Communicator

PRefChem Refinery Complex. Credit: prefchem.com

Malaysia’s Pengerang Refining Company (PRefChem Refining) has resumed operations by mid of May at one of its two residue fluid catalytic cracking (RFCC) units at the Johor complex, following an extended shutdown for repairs since late January. The two RFCC units at PRefChem have a combined processing capacity of 170,000 barrels per day (bpd), making them among the largest of their kind in the region

Operational Challenges and Market Impact

• Both RFCC units had previously encountered operational disruptions in the fourth quarter of last year, further impacting production reliability. The recently restarted RFCC unit, which primarily produces gasoline, is not yet operating at full capacity, according to sources familiar with the matter. The unit had been offline since the last week of January due to technical issues, contributing to a significant reduction in overall refinery throughput.
   
• During the shutdown, crude processing rates at the 300,000-bpd refinery dropped to around 50% on average over the past four months. Since the recent restart, sporadic offers for gasoline cargoes loading in June have appeared in the market, signaling a gradual return to normal operations.
   
• In addition to gasoline, the refinery is expected to load 5–6 cargoes of diesel (each 300,000 barrels) in May, according to trade estimates, rebounding from less than 1 million barrels in April.
   
• On the petrochemical side, PRefChem’s only steam cracker, with an ethylene capacity of 1.2 million metric tons per year, has also been offline for repairs since late January. The cracker is slated for a restart in the second half of June, according to industry sources.

Strategic Context

PRefChem, a 50:50 joint venture between Malaysia’s state oil company Petronas and Saudi Aramco, operates the integrated refinery and petrochemical complex at Pengerang, Johor. The facility is a cornerstone of the Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC), which is Malaysia’s only fully integrated refinery, steam cracker, and petrochemical site. The complex is designed with multiple train configurations—including the two-train RFCC system using Axens technology (R2R) —to enhance production reliability and flexibility. Despite facing recurring operational disruptions since 2023, the company continues to invest in new technologies and capacity expansions to support long-term growth and regional energy security:

• New Projects: The $5.3 billion Pengerang Energy Complex, securing $3.5 billion in financing in December 2024, will add 2.6 million metric tons/year of aromatics capacity by 2028.
   
• Specialty Chemicals: The recently commissioned isononanol plant (250,000 tons/year) at the Pengerang Petrochemicals Complex achieved on-spec production in 2024, targeting full capacity by 2025.

Market Positioning

PRefChem remains strategically positioned as a major supplier of Euro 5-grade fuels and petrochemical feedstocks in Southeast Asia:

• Euro 5 Fuels: The refinery produces high-specification gasoline and diesel.
   
• Integrated Complex: The site houses 3.4 million tons/year of petrochemical capacity, including propylene and ethylene, though recent spot propylene tenders suggest inventory management amid cracker downtime.

Analysts note that while near-term operational reliability concerns persist, PRefChem's long-term growth pipeline and low-carbon investments position it to capitalize on Southeast Asia's rising petrochemical demand.

#prefchem  #saudiaramco  #petronas  #pengerang  #rfcc  #gasoline  #diesel  #steamcracker  #malaysia 

The description of the SAMREF refinery has been updated.


#samref  #gasoline  #refinery  #aramco  #exxonmobil  #distillates  #motorfuels  #saudiarabia 

Well Resources and PetroChina Dagang refinery personnel tour the Ionikylation Unit at PetroChina's Dagang Refinery, which reached 1,000 Days of Continuous Operation.

Well Resources, Calgary, Canada | May 12, 2025 –  PetroChina Dagang Petrochemical Company has reached the milestone of 1,000 continuous days of operation for its 150,000 tpy Ionikylation unit.

The successful commissioning of the ¥330 million RMB alkylation unit based on composite ionic liquid (CIL) alkylation technology was reported on August 14, 2022. Throughout its operation, the unit has produced 98 RON alkylate. The Dagang Ionikylation unit occupies a plot space of 159m x 71m.

The Dagang refinery has an annual crude processing capacity of 5,000,000 tpy, producing 1,500,000 tpy of gasoline. Ionikylation was selected for its demonstrated ability to improve the quality and efficiency of alkylate production, enabling the company to meet National VI gasoline upgrade requirements while improving its environmental and operational safety profile.
 
