Second largest refinery resumes gasoline production in Venezuela

Second largest refinery resumes gasoline production in Venezuela

Venezuela's state oil and gas company PDVSA has restarted gasoline production at the country's second largest refinery after repairing a breakdown, said Reuters.

The Cardon refinery's naphtha reformer, with a capacity of 45,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd), produces high-octane components for gasoline and is key to the country's gasoline supply. PDVSA commissioned it with an output of about 28,000 bpd about a fortnight ago. The reformer "is already producing", one source told Reuters.

PDVSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The reformer suspended production at the end of June to undergo maintenance that extended beyond the 21 days originally scheduled.

"We are producing 28,000 b/d (barrels per day) of pure lomito (high-grade gasoline) of 102 octane," said another source. But Cardon's 88,000 bpd capacity Fluidised Catalytic Cracking (FCC) unit remains stalled, the sources said.

A restart would provide relief to ongoing supply failures in the nation, whose 1.3 million bpd grid has been crippled by years of disinvestment and lack of maintenance.

The Amuay refinery and Cardon make up the Paraguana Refining Center in the western state of Falcon, which has a combined production capacity of 955,000 bpd. At Amuay, the catalytic cracker was operational.

The El Palito refinery on the country's central coast, the smallest in the Venezuelan refining circuit, halted gasoline production at the end of 2021.

In May, an agreement was announced between Iran's state-owned National Iranian Oil Engineering and Construction Company and Venezuela to repair the refinery.

We remind, Venezuela has suspended new crude shipments to Europe under an oil-for-debt deal and has asked Italy's Eni and Spain's Repsol to provide it with fuel in exchange for future cargoes, three people familiar with the matter said. Venezuela's oil company PDVSA no longer is interested in the oil-for-debt deals that the U.S. State Department authorized in May, the sources said, which allowed the state company to resume shipments to Europe after a two-year suspension caused by U.S. sanctions.
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BASF and Nippon Paint develop sustainable industrial packaging

BASF and Nippon Paint develop sustainable industrial packaging

Germany-based chemical company BASF has partnered with Japanese coating manufacturer Nippon Paint to introduce sustainable industrial packaging in China, said the company.

The packaging has been adopted for Nippon Paint ‘s dry-mixed mortar series products. It uses BASF ‘s water-based acrylic dispersion, Joncryl High-Performance Barrier (HPB), as the barrier material, which is being used for the first time in industrial packaging in China.

In addition to offering ‘excellent’ vapour and water resistance properties, Joncryl HPB eliminates plastics and improves the recyclability of paper-based packaging in the industrial segment. The use of Joncryl HPB material will enable Nippon Paint to save thousands of tonnes of plastics while reusing around 10,000 tpa of paper bags.

BASF said that this will reduce carbon emissions and help achieve a circular economy and sustainable development within the packaging industry. BASF Asia Pacific Resins for Printing & Packaging business management director Carol Jiang said: “Sustainability and innovation have always been our core strategies.

“At BASF , we are committed to providing sustainable solutions to our customers to help them reduce carbon footprint, utilise resources efficiently, and help the industry fulfil its sustainability commitments. “This cooperation with Nippon Paint is another innovation in the industrial packaging segment, marking our joint effort in leading the industry development, promoting a circular economy, and creating a better life."

Nippon Paint China Procurement Headquarters president Kevin By said: “Sustainability is an important strategy that Nippon Paint has been adhering to for years. “The cooperation with BASF is a step forward on the path of green development.

"Nippon Paint will continuously be a green ‘activist,’ connecting upstream and downstream partners across the industry chain to build a green ecology through the eco-upgrade of product packaging and lead the new trend of sustainable packaging to green development a core competency."

In 2020, BASF expanded its dispersion portfolio at its facility in Huizhou, South China.

We remind, BASF Coatings (Guangdong) Co., Ltd. (BCG) has expanded the production capacity of automotive refinish coatings at its coatings site in Jiangmen, Guangdong Province in South China. With the completion of the expansion in July 2022, BASF’s annual production capacity of automotive refinish coatings will be increased to 30,000 metric tons. This is in line with the company’s pledge to maintain customer proximity, as well as to strengthen BASF’s position as a leading and innovative coatings supplier to the automotive industry in China and the rest of Asia.
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McDermott wins FEED contract from Viva Energy Australia

McDermott wins FEED contract from Viva Energy Australia

McDermott International has been awarded a Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) contract from Viva Energy Australia as part of its Geelong Refinery project to provide additional desulfurization capabilities, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The award follows the successful completion of the Pre-FEED activity and encompasses early engineering and procurement services to support the project schedule.

