Equinor halts some Mongstad gasoline production, evacuates workers after leak

Equinor halts some Mongstad gasoline production, evacuates workers after leak

Equinor is inspecting damage at a reformer at its 226,000 barrel per day (bpd) Mongstad refinery after a fire on Sunday and it is too soon to say when the unit will be operational, said Reuters.

The fire at the oil refinery on Norway's west coast was extinguished early on Sunday, with the main part of the refinery still in operation. "It was in a reformer," an Equinor spokesman told Reuters by email, adding that there was no estimate yet on when the unit could be restarted.

"We are doing inspections to get an overview ... we will investigate to clarify what caused the fire." The reformer makes reformate, which is commonly used as an octane booster in gasoline.

The Petroleum Safety Authority Norway (PSA) has launched an investigation into the fire, the authority said separately. "The fire is thought to have started on a flange," PSA said in a statement, referring to equipment commonly used to connect pipes.

Mongstad is Equinor's largest and Norway's only refinery. The wider Mongstad area contains refinery operations, a terminal for crude oil exports and other facilities.

As MRC informed earlier, Equinor's Board of Directors has recently decided to stop new investments into Russia, and to start the process of exiting Equinor’s Russian Joint Ventures (JV). At the end of 2021 Equinor had USD 1.2 billion in non-current assets in Russia. The company expects that the decision to start the process of exiting JVs in Russia will impact the book value of Equinor’s Russian assets and lead to impairments.
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Inter Pipeline successfully commissions Heartland polypropylene facility

Inter Pipeline successfully commissions Heartland polypropylene facility

MRC) -- Canada’s Inter Pipeline Ltd. has started production at a new C$4.3 billion (USD3.3 billion) petrochemical plant in Alberta, a key milestone for a project that was at the center of a takeover battle for the company last year, said the company.

The unit of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP commissioned its Heartland polypropylene plant and began initial production in late June, according to a statement from the company. The remainder of the plant, including the propane dehydrogenation facility, is on schedule to start operation and begin commercial production in the third quarter.

The Heartland project faced cost overruns and delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic, putting pressure on Inter Pipeline’s stock and helping to make it vulnerable to an unsolicited takeover bid from Brookfield.

The Calgary-based energy infrastructure company launched a strategic review, including seeking potential partners for Heartland, and secured a higher offer from Pembina Pipeline Corp. But Brookfield sweetened its bid and eventually prevailed in a CD8.6 billion deal.

The Alberta plant will convert locally-produced propane into 525,000 metric tons a year of polypropylene, a polymer used to manufacture items including food packaging, textiles, health-care products and medical supplies, the company said. Inter Pipeline has secured contracts for 70% of the plant’s output for an average of nine years, according to the release.

As per MRC, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners’ fourth offer for Inter Pipeline Ltd. has convinced the embattled pipeline company to abandon a friendly deal with rival Pembina Pipeline Corp. in favour of the Toronto-based asset manager. IPL’s move comes after Brookfield Infrastructure Partners earlier this month raised its hostile bid for IPL, and as two shareholder advisory firms advised IPL shareholders against the merger deal with Pembina. Instead of pursuing the merger with Pembina, IPL will now engage with Brookfield “to reach a mutually agreeable transaction”, it said in a filing late on Monday.

Inter Pipeline Ltd is a multinational oil transportation and infrastructure limited company that ranks among North America's leading natural gas production and processing companies. It is one of the top 100 companies in Alberta in terms of earnings and assets.

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.

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Fire extinguished at Norway Mongstad refinery

Fire extinguished at Norway Mongstad refinery

A fire that broke out at Equinor's Mongstad oil refinery on Norway's west coast early on Sunday was now extinguished, the company said, affecting the unit producing gasoline, said Reuters.

The fire broke out in a part of the refinery that produces gasoline, Equinor said, adding that the main part of the refinery was still in operation. "The fire is extinguished," said a company spokesperson.

Mongstad is Equinor's largest refinery and has a crude oil and condensate distillation capacity of 226,000 barrels per day.

The wider Mongstad area contains refinery operations, a terminal for crude oil exports as well as other facilities. Staff had been evacuated, with only company employees dealing with the emergency remaining on site, Equinor said. "There is no danger to life nor health," the spokesperson said.

