6 minute read
World news
Asia Pacific | SGMF supports growth of gas as marine fuel in Asia
The Society for Gas as a Marine Fuel (SGMF) has set up its fi rst regional committee to facilitate cooperation and information sharing as uptake of LNG ship fuel surges in the Asia Pacifi c region.
The fi rst tasks of the new body will be to prepare a publication on the pathway to green ammonia as well as a regional dashboard tracking trade patterns to measure the multi-faceted impact of conversion to gas as marine fuel. This dashboard will build on an existing East Coast Australia dashboard developed by DNV, released in late 2020.
The committee draws on a diverse range of perspectives across SGMF’s APAC membership, which comprises around 35 companies from segments including shipowners, ports and shipyards. Other committee members come from companies including BHP, Rio Tinto, China Classifi cation Society, Korean Register, MPA, Petronas, Woodside Energy, ENN and Pilbara Port Authority.
China | Lummus Technology starts up alkylation unit at ZPC refinery
Lummus Technology has announced the start-up of its CDAlky alkylation unit at Zhejiang Petroleum & Chemical Co. Ltd’s (ZPC) refi nery in Zhejiang Province, China. The unit has a capacity of 45 000 bpsd of alkylate product, making it the largest alkylation unit ever licensed by Lummus.
The start-up is the second Lummus CDAlky unit at ZPC’s complex, resulting in a combined capacity of 59 000 bpsd of alkylate production. This makes it the second largest alkylation complex in the world.
The new alkylation unit processes C4s from upstream refi ning and petrochemical units, resulting in a very high concentration of isobutylene in the total olefi ns blend while producing excellent alkylate quality.
Earlier this year, Lummus announced the successful start-up of the fi rst C5 CDAlky unit in the world, as well as its fi rst CDAlky unit in the US, located at Valero’s Saint Charles Refi nery in Norco, Louisiana.
UAE | ADNOC signs framework agreements
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) has signed framework agreements for concept and front-end engineering design (FEED) services for major projects across its full value chain to support the delivery of its 2030 strategy.
The framework agreements were signed with AMEC International Ltd (part of the Wood Group), Fluor, McDermott, Mott MacDonald, SNC-Lavalin International Arabia Ltd – Abu Dhabi (part of the Kentech Group), Technip Energies, Worley, and a joint venture between Tecnicas Reunidas and NPCC. The agreements have a combined scope worth up to US$1 billion and the potential for 50% of the value to fl ow back into the UAE’s economy under ADNOC’s In-Country Value (ICV) programme, over the agreement term between 2021 and 2026. The scope of the agreements is based on the forecasted requirement for external project engineering services across the ADNOC Group.
The agreements will run for fi ve years, with an option for a two-year extension.
Australia | Woodside and BHP to create global energy company
Woodside Petroleum Ltd and BHP Group have entered into a merger commitment deed to combine their respective oil and gas portfolios by an all-stock merger.
On completion of the transaction, BHP’s oil and gas business would merge with Woodside, and Woodside would issue new shares to be distributed to BHP shareholders. The expanded Woodside would be owned 52% by existing Woodside shareholders and 48% by existing BHP shareholders. The transaction is subject to confi rmatory due diligence, negotiation and execution of full form transaction documents, and satisfaction of conditions precedent including shareholder, regulatory and other approvals.
With the combination of two high quality asset portfolios, the proposed merger would create the largest energy company listed on the ASX, with a global top 10 position in the LNG industry by production. The combined company will have a high margin oil portfolio, long life LNG assets and the fi nancial resilience to help supply the energy required for global growth and development over the energy transition.
WORLD NEWS
DIARY DATES Poland | KBR wins ethylene technology contract
04 - 06 October 2021
ILTA
Houston, Texas, USA ilta2021.ilta.org
05 - 07 October 2021
AFPM Summit
New Orleans, Louisiana, USA afpm.org/events
11 - 14 October 2021
API Storage Tank Conference
Nashville, Tennessee, USA www.API.org/storagetank
12 - 13 October 2021
Gulf Coast Conference
Galveston, Texas, USA www.gulfcoastconference.com
12 - 15 October 2021 & 21 - 22 October 2021
Downstream USA
Online & Houston, Texas, USA www.reutersevents.com/events/downstream
13 - 14 October 2021
Valve World Expo Americas
Houston, Texas, USA www.valveworldexpoamericas.com
25 - 27 October 2021
Opportunity Crudes Conference
Online www.opportunitycrudes.com
01 - 04 November 2021
Sulphur + Sulphuric Acid 2021
Online www.sulphurconference.com
15 - 18 November 2021
ADIPEC
Abu Dhabi, UAE www.adipec.com
05 - 09 December 2021
23rd World Petroleum Congress
Houston, Texas, USA 23wpchouston.com
To keep up with all the latest news on key industry events in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, visit hydrocarbonengineering.com/events
KBR has been awarded a technology licensing contract by Hyundai Engineering and Técnicas Reunidas for PKN ORLEN’s Petrochemical Development Programme in Płock, Poland.
Under the terms of the contract, KBR will provide technology license, basic engineering design, and proprietary equipment for its ethylene technology – Selective Cracking Optimum Recovery (SCORETM) – for PKN ORLEN’s Olefi ns Complex III Project.
This is Europe’s largest petrochemical project in 20 years.
Bahrain | Bapco awards largest catalyst management agreement in its history
Advanced Refi ning Technologies LLC (ART), the joint venture of W. R. Grace & Co. and Chevron, has been awarded a full-cycle catalyst management (FCM) agreement by state-owned Bahrain Petroleum Co. (Bapco).
The exclusive fi ve-year agreement, which includes an option to renew for an additional fi ve years, is valued at US$240 million. It is the largest catalyst management agreement signed in Bapco’s history.
The award is part of the Bapco Modernisation Programme (BPM), which aims to boost Bahrain’s oil refi nery processing capacity from 267 000 bpd to 380 000 bpd.
In addition, ART will supply its Resid Hydrocracking catalyst technology for a wide variety of feedstocks to maximise bottom of the barrel upgrading. ART will also provide FCM services for the reclamation of metals from spent catalysts.
When fully operational in 2023, the new Resid Hydrocracking unit, known as 1RHCU, will be the main profi t centre for the Bapco Refi nery. 1RHCU utilises LC-FINING process technology licensed from Chevron Lummus Global (CLG), a joint venture between Chevron and Lummus Technology. The unit is a two-train design with a processing capacity of 65 000 bpd. Less than a dozen of these units exist globally, and the Bapco unit will be one of the largest examples.
India | McDermott awarded additional EPCC project for Barauni Refinery expansion
McDermott International Ltd has received a contract award for the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of a new naptha hydrotreating unit and a new isomerisation unit with associated facilities for the Barauni Refi nery Expansion Project in Bihar, India, for Indian Oil Corp. Ltd.
The units treat heavy naptha streams by removing sulfur, nitrogen and metal compounds to produce Bharat Stage-6 compliant gasoline, which produces a cleaner fuel to meet high emissions standards.
The scope of the project includes project management, residual process design, detailed engineering, procurement, fabrication, inspection, transportation, installation, construction, and all processes through to mechanical completion and commissioning. The work will commence in 3Q21.
