Refining, Petrochemicals, Gas Processing, Biofuels
McDermott Signs on to Cauvery Project in Nagapattinam
McDermott International announced in early October that it had won a key contract for the significant upcoming Cauvery project in Nagapattinam, India. This contract was described by McDermott to be for project management consultancy and EPC management services for the Package 2 portion at the project. No contract value was stated at press time.
Construction Begins for Southern Libya Refinery
The Libya National Oil Company recently announced that the construction process for an upcoming refinery in Southern Libya had officially begun. This project has been on hold for many years until plans were revived in 2017.
Covestro Restarts Planning for World Scale MDI Plant
Covestro of Germany announced in a recent conference that it will resume planning for what it considers to be a world-scale methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) plant. The company had previously been planning a 500,000 tons per year MDI plant in Baytown, Texas, but it was placed on hold in early 2020.
KNPC’s Clean Fuels Project Begins Operations
Kuwait National Petroleum Co (KNPC) has successfully begun full operations at its ambitious Clean Fuels Project (CFP) in Kuwait. This project was developed over a six-year period at a cost of nearly $16 billion dollars.
INEOS Grangemouth moves forward on to the next phase
INEOS Grangemouth has today announced planned further investment of over £1 billion towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions at its site to net zero by 2045, building on the 37% reduction in net CO2 emissions already delivered since acquiring the site in 2005.
Modular Construction Pays Off for SABIC and ExxonMobil
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) recently announced that its joint venture project with Exxon Mobil known as the Gulf Coast Growth Ventures (GCGV) project near Corpus Christi, Texas has indeed begun its commissioning procedures ahead of an expected startup by the end of the year. The GCGV complex is a significant petrochemical project for the partners with a cost figure of $7.3 billion USD that includes a 1.8 MMtpy ethane cracker, a 1.1 MMtpy mono-ethylene glycol unit, and twin polyethylene units with a combined capacity of 1.3 MMtpy, and its success thus far is partially due to how its construction has been approached.
Repsol to start up the first electrolyzer at its Petronor refinery
Repsol will start up the first electrolyzer in the northern Spanish region of the Basque Country in the second half of 2022, to produce renewable hydrogen at its Petronor refinery. The facility will have a capacity of 2.5 MW and will involve an investment of €8.9 million, covering also the construction of the necessary infrastructures for the use and distribution of the renewable hydrogen produced.
Commissioning Underway for SABIC/ExxonMobil Project in Texas
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) recently announced that the Gulf Coast Growth Ventures project in Texas has indeed begun its commissioning procedures ahead of its expected startup by the end of 2021. SABIC is in a joint venture with ExxonMobil on this project.
GAIL adds Grace PP Technology to Upcoming Plant in India
W.R. Grace & Co has licensed its UNIPOL® PP process technology to GAIL of India for its upcoming propane dehydrogenation (PDH) and polypropylene (PP) plant located in Usar, Maharastra, India. This facility will be the first PDH/PP plant to be built in India.
Shell Moves Forward with Large Netherlands Biofuels Facility
Royal Dutch Shell recently announced that it has made a final investment decision regarding the construction of an 820,000 tons per year biofuels facility at the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rotterdam in the Netherlands, which was previously referred to as the Pernis Refinery site. Once operational in 2024, this biofuels facility will one of the largest European facilities producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel made from a waste product feedstock.
Lukoil to Add Catalytic Cracking Unit to its Perm Refinery
Lukoil recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation to start the process of implementing a grassroots catalytic cracking project at the company’s existing Perm refinery site in the North Urals region of Russia. Lukoil is planning to move to a construction phase next with a planned startup in 2026.
Ust-Luga Gas Complex Picks Linde and RHI for EPC Duties
Gazprom recently announced that it had signed an EPC contract with a consortium comprised of Linde Engineering and Renaissance Heavy Industries (RHI) for work to be performed for a natural gas liquefaction plant at an upcoming gas processing complex developing near Ust-Luga. This significant venture will be operated by a joint venture of Gazprom and RusGazDobycha named RusKhimAlyans.
OLAX Engineering Wins Significant PMC Agreement for Nigeria’s BUA Refinery
OLAX Engineering of the United Kingdom announced this week that it had been awarded an Owners Engineers and Project Management Services Contract for the upcoming FEED phase of the grassroots BUA refinery to be placed in Ibeno, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.
Dangote Seeks to Escalate Polypropylene Output
Dangote complex to add 900,000 tpy of polypropylene production next to its massive 650,000 bpd oil refinery.
