AEG Power Solutions to secure power for major petchem plants in Oman

MOSCOW (MRC) — AEG Power Solutions, a global provider of power electronic conversion systems and solutions for industrial power supplies and renewable energy applications, today announced that it has been selected to provide AC and DC UPS to secure the power supply for a Polyethylene plant (HDPE/LLDPE) and a Polypropylene plant (PP) owned by Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company SAOC - Orpic, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

One of the primary engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors for this petrochemical complex in Oman is Tecnimont S.p.A., the main subsidiary of Maire Tecnimont Group, industrial leader in the Oil, Gas and Petrochemical industry, headquartered in Milan. Tecnimont has chosen AEG Power Solutions to provide the complete power supply solution for one package belonging to Orpic’s Liwa Plastic Industries Complex (LPIC) project, consisting of both AC and DC UPS redundant systems.

Tecnimont selected a combination of AEG Power Solutions' Protect 8 UPS and Protect RCS rectifier (specified as TPRe three-phase rectifier model) which have proven track records in securing power for critical industrial applications. AEG Power Solutions has also provided customized by-pass panels, as well as Ni-Cd batteries and molded case circuit breaker (MCCB) boxes for battery protection. AEG Power Solutions provided its power supply expertise to Tecnimont during the technical project analysis and clarification, helping to finalize the project and to propose possible solutions.

"Having started to build a relationship with AEG Power Solutions during the procurement process, we could see that they had the technical excellence and experience required – as well as the best product range" says Paolo Mondo, Maire Tecnimont Group Procurement VP. "We were confident that AEG Power Solutions was the right choice to provide these mission-critical UPS systems".

Global project scope includes engineering services, equipment and material supplies as well as construction activities up to testing, start-up and test performance of a polyethylene production system with a capacity of 880,000 tons per year, a polypropylene (PP) plant with a capacity of 300,000 tons per year. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2019.
MRC

MOSCOW (Market Report) - Negotiations on the July supplies of Russian polyvinyl chloride (PVC) started last week and were quite difficult. Despite hight season local producers had to reduce prices , according to the ICIS-MRC Price Report.

Negotiations on the July contract prices of Russian suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) began at the end of last week, but many market participants were slow to agree on the deals. Negotiations have continued this week, and buyers reported a further decline in PVC prices for July delivery.

This is atypical for the summer period, as in previous years the summer months brought a serious increase in the cost of PVC. The main reason for such an atypical situation in the market is a serious excess of PVC supply.

According to preliminary data, the supply of resin in the market exceeds current demand by 20%. Some Russian producers increased exports in June in order to balance the domestic market. Russia's PVC exports without taking into account the countries of the Customs Union exceeded 4,200 tonnes of PVC in June against 1,500 tonnes a month earlier. Some market participants said they do not rule out the fact that the market situation might change drastically in the near future.

Due to the devaluation of the rouble against the dollar, imports of acetylene PVC from China are no longer as attractive as before. Russian companies have already reduced purchases of Chinese acetylene PVC.

Two major producers plan to shut for scheduled maintenance works in the second half of June. Bashkir Soda Company intends to shut its capacities for two weeks turnaround from 15 July; SayanskKhimPlast for a month long turnaround from 20 July. The annual PVC production capacity at these two plants is 520,000 tonnes.

The demand for PVC in the market has been gradually growing from month to month, but the growth is not as dynamic as the growth in supply of raw materials. SPVC supply in Russia grew by 11% in the first four months of the year compared to the same time of 2016. The excess in PVC supply began to be seen in April, when the import of acetylene PVC from China began to grow dynamically.

Deals for July delivery of Russian resin were discussed in the range of Rb63,000-65,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT for deals up to 500 tonnes. Deals for K70 PVC were discussed in the range of Rb63,000-66,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PolyOne Corporation, a premier global provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions, has entered into a definitive agreement whereby the company will sell its Designed Structures and Solutions (DSS) business, which includes sheet, rollstock and packaging assets, to Arsenal Capital Partners for USD115 mln, as per Plastemart.

"The decision to divest DSS comes after evaluating several strategic options for the business and concluding this is the best course of action for our customers, associates and shareholders," said Robert M. Patterson, chairman, president and chief executive officer, PolyOne Corporation. "I'm pleased that we have come to agreement with Arsenal who is very well positioned to complete the transformation work we have begun and serve DSS customers going forward."

Mr. Patterson continued, "Looking back at the Spartech acquisition completed in 2013, there were a number of positive, value-creating elements of the deal. These include the color concentrate and formulation assets that have seamlessly integrated into the other segments of PolyOne, as well as the beginnings of our IQ Design services which are now broadly used across the entire company. We intend to leverage these assets going forward, as well as seek out new investments that expand our material science, polymer formulation and world-class service capabilities. This is what we do best, and I expect PolyOne's now streamlined structure will further improve our focus and accelerate our growth as we pursue our 2020 Platinum Vision," Mr. Patterson added.