As MRC informed earlier, Equinor's Board of Directors has recently decided to stop new investments into Russia, and to start the process of exiting Equinor’s Russian Joint Ventures (JV). At the end of 2021 Equinor had USD 1.2 billion in non-current assets in Russia. The company expects that the decision to start the process of exiting JVs in Russia will impact the book value of Equinor’s Russian assets and lead to impairments.
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Technip Energies wins EPC contract by Hafslund Oslo Celsio for a CCS project at waste to energy plant in Norway

Technip Energies wins EPC contract by Hafslund Oslo Celsio for a CCS project at waste to energy plant in Norway

Energies has been awarded a large EPC contract by Hafslund Oslo Celsio, the largest supplier of district heating in Norway, for a world-first carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at waste to energy plant located in Oslo, Norway, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The project will be the first full-scale waste-to-energy plant in the world with CO2 capture. 400,000 tons per year of CO2 will be captured, which is the equivalent of the emissions from around 200,000 cars and will reduce Oslo’s emissions by 17%.

As part of the Longship project, the CO2 will then be liquified and exported to Northern Lights which is the first cross-border, open-source CO2 transport and storage infrastructure network. The Carbon Capture plant will use the Shell CANSOLV CO2 Capture System, a state-of-the art amine based technology for the capture of CO2 from the flue gas.

This EPC contract award follows several years of a joint journey with the completion of the design competition, the successful delivery and test of a pilot unit and continuous collaboration between Technip Energies and Hafslund Oslo Celsio to optimize project economics.

Developing, testing and proving this cost-effective solution is the result of a close partnership and co-development with the owner, T.EN and the technology provider.

Arnaud Pieton, CEO of Technip Energies, commented: "We are proud to be entrusted by Hafslund Oslo Celsio to support the development of the first waste-to-energy with Carbon Capture and Storage project in the world. Norway is at the forefront of decarbonization initiatives and, by being part of Hafslund Oslo Celsio project, we will contribute to one of the two projects of Longship, the very first Phase of Northern Lights. We are committed to leverage our strong expertise in CO2 management, our local presence and our alliance with Shell to successfully deliver this groundbreaking project, a key milestone towards a low-carbon future."

As per MRC, Technip Energies has been awarded a large(1) Engineering, Procurement, Construction (EPC) contract by Hafslund Oslo Celsio, the largest supplier of district heating in Norway, for a world-first carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at waste to energy plant located in Oslo, Norway.

As per MRC, TechnipFMC announced the launch of the placement of 16 million Technip Energies shares, representing ca. 9% of Technip Energies’ issued and outstanding share capital, through a private placement by way of an accelerated bookbuild offering. Upon completion of the Placement, TechnipFMC would retain a direct stake of ca. 22% of Technip Energies’ issued and outstanding share capital.
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Oil prices slip as recession fears rumble on, tight supply stems losses

Oil prices slip as recession fears rumble on, tight supply stems losses

Oil prices fell in early Asian trade on Monday, paring gains from the previous session as fears of global recession weighed on the market even as supply remains tight amid lower OPEC output, unrest in Libya and sanctions on Russia, said Reuters.

Brent crude futures slipped 35 cents, or 0.3%, to USD111.28 a barrel at 0016 GMT, having jumped 2.4% on Friday.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures similarly dropped 32 cents, or 0.3%, to USD108.11 a barrel, after climbing 2.5% on Friday.

While recession fears have weighed on the market over the past two weeks, supply concerns linger, preventing steeper price falls. "Energy markets remain laden with specific supply risks that makes being short a nervy experience," Commonwealth Bank commodities analyst Tobin Gorey said.

Output from the 10 members of Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in June fell 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 28.52 million bpd - a long way off their pledged increase of about 275,000 bpd, a Reuters survey showed. Declines in Nigeria and Libya offset increases by Saudi Arabia and other large producers, and Libya faces further supply disruption due to escalating political unrest.

"This makes the likelihood of the group (OPEC) meeting its newly increased production quotas even more unlikely," ANZ Research analysts said in a note. Libya's exports have dropped to between 365,000 bpd and 409,000 bpd, down about 865,000 bpd compared to normal levels, the National Oil Corp said last week.

In a further hit to supply, a planned strike by Norwegian oil and gas workers this week could cut the country's oil and condensate output by 130,000 bpd. Traders will be watching out for official prices for August from top oil exporter Saudi Arabia for signs of how tight the market is, with refiners bracing for another sharp increase close to the record level set in May.

Nine refining sources surveyed by Reuters expected Saudi's flagship Arab Light crude official selling price could rise by about USD2.40 a barrel from the previous month.

As per MRC, China's Ministry of Commerce has released 52.56 million mt (385.26 million barrels) of crude import quotas to 35 qualifying independent and non-major state-owned refineries in the second batch for 2022. However, the higher second batch this year brought up total crude import quotas for 2022 by only 4.9% to 159.96 million mt as of June 28, from 152.44 million mt last year. The independent refinery sources said they were less anxious about this second batch than the one last year, because most of them had sufficient quotas in hand amid low throughput during the previous months.
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