Kuraray to expand production of melt-blown nonwoven fabric

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Kuraray Co., Ltd. announces its decision to modify the production item lineup of its meltblown nonwoven fabric production facility, which is located on the premises of the Okayama Factory, a facility run by nonwoven fabric production and sales subsidiary Kuraray Kuraflex Co., Ltd. that is currently undergoing expansion, said the company.

This move will result in the production of face mask filters at said facility and is aimed at meeting surging demand for nonwoven fabrics for use as mask filters.

?The Kuraray Group’s meltblown nonwoven fabrics are currently being used as a filter material in various applications, including face masks, thanks to their fine structure consisting solely of extremely thin polymer fibers that are firmly intertwined without the use of binders.

?Currently, there is a lingering shortage of face mask filters due to a rapid increase in domestic demand amid the widespread implementation of novel coronavirus countermeasures. In particular, high-performance filters for use in surgical masks have been seriously depleted.

?Although the Kuraray Group has been marketing its meltblown nonwoven fabrics for a variety of applications, such as face masks, filtering materials for food and beverage production and air filters, the Group’s existing facilities for producing mask filters have been in constant full-capacity operation due to tight demand-supply status reflecting the recent spread of the novel coronavirus.

"Against this backdrop, the Group decided to modify the production item lineup of this meltblown nonwoven fabric production facility currently undergoing expansion to enable to produce face mask filters. This move is expected to empower the Group to produce enough sheets of meltblown nonwoven fabric for approximately 300 million face masks per year. In this way, the Kuraray Group will contribute to nationwide efforts aimed at preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus.

In line with Kuraray’s mission “For people and the planet—to achieve what no one else can,"the Kuraray Group will continue to deliver products backed by unique technologies, with the aim of contributing to the betterment of society.

As MRC informed earlier, Kuraray in October 2019 closed the production of vinyl acetate (VAM) in Okayama (Okayama, Japan) for scheduled repairs. This production with a capacity of 160 thousand tons of YOU per year was closed for about one month.

According to MRC's DataScope report, April EVA imports to Russia dropped by 5,85% year on year to 3,050 tonnes from 3,250 tonnes a year earlier, and overall imports of this grade of ethylene copolymer into the Russian Federation increased in January-April 2020 by 1,55% year on year to 12,540 tonnes (12,350 tonnes a year earlier).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Aramco on June 17 said it completed the share acquisition of a 70% stake in petrochemicals company Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, or SABIC, from the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, for a total purchase price of Riyal 259.125 billion (USD69.1 billion). However, the transaction terms have been changed to increase the timeline over which Aramco makes the payments by almost three years, reported S&P Global.

An upfront cash payment of 36% of the deal value has also been eliminated from the deal.

When the deal was first announced in March 2019, the full payment for the acquisition was to be made by the close of the first half of 2020. Then, in November 2019, Aramco said it would delay fully paying for the acquisition by four years - until September 2025 - under terms of a new deal agreed. At the time, Aramco said that 36% of the purchase price would be paid in cash up front, while 64% would be paid in the form of a seller loan. The seller loan is to be secured by four separate bonds, issued by the oil company to the PIF.

Now, the whole transaction will be funded via a seller loan, and there will be no up-front payment. Moreover, the series of payments are now scheduled to end in April 2028, as opposed to the previous September 2025 deadline.

Aramco could not be reached for comment on why the payment terms have changed.

Aramco, like all oil and gas companies, has been hit by the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting oil price crash.

The state-run oil giant, in its Q1 2020 quarterly earnings report, said its net income declined 25% on the year to USD16.7 billion in the quarter.

SABIC's value has dropped 29% since the original deal was brokered. On June 17, Sabic had a valuation of USD71.3 billion making Aramco's 70% stake now worth just USD49.9 billion, far below what Aramco will pay.

The acquisition of the SABIC stake is part of Aramco's strategy to build its downstream footprint by growing its integrated refining and petrochemicals capacity to add value across the hydrocarbon chain.

It specifically enhances Aramco's chemicals strategy by transforming Aramco into one of the major global petrochemicals players.

Combined, in 2019 Aramco and SABIC recorded petrochemicals production volume of nearly 90 million mt, including agri-nutrient and specialty products.

"It is a significant leap forward which accelerates Aramco's downstream strategy and transforms our company into one of the major global petrochemicals players," Aramco President and CEO Amin Nasser said in a statement June 17. "The strategic integration of our upstream production and downstream chemicals feedstock production with SABIC's chemicals platform is expected to create opportunities for selective integration synergies that support growth."

