One dead after huge explosion at chemical plant near Barcelona

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A massive explosion at a petrochemical plant in northeastern Spain killed one person and gravely injured at least six others on Tuesday, reported The Telegraph with reference to regional authorities' statement.

A local government spokesman for the port city of Tarragona, where the plant is located, said a preliminary investigation indicated the force of the blast killed an individual in a nearby neighborhood.

The spokesman said he had no further details. He spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with City Hall regulations.

The interior minister of Spain's Catalonia region, Miquel Buch, tweeted that the explosion caused one death and left six people injured while one person remained missing.

The civil protection agency in the Catalonia region called the blast a "chemical accident" and warned people in parts of the city of 800,000 and in nearby towns to refrain from going outside as a precaution.

Emergency services said that two of the injured were being treated for major burns.

Buch said the smoke from the resulting fire was not toxic but he also advised residents to remain inside.

The blast took place on the premises of Iqoxe, according to a woman who answered the phone at the company and who quickly hung up the phone without giving her name.

According to the company's website, Iqoxe is Spain's sole producer of ethylene oxide, a chemical compound used for making detergents, solvents and other products, as well as glycol, one of the main raw materials in the production of plastics.

Local residents posted videos showing the aftermath of the blast, with flames and a big column of black smoke emerging from an area dotted with big industrial tanks.

Fire departments sent 24 brigades to the area, the regional emergency service said.

Some local residents told Tarragona Radio that the blast could be heard from miles away.

Tarragona is located 115 kilometers (71 miles) southwest of Barcelona, the regional capital of Spain's Catalonia region.

Since 2015, the city has housed a 1,200-hectare (2,965-acre) "chemical hub," ChemMed, that was described as the largest of its kind in southern Europe.

The government said Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had been in contact with the regional president of Catalonia, Quim Torra to inquire about the blast and offer any help needed.

Tuesday's explosion comes just over a month after a Dec. 11 blaze at a solvent and industrial residues recycling plant in the northeastern town of Montornes del Valles. After that blast, which caused no casualties, authorities had to cordon off an area of some 500 meters (550 yards) in radius around the plant.

As per MRC's ScanPlast reported, imports of PET chips into Russia increased by 13% year on year in the first eleven months of 2019, reaching 130,800 tonnes, versus 116,100 tonnes a year earlier (excluding shipments from Belarus). Russia's PET imports almost doubled to 12,300 tonnes in November 2019 from 6,300 tonnes in October 2019, imports of material were 8,200 tonnes in November 2018. The share of Chinese material was 78% (9,600 tonnes) in November versus 92% (5,800 tonnes) a month earlier.

IQOXE (part of PlastiVerd Group, Barcelona) produces ethylene oxide (EO) and monoethyleneglycol (MEG). The company’s plants serve for two lines of production and a set of services needed for it to function. One production plant is used to manufacture ethylene oxide and glycols on a continuous basis. It can produce up to 140,000 t/y of EO of which 80,000 t/y can be used to transform 106,000 t/y of MEG-F. Three batchtype production plants are used to fabricate ethylene oxide and propylene oxid: PEG, polyols and ethoxylates.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- It is reported that Sasol has taken its newly constructed low density polyethylene (LDPE) plant in Lake Charles off-stream following an explosion and fire occurred on 13 January 2020, reported CommoPlast.

The unit was under trial operation at the time of the incident and has yet to reach on-spec cargoes.

The LDPE plant has an annual capacity of 420,000 tons/year and at the time of this report, the company has not announced the restart schedule.

Meanwhile, other units at the same site including the ethane cracker and the linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) lines are not affected by the fire and currently operating at the normal rates.

As MRC wrote before, Sasol announced that its world-scale US ethane cracker with the capacity of 1.5 mln tonnes per year reached beneficial operation on 27 August 2019. Sasol’s new cracker, the heart of its 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 the company's Lake Charles multi-asset 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.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Abu Dhabi Polymers Company Ltd (Borouge), a joint venture between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Austria-based Borealis, has awarded the France-based Axens a licensing contract to supply a MTBE unit coupled with1-Butene production unit and 1-Hexene unit for the Borouge 4 project in Ruwais-Abu Dhabi, UAE, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

For over a decade, Axens has built a strong and trustful relationship with Borouge, involved in technologies, catalysts and services supply. It has supported Borouge through different projects, and notably its on-purpose 1-Butene production units which were installed in Borouge-1 and Borouge-3 plants using the AlphaButolTM technology.

