GPPC shut SM plant in Taiwan for maintenance

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Grand Pacific Petrochemical Corp (GPPC) has shut a styrene monomer (SM) plant, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Taiwan informed that the plant was taken offstream on October 20, 2015 on account of a technical glitch. It is likely to be restarted later this week.

Located in Tashe, Taiwan, the plant has a capacity of 240,000 mt/year.

Earlier, the plant was scheduled to start the turnaround in September 2015, which should have lasted for around one month.

As MRC wrote before, GPPC is likely to shut its SM plant in Taiwan with a production capacity of 130,000 mt/year for maintenance turnaround in November 2015. It is planned to remain off-stream for around one month. Before, GPPC shut down its SM plant for maintenance on February 15, 2014. It remained off-stream till March 11, 2014. Located at Tashe in Taiwan, the plant has a production capacity of 130,000 mt/year.

Besides, in early September 2015, GPPC restarted its acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS)/styrene-acrylonitrile (SAN) plant in Taiwan. It was shut on July 10, 2015 owing to a fire and consequent explosion. Located at Ta She in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, the plant has a production capacity of 120,000 mt/year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BP's third-quarter profit beat analysts’ estimates, boosted by refining, as CEO Bob Dudley laid out a plan for deeper cost cuts to withstand low prices, reported Bloomberg.

Earnings from processing crude into fuels and from trading natural gas took profit adjusted for one-time items and inventory changes to USD1.82 billion, 40% lower than a year earlier, yet exceeding the USD1.26 billion average estimate of 15 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

The London-based company hunkered down for a prolonged period of low prices, announcing further asset sales and reduced investment over the next two years. Dudley, one of the first oil chiefs to start preparing his company for a lengthy slump, said he is planning to be able to pay dividends without having to borrow money if prices are about USD60/bbl by 2017, echoing a similar strategy from French producer Total. The company aims to reduce annual cash costs by USD6 billion over that period and reduce capital expenditure further.

"The target of cash neutrality at USD60/bbl will benefit BP when oil prices recover," said Alexandre Andlauer, a Paris-based analyst with AlphaValue. "When oil prices are low, they benefit refining and when they’re volatile they benefit trading, and BP made the most of both in the quarter."

As MRC informed earlier, BP has planned to invest over USD200 million to upgrade its purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plants at Cooper River, South Carolina and Geel, Belgium. The investments will position these assets amongst the most efficient PTA manufacturing facilities in the world.

BP is one of the world's leading international oil and gas companies, providing its customers with fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, retail services and petrochemicals products for everyday items.

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Evonik Industries AG and Duisburger Hafen AG (duisport) have established the jointly controlled company "DERS Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH" (Duisport-Evonik-Rhein-Sieg-development company, DERS) for the development of Evonik's Lulsdorf location, as per the company's press release.

Thomas Wessel, Chief Human Resources Officer of Evonik Industries AG, and Erich Staake, Chief Executive Officer of Duisburger Hafen AG, signed a joint venture agreement today.

"We look forward to expanding our positive and successful collaboration with duisport. DERS provides incentives for additional companies to set up operations at Evonik’s Lulsdorf site, which creates workplaces and contributes to the development of North Rhine Westphalia as an industry location," says Wessel.

"The special competitive advantage of the North Rhine-Westphalia region lies in the close linkages between industry and logistics. DERS represents an outstanding project of our strategic collaboration with Evonik, which was established last year. With the joint development of the Lulsdorf site, we are bundling our know-how, which enables us to realize considerable value-added potentials in the region," emphasizes Staake.

DERS, in which both partners have an equal stake, will commence operations on 1 January 2016. Its Managing Directors will be Hans Josef Fingerhuth, Logistics Manager of Evonik's locations in Wesseling and Lulsdorf, along with Volker Schmitz, Managing Director of duisport agency GmbH.

