Technical fault extends Saudi Kayan Petrochemical olefins unit shutdown

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co said it had extended the maintenance work on the olefins plant at its petrochemicals complex in Jubail after a technical fault was discovered, said Reuters.

In a bourse filing, the company said repairing the fault was expected to be completed within 10 days. The impact of the fault, along with another one that had been found and repaired in another unit, had been calculated to be around 310 million riyals (USD83 million) at current prices, which will be reflected in first-quarter results, it said.

This is significantly higher than the 62 million riyals which the company forecast the original maintenance work would cost when it announced last month the olefins plant would be shut from Feb. 1 for almost five weeks.

Kayan, an affiliate of Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), said at the time the impact would be offset by Kayan's inventories and other SABIC units.

"Maintenance work had been completed according to schedule and when work started to restore production to the normal level, a technical fault was discovered in the olefins plant which necessitated extending the maintenance period," the company said in the statement.

It said the repairs would entail temporary stoppage of the high density polyethylene and the low density polyethylene plants, and reduced production at the ethylene glycol and polypropylene plants which are being supplied by the olefins plant.

As MRC wrote before, Saudi Arabia’s Oil Ministry allocated an additional 10m cbf/d (2.8m cbm) of ethane to Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co (Al Jubail / Saudi Arabia) to enable an expansion of capacity at its Al Jubail complex. The company plans to widen its ethylene production by at least 93,000 t/y and its ethylene oxide capacity by 61,000 t/y from the second quarter of 2017.

Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Company is a manufacturing affiliate of the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic).

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PolyOne Corporation, a premier provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions, has announced that Scott J. Leffler has been appointed vice president and Treasurer, said the producer on its site.

Mr. Leffler will now be responsible for all aspects of the company's capital structure, cash management, insurance and capital markets transactions. He was appointed to this position after serving as the company's vice president of Financial Planning and Analysis since 2013, and he will retain those responsibilities while in his new role as Treasurer. He replaces Daniel J. O'Bryon who has accepted a Chief Financial Officer position with a Florida-based company.

Mr. Leffler joined PolyOne in 2008 as senior finance manager in Corporate Treasury and was later promoted to finance director, South America, while based in the company's offices in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He began his career in the financial services industry, working in both trading and banking. Mr. Leffler earned a bachelor's degree in economics and history from Yale University and an MBA in finance from Emory University.

As MRC wrote before, in June, PolyOne Corporation has presented its specialty portfolio for automotive interiors to designers and engineers at the 2014 WardsAuto Interiors conference. These advanced technologies, including soft-touch materials as well as colorants and special effects, enable customers to design new features that boost consumer appeal and reduce manufacturing complexity.

We also remind that in February 2014, PolyOne Corporation announced the addition of new capabilities to its OnColor HC Plus portfolio. These expanded offerings add medical-grade LDPE, nylon, PEBA, PS and PVC to the globally available palette of specialty healthcare colorants, and are pre-certified to meet or exceed biocompatibility requirements for ISO 10993 and/or USP Class VI protocols.

PolyOne Corporation, with 2014 revenues of USD3.8 billion, is a premier provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions with operations in specialty polymer formulations, color and additive systems, polymer distribution and specialty vinyl resins.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sichuan Yongxiang is in plans to shut a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plant for maintenance turnaround, said Apic-online.

A source in China informed that the plant is likely to be shut in October 2015. It is planned to remain off-stream for around one month.

Located in Sichuan, China, the plant has a production capacity of 120,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote before, Sichuan Yongxiang Poly-silicon started up its 6,000 tonne/year polysilicon plant in 2012. The project has been under construction since July 2010. Sichuan Yongxiang invested yuan (CNY) 4bn (USD634m) for the project, which is located in Leshan city, Sichuan province, in southwestern China. The company currently has a total polysilicon capacity of 4,000 tonnes/year at Leshan city.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Reliance Industries, the second largest publicly traded company in India, is in plans to restart its domestic polypropylene (PP) plant following maintenance turnaround, reported Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in India informed that the plant is planned to be restarted towards end-March 2015. It was shut on February 28, 2015.

Located in Jamnagar in the Western Indian state of Gujarat, the plant has a production capacity of 1 million mt/year.

As MRC informed previously, Reliance Industries is implementing a new project to source 1.5 million tpy of ethane feedstock from the US to feed its crackers in India.

Besides, RIL has announced that it would invest over Rs 100,000 crore in expansion of its petrochemical capacities and adding value to its refining business.

Reliance Industries is one of the world's largest producers of polymers. The company's polymer production in 2010-11 (polypropylene, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride) made 4,094 kilo tonnes.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- NOVA Chemicals has announced the commercialization of SURPASS HPs667-AB polyethylene resin, reflecting the company’s commitment to deliver greater value to its customers through the development of high-performance products, as per the company's press release.

This new resin is a result of the customer-centric research and development work at the company’s Centre for Applied Research and Centre for Performance Applications in Calgary.

HPs667-AB resin, an extension of NOVA Chemicals’ HPs167-AB high barrier blown film resin, is a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) designed for cast film, extrusion coating, extrusion lamination and some barrier molding applications. Its innovative molecular architecture enables up to 50% moisture and oxygen barrier improvement over conventional technology.

In addition, the resin features superior stiffness and can facilitate layer or lamination reductions. These physical properties enable converters and brand owners to improve the sustainability and shelf life of packaged goods in a wide range of applications, such as dry foods, snacks, liquid packaging and dairy.

"HPs667-AB resin and its revolutionary predecessor, HPs167-AB resin, deliver performance unlike anything else in the polyethylene market to date," said Carrie Richards, director of marketing, NOVA Chemicals Polyethylene Business. "The continued commercialization of innovative resins like this will enable our customers to tailor solutions and achieve a broad range of processing needs."

As MRC wrote before, in early 2013 NOVA Chemicals decided build two polyethylene (PE) plants and expand its ethylene capacity. NOVA has taken several actions to secure additional ethane feedstock supply for its crackers in Corunna, Ontario, and Joffre, Alberta.

Nova Chemical is one of the largest world's petrochemical companies, a manufacturer of polyethylene, styrene polymers, monomers, and many other related products.
MRC