Global downstream roundup 17th April

France

LyondellBasell has announced that it is going to pull out of talks to sell the Berre refinery to Sotragem of Monaco. The talks have been called to a halt as the buyers have offered no guarantee to restart the mothballed plant. When operational the plant has a processing capacity of 105 000 bpd and has been looking for a buyer since May 2011.

Kuwait

The CEO of Kuwait Petrochemical Industries has said that the petrochemical industry is likely to be an influential source of the country’s national non-oil income. The total value is expected to exceed 50% of non-oil earnings.

New Zealand

A delay in planned maintenance at the Marsden Point refinery has occurred due to bad weather and additional repairs. The plant is owned by New Zealand Refining Co. Ltd. and work originally began at the beginning of March. Work has been completed on a number of key units and the hydrocracker and associated units remain for further work.

Scotland

New data has shown that the strike at Scotland’s only refinery resulted in a sharp economic growth slowdown. The strike at the Grangemouth refinery resulted in a 11% fall in Scottish petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals output and shaved 0.2% off Scottish economic growth.

Turkey

Delta Rubis has begun constructing the largest jetty in the Mediterranean with the ability to accommodate vessels up to 200 000 t. The company has received US$ 65 million in loans to finance the jetty which will transform the independent terminal in to a world class storage hub that will be able to serve large oil tankers.

Wales

A task force created by the Welsh government to help protect hundreds of jobs at the Murco refinery in Milford Haven has had its first meeting. The task force’s main job is to engage with partners in a dialogue to support the company in maintaining the future of the refinery and the 400 jobs at the site. The first meeting included representatives from Murco Petroleum, UNITE, the Welsh and UK governments as well as Pembrokeshire County Council members.

Edited from various sources by Claira Lloyd

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/17042014/17th_april_global_downstream_update/