Communicator

BP Gelsenkirchen Refinery

GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany | February 6, 2025

BP has announced its intention to sell its Ruhr Oel GmbH operations in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, including the refinery and associated petrochemical assets19. The marketing process begins immediately, with BP targeting to complete the sale agreement within 2025, subject to regulatory approvals.

The Gelsenkirchen facility, Germany's third-largest refinery, currently processes approximately 12 million tons of crude oil annually and employs around 2,000 workers and 160 apprentices. The sale package includes the BP refinery in Gelsenkirchen and DHC Solvent Chemie GmbH in Mülheim an der Ruhr.

The decision comes amid challenging conditions for European refiners, who face increasing competition from Middle Eastern and Asian facilities, along with pressure from vehicle electrification and high operating costs. BP had already planned to reduce the refinery's capacity from 260,000 barrels per day of crude oil to 155,000 barrels per day in 2025.

Emma Delaney, BP's Executive Vice President for customers and products, explained that the decision aligns with BP's strategy to become a simpler, more focused, higher-value company. The company has recently modernized the facility's infrastructure, including power grid renewal and establishing independent steam supply, making it attractive for potential buyers.

The Gelsenkirchen site plays a crucial role in North Rhine-Westphalia's chemical industry, producing not only conventional fuels but also having the potential to manufacture biofuels and process recycled plastics. The refinery will continue normal operations throughout the sales process.

This move is part of a broader trend in Germany's refining sector, with other major players like Shell and ExxonMobil also seeking to divest their refining assets in the country. Industry analysts expect German crude refining capacity to decrease from 2.1 million barrels per day in 2020 to 1.8 million barrels per day by 2026.

#crudeoil  #refining  #refinery  #bp  #shell  #exxon  #germany  #gelsenkirchen 

HOUSTON, June 20, 2024 -- Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. ("BPCL") has selected Univation's UNIPOL™ PE Process Technology for two world-scale production lines to be located at BPCL's Bina Refinery site in Madhya Pradesh, India, Univation reports.

The two units are designed to achieve a combined nameplate production capacity of 1,150,000 tons per annum of polyethylene (PE).

The process designs for the two BPCL's reactor lines are engineered with full production back-fill capabilities to maximize manufacturing flexibility, increase PE resin supply continuity, and enable enhanced responsiveness to emerging marketplace needs.

The two BPCL reactor lines will enable production of both high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) products allowing BPCL to meet their customer demands across a wide range of PE applications essential for Indian markets.


#univation  #unipolpe  #india  #bpcl  #binarefinery 

BPCL Mumbai Refinery

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) has unveiled plans for an ambitious $11 billion integrated refinery and petrochemical complex in Andhra Pradesh, marking a significant expansion of India's refining capabilities. The announcement comes as India positions itself to become a major global refining hub amid Western companies' shift toward energy transition.

In a recent interview, BPCL Chairman G. Krishnakumar highlighted the strategic importance of the project, stating, "We feel there is a big opportunity in the refining sector. India's primary energy demand itself is also going to increase three to four times as its economy expands." This expansion aligns with India's vision to become a developed nation by 2047, targeting a GDP growth from $3.8 trillion to $30 trillion.

The proposed facility in Andhra Pradesh will include a 9-million-metric-tons-per-year refinery and an ethylene cracker, with an estimated cost between 900-950 billion rupees ($10.56-11.14 billion). The complex will feature a 35% petrochemical intensity, and pre-project work, including land acquisition, has already begun.

The strategic location in South India is particularly significant, as approximately 80% of the complex's output will serve the southern region's petrochemical developers and automobile manufacturers. This new facility will complement BPCL's existing operations, which currently include three refineries with a combined capacity of 35.3 million metric tons per year, plus fuel purchases from the 3-million-metric-ton Numaligarh refinery in the northeast.

