Deployment of digital infrastructure in chemical plants transforms industry

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The manufacturing approach in the chemicals industry is rapidly changing to meet increasing demand for customized and specialty products over commodity chemicals, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

As industry consolidation accelerates to enable manufacturers to expand their product portfolios, rising environment and health regulations will also compel them to identify alternate energy sources for chemical production. As a result, the industry is set to leverage advanced and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)-based technologies to create smart factories that boost productivity, safety, innovation, and cost savings in the long term.

Chemicals 4.0—The Era of Digital Process Production, recent research from Frost & Sullivan's Industrial Automation & Process Control Growth Partnership subscription, finds that chemical manufacturers' shift towards digital plants will facilitate the formulation of robust strategic plans and goals through improved visibility and accessibility of the business operations across the chemical value chain. Market majors such as BASF, Dow Chemicals, DuPont, Evonik, Clariant and Akzo-Nobel are leveraging IIoT-based technologies to achieve higher business growth and explore new revenue streams through product innovation such as smart chemical products.

"Despite limited capital spend, there is a rise in brownfield projects where chemicals manufacturers invest in advanced automation, modular and smart technologies," said Frost & Sullivan Industrial Automation & Process Control Research Analyst Kiravani Emani. "With information and operational technology (IT-OT) convergence, manufacturers can utilize key IIoT technologies, such as smart sensors, cloud, Big Data, and analytics, to facilitate detailed assessment of chemical processes, performance of assets and equipment, and, importantly, control operations."

Geographically, the once dominant chemical industry in Europe is losing share to emerging countries in Asia, mainly China and India. As a result, investments in manufacturing plants and research centers are also shifting to the region. North America's chemical industry, on the other hand, is taking advantage of abundant feedstock from shale gas explorations to reduce raw material costs and dependency on trade imports.

"Chemical giants in partnership with government bodies are actively promoting and investing in digital technologies, especially in advanced countries," noted Emani. "This trend will gradually echo in other countries, promoting local manufacturing and boosting overall chemical industry growth."
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- EU antitrust regulators said that they had cleared German chemical company Evonik's planned USD630 million purchase of U.S. company Huber Corp's silica business, said Reuters.

The Commission, which oversees competition policy in the 28-nation European Union, expressed concern earlier on over the relatively high market share the merged entity would have in precipitated silica, used in tires, toothpaste, defoamers, paints and coatings.

The companies have offered to divest Evonik's precipitated silica business for dental applications in Europe, Middle East and Africa and Huber Silica's precipitated silica business for defoamer applications and its hydrophobic precipitated silica business in Europe.

The Commission said that the merger, as modified by the commitments, would no longer raise competition concerns.

The transaction was originally notified to the Commission on 27 April 2017.

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.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) — China has opened more than 6,000 trading accounts for its long-awaited crude futures contract—with three-quarters coming from individual traders—as it pushes ahead with plans to compete with global pricing benchmarks, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

China's oil majors and about 150 brokerages have also registered, but the strong interest by 'mom-and-pop' investors looks set to mark out China's crude futures from western counterparts, which are dominated by institutional investors.

Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE), which will run China's contract, says it is finalizing technical issues. The contract has faced years of delays and there is still no set date, but INE and also trading participants now say a launch this year is almost certain.

"The INE is striving to launch the crude oil futures within this year," a spokeswoman said, adding that the exchange has conducted four trials to ensure it is technically ready.

Oil futures trading volume is small during Asian hours despite the region's role as the world's top consumer. Shanghai's crude futures are aimed at giving China more clout in pricing crude in Asia and a share of the trillions of dollars in oil futures trade.

The INE hopes to attract foreign investors, and locally registered entities of JPMorgan and UBS are among those registered, although international players have raised concerns, including denomination in yuan, that may dampen early take-up.

Most oil trades are priced off two crude derivatives, US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and London's Brent, traded on the Intercontinental Exchange and the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) owned by CME Group.

Earlier attempts to establish an Asian derivative crude contract by Singapore and Tokyo foundered. The only liquid crude futures in the region is the Oman contract on the Dubai Mercantile Exchange.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- According to industry sources, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) will start up its new monoethylene glycol (MEG) plant at Jamnagar by the month end, as per Apic-online.

The production capacity of the new MEG plant is 750,000 mt/annum. The new plant is in addition to the existing 750,000 mt/annum MEG output capacity that RIL has from multiple lines.

An industry source said, " with this added capacity, India is now self reliant in MEG given that RIL~s current production capacity is 750,000 mt/annum, IOCL has an output capacity of 360,000 mt/annum and IGL has an output capacity of 300,000 mt/annum."

He added, " India imports approximately 750 kt/annum of MEG. With RIL~s new plant, MEG imports will dwindle."

As MRC wrote before, in late 2012, Reliance Industries awarded Jacobs Engineering Group with an engineering and procurement assistance services contract for the construction of a MEG plant at the Jamnagar refining and petrochemical complex in Gujarat.

Reliance Industries Limited is the largest petrochemical company in India. The company is engaged in a wide range of activities, ranging from oil and gas production to production of polyester and polymer goods, including the production of polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and textiles.
MRC

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 increase its quarterly dividend to USD0.36 per share, a 20% increase, as per the company's press release.

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

In addition, Trinseo’s Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to 2 million shares of the Company’s ordinary shares over the next 18 months. This authorization replaces the Company’s prior repurchase authorization.

"I am pleased with Trinseo’s continued commitment to balance investment opportunities with return of capital to shareholders through an increased dividend and the new share repurchase program," said Chris Pappas, President and CEO of Trinseo. "These programs underscore our confidence in our continued financial strength and the long-term outlook of our business."

As MRC informed before, Trinseo and its affiliate companies in Europe have announced price increases for all polystyrene (PS) and SAN grades. Effective July 4, 2017, or as existing contract terms allow, the contract and spot prices for the product listed below will increase as follows:

- STYRON general purpose polystyrene grades (GPPS) - by EUR45 per metric ton;
- STYRON and STYRON A-TECH high impact polystyrene grades (HIPS) - by EUR45 per metric ton;
- TYRIL SAN resins - by EUR25 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 USD3.7 billion in net sales in 2016, with 15 manufacturing sites around the world, and nearly 2,200 employees.
MRC