The objective of the joint venture is to develop the 50 hectares of open space that is currently available at the Lulsdorf location, and to market these premises with the aim of attracting production and logistics companies. In addition, the existing on-site logistics activities will also be further optimized. In this vein, Evonik and duisport will continue their long-standing and successful partnership. At the Marl chemical park, they are joint shareholders of Umschlag Terminal Marl GmbH & Co. KG. This company operates the terminal for combined transportation at that location.

DERS will continue the strategic collaboration between the two partners that was established last year. The objective of this strategic partnership is the development and implementation of modern logistics concepts and long-term site development.

As MRC informed earlier, Evonik Industries is paving the way for a new technology whose applications include automotive finishes that are more scratch-resistant than ever before. The specialty chemicals company has developed an industrial-scale method for producing silane-modified binders for automotive finishes. The advantage of these silane-modified binders: silane groups increase crosslinking density, making it possible to create automotive finishes that are flexible yet harder, leading to improved scratch resistance. The basic concept behind the new technology was already known: modifying classic binders with silanes noticeably improves the binder properties. This also applies to the polyurethane binders typically used for automotive finishes.

Evonik, the creative industrial group from Germany, is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. Its activities focus on the key megatrends health, nutrition, resource efficiency and globalization. Evonik benefits specifically from its innovative prowess and integrated technology platforms. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world. In fiscal 2013 more than 33,500 employees generated sales of around EUR12.9 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of about EUR2.0 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Technip announced today that it has entered into a contract to supply its proprietary ethylene technology and PDP(1) to PTTGC America LLC (PTTGCA), a subsidiary of PTT Global Chemical, Thailand’s largest integrated petrochemical and refining company, for a 1,000 KTA grassroots ethane cracker to be located in Belmont County, Ohio, USA, said the producer in its press release.

The plant, which will use low cost ethane from the region’s shale deposits, will be part of a major shale-based petrochemical complex to be built by PTTGCA, which is expected to make a final investment decision in 2016 or 2017.

Key technology components include Technip’s proprietary USC furnaces preferred for high-capacity, low-cost gas cracking capabilities as well as Technip’s well-established ethylene recovery system.

The project will be executed by Technip’s operating center in Houston, Texas, USA.

Stan Knez, President, Technip Stone & Webster Process Technology, said: "As the largest ethylene licensor and contractor, Technip is pleased to bring its proven ethane cracking and process technologies and experience to this cracker, which is part of PTTGCA’s first world-scale petrochemical complex outside of Thailand."

Previously, Technip provided technology and engineering for PTT Global Chemical’s 500 KTA ethylene plant in Map Ta Phut, Thailand, which began operations in 1994.

As a world leader in gas monetization, refining and petrochemicals, Technip has a portfolio of market leading process technologies, including ethylene.

As MRC informed earlier, Technip was 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.

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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Linde, the world's biggest industrial gases company by sales, eked out a gain in adjusted core profit as strong growth at its U.S. healthcare gases business outweighed a declining engineering division that continues to suffer from a weak order book due to the low oil price, said Reuters.

Third-quarter adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) edged 3 percent higher to 1.03 billion euros, just short of the average estimate of 1.06 billion euro in a Reuters poll.

The shares were seen 1.5 percent lower in pre-market trades at brokerage Lang & Schwarz.

Within its main gases division, the healthcare segment reported 8 percent higher third-quarter sales, excluding swings in foreign exchange rates and gas prices, as it continued to outgrow other units that cater to industrial groups or craftsmen.

Growth was propelled by Lincare, the U.S. medical oxygen tanks provider it acquired in 2012.

However, at the engineering division, which designs and erects large plants for the oil and petrochemical industry, clients kept holding off on large investments, with crude oil prices down more than 45 percent from a year ago.

Linde reiterated its full-year guidance for sales of 17.9-18.5 billion euros and adjusted EBITDA of 4.1-4.3 billion euros.

As MRC informed SIBUR, a Russian gas processing and petrochemicals company, and Linde Group signed agreements to build and operate new air separation units in Dzerzhinsk, the Nizhny Novgorod Region.

The Linde Group is a world-leading gases and engineering company with around 62,000 employees in more than 100 countries worldwide.
MRC