Chemical Plant News

Through a complex operation to offload bulk salt, NORDEN is optimizing the supply chain for customer Empremar.At a chemical plant in California, 30,000 tonnes of salt is being offloaded from a bulk carrier onto a private terminal. The salt will be taken directly to the plant and used to make chlorine.This shipment is one of eight per year that NORDEN will make for Chilean salt miner Empremar. While NORDEN has been shipping salt to the US for Empremar for 20 years, this is the…

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) said on Wednesday that a fuel leak, possibly due to open valves and a running pump, set off a massive blaze at a Mitsui & Co Ltd petrochemical storage operation along the Houston Ship Channel in March.The fire that began on March 17 at Intercontinental Terminals Co (ITC) spread black smoke across Houston, shut the nearby ship channel, slowed production at local oil refineries and closed roadways and schools as it spread from one giant storage…

Ship pilots stopped moving vessels along the Beaumont, Texas, Ship Channel due to severe weather caused by Tropical Storm Imelda, said the U.S. Coast Guard on Thursday.Imelda, officially downgraded to a tropical depression, dumped 24 inches (61 CM) of rain on east Texas is the past 24 hours, closing Exxon Mobil Corp's Beaumont refinery and chemical plant. (Reporting by Erwin Seba; editing by David Evans)

Exxon Mobil Corp said it was fighting a fire that erupted on Wednesday at its Baytown, Texas, refining and chemical plant complex injuring 37 people and sending nearby residents indoors.As many as 37 people were being treated for non-life threatening injuries amid efforts to put out the fire, according to Exxon spokeswoman Sarah Nordin. Available air monitoring information showed "no adverse impact at this time," she said.More than three dozen people were treated for minor burns, none requiring hospitalization, said plant manager Jason Duncan in an afternoon media briefing.

Said bin Homoud Al Maawali, CEO, Oman Drydock Company (ODC) means business when he aims to triple revenue by 2021, but it’s anything but business-as-usual at ODC. A neophyte to the shipyard world, he is a veteran business man with a long resume in multiple industries, a turnaround specialist. He sees potential at ODC, but bigger picture, he sees the shipyard as a means to help Oman broaden its business and revenues outside of the traditional energy industry.As the global shipbuilding community shakes off a historic slump, new thinking is creeping into a space steeped in tradition.

Exxon Mobil Corp said it has commenced development drilling in the first of three offshore Guyana projects, which could produce more than 500,000 barrels of oil per day. Development drilling began in May for the first of 17 wells planned for Liza Phase 1, the company said.So far, Exxon Mobil and its co-venturers have discovered more than 3.2 billion oil-equivalent barrels estimated recoverable resources on the 6.6 million acre Stabroek Block.Liam Mallon, president of ExxonMobil Development Company…

Oil and natural gas producers began evacuating staff at U.S. Gulf of Mexico platforms on Thursday ahead of Tropical Storm Nate, the second storm in as many months to threaten Gulf Coast oil and refining facilities. Nate, which has already killed three people in Costa Rica, according to local authorities, is forecast to scrape past Honduras and Mexico, enter the Gulf and strengthen into a hurricane before making landfall early on Sunday in Louisiana, near several major refineries. That path takes it through an area populated by offshore oil and natural gas platforms, which pumps more than 1.6 million barrels of crude per day, about 17 percent of U.S. output, according to government data. Forecasts for Nate have shifted in the past 24 hours.

Three years ago coatings giant Jotun was buying up real estate for U.S. market access and location savings. The effort to get closer to its shipping and offshore customer base is still underway with research aimed at protecting client assets in frontier areas like the arctic. An R&D expansion at Flixborough in the U.K. and in the Arctic archipelago of Spitsbergen aims to make active the fire response of passive surface treatments. There’s a need to address fires in enclosed steel workplaces plus high-temperature hydrocarbon fires.

Singapore-headquartered Gaylin, a specialist supplier of lifting, rigging and marine equipment, said it has initiated a plan aiming to reposition its Vietnam facility to address changing trends in the local oil and gas, refining and chemical plant sectors. Under the plan, Gaylin will build on more than a decade of experience supplying slings and shackles to expand the portfolio, creating rental and labor-based revenue streams. Gaylin has five other global hubs in the region—South Korea…

Alan Kelly, president of ExxonMobil Fuels, Lubricants & Specialties Marketing Company, has announced his intention to retire effective Aug. 1, 2016, after more than 34 years of service. It is anticipated that the board of directors of Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) will appoint Bryan Milton as president of ExxonMobil Fuels, Lubricants & Specialties Marketing Company and elect him as a vice president of the corporation. Milton is currently president, ExxonMobil Global Services Company. Kelly, 59, was appointed president, ExxonMobil Lubricants & Petroleum Specialties Company, and elected as a vice president of the corporation effective December 1, 2007. Kelly began his career with the company in 1981.

Today Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc. (MHIA), a Group company overseeing the business of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) in North America, commenced full-scale operations at its newly relocated Head Office in Houston, Texas, following a move from its previous base in New York. MHIA held a reception at Rice University today to mark the occasion in the presence of guests including The Honorable Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas. Present at the reception, MHI President & CEO Shunichi Miyanaga offered the following remarks: "I am delighted that we have been able to set up a new base in Houston to better serve our customers and oversee our Group operations in North America.