Representatives from Well Resources recently visited the Dagang refinery to celebrate the 1,000-day operational milestone and discuss ongoing process optimization initiatives. In late 2023, the Dagang refinery began field-testing next-generation CIL catalyst formulation, which has resulted in a 35% reduction of the catalyst consumption rate compared to the original design basis.

Ionikylation is a ionic liquids-based alkylation technology for the production of high-octane alkylate that is free from sulfur, benzene, olefins, and aromatics. The inherently safe and sustainable process allows a refiner to transition away from using hazardous and corrosive acid catalysts and additives. All Ionikylation process equipment is manufactured using carbon steel, and the process eliminates the need for costly containment systems for handling hazardous chemicals.

In 2020, Ionikylation achieved an industry milestone as the first ionic liquids-based technology to be used to revamp an existing hydrofluoric acid alkylation unit at Sinopec’s Wuhan refinery. Well Resources is the global licensor of Ionikylation developed by China University of Petroleum (CUP).

#ionikylation  #wellresources  #cup  #chinauniversityofpetroleum  #sinopec  #china  #dagang  #refinery  #gasoline  #alkylation  #octane 

A description of the UOP CCR Platforming process is provided.

#uop #honeywell  #ccr  #platforming  #ccrplatforming  #naphtha  #hydrotreating  #reformate #catalyticreforming  #gasoline 

Photos:
▪️ Guangxi Petrochemical's 1.2 million tons/year ethylene cracking unit cracking furnace hoisting operation.
▪️ Builders carry out pipeline welding operations at the 50,000 tons/year hexene-1 unit.
▪️ Builders carried out modular pipeline gallery hoisting operations at the 270,000/600,000 ton/year propylene oxide co-production styrene unit.

Guangxi Petrochemical Refining and Chemical Integration Transformation and Upgrading Project Construction Progress Exceeds Halfway

China Petroleum News | 2024-11-27 16:04 | Beijing

On November 22, the 80-meter-high, 3,200-ton 1.2 million tons/year ethylene cracking unit cracking gas furnace module was in place.

On November 21, the last spherical tank in the chemical pressure tank area was successfully capped. On November 20, all towers of the 50,000 tons/year hexene-1 unit were hoisted.

On November 14, the installation of four modules of the cracked gasoline hydrogenation unit was completed...

Entering November, the Guangxi Petrochemical Refining and Chemical Integration Transformation and Upgrading Project has been successful, and many installation tasks have been completed according to the nodes. At present, the overall progress of the project has been completed by 62.81%, and the construction progress has exceeded half.

In order to improve the project construction progress and ensure the quality and inherent safety of the project, the Guangxi Petrochemical Refining and Chemical Integration Transformation and Upgrading Project strictly implemented the group company's "six-in-one" construction concept at the beginning of the design, and made the construction safer, more efficient and reliable through factory prefabrication and modular construction. In order to further promote factory prefabrication and modular construction, Guangxi Petrochemical has built "second construction sites" of varying sizes near the project construction site in accordance with local conditions - prefabrication yards, of which there are 8 pipeline prefabrication yards alone. The factory prefabrication rate of the steel structure of this project exceeds 95%, and with the concept of deepening factory prefabrication and modular construction, the operating efficiency has been greatly improved, the workload and safety risks on the construction site have been greatly reduced, and civilized construction on site has been further promoted.

#cnpc  #petrochina  #guangxi  #petrochemical  #ethylene  #steamcracker  #hexene  #gasoline  #hydrogenation  #china 

Yangzi-BASF Light Hydrocarbon Comprehensive Utilization Project with 1 million tonnes steam cracker begins construction, receives environmental impact assessment.

7th Sep 2024 | Source: DT New Materials, via Sohu.com

Yangzi-BASF Light Hydrocarbon Comprehensive Utilization Project

On August 30, 2024, the Yangzi-BASF Light Hydrocarbon Comprehensive Utilization Project officially began construction. The project investment is approximately 9.142 billion yuan, with downstream new materials projects totaling about 25.652 billion yuan. The project
includes construction of three process units and supporting facilities:

° One 1 million tons/year ethylene steam cracking unit
° One 500,000 tons/year gasoline hydrogenation unit
° One 620,000 tons/year aromatics extraction unit

The project is constructed and operated by Nanjing Yangzi-BASF Olefins Co., Ltd., which was newly established on October 24, 2023. The company was formed as a 50-50 joint venture between Sinopec Yangzi Petrochemical Company Limited and BASF-YPC Company Limited.


