Downstream news: Asia, Middle East and Africa
Africa
Congo
Iran has announced that it is now ready to cooperate with the Republic of Congo in building petrochemical projects and refineries in the country. Iran is also seeking to secure ties with Congo’s engineering, medicine, agriculture and diplomacy sectors.
Nigeria
Engineers India Ltd has won its biggest ever overseas contract. The company are to consult for a 20 million tpy refinery in Nigeria. The contract is worth US$ 139 million and from Dangote Group. Under the agreement, EIL will provide project management consultancy as well as engineering, procurement and construction management services.
Asia
India
On Friday 7th March three people were arrested in the Tubinakere Industrial Area on the outskirts of Mandya in connection with the death of five workers at a waste oil refining unit. The two owners of Sampath Refinery Pvt Ltd and a senior unit employee were charged with failing to adhere to safety measures whilst operations at the unit were carried out.
Reliance Industries Ltd has announced plants to shut one of its four crude distillation units for maintenance this month. The unit will be taken offline for approximately three weeks from 20th March. There are also discussions of plans to replace the catalyst at the vacuum gasoil and naphtha hydrotreater units.
Kazakhstan
The Ministry of Environment and Water Resources of Kazakhstan has charged the Atyrau oil refinery with a US$ 132 million fine due to environmental pollution. The violations were discovered when an unscheduled inspection was carried out at the plant.
Middle East
Dubai
Petrixo Oil & Gas has announced intentions to set up a biofuel refinery in Fujairah. The company will look to invest over US$ 800 million in the plant to produce 1 million tpy of biofuel products including biodiesel, green diesel, biojet fuel, and bio LPG. The plant is planned for the Fujairah Free Zone.
Iran
It has been announced that the Imam Khomeini refinery is producing 10 million ltrs/d of Euro 4 gasoil. Also, 11 million ltrs/d of Euro 4 diesel fuel is currently being produced at the Shahid Tondgouyan refinery in Tehran, which covers more than 20% of Iran’s diesel demand.
Saudi Arabia
The Saudi Arabian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources has said that the country is looking to construct a plant that will directly convert crude oil to petrochemicals such as ethylene without any oil refining being carried our beforehand. The oil to petrochemicals complex is hopefully going to be built at Yanbu in partnership with SABIC.
Edited from various sources by Claira Lloyd
Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/10032014/asia_africa_mid_east_roundup/
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