Mega-West-Coast refinery on Ratnagiri coast to come onstream

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A special purpose vehicle for the Rs 2 lakh crore Mega-West-Coast refinery on the Ratnagiri coast of Maharashtra is expected to be up and operative by the first week of August, while the land acquisition process has started around the Ratnagiri coast, said D Rajkumar, chairman and managing director of Bharat Petroleum Corporation, as per Plastemart.

The mega refinery and the petrochemical complex will be set up in two phases. Phase-1 will be 40 mtpa plant along with an aromatic complex, naphtha cracker and polymer complex as part of the petrochemical complex. The cost for setting up phase-1 would be somewhere between Rs 1.2-1.5 lakh crore and “will come up between 36 months to 48 months from the date of land acquisition and statutory clearances,” Rajkumar said. The entire refinery will include three crude units of 20 million tonnes each - first of these will be part of phase-1. The second phase will cost Rs 50,000-60,000 crore.

“After signing the joint venture agreement between us (IOC-BPCL-HPCL) we are working on getting the JV, SPV into operation next, and expect by end of July or first week of August the JV company should be up and operative," Rajkumar said on the sidelines of an event in Mumbai. On June 14 the three joint venture partners - IOC, HPCL and BPCL signed the joint venture agreements between them with IOC holding 50%, HPCL 25% and BPCL the remainder 25%.

The joint venture would require around 10,000 acre to 15,000 acre of land for setting up 60 million tonne per annum refinery and a mega petrochemical complex. The refinery would require around 10,000 acre while the petrochemical complex would require 5,000 acre of land. "Our location around Babulwadi has already been finalised and the activities related to land acquisition have started. The land is around 50-100 km from the coast. We will be acquiring the land through Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) and the government of Maharashtra has been very co-operative," Rajkumar said.

We remind that, as MRC informed before, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has delayed the start-up of its new monoethylene glycol (MEG) plant until Q2 2017. As per the earlier plans, the plant was to be started in December 2016. Located at Jamnagar, Gujarat in India, the plant has a production capacity of 750,000 mt/year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Henkel has opened a state-of-the-art test facility for composites in Japan. The new Composite Lab in Isogo-ku, Yokohama, will allow automotive customers from across Asia to team up with Henkel experts to develop and test composite parts, and to establish the best process conditions to make their ideas ready for market, as per the company's press release.

Interest in the use of composites to reduce vehicle weight and increase performance is rising rapidly among automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers. But their demands are strict: they require cost-effective processes suitable for production of more than 10,000 parts per year. In practical terms, this means they often want custom-formulated, fast-curing resins for use in short production cycles. This magnifies the importance of having reliable partners with in-house test capabilities.

This is why Henkel, a global leader in composite matrix resins, adhesives, sealants and functional coatings for the automotive industry, has opened the new Composite Lab, where automotive customers can work with Henkel experts to develop and test composite parts, and also optimize series production process conditions. They can carry out trials with different test molds on Henkel’s own High Pressure Resin Transfer Molding (HP-RTM) equipment. The HP-RTM machine includes a 380 tons press for trials close to series production conditions.

Last year, Henkel also opened a Composite Lab in Europe – in Heidelberg, Germany. The new test center in Asia reflects Henkel’s commitment to deliver high levels of service, quality, service and know-how close to its customers around the world.

Frank Kerstan, Global Program Manager Automotive Composites, says: “We are very proud to have this new state-of-the-art test center in Asia. As vehicle manufacturers worldwide look to reduce weight in cars and trucks to help boost fuel economy and reduce emissions, they are having to set aside the mindset that has dictated traditional material and process choices, and look at new and emerging technologies. Both our Composite Labs offer OEMs and Tier-One suppliers the opportunity to work together with our experts to learn first-hand what the options and possibilities may be for using advanced composite materials with short production cycle times in their vehicles.

Henkel strives to create a competitive advantage for its partners along the value chain. We continue to work closely with our customers to create cost-effective integrated solutions that are suitable for high volume production. Henkel products make vehicles quieter, lighter and more durable, while providing comfort, strength and safety."