15th Nov 2023 16:25 | Petrochemical Federation Chemical New Materials Committee | via WeChat.

With a total investment of over 10.3 billion yuan, Nanjing Yangzi-BASF Olefins Co., Ltd. will build a 1 million tons/year steam cracking ethylene plant

On November 13, 2023, the Jiangsu Environmental Protection Public Network released the second public announcement of the environmental impact assessment of the light hydrocarbon comprehensive utilization project of Nanjing Yangzi BASF Olefin Co., Ltd. and put forward suggestions and opinions on the project construction content to all sectors of society.

° Construction unit: Nanjing Yangzi-Yanba Olefins Co., Ltd.
° Project name: Light hydrocarbon comprehensive utilization project
° Construction location: The project area is located in the inspection and safety area of Yangzi Petrochemical; the product tank area is located in the Henghai area of Yangzi Petrochemical; the flare is arranged in the BASF-YPC-Yunnan land.
° Project type: Greenfield project.
° Total investment: 1,030,513 million yuan, with additional environmental protection investment of 262 million yuan;
° Land area: The total land area is 43.3 hectares (33 hectares for Jianan area and 10.3 hectares for Henghai area).
° Number of employees: The labor quota for this project is 207 people.
° Project Overview: The project includes a 1 million tons/year steam cracking ethylene production unit and 4 downstream chemical units; supporting public engineering systems include raw materials, intermediate raw materials, product tank farms, air compressor stations, circulating water fields, power supply systems, flare systems, etc.; and the transformation of existing facilities of Yangzi and BASF-YPC.

It is reported that Yangzi Petrochemical's existing "refinery structure adjustment project" will be completed and put into production before this project is put into production.

After the project is put into production, the refining sector of Yangzi Petrochemical will supply raw materials for the "ethylene cracking unit of this project" and "Yangzi Petrochemical's existing 800,000-ton ethylene cracking unit."

#basf  #ypc  #lighthydrocarbon  #petrochemical  #yangzi  #ethylene  #steamcracking  #gasoline  #aromatics 

With a total investment of 27.8 billion yuan, a new million-ton ethylene project was launched.

2024-10-22, Source

The total investment of Luoyang Petrochemical's million-ton ethylene project is 27.8 billion yuan, mainly to build 13 sets of process production units such as 1 million tons/year ethylene, and implement oil refining adaptability transformation at the same time.

On December 22, 2023, China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation and Henan Shenma Guoxing Industrial Investment Co., Ltd. signed an investment cooperation intention agreement. The two parties will jointly invest to establish a joint venture to jointly build the Luoyang Petrochemical million-ton ethylene project and create a first-class green petrochemical advanced materials industry base in China.

On September 12, 2024, Sinopec Group approved the basic design of Luoyang Petrochemical's million-ton ethylene project, marking that the Luoyang Petrochemical's million-ton ethylene project will enter the full construction stage.

The construction content of Luoyang Petrochemical Million Tons of Ethylene Project includes the construction of:
°a new 1 million tons/year ethylene unit,
°a 600,000 tons/year cracking gasoline hydrogenation unit,
°a 400,000 tons/year aromatics extraction unit,
°a 300,000 tons/year m-LLDPE unit,
°a 350,000 tons/year HDPE unit, and
°a 350,000 tons/year #3  polypropylene unit.

The project is scheduled to be completed and put into operation in December 2025.

After the project is put into production, it can sell about 3 million tons of various chemical products each year, increase the output value by 20 billion yuan, drive more than 160 billion yuan of downstream industrial chain investment, and form an industrial cluster of "hundreds of billions of investment and 10,000 jobs.

#luoyang  #petrochemical  #cpcc  #sinopec  #ethylene  #steamcracker  #hdpe  #lldpe  #polypropylene  #polyethylene  #gasoline  #pygas  #hydrogenation  #china  #henan

Multiple technologies and productions have been added.

