Hexion to add phenolic resin capacity at Brimbank facility

MOSCOW (MRC)--US thermoset resins producer Hexion will expand its plant at Brimbank near Melbourne, Australia by adding phenolic resin capacity, as part of its strategy to expand its adhesives and binders business, said the company.

The addition at the facility is expected to meet the increasing demand for phenolic resins for several applications, including fire-resistant cladding material for commercial, residential and institutional properties.

Construction of a new reactor and associated infrastructure is to begin early next year, with startup of production expected in Q1 2021, Hexion said in a statement this week. Financial or capacity details were not disclosed.

The new capacity will help Hexion meet growing regional demand for phenolic resins in a range of commercial, institutional and residential applications.

“As the main phenolic resin producer in Australia, we remain committed to growing with our regional customers and delivering innovative solutions,” said Rob Schmidt, Hexion vice president and managing director, Asia Pacific.

Adhesives and phenolic resins are used as binders in construction applications, especially where there is a need for high heat performance and long-term durability. Phenolic adhesives are used for load-bearing engineered wood members such as structural plywood and laminated veneer lumber to provide thermal stability at high temperatures.

As MRC informed earlier, Hexion plans to resume production of BPA in Pernis (Pernis, Netherlands) in the third week of November after a scheduled repair. This production with a capacity of 120 thousand tons of BPA per year was closed in the last week of October.

Phenol is the main feedstock component for the production of bisphenol A (BPA), which, in its turn, is used to produce polycarbonate (PC).

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, Russia's estimated consumption of polycarbonate (PC) rose in in the first three quarters of 2019 by 11% year on year to 61,000 tonnes (54,800 tonnes a year earlier). Consumption in the injection moulding sector grew in the first nine months of 2019 by 10% year on year to 7,900 tonnes from 7,200 tonnes a year earlier.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil and FuelCell Energy have signed a new two-year expanded joint development agreement to enhance carbonate fuel cell technology in order to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from industrial facilities, said Gasworld.

Worth up to USD60m, the agreement will focus on optimising the core technology, process integration and large-scale deployment of carbon capture solutions.

FuelCell Energy’s technology uses carbonate fuel cells to capture and concentrate CO2 stream from large industrial sources. Combustion exhaust is directed to the fuel cell which produces power while capturing and concentration CO2 for permanent storage.

ExxonMobil and FuelCell Energy have been working together since 2016 with a focus on carbonate fuel cells and how to increase efficiency in separating and concentration CO2 from the exhaust of natural gas-fuelled power generation.

As MRC informed before, in September 2019, ExxonMobil announced plans to spend GBP140 million over the next two years in an additional investment program at its Fife ethylene plant, which has a capacity of more than 800,000 t/y.

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.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world's oil and about 2% of the world's energy.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Borouge, the Abu Dhabi polymers producer, has joined Project STOP, the programme co-founded by parent company Borealis to prevent ocean plastic leakage, said Borealis in its press release.

Establishing new solutions and models that can be rapidly scaled up across the whole plastics chain, from plastic usage to waste collection and recycling.

Project STOP, co-founded by Borealis and SYSTEMIQ to prevent ocean plastic leakage, welcomes Borouge, a leading petrochemicals company that provides innovative and value creating plastics solutions, as a strategic partner, joining the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, NOVA Chemicals, Nestle and the Alliance to End Plastic Waste.

“Project STOP’s positive impact is proof that partnerships between industry and government can generate effective solutions for sustainable waste management and the prevention of marine litter,” said Alfred Stern, Borealis Chief Executive. “We are pleased that Borouge, our Joint Venture with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), has decided to increase their engagement and become a strategic partner in Project STOP. We also look forward to welcoming new partners and alliances on our journey to scale up this industry-leading initiative, which is an important step towards creating a circular economy for plastics."

Since its inception, Project STOP has welcomed a number of strategic partners, the newest one being Borouge, which originally joined the project in 2017 as a supporting partner. Project STOP works hand in hand with local municipalities and environmental agencies in Southeast Asia to contribute to developing a low cost and circular waste management infrastructure through city partnership projects in Indonesia.

Project STOP partners with industry players, as well as governments and the local community, and has three key objectives: to achieve zero leakage of waste into the environment, increase resource efficiency and recycle more plastics, as well as create benefits for the local communities. Since the launch of Project STOP’s first city partnership in Muncar, in 2018, 1,800 tonnes of waste, of which 300 tonnes are plastic, have been collected. Furthermore, 60 local jobs have been created and waste management collection has been made accessible to more than 30,000 people, most of them for the first time.