The sale of DSS is subject to satisfaction of regulatory requirements and other customary closing conditions, which the company expects to be completed in Q3-2017. Proceeds from the sale will be used to pay down short term borrowings and fund ongoing growth initiatives. In accordance with US GAAP, the DSS business will be classified as "held for sale" and be reported as discontinued operations. Accordingly, the company will be required to record the assets related to the DSS business at fair value, less an amount of estimated sale costs. The company anticipates this will result in an after-tax charge of USD220 million in the second quarter.

As MRC reported before, in early 2016, PolyOne Corporation announced the acquisition of Magenta Master Fibers (Magenta), an innovative developer of specialty solid color concentrates for the global fiber industry.

PolyOne Corporation is a global provider of specialized polymer materials, services, and solutions with operations in specialty polymer formulations, color and additive systems, polymer distribution and specialty vinyl resins.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Orpic, the Sultanate’s refining and petrochemicals flagship, plans to establish a worldwide network of offices to support the marketing of the huge quantities of polymers that will be produced when its Liwa Plastics mega venture comes on stream in 2020, according to GV.

As a first step, the wholly government-owned entity has set up a new outfit to secure markets for the company’s output of polymers - notably polyethylene and polypropylene - an estimated 1.5 million tons of which will be produced annually when the USD 6.4 billion Liwa Plastics Industrial Complex (LPIC) is operational, a senior company executive said.

"We have created a new legal entity, namely Orpic Polymer Plastics, which will be fully owned by Orpic and tasked with selling the company’s polymer output in international markets," said Gilles Rochas, General Manager - Polymer Marketing. "Offices will be opened in key export markets, such as China, Singapore, Turkey and so on. Our goal is to have a global marketing footprint by 2020," Rochas added.

Speaking to the Observer, Rochas said Orpic’s decision to directly oversee the marketing of its polymer output - as opposed to the conventional practice of securing long-term offtake arrangements - is designed to ensure optimum returns for the company.

By cutting out the middlemen from the marketing and supply chain, Orpic is not only assured better margins on its products, but crucially it can also work towards building longer-term, mutually beneficial relationships with key buyers, he noted.

As MRC wrote before, in May 2014, Orpic said it had awarded two contracts for construction of a USD3.6 billion plastics production complex, the Liwa Plastics Project. The plant will be built in Oman's northern industrial city of Sohar, next to Orpic's oil refinery and petrochemical plants. The Liwa Plastics Project is due to be completed in 2018, doubling Orpic's profitability by allowing it to extract more value from Omani crude oil and natural gas, the company said.

In 2014, Orpic selected LyondellBasell's Spheripol polypropylene process technology for a new 300,000 tpy PP plant to be built in Sohar, Sultanate of Oman. Start-up of the Liwa plastics project is planned for 2018.

ORPIC (Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company) is one of the leading companies in Oman and has two refineries in that country, in Sohar and Muscat. ORPIC is owned by the Government of the Sultanate of Oman and Oman Oil Company SAOC, the trading company created by the Government of the Sultanate of Oman for managing investments in the energy sector.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indonesia's Chandra Asri Petrochemical plans to boost the ethylene production capacity of its sole naphtha-fed steam cracker at Cilegon by 4.6% in Q1 2020, the company said Wednesday, as per Apic-online.

The cracker's ethylene production capacity will rise to 900,000 mt/year from 860,000 mt/year, while its propylene output will increase to 490,000 mt/year from 470,000 mt/year.

Chandra Asri said it has signed an agreement with US contractor CB&I to revamp the existing furnaces for the cracker. The revamp is expected to begin in Q3 2018 and completed over Q1 2020.

As a result of the revamp, pygas production capacity will also rise to 420,000 mt/year from 400,000 mt/year, while mixed C4 output will reach 330,000 mt/year from 315,000 mt/year.

As MRC reported before, in September 2016, PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical (CAP) signed an agreement with Univation Technologies, LLC, located in the United States, to use the UNIPOL PE Progress for a new world scale 400KTA polyethylene (PE) plant at its integrated naphtha cracker complex in Cilegon, Banten. The agreement covers process design package, including licence, to produce linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), high density polyethylene (HDPE) and metallocene LLDPE (mLLDPE).

Chandra Asri Petrochemical (CAP) is the largest vertically integrated petrochemical company in Indonesia with facilities located in Ciwandan, Cilegon and Puloampel, Serang in Banten Province. CAP is Indonesia's premier petrochemical plant incorporating world-class, state-of-the-art technology and supporting facilities. At the heart of CAP lies the Lummus Naphtha Cracker producing high quality Ethylene, Propylene, Mixed C4, and Pyrolysis Gasoline (Py-Gas) for the Indonesian as well as regional export markets.
MRC