Construction
Anchorage Investments has shortlisted four companies to build its $2-B Anchor Benitoite petrochemical complex project in Ain Sokhna, Egypt.
AFRICA
Anchorage Investments has shortlisted four companies to build its $2-B Anchor Benitoite petrochemical complex project in Ain Sokhna, Egypt. These companies include Hyundai, Samsung, Technip Energies and Tecnicas Reunidas. Once completed, the Anchor Benitoite complex will produce 1.75 MMtpy of petrochemical products.
ASIA-PACIFIC
BASF has begun operation on several plants at its Verbund site in China. The $10-B facility is being built in Zhanjiang and represents BASF’s largest single investment in the country. Once operational by 2030, the plant will produce up to 1 MMtpy of ethylene and other various petrochemicals.
In September, Indian Oil Corp. (IOC) awarded an engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) contract to Larsen & Toubro for the project’s 2.5-MMtpy residue hydrocracking unit. This project is part of IOC’s $4-B, 10-MMtpy expansion of the Panipet refinery and chemical complex in Haryana, India. Once completed, the complex’s total capacity will reach 25 MMtpy.
IOC has also announced plans to invest approximately $25 B to reach net-zero emissions from its operations by 2046. The company’s plan centers primarily on refining and petrochemical plant operations, which account for 97% of IOC’s emissions. The company will use renewable energy to fuel its capacity expansion, along with building green hydrogen plants at its refineries.
PT Kilang Pertamina International (PT KPI) is developing a second phase of the Trans-Pacific Indotama Olefin Complex Development Project. The complex is being built in Tuban Regency, East Java, Indonesia. According to Pertamina, this stage includes the construction of a naphtha cracker that will feed downstream units to produce 1 MMtpy of polyethylene and 600,000 tpy of polypropylene (PP). These petrochemical production units are scheduled to be completed in 2024.
Thaioil plans to complete its Clean Fuels Project in 2023. Designed to expand and upgrade the Laemchabang plant in Chonburi province, Thailand, the nearly $5-B project will enable the refiner to produce Euro-5 fuels. The project will also increase the facility’s refining capacity by 125,000 bpd to 400,000 bpd.
Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd. (BPCL) has announced plans to build two new petrochemical plants in India. BPCL will build an ethylene cracker at the Bina refinery Madhya Pradesh and a PP plant at the Kochi refinery in Kerala. Both projects are expected to be completed in 2026.
To mitigate costly imports of refined fuels and petrochemical products, PetroVietnam has proposed a plan to develop an integrated refining and petrochemicals complex in Long Son commune, Vung Tau city, Vietnam. The $19-B project will be developed in two stages. Stage 1 consists of a 12-MMtpy–13-MMtpy integrated refinery and petrochemical complex. Once completed, the complex will produce 7 MMtpy–9 MMtpy of petroleum products and 2 MMtpy–3 MMtpy of petrochemicals. The second phase will increase petroleum products output by 3 MMtpy–5 MMtpy and petrochemicals production by 5.5 MMtpy–7.5 MMtpy.
According to PetroVietnam, the feasibility study on the project will be completed in late 2023. A final investment decision (FID) is scheduled for Q1 2024, with EPC contract awards from 2024 to late 2027.
Debo is building a 200,000-tpy bio-methanol plant in China. The full volume of the produced green bio-methanol will be used by Maersk; the company will use the product as a shipping fuel. In an effort to decarbonize marine shipping, Maersk has ordered more than 10 large, dual-powered TEU boxships—the ships can burn methanol or conventional low-sulfur fuel for power. Debo’s bio-methanol plant is scheduled to begin operations in Q3 2024.
Lummus Technology will supply its CATOFIN and Novolen technologies for two units being built by Fujian Eversun New Material Co. in Fujian province, China. Lummus will provide its CATOFIN technology for a 900,000-tpy propane dehydrogenation unit and its Novolen technology for an 800,000-tpy PP unit being built at Fujian Eversun’s complex. Lummus’ scope includes the license of both technologies, basic design engineering, training, services and catalyst supply.
Viva Energy Australia has awarded McDermott a front-end engineering design (FEED) contract for its ultra-low-sulfur (ULS) gasoline project in Australia. McDermott will provide FEED for a new modularization unit to increase the production of ULS gasoline at Viva Energy’s Geelong refinery in the Australian state of Victoria. The ULS fuel will lower sulfur content to 10 ppm, which will enable Viva Energy to adhere to new fuel quality regulations that will take effect in the country by 2025.
Chennai Petroleum Corp. Ltd. has formed a JV with its parent company IOC to build a nearly $4-B refinery in India. Located at Nagapattinam in the state of Tamil Nadu, the 9-MMtpy refinery will be built after the JV dismantles the existing 1-MMtpy Cauvery Basin refinery located there. The new refinery will produce refined fuels that adhere to India’s Bharat Stage-6 fuel quality standard.