Beyond this major project, BPCL is diversifying its portfolio with renewable energy initiatives. The company aims to achieve 10 gigawatts of clean energy projects by 2035 and has formed a joint venture with Sembcorp to expand its current 300-megawatt renewable energy portfolio.

Additionally, Krishnakumar expressed optimism about the $20 billion Mozambique LNG project, led by France's TotalEnergies, in which BPCL holds a stake alongside other Indian companies. Operations are expected to commence in the first quarter of 2025, with gas monetization projected for 2028-2029.

The investment in the Andhra Pradesh complex will help BPCL reduce its dependence on external fuel purchases, which currently account for one-fifth of the 50 million metric tons of refined fuels sold through its retail stations.

#bpcl  #india  #refinery  #lng  #totalenergies  #grassrootrefinery  #steamcracker  #renewableenergy 

BPLC Bina Refinery

India's Bharat Petroleum Corp. (BPLC) plans to expand its refining capacity to 45 MMtpy by 2028 from the current 35.3 MMtpy, its head of refining, Sanjay Khanna, said on Dec 17, 2024 at an industry event, as reported by Hydrocarbon Processing.

As part of the plan, BPCL—the country's second-biggest fuel retailer—will increase the capacity of its 15.5-MMtpy Kochi refinery, situated in the southern state of Kerala, to 18 MMtpy.

It will also boost the capacity of its 12-MMtpy Mumbai refinery to 16 MM tpy, Khanna said.

The state-run company additionally expects to expand its 7.8-MMtpy Bina refinery in central India to 11.3 MMtpy by May 2028, he added.

The refiner, which is always on the scout for cheaper oil grades to maximize its profit margins, is also keen to test low-sulfur grades from South America including those from Argentina, Khanna said.

#crudeoil  #lowsulfur  #refining  #refinery  #bplc  #bharat  #bina  #kochi  #mumbai  #india  #capacityexpansion 

November 11, 2024 09:55, via Coal Chemical Indutry Network, WeChat Account.

The 200,000 tons/year epoxy resin special new material project is one of the key projects in the planning and construction of the third phase of Huayi Qinzhou Chemical New Materials Integrated Base.

On April 30, Shanghai Huayi Group Co., Ltd., with its holding subsidiary Guangxi Huayi New Materials Co., Ltd. as the main investor, built a 200,000 tons/year epoxy resin special new material project.

Basic information of the project

° Project name: 200,000 tons/year epoxy resin special new material project.
° Project site: The project is located in the Petrochemical Industrial Park of Guangxi Qinzhou Port Economic and Technological Development Zone. The project covers an area of ​​150,346 square meters (about 226 acres).
° Project construction content: The project construction production capacity is 165,000 tons/year liquid epoxy resin unit, 12,000 tons/year solid epoxy resin unit, 10,000 tons/year formula resin unit, 14,000 tons/year bisphenol F epoxy resin unit, and 10,000 tons/year epoxy diluent unit.
° Project construction period: 18 months.
° Project investment: The total investment of the project is RMB 198.89 million. According to the forecast and analysis of the project investor, after completion, the project can achieve an average annual sales revenue of RMB 316.674 million and an average annual total profit of RMB 14.393 million.

Guangxi Huayi New Materials Co., Ltd. has completed and put into production a 200,000 tons/year bisphenol A project. The base also plans a 150,000 tons/year epichlorohydrin project. Both products are the most important raw materials required for the epoxy resin production of this project.

In addition, the liquid alkali required for this project can be supplied by the caustic soda unit of Guangxi Huayi Chlor-Alkali Chemical Co., Ltd., ensuring the reliability of raw material supply and reducing transportation costs. The high-concentration brine produced as a by-product of this project can be comprehensively utilized after refining, realizing the resource utilization of brine.

#chloralkali  #epoxy  #bpa  #bisphenola  #causticsoda  #epichlorohydrin  #epoxyresin  #huayi  #newmaterials  #guangxi  #huayi 

Guangxi Huayi New Materials Company and Guangxi port project have been added. MB has been initialized with some technology and productions added.

