Free e-books to benefit students, faculty members and industry personnel Prof. Arun S. Mujumdar, a world renowned drying expert, is also a prolific writer who has self-authored about 75 books. His effort to disseminate R&D knowledge started way back in 1978 with his founding of the IDS (International Development Studies) series at McGill University, Canada. Prof. Mujumdar has been working with students and colleagues at the National University of Singapore to make useful knowledge available to students, faculty members, industry personnel and libraries in the form of ebooks, free of charge. These books are concise, relatively selfcontained and include themes that would elicit interest from the developing and developed countries.
These e-books can be accessed through links available on Chemical Industry Digest’s website. Alternatively the ebooks can be downloaded from the websites of National University of Singapore or Prof. Mujumdar’s website.
To access the ebooks, kindly visit: http://serve.me.nus.edu.sg/arun/E_books.htm
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Vedanta group company, Cairn India and its public sector partner, ONGC, recently announced commercial sale of natural gas and started output from one more field (Aishwariya) from the Barmer block
in Rajasthan. Aishwariya is the third largest discovery in the block and can produce higher than the current production rate approved under the field development plan. The reservoirs in this field are deeper than that of the Mangala and reservoir energy is estimated to be higher than other fields.
However, the price of the crude will be on the same terms as that from the other producing fields in the block. Buyers of Rajasthan crude are Reliance Industries, Essar Oil and Indian Oil Corporation. At its peak, Aishwariya is expected to add 10,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) and it is expected to take at least a year to reach peak output. The Indian government said the gas would be sold at the prevailing price of the region, which is around $5 per million metric British thermal units (mmBtu).
Captive usage for power
A part of the gas produced along with crude oil is used to fire its 48 MW captive power station at its Mangala Processing Terminal. Compared with other producing gas fields such as the Reliance Industries-operated Krishna Godavari Basin D6 block and the Panna-Mukta-Tapti fields, the quantity from the Raageshwari gas fields in Cairn India-ONGC’s Barmer block is small. The Barmer field, since it started production in August 2009, has replaced imports of about Rs. 50,000 crore. The gas output from the field is expected to be ramped up to one million metric standard cubic metre a day (mmscmd) in the near term. At present, gas produced from the Rajasthan block is used for captive consumption.
Further investment
Cairn India recently announced that it would invest around $2 billion in the next two years to develop its
Barmer block in Rajasthan. “In the next five years, we are looking to drill at least 500 wells a year. The resource base allows production of 300,000 bpd,” said P. Elango, Chairman, Cairn India. The exit production rate for 2013-14 is expected to be 200,000- 215,000 bpd. The block is jointly held by Cairn India and ONGC. “In the long run, output from the Barmer asset may go up to 500,000 bpd and to drill that much oil nearly Rs.10,000 crore of investments may be poured in,” said Anil Agarwal, Executive Chairman, Vedanta Resources. Elango said the explorer is in discussion with the Rajasthan Government to develop gas infrastructure in the state. “We have formally submitted our expression of interest (EoI). The State has a joint venture with GAIL. The new gas can push the project”.
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Plans to double capacity at Vizag, expand at Bhatinda Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) will have its hands full with refinery projects over the next three to four years, according to company sources.
While the nine million tonne Rajasthan refinery will be the new addition to the company’s portfolio, equal importance will be given to double the capacity of Vizag refinery to 18 mt by the end of 2016-17. The recently commissioned Bhatinda refinery will also see a marginal increase in capacity, from 9 million tonnes to 12 mt.
The MoU for the Rajasthan refinery was formalised recently. HPCL will be the single largest shareholder, with 51 per cent equity, the balance will be farmed out to the state government and ONGC. “A small portion could also be set aside for Engineers India,” a top industry official said. Interestingly, the project has got feelers from a handful of other oil companies. However, with HPCL taking a substantial stake, it is unlikely if those interested would be open to a marginal presence, after ONGC and the Rajasthan government.
At one point, the HPCL business model envisaged supply of products from Bhatinda to Pakistan but that may not take off for some time now. “In any case, there is enough and more demand coming in from the northern region which Bhatinda can cater to comfortably,” an industry official said. The commissioning of the Rajasthan refinery will only facilitate supplies further to this part of the country in the coming years.
Total capacity
If the script goes according to plan, HPCL will have total refining capacity of nearly 45 million tonnes (inclusive of the 6.5 mt from its Mumbai refinery) by FY’17 which will fit in perfectly with the size of its retail network. At present, there is a significant demand-supply mismatch which will be set right over the next four years. It is also a million-dollar question if the Maharashtra Refinery, planned to be set up in Ratnagiri district, will see the light of day.
Sources say Rajasthan Refinery project can be completed faster than Ratnagiri which is likely to face delays thanks to a slew of environmental clearances required in a ‘sensitive coastal location’. Since both projects have been planned with capacities of 9 mtpa, it would not impact HPCL’s refining targets over the next four years. The Rajasthan Refinery project will cost nearly Rs.40,000 crore also factors in the petrochemicals complex.