#gasoline #diesel  #jetfuel  #kerosene  #hydrotreatment  #adu  #polypropylene  #axens  #mitsui  #hypol  #R2R  #fcc #delayedcoker  #sydec 


 

AXENS News, 17^th June 2009, retrieved via the Internet Archive from 3^rd Nov 2011.

Nghi Son Refinery & Petrochemical LLC (NSRP) has awarded Axens the basic engineering design contracts for some of the units of the new 200,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery which is to be constructed in Thanh Hoa province located in the Northern part of Vietnam.
Axens will supply the following process technologies for the refinery:

R2R™ - Residue Fluidized catalytic cracking (RFCC) unit;

Prime-D™ - Gas Oil desulfurization unit;

Prime-K™ - Kerosene desulfurization unit.

The refinery units will be provided with the latest advanced technologies making this one of the most modern refinery complexes in the world. The facility is scheduled and targeted to be operational in 2013.

The RFCC unit will incorporate advanced features to efficiently crack residue feed to maximize gasoline and propylene production. Polymer-grade propylene will be supplied to a downstream polypropylene unit. Axens’ RFCC is part of the FCC Technology Alliance between Axens, Shaw, Total and IFP.

Axens is a leading provider of clean fuels solutions. Axens’ desulfurization technologies are the benchmark for ultra-low sulfur middle distillate production. Both desulfurization units will employ the latest high activity hydrotreating catalysts and high performance reactor internals.

___________________
R2R, Prime-D, Prime-K are proprietary commercial names of Axens.

Nghi Son Refinery & Petrochemical LLC
Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Limited Liability Company (NSRP) is a Joint Venture Company formed by Vietnam Oil and Gas Group, Vietnam; Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd, Japan; Kuwait Petroleum Europe B.V., Netherlands and Mitsui Chemicals, Inc., Japan.

#axens  #rfcc  #nsrp  #vietnam  #gasoline  #propylene  #gasoil  #kerosene  #desulfurization 

The definition of motor gasoline has been improved.


#motorgazoline  #gasoline  #blending  #blendstock  #fuelblending  #gasolineblending  #octanenumber  #ron  #rvp   

Fuel Blending has bee added as a refinery process to produce various types of fuels and a generic fuel blending technology created for modeling fuel blending assets.


#fuelblending  #blendingstock  #gasolineblending  #diesel  #gasoline  #kerosene  #luboils  #naphthablending  #fueloil  #baseoils 

Alkylation unit based on Chevron's ISOALKY process, with its production capacity, has been added to SDalt Lake City refinery.

#chevron #isoalky  #alkylation  #alkylate  #gasoline  #fuelblending  #uop  #saltlakecity 

The Chevron ISOALKY process licensed by UOP has been added. 


#alkylation  #alkylatye  #gasoline  #fuelblending  "ionicliquid #isoalky 

Details about crude processing capacity, alkylation and gasoline production added.

#alylate  #alkylation  #ionikylation  #adu  #cdu  #crudeoil  #gasoline  #dagang  #petrochemical  #petrochina  #china  

LAGOS, Sept 2 –  Nigeria’s Dangote Oil Refinery has commenced gasoline processing after recent crude shortages caused delays, according to a company executive on Monday. The $20 billion facility, built by Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote on the outskirts of Lagos, started operations in January, initially producing products like naphtha and jet fuel.

With a massive capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, the Dangote Refinery is Africa’s largest and aims to reduce Nigeria’s heavy dependence on imported oil products, a costly burden for the country despite being a major oil producer.

“We are currently testing gasoline, and soon it will begin flowing into our product tanks,” said Devakumar Edwin, Vice President of Dangote Industries Limited. Edwin did not specify when
 the gasoline would reach the local market but confirmed that state oil firm NNPC Ltd, Nigeria’s sole gasoline importer, would exclusively purchase the gasoline. “If there are no buyers locally, we will export it, as we have done with our jet fuel and diesel,” he added.

The introduction of gasoline from Dangote’s refinery could significantly ease NNPC’s ongoing struggles to meet local fuel demand. Since January, NNPC has accumulated $6 billion in debt to oil traders for supply, hampering its ability to adequately serve the Nigerian market, where long fuel queues have persisted since July. Fuel prices have surged by 45% from the official rate of 617 naira ($0.3942) following the removal of subsidies last year.

