Marathon Galveston Bay, Texas FCC expected to be shut until late this week

MOSCOW (MRC) - The fire-damaged, gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracker (FCC) at Marathon Petroleum's 593,000 bpd Galveston Bay Refinery in Texas City, Texas, is expected to be shut until late this week, said people familiar with plant operations, said Reuters.

Repairs to ductwork damaged in a last Thursday fire on the 140,000-bpd FCC will last into next week, the sources said. The restart of the unit will follow the successful completion of the repairs. Marathon spokesperson Jamal Kheiry declined to comment.

The Thursday night fire in the FCC's regenerator began from a packing leak on a slide valve, the sources said. The fire was short in duration with the unit's operators putting it out before firefighters arrived.

Investigators from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are beginning a probe of the fire, the sources said.

No injuries were reported from the Thursday fire. In the regenerator, carbon is removed from the fine powder catalyst that converts gas oil into unfinished gasoline in the FCC's reactor. Removing the carbon extends the life, improving the efficiency of the catalyst.

The Galveston Bay Refinery is the fourth largest by capacity in the United States.

In a May 15 fire on a reformer at the Galveston Bay Refinery, a Marathon employee was killed and two contract workers were injured.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Husky TechnologiesTM commemorated the next phase of expansion to the company’s India facilities with ceremonies at their new offices and existing Chennai campus, said Petnology.

The events were hosted by local leaders in the region, as well as senior executive, Robert Domodossola, President of Husky’s Rigid Packaging business.

These momentous celebrations kick off a robust expansion plan that will see a number of exciting developments executed throughout 2023, including: Additional capacity and capability for manufacturing hot runners
The first ICHORTM integrated medical injection molding system that produces blood collection tubes locally
The addition of an Advantage+EliteTM monitoring center to provide proactive, predictive and transparent monitoring services to our existing customers.

Expansion of local OEM parts inventory and team of highly skilled service technicians situated throughout the country to respond to customer service needs swiftly and efficiently.

We remind, Origin Materials and Husky Technologies announced a milestone in the commercialization of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) incorporating the sustainable chemical FDCA (furandicarboxylic acid) for advanced packaging and other applications.

Since selling the first PET system into India in 1999, Husky’s presence has grown to include more than 250 systems running in the field, delivery of more than 500 hot runners per year, a team of 10 trained service technicians and a robust parts inventory to support local customers.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- India’s state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is planning to invest Rs150bn (USD1.8bn) in its petrochemical unit ONGC Petro-additions Ltd (OPaL), reported PTI via Economic Times.

The investment, which forms part of a financial overhaul, will see GAIL depart as a shareholder of OPaL, which operates a large petrochemical facility in Dahej, Gujarat.

ONGC controls a 49.36% stake in OPaL, gas utility GAIL owns a 49.21% share, and the remaining 1.43% stake is held by Gujarat State Petrochemical Corp (GSPC).

Last week, the ONGC board approved a financial reorganisation of OPaL, which has amassed an enormous amount of debt. In a stock filing, ONGC said it would buy back debt, convert share warrants into equity, and invest an additional Rs70bn in equity, giving it a roughly 95% interest in the petrochemical company.

The proposed plan includes “conversion of share warrants issued by OPaL and subscribed by ONGC into equity shares upon payment of final call money of Rs862.81m at the rate of Rs0.25 per warrant,” ONGC said.

In addition, ONGC will “buy back compulsory convertible debentures of Rs77.78bn.” Current owners of CCDs issued by OPaL with backing from ONGC include financial institutions.

According to the statement, ONGC will also invest Rs70bn in OPaL’s equity/quasi-equity security. Following the reorganisation, OPaL will become a subsidiary of ONGC.

The financial restructuring “will augment the holding of ONGC in OPaL and OPaL will become more profitable,” ONGC noted.

Set up in November 2006, OPaL petrochemical complex has an annual capacity to produce 1.5 million tonnes of polymers, 0.5 million tonnes of chemicals, and several other products through the associated units of pyrolysis petrol hydrogenation, butadiene extraction, and benzene extraction.

Last month, it was reported that ONGC would spend over USD24bn to achieve net zero emission targets by 2038.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) to purchase renewable electricity for its Zhanjiang Verbund site, which is under construction in Guangdong province, China, said the company.

The PPA is a further step in the renewable energy partnership between BASF and SPIC following the framework agreement signed in March 2022.

This partnership is another significant milestone for BASF in securing 100% green power supply for the Zhanjiang Verbund site by 2025. It is also another successful Sino-German low-carbon initiative following the letter of intent (LOI) signed by BASF and China National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) in June 2023. Under the latest agreement, SPIC will supply 1,000 GWh of renewable electricity annually for BASF’s Zhanjiang Verbund site. Supply will start in 2025 to coincide with the startup of the steam cracker and core of the Verbund site. The electricity will mainly be generated from dedicated offshore wind power and photovoltaic plants in Guangdong, China.

“BASF is taking another concrete step closer towards its ambitious global climate targets. We are very glad to enter into this long-term partnership with SPIC, one of the world’s largest photovoltaic power generation companies, new energy power generation enterprises and clean energy power generation enterprises, on our path towards net zero emissions globally by 2050. Construction at BASF’s new Verbund site in Zhanjiang is in full swing. Once completed, the site will be a role model for sustainable production and will contribute to the green transformation of chemical industry as well as to China’s carbon reduction ambitions,” said Dr. Markus Kamieth, member of the Board of Executive Directors, BASF SE.

We remind, BASF has commenced construction of its syngas plant at the Verbund site in Zhanjiang, China. This world-scale syngas facility, fully integrated into the Verbund site, is scheduled to start up in 2025.


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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Covestro has entered into open-ended discussions with suitor Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) over a takeover approach, the German company said in a statement, said Reuters.

Covestro's change in stance comes after two top-15 investors told Reuters last month that the plastics and chemicals maker should engage in formal takeover talks in the interest of its shareholders.

Earlier on Friday, Reuters reported citing a source that Covestro's board would meet to discuss formal negotiations with ADNOC. The company's shares closed up 7.8% at 51.5 euros having hit their highest levels in about 18 months.

The CEO of larger rival BASF has described the reported approach as a sign that the European chemical industry, due to cost inflation and a weak economy, needs support from lawmakers to become more competitive.

ADNOC, which is trying to diversify and develop its downstream and renewable energy operations, made a non-binding offer for Covestro of 55 euros per share in June, which was rejected, according to media reports.

In August, ADNOC indicated to Covestro, which has not commented on the takeover approach, that it could raise its informal offer to 60 euros conditional on the German company entering formal talks, Reuters reported at the time.

That non-binding offer would value Covestro, a maker of chemicals used in insulation, upholstery foams, coatings and transparent engineering plastics, at about 11.6 billion euros ($12.4 billion).

In August Covestro warned demand was not improving this year as customers continue to draw down existing inventory rather than order new chemicals.

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