#shanghai #guangxi  #huayi  #newmaterial  #china  #pdh  #propanedehydrogenation  #butanol  #oxoprocess  #aceticacid  #butylacrylate  #bpa  #bisphenola  #acetone  #phenol 

Credit: Gunvor, Rotterdam refinery

By Jack Wittels and Alex Longley, November 22, 2024, Bloomberg

Gunvor Group is temporarily halting its Rotterdam oil refinery because it’s not making enough money, the latest sign that the continent’s plants are struggling to compete with upstarts in other parts of the world.

Effective Nov. 25, the so-called economic halt is due to a lack of prompt availability of commercially viable feedstock, the company said in a statement. Gunvor said it will “continue to monitor the situation and assess future resupply for the refinery in due course.”

With a processing capacity of 75,000 barrels a day, the plant is relatively tiny. Still, it joins a growing list of European refineries with plans to either halt or downsize, including the Wesseling and Gelsenkirchen plants in Germany and the Grangemouth facility in Scotland.

Europe’s refineries are under pressure from large, new plants, including in the Middle East and Africa, such as Nigeria’s giant new Dangote refinery. The rival fuelmakers can send what they make to Europe, and also compete for market share elsewhere in the world.

#gunvor  #refinery  #europe  #rotterdam  #wesseling  #gelsenkirchen  #grangemounth  #petroineos  #lyondellbasell  #ineos  #nigeria  #dangote  #crudeoil  #bp 

Picture: Indian subcontinent refineries, via ppPLUS

India’s dependence on imports to meet its requirements of basic petrochemicals, including polymers, is only expected to rise, despite projects – under implementation and on the drawing boards. This is partly because the historical baggage of poor capacity builds will take time to catch up with rising demand.

In the last few years, however, India’s public sector refiners have climbed on the petrochemicals bandwagon, seeking value-added outlets for refinery streams. They have invested in aromatics (for feeding the polyester value chain), propylene (for polypropylene, PP, and some other chemicals notably, oxo-alcohols and acrylate monomers), linear alkyl benzene (LAB), a key detergent raw material, and a few other projects. And more are to come in the near-term.

There are several commonalities amongst the firm projects. For one, the emphasis seems to be on building the C3 (propylene) value chain. This is not surprising as FCC propylene offers a simple, low-cost route to the olefin and one that can be conveniently retrofitted into existing refinery operations. There is also an overwhelming emphasis on PP production, which may not be wise, as it runs the risk of overbuild should demand growth not pan out as anticipated.

There are other propylene derivatives that can be considered, and these merit attention if not by the refiners themselves then by third party investors for whom it will be more worthwhile. Much will hinge on the commercials of the olefin supply arrangement, but such business models are widely followed, including here in India, let alone in other countries.

Importantly, the government needs to recognise that the chemical industry as a key enabler of modern living, and not a nuisance to be constrained through regulation and red-tape. The priority must be on developing well-developed clusters where not just the petrochemical industry, but also the broad chemical industry – including the fine and specialty chemical industries, wherein India’s competitiveness is well recognised – can locate and start operations in double-quick time. Clusters are efficient and safe locales where the industry can thrive, as several countries have amply shown.
 
India needs a much larger and more diversified chemical industry than it has now. The former it seems is happening. Not so sure of the latter. The herd mentality to investments needs to change. Those who have dared to do so – and there are a few examples – have been amply rewarded. More need to emulate, not imitate, them!

Ravi Raghavan, 12 Nov 2024, Linkedin post.

#india  #petrochemicals  #chemicals  #valuechains  #propylene  #fcc  #refinery  #polyester  #aromatics  #olefins  #polypropylene  #acrylics  #lab  #chemicalindustry  #indianchemicals  #IOCL  #BPCL  #HPCL  #RelianceIndustries  #investment  #specialitychemicals  #finechemicals  #oilrefining  #polymers  #ethylene  #competitiveness