Tosoh Quartz Corporation to establish subsidiary corporation and production facility in South Korea

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Tosoh Quartz Corporation, a group company of Tosoh Corporation that is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, will establish a subsidiary corporation and a quartzware production facility in South Korea, said the company.

It plans to have the subsidiary corporation established before the end of fiscal year 2020, and to start production at the production facility within fiscal 2021.

Tosoh Quartz Corporation will make a capital investment in South Korea as the nation plays a major role in the growing demand for semiconductors. The South Korea-based quartzware production facility will join its sister companies in Japan and Taiwan to further strengthen the company’s quartzware manufacturing capabilities. It will feature world-class technologies and will continue to expand on the expertise accumulated through the company’s operations in Japan and Taiwan to respond to the rising global demand for quartzware.

The global semiconductor and quartzware markets are forecast to expand. The forecast anticipates growing demand for semiconductors for increased smartphone data capacity, for Internet of Things (IoT) devices, for artificial intelligence (AI) uses, and for a rising number of automotive applications spurred by the advancement of electric vehicle and autonomous driving technologies. Tosoh Quartz Corporation’s implementation of its plans in South Korea will ensure that the Tosoh Group keeps pace with this rapidly expanding demand. The company’s Korean operations will also boost the profitability of Tosoh’s advanced materials businesses.

As MRC reported previously, Tosoh Corp restarted its 527,000 tpa naphtha cracker in Yokkaichi, central Japan, after planned maintenance in mid-April, 2016. The cracker was shut on 8 March, 2016. The company also conducted an unscheduled turnaround at this cracker from 20 to 26 February, 2019.

The company runs two low-density polyethylene (LDPE) lines with a combined production capacity of 56,000 mt/year and a 43,000 mt/year LDPE/ ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA) swing plant at the same site. It also runs 120,000 mt/year high density polyethylene (HDPE) plant.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,904,410 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments increased from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,161,830 tonnes in January-November 2019, up by 7% year on year. Deliveries of all grades of propylene polymers increased, with the homopolymer PP segment accounting for the largest increase.

Tosoh is one of the largest chlor-alkali manufacturers in Asia. The company supplies the plastic resins and an array of the basic chemicals that support modern life. Tosoh's petrochemical operations supply ethylene, polymers, and polyethylene.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- France's CGT union said on Friday it would continue a strike over the government's planned pension reform at refineries and petrol depots until 16 January, extending by almost a week a four-day action that started on 7 January, reported Reuters.

The decision comes the day after new nationwide protest marches that failed to break the stalemate between government and unions after a more-than month-old public sector strike.

The action at refineries aims to cause shortages at petrol stations, which has not occurred yet, according to authorities.

As MRC informed before, French oil major Total said earlier that strikes against the government’s pension reform were having no impact on its fuel supply and distribution ahead of a four-day nationwide strike in French oil refineries.

We also remind that in November 2019, Total disclosed that it is evaluating construction of a new gas cracker at its Deasan, South Korea, joint venture (JV) with Hanwha Chemical.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,904,410 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments increased from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,161,830 tonnes in January-November 2019, up by 7% year on year. Deliveries of all grades of propylene polymers increased, with the homopolymer PP segment accounting for the largest increase.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Spanish energy giant Repsol plans to buy and sell more assets in a drive to get stronger in a smaller number of markets, after weak energy prices prompted it to cut capital spending and core profits forecasts, reported Reuters with reference to its CEO's statement.

CEO Josu Jon Imaz said the company now expected capital spending (capex) for 2018-2020 to be EUR12.5-13.5 billion (USD13.9-15.0 billion), including EUR500 million on renewable energy assets. That is down from EUR15 billion previously.

"Our geographical scope is not the right one," Imaz said, "We have to reduce the scope of the countries where we operate, and become more active in M&A."

He said the company would reduce its presence in the countries where it is smallest, without giving details.

Though weak energy prices dragged down Repsol’s third quarter adjusted net profit, it still beat market expectations thanks to downstream businesses such as refining and marketing.

Repsol trimmed its 2019 core earnings forecast to EUR7.5 billion from EUR7.8 billion previously, and also lowered its production forecasts for 2019 and 2020.

In 2019, the company planned to produce 710,000 barrels per day (bpd), down from 720,000 previously. It expects to be somewhere between 720,000 and 750,000 bpd next year.

"We will prioritize price versus production," Imaz said.

As MRC wrote previously, in the last week of September 2019, Spain’s Repsol resumed operations at its cracker in Sines, Portugal. The news was not directly confirmed by the company while it was not clear as of the time of press whether or not Repsol lifted a force majeure at the site. The company had declared the force majeure on the output from its cracker due to a technical glitch in early September. The cracker has a production capacity of 410,000 tons/year of ethylene and 215,000 tons/year of propylene. The company also owns a butadiene unit with a production capacity of 45,000 tons/year at the same site.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,904,410 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments increased from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,161,830 tonnes in January-November 2019, up by 7% year on year. Deliveries of all grades of propylene polymers increased, with the homopolymer PP segment accounting for the largest increase.

Repsol S.A is an integrated Spanish oil and gas company with operations in 28 countries. The bulk of its assets are located in Spain.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Borealis AG and NOVA Chemicals Corporation has announced they have reached an agreement for Borealis to buy NOVA Chemicals’ 50% ownership interest in Novealis Holdings LLC (Novealis), as per Borealis' press release.

Formed in 2018, Novealis is the joint venture between affiliates of Borealis and NOVA Chemicals, which subsequently formed a 50/50 joint venture with an affiliate of Total S.A. to launch Bayport Polymers LLC (Baystar) in Houston, Texas, US.

Closing of the acquisition is subject to customary regulatory approvals and other conditions but is not subject to any financing condition.

The parties expect the transaction to close in the first half of 2020.

As MRC informed earlier, on 9 September 2019, Borealis held the groundbreaking ceremony for its new, world-scale propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant. Located at the existing Borealis production site in Kallo, Belgium, the new facility has a targeted production capacity of 750,000 metric tonnes per year of propylene, making it one of the largest and most efficient plants of its kind in the world. With a total of around EUR 1 billion invested in the course of the project, the investment is the largest ever made by Borealis in Europe. It underscores the company’s commitment to its operations on the continent, and to being the supplier of choice to its European customers.

Propylene is the main feedstock for the production of polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, the PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,161,830 tonnes in January-November 2019, up by 7% year on year. Deliveries of all grades of propylene polymers increased, with the homopolymer PP segment accounting for the largest increase.

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.

NOVA Chemicals Corporation is a plastics and chemical company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo, a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders and synthetic rubber, and its affiliate companies in Europe have announced a price increase for all polycarbonate (PC) grades in Europe, as per the company's press release.

Effective January 1, 2019, or as existing contract terms allow, the contract and spot prices for the products listed below increased as follows:

- CALIBRE PC resins - by EUR150 per metric ton.

As MRC informed earlier, Trinseo last raised its prices for all PC grades in Europe on 3 September 2019 by EUR100 per metric ton.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated consumption of PC granules (excluding imports and exports to\\from Belarus) fell in January-November 2019 by 14% year on year to 70,700 tonnes (62,000 tonnes a year earlier).

Trinseo is a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber. Trinseo's technology is used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires. Formerly known as Styron, Trinseo completed its renaming process in 1Q 2015. Trinseo had approximately USD4.6 billion in net sales in 2018, with 16 manufacturing sites around the world, and approximately 2,500 employees.
MRC