Sinopec Shanghai shut No. 3 LDPE unit for maintenance

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical has taken off-stream a low density polyethylene (LDPE) unit in Shanghai, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the company has started turnaround at the unit early this week. The unit is likely to remain under maintenance for around 10 days.

Located at Shanghai in China, the No.3 LDPE unit has a production capacity of 120,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote previously, on 2 January 2018, Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical took off-stream a high density polyethylene (HDPE) plant in China owing to technical issues. Further details of duration of shutdown could not be ascertained. Located at Shanghai in China, the plant has a production capacity of 250,000 mt/year.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, or Sinopec Limited is a Chinese oil and gas company based in Beijing, China. It is listed in Hong Kong and also trades in Shanghai and New York . Sinopec is the worlds fifth biggest company by revenue.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Akzo Nobel NV has announced that it will expand its production of biodegradable chelates, which are used in the production of detergents, using one of Ineos Nitriles Ltd.'s chemical products, as per 4-traders.

The Dutch paints-and-coatings company said its specialty chemicals unit has signed a long-term co-operation agreement with Ineos Nitriles, a producer of acrylonitrile, which is used in the automotive, home-appliance, carbon-fiber and water-purification industries.

Ineos Nitriles is part of Ineos Group Holdings SA.

With this partnership, Akzo Nobel said its specialty chemicals unit will be able to expand its chelates production in Europe and that it will invest in Ineos's production facilities in Cologne, Germany.

Construction of the new facilities is expected to start later this year, with completion due in 2020.

Demand for high-quality chelates has been increasing in the last couple of years, particularly following the European ban on phosphates in consumer automatic dishwasher detergents, Akzo Nobel said.

As MRC reported earlier, in December 2016, AkzoNobel finalized the acquisition of BASF’s global Industrial Coatings business, which supplies a range of products for industries including construction, domestic appliances, wind energy and commercial transport, strengthening its position as the global number one supplier in coil coatings.

Akzo Nobel N.V., trading as AkzoNobel, is a Dutch multinational, active in the fields of decorative paints, performance coatings and specialty chemicals. Headquartered in Amsterdam, the company has activities in more than 80 countries, and employs approximately 55,000 people.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia's output of chemical products dropped in March by 2.3% year on year. Thus, this figure increased by 2.1% in the first quarter of 2018, according to Rosstat's data.

According to the Federal Service of State Statistics, last month's production of basic chemicals fell by 2.3% from March 2017, output of ethylene, some polymers and rubbers decreased. Overall production of chemical products grew in January-March 2018 by 2.1% year on year.

264,000 tonnes of ethylene were produced in March, compared to 245,000 tonnes a month earlier. 783,000 tonnes of this olefin were produced in the first three months of the year, up by only 1% year on year.

Last month's production of benzene rose to 134,000 tonnes from 125,000 tonnes in February. Overall output of this product reached 389,800 tonnes over the stated period, up by 3.5%year on year.

March production of sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) was 112,000 tonnes (100% of the basic substance) versus 104,000 tonnes a month earlier. Overall output of caustic soda grew to 329,000 tonnes in January-March 2018, up by 2.9% year on year.

Last month's production of mineral fertilizers was 2,046,000 tonnes (in terms of 100% nutrients) versus 1,967,000 tonnes in February. Overall, Russian plants produced about 6,032,000 tonnes of mineral fertilizers in the first three months of 2018, up by 4.4% year on year. Phosphorous fertilizers accounted for the greatest increase in production - up by 7.2% year on year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of unmixed polyvinyl chloride (PVC) into Belarus increased to 5,800 tonnes in the first two months of this year, up 64.4% year on year, according to MRC DataScope.

According to the statistical committee of the Republic of Belarus, local converters increased significantly their purchasing of PVC in February 2018 on the back of low prices of some suppliers and expectations of price rise in March.
February imports were 3,100 tonnes, compared to 2,700 tonnes a month earlier. Thus, PVC imports rose to 5,800 tonnes in January-February from 3,500 tonnes in the same time a year ago, with local windows producers accounting for the main increase in demand.

Russian producers with the share of 89% of the Belarusian market were the key suppliers of resin to Belarus in the first month of the year.
Producers from Germany and Ukraine were the second and third largest suppliers.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Praxair, Inc. has announced that it has begun supplying hydrogen to Marathon Petroleum Corporation’s refinery in Garyville, Louisiana, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Marathon Petroleum is one of the largest transportation fuels refiners in the U.S. and operates an integrated refining, marketing and transportation system in the Midwest, East, Southeast and Gulf Coast.

The Garyville refinery is the last major grassroots refinery that was built in the U.S. and is the third largest operating in the US today.

The hydrogen is supplied through a recently commissioned new extension to Praxair’s Southeast Louisiana pipeline network and is being used by Marathon Petroleum in an ultra-low-sulfur diesel project.

"Marathon Petroleum is a valued customer of Praxair and we are proud to be able to extend our relationship to include supplying hydrogen to their refinery in Louisiana," said Dan Yankowski, president of Praxair’s global hydrogen business. "Our extensive hydrogen system in the lower Mississippi River corridor has been expanded to support the region’s growing chemical and refining industries and this is a great example of how our robust and reliable supply capability is able to support such growth."

As MRC informed 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. OLEDs are used in a variety of products including televisions, mobile devices, digital cameras, virtual reality headsets and laptops. Praxair’s nitrogen is being used for cooling and purging applications in Samsung’s manufacturing process.
MRC