HIPS and GPPS imports to Kazakhstan fell by 28% in Jan-Jul 2019

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Overall imports of general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) and high impact polystyrene (HIPS) to Kazakhstan decreased in the first seven months of 2019 by 28% year on year to 3,780 tonnes, according to MRC's DataScope report.

This figure was at 5,100 tonnes in January-July 2019.

July imports of material into the country grew by 12% to 700 tonnes from 600 tonnes a month earlier. HIPS and GPPS imports into Kazakhstan were 1,100 tonnes in July 2018.

HIPS and GPPS are shipped to Kazakhstan mainly from Russia. Russia accounted for 61% or 2,700 tonnes in the total imports.
MRC

Total Port Arthur, Texas refinery cuts coker production

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Total SA cut production on the coker at its 225,500 barrel-per-day (bpd) Port Arthur, Texas, refinery on 19 September because of heavy lightning, reported Reuters with reference to sources familiar with plant operations.

Total cannot operate the crane that clears coke dumped from the 60,000 bpd coker during heavy lightning, the sources said. Running one train instead of two won’t overwhelm the coke pit.

As MRC informed before, in June 2019, Total started up a biodiesel refinery in La Mede in southern France using palm oil. The start-up of the 500,000 tons-per-year refinery was delayed several times.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polyprolypele (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,255,800 tonnes in the first seven months of 2019, up by 9% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, the estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 796,120 tonnes in January-July 2019, up by 11% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.

Total S.A. is a French multinational oil and gas company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world with business in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. The company's petrochemical products cover two main groups: base chemicals and the consumer polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene) that are derived from them.
MRC

Lyondellbasell shut its cracker in La Porte because of blooding

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell, one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world, shut down its cracker in La Porte (Texas, USA) on 19 September because of the flooding, caused by the tropical storm Imelda, reported S&P Global with reference to the company's file sent to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).

According to the company's statement, this plant, which can produce 1,150,000 tonnes of ethylene per year, was shut last Wednesday when water entered a building containing electrical components and damaged critical process control equipment.

Imelda, which came ashore as a tropical storm on Tuesday near Freeport, Texas, and then parked above southeast Texas dumped more than 40 inches of rain in areas just southwest of Beaumont and more than 30 inches in the city from Monday through Friday, according to the National Weather Service. Beaumont and nearby Port Arthur, Texas, took 47 inches of rain two years ago when Hurricane Harvey pounded Houston and southeast Texas with unprecedented rainfall.

Houston had largely been spared Imelda's rains until Thursday, when storm bands slowly moved through the city, filling up bayous that drain into the Houston Ship Channel, pushing some out of their banks. Both airports shut down for the day, having taken 10 or more inches of water.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polyprolypele (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,255,800 tonnes in the first seven months of 2019, up by 9% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, the estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 796,120 tonnes in January-July 2019, up by 11% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.

LyondellBasell is one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world. Driven by its employees around the globe, LyondellBasell produces materials and products that are key to advancing solutions to modern challenges like enhancing food safety through lightweight and flexible packaging, protecting the purity of water supplies through stronger and more versatile pipes, improving the safety, comfort and fuel efficiency of many of the cars and trucks on the road, and ensuring the safe and effective functionality in electronics and appliances. LyondellBasell sells products into more than 100 countries and is the world's largest producer of polymer compounds and the largest licensor of polyolefin technologies.
MRC

HMEL advances Guru Gobind Singh refinery petchem projec

MOSCOW (MRC) -- HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd. (HMEL) has let two contracts to a consortium of Maire Tecnimont SPA subsidiaries to provide engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning services for implementation of two petrochemical units to be located adjacent to HMEL’s 9 million-tonne/year Guru Gobind Singh refinery at Village Phullokhari, about 35 km from Bathinda in India’s northern state of Punjab, said Ogj.

As part of the lump-sum contracts, Tecnimont SPA and Tecnimont Private Ltd. will deliver EPCC services for a 450,000-tpy high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and a 500,000-tpy polypropylene (PP) unit at the site, Maire Tecnimont said.

Valued at about USD225 million, the two contracts include EPCC services up to the performance guarantees test run of the monomer purification sections and the polymerization areas, the service provider said.

The consortium’s scope of work on the project will last 25 months to mechanical completion.