Following the deal announcement June 17, Saudi Aramco shares were trading at Riyal 32.70/share (USD8.72) on Tadawul. That compares to its IPO price in December of Riyals 32/share (USD8.53), which gave the company a valuation of USD1.7 trillion at the time.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 721,290 tonnes in the first four month of 2020, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments grew partially because of the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 347,440 tonnes in January-April 2020 (calculated by the formula production minus export plus import). Supply exclusively of PP random copolymer increased.

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) ranks among the world"s top petrochemical companies. The company is among the world"s market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.

Saudi Aramco, officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a Saudi Arabian national oil and natural gas company based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco"s value has been estimated at up to USD10 trillion in the Financial Times, making it the world"s most valuable company. Saudi Aramco has both the largest proven crude oil reserves, at more than 260 billion barrels, and largest daily oil production.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Inner Mongolia Jiutai Energy Co Ltd has unexpectedly shut its new polyethylene (PE) plant on 17 June, 2020, due to technical glitches, reported CommoPlast with reference to market sources.

Based in Inner Mongolia, China, its high density polyethylene (HDPE)/linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) swing plant has a production capacity of 280,000 tons/year.

The restart schedule could not be ascertained. However, a source closed to the company informed that it shall be short maintenance.

The company already operates another PE plant at the same site with the production capacity of 300,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed before, Jiutai Energy started commercial production at its this coal-to-polyethylene plant in September 2015. The plant began to operate at normal rates from December 2015.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 721,290 tonnes in the first four month of 2020, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments grew partially because of the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China's independent refineries in Shandong province received more imported condensate as feedstock amid recovering gasoline demand, but the trend is unlikely to continue as prices of the raw material is rising, trading and refining sources told S&P Global June 16.

Condensate is usually a rare feedstock for the small-scale independent refineries in Shandong because most of these refineries are configured to crack medium to heavy oil to produce gasoil.

"Demand for condensate emerged in the sector as gasoline sales are improving, " a trading source said.

Trade flow tracker Kpler showed that the Greece-flagged Athinea has discharged 42,000 mt of North West Shelf condensate from Australia at Shandong's Longkou port on June 10. This was likely one of the two condensate cargoes chartered by Glencore for independent refineries, sources with knowledge of the matter said.

Prior to this, several condensate cargoes had arrived at Shandong in May, local trading and refining sources said, adding that Vitol and Mercuria were also actively trading condensate cargoes for the sector.

The gasoline sales by this group of Shandong's independent refineries jumped 30.4% year on year in May to 3.28 million mt, also rising 8.8% from April, data from local information provider JLC showed.

Trading sources said most of the condensate barrels end up at some tiny independent refineries, which have no quota to crack imported crudes.

These tiny refineries have splitters, which are able to process condensate to produce naphtha as a gasoline blending material for sale. These refineries, each with the ability to consume 30,000-50,000 mt of feedstock per month, usually buy import quotas to bring in the condensate barrels, refining sources said.

"There are some inquiries for condensate, but the premiums have gone up, dampening their interest to close deals," another trading source said.

As MRC wrote previously, Shandong Chambroad Petrochemicals has recently brought on-stream its No.1 propylene unit following a turnaround. Thus, the company had resumed operations at the plant by early-June, 2020. The plant was shut on March 25, 2020 and was supposed to remain under maintenance for about two weeks. Located at Shandong province of China, the No. 1 plant has a production capacity of 125,000 mt/year.

Propylene is the main feedstock for producing polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 347,440 tonnes in January-April 2020 (calculated by the formula production minus export plus import). Supply exclusively of PP random copolymer increased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global specialty materials company, has increased July list and off-list selling prices for Vinyl Acetate Monomer (VAM) sold in Asia outside China (AOC), as per the company's press release.

The price increase is effective for orders shipped on or after 1 July, 2020, or as contracts otherwise allow, and is incremental to any previously announced increases.

Thus, July VAM prices rose by USD100/mt - for AOC.

As MRC reported earlier, Celanese last raised its VAM prices for this region on 17 January, 2020. The price increase was also USD100/mt.

According to MRC's DataScope report, April EVA imports to Russia dropped by 5,85% year on year to 3,050 tonnes from 3,250 tonnes a year earlier, and overall imports of this grade of ethylene copolymer into the Russian Federation increased in January-April 2020 by 1,55% year on year to 12,540 tonnes (12,350 tonnes a year earlier).

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Based in Dallas, Celanese employs approximately 7,700 employees worldwide and had 2019 net sales of USD6.3 billion.
MRC