In late August, Sinopec announced the completion of China’s largest carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) project. The CCUS facility captures carbon dioxide (CO2) from the Qilu refinery in Shandong province and injects it into oil wells in the nearby Shengli oilfield. At the time of this publication, the CO2 was transported by trucks; however, Sinopec plans to complete a pipeline by 2023 that will move the CO2 to the oilfield. Using CO2 for enhanced oil recovery has enabled Sinopec to increase crude oil production by nearly 3 MMtpy. The company has also announced plans to build two additional similar CCUS projects by 2025.
Woodside Energy has started construction works on a second liquefaction train at its Pluto LNG plant in Western Australia. The 5-MMtpy train will process natural gas produced from the offshore Scarborough field. Bechtel was awarded the EPC contract for the project. Train 2 is expected to begin operations in 2026.
CANADA
Imperial has signed a long-term contract with Air Products for the supply of low-carbon hydrogen for the company’s renewable diesel facility. The renewable diesel complex is being built near Edmonton, Alberta. Air Products plans to invest approximately $1.2 B to build a 165-MMft3d hydrogen production facility to support Imperial’s planned complex. Imperial’s renewable diesel complex is designed to produce 1 Bl/yr once completed.
EUROPE
Neste has launched a study to covert its Porvoo refinery in Finland to a renewable and circular solutions site. According to the company, the transformation would start with the coprocessing of both renewable and circular feedstocks and could continue with retrofits of existing units at a later stage, with a long-term capacity potential of 2 MMtpy–4 MMtpy. This plan would see the refinery discontinue crude oil processing in the mid-2030s.
Wood will provide detailed engineering and procurement assistance for Jizzakh Petroleum’s methanol-to-olefins (MTO) facility in the Bukhara region of Uzbekistan. The nearly $3-B project is an effort by Uzbekistan to diversify its economy, monetize domestic natural resources and mitigate costly petrochemical product imports. The facility will process domestically-produced natural gas into petrochemical products.
Dow Chemical and Mura Technology are developing Europe’s largest advanced plastics recycling facility. The 120,000-tpy plastics recycling plant will be located at Dow’s Böhlen petrochemicals plant in Germany. The facility will use Mura’s HydroPRS advanced recycling technology. FID is planned for 2023. If greenlighted, the facility is scheduled to begin operations in 2025. The plant is part of the Dow and Mura’s joint collaboration to build advanced recycling facilities in Europe and the U.S.—the JV plans to construct 600,000 tpy of advanced recycling capacity by 2030.
MIDDLE EAST
At the time of this publication, the Duqm refinery project was more than 90% complete. The $7-B project, being developed by Duqm Refinery & Petrochemicals Industries Co. (a JV between OQ and Kuwait Petroleum International), is in Duqm, Oman. The 230,000-bpd refinery is being developed in three EPC packages by a JV between Tecnidas Reunidas and Daewoo Engineering & Construction, a JV between Petrofac and Samsung Engineering, and Saipem and CB&I. The refinery is scheduled to be commissioned in 2023.
ADNOC Refining, a JV comprising Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC), Eni and OMV, has announced plans to complete its $600-MM waste heat recovery project in 2023. The project—part of the United Arab Emirates’ Net-Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative—will enable the Ruwais refinery to recycle waste heat generated from the plant to produce up to 230 MW/d of electricity, as well as 62,400 m3/d of distilled water. According to ADNOC, the project is designed to capture exhaust heat from the gas-powered turbines at ADNOC Refining’s general utilities plant, which is presently vented into the atmosphere, to produce steam that is subsequently used for power production. Phase 1 is expected to be completed by the end of the year, with Phase 2 scheduled to begin operations in mid-2023.
U.S.
Aemetis is developing the Carbon Zero sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel plant in Riverbank, California. The capital-intensive project will use hydroelectric and other renewable power to produce 90 MMgpy of SAF, renewable diesel and other byproducts.
In late Q3, the company announced that it is on schedule for filing permits and conducting procurement operations in Q4. CTCI Americas will conduct permitting and engineering work on the project. Once completed in 2025, the plant will have the flexibility to produce 100% SAF or 100% renewable diesel.
ExxonMobil plans to commission its Beaumont Light Atmospheric Distillation Expansion (BLADE) project in Q1 2023. The project, which will expand the company’s Beaumont refinery by approximately 250,000 bpd, is the largest refinery expansion in the U.S. in nearly a decade. BLADE consists of adding a third crude unit to process light crude oil produced from U.S. shale plays.
HIF Global will use Topsoe’s methanol synthesis and TIGAS gasoline synthesis technologies for its 200-MMgpy eFuels plant. Located in Matagorda County, Texas, the facility will convert renewable hydrogen and CO2 to methanol, which will be further converted into carbon-neutral gasoline. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2023, with operations expected to begin by 2026. HP
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