PT Indo Thai Trading begins operations as marketing JV of Pertamina and PTT Global Chemical

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PT Indo Thai Trading (ITT) has launched operations as a joint venture of Indonesia's Pertamina and Thailand’s PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC), which will ultimately be responsible for marketing and distributing production from an integrated petrochemical complex planned by the two companies, as per Apic-online.

The incorporation of ITT is a "significant milestone" in the implementation of Pertamina and PTTGC's joint cooperation, noted Pertamina.

The proposed complex, which is scheduled to come on stream by 2019 in Balongan, West Java, is expected to include the production of about 1.2-million t/y of polyethylene and polypropylene and nearly 1-million t/y of other petrochemical derivatives such as monoethylene glycol and butadiene. ITT will be responsible for the marketing and sales of all production from this complex.

Prior to the complex coming on stream, ITT will serve as the exclusive distributor for Pertamina and PTTGC’s products in Indonesia. In order to diversify its portfolio, ITT also plans to outsource products from third parties.

As MRC wrote previously, in late 2013, Thailand's PTTGC signed a joint-venture agreement with Indonesian state-owned energy company Pertamina to set up a petrochemical complex with an investment of around USd4-5 billion (Bt127 billion to Bt158 billion). Both companies will have a 50:50 stake in this downstream-to-upstream project. They also signed a deal to market products from the project jointly.

Pertamina is an Indonesian state-owned oil and natural gas corporation based in Jakarta. It was created in August 1968 by the merger of Pertamin (established 1961) and Permina (established 1957). Pertamina is the world's largest producer and exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

PTT Global Chemical is a leading player in the petrochemical industry and owns several petrochemical facilities with a combined capacity of 8.45 million tonnes a year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sahara Petrochemical Company has declared that its subsidiary Al Waha petrochemicals Company affected in this morning Sunday August 17, 2014 a technical fault in utilities unit, leading to the interruption of production processes in all operating units, reported Tadawul.

The repairing process at the plants is expected to end in a period not exceeding 9 days starting of 17 August, which means missed opportunity for the profitability of nearly 9 millions SR of polypropylene (PP) prices currently prevailing in the third quarter which will affect the expected profits in the third quarter of this year.

During the shutdown period some of the periodical maintenance items will get repaired, the company clients will be supplied from the standby reserves available in its warehouse. There will be an update in case of any developments in this regard.

As MRC wrote previously, the world-scale petrochemical complex in Jubail Industrial City in Saudi Arabia has a capacity of 467,000 tonnes of propylene utilising Oleflex technology, which serves as a feedstock for the 450,000 tonnes PP unit. The plant is considered to be largest, producing high-quality polypropylene using LBI's technology, sphereizone.

Al Waha Petrochemicals Company is owned by Sahara Petrochemicals Company, which holds 75% of its share capital with LyondelBasell owning 25%.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals and one of the world’s leading suppliers of specialty ether amines to the mining industry, has announced the increase of the ether amines production at its Suzano, Brazil facility, as per the company's press release.

Targeted specifically to meet the needs of the mining industry, the planned expansion will allow Clariant to meet the growing demands of customers in Brazil as well as support global customers who are also expanding mineral processing capacity.

"Clariant is aiming to expand its global footprint in the Mining industry, especially in Latin America where we can build on our longterm experience in Brazil. This investment is in line with our strategy to focus on fast growing markets where we have a leading position", comments Christian Kohlpaintner, Member of Clariant’s Executive Committee.

Ether amines are critical agents used in the mining process to beneficiate minerals such as iron ore and phosphates. Clariant’s multimillion Swiss franc production capacity expansion will be completed in two phases over the next 18 months. The first phase of the Suzano plant’s capacity will be completed in the third quarter of 2014. The second phase, which will double the capacity, is expected to be operational by the fourth quarter of 2015.

The Suzano plant is Clariant’s largest production complex in Latin America, and it has been providing solutions for the mining industry for more than 30 years, not only meeting Brazilian market demands, but customers worldwide.