“The timing of Dangote’s gasoline production is critical, especially given NNPC’s current challenges in securing imported supply due to financial constraints,” noted Clementine Wallop, Director for Sub-Saharan Africa at Horizon Engage, a political risk consultancy. She emphasized the need for NNPC to demonstrate transparency in its financial dealings as it begins to purchase from Dangote.

Despite being Africa’s leading oil producer, Nigeria imports almost all of its fuel due to years of neglect and underinvestment in its national refineries.

naija247news

#diesel  #naphtha  #gasoline  #crude  #crudeoil  #refining  #Refinery #jetfuel  #kerosene  #africa  #nigeria 

Description of Heavy Catalytic Naphtha (HCN) has been updated.

#hcn  #heavynaphtha  #catalyticnahptha  #fcc  #gasoline 

Description of catalytic naphtha (FCC gasoline) has been updated.

#catalyticnaphtha  #fcc  #fccgasoline  #gasoline 

Saudi Aramco is betting that the internal combustion engine will be around for a "very, very long time" as the world's largest oil company sees a business opportunity in the growing popularity of electric vehicles.

The state-owned oil group, which generated $500 billion in revenue last
year mainly from the production and sale of crude oil, acquired a 10 percent stake in Horse Powertrain for €740 million in June 2024, a company that makes internal combustion engines.

The calculation by Saudi Aramco and Horse's other shareholders - Chinese automaker Geely and its French rival Renault - is that as the industry stops designing and developing its own internal combustion engines, it will start buying them from third parties, the Financial Times said.

"It will be incredibly expensive for the world to completely eradicate or do away with internal combustion engines," said Yasser Mufti, Saudi Aramco's executive vice president in charge of the deal. "If you look at
affordability and a lot of other factors, I think they will be around
for a very, very long time."

Asked if he thought internal combustion engines would exist forever, Mufti answered in the affirmative. Saudi Aramco has previously said it believes that even in 2050, more than half of all cars will still be running on some form of fuel.

Photo: Aramco News, 28^th June 2024
At the signing ceremony, front row, from left: Renault Group Senior Vice President of International Development & Partnerships Francois Provost, Aramco Senior Vice President of Technology Oversight & Coordination Ali A. Al Meshari, and Geely Head of Strategy & Partnership (Chairman’s Office) Fiona Fei. Back row, from left: Valvoline Global Operations CEO Jamal Muashsher, HORSE Powertrain Limited CEO Matias Giannini, Aramco Executive Vice President of Products & Customers Yasser M. Mufti, Geely General Counsel Tihua Huang, and Aramco Vice President of Downstream Growth & Development Andrew Katz.

#diesel  #gasoline  #aramco  #crudeoil  #refining  #fuels  #combustionengines 

Description of Axens' R2R FCC has been updated.

#FCC  #residuum  #cracking  #gasoline 

The description of the Fluid Catalytic Cracking process has been updated.

#FCC  #cracking  #feedstock  #resid  #heavies  #gasoline  #olefins 

The European Parliament and EU countries reached an agreement last year to implement an EU CO₂ levy covering gasoline, diesel, natural gas, heating oil, and other hydrocarbons. With current CO₂ emission prices at €45 per ton, this agreement is poised to result in an approximate surcharge of 10 cents per liter of gasoline or diesel fuel. However, experts foresee a significant escalation in emission prices to €100-300 per ton of CO₂.

Yasmin Fahimi, president of the Confederation of German Trade Unions (DGB), has expressed deep concerns regarding the extension of emissions trading to encompass all hydrocarbons, citing potential irreparable impacts on industrial competitiveness.

Fahimi emphasized the need for reconsideration, stating, "Such decisions are not irrevocable. It is urgent to discuss once more the ramifications for economic and industrial policy stemming from this CO₂ emissions pathway."

Notably, concerns about the repercussions of increased gas station prices have also been acknowledged within the Green Party. The removal of diesel subsidies for agriculture could exacerbate their vulnerability to financial strain, potentially leading to immediate bankruptcies.

#diesel  #gasoline  #carboncredits  #carbonemissions #germany