KazMunayGas starts building new butadiene, synthetic rubber unit

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Kazakhstan's energy giant KazMunayGas has started construction works on a new butadiene and synthetic rubber plant, said the company.

The production facility is based in Atyrau region, western Kazakhstan, KazMunayGas press-service said in a statement.

On 5 November, the project's operator Butadiene LLP – which is controlled by KazMunayGas - and Kazakhstan’s major oil and gas producer Tengizchevroil, signed an agreement envisaging supplies of 380,000 tonnes/year of butane from Tengizchevroil to the new plant, according to the statement.

The plant, estimated to cost $964m, is to be built by 2025. It would produce 66,000 tonnes/year of butadiene, 83,000 tonnes/year of synthetic rubber and 130,000 tonnes/year of isobutane.

Butadiene LLP is discussing possible license agreements with Lummus, Versalis (Eni) and ETIC, according to KazMunayGas.

Earlier it was reported that on November 8, KazMunayGas launched a new plant for the production of polypropylene with a capacity of 500 thousand tons per year in Atyrau, Western Kazakhstan. The new plant is valued at USD2.6 billion and will be able to produce up to 65 types of polypropylene to meet domestic demand, as well as export polypropylene to foreign markets. It uses Catofin and Novolen technologies provided by Lummus Technology.
The project is managed by Kazakhstan Petrochemical Industries, owned by the National Welfare Fund Samruk-Kazyna. The plant was built by China National Chemical Engineering.

KazMunayGas is Kazakhstan's national operator for the exploration, production, processing and transportation of hydrocarbons, representing the interests of the state in the oil and gas industry. 90.42% of the company's shares belong to the state fund "Samruk-Kazyna", 9.58% - to the National Bank of Kazakhstan.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sinarmas Cepsa Pte Ltd (SCPL) and its parent companies, the chemicals business of CEPSA and agribusiness Golden Agri-Resources (GAR), signed an agreement to expand the production of bio-based chemicals at SCPL’s site in Lubuk Gaung, Indonesia, said Chemindigest.

The site is ideally positioned to serve customers worldwide and the existing facility, which started production in 2017, is fully utilised.

SCPL has a strong ambition to grow along the fatty alcohols value chain, with sustainable development at the heart of its strategy and operations. Global demand for fatty acids and natural alcohols is driven by growing demand for home and personal care products, as well as increasing demand for sustainable, bio-based solutions across a variety of the industries SCPL serves.

The expansion is expected to advance SCPL’s growth strategy, to contribute to solving environmental challenges, including climate change, and to support sustainable farming practices in Indonesia. Pending final investment decisions, this incremental production will bring additional employment and economic benefits to the local community.

“Sustainably sourced, bio-based alternatives are key requirements for our customers and the markets we serve” says Kung Chee Wan, CEO of SCPL. Wan adds, “We are excited to grow with our customers and increase the scale of our sustainable and traceable integrated supply chains”.

We remind, Cepsa has signed a deal with the Dutch port of Rotterdam to ship green hydrogen from southern Spain to northern Europe. The hydrogen will be produced at Cepsa’s San Roque Energy Park near the Bay of Algeciras, and will be exported through hydrogen carriers such as ammonia or methanol to the Port of Rotterdam.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Members of Unite, Scotland’s leading union, based at ExxonMobil’s ethylene plant in Mossmorran are set to take part in an industrial action ballot which could threaten production, said Unitetheunion.

The ballot which open today (14 November) and closes on 28 November is a dispute over the level of bonus payments under the NAECI (National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry) agreement which covers the workers.

Around 200 Unite members are employed on construction engineering maintenance contracts. The workforce are split between Altrad, Bilfinger, and Kaefer.

The contractors are seeking to secure the maximum bonus of GDP2.37 an hour under the terms of the NAECI agreement to offset rampant inflation rate which now stands at 12.6 per cent (RPI). The employers, however, have to date refused to pay the bonus.

In October, US oil giant ExxonMobil released its third quarter result showing record earnings of nearly ?17.3bn (USD20bn).

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Energy companies like ExxonMobil are making record profits of hundreds of billions, yet there is apparently no money available for hard pressed workers, who are essential to the Mossmorran plant operations.”

“Unite’s members are determined to fight for what they deserve especially when and they we see major corporations fanning the flames of rampant profiteering. Our workers will be receiving Unite’s unflinching support.”

Due to the nature of the work undertaken by the construction workers any industrial action will result in disruption and delays to the operations at Mossmorran.

Bob MacGregor, Unite industrial officer, added: “Unite’s members working for Altrad, Bilfinger, and Kaefer at the Mossmorran plant are angry at being denied what they are owed and deserve under the terms of the NAECI agreement. Any strike action will be entirely of the employers’ own making due to their penny-pinching. They have had every chance to resolve this dispute through negotiation but have chosen not to do so.”

Last month, Unite members contracted by Kaefer based at Shell’s Mossmorran plant resolved a separate dispute over pay.

