South Korean petrochemical industries is next target of restructuring

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The South Korean government is pushing forward with consolidation of the petrochemical industries, which are mired in a supply glut and the protracted global economic recession, reported GV.

The restructuring on the petrochemical industry is currently led by the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy. Although working-level officials of major petrochemical firms such as LG Chem, Lotte Chemical, and SK Global Chemical held a meeting last month in order to discuss issues like capacity adjustment, they no longer do it out of concern that it might be construed as an act of collusion by the Fair Trade Commission.

At the time of the meeting, the company officials talked about issues such as volume purchase of naphtha and sharing of wharf and storage facilities to save cost.

The focus of the first-stage talks between the companies and the ministry is on consolidating firms producing purified terephthalic acid (PTA), which include Hanwha General Chemical and Samnam Petrochemical.

These companies are facing a serious financial situation after PTA prices tumbled due to overproduction by Chinese producers. In the first half of this year, the two companies posted losses of 23.2 billion won and 15.0 billion won each.

As part of restructuring measures, the government is reviewing ideas of helping these firms reduce cost through sharing of logistics and production facilities.

We remind that, as MRC informed previously, in March 2015, South Korea's Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) gave conditional approval to Hanwha's proposed acquisition of Samsung General Chemicals. The regulatory authority identified that the combined entity could dominate the domestic ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) market, which could result in higher prices. However, markets of the other three chemical products including low-density polyethylene, linear low-density polyethylene and high-density polyethylene will not be significantly affected by the transaction, KFTC said.
MRC

Technip to supply hydrogen reformers at RAPID project in Malaysia

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Technip has been awarded by Tecnicas Reunidas a significant contract to supply three hydrogen reformers as part of the hydrogen production facility at Petronas’ refinery and petrochemical integrated development (RAPID) project located in the state of Johor, Malaysia, said the company on its site.

As the heart of the hydrogen plant, the reformers will produce 344,500 Nm3/h of hydrogen and syngas products. It will supply high-quality export steam to the refinery steam network. The supply of the reformers is based on Technip’s proprietary top-fired steam methane reforming technology. The reformers are expected to come on-stream in 2018.

RAPID is Petronas’ largest green-field downstream undertaking in Malaysia, and along with its six major associated facilities, forms the Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC). The associated facilities are the Pengerang co-generation Plant, LNG re-gasification terminal, air separation unit, raw water supply project, the liquid bulk terminal and the central and shared utilities and facilities.

Early involvement represents a strategic focus for Technip. Prior to the supply of the hydrogen reformers, Technip was involved in the front-end engineering design for the RAPID project.

The reformer project will be executed by Technip’s office in Zoetermeer, the Netherlands. With more than 260 hydrogen production units licensed worldwide, Technip has been consistently recognized as the market leader in this technological field.

"We are delighted that our proprietary steam methane reforming technology has been selected for this Petronas RAPID site, which will be one of the largest hydrogen and syngas production facilities in the Asia Pacific region," said Stan Knez, president of Technip Stone & Webster Process Technology.

As MRC informed earlier, Technip has been awarded a contract by Westlake Chemical to provide detailed engineering and procurement services to expand the recovery section of Westlake’s Petro 1 ethylene plant at its complex in Sulphur, Louisiana.

Technip is a world leader in project management, engineering and construction for the energy industry.
From the deepest Subsea oil & gas developments to the largest and most complex Offshore and Onshore infrastructures, our 37,500 people are constantly offering the best solutions and most innovative technologies to meet the world’s energy challenges. Present in 48 countries, Technip has state-of-the-art industrial assets on all continents and operates a fleet of specialized vessels for pipeline installation and subsea construction.
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BASF to invest at least EUR6bn between 2016-2020 at Ludwigshafen

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF, the world's petrochemical major has committed itself to spend a total of at least EUR6 billion on investments, upgrading and maintenance measures between 2016 and 2020 at the Ludwigshafen site, as part of a new agreement, as per the company's press release.