Henkel’s diverse composites portfolio includes composite matrix resins and adhesives. The Loctite MAX series of matrix resins is suitable for use with glass and carbon fiber preforms designed for the RTM process. This range also includes binders and release agents for fiber-reinforced components. Loctite composite adhesives are ideal for multi-material bonding and assembly. All these materials are backed up by extensive process know-how and engineering expertise for the RTM process and the simulation and characterization of composite parts.

As MRC reported previously, in 2015, Henkel Russia opened a new dry building mixes plant in the Novosibirsk region. The new production site reportedly places the company closer to customers in the Siberian and Far East regions of Russia.

Henkel operates in three business units, including laundry and home care, beauty care and adhesive technologies.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The global paraxylene market is expected to grow at US$81.02 bln by 2022 at a CAGR of 12.05% from 2016 to 2022, as per Plastemart with reference to Persistence Market Research.

The global paraxylene market can be broadly categorized as dimethyl terephthalate (DMT), purified terephthalic acid (PTA), dibutyl phathalate xylene (Di-PX), and others. PTA accounted for the largest share in the paraxylene market in 2013 owing to their increased use in the polyester chain. On the other hand, DMT was the fasted-growing segment in 2013.

In recent years, the demand-supply gap in the paraxylene market broadened owing to increasing application of paraxylene in various other non traditional applications such as PET bottles. However, the production remains tight with limited number of manufacturers; owing to complicated manufacturing process associated with the paraxylene . Increasing use of PTA in polyester manufacturing is the most-dominant driver of the global paraxylene market. More than two-third of the total Paraxylene production was used in manufacturing pollster in 2013. Moreover, the rising demand for PET bottle resin due to increasing use of PET in soft drink and mineral water bottles is further boosting the paraxylene market.

Increasing use of bio-based paraxylene in bioplastics PET bottles (Bio-PET) and other bioplastics applications such as catering utensils is creating new opportunities for the Paraxylene market. Asia Pacific is the largest market for Paraxylene followed by Europe and North America. Asia Pacific and RoW (including Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa) are two of the fasted-growing Paraxylene markets, which witnessed an above-average growth in recent years. Country wise , China, the U.S., and India are some of the largest regional markets for paraxylene. China held the largest market share in 2013 in terms of regional consumption of paraxylene.

The size of the peracetic acid market is relatively low in the RoW region. However, it is expected to witness healthy growth throughout the forecasted period, especially in petroleum-rich countries of the Middle East. PX is an important petrochemical as its end-product polyester is used for various industrial purposes, including textile manufacturing and packaging. It also finds usage as a solvent, along with being the raw material to manufacture Di-PX and herbicides.

Paraxylene (PX) had witnessed a rapid growth demand from last few years due to steady demand from polyester manufactures. It is majorly used for producing PTA (Purified Terephthalic acid) and DMT (Dimethyl Terephthalate) which are used in production of polyester. In 2015, the polyesters demand reached around USD 50 million tons making it the most commonly used synthetic fiber across the globe. A small amount of Para xylene is also used as a solvent and in the production of herbicides and di-Paraxylene. Rising demand for Paraxylene from numerous end user industries including packaging, textiles and construction materials is significantly influencing the demand for Para xylene.

As MRC wrote before, the global polyethylene terephthalate (PET) demand is expected to reach 24 mln tons by 2020 supported by recent price drops, as per a website presentation by Indorama.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- South Korea is in the process of easing blending restrictions at its oil storage terminals as the world's No. 5 crude importer bolsters an effort to become a North Asia trading hub, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Asia's fourth-largest economy is pushing ahead with a 2014 plan to turn Ulsan and Yeosu ports into northeast Asia's oil shipping and storage cluster, a potential challenge to the long-established Asian oil trading center in Singapore.

South Korea's government approved legislation earlier this year that will allow trading companies to blend fuels at the country's oil terminals, although technical aspects and guidelines needed for implementation are still being formalized.

