Number of Kuwait Mina Abdullah refinery production units temporarily stopped

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A number of Kuwait's Mina Abdullah refinery production units temporarily stopped as a result of a power outage without affecting production and export schedules, as per Hydrocarbobprocessing.

Power resumption efforts and restoring operations efforts were in progress, Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) added.

We remind, Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Co (KIPIC) said the first phase of Al-Zour refinery has started commercial operations, according to state news agency (KUNA). The commercial launch comes after the project started last month to produce and sell primary quantities of fuel oil and supply it to local power stations.

Technip Energies, through its wholly-owned subsidiary in the UK (Technip E&C Limited), has been awarded a significant contract for Project Engineering and Management Services (PEMS) by Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company (KIPIC) for various projects in southern Kuwait. The contract is for six years duration and covers Project Engineering and Management Services for various potential projects in the Al-Zour complex, including the Al-Zour Refinery, Petrochemical Complex, LNG Import Facilities and other facilities belonging to KIPIC.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil and Pertamina, the state-owned energy company for Indonesia, have signed a Heads of Agreement at the G20 Summit in Bali to further progress their previously announced regional carbon capture and storage hub for domestic and international CO2, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The Heads of Agreement builds upon a joint study and memorandum of understanding that was signed at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland to assess carbon capture and storage technologies, low-carbon hydrogen and geologic data. The agreement defines next steps for the project including concept-select, pre-Front End Engineering Design, and a subsurface work program.

The agreement was signed by Pertamina President Director and Chief Executive Officer Nicke Widyawati and Irtiza Sayyed, vice president, ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions and president of ExxonMobil Indonesia. The signing was witnessed by U.S. Ambassador for Republic Indonesia, H.E. Sung Y. Kim and Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs H.E. Luhut B. Pandjaitan, and Jack Williams, senior vice president, Exxon Mobil Corporation.

“This agreement supports Indonesia’s net-zero ambition and its goal to become a carbon capture and storage leader in the region,” said Dan Ammann, president, ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions. “By providing a large-scale storage solution for hard-to-decarbonize sectors, our companies will support Indonesia’s growing economy through low-carbon investments, creating job opportunities and adding revenues for the country.”

The Indonesian government is working to develop supportive CCS regulations and initiating discussions with other governments in the region. “This milestone is a solid foundation for Indonesia to systematically work toward our net-zero target by 2060 or sooner,” said H.E. Luhut B. Pandjaitan. “Indonesia is growing, and it is imperative for us to address our carbon footprints for our future generations.”

ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions is working to bring lower-emission technologies to market, making them accessible to hard-to-decarbonize industries, including its recent agreement with a leading global manufacturer of nitrogen and hydrogen products in Louisiana, United States. It is focusing its carbon capture and storage efforts on point-source emissions, the process of capturing CO2 from industrial activity that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere. Once captured, the CO2 is injected into deep, underground geologic formations for safe, secure and permanent storage.

We remind, ExxonMobil Corp agreed to sell its Billings, Montana, refinery and related pipeline properties to Par Pacific Holdings Inc for USD310 MM. The sale ends a years-long effort by the U.S. oil giant to further reduce its refining footprint and concentrate production on plants along the U.S. Gulf Coast and in the Midwest. It also has been selling oil producing properties to boost returns.

Exxon Mobil Corporation is an American company, one of the largest oil companies in the world, one of the largest corporations in the world in terms of market capitalization. The company's headquarters is located in Irving, a suburb of Dallas, Texas.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- India would be one of the countries most exposed if Russia refuses to sell crude oil at the capped price under proposed sanctions to be imposed by the United States and the European Union, said Reuters.

In 2021, India was the world’s third-largest crude importer (214 MMt) after China (526 MMt) and the United States (305 MMt) (“Statistical review of world energy”, BP, 2022).

India and China rely on imports by tanker from the Middle East, Russia and other regions, in contrast to the United States, which receives most of its imports by pipeline from neighboring Canada.

India’s domestic crude and condensate production has been stuck at 30-40 MMt per year for the last two decades, data from India’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas shows.

By contrast, domestic petroleum consumption has doubled to 202 MMt in 2021 from 103 MMt in 2002 (“Snapshot of India’s oil and gas data”, Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell, Nov. 10).

In the first ten months of 2022, India consumed a seasonal record 182 MMt, surpassing the previous peak of 178 million in 2019, before the pandemic.

As a lower-middle income country experiencing rapid industrialization and urbanization, India’s consumption is growing fast but its consumers are very sensitive to both price changes and the economic cycle.

Consumption has been growing by around 7% per year in the last 12 months, though there were signs of a possible slowdown to around half that rate in October.

