Motiva shuts coker at Port Arthur refinery for repairs

Motiva Enterprises shut the large coker on Monday at its 626,000-bpd Port Arthur, Texas, refinery, people familiar with plant operations said, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The 110,000-bpd DCU-2 coker is scheduled to be closed for two weeks of repairs to an overhead pipe, the sources said. A Motiva spokesperson did not reply to a request for comment.

Once the pipe repair is complete, Motiva plans to shut the 105,000-bpd diesel-producing hydrocracker (HCU-2) and 54,000-bpd coker (DCU-1) for 40 days of planned overhauls.

Cokers convert residual crude oil from distillation units into either feedstocks for motor fuels or petroleum coke, a substitute for coal.

The hydrocracker uses catalyst in the presence of hydrogen under high heat and pressure to convert gas oil into diesel and other mother fuels. The Motiva refinery is the largest by capacity in the United States.

We remind, Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Saudi Aramco) announced, Jan. 18, the 100% acquisition of Motiva Trading by Aramco Trading Co. (ATC), and the launch of Aramco Trading Americas LLC (ATA), a wholly-owned subsidiary of ATC based in Houston, Texas.

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Venator is in the process of restarting its TiO2 and functional additives production at Duisberg site in Germany during the first quarter of 2023, after production was idled in Q4 2022 and staff were furloughed, due to lower demand, higher costs and economic impacts, according to a recent company statement/Q4 earnings call.

Venator made it clear that it is not economically viable to continue TiO2 production at Duisberg longer term and it is at risk of permanent closure, unless economic conditions significantly improve.

The company will continue to produce functional additives and UV filters at Duisberg and will transfer certain TiO2 specialty production to other manufacturing sites with lower production costs.

We remind, Venator Materials named three new members to its board of directors, all of whom are affiliated with private equity firm SK Capital Partners (New York, New York). The appointments come after SK Capital acquired a 39.75% stake in Venator for USD100 million.

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Linde announced that it has completed its intercompany reorganization resulting in the delisting of its shares from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, said the company.

As of March 2, 2023, the new holding company, “Linde plc”, will be listed solely on the New York Stock Exchange and trade under the existing ticker “LIN”.

Per the announcement of February 23, 2023, Linde will now apply to the Irish High Court for a capital reduction for the purposes of creating distributable reserves under Irish law. The date of that court hearing shall be published on Linde’s website.

We remind, Linde, forecast higher earnings for 2023 and said it plans to invest USD7 B-USD9 B over the next two-to-three years in clean energy projects to benefit from demand from companies seeking to cut emissions.

Linde is a leading global industrial gases and engineering company with 2022 sales of $33 billion. We live our mission of making our world more productive every day by providing high-quality solutions, technologies and services which are making our customers more successful and helping to sustain, decarbonize and protect our planet.

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Suncor Energy is restarting fuel production at one of the three plants at its Commerce City oil refinery following a six-week shutdown, but it’s too soon to determine how that will impact the region’s elevated gas prices, said the company.

A federal agency this week confirmed that Colorado drivers are paying more at the pump because of Suncor’s shutdown. It will take several days for Plant 2, which refines oil into gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, to return to normal operations, said Loa Esquilin Garcia, a Suncor Energy spokeswoman. The company plans to have all three plants operational by the end of March. “We call it a progressive restart because it takes several days to go from cold to hot,” Garcia said.

Suncor issued a public notification about the restart on Thursday afternoon, saying people near the plant will notice increased flaring from smokestacks. During flaring, orange flames are emitted from the stacks as workers burn off excess gases to decrease pressure at the plant.

Flaring is controversial because it also releases toxins into the atmosphere. State and local air quality regulators are aware of the restart and will be monitoring air quality around the refinery, the public notification said.

When fully operational, Suncor’s Commerce City facility refines 98,000 barrels of crude oil per day and accounts for about 40% of the gasoline supply in Colorado. But it’s unclear how Plant 2’s return to operation will impact that supply since Suncor did not specify what Plant 2’s refining capacity is or whether it plans to make gasoline, diesel or jet fuel first.

“I don’t have specific volumes, but I can tell you we’re working hard to produce as much product as we safely can,” Garcia said. Gas prices in Colorado have been higher than the national average since the company shuttered operations after a cold snap in late December caused major equipment malfunctions.

Since Dec. 26, gas prices in Denver and Colorado have increased by more than USD1 per gallon, the administration’s report stated. Nationally, the price of a gallon has dropped during that period.

We remind, Suncor's Commerce City, Colorado, petroleum refinery remains offline following a December shutdown. The "progressive restart" of the refinery is ongoing and it is still expected to be back to full operations by late Q1 2023. The only petroleum refinery in Colorado, the facility shut down its 103,000 bbl/day oil refinery 24 December after it sustained damage from extremely cold weather.

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Braskem Idesa (BI) and Advario announce the formalization of their partnership, by virtue of which Advario acquired 50% of the capital of Terminal Quimica Puerto Mexico (TQPM), a company whose purpose is the construction and operation of a new ethane import terminal in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, said the company.

The total estimated investment for the project amounts to USD400 million. The new terminal will have an area of 10 hectares for ethane storage connected to the BI petrochemical complex through an ethane pipeline of approximately 10 kilometers; it will have a storage capacity of 100 thousand m3 and will supply the ethane required by the BI plant to operate at full capacity. The project will have a positive impact on the southern region of Veracruz through the generation of approximately 2 thousand direct jobs, the contracting of suppliers and the creation of new logistics infrastructure for the area and the state.

The formalization of this partnership is a clear example of the commitment of both companies to focus on growth opportunities in the petrochemical sector, thus supporting the Mexican petrochemical and plastics industry.

"This agreement not only demonstrates the positive work we are doing with Advario, a partner that adds technology, knowledge and quality to TQPM's operations, it also ensures that this investment will have a direct impact to strengthen the petrochemical industry in Mexico, a sector that generates competitiveness, innovation, and jobs for the country," commented Stefan Lepecki, CEO of Braskem Idesa.

The construction of the TQPM began in July 2022 and is expected to be completed in the second half of 2024. The works are approximately 30% complete at present.

We remnd, Braskem the largest polyolefins producer in the Americas, as well as a market leader and pioneer producer of biopolymers on an industrial scale, announced the acquisition of taulman3D. The acquisition of taulman3D is a perfect complement to Braskem's existing portfolio of next-generation filaments (Polyethylene (PE), Polypropylene (PP), Carbon Fiber, Glass Fiber & Recycled Polymers), pellets, and powders designed specifically for 3D printing applications.

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