As part of the new Borouge 4 project, Axens will provide the following technologies:
-a 124ktpa MTBE and a 50ktpa 1-Butene unit
-a 75ktpa unit for the production of high purity 1-Hexene through ethylene trimerization (AlphaHexolTM)
-Downstream the new steam cracker: a Methyl Acetylene and Propadiene (MAPD) hydrogenation unit, a C4 hydrogenation unit and a Pygas 2-stages Hydrogenation unit.

The scope of Axens’ work includes the supply of process books, catalysts & adsorbents, proprietary equipment, trainings and technical services. Axens’ Process Licensing Global Business Unit Executive Vice-President Patrick Sarrazin said: “Today marks a significant step towards the expansion of Borouge’s facilities. We are delighted to be the partner of choice for this project and grateful for the trust put into Axens technology, in particular in AlphaHexolTM, which will allow Borouge to benefit from Axens’ strong experience in homogeneous catalysis for the production of on-purpose 1-Hexene by ethylene trimerization. This investment will support the continued growth of UAE petrochemicals, and create a lot of value for the country. Our extensive technology expertise, global capabilities in the basic design, catalysts, equipment and services supply make Axens the ideal partner to deliver this important contract for Borouge."

Operating and maintaining a petrochemical complex located in the Ruwais industrial area of Abu Dhabi that is considered the world’s largest integrated polyolefin complex, Borouge plans to more than double the current capacity of its facilities of 4.5 tonnes per year by 2030.

To reach this objective, Borouge started construction of its new Borouge 4 complex which will include the world’s largest mixed-feed cracker on the same location of its three existing plants.

Borouge 4 complex will consist of a number of production units. The primary products will be ethylene, propylene, butadiene, MTBE, 1-Butene, Pygas,1-Hexene and benzene from the new mixed-feed cracker and its derivative units. The ethylene and propylene will be converted into polyethylene and polypropylene products.

As MRC informed earlier, Borouge (part of Borealis) brought on-stream its No. 3 cracker following a maintenance turnaround in March 2019. The company has completed turnaround at its cracker last week. The cracker was shut for maintenance on January 5, 2019. Located at Ruwais, Abu Dhabi in UAE, the No.3 cracker has a production capacity of 1.5 mmt/year.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing 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.

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) -- Plastics company Victrex said it had formed a joint-venture with Yingkou Xingfu Chemical Company to build a polymer factory in Liaoning, China, said Stockmarketwire.

Victrex would have a 75% share of the facility and contribute GDP32m, comprising around GDP28m of capital expenditure and GDP4m of start-up costs.

Commissioning of the factory, capable of producing up to 1,500 tonnes of product a year, was anticipated in early 2022, subject to conditions, including finalising land purchase and permit applications.

Chief executive Jakob Sigurdsson said the investment would differentiate the company's range of plastic grades.

It would also set the stage, he added, for specific geographic growth, whereby Victrex could can capitalise on significant opportunities in China and the Asia Pacific region by having a manufacturing presence there.

'Overall, we believe this is a good entry point to a China manufacturing operation, working with an established partner and offering an attractive returns profile,' Sigurdsson said.

As MRC informed earlier, Victrex and Tri-Mack Plastics Manufacturing Corporation have established a joint venture, TxV Aero Composites, to accelerate the commercial adoption of polyketone (PAEK) composite applications within the aerospace industry, through the manufacture of parts utilizing new and innovative processes.

As MRC informed earlier, Russia's output of chemical products dropped by 3.2% in November 2019 month on month.
However, production of basic chemicals increased by 3.6% in the first eleven months of 2019, according to Rosstat's data. According to the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, the largest increase in production volumes on an annualized basis accounted for mineral fertilizers and polymers in primary form. Last month, 255,000 tonnes of ethylene were produced versus 210,000 tonnes in October; by November, Russian producers had completed all their scheduled works. Thus, 2,721,000 tonnes of this olefin were produced in January-November 2019, up by 0.3% year on year.