As MRC wrote before, in April 2014, Clariant announced a significant investment to expand its plant in Casablanca, Morocco and increase its global footprint with the production of polymers and chemical blends for the African and Middle East mining industry. This new investment will also include the opening of a Clariant Mining Solutions laboratory where the focus will be on supporting the phosphate industry in flotation, fertilizer additives and process chemicals. The lab will enable Clariant Mining Solutions to better support the growing customer base and the market growth of the company in the region.

Clariant is an internationally active specialty chemical company, based in Muttenz near Basel. The group owns over 100 companies worldwide. Clariant is divided into eleven business units: Additives; Catalysis & Energy; Emulsions, Detergents & Intermediates; Functional Materials; Industrial & Consumer Specialties; Leather Services; Masterbatches; Oil & Mining Services; Paper Specialties; Pigments; Textile Chemicals.

Clariant Mining is a leading provider of flotation chemicals and explosion emulsifiers to the global mining industry. Clariant Mining's strong and growing team of technical experts operates around the globe and is dedicated to providing world-class specialty chemical solutions that add value to customers' mining operations.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SABIC is modifying its Wilton cracker in the UK to enable it to use ethane feedstock imported from the US, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing with reference to the company's announcement.

The company is aiming to complete the project by 2016.

SABIC had said in 2013 that it was studying the possibility of converting the naphtha cracker. The nameplate capacity is 865,000 tpy of ethylene, 400,000 tpy of propylene and 100,000 tpy of butadiene.

SABIC did not specify the level of investment or whether it has supply deals lined up with US companies. The decision to import US ethane for a European cracker follows similar moves by INEOS in Norway and the UK and Borealis in Sweden.

"This project reflects SABIC’s strong determination to take advantage of cutting-edge technology in creating new sources of competitive feedstock and energy that will allow the company to continue to build a sustainable business and deliver on its long-term vision," said Yousef Al-Benyan, executive vice president for chemicals at SABIC.

"Our long-term focus is to have a business that stays profitable not only in the European region, but across our global markets," he added.

Work is already underway to build a cryogenic tank at SABIC's North Tees site in the UK as part of a gas import terminal.

As MRC informed previously, in February 2014, SABIC UK, an affiliate of Saudi Arabia's petrochemical major, unveiled its plans to cut costs and improve competitiveness in Europe. SABIC UK Petrochemicals, which has operations on Teesside including the olefins cracker and LDPE (low density polyethylene) plant at Wilton, said it wants to build a large storage tank at its North Tees site for new feedstocks.

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) ranks among the world’s top petrochemical companies. The company is among the world’s market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Production of polypropylene (PP) in Russia increased to 562,000 tonnes in the first seven months of this year, up 18% compared to the same period a year earlier. The largest increase in production showed Poliom, according to MRC ScanPlast.

Total PP production in Russia decreased to 63,200 tonnes in July, compared with 88,400 tonnes in June because of the scheduled maintenance works at Tobolsk-Polymer and Tomskneftekhim. All the Russian producers increased production volumes, except for Neftekhimia.
The structure of the production looked as follows.

Poliom (Titan Group, Omsk) was launched in February 2013 with a capacity of 180,000 tonnes/year, but this year the company has expanded its production capacity to 210,000 tonnes/year. The producer's PP production in the seven months of 2014 reached 103,000 tonnes, compared with 60,300 tonnes in the same time a year earlier.

Tobolsk-Polymer (SIBUR) started production in a test mode, with annual capacity of 500,000 tonnes in May last year. The producer's PP production was 98,200 tonnes in January - July of the current year.

Nizhnekamskneftekhim and Ufaorgsintez increased PP production by 1% and 5%, respectively, to 124,500 tonnes and 73,800 tonnes.

Tomskneftekhim increased PP production over the reported period to 76,900 tonnes, up 3% year on year.

Neftekhimia (Kapotnya) reduced PP production to 67,500 tonnes in January - July 2014, down 4% year on year.
MRC