The largest U.S. refinery strike in 35 years entered its fourth week on Sunday as workers at 12 refineries accounting for one-fifth of national production capacity were walking picket lines. Sources familiar with the negotiations said talks may resume by mid-week to end the walkout by 6,550 members of the United Steelworkers union (USW) at 15 plants, including the 12 refineries. Representatives of both sides said no date has been set to restart negotiations, however. The strike comes as U.S. workers seek more pay in a strengthening economy. Wal-Mart Stores Inc has said its U.S. workers will get a raise to at least $9 an hour, while West Coast port workers have reached a tentative deal for a new contract after a months-long dispute. The refinery work stoppage began on Feb.

Effective November 1 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) will change the name of its group company in Singapore from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engineering & Services Private Ltd. (MIES) to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. (MHI-AP). The name change comes in tandem with the addition of business development functions. As the business management hub in the Asia-Pacific region, MHI-AP will promote business development and EPC (engineering, procurement and construction), targeting further expansion of global business operations. Specifically, at the same time handling various products of MHI, MHI-AP will develop business to provide solutions that combine these products.

ExxonMobil today announced $18 million in grants to Houston health care facilities to support cancer prevention and cardiovascular research, expand pediatric care for children with autism and enhance pediatric liver disease research and clinical services. The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center will receive $10 million; $5 million will go to the Texas Heart Institute and $3 million to Texas Children’s Hospital. “ExxonMobil has had a long and deep involvement with Houston and Texas,” said Rex W. Tillerson, chairman and chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil Corporation. ExxonMobil’s $10 million grant to MD Anderson will support the Healthy Community Initiative…

Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (MES) president Takao Tanaka delivered a New Year message in which he comments on future market directions and developments as related to MES as well as the industry as a whole. Tanaka outlined his company’s approach to stabilizing profits across each market segment in which it is present, highlighting a company-wide focus on expansion and balanced growth. Tanaka said the present business environment sees global increases in energy demand and the progression of structural changes in the industry resulting from the shale gas revolution…

Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS) is advising that oil tankers are remaining at anchorage having been evacuated from Qingdao Port, China. Currently only the oil terminals are affected, with the exception of Dagang terminal, located at east Jiaozhou Bay. Many tankers have received changed discharge instructions from domestic receivers. Other bulk, general cargo and container terminals are operating normally. Sea contamination has extended to around three square kilometers and the oil from the explosion has leaked into Jiaozhou Bay. It is unknown at present when the oil terminal will reopen.

Alan Olivier was elected Chairman and President of the UK P&I Club at their board meeting in Bermuda on October 28. He succeeds Dino Caroussis who has retired from the board. Mr. Olivier, 53, Chief Executive Officer of Grindrod Limited, became a Director of the UK Club in 2000 and a Deputy Chairman in 2006. Mr. Caroussis, 61, of Chios Navigation, had been the Club’s Chairman for the past five years, having joined the board in 1996 in the shipping division. He held senior treasury and financial positions before his appointment as chief executive of Unicorn Shipping in 1995.

Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., Tokyo JAPAN, with president Mr. Takao TANAKA (MES) established a subsidiary company in Singapore Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Asia Pte. Ltd. (MES Asia) , fully owned by MES to enhance and expand their business dynamically on October 1, 2013. Rapidly growing ASEAN countries still continuously necessitate for AS (After-sale Service) business for machineries in marine and land use, LSS (lifecycle solution service) business and EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) business for chemical plants, especially for existing MES local customers.

A plant system that captures carbon dioxide (CO2) from flue gas emissions developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has received the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award at the 39th Outstanding Environmental Systems Awards hosted by the Japan Society of Industrial Machinery Manufacturers (JSIM). The system was highly evaluated for its superlative reliability and economy achieved through ongoing technology improvements carried out over many years, for its abundant delivery track record in commercial applications…

Effective June 1, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) will establish LNG Project Management Department, within the Environmental and Chemical Plant Project Management Division of the Company's Engineering Headquarters. The new department will be dedicated to market exploration of LNG (liquefied natural gas) related business opportunities. By establishing the new unit, MHI aims to expeditiously respond to the growing demand for LNG related facilities that is being fueled by rapid expansion of shale gas production in the U.S. The department will also explore business opportunities in the LNG supply chain* by integrally and cross-divisionally overseeing the company's LNG related engineering activities.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has been awarded by Statoil, an international energy company with headquarters in Norway, to undertake a concept study for a technology qualification program (TQP) for one of the world's largest carbon dioxide (CO2) capture facilities. The approximately 3,400 tons-per-day (tpd) CO2 recovery system is targeted for installation at a 280 megawatt (MW) gas-fired combined heat and power (CHP) plant at Mongstad, on Norway's west coast. MHI will vie against other companies in a competition encompassing CO2 capture technology, facility performance, and construction and operation costs, towards facility construction slated to commence in 2016.

MHI to launch new Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engineering & Services Private Ltd. (MIES) in Singapore, integrating three local afiliated companies. Effective October 1st 2012 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) will launch a new company, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engineering & Services Private Ltd. (MIES), to supersede the current MHI Industrial Engineering & Services Private Ltd. (also abbreviated as MIES) after taking over various business functions of two other MHI subsidiaries in Singapore. Going forward the new company will handle a broader range of MHI business areas and will also serve as a global business center to support expansion of MHI's worldwide operations. Through this initiative MHI looks to further expand business in each of its product segments.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has agreed with L&T Shipbuilding Limited (LTSB), the shipbuilding arm of India's Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T), under which MHI will provide a broad range of technological support to LTSB for construction of commercial vessels. The two companies are slated to sign the technical collaboration agreement tomorrow. MHI has recently been proactively promoting development of its engineering business, centering on technology licensing, while LTSB…