JX Nippon to restart cracker in Japan

MOSCOW (MRC) -- JX Nippon Oil and Energy is in plans to restart a cracker in Japan, informed Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Japan informed that the cracker is likely to restart on August 29, 2013. The cracker was shut on August 18, 2013 owing to power problem.

Located in Kawasaki, Japan, the cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 404,000 mt/year and propylene production capacity of 260,000 mt/year.

As MRC reported earlier, JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. is considering shutting down oil refinery operations at its Muroran plant in Hokkaido by the end of March 2014. JX Nippon will keep the Muroran refinery as a manufacturing plant for petrochemical products and keep its employees through job displacement.

The Nippon Oil Corporation, or NOC or Shin-Nisseki is a Japanese petroleum company. Its businesses include the exploration, importation, and refining of crude oil; the manufacture and sale of petroleum products, including olefines (ethylene, propylene) and aromatics.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Technip was awarded by Trunkline LNG Export the front end engineering and design (FEED) contract for the potential expansion of the existing LNG import terminal located in Lake Charles, Louisiana, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The potential expansion project includes a LNG liquefaction plant, with a total export capacity of up to 15 Mtpy, so that a portion of the vast additional supplies of natural gas produced from shale gas fields across the US can be exported to international markets.

The total liquefaction capacity could be achieved hrough up to three identical trains, with associated utilities and offsite facilities as well as the re-use f the existing LNG offloading, storage and marine facilities.

Air Products has been selected to supply its 3MR liquefaction process technology for this FEED study.

Technip’s operating center in Houston, Texas will execute the contract with the support from the Group’s enter in Paris, France. It is scheduled for completion during the first half of 2014.

As MRC wrote previously, global capital expenditure in the liquefied natural gas sector will more than double to around USD228 billion in the 2013-2017 period, compared to the previous five years, according to consulting firm Douglas Westwood. It said the increase in capital expenditure includes onshore and offshore projects to liquefy gas for export, import terminals to regasify LNG and LNG carriers for transporting the fuel, with Australasia and North America bringing most of the new supply in to the market.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Xuzhou Hiatian Petrochemical has shut a polypropylene (PP) plant, reported Apic-online.

A Polymeruodate source informed that the plant was shut on August 26. The duration of the closure could not be ascertained.

The closure has been attributed to non-availability of feedstock propylene.

Located in Jiangsu, China, the plant has a production capacity of 200,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed previously, in October 2012, Xuzhou Haitian Petrochemical started commercial production at a new PP plant with the capacity of 200,000 tpa in Jiangsu Province.The new plant will produce PP chips for the production of yarns, copolymers and pipe grades.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Polish PKN ORLEN, one of the largest oil and gas companies in Europe, has signed a spot agreement with Devonoil, Switzerland, for crude oil deliveries to PKN ORLEN, according to the company's press release.

The estimated net value of the agreement amounts to approximately USD 80 million (i.e. approximately PLN 254 million.

The total estimated value of agreements signed between PKN ORLEN and Devonoil in the last twelve months amounts to approximately USD 761 million (i.e. approximately PLN 2 428 million.

Agreement dated 31 January 2013 is the agreement with the highest amount from among all agreements concluded between PKN ORLEN and Devonoil in the last twelve months.

As MRC informed previously, in mid-June PKN Orlen offered for sale a second PLN 200m tranche of its bonds and expects the proceeds from the entire bond issue programme to reach approximately PLN 1bn. This move was done in response to the enormous interest in PKN Orlen bonds on the part of investors, who subscribed to the entire PLN 200m of the first series of bonds in just two days.

Polski Koncern Naftowy ORLEN S.A. (PKN Orlen) is a Polish oil and gas company. It has a lot of petrol stations in Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Lithuania and Slovakia. It is the biggest company in Poland and one of the biggest oil and gas companies in Europe. Polish group PKN Orlen PKNA is a majority owner - 63% of czech polyolefins manufacturer Unipetrol.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ukrainian companies have been increasing actively supplies of Chinese PET grades this year. In January-July the share of Chinese PET chips in the structure of imports grew to 69% year on year, according to MRC DataScope.

In January-July 2012, China's share was 48%.

The overall imports of Chinese bottle PET totalled about 80,000 tonnes in January-July, 2013. (The total PET imports to Ukraine amounted to about 115,000 tonnes over the same period).

The share of Pakistani and Korean suppliers has been falling amid increasing shipments of the Chinese material. If the share of Pakistani suppliers accounted for almost 19% of the overall purchases in January-July 2013, in the current reporting period, their supplies to Ukraine dropped by 1%. Imports of Korean PET decreased from 8% to 0.5% in the total structure of PET chips shipments to the country.

The reason for such a sharp shift towards the Chinese material is mainly the price. Prices for Chinese PET in the Ukrainian port were USD1,495-1,510/tonne CIF Odessa, excluding VAT, last week, whereas prices for Korean material were USD1,530-1,540/tonne CIF Odessa, excluding VAT. This price difference was maintained throughout the year.
MRC