We remind, 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.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- GS Caltex completed the construction of its 2.7-trillion-won (USD2 billion) petrochemicals manufacturing plant in Yeosu, South Jeolla, said Koreajoongangdaily.

The biggest investment project ever by GS Caltex aims to diversify the company’s portfolio outside the oil refining business and into petrochemical manufacturing, therefore reducing the company’s exposure to crude price fluctuations.

The newly-built production plant, a mixed feed cracker (MFC), will mainly produce olefins such as ethylene and polyethylene. Olefins are widely used as raw materials for plastics, rubbers and chemical products.

The MFC will annually produce 750,000 tons of ethylene, 500,000 tons of polyethylene, 410,000 tons of propylene, 240,000 tons of mixed C4 raffinate and 410,000 tons of pyrolysis gasoline, according to GS Caltex.

Unlike naphtha crackers, which uses only naphtha for petrochemicals production, MFCs can use not only naphtha but other feedstock such as liquid petroleum gas and refinery off-gas, which are crude refining byproducts. The facility can also produce hydrogen using naphtha and refinery off-gas, replacing the previously-used liquefied natural gas, and therefore cut carbon emissions by 76,000 tons a year, said GS Caltex.

“The completion of the MFC facility will serve as a major turning point for us, in terms of business diversification through the non-oil refinery business expansion and growth,” said GS Caltex CEO Hur Sae-hong.

“Amid high volatility, we now have the capability to respond to market demand with a diverse product line-up.”

Hur added that GS Caltex will “develop other high value-added products in the future,” to become an all-encompassing energy company, from oil refining to petrochemicals, renewable energy and material recycling.

GS Caltex is 50 percent owned by GS Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of GS Holdings, and 50 percent owned by the American company Chevron.

A ceremony to celebrate the completion of the MFC was held Friday in Yeosu, attended by CEO Hur, South Jeolla Gov. Kim Yung-rok and Second Vice Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Park Il-jun.

We remind, South Korea's oil refining and energy giant GS Caltex has teamed up with leading domestic companies in their respective fields to enter the carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) sector.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- PT Kilang Pertamina Internasional ("PT-KPI") has selected Univation's UNIPOL™ PE Process for two reactor lines. Each reactor line is designed to achieve nameplate capacities of 350,000 tons per annum for a combined polyethylene (PE) production capacity of 700,000 tons per annum, said the company.

The two new reactor lines will be located at PT-KPI's Tuban Complex, East Java, Indonesia. PT-KPI will access the "full-density" flexibility of their two new UNIPOL™ PE Process lines to produce a broad array of both HDPE and LLDPE products to satisfy growing PE demand within the Indonesian region.

PT-KPI will utilize Univation's advanced PRODIGY™ Bimodal HDPE Technology and advanced ACCLAIM™ Unimodal HDPE Technology to cover key end-use applications including large part blow molding, unimodal and bimodal films, and pressure and non-pressure pipe products. PT-KPI will also access Univation's UCAT™ J Catalyst to produce grades that cover large-volume product segments including LLDPE film and HDPE injection molding applications.

PT-KPI has also selected Univation's advanced process control platform ? PREMIER™ APC+ 3.0 ? to further enhance the overall operating performance of their two UNIPOL™ PE Process lines. Specifically developed for the UNIPOL™ PE Process, the APC+ 3.0 platform represents Univation's latest generation of advanced process control software with capabilities that include optimizing raw material utilization, maximizing production rates, and enabling seamless product grade transitions. Additionally, PT-KPI has elected to utilize the UNIPOL™ PE Process Virtual Plant Simulator ("UVPS") software. The recently updated UVPS training platform delivers a realistic training experience allowing PT-KPI to train its operating staff on all essential unit operations related to the UNIPOL™ PE Process including steady-state and transitional operating procedures.

Luis Cirihal, president of Univation Technologies, commented, "Our Univation expert teams are already fully engaged on this important Indonesian project to enable PT-KPI with the successful construction, commission, and start-up of their two new UNIPOL™ PE Process lines". Luis continued his comments, "We further look forward to supporting PT-KPI as they take full advantage of the broad PE product flexibility for both highly competitive large-volume grades as well as key specialty grades. Furthermore, we are focused on assisting PT-KPI with their on-going product needs after start-up as they continue to successfully produce a variety of HDPE and LLDPE grades that are vital to satisfy Indonesian PE market needs – both today and into the future".

PT Kilang Pertamina Internasional provided their comments, "We are pleased to collaborate with Univation Technologies on our two new polyethylene reactor lines as we prepare to introduce this new significant source of polyethylene supply to Indonesia and the Asia Pacific region. In accordance with Design Build Competition (DBC) concept, Univation Technologies is registered in our Approved Licensor List and was chosen by the entire group of EPC contractors who competed in our Bidding (Tender) Process".

We remind, Pertamina Power Indonesia, Keppel Infrastructure and Chevron New Energies have agreed to develop green hydrogen and green ammonia in Sumatera, Indonesia. The signing of the JSA took place at the Business 20 (B20) Investment Forum held in conjunction with the B20 Summit in Bali.

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