World news

USA | Shell sells refinery assets

Equilon Enterprises LLC d/b/a Shell Oil Products US, Shell Oil Co. and Shell Chemical LP, subsidiaries of Royal Dutch Shell plc, have reached an agreement for the sale of the Mobile Chemical LP refi nery in Mobile, Alabama, to Vertex Energy Operating LLC.

Vertex Energy is a US-owned, Texas-based specialty refi ner of alternative feedstocks and marketer of high purity petroleum products.

The divestment is part of Shell’s strategy to reduce its global refi nery footprint to core sites integrated with the company’s trading hubs, chemicals plants and marketing businesses. These high-value energy and chemicals parks will produce more low-carbon fuels and specialty chemicals for Shell’s customers.

Shell Oil Co. has also confi rmed that it has reached an agreement for the sale of its interest in Deer Park Refi ning Ltd Partnership, a 50-50 joint venture between Shell Oil Co. and P.M.I. Norteamerica, S.A. De C.V. (a subsidiary of Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex).

The transaction will transfer Shell’s interest in the partnership, and therefore full ownership of the refi nery, to Pemex, subject to regulatory approvals.

Sweden | Haldor Topsoe and Preem revamp Gothenburg refinery

Together, Haldor Topsoe and Preem have concluded the revamp of Preem’s Gothenburg refi nery, which is part of Preem’s endeavour to reduce Sweden’s total carbon emissions by 20%.

This is the second revamp of the hydrotreater, following a revamp in 2010 that upgraded the unit to co-process 30% renewable feedstock using Topsoe’s HydroFlexTM technology.

With the second revamp, Preem and Topsoe have achieved 85% co-processing of renewable feedstock and continue to advance the fi eld of renewable fuel production. Preem uses tallow and raw tall diesel as the main feedstocks.

The revamp of the refi nery is a signifi cant step in Preem’s long-term plan to produce 5 million m3 of renewable fuels by 2030. This would result in carbon emissions being reduced by 12.5 million t, corresponding to 20% of Sweden’s total emissions.

Egypt | New contracts for Lummus Technology

Lummus Technology has announced that its Novolen business has been selected as the polypropylene (PP) licensor by Anchorage Investments for its Anchor Benitoite project in Suez, Egypt.

Lummus’ scope includes the technology license for a 590 000 tpy PP unit as well as basic design engineering, training and services, catalyst supply and operator training simulator services.

The Anchor Benitoite project will encompass production units producing several different petrochemical products and intermediates. The project is envisioned to be a gateway to petrochemical activity on regional and global scales, increasing Egypt’s competitiveness and position as a petrochemical hub.

Lummus Technology has also announced an award for its butadiene extraction (BDE) technology from Korea Petrochemical Ind. Co. Ltd (KPIC). The BDE unit will be part of KPIC’s Onsan Chemical Plant in Ulsan, Republic of Korea.

The project scope includes the technology license, basic engineering and training services. The unit will lead to the production of more valuable products from existing C4 streams and generate feed for an existing olefi ns conversion unit.

China | North Huajin contracts DuPont Clean Technologies

North Huajin Refining and Petrochemical Co. Ltd (North Huajin) has signed contracts with Refining Technology Solutions LLC, a subsidiary of DuPont Clean Technologies, for the license, basic engineering, and technical services for a new combined IsoTherming® kerosene/diesel hydrotreater (KDHT).

The grassroots hydrotreater is one of many units included as part of the greenfield fully integrated refining and petrochemical complex that will be located in Liaodong Bay New Area, Panjin, Liaoning Province, China.

North Huajin commissioned DuPont for an IsoTherming KDHT unit with a nameplate capacity of 37 000 bpd, capable of producing fuels compliant with both Jet 3 fuel standard and China VI diesel.

The technology will help the refinery minimise CO2 emissions due to lower energy requirement within the unit. This decrease in emissions will further assist China in its goal to become carbon neutral by 2060.

WORLD NEWS

DIARY DATES India | Technip Energies lands large petrochemical contract

30 June 2021

SulfurCon 2021

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31 August - 2 September 2021

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13 - 16 September 2021

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21 - 23 September 2021

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Calgary, Canada globalenergyshow.com Technip Energies has been awarded a large engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) contract by Indian Oil Corp. Ltd (IOCL) for its paraxylene (PX) and purified terephthalic acid (PTA) complex project in Paradip, Orissa, on the East Coast of India.

This EPCC contract covers the delivery of a new 1.2 million tpy PTA plant and associated facilities. PTA is a major raw material used to manufacture polyester fibres, PET bottles and polyester film used in packaging applications.

The Paradip Refinery’s products meet the energy demands of the domestic market and are partly exported.

With the aim to create a value chain, Paradip Refinery has ventured into petrochemicals with the production of polypropylene (PP), mono ethylene glycol (MEG), and is now going into PX and PTA production.

In a press release, Technip Energies said that the availability of PTA at Paradip will provide a boost to polyester manufacturing facilities in the vicinity.

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Nigeria | KBR awarded EPC contract for BUA Group project

KBR Inc. has been awarded a contract to complete the front-end engineering design (FEED) for BUA Group’s new, modern refi nery facility in Nigeria.

The award marks the continuation of a strong relationship with BUA Group, a leading agricultural and industrial chemicals conglomerate, after KBR successfully completed the conceptual feasibility study for the project in 2018.

The facility will support fuel production for Nigeria’s domestic and regional markets, helping to reduce the country’s dependence on imported supplies.

In a statement, KBR said that elements of the work will include sulfur removal facilities, water treatment facilities to meet high level environmental standards, and heat integration to ensure long standing effi ciency of production.

Norway | Wärtsilä to supply bio-LNG production plant

Wärtsilä has announced that it will supply a biogas liquefaction plant to Biokraft, a subsidiary of the Scandinavian Biogas Group.

The 25 tpd capacity plant will extend an existing bioLNG production plant at Skogn in Norway, also supplied by Wärtsilä, to a combined total of 50 tpd. This latest order was placed with Wärtsilä in April 2021.

The market for liquefi ed biogas continues to expand along with the increase in global efforts to restrict the use of fossil fuels. BioLNG is an abundant renewable energy source that is used as ‘green’ fuel in transportation, industrial, and marine applications.

The Wärtsilä equipment is scheduled for delivery in May 2022.