One dead after accident at Phillips 66 Wood River refinery

One contract employee died, and another was injured after a crane overturned on Tuesday at Phillips 66's 356,000-bpd Wood River, Illinois, refinery, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The injured employee was transported to an area hospital, while the refinery remains operational, the spokesperson said in an email, adding that an investigation into the incident is under way.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in an email said OSHA has opened an investigation into the fatality and "initial reports are that a crane fell over crushing an employee and injured another."

We remind, Refiner Phillips 66 said on Wednesday, it plans to reduce its employee headcount by 1,100 to help cut costs and meet its savings target of USD500 MM by end-2022. Phillips, which had 14,000 employees in 2021 according to a company presentation, expects to cut staff to 12,900 by the end of this year.

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The packaging and recycling specialist ALPLA has realised a carbon-optimised prototype solution as a showcase for future products with its innovative Canupak beauty care packaging.

The ultralight packaging system with a bottle made entirely of recycled HDPE (rHDPE) underscores the company’s global sustainability strategy. ALPLA is therefore offering its customers further potential to reduce emissions as well as expertise for future developments.

Around 71 per cent less carbon consumption than with comparable packaging types, complete recyclability of the bottle and cap, and a total weight of approximately just 14 grams – with its ultralight Canupak packaging system, the global packaging and recycling company ALPLA has realised carbon-optimised packaging for the field of beauty care. The bottle is made entirely of recycled HDPE (rHDPE) sourced from the company’s own plants in the EU. It is also produced exclusively using renewable energies.

Canupak is a prime example of how the potential to minimise emissions can be explored with high-quality packaging systems. ‘We are gradually reducing carbon emissions and are expanding our expertise across the board of processes, from design and production through to logistics. The carbon-optimised Canupak is the next milestone on the path to the sustainable packaging of the future,’ emphasises Karina Polzl, Innovation Project Manager at ALPLA.

The carbon footprint was calculated in cooperation with ClimatePartner. The product carbon footprint (PCF) comprises all the emissions throughout a product’s life cycle, including its disposal. The areas of package contents, retail and use phase were not taken into account as these are not relevant to the climate impacts of packaging. As no clear standards currently exist for climate-neutral products and offsetting certificates, ALPLA is focusing on reducing emissions within its own sphere of influence. ‘We are focusing on further optimising our products and on maximum recyclability based on design for recycling, and are on the lookout for partners who wish to take the next step in reducing their carbon footprint together with us,’ reports Project Manager Karina Polzl.

‘There is increasing demand for sustainable products – among our customers as well as the end consumers. Carbon-optimised packaging has a key part to play here. We already have the expertise and experience in producing future-oriented solutions,’ says ALPLA’s delighted CEO Philipp Lehner.

At ALPLA, the development of carbon-optimised packaging solutions with a high PCR proportion, maximum recyclability and minimum material consumption goes hand in hand with investments in sustainable projects and the global expansion of renewable energy and the circular economy. All packaging is to be fully recyclable by 2025, with post-consumer recycled material (PCR) accounting for 25 per cent of the materials processed. The company is investing 50 million euros a year in recycling activities to this end. ALPLA already widely uses renewable energies and high-quality own-production recycled materials at its plants and is minimising transport journeys with in-house plants directly at the customers’ premises.

ALPLA is one of the leading companies involved in plastic packaging and recycling. Around 22,100 employees worldwide produce custom-made packaging systems, bottles, caps and moulded parts at 177 sites across 45 countries. The high-quality packaging is used in a wide range of areas, including for food and drinks, cosmetics and care products, household cleaning products, detergents and cleaning agents, pharmaceutical products, engine oils and lubricants.

ALPLA operates recycling plants for PET and HDPE in Austria, Germany, Poland, Mexico, Italy, Spain, Romania and Thailand. Other projects are being realised elsewhere around the world.

We remind, ALPLA Group opened a state-of-the-art production site in Lanseria near Johannesburg. In the new headquarters for Sub-Saharan Africa, the internationally active plastic packaging specialist is merging five previous locations in South Africa under one roof. All ALPLA technologies, processes and materials are combined in the Lanseria plant and the first apprenticeship programme of ALPLA in Africa will start at the beginning of 2023.

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China's crude oil imports in November rose 12% from a year earlier to their highest in 10 mos, data showed on Wednesday, as companies replenished stocks with cheaper oil and as new plants started up, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The world's largest crude importer brought in 46.74 MM metric t of crude oil last month, equivalent to 11.37 MMbpd, according to data from the General Administration of Customs. That was up from 10.16 MMbpd in October and 10.17 MMbpd in November 2021.

Chinese state refiners stepped up purchases of U.S. crude oil, taking advantage of arbitrage opportunities, while maintaining high imports of Russian oil ahead of the December 5 European embargo and imposition of an oil price cap.

