by 13% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 1,494.280 tonnes, up by 21% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whreas.shipments of PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

Headquartered in San Ramon, California, Chevron Corporation is the the second-largest integrated energy company in the United States and among the largest corporations in the world. Chevron is involved in upstream activities including exploration and production, downstream activities including refining, marketing and transportation, and advanced energy technology. Chevron is also invested in power generation and gasification processes.
MRC

Versalis S.p.A. (San Donato Milanese), Eni’s chemical company, has agreed to license its proprietary continuous mass technology to Shandong Eco Chemical Co. Ltd, a Chinese company part of Shandong Haike Holding Ltd., said Chemengonline.

The license will be granted for a 210,000-ton/yr acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) unit to be built in Dongying, Shandong province (China).

This is a state-of-the-art technology for the production of styrenic polymers, set to be licensed in China for the first time, with a low-carbon footprint achieved via strong reductions across emissions and energy consumption. Applications encompass the automotive industry, household appliances, electronics, medical appliances and furniture.

The license agreement reinforces Versalis’ primacy in the styrenics business and strengthens its position in the Asian market, a region which is undergoing strong expansion in the petrochemical field and is increasingly focused on selecting more sustainable technologies with a low environmental impact.

As per MRC, Versalis, Eni's chemical company, announces that it has begun the production of bioethanol from lignocellulosic biomass at their Crescentino plant. The plant, which was acquired in 2018, has been overhauled thanks to major investments and has started the production of advanced bioethanol, in compliance with the European legislation for the development of renewable energy, as it is derived from raw materials that do not interfere with the food chain. The bioethanol, produced using Proesa technology, is ISCC-EU certified and will be used to formulate gasoline with a renewable component.

As per MRC, Versalis S.p.A. (San Donato Milanese), the chemical company of Italian energy major Eni, has licensed to Enter Engineering Pte. Ltd. a Low-Density Polyethylene/Ethyl Vinyl Acetate (LDPE/EVA) swing unit to be built as part of a new Gas-to-Chemical Complex based on MTO-Methanol to Olefins technology to be located in the Karakul area in the Bukhara region of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Eni is an Italian multinational oil and gas company headquartered in Rome. It has operations in in 79 countries, and is currently Italy's largest industrial company. The Italian government owns a 30.3% golden share in the company, 3.93% held through the state Treasury and 26.37% held through the Cassa depositi e prestiti. Another 39.40% of the shares are held by BNP Paribas.

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QVC (Qatar Vinyl Company) has been given approval by Industries Qatar (IQ) and Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding (MPHC) to establish a new suspension polyvinyl chloride (S-PVC) facility in Mesaieed Industrial City, said Gulf-times.

The contract value of this project is USD239m. QVC is a joint venture between MPHC with a 55.2% stake, Qatar Petrochemical Company (QAPCO) with a 31.9% stake and QatarEnergy with a 12.9% stake. The proposed capacity of the PVC plant will be 350,000 tonnes. It will be integrated with QVC’s existing facilities, from which it will source the feedstock vinyl chloride monomer (VCM).

The plant will operate sustainably, through the efficient usage water and power and existing logistics facilities. This plant will be the first PVC-producing facility in Qatar and aims to establish Qatar as a regional production hub.

The PVC produced will contribute towards meeting the requirements from the flourishing construction industry in the region, which is one of the biggest consumers of PVC. It also aims to provide an opportunity to export PVC internationally. The largest suspension PVC producer in the Middle East is Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC). Company officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

Qatar Chemical (Q-Chem), part of Chevron Phillips Chemical Qatar, planned to resume HDPE production in Mesaieed, Qatar in early April after a scheduled overhaul. The company stopped the plant with a capacity of 375,000 tonnes of HDPE per year for maintenance in mid-February.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, February production of unmixed PVC in Russia exceeded 82,600 tonnes from 87,100 tonnes a month earlier, all Russian producers kept a high level of capacity utilisation. Total PVC production in Russia reached 169,700 tonnes in January - February 2022 against 169,200 tonnes a year earlier, three producers increased the volume of polymer production, and only one reduced output.

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Chevron has announced an agreement to join the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonization (GCMD), according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Chevron’s involvement aims to help support GCMD’s efforts to develop potentially scalable lower carbon technologies – including those that enable the use of ammonia as a maritime fuel – and the commercial means to enable their adoption.

The GCMD is an independent, non-profit organization, established with support from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore. It collaborates with the maritime industry, plans to conduct pilot projects and trials, and advocates for well-designed climate policies and standards.

“Shipping is a hard-to-abate sector and to reach the International Maritime Organization's climate goals, collaboration across the value chain is required,” said Professor Lynn Loo, CEO of the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonization. “We look forward to working with Chevron and capitalizing on its experience as a fuel producer, supplier and end user to operationalize pilots, which we believe will ultimately shorten the time to deployment and adoption of decarbonization solutions. This partnership will enable both organizations to work closely on the fuels of the future as well as carbon capture technologies, both of which are critical enablers expected to help the sector meet its net zero ambitions.”

As part of its pursuit of a lower carbon future, Chevron Shipping is continuing to explore new technologies, energy-saving devices, and lower carbon fuels, and is collaborating with industry organizations on these potential solutions.

In 2021, Chevron launched Chevron New Energies (CNE) to accelerate lower carbon businesses in hydrogen, CCUS, offsets and emerging energy opportunities, as well as support Chevron’s continued focus on renewable fuels and products. As part of its strategy, CNE is focused on customers in sectors of the economy with harder to abate emissions.

“Chevron is leveraging our capabilities, assets and customer relationships to identify opportunities to lower emissions of our own operations, while also identifying ways that essential sectors of the economy, such as the maritime industry, can achieve their lower carbon goals,” said Austin Knight, vice president of Hydrogen for Chevron New Energies. “Alongside Chevron Shipping, we look forward to collaborating with GCMD and its partners on this effort.”

As MRC reported earlier, Chevron plans to begin an overhaul of the crude distillation unit (CDU) at its 245,271-bpd Richmond, California, refinery in mid-April, 2022. Chevron spokesman Tyler Kruzich declined to comment on day-to-day operations. Chevron will shut the 240,000-bpd CDU for the overhaul. The CDU breaks down crude oil into hydrocarbon feedstocks for all other units at the refinery.

We remind that Chevron Phillips Chemical, a joint venture of Phillips 66 and Chevron, will make a final investment decision on a new cracker in far southeast Texas in 2022, followed by an FID in 2023 on an USD8 billion joint venture petrochemical complex along the US Gulf Coast in 2023.

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 2,487,450 tonnes in 2021, up by 13% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 1,494.280 tonnes, up by 21% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whreas.shipments of PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

Headquartered in San Ramon, California, Chevron Corporation is the the second-largest integrated energy company in the United States and among the largest corporations in the world. Chevron is involved in upstream activities including exploration and production, downstream activities including refining, marketing and transportation, and advanced energy technology. Chevron is also invested in power generation and gasification processes.
MRC