Victrex plc is a United Kingdom-based holding company. The Company is engaged in the manufacture and sale of various polymers. The Company's operating segments include Industrial (Victrex Polymer Solutions) and Medical (Invibio Biomaterial Solutions). The Victrex Polymer Solutions segment focuses on automotive, aerospace, electronics and energy markets.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- State-owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) will invest about Rs25,000 crore to set up an ethylene cracker plant at Rasayani, 50 kilometres from its Mumbai refinery, as the firm pushes further into the petrochemicals business to fuel growth, reported TheHinduBusinessLine.

The share of petrochemicals in BPCL’s portfolio is currently "around 1per cent" as the refiner mostly focussed on transportation fuels so far. But, with electric vehicles coming in, the firm reckons that "it is likely to have some impact on transportation fuels".

"We are now thinking of diversifying more into petrochemicals. Our plan is to move from 1 per cent to 10 per cent and, if possible, go up to 15 per cent. This is what the existing configuration of our refineries will allow us. The existing configuration cannot be tweaked to a large extent to achieve higher percentage of petrochemicals unlike a new refinery," D Rajkumar, BPCL’s Chairman and Managing Director, said.

India’s second biggest fuel retailer is currently in the midst of modernising its Mumbai refinery and shifting some of its non-process related facilities such as the LPG and POL plants to Rasayani, where it is buying land from Hindustan Organic Chemicals Ltd (HOC) to set up these units.

"The main thing for Rasayani is petrochemicals which will be done in two phases. In the first phase, we will put up the LPG and POL plants and replace the old Catalytic Cracking Unit (CCU) and Fluidized Catalytic Cracking Unit (FCCU) with a modern Petro Resid Fluidized Catalytic Cracking Unit (PRFCC), which will produce Propylene," R Ramachandran, director (refineries), BPCL, said.

Propylene is used as a feedstock for making Polypropylene - a polymer used in industrial applications such as packaging, plastics, textiles, living hinges and the automobile industry.

The LPG and the POL plants will cost about ?2,000 crore and the Polypropylene plant will be about Rs4,500 crore.

"We are not stopping there. We have in mind a second phase which mainly involve setting up an Ethylene cracker plant that is also connected to the refinery which will require an investment of about Rs 25,000 crore. We are planning for that two years from now. We have a first stage clearance from the board for the Ethylene cracker plant and we are starting a feasibility study on that," Ramachandran said.

BPCL is looking to buy some 1,000 acres of land from HOC for the Rasayani facility. It has an arrangement with HOC for taking 684 acres, of which 243 acres is in its possession to be used for the LPG and POL plants, while the balance is in the process of being acquired, Ramachandran said adding that the company was "buying extra land to build the Ethylene cracker unit".

It has also bought some land at Chembur, close to its refinery.

The refiner is looking to cut down the truck movement to and from the Mumbai refinery by shifting some of the non-process related facilities to Rasayani with the aim of reducing pollution."In the de-bottlenecking from Chembur (where the Mumbai refinery is located) to Rasayani, we had estimated a reduction of 150 trucks per day initially. But, after buying more land at Chembur, we may further reduce some 40 trucks per day. So, totally we expect a reduction of 150-200 trucks per day which is a significant number," Ramachandran said.

BPCL will commission its Rs5,236 crore Propylene Derivative Petrochemical Project (PDPP) at Kochi refinery for manufacturing niche petrochemicals in the next six months. To expand its product portfolio further, BPCL is investing Rs11,130 crore to set up a facility in Kochi refinery for manufacturing Polyols, Propylene Glycol and Mono-Ethylene Glycol.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing 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.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) is an Indian state-controlled oil and gas company headquartered in Mumbai, India. Bharat Petroleum owns refineries at Mumbai, Maharashtra and Kochi, Kerala (Kochi Refineries) with a capacity of 12 and 9.5 million metric tonnes per year.
MRC