We remind, India’s Petronet LNG plans to set up a greenfield petrochemical complex consisting of a 750,000 tonnes/year propane dehydrogenation unit (PDH), a 500,000 tonnes/year polypropylene line (PP) and other facilities for the import, storage and transfer of ethane and propane at Dahej, in western Gujarat state, said the company.
The project is estimated to cost around Indian Rupees (Rs) 142bn (USD1.74bn).
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Workers at the BP refinery in Rotterdam began work-to-rule industrial action on Monday after the noon expiry of a union deadline for a new pay agreement, a union spokesman said, as per Reuters.

Jaap Bosma of the CNV union said the action, under which workers do no more than specified in their contracts, would be followed by cuts in refining volume and eventually complete strikes if no agreement is reached. "It is definitely not going to remain at just this," he said.

BP representatives could not be reached for comment. On Thursday a company statement said: "We regret that we have not yet reached an agreement and that actions may follow."

The BP refinery in Rotterdam processes about 400,000 barrels of oil annually and is an important supplier of diesel to Northern Europe. BP's final offer in talks over a new collective labor agreement under discussion since April had been for a 5% wage increase and one-off bonus of 4,000 euros (USD4,000).

Citing Dutch inflation above 15%, workers continue to seek a 6% wage increase, the cash bonus and access to a stock compensation plan representing an additional 3.5% pay increase, Bosma said.

A joint memo by the two unions representing 300 of the 730 workers at the refinery instructed members to "strictly perform the set procedures". Another 130 covered by collective labor agreements are expected to join the work-to-rule action.

We remind, BP laid off most contractors at the approximately 160,000 barrel-per-day Toledo, Ohio, refinery it owns with Cenovus Energy Inc, according to sources familiar with the matter, indicating that the plant will experience a prolonged shutdown following last week's explosion and fire. The explosion killed two United Steelworkers members, identified as brothers Max and Ben Morrissey. The more than 100-year-old refinery has been offline since the middle of last week following the explosion and could be shut for several months.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- PetroChina Company Limited announced that in 1Q-3Q 2022, despite complex and severe external environment, the company overcame the challenges arising from lower crude oil demand and natural disasters such as flooding, said the company.

Coordinated efforts were made to maintain stable production and operations, promote business reform and innovation, and respond to COVID-19. Meanwhile, the company vigorously expanded its exploration and development efforts, and optimized the operation of its oil and gas industrial chains to ensure the stable oil and gas supply. In 1Q-3Q 2022, the company continued to deliver record financial results for the same period. In accordance with IFRS, the company achieved revenue of Yuan 2460 bn, up 30.6% year-on-year. Net profit attributable to parent company was Yuan 120.271 bn, up 60.1% year-on-year.

Net cash inflow from operating activities increased by 38.3% year-on-year and free cash flow increased significantly. The company maintained a sound financial position. Steady growth in oil and gas production amid persistent efforts in expanding exploration and development.

The company stepped up investment in exploration and development, actively expanded oil and gas production capacity, and strived to increase reserves and production. It also promoted the new energies business with solid steps and continued to increase capex to promote the integrated development of oil, gas and new energies. The company attached equal importance to production volume and profitability, and kept working on cost control. For overseas business, the company forged ahead with key projects and further optimized its business layout and asset structure. In 1Q-3Q 2022, crude oil output reached 677 M barrels, of which domestic crude oil output reached 577 M barrels, up 2.7% year-on-year. The marketable natural gas output reached 3445 bcf, of which domestic marketable natural gas output reached 3296 bcf, up 5.1% year-on-year.

The oil equivalent of oil and gas output was 1.25 bn barrels, of which domestic oil and gas output reached 1.13 bn barrels of oil equivalent, up 3.9% year-on-year. The oil, gas and new energies segment achieved an operating profit of Yuan 138.93 bn. Remarkable results in product mix adjustment driven by continuous transformation and upgrading of refining and chemicals operation. Stay market-oriented, the company actively optimized its resources and rationalized processing load.

It pressed ahead with reducing the output of refined products and increasing chemical and speciality products, with product mix further optimized. It also enhanced R&D efforts and established the research institute for new materials in Japan. As a result, the output of new materials substantially increased. New progress was made in the development of key projects, with the Guangdong Petrochemical and Refining Project preparing for commissioning. In 1Q-3Q 2022, the company processed 896 M barrels of crude oil and produced 77.456 M tonnes of gasoline, kerosene, and diesel.

The company produced 23.486 M tonnes of chemical products, up 3.5% year-on-year. The refining, chemicals and new materials segment generated an operating profit of Yuan 26.37 bn. The marketing segment recorded an operating profit of Yuan 7.24 bn.

We remind, PetroChina Dagang Petrochemical Company successfully commissioned a 150,000 tpy Ionikylation unit for the production of high octane alkylate. Start-up activities were completed on August 14, 2022. The Dagang alkylation unit is the third Ionikylation unit in PetroChina’s portfolio and the seventh commercial Ionikylation project to date.
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