THE CHEMICAL WORLD THIS WEEK
Universe Ireland's foredeck Nine stories high
D W T class. Other major oil firms have followed suit. Gulfs decision to pioneer 300,000DWT-plus vessels was based largely on the locations of its five European refineries. Most of them are near shallow harbors that can't take 200,000ton tankers. The conclusion: Forget Suez and European harbors and build the optimal tanker for use between the Persian Gulf and a completely new deepwater terminal in Europe. Accordingly, a half dozen 312,000 tonners—a size dictated in large part by allowable vessel draft for Persian Gulf navigation—were ordered through National Bulk Carriers in 1966. Meanwhile, offshore berths were built off Mina Al Ahmadi, Kuwait, and in Bantry Bay, Eire. The loading berth in Kuwait, supplied by pipeline, is nearly 10 miles offshore in more than 90 feet of water. The Irish unloading berth is connected by pipeline to a new 7.2 million barrel crude storage terminal on adjacent Whiddy Island. Other factors being equal, a large tanker hauls crude at a lower cost per barrel than can a small tanker. Any vessel much above 120,000 D W T moving oil to Europe around Africa will equal or better the operating costs of the largest tanker (about 70,000 D W T ) that can take the Suez Canal shortcut. How will Gulfs 312,000D W T fleet compare with Shell-type tankers on the Europe-via-C ape town run? "Other companies can deliver crude into Rotterdam in 200,000 ton18 C&EN AUG. 26, 1968
ners at the same price we can," says P. B. Bins ted, Gulfs worldwide coordinator for transportation. "But they have a concentration of refining capacity there. We can break even at Rotterdam and do better than they could do at our other European refineries." At present, Shell-type tankers when all filled up have no place to go. No harbor in Europe is yet ready to receive fully laden 200,000 tonners. Rotterdam/Europoort, now the world's largest port and a growing focus of refining and petrochemical operations in Europe, can't take such ships until next year, when dredging operations will be completed. In Japan, one of the world's biggest importers of crude ( 805 million barrels this fiscal year), Shell is now finishing new harbor facilities adjacent to its 50%-owned refineries at Kawasaki and Yokkaichi. Gulf, which sells crude in Japan and holds part interest in Korean, Philippine, and Taiwan refineries, plans a second Bantry Bay-type central terminal in Okinawa. Designed for some 7 million barrels crude storage, the terminal will take about a year to complete once construction begins. Universe Ireland and her sister ships, when serving the East Asia terminal, can't sail the usual route via Singapore. They're too big to navigate the Strait of Malacca—the bottleneck in the most direct route between the Middle East and the Pacific. They'll sail laden through Lombok Strait, a detour of more than 1000 miles, then return in ballast through Malacca. Though Gulfs half dozen giants hold the record in tanker size for the present, there's little doubt that even larger vessels are in prospect. Tokyo Tanker Co., for example, is considering a vessel in the 350,000- to 400,000-DWT range and according to one company officer, it really wants an even larger ship. Dr. Hisashi Shinto, a vice president of Ishikawajima-Harima, points out that building cost per deadweight ton drops off as tanker size increases—up to about 160,000 D W T . For larger tankers, he says, savings haven't been what builders had expected. But Japanese yards agree that a half-million DWT tanker is structurally feasible. And a government/industry committee organized by Japan's Transport Ministry has also concluded that such a tanker could operate profitably between the Middle East and Japanese ports. Its estimated cost: $35 million. We'd be glad to build such a ship," beamed Dr. Shinto at the Universe Ireland's christening, "but first we must have an order." "And," added Mitsubishi director Muneo Yamaguchi, "at the right price."
OIL IMPORTS:
Bamper Seeks a Quota All the big names are there in line for petrochemical plant oil import quotas: Union Carbide, Gulf Oil, Allied Chemical, Diamond Shamrock, Celanese, and Bamper Petrochemical Co. Bamper Petrochemical Co.? Bamper is one of more than 20 companies seeking an oil import quota for a petrochemical plant from the Department of Interior's Oil Import Administration. Judging from public documents filed with the agency, it has rather ambitious plans should it receive one. The company, giving a Kokomo, Ind., address, asks for 25,000 barrels per day of foreign oil. This, it says, would be mixed with 19,000 barrels per day of a domestic crude. Feedstock for the petrochemical plant would also include 6000 barrels per day of natural gas feedstock distillate from Bamper's present production or purchased from another source. A wide range of products would be turned out by the petrochemical plant: 1200 tons per day of methanol, 700 million pounds per year of formaldehyde, 560 million pounds per year of acetic acid, 520 million pounds per year of cyclohexane, 180 million pounds per year of phenol resin, 110 million pounds per year of acetone, 350 million pounds per year of polyethylene, 80 million pounds per year of butadiene, 350 million pounds per year of dimethylterephthalate, 150 million pounds per year of polyvinyl acetate, 300 million pounds per year of polyvinyl chloride, and 350 million pounds per year of toluene. In addition, some refinery products would be made: 650,000 barrels per year of gasoline, 774,000 barrels per year of lube oil, 215,400 barrels per year of aviation turbine fuel, and 546,400 barrels per year of reformed raffinate. The quota application filed by Bamper states that the plant would be built near Port Lavaca, Tex. However, later request for amendment, filed in July, asked that Bamper be given the privilege of possible change of location of the facility in the event that "certain negotiations which we currently are carrying on are successfully concluded." Bamper has some connection with L. L. Lookabaugh Gas and Chemical Co., Dallas, which filed the original application in October 1967. At that time, L. L. Lookabaugh, president of the company, stated that the quota sought would be for Peruvian oil, because it contains almost 20% naphtha, an extremely high amount. By comparison, U.S. domestic crude contains up to 16 to 18% naphtha.
