October 12, 2019:

Italian oil and gas company Eni expects to boost gasoline production at Angola’s Luanda refinery to 470,000 tonnes within two years from the current 110,000 tonnes a year, a senior company official said on Friday.  Last year, Eni signed an agreement with Angola’s state-owned oil firm Sonangol to lift production at the 65,000 barrel per day plant, the only refinery in Africa’s second largest oil producer which imports around 80% of its fuel products.  “The installation of a specific unit, which is called a platformer, (will allow the refinery) to increase production of reformate gasoline,” said Andrea Giaccardo, Eni Angola’s managing director, in a country report to an African oil and power conference in Cape Town.  “The current capacity of the refinery is 110,000 tonnes per year and the target, once the platformer is installed, is to reach a production capacity of about 470,000 tonnes per year by 2021,” he said.  Milan-based Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. said separately its Kinetics Technology subsidiary was awarded the engineering, procurement and construction contract worth $200 million.  Eni operates the Luanda refinery under a joint venture with Sonangol.

By Reuters

October 11, 2019:

HUSKY Energy has received the required permit approvals to move forward with its more than US$400m rebuild of its refinery in Superior, Wisconsin, US. Work is to begin immediately. In April 2018, there was an explosion at the integrated energy company’s Superior Refinery which reportedly injured  at least 15 people, one of whom was seriously hurt. According to the US Chemical Safety Board (CSB), the explosion may have been caused by a deteriorated valve. The demolition of equipment damaged in the fire is now largely complete In addition to the expected investment towards the rebuild, most of which will be funded through insurance proceeds, the company will additionally invest in modifications and safety enhancements for the facility. After the rebuild, the refinery is expected to run in a continuous mode averaging 45,000 bbl/d of crude oil. This average includes a 5,000 bbl/d average increase in heavy oil processing to 25,000 bbl/d. Once the refinery is fully ramped up, Husky’s overall downstream throughput capacity is expected to be about 400,000 bbl/d. The modernised refinery will feature best available control technology, which incorporates advances in technology and efficiencies from across the industry. The facility will also be more energy efficient, in full compliance with federal, state, and local regulations.

Continued use of hydrofluoric acid (HF) is part of Husky’s rebuild plans. HF is a highly-toxic chemical used as a catalysing agent in refinery alkylation processes. It is used in about one-third of US refineries. Though the explosion in April didn’t result an HF leak and all the safeguards worked as designed, the Twin Ports Action Alliance called for Husky to stop using it. Furthermore, earlier this year, the CSB called for the US Environmental Protection Agency to review and update its 1993 study of hydrofluoric acid (HF) to improve safety. Safer alternatives to HF exist and Husky considered the use of sulfuric acid and Isoalky technology, but concluded they introduced significant risks for the refinery or were not commercially viable. Chevron’s Isoalky technology, licensed by Honeywell UOP, uses an ionic liquid for alkylation. In 2017, Chevron broke ground on a retrofit to convert the HF alkylation unit at its refinery in Salt Lake City, Utah, US to Isoalky. The unit is expected to be operational in 2020. Husky says it will continue to monitor and evaluate the progress of this technology over the longer term. Husky is to implement additional HF safety measures at the Superior Refinery as part of the rebuild. The measures include a rapid acid transport system that can be activated in the event of a leak and quickly transfer HF to an independent secure holding tank; additional layers of water mitigation – water spray systems can be used to knock HF vapour to the ground and prevent it from affecting surrounding communities; and, enhanced leak detection. The work to prepare for the installation of the additional safety features at the refinery’s alkylation unit which houses HF, and to enable construction to proceed as safely as possible, includes the neutralisation of HF currently stored at the refinery. The HF will be mixed with potassium hydroxide and water to produce potassium fluoride salt and water. The Superior Refinery has about 200 employees and works with numerous contractors and suppliers in the region. Construction is expected to create more than 350 jobs at its peak. Husky says it will employ local contractors and services in the rebuild, whenever possible. The rebuild of the Superior Refinery will take place over the next two years, with a return to full operations expected in 2021.

Rob Peabody, CEO and President of Husky, said: “Our continued investment in this refinery and the community will support the Superior-Duluth regional economy through jobs, procurement, taxes and essential energy products for years to come.” “The Superior Refinery is an integral part of Husky’s Integrated Corridor business, which maximises margin capture across the value chain.” The Superior Refinery is the first US refinery along the Enbridge mainline system coming in from Canada. This puts it in an ideal location for crude oil supply optionality. About 3m bbl/d of crude oil flows past the gate to the refinery, which is an important producer of gasoline, diesel, and asphalt in the attractive upper US Midwest market. Once rebuilt the refinery will allow Husky to better take advantage of these things.

