SATORP selects KBR for maintenance services at its Jubail petrochemical complex

MRC -- KBR announced that it has been awarded a 7-year contract with an option to extend for another 3 years, for the provision of General Maintenance Services (GMS) by Saudi Aramco TOTAL Refining and Petrochemical Company (SATORP), for its project in Jubail, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, according to CISION.

Under the terms of the contract, KBR will provide preventive, predictive, corrective, and shutdown maintenance services at the refinery, with a focus on continuous improvement and sustainable asset performance. By integrating lessons learned from a decade-long partnership, KBR aims to achieve top quartile plant performance while optimizing costs.

Through this partnership, KBR reaffirms its commitment to Saudization and maintaining a Zero Harm safety culture at the refinery.

KBR has been a pioneer in the downstream industry for over 70 years and has delivered several large-scale maintenance projects for some of the world's largest and technically complex downstream facilities.

As MRC reported earlier, KBR and ExxonMobil Catalysts and Licensing will collaborate to bring significant advancements to propane dehydrogenation (PDH) technology. Under the collaboration, ExxonMobil's new proprietary catalyst technology will be combined with KBR's proprietary K-PRO PDH technology to convert propane into propylene. Enabled by the superior performance of ExxonMobil's new catalyst, the combined technology solution could offer financial savings compared to PDH technologies currently available.

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.
MRC

German chemicals maker Henkel AG will exit its business activities in Russia, joining a parade of companies leaving the country over the war in Ukraine, reported Bloomberg.

Henkel will work closely with its teams in Russia to ensure an orderly process, the Dusseldorf-based manufacturer said in a statement Tuesday.

The financial impact of the decision can’t be quantified at this time, the company added.

Henkel’s 2,500 employees in Russia will continue to be employed and paid. The move comes hours after carmaker Stellantis NV announced plans to halt production at a van factory outside Moscow.

As MRC informed earlier, Huhtamaki has decided to initiate the process to divest its operations in Russia. This follows an earlier decision to stop all investments in Russia at the outbreak of the invasion of Ukraine.

Huhtamaki considers that the current evolution of the situation and the long-term outlook in Russia will prevent the realization of its growth strategy and long-term ambitions in the country. Huhtamaki will continue to prioritize investments that capture the significant growth opportunities in the rest of the world, in line with its global ambitions and 2030 Strategy.
MRC

MRC) -- Worley has bagged a front-end engineering and design (FEED) services contract from Trinseo for its first-of-a-kind chemical recycling plant in Belgium, said Chemindigest.

Trinseo is a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics and latex binders. The plant will use gasification technology to depolymerise post-consumer polystyrene waste into pure styrene. It’s a first-of-its-kind project on an industrial scale.

Trinseo’s plant will process 15,000 tons of recycled polystyrene flakes every year. These will be transformed into high quality recycled styrene and used for the production of new polystyrene and/or styrene derivatives, including acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and styrene acrylonitrile (SAN). ABS and SAN are thermoplastics polymers. They are durable and impact resistant, making them useful in the manufacture of car parts, medical devices, consumer electronics and more.

Worley completed the pre-FEED services for the project in 2021. The FEED scope covers the engineering of the feedstock, storage, condensation and distillation areas, utilities and hot oil unit. It also includes the cost estimate for the project. “Circularity in the chemical industry will be key if producers want to retain their license to operate in the coming years and decades,” says Geert Reyniers, Senior Director Process and Technology. He adds, “Our work today means we can help customers, like Trinseo, to implement first-of-a-kind technologies so they can realize their sustainability objectives."

"Trinseo chose Worley to move forward with because of its recognised leadership in the industry,” informs Francesca Reverberi, SVP and Chief Sustainability Officer at Trinseo. He adds, “Worley’s strong commitment to sustainability is critical for us as we continue our journey and goal of delivering sustainable material solutions while maintaining high quality and performance.” Plant construction is planned to begin at the end of 2022.

As per MRC, Trinseo, a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders, and synthetic rubber, and its affiliate companies in Europe, have announced a price increase for all polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and acrylonitrile-styrene copolymer (SAN) in Europe.

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, Russian PS producers did not adjust their prices in mid-April. Prices of Nizhnekamskneftekhim's GPPS remained at Rb204,750-215,700/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, whereas HIPS prices remained at Rb217,250-228,200/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT. Penoplex contracted all April GPPS quantities at Rb225,000-227,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT.

Trinseo is a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber. Trinseo's technology is used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires. Formerly known as Styron, Trinseo completed its renaming process in 1Q 2015. Trinseo had approximately $4.8 billion in net sales in 2021 and has 26 manufacturing sites and one recycling facility around the world and approximately 3,400 employees.
mrchub.com

US chemical engineer KBR has won a seven-year contract to provide maintenance services to the SATORP refinery and petrochemicals complex in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, said Energyvoice.

The contract, with Saudi Aramco TOTAL Refining and Petrochemical Company (SATORP), includes an option for a three-year extension.

Under the terms of the contract, KBR will provide preventive, predictive, corrective, and shutdown maintenance services at the refinery, with a focus on continuous improvement and sustainable asset performance, it said.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

KBR will provide preventive, predictive, corrective and shutdown maintenance services at the refinery. The company said it would focus on “continuous improvement and sustainable asset performance”.

The company won a seven-year contract in 2012 with AYTB for maintenance at Satorp. In May 2019, it announced a three-year extension.

Satorp started up in June 2014 and reached full capacity by the end of the year.

KBR’s original contract, in 2012, was declared at USD140-170 mln. The company did not disclose today’s contract value.
mrchub.com

Nine tankers carrying Russian-origin crude and fuel oil have discharged in the US in April, likely the last ones to deliver before a wind-down set by Washington expires this week, reported Reuters with reference to customs and tanker tracking data.

The US last month set an April 22 ban on imports of Russian crude and refined products. The US gave importers of Russian petroleum, liquefied natural gas and coal 45 days to taken route and under-contract cargoes.

Tanker Seamagic, which loaded fuel oil at Russia's Taman port, discharged at Valero Energy's St. Charles, Louisiana, refinery last week, the last of the nine tracked to discharge. The data does not include ship-to-ship transfers or Russian-origin oil loaded elsewhere.

Minerva Ellie, a vessel carrying high sulfur fuel oil and sold by Russia's Rosneft, also discharged at Valero's St. Charles facility, according to US customs data. The cargo was chartered by commodities trader Vitol.

Valero, Vitol and the managers of the tankers did not immediately reply to requests for comments.

The US imported 672,000 bpd of Russian crude and refined products last year, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. Of that, 30% or 199,000 bpd was crude, while 473,000 bpd was refined products.

This month, one crude and eight fuel oil tankers carrying about 6.3 million barrels and which departed from Russian ports reached US ports and lightering zones, according to the data.

A 2 million-barrel cargo of Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) Blend and Urals crude that departed from Russia was received in Delaware, according to ship tracking data based on the chartering contract.

As MRC wrote before, record volumes of fuel oil from Latin America landed in the US in March, customs data showed, as refiners snapped up alternatives to Russian feedstocks ahead of Washington's April 22 deadline to end U.S. imports of Russian oil. US Gulf Coast refiners that use fuel oil to supplement heavy crude went hunting for new supplies last month after US President Joe Biden placed a ban on Russian crude and refined products with a 45-day wind-down period. Russia accounted for about a quarter of the 524,400 bpd of fuel oil the US imported last year. It also supplied some 200,000 bpd of crude mostly to U.S. East Coast refiners.

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.
MRC