The HDPE and PP units come as part of HMEL’s proposal to build an integrated petrochemical manufacturing site (Guru Gobind Singh Polymer Additions Complex) within Guru Gobind Singh’s existing refinery complex to help maximize returns as well as expand its product portfolio.

Alongside the HDPE and PP units, the new complex will feature a mixed-feed 1.2 million-tpy ethylene plant—expandable to 1.5 million tpy—which will include the steam cracker, refinery off-gas treatment unit, C4 hydrogenation unit, pyrolysis gasoline hydrogenation unit, and benzene extraction unit.

The petrochemical addition also will include a 55,000-tpy butene-1 unit and two 400,000-tpy linear low-density/HDPE swing units, according to documents filed with India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (EFCC).

EFCC documents also show the project will involve the addition of captive utility generation installations (recirculating cooling-water system, compressed air system, inert gas system, fuel gas system, flare system, condensate polishing unit, and demineralization water treatment system) as well as offsite-storage facilities for the following:

The proposed petrochemical expansion comes alongside HMEL’s execution of its 11 billion-rupee upgrading project to meet Bharat Stage (BS) 6-grade (equivalent to Euro 6-quality) fuel specifications at the Guru Gobind Singh refinery as part of the public-private partnership’s broader plans to expand the manufacturing site’s crude processing capacity to 11.25 million tpy from its current 9 million-tpy capacity (OGJ Online, June 26, 2017).

Approved for environmental clearance by EFCC in June 2015, the capacity expansion, now under way, includes a combination of new units as well as debottlenecking work at existing units to improve throughput rates.

The BS 6-grade fuel specifications project is scheduled to be commissioned by September 2019, according to HMEL, a joint venture of state-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd. and privately held Mittal Energy Investment Pte. Ltd., Singapore.

AS MRC informed earlier, HPCL-Mittal Energy Limited, or HMEL, will start a new 500,000 mt/year polypropylene (PP) plant in Bhatinda in 2021. The company has an existing 440,000 mt/year PP unit at the same site.

As per MRC ScanPlast, August PP production in the country decreased to 119,000 tonnes, compared with 122,700 tonnes in July; SIBUR Tobolsk decreased their capacity utilisation. Russia"s overall PP production reached 973,700 tonnes in January-August 2019, compared to 954,100 tonnes a year earlier. Only Poliom reduced production volume, and the largest increase in output was shown by Tomskneftekhim.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) is an Indian state-owned oil and natural gas company with its headquarters at Mumbai, Maharashtra and with Navratna status. HPCL has about 25% marketing share in India among PSUs and a strong marketing infrastructure. The Government of India owns 51.11% shares in HPCL and others are distributed amongst financial institutes, public and other investors.

MRC

Ineos reduced capacity utilisation at No. 2 cracker in Texas because of flooding

MOSCOW (MRC) -- No. 2 cracker of Ineos, one of the world's largest petrochemical companies, in Chocolate Bayou (Texas, USA) near Alvin, south of Houston tripped amid rain and flooding on 19, September, 2019, reported S&P Global with reference to the company's file sent to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).

This plant can produce 925,000 tonnes of ethylene and 280,000 tonnes of propylene per year. It later on Thursday resumed normal operations.

Imelda, which came ashore as a tropical storm on Tuesday near Freeport, Texas, and then parked above southeast Texas dumped more than 40 inches of rain in areas just southwest of Beaumont and more than 30 inches in the city from Monday through Friday, according to the National Weather Service. Beaumont and nearby Port Arthur, Texas, took 47 inches of rain two years ago when Hurricane Harvey pounded Houston and southeast Texas with unprecedented rainfall.

Houston had largely been spared Imelda's rains until Thursday, when storm bands slowly moved through the city, filling up bayous that drain into the Houston Ship Channel, pushing some out of their banks. Both airports shut down for the day, having taken 10 or more inches of water.

The company also operates another cracker at this site, the combined capacity of two crackers in Chocolate Bayou is 2,000,000 of ethylene and 515,000 tonnes of propylene per year.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polyprolypele (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,255,800 tonnes in the first seven months of 2019, up by 9% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, the estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 796,120 tonnes in January-July 2019, up by 11% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.

Ineos AG provides chemical products and services. The Company manufactures of petrochemicals, specialty chemicals and oil products. Ineos primarily operates in Switzerland and servers customers globally.
MRC