By thechemicalengineer.com

October 11, 2019:

In a bid to reduce its carbon footprint the oil giant is ramping up its renewable energy production at a refinery in the Philippines. The news was announced by the company in a week which saw it named seventh worst corporate contributor to the climate crisis since awareness of emissions-related damage first emerged.  Shell, identified as one of worst corporate offenders in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, will use solar power and storage – plus methane-emitting natural gas – to power oil refining operations in the country.  As Extinction Rebellion protesters start to have an impact around the world, fossil fuel giant Royal Dutch Shell has said it is heeding the call from civil society to work towards the low-emission aims enshrined in the Paris Agreement. Shell’s Philippine subsidiary Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation has touted the start of work on an integrated energy system to harness solar energy, natural gas and a 3 MWh battery storage system to power its 110,000 barrel-per-day oil refinery in Tabangao, Batangas City. The partly renewable energy project is expected to generate 2.4 GWh per year, enough to power 850 homes or offset 8,760 tons of carbon dioxide per year from refinery operations, according to Pilipinas Shell. Any excess energy will be exported to the adjacent Luzon grid.

Pilipinas Shell and the oil major’s renewable energy spin-off Royal Dutch Shell New Energies worked “to showcase Shell’s aspiration to thrive in the energy transition and at the same time demonstrate opportunities to unlock value between conventional and new energy systems,” said Cesar Romero, Pilipinas Shell president and chairman of Shell companies in the Philippines.

Shell makes the top 20

Work on the solar farm is likely to start next month and installation of the battery storage system will start in the second quarter of next year. Pilipinas Shell has already fitted solar systems to 39 of its retail petrol stations and its oil giant parent wants to reduce the carbon intensity of its operations by 20% by 2035, and halve them by 2050, in line with global climate protection ambitions. Against that backdrop, research body the Climate Accountability Institute has published a report naming and shaming the 20 most significant contributors of carbon emissions between 1965 and 2017. Royal Dutch Shell features predominantly through the sale of “energy products” and is ranked seventh in the list of shame. The company is credited with contributing 2.36% of all global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during a 52-year period which started at a point when, according to the institute, fossil fuel industry leaders had begun discussing the role of emissions in catastrophic climate change. The top 20 companies listed, all of which are petroleum businesses, accounted for 35.45% of global GHG emissions. According to the analysis, Royal Dutch Shell emitted 31,948 Mt of CO2 equivalent into the atmosphere between 1965 and 2017.

Shell response

The study adds, 90% of the emissions attributed to the big emitters came from using their products – including gas and petrochemical fuels. Only around 10% could be attributed to sales, refinery operations and other non-product activity. Shell was one of the top 20 emissions producers to respond when contacted by English newspaper The Guardian, which has this week reported heavily on the Climate Accountability Institute findings. The oil giant told the newspaper: “We agree that action is needed now on climate change so we fully support the Paris Agreement and the need for society to transition to a lower-carbon future. We have already invested billions of dollars in a range of low-carbon technologies; from biofuels, hydrogen and wind power to electric vehicle charging and smart energy storage solutions. Addressing a challenge as big as climate change requires a truly collaborative, society-wide approach. We’re committed to playing our part by addressing our emissions and helping customers to reduce theirs.” In the last fiscal year Shell claims to have invested $1-2 billion in renewable energy strategies, a figure which translated into 4-6% of its annual investment volume. It should be noted that the renewable energy system touted in the Philippines will power further oil extraction, with its associated GHG emissions and is also part powered by natural gas, the production of which has been linked to emissions of methane, the most potent of the GHGs.

By pv-magazine.com

October 9, 2019:

Aruba on Wednesday reached an agreement with U.S. based Citgo Petroleum Corp. to end its contract to refurbish and operate the island’s refinery, a statement from the island’s prime minister said. The Caribbean nation plans to pursue outside candidates to take over the 209,000 barrel per day refinery, said Prime Minister Evelyn Wever-Croes. The refinery has been idled due to U.S. sanctions on Citgo’s parent Venezuelan state oil firm PDVSA.

By Reuters

August 30, 2019:

Vietnam’s Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical has bought 1 million barrels of Bonny Light crude in its first-ever import of Nigerian crude, two trade sources and a senior company executive told Reuters on Friday.  Binh Son bought the crude cargo in mid-August for delivery in October-November for its 130,000-barrel-per-day Dung Quat refinery, according to the sources, all of whom declined to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media.  “This is the first batch of crude oil we have imported from Nigeria for the plant,” said the company executive, who declined to reveal further details.  “We haven’t decided yet if we will keep importing Nigerian crude in the future.”  Binh Son, Vietnam’s first refinery, is stepping up efforts to reduce its dependence on the country’s dwindling domestic crude supply and widen its purchase options. 

Vietnam has been relying more on imported crude due to a slowdown in domestic output as its reserves decline at existing fields, and because of China’s increasingly assertive stance in the region hampers offshore exploration.  Vietnam’s crude oil imports for the January-August period more than doubled from a year earlier to 5.57 million tonnes, as its domestic oil output fell 6.9%, official data shows.  Last month, Binh Son’s Vice-CEO Nguyen Van Hoi said the company would import 2 million to 3 million barrels of U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude in the second half of this year for the refinery.  Price levels for West African crude grades like Bonny Light are competitive compared with regional sweet, or low-sulphur, crude grades in the Asian markets, said the two trade sources.  Oil major BP likely sold the cargo to Binh Son, according to other trader sources. Source: Reuters (Reporting by Shu Zhang in SINGAPORE and Khanh Vu in HANOI; Additional Reporting by Noah Browning in London; Editing by Tom Hogue)

By Reuters