BASF expands low 1,4-Dioxane line to help customers meet new regulations in North America

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF has expanded its low 1,4-Dioxane line by adding several new ingredients to the existing range of Flex surfactants and polymers in North America, said the company.

The BASF Flex solutions allow brands in the cosmetics, personal care, and home care industries to use ingredients that are certified low in 1,4-Dioxane for their formulations.

A recently signed New York state law prohibits the sale of household cleaning and personal care products containing more than 2ppm 1,4-Dioxane and cosmetics products containing 10ppm 1,4-Dioxane by the end of 2022; For household cleaning and personal care products the limit will be further reduced to 1ppm at the end of 2023. The state of California is also assessing 1,4-Dioxane in home and personal care products through the Safer Consumer Products program and research is estimated to be completed in three years.

"Formulating with Flex helps our partners comply with regulations ahead of the 2022 deadline," said Scott Thomson, Senior Vice President, BASF Care Chemicals, North America. “Expanding the Flex range is an important step in providing our customers with a broad portfolio of flexible formulation options. It enables them to meet both their performance criteria and the new industry requirements."

1,4-Dioxane is a synthetic chemical that forms as a by-product during the manufacturing process of certain surfactants and emulsifiers and is miscible in water. It is used primarily as a solvent and historically as a stabilizer for chlorinated solvents that go into commercial and industrial applications.

As MRC wrote earlier, BASF, the world's petrochemical major, has restarted its No. 1 steam cracker following a maintenance turnaorund. Thus, the company resumed operations at the plant on September 30, 2019. The plant was shut for maintenance in mid-August, 2019. Located at Ludwigshafen in Germany, the No. 1 cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 235,000 mt/year and a propylene production capacity of 125,000 mt/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.

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. BASF generated sales of around EUR63 billion in 2018.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF announced a single-digit million-euro investment in the capacity expansion of water-based polyurethane dispersions at its Castellbisbal site in Spain, said the company.

The expansion will allow BASF to increase its production capacity by 30 percent. "We want to continue to provide our customers with high-quality polyurethane dispersions and help them grow by ensuring supply reliability. Considering the rising demand for polyurethane dispersions in Europe, this investment underlines our intention to assume a leading position in the business of polyurethane dispersions," says Frank Hezel, Vice President Resins & Additives EMEA at BASF.

Polyurethane dispersions constitute an important addition to the acrylate dispersions business. By expanding its portfolio in the field of adhesives, parquet flooring, automotive and industry coatings, BASF is making a valuable contribution to the change from solvent-based coating systems to environmentally friendlier and more sustainable water-based systems.

Coatings for parquet flooring and furniture — The aftermath of a fabulous party: Scratches on the parquet floor and red wine stains after parties are difficult to remove. Renovating the floor costs a great deal of money. That will soon be a thing of the past, thanks to the new Joncryl® platform for polyurethane dispersions and hybrids. BASF has deliberately expanded the product range for the furniture and flooring industry. The abrasion and scratch resistance of the products has improved significantly. In addition, there is better resistance against widely used household chemicals such as red wine, coffee and cleaning solutions. The products require much fewer film-forming agents. This improves the indoor air quality during installation — an important contribution to sustainability.

As MRC wrote earlier, BASF, the world's petrochemical major, has restarted its No. 1 steam cracker following a maintenance turnaorund. Thus, the company resumed operations at the plant on September 30, 2019. The plant was shut for maintenance in mid-August, 2019. Located at Ludwigshafen in Germany, the No. 1 cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 235,000 mt/year and a propylene production capacity of 125,000 mt/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.

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. BASF generated sales of around EUR63 billion in 2018.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indian state refiners are close to signing their first annual deals to buy Russian oil, three sources privy to the development said, as the nation moves to tap new sources to hedge against geopolitical risks, said Reuters.

India, the world’s third biggest oil consumer and importer, which ships in over 80% of its needs, usually relies on the Middle East for the majority of its supply. However, its imports from that region slid to a four-year low last year.

Its acquisitions from Russia had typically been low, as transportation costs for its crude tend to be higher than those for Middle Eastern grades, and were made through the spot market rather than under contract.

