Formosa Plastics completes maintenance at PP units

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Formosa Plastics, part of Formosa Petrochemical (FPCC), has restarted its two polypropylene (PP) units following a maintenance turnaround, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the company has resumed operations at the units on October 30, 2018. The units remained under maintnance for about three weeks.

Located at Ningbo in China, the two units have a production capacity of 170,000 mt/year and 280,000 mt/year each.

As MRC reported previously, FPCC undertook an emergency shutdown at its No. 1 cracker in Mailiao on March 19, 2018 owing to technical issues. The plant remained off-line for around one day. Located at Mailiao in Taiwan, the No. 1 cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 700,000 mt/year, propylene production capacity of 350,000 mt/year and butadiene production capacity of 109,000 mt/year.

Formosa Petrochemical is involved primarily in the business of refining crude oil, selling refined petroleum products and producing and selling olefins (including ethylene, propylene, butadiene and BTX) from its naphtha cracking operations. Formosa Petrochemical is also the largest olefins producer in Taiwan and its olefins products are mostly sold to companies within the Formosa Group. Among the company's chemical products are paraxylene (PX), phenyl ethylene, acetone and pure terephthalic acid (PTA). The company's plastic products include acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) resins, polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP) and panlite (PC).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sinopec International and Sinopec-SK (Wuhan) Petrochemical Co. (Wuhan) have selected LyondellBasell's Hostalen ACP (Advanced Cascade Process) technology for a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plant in China, as per Apic-online.

The new 300,000-t/y HDPE unit, to be built in Wuhan, Hubei Province, will be the ninth Hostalen ACP line licensed in China, LyondellBasell noted. A schedule for the project was not given.

"With our leading low-pressure slurry process and extensive technical support, we are confident that the new plant will enable Sinopec International and Wuhan to meet their production goals delivering HDPE products with outstanding properties," said Jim Seward, vice president technology business, sustainability and O&P EAI JV management at LyondellBasell.

As MRC wrote before, Sinopec Corp shut down its largest refinery for maintenance throughout May 2018, and at least four independent oil plants had started overhauls that month, curbing China's crude oil demand.

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) -- Fujian Refining & Petrochemical (FREP) has shut its No. 1 & 2 polyethylene (PE) units for a maintenance turnaround, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the company has commenced turnaround at the units on October 28-30, 2018. The units are expected to remain off-line until end-December, 2018.

Located in Fujian province, China, the No.1 & 2 units have a production capacity of 500,000 mt/year each.

As MRC informed previously, FREP restarted its No.3 polypropylene (PP) plant in Fujian on September 23, following an unplanned outage. The plant was taken off-line on September 18, 2018 owing to a technical issues. Located in Fujian province, China, the No. 3 PP plant has a production capacity of 220,000 mt/year.

The company also operates other two PP plants at the same location with production capacity of 120,000 mt/year and 360,000 mt/year.

FREP is a joint venture between Fujian Petrochemical Co. (50%), ExxonMobil China Petroleum and Petrochemical Co. (25%) and Saudi Aramco Sino Co. (25%). Fujian Petrochemical is a 50:50 JV between Sinopec and the Fujian provincial government.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will announce plans to propose new rules to significantly decrease emissions of smog-forming nitrogen oxide from diesel-powered heavy-duty trucks, an agency official said, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Industry groups and state environmental officials have urged the EPA to set new nationwide rules as the state of California has been moving forward with plans to set new state emissions limits. California also wants nationwide rules, in part because more than half of all trucks delivering goods in the state are registered in other states.

The EPA said in a statement it had scheduled a formal announcement on Tuesday with industry executives and state environmental officials regarding its "Cleaner Trucks Initiative," but did not immediately disclose details. The effort to impose a new regulatory limit by the EPA comes as the Trump administration has generally touted its efforts to eliminate regulations. But the effort on nitrogen oxide (NOx) is backed by industry, which wants to avoid a patchwork of federal and state standards, the official said.

The official asked not to be identified because the announcement was still pending. In December 2016, the Obama-led EPA said in response to petitions to impose new standards that it acknowledged "a need for additional NOx reductions from on-highway heavy-duty engines, particularly in areas of the country with elevated levels of air pollution" and said it planned to propose new rules that could begin in the 2024 model year.

Local and state air quality and other agencies including New York City, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Los Angeles, Washington State had petitioned for the rules. Another administration official said Monday the new proposed emissions rules may not be written and announced until 2020.

Nitrogen oxide emissions are linked to significant health impacts and can exacerbate asthma attacks, the EPA has said. The current heavy-duty truck rules for NOx were adopted in 2000 and took effect over the following decade.

In the aftermath of Volkswagen AG's light-duty diesel emissions scandal, in which the German automaker admitted to secretly using software to evade emissions rules, the EPA has taken steps to insure that diesel cars and SUVs are meeting emissions requirements in on-road use.

The new NOx heavy-duty truck rules may also include new tests or other regulatory steps to ensure that vehicles and their engines are complying during real-world driving, the official said.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Spain plans to propose a ban on sales of petrol, diesel and hybrid cars from 2040, government sources said, joining a string of countries taking aim at polluting vehicles to help cut greenhouse gas emissions, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The plan is included in a draft document for a law on climate change which Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's government hopes to present to parliament by the end of the year.

"Some of the most important necessary changes affect transport," the document said. "From 2040, the registration and sale in Spain of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles that directly emit carbon dioxide will not be permitted."

Once finalized, the climate change law will require approval by parliament, where Sanchez holds less than a quarter of the seats. Sanchez has struggled to find support for any major proposals, including next year's budget, in the face of opposition led by the conservative People's Party which dominates the upper and lower houses.

Britain and France have already pledged to ban petrol and diesel cars from 2040, which will mean big changes for the global car industry and put a squeeze on oil producers' profits.

Some British politicians have said London should bring the ban forward to 2032, a more ambitious deadline already adopted by Scotland, while Denmark wants to make the move by 2030. Underlining his green ambitions, Sanchez brought environment and energy together into one ministry, which has since passed measures aimed at reducing electricity prices and favors promoting renewable energy.

Under the current climate change plan, Madrid aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions to at least 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. The European Union as a whole aims to reduce emissions by at least 40 percent by 2030.
MRC