Weekend downstream news catch up

India

Reliance industries has said that it is going to invest US$5 billion in its refining and petrochemicals business. The company is looking to carryout the investments between now and March 2016 as strong refining margins have boosted quarterly profit for the company.

Indonesia

At the end of last week, Pertamina launched a new gasoline called Pertalite. The domestically produced fuel is being offered on the Indonesian market as an additional fuel option to conventional ones. This is a move by Pertamina to diversify its raw material sources. The fuel has an octane rating of 90 and is being sold at stations in Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya and West Java.

Japan

Pemex has agreed to ship 6 million bbls of light crude oil to Japan. The oil is destined for Japan’s largest refinery and will be shipped over the next six months on six separate cargos. In the first half of this year, Pemex shipped approximately 4 million bbls of crude oil to JX Nippon.

Nigeria

The Nigerian Navy has announced that it has destroyed 12 illegal refineries. The sites were found in the Egbokodo and Kantu areas of the Niger Delta. Two sites were found in Egbokodo and the others in Kantu. It has been reported that the Nigerian Navy believe there to be more illegal sites in the Kantu region and will be returning to investigate.

It has been reported that the Warri and Port Harcourt refineries are now back on stream and are producing petroleum products for domestic consumption. It has also been said, that as a result of resumed operations, Nigeria will soon see a drop in the levels of refined products that are imported into the country. The Governor of the Nigerian Central Bank has said that the Kaduna refinery will follow suit in August.

Turkey

SOCAR has said that it is planning to sell part of its stake in Petkim. The company is reportedly seeking to do this to benefit from the rise in share price. SOCAR has a 65% share in Petkim and has built this since 2007.

USA

Paulsboro Refining Company has awarded a local student a college scholarship. Thomas Pettigrew recently graduated from Woodbury Junior-Senior High School and is now going to attend the Williamson College of the Trades in Media, Pennsylvania thanks to the scholarship from Paulsboro Refining Company.

Entergy Corp reported that at the end of last week, the Phillips 66 Alliance refinery in Belle Chase, Louisiana was hit with a power outage. It was reported that the entire refinery was shutdown due to the incident.

It has been reported that Total S.A is looking to sell 50% of its refinery in Port Arthur, Texas. This is the only refinery the company has in the US and the sale is said to be part of the company’s plan to reduce its downstream exposure. Despite the sale, Total has reportedly said that it wishes to remain operator of the facility.

Despite flaring at the Shell Puget Sound Refinery which was emitting large plumes of black smoke in to the surrounding area over the weekend, the Northwest Clean Air Agency has reported that air quality monitors showed good air quality in the Anacortes area. No pollutants were being detected in the refinery’s surrounding communities.

Phillips 66 has recently completed the construction of a 199 ft safety flare system at the Ferndale refinery. The new unit will improve energy efficiency at the plant and lessen the impact of the refinery on the surrounding environment.

BP’s Whiting refinery, Indiana saw the restart of a 24 300 bpd hydrotreating unit at the end of last week following a malfunction. The unit uses hydrogen to remove sulfur dioxide from motor fuels so they fall in compliance with US environmental regulations.

It was reported at the end of last week that Chevron’s Richmond refinery in California was operating in standby mode. This was following a temporary power dip at the facility.

Edited from various sources by Claira Lloyd

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/refining/27072015/downstream-news-catch-up/