Advanced Refining Technologies LLC (ART), the joint venture of U.S. specialty chemicals and materials company W. R. Grace & Co. and U.S. energy company Chevron, announces the award of a futures commission merchant (FCM) contract by state-owned Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco). The exclusive, 5-year agreement, which includes an option to renew for an additional five years, is reportedly valued at $240 million, the largest catalyst management agreement ever signed in Bapco’s history, according to ART.
As part of the business management plan, Bapco will reportedly boost Bahrain’s oil refinery processing capacity from 267,000 (b/d) to 380,000 (b/d). In addition, ART will supply its Resid hydrocracking catalyst technology for a wide variety of feedstocks to maximize bottom of the barrel upgrading. The technology is the catalyst for metals capacity and sediment control. ART will also provide FCM services for the reclamation of metals from spent catalysts.
“Our new hydrocracking unit will convert 78% of the vacuum residue feed into intermediate products, which will then be further processed into high margin kerosene and diesel. A key component is catalyst performance and management, and the unique agreement signed with ART, who will be responsible for the total supply chain of catalyst from cradle to cradle,” says Bapco Chairman and Chief Executive Dr. Dawood Nassif says. “This agreement has taken over 18 months to develop and negotiate, and I thank all the parties involved in making this a success.”
When fully operational in 2023, the new Resid Hydrocracking unit known as 1RHCU will be the main profit center for the Bapco Refinery, according to ART. 1RHCU utilizes LC-FINING process technology licensed from Chevron Lummus Global (CLG), a joint venture between Chevron and Lummus Technology. The unit is a two-train design with a processing capacity of 65,000 barrels per day. Bapco’s application of this technology will reportedly be the first within the Middle East. Less than a dozen of these units exist globally, and the Bapco unit will be one of the largest examples, according to ART.
For more information, visit: www.ARTHydroprocessing.com
