PVC imports to Belarus rose by 13.5% in January-October

MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of unmixed polyvinyl chloride (PVC) into Belarus increased to 32,200 tonnes in the first ten months of this year, up 13.5% year on year, according to MRC DataScope.

According to the Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus, local converters slightly reduced their purchasing of PVC in October 2019, overall imports totalled 3,000 tonnes, compared to 3,300 tonnes a month earlier.
Thus, imports of unmixed PVC reached 32,200 tonnes in January-October 2019 versus 28,300 tonnes a year earlier, with local windows producers accounting for a increase in demand.

Russian producers with the share of about 83% of the Belarusian market were the key suppliers of resin to Belarus over the stated period.

Producers from Ukraine and Germany with the share of 9% and 5%, respectively, were the second and third largest suppliers.
MRC

Sasol ramps up Lake Charles ethane cracker output

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sasol announced that the LCCP Ethane Cracker is increasing production rates following the successful replacement of the acetylene reactor catalyst, reported Kemicalinfo.

Sasol’s Ethane Cracker achieved beneficial operation in August 2019 but has run approximately 50-60% of nameplate capacity due to underperformance of the plant’s acetylene removal system. The company stated that the issue has now been resolved.

"The outage to replace the catalyst was successfully completed on schedule and within budget. Following the outage, the unit was started up smoothly and ethylene production rates are approximately 85-90% of nameplate capacity and are increasing," the company said in a statement.

Sasol said that the ethylene quality produced meets US Gulf Coast ethylene pipeline specifications.

The company is also looking forward to the completion of the LCCP Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) Unit which is being commissioned with beneficial operation expected later in December 2019.

The remaining three downstream units under construction to complete the integrated LCCP site, Ziegler Alcohols and Alumina, Alcohol Ethoxylates, and Guerbet Alcohols, remain on cost and schedule as per company’s previous guidance.

As MRC informed previously, Sasol's world-scale US ethane cracker reached beneficial operation on 27 August 2019. The company's new cracker, the heart of our Lake Charles Chemicals Project (LCCP), is the third and most significant of the seven LCCP facilities to come online and will provide feedstock to our six new derivative units at our Lake Charles multi-asset site. Sasol’s Lake Charles Ethane Cracker, which uses Technip Stone & Webster technology, is one of the largest in the world with a nameplate capacity of 1.54 million tons per year. Approximately 90% of the Cracker's ethylene output will be further processed into commodity and high-margin specialty chemicals for markets in which Sasol has a strong position, underpinned by collaborative customer relationships.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,724,670 tonnes in the first ten months of 2019, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market in January-October 2019 totalled 1,066,520 tonnes, up by 7% year on year. Supply of block copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymer) and homopolymer of propylene (homopolymer PP) increased, demand for statistical copolymers (PP random copolymer) decreased.

Sasol is an international integrated chemicals and energy company that leverages technologies and the expertise of our 31 270 people working in 32 countries. The company develops and commercialises technologies, and builds and operates world-scale facilities to produce a range of high-value product stream, including liquid fuels, petrochemicals and low-carbon electricity.
MRC

Ukrainian imports of PP in January-November remained at the level of 2018

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ukraine's polypropylene (PP) imports totalled about 123,400 tonnes in the eleven months of the year, which virtually corresponded to the 2018 figure. The greatest increase in imports occurred for PP block copolymers, according to MRC DataScope.

November PP imports to Ukraine increased to 11,100 tonnes from 10,800 tonnes a month earlier, local companies increased their purchasing of homopolymer PP in Russia. Overall imports of propylene polymers reached 123,400 tonnes in January-November 2019, compared to 122,800 tonnes a year earlier. The increase in imports accounted on the PP block copolymers, then the demand for homopolymer PP also slightly increased, for other types of copolymers sawed a decrease in external supplies.

The structure of PP imports by grades looked the following way over the stated period.

November imports of propylene homopolymers to the Ukrainian market grew due to growth in supplies from Russia and amounted to about 8,300 tonnes against 7,700 tonnes a month earlier. Overall shipments of homopolymer PP reached 93,800 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2019 versus 93,200 tonnes a year earlier.

Last month's imports of block propylene copolymers (PP block copolymers) were 1,000 tonnes, compared to 1,500 tonnes in October. Imports of PP block copolymers into the country were about 13,100 tonnes in January-November, compared with 12,200 tonnes year on year.


