Archive: September 23, 2023

Sabic PC Plant in China

Saudi’s SABIC confirms start of operations in China polycarbonate plant

Petrochemicals company Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) and China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) have kicked off commercial operations of their new polycarbonate production facility.

The plant, situated in the Sinopec-Sabic-Tianjin Petrochemical Complex (SSTPC), is the Saudi company’s first polycarbonate facility in Asia, SABIC said on Friday.

It is in line with the company’s plans to bring its operations close to its customers to boost “service capabilities”.

“Our first-ever polycarbonate plant in Asia has begun commercial operations, underlining our commitment to operate and manufacture in markets that are close to our customers to increase service capabilities, agility and supply reliability,” the company said.

The Tianjin petrochemical complex, jointly invested by SINOPEC and SABIC, is home to nine production plants that manufacture chemicals and polymer products.

The new facility has an annual production capacity of 260,000 tonnes.

Sourced by Zawya

Australian LNG

Australian LNG workers escalate strike actions at key Chevron sites

(Bloomberg) – Liquefied natural gas (LNG) workers at key Chevron Corp. sites in Western Australia have begun ramping up a campaign of industrial action in a dispute that has roiled global energy markets.
Staff started a program of escalated action Thursday after beginning partial strikes on Sept. 8, and will ratchet up stoppages over the “coming days and weeks,” the Offshore Alliance, a group representing two major labor unions, said in a Facebook post.

It isn’t clear how many hours a day the workers are on strike. Chevron said it has been given notice that workers could commence rolling 24-hour stoppages from 6 a.m. Perth time Thursday.

“Our focus is on maintaining safe and reliable operations in the event of disruption, and we will continue to manage the range of uncertainties that industrial action may present,” Chevron said in a statement.

Union members at the Gorgon and Wheatstone LNG facilities had previously flagged plans to begin all-day stoppages for a period of as long as two weeks from Sept. 14 if the sides failed to reach an agreement on pay and other conditions.

Worldoil Australian LNG

African oil production

African oil production faces numerous challenges in Q2

Africa plays a vital role in the global oil market, with its producing nations contributing around 8 per cent of total global supply. However, the second quarter of 2023 has seen numerous production challenges.
The African Energy Chamber (AEC) explores the production decline in our newly released report, “The State of African Energy: 2Q 2023 Outlook.” It notes that between January and May of this year, Africa lost approximately 180,000 barrels per day (bdp) of production due to unplanned outages, while planned maintenance activities shaved off an additional 83,000 bpd.
BALANCING PRODUCTION WITH SUSTAINABILITY

Maintenance activities are necessary for sustaining production levels and ensuring the longevity of oil infrastructure. However, in Africa, maintenance efforts too often lead to declines in production.

Opec production targets and voluntary cuts have further complicated Africa’s oil production endeavors. Algeria stands as the only African Opec member nation with a production capacity above the Opec target in 2023.
This isn’t to say that there haven’t been signs of promise and growth this quarter. After a year of volatile production in Libya last year, marked by multiple production outages due to civil unrest, the country’s oil production seems to be stabilising.

Earlier this month, Libya’s National Oil Corporation announced that international oil companies Eni (Italy) and BP (United Kingdom) had notified it about lifting force majeure and resuming activities in several onshore and offshore blocks.

African oil production

Saneg announces

Sanoat Energetika Guruhi (Saneg), Uzbekistan’s privately-held oil and gas company, has announced a 350 per cent increase in gas production from fields it was given responsibility for in 2019, along with a 55 per cent rise in oil production.

Saneg is an executor of the state’s program to increase oil production in Uzbekistan and has the subsoil use rights for 103 oil fields.

The company has thus far invested $750 million in the program, and has identified gas deposits in 78 of the fields, 33 of which are currently under development. As a result, gas production from the properties has risen from 389 million m3/year in 2021 to 1.4 billion m3/year in 2022.

The main driver of growth has been a $12.5 million program that utilises flare gas released in the fields during the extraction and preparation of oil.

The program saves valuable gas from being burned off, as used to be the case, and instead transfers it into the gas transmission system of Uztransgaz.

Tulkin Yusupov, Chief Executive of Saneg, said: “At the Severny Shurtan, Shirkent, and Turtsari fields, petroleum gas has been burned at flare installations for 30 years. Our new program prevents flaring and instead directs gas for separation and processing at zeolite purification plants.”

He added, “A promising direction at the moment is drilling ultra-deep wells to identify the oil and gas potential at the subsurface, mostly on new productive horizons. We are also conducting 3D large-scale seismic surveys at the company’s investment sites, including in the Ustyurt region. Having received the updated data, we will be able to expand our operational activities and bring the company to a new level of production capacity.”

OGN News

Energy Business

China adds 15 mln tons to 2023 fuel export quotas in third batch

BEIJING, Sept 1 (Reuters) – China has issued 15 million metric tons of oil products export quotas to companies in its third batch for 2023, according to three trading sources and two domestic consultancies.

The volume consists of 12 million tons of refined products quotas, made up of kerosene, diesel and gasoline exports, and 3 million tons of marine fuel, the sources said.

The quotas were allotted to Sinopec, PetroChina, CNOOC, Sinochem Group, China Aviation Oil Co, Zhejiang Petrochemical Co and Norinco, China-based consultancies Longzhong and JLC said.

The new issue brings the total volume of oil product export quotas this year to 53.99 million tons, up from 34.75 million issued in the same period last year.

Previous batches this year comprised 12 million tons in May and 26.99 million in January.

State-owned Sinopec, PetroChina, CNOOC and Sinochem Group were the main recipients of the quotas, taking 91.6% of the allocation across refined fuel products and marine fuel, according to a calculation by Reuters.

China adds 15 mln tons to 2023 fuel export quotas