Downstream weekend news catch up: October 27 2014

India

The executive director of Digboi refinery, part of the Assam Oil Division of Indian Oil Corporation has been reported as missing. Bora went missing from the refinery site in Tinsukia district on the weekend. Since the disappearance, his car has been found abandoned.

Kazakhstan

On the weekend, a fire struck the Palvador refinery. The fire reportedly hit the furnace which is used for heating raw materials used in the catalytic cracking process. Despite the fire, the parts of the facility untouched by flame are running as normal.

Russia

SOCAR has said that it is negotiating participation in the construct of the Kuban refinery in Novorossiysk. Rosneft has been in talks with the Azerbaijan based company and this furthers cooperation between the two. Most recently Rosneft and SOCAR signed an agreement for an exploration and production joint venture.

Russia’s Energy Ministry has reported that refinery runs dropped in the country during September. The drop was of approximately 5.7% month on month or 340 266 bpd. It has been said that this drop was due to seasonal maintenance. Refineries across Russia, on average processed 5/676 million bpd of crude oil last month.

Saudi Arabia

SABIC has said that it is not going to expand its petrochemicals joint venture with Shell. The company has made this decision following results of a feasibility study which were reportedly not encouraging. The plant is located on the Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia in Jubail.

USA

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and the Department of Law have approved clean up plans for the Flint Hills Resources refinery in the North Pole. The plant has been leaking sulfolane and other contaminants since the 1970s. This clean up agreement may aid Flint Hills in selling the refinery, which was taken offline in May.

Upgrades to the 30 million gal./y Renewable Energy Group bioreinery in Iowa have been completed. These upgrades will allow the plant to produce diesel from a wide variety of raw materials such as inedible corn oil, animal fats and grease. The work was reportedly completed two months ahead of schedule.

Paulsboro Refining Company has said that it is going to donate approximately US$ 30 000 to the Greenwich Township’s Memorial Park beautification project. The park is due to receive solar lighting, benches and trees as part of the plan.

Venezuela

PDVSA has announced plans to boost its domestic refining capacity by 20%. The company is looking to invest US$ 20 billion but no time frame for these plans has been announced yet. The company currently has 1.3 million bpd of domestic refining capacity and is reportedly looking to increase this by 265 000 bpd.

Edited from various sources by Claira Lloyd

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/27102014/oil-refining-petchem-weekend-news-27-oct/