South Korean Government to reform petrochem industry

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The South Korean government is planning a restructuring of its petrochemical industry to deal with the oversupply of terephthalic acid, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride and synthetic rubber, according to several local media reports, as per Apic-online.

Because of the oversupply, the government is urging petrochemical companies to voluntarily reorganize their businesses.

"The business sector should start corporate restructuring through facilities shutdown," said Yonhap News Agency quoting Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Joo Hyung-hwan. "The government will give full financial and tax support to those who carry out reform," he added.

"It is important for the petrochemical firms to take preemptive action to streamline their unnecessary busi-ness in preparation for higher petroleum prices and stronger competition from developing countries," Joo noted.

As MRC reported before, in early 2016, South Korea’s purified terephthalic acid (PTA) producers were urged to reduce production by 30% amid worsening market conditions, according to the government’s industrial restructuring plan.

The country’s petrochemical industry is one of the five industries that was recommended by the government to undergo restructuring, along with shipping, shipbuilding, steel and construction sectors. Since October 2015, the South Korean government has been pushing ahead with its plan for restructuring industries that have suffered from macroeconomic uncertainty including the slowdown of the Chinese economy and the US Federal Reserve’s interest rates hike.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Emerson has agreed to acquire UK-based Permasense Ltd., a provider of non-intrusive corrosion monitoring technologies for heavy industries, including refining, chemical, and pipelines, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Permasense monitoring systems use unique sensor technology, wireless data delivery and advanced analytics to continuously monitor for metal loss from corrosion or erosion in pipes, pipelines or vessels, and reliably deliver high-integrity data from even the harshest environments.

The Permasense product line will become part of Emerson’s Rosemount portfolio of measurement and analytical technologies. Permasense technologies complement Emerson’s Roxar intrusive corrosion monitoring and non-intrusive sand management systems and strengthen the company’s Pervasive Sensing applications that provide customers a more complete view of their operations and facilities.

Lal Karsanbhai, group vice president, measurement and analytical technologies, Emerson Automation Solutions, added, "The addition of patented Permasense technologies along with our existing Roxar technologies enables Emerson to provide customers with a more complete corrosion monitoring solution and a clearer picture into the performance of their infrastructure based on what they’re demanding of it and the strategies needed to optimize production."

Central to Permasense corrosion monitoring systems are sensors that employ proven ultrasonic wall thickness measurement principles. The sensors are battery powered and communicate wirelessly, which minimizes the cost of installation and enables use in remote areas and on a large scale. The sensors are also designed so they can be deployed in hazardous areas.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Qatargas will start operations at its new Ras Laffan 2 condensate splitter by the end of October, doubling the Gulf state's capacity to process condensate, two sources with knowledge of the matter said Monday, reported Reuters.

The 146 Mbpd facility had been due to open in September, but was delayed due to technical problems, traders said.

It will process deodorized field condensate (DFC) and low sulfur field condensate to extract mostly naphtha and middle distillates.

Condensate exports from Qatar will drop from 500 Mbpd to about 350 Mbpd when the 146 Mbpd splitter starts operating, an official at Qatar Petroleum, Qatargas's state-owned majority shareholder, has said. That will enable the Gulf state to soak up some of its condensate at home as it faces growing competition for condensate sales overseas from US and Iranian light oil shipments.

Commissioning of the new splitter is "99%" complete and an imminent handover to operator Qatargas is likely to see the plant start up "within the next two weeks," a Doha-based source, who declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak publicly, told Reuters.

Japan's Chiyoda Corp. is building the refinery in a joint venture with Taiwan's CTCI Corp.

"We are at the final moment. There were no technical problems from our end," Chiyoda's general manager in Qatar, Toshiyuki Ito, told Reuters, but would not confirm a start-up date.

Qatari state-marketer Tasweeq withdrew offers for at least 1.5 MMbbl of prompt November-loading DFC last week, traders with knowledge of the matter said, possibly indicating the splitter is likely to open imminently.