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In a major blow to pharmaceutical giant, Novartis, the Supreme Court recently dismissed its plea to obtain patent protection for its blood cancer drug, Glivec. According to the Supreme Court’s landmark judgement, the drug, a beta crystalline form of imatinib mesylate, fails to meet the requirement of being a new invention. Imatinib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Kinases are important proteins in the body that regulate how the cells grow and divide. Imatinib works by inhibiting signals within the cancer cells that control cell proliferation. When the signals are blocked cell death ensues. Glivec is used to treat acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), gastro-intestinal stromal tumours (GISTs) and dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP).
Novartis had argued that the Zimmerman patents and the journal articles published by Zimmerman et al. do not constitute prior art for the beta crystalline form as it is only one polymorph of imatinib mesylate, thereby providing the required novelty and inventive step. Novartis’ le-gal team also tried to persuade the SC that imatinib mesylate in beta crystalline form has enhanced efficacy over imatinib or imatinib mesylate. They tried to prove that the beta crystalline form has more beneficial flow properties, better thermodynamic stability, lower hygroscopicity and increased bioavailability. However, the apex court ruled that Glivec did not meet the standard of efficacy under Section 3(d) of the Indian Patent Act, which does not recognise incremental innovations of a known medicine and requires a patented drug to show enhanced therapeutic efficiency. “When all the pharmacological properties of the beta crystalline form of imatinib mesylate are equally possessed by imatinib in free base form or its salt, where is the question of the subject product having any enhanced efficacy over the known substance of which it is a new form?” the two-member Bench of the Supreme Court observed.
This is the first drug-patent related case after India amended its Patents Act in 2005 to honour product patents. This judgement is said to serve as a yardstick against which medicines will be measured before patents are granted. It will also allow drug companies to make similar and much affordable versions of Glivec, used to treat chronic myeloid leukaemia, and open the marketplace for newer entrants. As a consequence, the end users, the cancer patients, will have easier access to these drugs.
Kudos and Brickbats
Dr Brian Druker, director of the Oregon Health and Science University Knight Cancer Institute and co-developer of Glivec, welcomed the Supreme Court ruling by criticizing the pharma majors’ predatory pricing in the past, including in reference to Glivec. This judgement is being hailed from physicians to politicians, from academia to media, particularly in a country where the World Health Organization estimates 67% of the population has no medical insurance and almost 80% of healthcare expenses are borne out of people’s own pockets, thus making healthcare inaccessible for many.
On the other hand, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA)and the US India Business Council (USIBC) expressed disappointment with the Indian Supreme Court’s decision to deny a patent on Glivec. “Innovation requires the reward and protection of intellectual property. Such an environment is crucial if India is to attract investment in this or other highly complex sectors,” USIBC President Ron Somers said. Ranjit Shahani, Novartis India-head, reacting to the judgment said that he was clearly disappointed and added that the company would not be investing in on research and development in India and move R&D to favourable destinations.
SC sets patent benchmark
The SC denial was widely welcomed by Indian government, domestic pharma companies, pharma NGOs, activists and aid organisations around the world. “The decision by India’s Supreme Court is an important addition in our case as an example to the fact, that national courts and national laws can have more control over patents and limit patents,” said Dr Patricia Ranald, convenor of Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network. “I think that the decision could well embolden other countries to adopt India-style protections against ever greening,” said Brooke Baker, professor of Law, Northeastern School of Law, who advised the Uganda government in drafting its patent law. India’s strong stance on minor drug innovations could reverberate in national parliaments and courthouses of the developed world as Australia, the EU and Canada get ready to discuss and ban patent protection for frivolous improvements.
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Gail has booked 2.3 mmtpa LNG liquefaction capacity in the US, making possible gas imports from US to India. It has signed an agreement with US energy firm Dominion for using its capacity at its Cove Point LNG liquefaction terminal project in Lusby, Maryland.
Under this agreement, GAIL will procure its own natural gas and deliver it to the Cove Point pipeline for liquefaction at the terminal and loading into ships brought to the facility on the Chesapeake Bay. Dominion is marketing 4.6 mmtpa and GAIL has booked 50% of such capacity for 20 years. A major Japanese buyer holds the balance capacity in the terminal. Cove Point will be a premier facility in terms of direct access to the Marcellus and Utica shale plays, two of the most prolific shale gas basins in North America, Gail said in a statement. Construction work is expected to start in 2014 so as to put the liquefaction facilities into service in 2017.
BC Tripathi, Chairman and Managing Director of Gail said “Gail has a positive outlook on Henry Hub indexed LNG exports from US and that has prompted us to sign this terminal service agreement which follows our deal with Cheniere signed in 2011. The contracts signed with Cheniere and Dominion make GAIL one of the largest Henry Hub LNG portfolio holders and provide us an opportunity to market about 6.0 mmtpa of LNG from the US.”
