Toyo awarded refinery plant project at Vadodara

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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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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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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Slovak oil refiner Slovnaft said on Wednesday it expected Russian oil flows through Ukraine to resume in the coming days after it had made a payment for transit through Ukraine to remove an obstacle that halted flows through the southern leg of the Druzhba pipeline earlier this month, said Bloomberg.

"Slovnaft has already made the payment to the (Ukrainian transit) company's account," Slovnaft said in a statement. "Based on this, Slovnaft is expecting oil supplies to resume in the coming days. The Russian side also agreed with this solution."

As per MRC, Italian energy group Eni believes it will be able to completely replace Russian gas imports by 2025 as uncertainty over Moscow's energy supplies to Europe forces countries to seek alternative sources. After signing new gas supply agreements with Algeria, Egypt and Congo earlier this year, Eni sees additional opportunities arising in other countries including Libya, Angola, Mozambique, and Indonesia, as well as in its home country. The initiatives are designed to secure up to an equivalent of 100% of Russia's 20 Bcm3 of annual gas exports to the Italian market by 2025.

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Japan lowered its gasoline subsidy for oil distributors to 31.4 yen (23.3 cents) a litre for the seven days from Thursday, versus 37.7 yen a week earlier, the industry ministry said on Wednesday, said Reuters.

The temporary subsidy programme was adopted in January to cushion the blow from high crude prices because of tight global supplies, later exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

As per MRC, Japan's chemical exports rose by 19.6% year on year to yen (Y) 1,058bn in June, supporting the overall increase in shipments abroad. The country's exports of organic chemicals rose by 22.8% year on year to Y196bn in June, while shipments of plastic materials were up by 13.9% at Y283bn. On a volume basis, exports of plastic materials fell by 4.2% year on year to 474,344 tonnes.
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