November imports of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) rose to 1,600 tonnes from 1,400 tonnes a month earlier due to stronger demand for injection moulding PP. Overall imports of PP random copolymers reached 14,800 tonnes in January-November 2018, whereas this figure was 15,300 tonnes a year earlier.

Total imports of other propylene copolymers over the reporting period were about 1,700 tonnes, compared with 2,100 tonnes in the same time a year earlier.

MRC

Russia plans major PE complex on Baltic coast

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A giant Russian gas chemical complex, due to produce nearly 3m tonnes of polymer-grade ethylene annually, will soon begin taking shape near Ust-Luga on the country’s Baltic coast, said Plasticsnewseurope.

Slated to become the world’s biggest ethylene integration project, RusGazDobycha’s Baltic Chemical Complex is set to include two steam cracking sites, each capable of turning out 1.4m tpa.

The complex will also include six polyethylene lines with combined yearly processing capacity of 480,000 tonnes.

Baltic Chemical Complex is linked to another major upstream project, set to emerge nearby on the Gulf of Finland coast close to Ust-Luga in Russia’s Leningrad region.

Russian oil and gas company RusGazDobycha and the country’s gas giant Gazprom signed a partnership deal in March 2019 which included detailed planning for a liquid natural gas (LNG) project, also to manufacture ethane and liquid petroleum gas (LPG) at Ust-Luga.

The €100m RusKhimAlyans joint venture is set to process 45 billion m3 of natural gas to produce 13 million tonnes of LNG, around 2.4 million tonnes of LPG and up to 3.8 million tonnes of ethane fraction. Ethane output will feed the ethylene crackers at RusGazDobycha’s nearby chemical complex, according to Gazprom.

The venture, which is due to create more than 5,000 permanent jobs, will draw the ethane-containing natural gas from the Achimov and Valanginian deposits of Nadym-Pur-Taz in northern Russia to be supplied by Gazprom.

The LNG complex’s full plant construction south of the port of Ust-Luga, is scheduled to take around five years to complete with the first stage ready by the second half of 2023 and the second phase finished in late 2024.

Recent media reports pointed out the Gazprom/RusGasDobycha LNG project as an example of Russia’s recent strategy of limiting the effects of tougher western sanctions. Russia is said to be steering clear of cooperation deals with western energy companies to avoid becoming dependent on western technology or financing.

Gazprom was formerly in talks with Shell about the Baltic LNG project but then, suddenly earlier this year, Gazprom teamed up instead with RusGazDobycha. Shell dropped out of the proposed project soon afterwards.

This complex will go some way to meeting high and growing demand for ethane in Russia’s domestic market. Production capacity at the complex is expected to increase in the future. It will also allow Russia to export both LNG and LPG.

Meanwhile, Chinese engineering management and expertise feature in the construction of the RusGazDobycha ethylene complex.

Last month (Nov), Baltic Chemical and China National Chemical Engineering No.7 Construction Co., the general contractor for the RusGazDobycha ethylene complex, awarded contracts to the US firm McDermott International Inc. for its Lummus ethylene steam cracking technology licensing and engineering at that site.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,724,670 tonnes in the first ten months of 2019, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market in January-October 2019 totalled 1,066,520 tonnes, up by 7% year on year. Supply of block copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymer) and homopolymer of propylene (homopolymer PP) increased, demand for statistical copolymers (PP random copolymer) decreased.
MRC

ExxonMobil shuts PE plant in France

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil has halted PE production at its site in Notre Dame de Gravenchon, France due to commercial reasons, without providing further details, reported NCT with reference to sources familiar with the issue.

The company was not available for comment at the time of press.

The site houses 500,000 tons/year of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) plant, including metallocene linear low density polyethylene (MLLDPE).

As MRC informed before, ExxonMobil's cracker at Notre Dame de Gravenchon, France, had an "unexpected stoppage" on Friday, 6 December, following a technical failure this October. An electric fire Saturday morning, 19 October, 2019, on the ExxonMobil facilities in Notre-Dame-de-Gravenchon (Seine Maritime) resulted in a plume of smoke, below the regulatory thresholds, which could remain visible for several days.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,724,670 tonnes in the first ten months of 2019, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades 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