Stavrolen resumed PP production

MOSCOW (MRC) - Stavrolen, a major producer of polyolefins in Russia, has resumed production of polypropylene (PP) after a long scheduled shutdown, according to ICIS-MRC Price Report with reference to the producer's customers.

Stavrolen completely resumed PP production after 26 October, after a long planned scheduled maintenance.
As the customers of the enterprise informed, the first shipment of commodity polypropylene to the market is planned to be done on 27 October. The scheduled shutdown began 6 October, and initially was planned to last for two months.

It is also worth noting that capacities for high-density polyethylene (HDPE) production were shut for scheduled maintenances on 16 September. As in the case with polypropylene, the shutdown was planned to last two months, but in fact the launch will take place earlier.

Stavrolen, Lukoil's subsidiary, is Russia's second largest HDPE producer after Kazanorgsintez and the fifth largest polypropylene (PP) manufacturer. Stavrolen's production capacities for HDPE and PP are 300,000 and 120,000 tonnes/year, respectively.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Aramco expects to decide by the end of 2017 on plans for a joint oil-to-chemicals project with Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), reported Reuters with reference to Aramco's chief executive.

An industry source said in August that state oil firm Aramco and government-controlled SABIC had sought bids for engineering work on the venture to produce chemicals.

The project, known as COTC, is a key to plans for a chemicals complex costing USD20 B or more. It is the first major scheme involving the two state giants.

"We finished the feasibility. We are at a stage where we need to work together and make some decision about proceeding with the project with SABIC," Saudi Aramco Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser told Reuters.

"Things are looking good so far so hopefully we will be meeting soon and making an announcement," he said on the sidelines of an investment conference in Riyadh, adding that a decision was expected "before the year-end."

Aramco, responsible for crude output from the world's biggest oil exporter and with oil investments around the world, is in talks with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) on building a 260,000-bpd refinery in Yunnan province, China.

"We are serious about partnering with CNPC on Yunnan," Nasser said, adding that the plans were "on the right track."

"We are hopeful that we can do something early next year in this project," he added.

Aramco also signed a framework agreement this year with Chinese defense conglomerate China North Industries Group Corp (Norinco) to build a refinery and chemicals complex in northeast China.

Nasser said talks with Norinco covered upgrading an existing refinery with some associated retail business and building a new refinery with 300,000 bpd capacity.

As MRC informed before, in August 2017, Saudi Aramco and SABIC launched bidding for engineering work on their joint crude oil to chemicals project, a key step towards developing the USD20-billion-plus complex.

Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) for a joint oil-to-chemicals project. SABIC has previously said the proposed project could cost as much as USD30 billion, processing petrochemicals directly from crude oil instead of first refining the oil into products such as naphtha.

Saudi Aramco is an integrated oil and chemicals company, a global leader in hydrocarbon production, refining processes and distribution, as well as one of the largest global oil exporters. It manages proven reserves of crude oil and condensate estimated at 261.1bn barrels, and produces 9.54 million bbl daily. Headquartered in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, the company employs over 61,000 staff in 77 countries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Praxair, Inc., a leading global industrial gas company, and BASF, the world's petrochemical major,
have signed a long-term agreement for Praxair to design, build, own, and operate a new syngas processing plant at BASF’s facility in Geismar, Louisiana, as per Praxair's press release.
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The new plant, which will start up in 2020, will produce high-purity carbon monoxide and hydrogen from a stream of
crude synthesis gas. Carbon monoxide is a raw material in the production of a range of specialty chemicals used in the housing and auto industries. Hydrogen is used to produce several chemical intermediates and clean fuels from
refineries.

Coupled with an earlier investment that Praxair announced in April 2016, this will bring the company’s total new
investment in the Geismar area to approximately USD250 million. These investments, including pipeline expansions, are examples of Praxair’s ongoing commitment to supporting growing customer demand and further increasing supply
reliability in the Mississippi River chemical corridor.

"I am very pleased to announce this new value-creating project in Geismar as we continue to expand our operations in the U.S. Gulf Coast," said Dan Yankowski, president, Global Hydrogen at Praxair. "We understand the important role that this new plant will play in BASF’s growth and are committed to supporting that success by reliably supplying
their operations over the long term."

As MRC wrote before, in July 2017, Praxair, Inc. announced the start-up of a new air separation plant to supply 700 tons per day of nitrogen to Samsung’s display manufacturing complex in Tangjeong, South Korea. Samsung’s Tangjeong complex, the world’s first and largest sixth-generation flexible Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLED) panel plant, is expanding to meet increasing demand for future generations of displays.

Praxair, Inc., a Fortune 300 company with 2016 sales of USD11 billion, is a leading industrial gas company in North and South America and one of the largest worldwide. The company produces, sells and distributes atmospheric, process and specialty gases, and high-performance surface coatings. Praxair products, services and technologies are making our planet more productive by bringing efficiency and environmental benefits to a wide variety of industries, including aerospace, chemicals, food and beverage, electronics, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, primary metals and many others.

BASF is the largest diversified chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- iD Additives Inc., a North American supplier of additives to the plastics industry, has named CCC Plastics as its distributor throughout Canada for its lines of foaming agents and purging products, said Canplastics.

Based in Mississauga, Ont., CCC Plastics was already the exclusive distributor of the iD Additives QuickShots single-dose purge products in Canada. "We are pleased to expand our agreement with CCC Plastics," said Nick Sotos, president of iD Additives. "They know our products well and we look forward to a successful relationship."

The new iD QuickShots products are single-dose purge compounds that come in individual packets, and are said to work with all resin types on all plastics machinery processes including injection molding, extrusion, and blow molding.

iD Additives is headquartered in LaGrange, Ill.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- As the result of what it calls "a full book of business" at its contract manufacturing facility in Graz, Austria, Ontario-based automotive parts supplier Magna International Inc. will build a second paint shop 75 kilometers away in Maribor/Hoce, Slovenia, as per Canplastics.

Aurora, Ont.-based Magna will spend approximately USD100 million on the new facility, which is scheduled to start operations in 2019.

"High demand for engineering and contract manufacturing by automakers such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Jaguar Land Rover has resulted in the Graz facility running at high capacity utilization," Magna said in a statement. "Magna Steyr currently manufactures the BMW 5 Series and the Mercedes-Benz G-Class, with the Jaguar E-PACE beginning to launch now and Jaguar I-PACE expected to launch early in 2018. Taking into account these and other upcoming programs, Magna Steyr is expected to contract manufacture approximately 200,000 vehicles per year by 2018."

Magna broke ground on the Slovenia paint shop Oct. 17 and said it has already begun recruiting. The plant will eventually employ about 400 workers.
MRC