Russia's Orsk refinery declares force majeure on fuel supply due to floods

Russia's Orsk oil refinery, which has halted output after widespread floods, declared force majeure on fuel supplies from April 8, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Russia's oil refineries were already struggling with Ukrainian drone attacks and technical outages, forcing the country to ban gasoline exports, with some exceptions, for half a year from March 1.

Forteinvest said the plant had been shut to avoid ecological risks and ensure labor safety. Last year the refinery processed 4.5 MMt of oil.

Floods engulfed cities and towns across Russia and Kazakhstan on Wednesday after Europe's third-longest river burst its banks, forcing about 110,000 people to evacuate and swamping parts of the Russian city of Orenburg.

Upstream on the Ural, which flows into Kazakhstan, floodwaters burst through an embankment dam in the city of Orsk on Friday.

Russia's energy ministry played down the force majeure, saying it was not consequential for the market, RIA news agency reported, as most of the Orsk refinery units had already been shut for planned maintenance before the floods.

It said just 0.1% of the planned motor fuel production for April in Russia would be affected.

Forteinvest said in emailed comments separately that the Orsk refinery was still dispatching fuel from its stockpiles "for the needs of the region".

"Forteinvest company does not forfeit its obligations but warns that the timing of product shipments may be delayed," it said.

We remind, Russian oil producer Lukoil expects its damaged CDU-6 primary unit and catalytic cracker at the NORSI oil refinery to return to operations in the second quarter following seasonal maintenance, a company source said on Wednesday. The source also said that the damaged CDU-5 unit at the Volgograd refinery was put back into work on Feb. 21 and was now working in line with its designed capacity.

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The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending April 6, 2024, said AAR.

For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 450,142 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.6 percent compared with the same week last year.

Total carloads for the week ending April 6 were 209,142 carloads, down 4.5 percent compared with the same week in 2023, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 241,000 containers and trailers, up 7.6 percent compared to 2023.

Six of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2023. They included grain, up 3,221 carloads, to 22,000; motor vehicles and parts, up 1,983 carloads, to 16,315; and chemicals, up 1,574 carloads, to 31,907. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2023 included coal, down 15,107 carloads, to 46,688; nonmetallic minerals, down 2,078 carloads, to 29,540; and metallic ores and metals, down 848 carloads, to 19,403.

For the first 14 weeks of 2024, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 2,982,969 carloads, down 4.2 percent from the same point last year; and 3,509,647 intermodal units, up 9.0 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 14 weeks of 2024 was 6,492,616 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 2.5 percent compared to last year.

North American rail volume for the week ending April 6, 2024, on 10 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 321,182 carloads, down 1.3 percent compared with the same week last year, and 326,417 intermodal units, up 11.2 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 647,599 carloads and intermodal units, up 4.6 percent. North American rail volume for the first 14 weeks of 2024 was 9,127,511 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.2 percent compared with 2023.

We remind, U.S. railroads originated 866,865 carloads in March 2024, down 3.5 percent, or 31,101 carloads, from March 2023. U.S. railroads also originated 1,022,321 containers and trailers in March 2024, up 11.7 percent, or 106,903 units, from the same month last year. Combined U.S. carload and intermodal originations in March 2024 were 1,889,186, up 4.2 percent, or 75,802 carloads and intermodal units from March 2023.

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Russian oil producer Lukoil expects its damaged CDU-6 primary unit and catalytic cracker at the NORSI oil refinery to return to operations in the second quarter following seasonal maintenance, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The source also said that the damaged CDU-5 unit at the Volgograd refinery was put back into work on Feb. 21 and was now working in line with its designed capacity.

Lukoil did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The Volgograd oil refinery, the largest in southern Russia, was attacked by a drone in early February.

The NORSI oil refinery suffered technical outages in January and was subjected to a drone attack in March. NORSI refines about 15.8 million tons of crude a year, or 5.8% of Russia's total refined crude.

Russia and Ukraine have both used drones to strike critical infrastructure, military installations and troop concentrations in their more than two-year conflict, with Kyiv hitting Russian refineries and energy facilities in recent months.

We remind, Lukoil has acquired a 50% stake in Kalamkas-Khazar Operating LLP (KKO) for $200 million, according to the 2023 financial report of Kazakhstan's National Company KazMunayGas (KMG). On February 9, 2023, KMG and Lukoil PJSC signed a purchase and sale agreement for a 50% share of KKO, a subsidiary of KMG, the holder of a contract for the production of hydrocarbons at the Kalamkas-Sea, Khazar and Auezov subsoil blocks located in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea, according to the report.

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ExxonMobil Corporation, which has been serving wax customers for more than 125 years, is affirming its commitment to the industry by introducing a new product brand, Prowaxx. The new architecture allows for differentiation between waxes and takes effect April 1, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

“Prowaxx is more than just a new name,” said Kyle Davis, Global Specialties Sales Director at ExxonMobil Waxes. The launch of Prowaxx demonstrates a strategic intent to invest in the future of wax, creating a naming convention that is scalable for new offerings. Prowaxx serves as an anchor for the product portfolio with differentiation across wax types and greater clarity tailored to customer decision making.

“Wax applications are constantly evolving, with customers continuously expecting more from our products,” said Davis. “By introducing Prowaxx, ExxonMobil Waxes is investing in the future of our business and those of our customers.”

ExxonMobil is committed to developing and employing product and process technology that allows the company to increase wax production throughout its global network. The company is manufacturing more wax by continuously developing an in-depth understanding of wax molecules, integrating operations to establish a 360-degree view of the wax-making process and maintaining a familiarity with the changing trends of various wax applications.

“While the launch of Prowaxx signals a new era for ExxonMobil Waxes, we continue to prioritize high quality, reliability, flexibility, product integrity and superior performance,” Davis said. “The wax products our customers use will still be available — just under a new name. No matter what type of wax you need, Prowaxx has you covered, from slack wax for boardsizing to fully refined wax for candles and rheology applications.”

ExxonMobil will continue to develop industry-leading waxes, leveraging its global resources and extensive experience. The Prowaxx products will include Prowaxx Fully Refined Wax, Prowaxx Semi-Refined Wax and Prowaxx Slack Wax.

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Yokogawa Electric Corporation announced the May 31, 2024 release of CENTUM™ VP R6.11.10, an enhanced version of the CENTUM VP integrated production control system that is a core product in the OpreX Control and Safety System family of solutions, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

With this new version of CENTUM VP, plant uptime is improved through the addition of a redundancy function to a new IO card that supports communications via the PROFINET communications protocol for industrial networks. Furthermore, to reduce project costs and improve efficiency in plant operations, functional enhancements have been made to the Unified Alarms and Conditions Server (UACS) and the CCC Inside for the Yokogawa CENTUM VP compressor control solution.

We remind, Borealis closes the acquisition of Integra Plastics AD, a Bulgarian advanced mechanical recycling player
The acquisition enhances Borealis’ portfolio of advanced mechanical recyclates by adding more than 20,000 tons of recycling capacity per year, strengthening its ability to meet growing customer demand for more sustainable solutions.

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