PTTCG America announces final investment decision to remain on hold amid fallout from the pandemic

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PTTCG America said in early June it could not confirm PTT Global Chemical CEO Kongkrapan Intarajang's statement to Nation Thailand a week earlier that its final investment decision on a petrochemical complex in southeast Ohio had been pushed back to 2021, but said that decision remains on hold amid fallout from the pandemic, reported S&P Global.

Thus, senior company sources in Bangkok told CW that the FID is expected to be made either the end of this year or, more likely, next year and it would take five to six years to complete construction of the facilities. This would take the project’s completion date to around 2027-28.

PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC), parent of PTTGC America, first announced plans for the project in 2015. In 2018, Dealim Industrial joined as partner. The companies were hoping to make a FID on the project by the middle of this year. The company tells CW that engineering studies are still being carried out on the project, which would be based on an ethane cracker designed to produce 1.5 million metric tons/year (MMt/y) of ethylene using ethane from the Marcellus and Utica shale deposits. The downstream configuration has not yet been fully decided on but could involve the entire ethylene output being used to make the equivalent amount of high-density and linear low-density polyethylene and/or some of the ethylene also used to make ethylene glycol. Most of the output would be sold on the US market.

The company tells CW that the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the latest forecasts in demand are the main reasons for the delay. PTTGC CEO Kongkrapan Intarajang said recently that the company will review its short and long-term investment plans worldwide based on projects’ costs as well as changes in product demand expected in the post COVID-19 global economy.

PTTGC has reportedly spent about USD100 million on site preparation and engineering studies. Bechtel was last year selected as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor on the project whose initial costs were estimated at USD5-6 billion. The complex would be located on a 500-acre site of a former coal-fired power plant. It would also include on-site railcar and truck loading facilities, supporting utilities, infrastructure, storage tanks and logistics facilities.

As MRC informed earlier, PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) fully restarted its No. 2 cracker in Map Ta Phut in early March,2020, after a planned turnaround. The company started resuming operations at the cracker by end-February, 2020. The cracker was shut for maintenance on January 20, 2020. Located at Map Ta Phut, Thailand, the No. 2 cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 400,000 mt/year. The company also operates No. 1 cracker at the same site with a capacity of 515,000 tonnes of ethylene and 310,000 tonnes of propylene per year, which was also shut on 23 January, 2020, for a 40-day turnaround.

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.

PTT Global Chemical is a leading player in the petrochemical industry and owns several petrochemical facilities with a combined capacity of 8.45 million tonnes a year.
MRC

Enterprise new ethylene export terminal in Texas signs contracts for 95% of its capacity

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Enterprise Products Partners' new ethylene export terminal in Texas has signed contracts for 95% of its eventual 1 million mt/year capacity, reported S&P Global with reference to executives from Navigator Gas, the company's 50% partner in the venture.

As MRC informed earlier, Honeywell has recently announced that Enterprise Products Partners L.P. will use Honeywell UOP’s C3 Oleflex technology in its second propane dehydrogenation plant, called "PDH 2". Located near Mont Belvieu, Texas, PDH 2 will produce 750,000 metric tons per year of polymer-grade propylene as part of Enterprise’s expansion of propylene manufacturing capacity.

Honeywell UOP, a leading provider of technology, services and equipment for the oil and gas industry, will provide licensing for the Oleflex technology, in addition to engineering, catalysts, adsorbents, services, and equipment for the plant. Enterprise has operated a UOP C4 Oleflex unit, which converts isobutane to isobutylene, since 1993 and currently is building a second C4 Oleflex unit at Mont Belvieu.

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.
MRC

Celanese raises July VAM prices in Europe, Middle East and Africa

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 Europe, Middle East and Africa, as per the company's press release.

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

Thus, VAM prices will rise by EUR100/mt for Europe, the Middle East & Africa.

As MRC reported earlier, Celanese last raised its VAM prices for the stated above regions on January 17, 2019, by the same amount of EUR100/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

Tosoh to increase bromine production capacity in Japan

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Tosoh is a major producer of bromine in Asia and aims to maintain a stable supply in order to meet the growing demand in the region. By expanding its bromine production capacity, the firm intends to strengthen its business, said Process-worldwide.

Tokyo/Japan – Tosoh Corporation plans to expand its production capacity for bromine, for use in flame retardants, fungicides, medicines, and agrochemicals, at its Nanyo Complex in Shunan City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.

Tosoh is Japan’s largest manufacturer of bromine, which the company sells domestically and throughout Asia. While current demand for bromine is steady, particularly in Asia, remarkably insufficient supply in China is driving continued tightness in the bromine supply-demand balance.

Tosoh seeks to bolster its production capacity by renewing its bromine production facility. This will enable the company to maintain stable supply to meet expanding demand for bromine and to broade.

As MRC informed earlier, Tosoh Corporation resumed production on line No. 3 for the production of vinyl chloride (VCM) in Nanyo, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, after planned repairs. Maintenance on this line with a capacity of 600,000 tonnes/year of VCM was started in mid-May of this year.

VCM is the main raw material for the production of polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

According to MRC's DataScope, the export of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) from Russia amounted to about 92,200 tonnes in the first five months of this year, which is 10% more than the same period in 2019. Import volumes grew by only 1%.
MRC

Dow to restart PE plants in Texas and Argentina when demand improves

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dow Chemical will restart three idled polyethylene (PE) plants in Texas and Argentina and two elastomers plants in Louisiana as demand begins to rebound, reported S&P Global with reference to Fitterling's statement at a conference.

And the company expects economic recovery to take hold in the second half of 2020 as gradual emergence from coronavirus pandemic-related shutdowns continues.

As MRC informed earlier, in mid-May 2020, USA based Dow Chemical announced plans to shut three PE plants in the USA and Argentina to avoid piling inventories amid sluggish global demand conditions due to the COVID-19 related lockdown.

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.

The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene (PS), polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, and synthetic rubber.
MRC