"The idea of the new regulation is to allow international oil traders to blend petroleum products and chemicals freely in bonded areas like tank terminals," said Jong Yeol Kang, president of South Korea's Ulsan Port Authority (UPA), in response to emailed questions from Reuters.

Prior to the new legislation, traders with storage tanks in South Korea's bonded areas were only able to store and export fuels they had on hand and were not allowed to mix fuels into new blends to meet clients' specifications.

Fuel blending was restricted to South Korean refiners alone.

Feedback from traders has so far been positive, Kang said. Details of regulatory terms and guidelines will be released shortly, he said, without specifying a date.

South Korea's ambitions could quickly divert some oil trade away from Singapore, said Ellen Ruhotas, managing director at Ratio Group, a Singapore-based advisory firm specializing in bulk liquids storage.

"With this new capability traders could, for example, supply the near-by Japanese market with various fuels that would have otherwise come from places like Singapore, and so it would be interesting to see how that unfolds," Ruhotas said.

South Korea's project is one of the world's few major greenfield commercial tank farm developments. The country is aiming to increase oil product exports to serve the Asian market, where the 2017 BP Statistical Review of World Energy says demand will grow to 2.1 Bt of oil equivalent by 2035, from 1.5 Bt in 2015.

"For the moment, we are focused at the northeast Asia market including China, Japan and Korea. We believe there is a strong demand growth within that region," Kang said.

Tank terminals at Ulsan have 23 MMbbl of storage capacity, while Yeosu has an additional 8.2 MMbbl, according to Korea National Oil Company's website.

South Korea's oil hub project will add another 28 MMbbl of capacity by 2026, Kang said.

Singapore has about 79 MMbbl of oil storage capacity, with 30 MMbbl available in nearby areas of Malaysia and Indonesia, Thomson Reuters Eikon data shows.

We remind that, as MRC informed before, South Korean conglomerate Lotte Group plans to list its Malaysian petrochemical unit in the third quarter, company filings show, in an initial public offering that sources say could raise as much as USD1.5 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dow Polyurethanes, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company, has announced the opening of a new Polyurethanes Service Center in Romania, expanding its network of more than 20 sites for production, development and technical service across the EMEAI region, as per GV.

Located in Brasov County, the new centre is equipped with technical and commercial capabilities to serve customers in Romania, Bulgaria, and the wider Balkan region with polyurethane materials. According to the company, further network expansion plans are anticipated later this year with a similar centre due to open in Africa dedicated to support customer needs in the Middle East and Africa Region.

Speaking at the Brasov Service Center opening ceremony, Jon Penrice, Vice President Dow Polyurethanes Europe, Middle East, Africa and India (EMEAI), said: "Our new Service Center in Romania represents another building block of our strategy to support customer growth through unrivalled technical service and the development of customized solutions geared to local market needs. The new centre will play a pivotal role in taking collaboration with our customers to the next level, by bringing local expertise and new capabilities that will improve response times and accelerate technology innovation."

The new Polyurethanes Service Centers will help accelerate both existing and new opportunities in the Balkan, Middle East and Africa regions, improving the speed and efficiency of application development, said Dow. They will provide customers’ access to laboratory and equipment capabilities and tailored technical service, including product demonstrations, prototype development and mechanical testing of final materials. Additionally, the centres will provide training opportunities for customers and have warehousing capabilities for several polyurethane systems.

Claudiu Tuncu, Country Leader Dow Romania and Bulgaria, commented: "Romania is one of the most promising and fastest-growing markets in Central and Eastern Europe. By opening the Service Center in Brasov, Dow reinforces its commitment to helping grow Romania’s economy further in areas such as infrastructure development as well as building and construction. Moreover, Dow’s longstanding presence in Romania gives us the advantage of deep local knowledge and expertise in this market."

As MRC informed before, Dow Chemical's polyethylene (PE) expansion at its Freeport, Texas, complex is on track for a mid-2017 startup.

The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation. Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, and synthetic rubber.
MRC