The downstream rundown: In case you missed it 08/19
Baker Hughes has announced an agreement to acquire Quest Integrity, a subsidiary of Team, Inc and a global leader in the development and delivery of technology-enabled asset inspection and reliability management solutions across the pipeline, refining petrochemical and power generation sectors. This complements Baker Hughes’ existing asset integrity offerings and will support customers with the delivery of actionable insights on a broader range of industrial infrastructure.
Baker Hughes’ asset integrity solutions include pipeline inspection services that detect, characterize, locate and size anomalies in the wall of a pipeline that might potentially compromise its integrity. Quest Integrity’s technology will expand this capability to support “difficult-to-inspect” pipelines where the construction or operation of the line does not allow for conventional inline inspection methods to yield reliable results.
IIR Energy grants Kpler access to its refinery data
Kpler, a provider of technology-led data, analytics, and market insight, announced that it has entered into an exclusive partnership with IIR Energy, the leading global provider of refinery data. Through the partnership, Kpler obtains the exclusive right to combine IIR Energy’s refinery data with its own flows and inventories data, to create a new benchmark for crude and refined product market analysis.
The rationale behind the partnership is to fill the existing void in the market for reliable, asset-level data that cover the global crude and refined products markets from end to end. By combining IIR’s refinery data with its existing offering, Kpler will bring unparalleled coverage over crude and refined products’ trade value chains, to the benefit of thousands of industry professionals. This partnership will allow Kpler to bolster its product portfolio by releasing new refinery-focused products in the coming months.
JG Summit Olefins selects Aspen Technology to advance operations
Aspen Technology, a global leader in industrial software, announced that the largest petrochemicals company in the Philippines, JG Summit Olefins Corporation, is advancing its journey toward operational excellence by unlocking untapped value in production optimization. This planned deployment with Aspen Unified PIMS supports the company’s innovation-driven vision and is projected to boost operating margin by optimizing feedstock selection at the crackers. The JGSOC expansion project is a step toward further diversification of the local petrochemical and chemical industries and is envisioned to strengthen the industrial value chain linkages for the manufacturing sector.
Howden welcomes US commitment to climate with new legislation
Howden, a leading global provider of mission critical air and gas handling solutions, has welcomed the US’ new climate and healthcare spending package, which includes tax incentives for green energy projects.
The legislation will provide more than $360 B in funds directed to energy and climate-related provisions, including tax credits for new and used electric vehicles and for green energy projects.
Baker Hughes opens new chemicals facility in Singapore
Baker Hughes is expanding its presence in Asia by opening a new oilfield services chemicals manufacturing facility in Singapore, enabling manufacturing optimization and faster delivery of fit-for-purpose chemical solutions. The facility, which spans approximately 40,000 square meters, will manufacture, store and distribute chemical solutions for upstream, midstream, downstream and adjacent industries to support regional customers and boost Baker Hughes localization efforts.
The new facility builds on Baker Hughes’s recent strategy to source and produce chemicals in proximity to key demand hubs, including the announced chemicals joint venture company with Dussur in Saudi Arabia. As a technology-driven, automated facility, the Singapore facility is aligned with Baker Hughes’ goals for carbon reduction and in support of Singapore’s “Green Plan 2030” – a national sustainability movement to tackle climate change for building a sustainable future with net zero emissions. The facility’s overall process design, in addition to the facility’s ethylene oxide pipeline, also reduces the need for road transport and handling of chemicals.
BASF Venture Capital and Aqua-Spark invest in Sea6 Energy
BASF Venture Capital GmbH, Germany, and Aqua-Spark, a Dutch investment fund focusing on the global aquaculture industry, are investing in Sea6 Energy Pvt. Sea6 Energy was founded in 2010 and is located in Bangalore, India. The company is a leader in the production and processing of tropical red seaweed.
With this investment, Sea6 Energy will complete its Series B transaction of INR 1402 MM (about $18.5 MM) in total. Red seaweed grows mainly in tropical waters in Asia, which have constant, high temperatures conducive to year-round growth of seaweed. Biomass from the fast-growing red seaweed is suitable as a raw material for a variety of applications, for example in animal feed and crop protection products, as a gelling ingredient in the food industry or as an ingredient in cosmetics.
Turkish re-refinery completes one year of operations
TAYRAŞ and Sequoia announced the completion of one year of operations of TAYRAŞ’ state-of-the-art re-refining plant located in Osmaneli, Turkey. The plant is capable of processing 60,000 metric tons per year of the waste oil into high quality API Group II+ base oil, meeting the most stringent specifications for sulphur, VI, volatility and even polyaromatic hydrocarbons concentrations. Sequoia designed, specified and supplied all process equipment for the used lubricating oil processing plant based on its vacuum distillation and hydrogeneration technologies. Sequoia has granted exclusive access to its technologies to TAYRAŞ for Turkey and its neighboring countries.
Raven SR and Howden partner to streamline waste-to-fuels process
The renewable fuels company Raven SR announced it has signed an MoU with Howden, a global provider of mission critical air and gas handling products, technologies and services, to provide more certainty in procuring key components for hydrogen fuel production facilities, including advanced compressors.
Under the agreement, Raven SR and Howden will look to develop a standardized design for hydrogen compressors based on Raven SR's standard plant sizes and will aim to reduce lead times by providing inventories of dedicated compressor parts. These efforts will help Raven SR meet the increased volume of demand for its offering in the market and address waste management issues. The companies will also determine how to support aftermarket equipment needs at Raven SR's hydrogen production facilities.
Honeywell to modernize systems at ExxonMobil manufacturing plants
Honeywell announced it will upgrade ExxonMobil’s existing operations control systems to Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS) at their downstream refinery and chemical plant operations worldwide.
As the program’s main automation contractor, Honeywell will deliver systems and software, detailed engineering and lead procurement for the integrated control system and construction. The migration will utilize Honeywell technology to evolve the legacy system to Honeywell’s flagship control system, the Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS).
Brazil's antitrust watchdog postpones decision on Petrobras' refinery sale
Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras said it has signed a contract to sell the REMAN refinery in the northern state of Amazonas for $189.5 MM to Ream Participações S.A., a subsidiary of distributor Atem.
In a separate filing, however, the company formally known as Petroleo Brasileiro SA said it had failed to secure a buyer for the Abreu e Lima (RNEST) refinery after the interested firms declined to offer a bid. Petrobras said it would end the sale process, and analyze its next steps.
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