Last week, the company and employee representatives at BASF SE in Ludwigshafen signed a new site agreement. The agreement, titled "Meeting the challenges of constant change together," applies to the approximately 36,000 employees of BASF SE at the site. It will run for five years (from January 1, 2016 until December 31, 2020) and follows on from the existing site agreement, which expires at the end of 2015.

The company will continue to forgo forced redundancies for the duration of the agreement.

Furthermore, BASF SE "Economic and social changes are occurring ever faster and are becoming less and less predictable. With the new site agreement, we are creating a framework that offers both flexibility and reliability and will enable the Ludwigshafen site to remain competitive - now and in the future. We rely on our team of dedicated and skilled employees and we will continue to substantially invest in the largest, integrated Verbund site of BASF Group in the coming years," said Margret Suckale, member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE.

As MRC wrote before, BASF is significantly expanding its production capacity for about 20 specialty amines at its Verbund site in Ludwigshafen. BASF says it will invest a double-digit million euro amount in expanding current production facilities, which are planned to go on stream gradually by early 2017. The specialty amines are especially used for the manufacturing of coatings, lubricants, crop protection products and pharmaceuticals.

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

BASF expands its range of specialty amines

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF has strengthened its comprehensive range of amines with a new product: the cycloaliphatic diamine Methylcyclohexyldiamine (MCDA), which the company markets under the brand name Baxxodur EC210, as per the company's press release.

Used as an aminic hardener in epoxy resin-based systems (epoxy systems), Baxxodur EC210 improves, for example, the manufacturing of rotor blades for wind power plants and coatings for industrial floors and bridges. BASF is currently researching additional application areas of Baxxodur EC210.

Baxxodur EC210 is higher yielding, lower viscous, and can be processed longer than comparable products. Furthermore BASF’s customers from the composite and construction industry also like the delivery reliability that the company offers due to its backward integration. BASF produces Baxxodur EC210 at its Ludwigshafen site in Germany. The product is available in commercial quantities.

With about 200 different amines, BASF has the world’s most diverse portfolio of this type of chemical intermediates. Along with alkyl-, alkanol- and alkoxyalkylamines, the company offers heterocyclic and aromatic as well as specialty amines. The range is completed by an expanding portfolio of chiral amines of high optical and chemical purity. The versatile products are used mainly to manufacture process chemicals, pharmaceuticals and crop protection products, as well as cosmetic products and detergents. They also serve to produce coatings, special plastics, composites and special fibers.

As MRC wrote before, BASF will expand its emollients and waxes production capacity with a new plant at its site in Jinshan, Shanghai. The investment, complementing the current production of wax esters, emulsifiers and primary surfactants in Jinshan, will further enhance BASF’s local production and better serve the growing personal care market in Asia Pacific.

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

Nippon Shokubai awards Jacobs contract for proposed SAP and AA project

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Nippon Shokubai Europe has awarded a detailed engineering, procurement and construction management contract to Jacobs Engineering for the planned expansion of a superabsorbent polymer (SAP) plant and the construction of a new acrylic acid (AA) facility at Nippon's site in Zwijndrecht, Belgium, as per GV.

The EUR350-million project involves increasing SAP production capacity by 100,000 t/y and building a new 100,000-t/y AA unit. Expansion of the SAP plant will raise Nippon's total SAP capacity in Belgium to 160,000 t/y.

Mechanical completion is expected in October 2017 and commercial operations are planned for May 2018.

Upon completion of the project, the Nippon Shokubai group's global SAP capacity will be increased to 710,000 t/y and global AA capacity will be raised to 880,000 t/y. Value of Jacob's contract was not disclosed.

As MRC wrote previously, in summer 2013, Nippon Shokubai received a new "lift of restrictions," allowing the company to resume production at a second acrylic acid unit at its Himeji complex in Japan. Two separate explosions at its Himeji site in September 2012 forced the company to stop production of acrylic acid and superabsorbent polymers and resulted in the suspension of most operations at Himeji.

Nippon Shokubai produces one fifth of the global volume of superabsorbent polymers and it is one of the world's biggest makers of acrylic acid, the main ingredient of a resin called SAP, which is used in diapers
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