“This would enhance GAIL’s scale of operations in the US where we already have a presence through our participation in a shale gas asset in the Eagle Ford basin. Our upstream acquisition efforts for gas sourcing and hedging would now intensify in US,” Tripathi said.
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Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) was awarded the prestigious ‘International Refiner of the Year’ 2013 at HART Energy’s 27th World Refining & Fuel Conference held recently at San Antonio, Texas, USA.
The award was presented to Reliance for producing cleaner, higher-quality gasoline and diesel fuel, operating to the highest international refining standards and innovative use of resources in diverse environments and for innovation, global vision, and ability to chart future changes.
K. Balachandran, Chief of Operations (Jamnagar refinery & petrochemical complex), accepted the award on behalf of Reliance and its employees. This is the second time that Reliance has received this award for its Jamnagar refinery, the first was in 2005. RIL is the only Asian refiner to have been conferred this award twice. Reliance operates two of the world’s largest and most complex refineries. With 1.24 million barrels per day of crude processing capacity, Reliance is the largest refiner at any single location in the world. The addition of a new refinery has transformed its Jamnagar complex into the ‘largest refining hub of the world’.
Further, Reliance is among the top 10 private sector refining companies globally, and owns 25% of the world’s most complex refining capacity.
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CB&I has entered into an agreement with Phillips 66 to acquire the company’s E-Gas Technology business. The gasification technology is a commercially proven process to convert coal or petroleum coke (petcoke) into syngas, which can be used for power generation or further converted to substitute natural gas, hydrogen and downstream methanol-related chemicals production. “We look forward to adding the E-Gas Technology to our portfolio, which will mark our entry into the syngas value chain. It also will bring added synergy to our delayed coking technology offering for integrated power generation, and other options to the refining and power industries,” said Daniel McCarthy , group president of CB&I’s Technology operating group.
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Swiss specialty chemicals group Clariant International AG has acquired the nano-silver ink technology platform developed under the trademark Bayink from Bayer Group. The transaction comprises all patents, know-how and materials related to Bayer’s nano-silver ink technology. Clariant will continue to work closely with existing customers and cooperation partners to further develop nano-silver inks and its applications.
“The acquisition will strengthen our portfolio of new materials for the electronics and energy markets”, said Christian Kohlpaintner, Member of the Executive Committee. Nano silver inks are printable on various substrates like polymers, glas, or silicon. They are applicable in a wide variety of emerging applications for printed electronics, e.g., printed circuit boards, radio frequency identification devices (RFID) or photovoltaic panels. Nano-silver inks provide excellent conductivity by spending fewer amounts of precious metal using advanced printing technologies such as ink-jet or aerosol printing.
“Nano silver inks are an important step to develop a sustainable innovation platform for functional inks in addition to our product portfolio for printing inks which will provide unique solutions to our customers using our core competencies in surfactants and formulation technology”, said Frank Küber, Head of New Business Development at Clariant.
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Coromandel International Ltd, a manufacturer of a wide range of fertilisers, crop protection products and specialty nutrient products, recently commissioned its third complex fertiliser plant (C- Train) at Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh. “The new plant is capable of manufacturing all grades of complex fertilisers and this will strengthen our position in phosphate fertiliser segment. This investment is consistent with our constant endeavour to provide farmers quality fertilisers to help enhance their productivity,” said Kapil Mehan, Managing Director of the company. The company has also introduced a range of specialty nutrient products including organic fertilisers. It is the second-largest manufacturer of Malathion and only the second manufacturer of Phenthoate.
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The Linde Group will build six major air separation units for Shenhua Ningxia Coal Industry Group Co. Ltd. and Shenhua Logistics Group Co. Ltd. in Yinchuan in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in Northwest China. The companies recently signed a contract to this effect. Shenhua Ningxia is a member of Shenhua Group Co. Ltd., the largest coal chemical company in China. ‘We are delighted to work with Shenhua Group and give our in-depth knowledge in air separation technology,’ said Prof. Dr Aldo Belloni, Member of the Executive Board of Linde AG. ‘The project further strengthens our position as a leading gases and engineering company in China.’
The air separation units will each supply around 100,000 normal cubic metres of gaseous oxygen per hour (Nm³/h) to Shenhua Ningxia’s coal-to-liquid (CTL) complex at Ningdong Energy Chemical Base. The oxygen will be used for the production of 4 million tons of CTL - mainly liquid fuels derived from coal - per year, making this one of the largest CTL projects worldwide. Linde will be responsible for the engineering, supply of machinery and equipment, supervision services at the job site, turnkey supply of the cold boxes and training the buyer’s personnel. The air separation units are scheduled to go on stream in 2015.
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