Ampol lets contract for its Future Fuels Desulfurization Project

MOSCOW (MRC) -- In a win for sustainability, Kent has been awarded the Future Fuels Desulphurization Project by Ampol, where they will support the reduction of fuel emissions by 2025, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

This landmark project, which aims to support the longevity of the Australian refinery, is a significant award for Kent, won following a competitive tendering period. Support from offices in Houston, Mumbai, UAE, London, Bogota and Calgary has allowed Kent to get to where it is today, as a connected global organization. Kent’s global hubs will also be working together on this project.

The project is critical to meeting proposed Euro 6 fuel sulfur emissions legislation, which requires that all fuels contain less than 10 ppm sulfur, in Australia by 2025.

As per MRC, the newly formed partnership, Circular Industrial Plastics, which consists of large Danish companies, commits to increase recycling of industrial plastics by at least 20% before 2025. Circular Industrial Plastics has a budget of USD5.6 MM, of which USD2.4 MM were granted by the Danish Eco-Innovation Program under the Danish Environmental Protection Agency. The ambition is to make knowledge and technology within circular plastic available for Danish companies.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Versalis Dunastyr, a major petrochemical company based in Hungary, has selected Antea Web — the complete suite of Antea’s globally leading asset integrity management (AIM) software with digital twin, risk based inspection (RBI), inspection data management system (IDMS), integrity operating windows (IOW), and more — to ensure the mechanical integrity of its assets, said Digitalrefining.

. As the leading producer of intermediates, polyethylene, styrene and elastomers in Hungary, Versalis required a robust and proven AIM platform that was comprehensive and able to seamlessly manage a vast array of different petrochemical asset types.

Antea was selected for its long-standing relationship with Versalis (including continuous agreements with Versalis Italy and Versalis United Kingdom), for its proven expertise in the sector, the feature-rich functionality of its software, and the value of Antea’s dedicated data management services and support.

Antea will continue to support Versalis beyond project implementation and into the future with ongoing resource deployment, either online or onsite, to provide technical support, training, subject matter expertise, and ongoing data management services to ensure optimization of the software and asset database. Versalis Dunastyr operators can expect optimized processes, reduced inspection costs, improved risk mitigation and overall benefits to maintenance and reliability.

As per MRC, Versalis, Eni's chemical company, is expanding its Revive portfolio to include a new product for food packaging made with 75% domestic post-consumer polystyrene. The product, referred to as Versalis Revive PS Air F - Series Forever, is the result of the company’s existing collaboration with Forever Plast S.p.A., and has been developed as part of a collaborative project with various players in the polystyrene industry value chain, including Corepla, ProFood and Unionplast.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Toyo Engineering India Private Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyo Engineering Corporation, has been awarded a contract by Indian Oil Corporation Limited for the Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Commissioning of a new 2.5 MMTPA Vacuum Distillation Unit planned by Indian Oil Corporation Limited in Vadodara, Gujarat, Western India, said Digitalrefining.

IOCL is a largest Public Sector Undertaking governed by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, and Gujarat Refinery is one of India's largest oil refineries. The refinery is currently planning to expand its existing refinery from 13.7 MMTPA to 18 MMTPA, the total investment in this expansion project is more than 300 billion yen, aiming for more efficient refinery operation and high-value-added product production. This project is expected to be completed in the first half of FY 2024.

Toyo-India is currently implementing projects at the Paradip and Barauni Refineries for IOCL. This is the second consecutive order for IOCL, following the Vacuum Gas Oil Hydrotreater Unit at the Panipat refinery.

In India, which has a vast population and huge middle-class population strata that continues to grow, TOYO is committed to contributing to the economic development of the country.

