21 May: Petrochemicals and refining news

Czech Republic

The Paramo refinery is this year celebrating 125 years in operation. The plant first came online in 1889 and was established for the distillation and subsequent refining of petroleum from crude oil. The facility is operated by the Unipetrol Group.

Nigeria

Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company has said that its refinery is currently running at 60% capacity. The low processing rate has been attributed to an inadequate supply of crude to the facility, and not plant conditions. The lubricant and petrochemical plants that make up the facility are dormant due to the complete lack of supply of foreign crude.

Thailand

PTT has announced that it plans on liquidating some of its refining assets to facilitate competition. The company will liquidate its entire stake in BCP and SPRC.

USA

This weekend, Alaska’s largest refinery is scheduled to stop taking oil from pipelines however, the Flint Hills owned plant is not going to stop operations. The refinery has been in operation for 37 years. The small Petro Star refinery will continue to process and receive crude.

Following the release of fumes form the Woods Cross refiner in Utah, parents of local school children have said that the sickness experienced by more than 500 students at the Legacy Preparatory Academy was caused by the release. Following the release the school was not evacuated and the fumes were declared non-toxic.

Following a power outage, flaring was reported at the Phillips 66 Santa Maria refinery. The power outage caused an unscheduled shutdown at the refinery and no injuries were reported. Air quality is now being monitored around the plant.

A tax objection suit between the Phillips 66 Wood River refinery and Roxana officials has been settled out of court. However, the Roxana School District has said that it may fight the proposed settlement. The suit is with regards to 28 alleged points relating to the 2011 refinery’s tax levy.

Edited from various sources by Claira Lloyd.

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/21052014/21_may_refining_petrochemicals_news568/