BASF ups capacity in China and Mexico

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF is planning to build an engineering plastics compounding facility and a TPU plant as part of its proposed verbund (integrated) site in Zhanjiang, China, said the company.

The Zhanjiang project will boost the company's overall production capacity for engineering plastic compounds in China by 60,000 tonnes/y and in the entire Asia-Pacific region to 290,000 tonnes/y. Capacity details for the TPU site were not disclosed. BASF will invest approximately USD10 bn to develop the site, which comes after the company signed a memorandum of understanding with the Guangdong Provincial Government in July 2018.

It is considered BASF's third largest site in the world after the facilities in Ludwigshafen, Germany, and Antwerp, Belgium.

The company recently commissioned 15,000 tonnes/y of additional capacity for its Ultramid PA and Ultradur PBT products at its compounding plant in Altamira, Mexico. The expansion brings BASF's global compounding capacity for PBT and PA to over 750,000 tonnes/y.

As MRC informed earlier, BASF would expand the capacity of ethylene oxide and ethylene oxide derivatives at its Verbund site in Antwerp, Belgium. The total investment adds about 400 000 tpy to BASF’s production capacity for the corresponding products with an expected investment amount exceeding EUR500 million.

Ethylene is a feedstock for producing polyethylene (PE).

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.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It 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) -- Celanese Corporation, a global chemical and specialty materials company, has increase list and off-list selling prices for Vinyl Acetate Monomer (VAM) sold in the Americas, said the producer on its site.

The price increases below are effective for orders shipped on or after 24 October 2019, or as contracts otherwise allow, and are incremental to any previously announced increases.

Thus, VAM prices rose, as follows:

- by USD0.05/lb - for the USA and Canada;
- by USD125/mt - for Mexico & South America.

As MRC reported earlier, Celanese also raised its October VAM prices in Europe, the Middle East and Africa by EUR70/mt.

According to MRC's DataScope report, September EVA imports to Russia fell by 22,7% year on year to 3,420 tonnes from 4,430 tonnes in September 2018, and overall imports of this grade of ethylene copolymer into the Russian Federation decreased in January-September 2019 by 18,2% year on year to 29,190 tonnes (35,690 tonnes in the first nine months of 2018).

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Based in Dallas, Celanese employs approximately 7,700 employees worldwide and had 2018 net sales of USD7.2 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Yanchang Petroleum Yan An Energy and Chemical has restarted its Methanol to olefin (MTO) plant following a maintenance turnaround, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the company has completed turnaround at the plant on October 14, 2019. The plant was shut for maintenance on August 28, 2019.

Located at Shaanxi in China, the MTP plant has an ethylene production capacity of 300,000 mt/year and propylene production capacity of 300,000 mt/year.

The company also operates petrochemical plants at the same site. Thus, located at Shaanxi in China, the polypropylene (PP) low density polyethylene (LDPE) & linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) units has a production capacity of 300,000 mt/year each.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,436,390 tonnes in the first eight months of 2019, up by 9% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, the PP consumption in the Russian market was 909,260 tonnes in January-August 2019, up by 10% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.

Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum (Group) Corp. Ltd.(abbreviated as Yanchang Petroleum Group), directly attached to Shaanxi People’s Provincial Government, is one of the four qualified enterprises for oil and gas exploration in China. In 1905, Yanchang Petroleum Factory was established; in 1907, drilled the first oil well in mainland China; in 1998 and 2005, two great restructurings were undertaken, resulting in integration and reorganization of Shaanxi YanchangPetroleum (Group) Co. Ltd. and in 2012, it ranked No.89 among top 500 Chinese companies.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC)-- Lubrizol hopes to resume operations at its plant at Rouen in northwest France following a fire last month, said the company.

The precise date for a restart remains unclear. On September 26, a fire impacted Lubrizol production facility in Rouen, France.

Lubrizol’s Rouen site produces lubricant additives used in transportation and industrial applications. Production includes components for engine oils and components for hydraulic fluids. The fire and clouds of soot from it impacted Rouen and parts of northern France, raising health and environmental concerns.

The company will provide support for farmers who experienced loss as a result of the fire, and it will provide support for local businesses that were impacted as well as support for cleaning services, among other measures, he said.

The precise cause of the fire remains unclear.

As MRC informed earlier, Lubrizol has launched two thermoplastic polyurethane resins for hot melt adhesives (HMAs). The products belong to the plasticiser-free Pearlbond 300 TPU series that stands out for its low activation temperatures and good bonding properties to various substrates.

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.

The Lubrizol Corporation, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is an innovative specialty chemical company that apart from its production develops and supplies technologies to customers in the global transportation, industrial and consumer markets. Lubrizol is providing innovative solutions for its customers high-performance application needs and remains committed to ongoing investment in its CPVC capabilities that support future growth. With headquarters in Wickliffe, Ohio, Lubrizol owns and operates manufacturing facilities in 17 countries, as well as sales and technical offices around the world. Founded in 1928, Lubrizol has approximately 8,000 employees worldwide.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Biofuels groups have filed a petition in the U.S. court of appeals in Washington against the Environmental Protection Agency, challenging the agency’s process for granting refineries exemptions to the nation’s biofuel blending mandates, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The petition, filed by groups such as the Renewable Fuels Association, the American Coalition for Ethanol, and Growth Energy, challenges the EPA’s process for granting waivers to 31 oil refineries for 2018. The biofuels industry has criticized the Trump administration for expanding the number of waivers granted in recent years, claiming the exemptions undercut demand for fuels such as corn-based ethanol.

"We are going to hold the EPA accountable under the law for the damage it has done to rural communities, biofuel producers, and farm families," said Growth Energy Chief Executive Emily Skor.

Since August, when the EPA announced waivers for 2018, the Trump administration has tried to mend fences with the biofuels industry and corn lobby. Last week the EPA proposed a plan to boost biofuels demand that would base biofuel volumes required for blending on exemptions recommended by the U.S. Energy Department. The plan was met by further consternation from industry leaders.

"EPA continues to implement the Renewable Fuel Standard program in accordance with the Clean Air Act, taking into consideration additional direction from Congress, recommendations from Department of Energy, and relevant court decisions," EPA spokesman Michael Abboud said.
MRC