As per MRC, Toyo Engineering Corporation has been awarded a contract for a project to construct a 50,000-kW biomass power plant. This plant will be built in Tomakomai-shi, Hokkaido, Japan for Tomatoh Biomass Power GK.
This project is to construct a dedicated biomass-fired power plant using wood biomass fuel. This power generation facility is a highly efficient biomass-fired plant based on the reheat system. TOYO will carry out the EPC contract on a full turn-key basis that includes engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning services for a power generation unit.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- India's fuel demand in July rose 6.1% year-on-year, data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the oil ministry showed on Monday, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Consumption of fuel, a proxy for oil demand, totaled 17.62 million tons in July, down 5.7% from 18.68 million tons in June. "India's fuel demand outlook is improving as the economy is poised for a strong bounce back in consumption and continued momentum for the services sector," said Edward Moya, senior analyst with OANDA.

"Fuel demand is softer than the prior month as higher prices are starting to impact demand...with the rupee at a historically low level, the country will struggle if oil prices continue to rebound." Sales of gasoline, or petrol, were 6.8% higher from a year earlier at 2.81 million tons.

Gasoline and gas oil sales by Indian state refiners in July fell from a month earlier as monsoon rains restricted mobility and construction work while high inflation curtailed overall demand for goods, per preliminary sales data. Cooking gas or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sales increased 1.7% to 2.41 million tons, while naphtha sales fell 6.2% to 1.14 million tons. Sales of bitumen, used for making roads, were up 1.4%, while fuel oil use edged up 19.8% in July.

As per MRC, India has cut fuel export taxes for the second time in less than two weeks and increased a windfall tax on locally produced crude oil, a government notification said. India cut export taxes on jet fuel to zero from 4 rupees per liter and diesel to 5 rupees per liter from 11 rupees per liter, the finance ministry notification said.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Japan's second-biggest oil refiner Idemitsu Kosan Co on Tuesday raised its annual profit forecast by 70% after reporting record first-quarter earnings, buoyed by higher prices of oil and thermal coal, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Like global energy companies, Idemitsu has benefited from stronger crude oil prices, which translate into higher prices for refined products and increased inventory values. Oil prices have hovered above USD100 per barrel in the April to June quarter on tight supplies following Western sanctions on Russia, a major producer, and as energy consumption returned to near pre-pandemic levels.

Idemitsu now predicts a net profit of record 280 billion yen (USD2.1 billion) for the year to March 31, against its May estimate of 165 billion yen. It also beat a mean forecast of 207 billion yen, according to a Refinitiv poll of nine analysts. "Surging prices of oil and coal and a weaker yen contributed to strong first-quarter results and an upgrade of our full-year forecast," Yoshitaka Onuma, general manager of the finance department, told a news conference.

Its net profit for the April-to-June first quarter nearly doubled to 245 billion yen. "Robust petroleum product margins in Singapore also led to higher earnings in exports," Onuma said, adding Idemitsu's export volume is expected to increase 53.5% this year from a year earlier, also helped by higher operation rates at its refineries.

Refinery run rates came to 82% in the first-quarter, above an annual rate of 77% last year. Idemitsu lifted its annual assumption of Brent oil prices to USD105.1 a barrel from its May estimate of USD102.5, spot Australian thermal coal prices to USD310.1 a tonne from USD180, and the yen's exchange rate to 133.6 yen per U.S. dollar from 120 yen.

"The global coal market has tightened as Russian supply has fallen amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict, boosting demand for Australian coal as an alternative," Onuma said, adding soaring prices of natural gas in Europe had also boosted coal demand as substitute.

As MRC wrote before, in early February, Idemitsu Kosan had no plan to give fresh financial aid to Vietnam's Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical (NSRP), which ha cut production to 80% of capacity due to a funding problem. Vietnam's largest refinery avoided a lengthy shutdown that month after a major shareholder secured short-term funding following a disagreement between shareholders about financing for crude, having earlier cut its run rate.

We remind that in October 2018, Idemitsu Kosan finalized a deal to buy out Showa Shell Sekiyu through a share swap in a deal worth about USD5.6 billion.
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