Independent traders last month also moved a record amount of deeply discounted Iranian crude passed off as oil sourced from Malaysia, Oman or elsewhere, according to tanker tracker Vortexa Analytics. The higher imports resulted in a crude oil stock build of 41 MMbbl over the month, Vortexa estimated.

Also contributing to the rebound was the startup in late October of a 200,000-bpd crude oil unit at PetroChina's newly built refinery in Guangdong, while private refiner Shenghong Petrochemical said in mid-November that it shipped out its first batch of refined products.

Imports for the first 11 mos of the year totaled 460.26 MM metric t, or about 10.06 MMbpd, down 1.4% from the corresponding period last year. Wednesday's data also showed fuel exports reached 6.144 MM metric t, the highest since June 2021 and up from 4.456 MM metric t in October, reflecting Beijing's additional release of quotas.

Year-to-date exports, at 46 MM metric t, remained 19% below year-ago levels due to a broad curb on fuel exports earlier in the year.

Natural gas imports last month via pipelines and as liquefied natural gas (LNG) reached a 10-mos high of 10.32 MM metric t, as northern China entered its second month of winter heating.

Year-to-date imports were 9.7% below a year ago at 99 MM metric t, with annual imports of LNG set for their first major decline since 2006 as demand was crimped by surging global prices and a stagnant economy hobbled by strict COVID-related restrictions.

We remind, Invista (Wichita, Kan.) announced that INVISTA Nylon Chemicals (China) Co. held the inauguration ceremony for its new adiponitrile (ADN) plant at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP). Being a critical part of INVISTA’s integrated nylon 6,6 value chain, the plant, which is a more than 7 billion RMB (over 1 billion USD) investment, has a capacity of 400,000-ton/year and is the largest capital project in in the company’s history. The plant will further boost local production capability for nylon 6,6 and help accelerate the high-quality upgrades of the Chinese chemical industry.
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European motorists could find Russian diesel in their tanks even after bans take effect because regulators lack tools to trace the origin of fuel when it has passed through other countries, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The European Union banned Russian crude imports from Dec. 5 and will ban Russian oil products from Feb. 5, as it attempts to deprive Russia of oil revenues. Britain ended oil and oil product imports from Dec. 5. The challenges in tracking crude once it is refined and diesel once it is blended mean some Russian diesel is likely to be delivered to and re-exported from countries such as India and Turkey, market sources said.

Europe is struggling to replace up to 600,000 bpd of Russian supply, according to Eugene Lindell, refining and products market analyst at consultancy FGE. However, the reputational risk associated with buying Russian fuel, coupled with insurance difficulties, means only limited Russian volumes are likely to find their way into Europe, transported by small players.

How will diesel customs and exchanges police imports? Dutch customs, which oversee the major Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp trade and storage hub, UK enforcement authorities, and the Intercontinental Exchange will check official certificates of origin for import ships.

In case of doubt, UK and Dutch customs can request additional documents to help determine origin, such as contractual agreements, invoices, or bills of lading.

We remind, LUKOIL Neftochim Burgas , Bulgaria's only oil refinery, may have to shut down if the government does not follow through on plans to allow the Russian-owned business to continue exporting. The European Union has agreed to a ban on Russian crude oil imports as part of its sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine in February. The ban takes effect next month, but Bulgaria has been given an exemption and is allowed to import Russian crude until the end of 2024.

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Hungary's fuel supply situation is "critical" as demand has soared and panic buying has led to shortages, oil and gas group MOL said on Tuesday, adding the only solution was to create the conditions for increased imports, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Foreign players have cut fuel shipments to Hungary since the government capped the price of petrol and diesel at 480 forints (USD1.22) per liter a year ago. "MOL remains committed to maintaining security of supply from our own products, however securing full market supply cannot be ensured without the ramp-up of product imports in the current environment," the company said in a statement.

MOL's Managing Director Gyorgy Bacsa later added in an emailed statement that MOL was trying to import more products from its refinery in Slovakia but "has reached the limits of its logistical capacities." The company said it faced some shortfall of fuel stocks across almost its entire network of filling stations over the weekend as many people started panic buying and stockpiling.

The fuel price cap currently applies to drivers of privately owned vehicles, farm vehicles and taxis and is set to expire at the end of December. The government has said it will decide whether to extend the measure based on information from MOL on whether the company is able to ensure supply. The government did not reply to questions on Monday and Tuesday.

MOL also said it had started ramping up crude oil processing at its Danube refinery and expected to reach full capacity utilization in a couple of weeks. Due to maintenance work, the refinery has been operating at 50%–55% capacity, affecting all of MOL's products.

We remind, MOL announced that, through a subsidiary, it signed a long-term charter contract for three newbuilding liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers with QatarEnergy. The vessels will be built at Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd. in China, and are scheduled for delivery in 2027. MOL signed a long-term charter contract with QatarEnergy in April 2022 for four newbuilding LNG carriers, and the relationship between QatarEnergy and MOL will be further expanded by three LNG carriers through the latest contract.
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