Downstream news

Australia's government has announced plans to subsidise the country's refineries in order to keep them open wherever commercially possible.

Braskem is using Grace’s UNIPOL PP Process Technology and catalyst systems at its new polypropylene production line in La Porte, Texas, US.

The US's only offshore terminal, the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP), stopped loading tanker ships on Sunday, while the port of New Orleans closed on Monday.

The work was delivered in preparation for the construction of three, 30 m diameter fuel storage tanks at the Sydney Terminal of Vopak.

In response to falling fuel demand, the integration of a refinery with a petrochemicals plant can improve the revenue generation potential of refiners, says GlobalData.

The company is exploring the shutdown of its refinery operations in Naantali and focusing the Naantali site on the terminal and harbour operations.

Asia’s ethylene glycol capacity is expected to increase from 23.1 million tpy in 2019 to 40.08 million tpy in 2024, at an average annual growth rate (AAGR) of 11%, says GlobalData.

The total capacity of the three terminals, located in Texas and Louisiana, is 852 000 m3.

The line in La Porte has a production capacity of over 450 kilotons (kt) or 1 billion pounds per year and has the capability to produce a broad range of products, including homopolymer, impact copolymer and random copolymers.

Burckhardt Compression initially purchased a 60% interest in Shenyang Yuanda Compressor, a Chinese compressor manufacturer based in Shenyang, in March 2016.