Borouge is 40% owned by the Austrian polymers and fertilizers major, with the remaining 60% belonging to Abu Dhabi’s national oil company ADNOC.

Other members of Project STOP include the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, NOVA Chemicals, Nestle and the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW). Project STOP is working with local municipalities and environmental agencies in southeast Asia to develop a circular waste management infrastructure through city partnership projects in Indonesia.

As MRC informed in the late October, The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Adani Group (Adani), BASF SE (BASF) and Borealis AG (Borealis) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to engage in a joint feasibility study to further evaluate a collaboration for the establishment of a chemical complex in Mundra, Gujarat, India. The collaboration includes evaluating a joint world-scale propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant to produce propylene based on propane feedstock to be supplied by ADNOC. Propylene will be partially used as feedstock for a polypropylene (PP) complex, owned by ADNOC and Borealis, based on proprietary state-of-the-art Borealis Borstar technology.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, 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.

Borealis is a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers. With headquarters in Vienna, Austria, Borealis currently employs around 6,500 and operates in over 120 countries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Fujian Refining & Petrochemical (FREP), has resumed operations at its No. 3 Polypropylene (PP) unit, following an unplanned maintenance, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China, informed that, the company has brought on-stream its unit on November 2, 2019. The unit was taken off-line on October 27, 2019.

Located in Fujian province, China, the No. 3 PP unit has a production capacity of 220,000 mt/year.

As MRC reported earlier, FREP restarted its No.3 PP plant in Fujian Province on September 23, 2018, 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.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, the estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 976,790 tonnes in January-September 2019, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.

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) -- Chevron is to sell its stakes in Azerbaijan's ACG oil complex and the BTC export pipeline to Hungary's MOL for USD1.57 billion, reported S&P Global with reference to MOL's statement Monday.

Chevron said last December it was looking to sell its 9.57% stake in the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli field and its 8.9% stake in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which runs from the Caspian coast to Turkey's Mediterranean coast.

ExxonMobil has also been looking to sell its slightly smaller stakes in the same assets, both of which are operated by BP, as the US majors pare back non-core assets.

In a statement, MOL said the purchase would strengthen its position in the Commonwealth of Independent States and would mean half the company's upstream production would come from outside Central and Eastern Europe.

It noted the ACG field, with around 3 billion barrels of reserves, had produced 584,000 b/d of crude oil last year, only a slight decline on the previous year, and the license had been extended to 2049 under a deal agreed in 2017.

It described the field as a "low-cost producing asset, which would be breaking even in a lower-oil price environment, with limited investment needs."

The deal, which will have an effective date of January 1, 2019 and should be completed in the second quarter next year, "is a significant milestone in building our international Exploration & Production portfolio, in one of our core regions, the CIS, where we will team up with world-class partners," MOL chairman and CEO Zsolt Hernadi said.

Azerbaijan's oil production is seen as broadly in decline, but has been supported by continued investment at the ACG complex, including a $6-billion investment in new facilities announced in April.

The 1,800-km (1,116-mile) BTC pipeline through the Caucasus mountains, regarded as an engineering feat when it began operating in 2006, is under-utilized as it has not been much used for transporting crude from other countries in the region, including Kazakhstan, where Chevron is the largest investor. Crude from the Chevron-led Tengiz project in Kazakhstan is almost entirely exported as CPC blend through the CPC pipeline across southern Russia to the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk.

Chevron announced Friday a 25% cost increase in an expansion project at Tengiz intended to lift output to around 900,000 b/d, as well as a delay of about a year to the project.

As MRC informed previously, in March 2018, Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP, part of Chevron Corporation, successfully introduced feedstock and commenced operations of a new ethane cracker at its Cedar Bayou facility in Baytown, Texas. At peak production, the unit will produce 1.5 million metric tons/3.3 billion lbs. per year. This unit is one of the largest and most energy efficient crackers in the world.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,589,580 tonnes in the first nine months of 2019, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 976,790 tonnes in January-September 2019, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.

Headquartered in San Ramon, California, Chevron Corporation is the the second-largest integrated energy company in the United States and among the largest corporations in the world. Chevron is involved in upstream activities including exploration and production, downstream activities including refining, marketing and transportation, and advanced energy technology. Chevron is also invested in power generation and gasification processes.
MRC