Initial offers for November-loading cargoes had indicated that the condensate splitter was more likely to start operations in November than October as the oil firm was seen reducing its November feedstock requirements by opting to sell prompt cargoes, traders said.

Tasweeq sold 2 MMbbl of DFC for end-October loading prior to its offers for November-loading condensate supplies.

We remind that, as MRC informed before, in February 2016, Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co. awarded Taiwan's CTCI Corp. a contract worth USD94.5 million (SAR 354.4 million) to build a new cracker at its complex in Jubail Industrial City. Under the deal, CTCI will manage the engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) for the project, which is located in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The company added that it will secure the related finance from local institutions, expecting to complete the new cracker in H2-2017.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo, the global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders and synthetic rubber, today debuted its 85% Long Glass Fiber (LGF) Polypropylene (PP) concentrate product family for automotive semi-structural applications, said the producer on its site.

These breakthrough products were introduced at the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Automotive TPO Conference in Detroit, Michigan, stand 15. ENLITE PP LGF 1851 and 1852 are latest innovation in Trinseo's ENLITE structural polymers portfolio, which is built on the company's in-depth market knowledge and polymer expertise.

The new ENLITE products have the highest glass fiber concentration (85%) of any PP LGF concentrate available commercially for automotive semi-structural applications, which enables lighter weight interior parts at lower total cost compared to steel and aluminum.

“We know that lightweight is more than a trend in the automotive industry; it’s a necessity. We’ve also seen an increasing need for cost-effective semi-structural parts, and our new ENLITE LGF 1851 technology is a direct response to these demands. It is the first structural polymer with an 85% concentration on the market, offering manufacturers a more advanced, robust, and affordable solution for today’s lightweight needs, and it strengthens Trinseo’s role as a leader in this strategic business," says Dagmar van Heur, Vice President, Performance Plastics.

ENLITE products are developed for instrument panels, door modules, front-end modules, tailgates, and other interior and semi-structural applications that require a balance of dimensional stability, heat resistance and weight optimization. ENLITE PP-LGF 1851 and 1852 are a step-change improvement over the previous industry benchmark of 60% LGF concentration.

Trinseo’s extended polypropylene offering includes a range of high-flow resins, providing excellent material performance related to low VOC and high flow, and enabling optimized interior parts related to air quality and weight reduction through thin-wall technology.

As MRC MRC informed earlier, Trinseo issued a statement welcoming Bain Capital’s successful sale of its remaining stake in the company.

Trinseo is a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber. Trinseo's technology is used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires. Formerly known as Styron, Trinseo completed its renaming process in 1Q 2015. Trinseo had approximately USD4.0 billion in revenue in 2015, with 18 manufacturing sites around the world, and more than 2,200 employees.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indonesian state energy company Pertamina expects to sign a JV agreement with Russian oil major Rosneft for the Tuban oil refinery development project, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The official, who declined to be named, because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the venture agreement was expected to be signed on Monday and would include an agreement on two producing oil and gas blocks in Russia.

Pertamina also expects to form a JV with Saudi Aramco for the Cilacap refinery upgrade project in December, the official said. A decision on whether to go ahead with Aramco on the Balongan and Dumai refinery upgrades will be made in the coming months, the official said.

As MRC informed earlier, Russia's Rosneft has signed a contract to supply 96 MMt of crude oil to PV Oil, an affiliate of state oil and gas PetroVietnam, starting next year. The contract, signed on the sidelines of an international economic forum in Russia's St Petersburg, will last between 2017 and 2040. The volume to be supplied by the Russian firm is equivalent to nearly six years of Vietnam's crude oil production, which totalled 16.7 MMt in 2015, based on Vietnam's government data.

Rosneft became Russia's largest publicly traded oil company in March 2013 after the USD55 billion takeover of TNK-BP, which was Russia’s third-largest oil producer at the time.

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).
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