SABIC and FJPEC Agree to Construct Petrochemical Complex in Zhangzhou, China
Saudi Aramco subsidiary SABIC has signed a joint venture contract with the Fujian Petrochemical Industrial Group Co., Ltd (FJPEC) of China for the purpose of building what would be a significant petrochemical complex in China. The mega complex would require a total investment of about $6.18 billion and will be built at the Gulei Industrial Park in Zhangzhou city, in east China's Fujian Province.
ExxonMobil and SABIC’s GCGV Complex Due to Start by the end of 2021
ExxonMobil and SABIC’s joint venture project named the Gulf Coast Growth Ventures complex is currently going through its commissioning phase for a planned startup in the final quarter of 2021, according to the plant’s manager, Paul Fritsch. The $7.3 billion dollar project has been working to reach this updated pace throughout much of the year, after having been previously expected in 2023.
Hyosung Adds New Polypropylene Unit in Vietnam
Hysosung of South Korea has recently started up production at the second 300,000 tons per year polypropylene unit at its site in the Ba Ria Vung Tau province of Vietnam. The company started another identically sized polypropylene unit in March of last year.
Texas Refinery Turns to Blue Hydrogen
The Javelina Refinery operated by Howard Midstream Energy Partners (HEP) in Corpus Christi is set to become the first carbon-neutral hydrogen production site in south Texas.
Sunshine Petrochemical Project in Louisiana Faces Further Delays
The United States Army has ordered a full environmental review of the already delayed Sunshine Project in St. James Parish, Louisiana. The $9.4 billion-dollar petrochemical facility has designs for multiple phases and has faced environmental group pressures for some time.
Shut in Wyoming Refinery to Return as Renewables Plant
Slate Refining LLC of Wyoming and Starwood Energy of Connecticut have announced their partnership agreement for the purpose of reconfiguring Slate’s dormant refinery in Douglas, Wyoming into a renewable fuel facility.
India’s Ratnagiri Complex Still Looking for Direction
The developing Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemicals complex has been a controversial project the last few years and could be headed for more change if it hopes to find its footing in the short term.
PTTGC and Cargill Begin Planning Biopolymer Plant in Thailand
Agricultural entity Cargill Inc of the United States and PTT Global Chemical Pcl of Thailand recently announced that they will a new biopolymer plant in Thailand. It is expected to be located in Thailand’s Nakhon Sawan BioComplex in the Takhli district, according to statements from PTTGC chief executive and president Kongkrapan Intarajang.
PBF Energy Progresses Renewable Project in Louisiana
PBF Energy recently announced that it was in preliminary discussions with Honeywell UOP for licensing technology at its proposed renewable diesel project at its Chalmette Refinery in Louisiana. PBF is hoping to make a final investment decision on the potential project over the next few months.
NNPC to Take 20% Stake in Dangote Refinery
Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council has recently approved the acquisition of a 20% minority stake by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in the Dangote Petroleum and Petrochemical Refinery. Timipre Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, stated that the acquisition cost figure was $2.76 billion.
CVR Energy Delays Renewable Diesel Project Due to Feedstock Price Hike
CVR Energy of Texas recently announced that it was delaying the completion of a renewable diesel unit under construction at the company’s Wynnewood, Oklahoma facility. High feedstock prices were given as the reason for the project pause.
Petrochemical Competition Heats Up in India
Adani Enterprises announced it had created a new subsidiary known as Adani Petrochemicals Ltd (APL) to focus on petrochemicals.
Inter Pipeline and Pembina Terminates Takeover Offer, Heartland Petrochemical Complex Continues Pace
Inter Pipeline of Calgary announced in late July that its board of directors would not be reconfirming an $6.7 billion takeover offer from Pembina Pipeline Corporation. This arrangement agreement has indeed been terminated.
ExxonMobil and SABIC Mechanically Completes Gulf Coast Petrochemical Project
ExxonMobil and Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, also known as SABIC, jointly announced this week that their Gulf Coast Growth Ventures (GCGV) project near Corpus Christi, Texas has officially reached mechanical completion status. The partners stated that this success will put startup ahead of schedule and intended by the end of the year.
China Steps Further into Iraq with New Refinery Agreement
The Iraq Ministry of Oil recently announced that China had agreed on a plan for the funding, construction, and operation of a new refining and petrochemical complex in Southern Iraq.
Motiva Ceases Plans for Multibillion Dollar Petrochemical Expansion in Texas
Saudi Aramco owned Motiva Enterprises LLC has reportedly suspended its plans to implement petrochemical operations at its 630,000 barrel per day refinery complex in Port Arthur, Texas. Saudi Aramco has been reviewing this plan since last September as the company has been deliberating on increasing its oil and natural gas production instead.
