Sinopec Yangzi brought on-stream HDPE/LLDPE plant in China

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sinopec Yangzi Petrochemical Company has restarted a high density polyethylene/linear low density polyethylene (HDPE/LLDPE) swing plant, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the company has resumed operations at the plant earlier this week. The plant was taken off-line for maintenance on February 24, 2018.

Located at Jiangsu in China, the plant has a production capacity of 200,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed before, in mid-May 2017, Sinopec Yangzi Petrochemical took off-stream its polypropylene (PP) plant for a maintenance turnaround. The duration of the planned shutdown could not be ascertained. Located in Jiangsu province, China, the plant comprising three units have a production capacity of 200,000 mt/year, 100,000 mt/year and 100,000 mt/year.

Sinopec Corp. is one of the largest scale integrated energy and chemical companies with upstream, midstream and downstream operations. Its refining and ethylene capacity ranks No.2 and No.4 globally. The Company has 30,000 sales and distribution networks of oil products and chemical products, its service stations are now ranked third largest in the world.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Bayer AG said Wednesday that it is in exclusive talks with BASF SE about the sale of its entire vegetable-seeds business, a move it expects to help it win approval for its acquisition of Monsanto Co., reported MarketWatch.

"Through this and related moves, Bayer is confident of fully addressing all concerns of the European Commission," the company said.

The European antitrust regulator, which has raised concerns that the Monsanto acquisition could pressure farmers, is expected to make its decision on the Monsanto deal by April 5, though it could issue a ruling earlier.

Bayer had already agreed to sell selected crop-science businesses to BASF for 5.9 billion euros (USD7.30 billion) last October. This first deal covers Bayer's global glufosinate-ammonium business and the related LibertyLink technology for herbicide tolerance, essentially all of the company's field-crop seed businesses, and the respective research and development capabilities, it said.

Bayer didn't provide financial details on the potential deal with BASF. It said any sales and licenses would be subject to a successful closing of the proposed Monsanto acquisition, which remains subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of required regulatory approvals.

Bayer is working with the authorities worldwide to close the transaction in the second quarter.

As MRC wrote before, in September 2017, German drugs and pesticides group Bayer further reduced its holding in Covestro to 31.5% from 40.9% by selling 19 million shares in the plastics business for a total of EUR1.2 billion (USD1.4 billion).

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, agriculture and high-tech polymer materials. As an innovation company, it sets trends in research-intensive areas. Bayer's products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At the same time, the Group aims to create value through innovation, growth and high earning power. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development and to its social and ethical responsibilities as a corporate citizen.

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) -- Axens was recently awarded, by Refineria Isla, a contract to perform pre-FEED Engineering work to supply natural gas from Venezuela to Refineria Isla Curacao B.V. “Refineria Isla”, in Curacao, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The project is part of Refineria Isla modernization project. The overall objective is to provide positive impacts on both the environment and refinery economics.

These benefits will be achieved through the conversion of fired equipment from heavy fuel oil to natural gas. SOx, NOx and particle emissions will be reduced to under the most stringent international standards, contributing to general improvement of the Island air quality.

The associated CO2 emission will be reduced by about 20%. Natural gas will be delivered to Curacao from Venezuela via a new submarine pipeline connected to the Puerto Cumarebo station.

Axens Performance Programs business unit teamed up with Doris Engineering for the offshore gas transportation system to Curacao. The documentation prepared serves as a basis to solicit bids for FEED and includes execution plans for the permitting and regulatory approval.

The required gas treatment facilities comprise molecular sieve dehydration unit, designed by Prosernat, an Axens company, hydrocarbon dew pointing and gas compression. High-performance Axens molecular sieves for water removal (AxSorb 510 and AxSorb 533) have been proposed to achieve the water specification.

Treated gas will be transported through a 16-inch diameter subsea pipeline, approximately 90 kilometers in length. Maximum water depth is 1400 meters.

Pipeline construction and upgrade of fired equipment inside the refinery are expected to be completed by 2021.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC)--In recognition of International Women’s Day, ExxonMobil announced that it is providing USD7 million in grants in 2018 to renew support for local and global organizations working to empower women economically.

Grants made this year will continue ExxonMobil’s longstanding support for efforts to increase research into new methods to advance women economically, assist women, entrepreneurs, to grow their businesses, bolster women’s financial literacy and ability to invest and save, and improve the productivity of women farmers.

"We invest in programs that are proven to provide women with the skills, training and support systems needed to increase their productivity and income,” said Kevin Murphy, president of the ExxonMobil Foundation. “We know from comprehensive research that when women move forward, the world moves with them."

ExxonMobil has invested a total of USD120 million in its Women’s Economic Opportunity Initiative since it began in 2015, supporting dozens of initiatives that have benefitted tens of thousands of women in more than 90 countries.

One of this year’s investments will culminate in a new initiative, She Counts, which will be launched at the Council on Foreign Relations on March 22. She Counts will work with financial service providers to help women save securely, invest in their business and transform their lives. Since 2015, ExxonMobil has worked with partners like Women’s World Banking, the Center for Global Development, Technoserve, Mercy Corps, the World Bank and other financial institutions to establish a new platform to put savings and financial tools in the hands of women, enabling them to plan for a more prosperous future.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- State oil giant Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) plans to build the world's largest integrated refining and chemical site in Ruwais, United Arab Emirates, ADNOC's chief executive officer said on Tuesday, reported Reuters.

Speaking at the CERAWeek conference in Houston, Sultan al-Jaber, head of ADNOC, said downstream investments like refining and chemicals represent the company's biggest future opportunity. The company plans on tripling petrochemical production to 14.4 MMtpy by 2025, he said.

"Our goal by 2025 is to transform Ruwais into the largest integrated refining and chemicals site in the world - doubling our refining capacity and tripling our petrochemicals production," said al-Jaber.

Al-Jaber said the company also plans to make unexplored blocks of oil in the UAE available for auction in the near-future.

As MRC informed earlier, in May 2017, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) announced that it would work together with the Austrian producer OMV to help grow Adnoc’s downstream businesses.
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