PTTGC shut down aromatics II complex ror maintenance and debottlenecking

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) on 28 July shut down its 1.07-million-t/y Aromatics II complex in Rayong, Thailand, for scheduled maintenance work, during which it will tie-in the debottlenecked capacity, as per Apic-online.

As MRC wrote previously, in late 2013, PTTGC said it would expand aromatics capacity by 16% to about 1.2-million t/y at the Aromatics II complex. The project, costing approximately USD128.8-million, will increase paraxylene capacity to 770,000 t/y from 655,000 t/y, benzene capacity to 390,000 t/y from 355,000 t/y and will add 20,000 t/y of orthoxylene capacity. The complex also produces 60,000 t/y of toluene.

The debottlenecking was originally scheduled to start in September for 46 days, PTTGC said, but to mitigate the impact of the shutdown, the company decided to tie-in the expansion with the annual maintenance shutdown, shortening the total shutdown period to 75 days.

PTTGC expects that the shutdown will not have material impact on the company's operating performance.

As MRC informed before, PTT Global Chemical PCL shut down for maintenance its olefins plant I-4/1 for 21 days from March 29, ahead of schedule. The shutdown, earlier planned for August, which involves cleaning up quench oil tower, will allow the plant to boost its efficiency faster and suit with the market situation.

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) -- MRPL has posted a net profit of Rs 406 crore in the first quarter of 2015-16 as against a loss of Rs 36 crore during the corresponding previous quarter, said Indiatimes.

The increased profit is on account of increased margins in the products coming out of the secondary units in Phase III units, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) Chairman DK Saraff told reporters here.

The profit also increased on account of increase in the gap between the prices of crude oil and those of refined products during the first quarter 2015-16 as compared to the corresponding previous quarter, Saraff said.

The Company's refining throughput was 3.89 MMT as against 3.20 MMT in the corresponding quarter of previous year, Saraff said. The GRM for the quarter was posted at $6.62/bbl as against $0.66 /bbl during the corresponding quarter, he added.

Saraff said the company has successfully started commercial production of polypropylene from its 440 KTPA (Kilo-Tonnes Per Annum) Polypropylene Unit (PPU) on June 18, 2015. "With this, MRPL's Phase-III of refining expansion is fully completed," he said.

Saraff said the company has initiated downward integration by amalgamation of ONGC Mangalore Petrochemicals Limited (OMPL) with MRPL. "OMPL has recently commissioned a state-of-the-art Aromatic Complex with 914 KTPA capacity of Para-Xylene and 283 KPTA capacity of benzene adjacent to the refinery," he said. The company could evacuate higher volumes of products in domestic market thereby reducing the exports, Saraff said.

The percentage of domestic volume during Q1 of FY 2015-16 stood at 70% as against 60 per cent in the first quarter of 2014-15, Saraff said, adding, "Typically net price realised in domestic market is more than that in export."

Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL), is an oil refinery at Mangalore and is a subsidiary of ONGC, set up in 1993. The refinery is located at Katipalla, north from centre of Mangalore city. The refinery was established after displacing five villages of Bala, Kalavar, Kuthetoor, Katipalla, and Adyapadi.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PetChem) posted slightly higher earnings of RM557mil in the second quarter ended June 30, 2015 from the RM555mil a year ago, said Thestar.

It said its revenue dipped 1% to RM3.30bil from RM3.34bil a year ago but higher sales volumes and favourable exchange rate movement offset the impact of lower average product prices. Earnings per share were seven sen. It declared an interim dividend of eight sen a year.

Commenting on the financial performance, PetChem said it recorded improved plant utilisation at 78% for the quarter compared to 76% a year ago. "This improved operational performance was achieved on the back of better plant reliability and lower level of statutory turnaround activities," it said.

PetChem carried out a statutory turnaround at its Gurun urea facility and planned maintenance at its glycols and derivatives facilities. Excluding the statutory turnaround and planned maintenance, plant utilisation would have been 89%.

While group production and sales volumes increased in line with plant utilization, PetChem said market conditions continued to be challenging as both segments recorded lower average product prices amidst lower crude oil price environment.

In the first half ended June 30, 2015, its earnings fell 10.8% to RM1.162bil from RM1.304bil in the previous corresponding period. Profit dropped 8% to RM1.3bil despite higher sales volumes due to narrower product spreads and lower share of profit of equity accounted joint ventures and associates.

The group recognised a once-off charge of RM63mil in the current period for change in unctional currency at one of its subsidiaries. Excluding this, EBITDA was comparable at RM2.2bil. Revenue declined 9.8% to RM6.445bil from RM7.147bil a year ago weighed down by lower average product prices.

As MRC informed earlier, a year ago Petronas awarded several major contracts for its Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC) project, which comprises the Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (Rapid) complex and associated facilities.

Petronas, short for Petroliam Nasional Berhad, is a Malaysian oil and gas company wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia. The Group is engaged in a wide spectrum of petroleum activities, including upstream exploration and production of oil and gas to downstream oil refining; marketing and distribution of petroleum products; trading; gas processing and liquefaction; gas transmission pipeline network operations; marketing of liquefied natural gas; petrochemical manufacturing and marketing; shipping; automotive engineering; and property investment.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- JBF Group and global investment firm KKR have signed a definitive agreement under which KKR will invest USD150-million into JBF, including its international subsidiaries, as per Apic-online.

Based in India, JBF produces polyester value-chain products ranging from polyester chips to yarn and films. The company has six manufacturing facilities located in India, Bahrain, Belgium and the United Arab Emirates.

The funding will give KKR a 20% stake in JBF, and will help JBF complete ongoing projects and better enable the company to grow its international presence, explained JBF Founder and Executive Chairman Bhagirath Arya.

The transaction, for which further details were not disclosed, is subject to customary closing conditions.

As MRC informed earlier, JBF Petrochemical, the wholly owned subsidiary of JBF Industries, is in plans to start a new purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant in India in Q4, 2015. To be located in Mangalore in the south Indian state of Karnataka, the plant will have a production capacity of 1.25 million mt/year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF is investing in the expansion and flexibilization of its production facilities to manufacture chelating agents at its site in Ludwigshafen, said the company in its press release.

By increasing the production capacity, the company is responding to the rapidly growing global demand for its chelating agents, such as the readily biodegradable Trilon M (methylglycinediacetic acid) for use in detergents and cleaners. The project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2016.

Trilon M is a special high-performance alternative to phosphate in automatic dishwashing detergents and is readily biodegradable. EU regulations stipulate that phosphate will be virtually prohibited for this application in Europe from 2017 on. In the US, 16 states have already banned phosphate in this application since 2010. Therefore, manufacturers of cleaning products are currently seeking suitable alternatives to this ingredient. The first additional capacities of Trilon M will be available as of the 3rd quarter of 2015.

In addition to capacity expansions, production processes will be made more flexible and the company will invest in infrastructure.

BASF currently produces its chelating agents at its site in Ludwigshafen/Germany, in Lima/Ohio, and in Guaratingueta/Brazil. Another world-scale plant for Trilon M is under construction in Theodore/Alabama. This new plant is scheduled to be commissioned in the 4th quarter of 2015. With the increased production in Ludwigshafen and the construction in Theodore/Alabama BASF will enhance its global capacity for chelating agents to 170,000 metric tons per year.

As MRC informed earlier, SIBUR, Russian integrated gas processing and petrochemical company, and BASF have extended their long-term agreement on supply of additives used for polymer manufacturing at SIBUR production facilities.

BASF is the largest diversified chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries. BASF had sales of over EUR74 billion in 2014 and over 113,000 employees as of the end of the year.
MRC