Thyssenkrupp signs agreement to build new PET production plant in Russia

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions, a partner for the engineering, construction and service of industrial plants and systems, has signed an agreement with the Russian jointstock company Polyester Plant Ivanovo to build a new PET polymer and staple fibre production plant, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The facility with an annual production capacity of up to 200,000 tons of polyester polymer will be built in the Ivanovo region, roughly 250 km northeast of Moscow.

The contract awarded to thyssenkrupp is worth around EUR150 million and includes engineering, procurement and the supervision of erection and commissioning.

"We have a proven track record of providing our customers in Russia with leading polycondensation technologies and equipment," Sami Pelkonen, CEO of the Electrolysis & Polymers Technologies business unit of thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions said. "Commencing with the basic engineering we utilized our experience from numerous successfully realized orders in the country to create a solid foundation for this project."

"The key to success in this new project was not only our best-in-class technology, but also the ongoing intensive contact with our customer in order to identify their needs," said Werner Steinauer, CEO of Uhde-Inventa Fischer, a subsidiary of thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions.

Uhde-Inventa Fischer has constructed more than 450 polymer plants worldwide, including several projects in Russia.

The new PET production plant will be the centerpiece of a production complex for synthetic fibres. As a subcontractor to thyssenkrupp, Oerlikon Neumag will be responsible for the delivery of three staple fibre production lines.
MRC

Petronas and Sarawak State undertake petrochemical master plan study

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Petronas and the Sarawak state government are currently working on the Sarawak Petrochemical Master Plan study, which covers the coastal areas of Sarawak in Malaysia, according to the Borneo Post, reported Apic-online.

The study will look into the technical, commercial and economic feasibility of developing the petrochemical industry in Sarawak, said the report citing Datuk Julaihi Narawi, Sarawak's assistant minister of industrial development (investment and promotion).

"Gas-based petrochemical industry is being pursued by the state," he said. "In view of the gas composition, which is high in methane content, therefore ammonia (and its derivatives) or methanol (and its derivatives) are the most viable options for the state's petchem industry," he noted, adding that "one petchem project has been approved, while the other is under consideration."

Last month, Petronas signed a memorandum of understanding with Yayasan Hartanah Bumiputera Sarawak, an entity of the Sarawak state government, to jointly conduct a pre-feasibility study for a methanol plant in Bintulu, Sarawak.

The parties will assess the overall technical and commercial viability and feasibility of building a methanol and methanol derivatives complex at the Samalaju Industrial Park.

As MRC informed before, Petronas was seeking to raise USD7.2 bln (RM29.5 bln) for its Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (Rapid) project in one of the largest project financings from Asia in recent years. The state-owned oil company asked banks for underwriting commitments of at least USD500 mln (RM2 bln) in June 2016. The project in the southern state of Johor is set to be Malaysia’s largest liquid-based green-field downstream development. It will consist of a 300,000-bpd refinery and petrochemical complex, with a combined chemical output capacity of 7.7 mln tpa.

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

Trinseo announces quarterly cash distribution to shareholders

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo, a global materials solutions provider and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders and synthetic rubber, has announced that its Board of Directors authorized the company to distribute a quarterly repayment of equity of USD0.30 per share, as per the company's press release.

The repayment of equity will be a cash distribution payable on January 25, 2017, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on January 11, 2017.

As MRC reported earlier, Trinseo and its affiliate companies in Europe have announced price increases for all polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and acrylonitrile styrene copolymer (SAN) grades. Effective as of 1 December 2016, or as existing contract terms allow, the December contract and spot prices for the product listed below increased as follows:

- STYRON general purpose polystyrene grades (GPPS), STYRON and STYRON A-TECH high impact polystyrene grades (HIPS) - by EUR170 per metric ton;
- MAGNUM ABS resins - by EUR100 per metric ton;
- TYRIL SAN resins - by EUR100 per metric ton.

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

Trinseo raises December prices for polystyrene and copolymers in Europe

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo, a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders and synthetic rubber, and its affiliate companies in Europe have announced price increases for all polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and acrylonitrile styrene copolymer (SAN) grades, said the producer on its site.

Effective as of 1 December 2016, or as existing contract terms allow, the December contract and spot prices for the product listed below will increase as follows:

- STYRON general purpose polystyrene grades (GPPS), STYRON and STYRON A-TECH high impact polystyrene grades (HIPS) - by EUR170 per metric ton;
- MAGNUM ABS resins - by EUR100 per metric ton;
- TYRIL SAN resins - by EUR100 per metric ton.

As MRC informed previously, Trinseo and its affiliate companies in Europe last announced price increases for all PS, ABS and SAN grades in November 2016, as follows:

- STYRON GPPS - by EUR50/tonne;
- MAGNUM ABS resins - by EUR50/tonne;
- TYRIL SAN resins - by EUR45/tonne.

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

Alberta petrochemical projects get USD378 MM royalty credits

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Canadian oil-producing province of Alberta will offer USD377.84 million in royalty credits to Pembina Pipeline Corp and Inter Pipeline Ltd for their petrochemical projects, the government said on Monday as it seeks to diversify its ailing economy, reported Reuters.

The provincial government said the companies were the approved applicants of its Petrochemicals Diversification Program, which supports construction of facilities that use propane or methane, components of natural gas, as feedstock to produce materials for products including plastics, detergents and textiles.

Pembina's project is a joint venture with Kuwait's Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC) and has been approved to receive up to CD300 million in royalty credits to build a propylene-polypropylene facility, the government said in a statement.

The project by Inter Pipeline has been approved to receive up to USD200 million in royalty credits, according to the government.

As MRC informed before, in April 2016, PICt and Pembina Pipeline announced that they were evaluating the feasibility of a combined, world-scale propane dehydrogenation (PDH) and polypropylene (PP) production facility in Alberta, Canada. Pembina and PIC then expected to complete the study in six months. If the project continues into front-end engineering and design (FEED), the partners would make a final investment decision by mid-2017, with startup expected by 2020.

The Project could consume approximately 35,000 barrels per day of propane and produce up to 800,000 metric tonnes per year of PP. The polypropylene would be transported in a pellet form to markets across North America and internationally.

Polypropylene is one of the world's most commonly used polymers, traditional uses include automobile plastics, medical supplies, home appliances, transparent containers as well as numerous other applications.

Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline Corporation is a leading transportation and midstream service provider that has been serving North America's energy industry for over 60 years. Pembina owns and operates an integrated system of pipelines that transport various products derived from natural gas and hydrocarbon liquids produced in Western Canada and North Dakota. The Company also owns and operates gas gathering and processing facilities and an oil and natural gas liquids infrastructure and logistics business.

PIC is a subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation and a producer of ammonia, urea fertilizer and polypropylene in Kuwait. In addition PIC is a joint venture partner with others in Kuwait involved in the production of Ethylene, Polyethylene , Ethylene Glycol , Styrene Monomer, Para-xylene, Benzene. PIC is a joint venture partner with others outside of Kuwait involved in the production of Ammonia, Methanol, Ethylene Glycol, and Polyethylene Terephthalate .
MRC