However state refiners - Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd - are now moving towards signing deals for Russian oil. The country’s top refiner IOC has already told Russia’s Rosneft that it intends to buy as much as 40,000 bpd of Russian crude, one of the sources said, some 2.5% of its total refining capacity.

"It is almost certain to sign a contract, a proposal has been sent to Rosneft,” the source said. “These are optional volumes. (IOC) will see the pricing then will decide when to draw the volumes." "IOC will take Russian oil whenever it is economical"

Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) are also planning smaller deals, sources said. "We have the capabilities to process Russian oil. We are evaluating procuring Russian crude directly from the producers," said R. Ramachandran, head of refineries at BPCL.

BPCL currently buys Urals from traders. "We will be interested in Russian crudes if the price is right," he said. BPCL plans to raise its crude processing in 2020/21 by 1 million tonnes as operations at its Kochi and Bina refineries stabilize after an upgrade.

"There is some Russian crude in our basket,” HPCL Chairman M. K. Surana said. “We will consider buying Russian oil on techno-economic considerations."

Neither Rosneft nor the other Indian refiners named responded to Reuters’ emails seeking comments. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership since 2014, India has overhauled its crude import rules to give state refiners more flexibility to buy oil swiftly from varied regions, taking advantage of price differences between them.

The source said pricing of the crude will be linked to a ‘complex’ formula, with reference to Brent and freight among other elements.

As MRC informed earlier, 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.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russian oil major Rosneft said its oil refineries in the Samara region are increasing their level of environmental monitoring, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Kazakhstan on Tuesday reduced oil supplies via the Atasu-Alashankou pipeline to China after tests carried out at the end of the last week showed a high content of organic chloride.

Some oil transit from Kazakhstan to Russia goes via a pipeline which has a connection with the Russian pipeline system in the Samara region.

Rosneft said five stationary environmental posts will monitor the ecological parameters around the Novokuibyshevsky and Kuibyshev refineries around the clock. It did not specify if the move was linked to the Kazakh tests.

As MRC informed earlier, Rosneft said that its German subsidiary Rosneft Deutschland GmbH had completed the deal to acquire a 3.57% stake in Germany’s Bayernoil Raffineriegesellschaft mbH from BP.

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.

Rosneft became Russia's largest publicly traded oil company in March 2013 after the USD55 billion takeover of TNK-BP, which was Russia’s third-largest oil producer at the time.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- US oil and natural gas output in major shale formations is expected to rise by the smallest in about a year in February to record highs, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Tuesday, as producers pull back on new drilling, reported Reuters.

Shale oil output is expected to rise by about 22,000 barrels per day (bpd) in February to about 9.2 million bpd, which would be the smallest monthly increase since production declined in February 2019.

US gas output in the big shale basins was projected to increase less than 0.1 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) to a record 86.0 bcfd, its smallest monthly increase since a drop in January 2019.

The Permian and Bakken regions have been the biggest drivers of a shale boom that helped make the United States the biggest oil producer in the world, ahead of Saudi Arabia and Russia.

However, the rate of growth has slowed as independent producers cut spending on new drilling and completions to focus more on improving earnings results.

Oil output at the largest formation, the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico, is expected to rise 45,000 bpd to a record 4.80 million bpd. That would be the smallest increase since June 2019, the EIA said in its monthly forecast.

Crude production from North Dakota and Montana’s Bakken region is expected to rise by about 5,000 bpd to a fresh peak of about 1.53 million bpd.

Low US gas prices are also expected to prompt companies to keep cutting spending on new drilling.

Oil production is forecast to decline in the Eagle Ford, Niobrara and Anadarko basins, the EIA said.

Meanwhile, US gas output in the Appalachia region, the biggest US shale gas formation, was set to decline less than 0.1 bcfd to 33.3 bcfd in February from 33.4 bcfd in January. That would be the first time gas production declined for two successive months since October 2016.

Most of the increase in gas production was in the Permian, where output is expected to rise 0.2 bcfd to a record 16.8 bcfd in February.

EIA said producers drilled 1,036 wells - the least since June 2017 - and completed 1,086 in the biggest shale basins in December, leaving total drilled but uncompleted (DUC) wells down 50 to 7,573, the lowest since October 2018.
MRC