Under the contract scope, McDermott will provide FEED services for a new modularized production unit. The unit will produce ultra-low sulfur gasoline with up to ten parts per million (ppm) sulfur to meet the proposed changes to Australia's fuel quality standards from the end of 2024. Lower sulfur gasoline will support improved vehicle emissions.

"This award is testament to our successful execution of the pre-FEED. In this next phase, we will apply McDermott's extensive modularization expertise to ensure quality, reduce cost and maintain the schedule," said Tareq Kawash, Senior Vice President, Onshore of McDermott. "We look forward to continuing to support Viva Energy Australia's carbon emission reduction goals to provide cleaner fuels and enhance Australia's fuel security."

Work on the project will be executed from McDermott's engineering center of excellence in The Hague, the Netherlands with support from its offices in Gurgaon, India, and Perth, Australia.

As per MRC, McDermott’s storage business unit, CB&I, and Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore the development of large-scale liquid hydrogen storage to support Korea’s hydrogen economy roadmap. Last year, South Korea announced plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 by replacing coal-fired power generation with renewable sources and internal combustion engine vehicles with hydrogen-powered and battery-based electric vehicles, McDermott wrote in a statement.
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L&T wins contract from Indian Oil Corporation

L&T wins contract from Indian Oil Corporation

The Hydrocarbon-Onshore division of L&T’s Energy Business has secured a large contract from Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

IOCL is implementing the Panipat Refinery Expansion (P-25) Project to enhance refining capacity from 15 MMtpy to 25 MMtpy to meet the growth in demand of petroleum products and to increase their profitability and competitiveness in the long run.

The engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning (EPCC) contract is for setting up a Residue Hydrocracker Unit (RHCU) for this P-25 Project. The RHCU is licensed by Axens (France) with a capacity of 2.5 MMtpy and will upgrade the Vacuum Residue (VR) to high-value commercial products (mainly diesel). The contract is awarded through international competitive bidding on a Lump Sum Turnkey (LSTK) basis.

L&T earlier bagged a significant EPCC Contract for setting up DHDT Unit (5.0 MMtpy, licensed by Shell) under the same P-25 Project of IOCL at Panipat-Refinery.

Commenting on the win, Mr. Subramanian Sarma, Whole-time Director & Sr. Executive Vice President (Energy) said, “We are very delighted to be part of this large expansion project of IOCL-Panipat. I would like to thank IOCL for having trust in our capabilities. We are fully committed to delivering the complex process units with high standards of HSE and Quality."

The Hydrocarbon business of L&T Energy organized under Offshore, Onshore, Construction Services, Modular Fabrication and Advanced Value Engineering & Technology (AdVENT) verticals, offers integrated design-to-build solutions to domestic and international customers. With over three decades of rich experience, the business has been setting global benchmarks in all aspects of project management, corporate governance, quality, HSE and operational excellence.

As per MRC, India opened its first factory to produce ethanol from rice straw or stubble on Wednesday as part of measures to reduce its reliance on oil imports and meet its net zero carbon goal.

We remind, 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.
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Phillips 66 announces offer to acquire outstanding publicly held common units of DCP Midstream

Phillips 66 announces offer to acquire outstanding publicly held common units of DCP Midstream

Phillips 66 announces offer to acquire outstanding publicly held common units of DCP Midstream, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Concurrent with Phillips 66’s announcement of the realignment of economic and governance interests in DCP Midstream, LP (DCP Midstream), Phillips 66 also announced it has submitted a non-binding proposal to the board of directors of the general partner of DCP Midstream offering to acquire all publicly held common units of DCP Midstream for cash.

Subject to negotiation and execution of a definitive agreement, Phillips 66 is proposing consideration of $34.75 for each outstanding publicly-held common unit of DCP Midstream as part of a transaction that would be structured as a merger of DCP Midstream with an indirect subsidiary of Phillips 66 with DCP Midstream as the surviving entity.

The proposed transaction is subject to the negotiation and execution of a definitive agreement and approval of such definitive agreement and transactions contemplated thereunder by the board of directors of the general partner of DCP Midstream and a conflicts committee thereof. The consummation of the proposed transaction would also be subject to customary closing conditions. There can be no assurance that any such approvals will be forthcoming, that a definitive agreement will be executed or that any transaction will be consummated.

Phillips 66 engaged Barclay's Capital Inc. as financial advisor and Bracewell LLP as legal counsel.

As per MRC, Phillips 66 signed a letter of intent with FreeWire Technologies in support of its first electric-vehicle charging program in the United States. The announcement highlights Phillips 66’s commitment to pursue lower-carbon solutions and comes as an endorsement of FreeWire’s ultrafast, battery-integrated charging technology. The two companies will explore opportunities to deploy FreeWire’s technology within Phillips 66’s U.S. fueling stations and other strategic locations.
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