CPC restarting its No. 4 cracker in Taiwan

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Taiwan's CPC Corporation is restarting its No. 4 naphtha-fed steam cracker July 6 after being shut last week, reported S&P Global.

The company unexpectedly shut is No. 4 cracker due to technical glitches on 2 July, 2020,

Based in Linyuan, Taiwan, the cracker is able to produce 380,000 tons/year of ethylene and 193,000 tons/year of propylene. Initially, the shutdown period was slated for around 7 days.

Market players reported that this plant is supplying upstream to Taiwan's Oriental Union Chemical Corporation (OUCC)'s 250,000 tons/year monoyethylene glycol (MEG) plant as well as Taiwan‘s China Man-made Fiber Corporation (CMFC)'s 400,000 tons/year MEG plant, which causing both MEG plants to reduce production rate to around 70-80%.

The company also operates another cracker at the same site - No. 3 cracker, which has an ethylene capacity of 720,000 mt/year and propylene capacity of 370,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed previously, CPC Corporation took one of its naphtha crackers off-stream on 8 November 2019 for major maintenance work. The No. 4 cracker was expected to remain offline for about 65 days. The shutdown resulted in a production loss of 67,671 tons of ethylene and 34,370 tons of propylene.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 595,170 tonnes in the first five month of 2020, up by 10% year on year. Deliveries of all ethylene polymers, except for linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), rose partially because of an increase in capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market was 457,930 tonnes in January-May 2020 (calculated by the formula production minus export plus import). Deliveris of exclusively PP random copolymer increased.

CPC Corporation, Taiwan, is engaged in the exploration, production, refining, procurement, transportation, storage, and marketing of oil and gas. The company provides fuel oil, including automotive unleaded gasoline and diesel fuel, low-sulfur fuel oil, marine distillate fuels, marine residual fuels, and aviation fuel; petrochemicals, such as ethylene, propylene, butadiene, benzene, para-xylene, and ortho-xylene; liquefied petroleum gas products comprising liquefied petroleum gas, propane, butane, and a propane/butane mixture; lubricants, motor oil, industrial oil, grease, and marilube oil; SNC products, including petroleum ether, naphtha, toluene, xylene, crude octene, methyl alcohol, normal paraffin, viscosity-graded asphalt cement, and sulfur; and natural gas.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Zhejiang Petrochemical Co Ltd produced on specification material at its new acrylonitrile (ACN) plant plant in the week ended 4 July, reported S&P Global.

This plant is now running at 80%.

The company started up new ACN plant on 23 June, 2020.

Based in Zhejiang, China, this plant is able to produce 260,000 tons/year of ACN. Initially, the company planned to begin operations at this production in early May, but then postponed the start to the second half of May. Zhejiang Petrochemical last announced mid-June to be the start.

As MRC informed earlier, Zhejiang Petrochemical Co Ltd started up its ethylene cracker in late December 2019 and its polyolefin plants in late December 2019-January 2020.

Market sources reported then that one of its polypropylene (PP) plant with capacity of 450,000 tons/year started up by 30 December 2019, followed by another line with same capacity by 15 January 2020.

Meanwhile its 450,000 tons/year of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) and 300,000 tons/year of high density polyethylene (HDPE) were launched around similar time with PP plants.

ACN is the main feedstock for the production of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's ABS output was 780 tonnes in May 2020. Production of Russian ABS plastics totalled 4,240 tonnes in January-May 2020, down by 17% year on year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Pertamina is in plans to bring on-stream its polypropylene (PP) unit early this week, according to Apic-online.

The company undertook an unplanned shutdown at the unit on June 26, 2020, following an unspecified technical glitch at the upstream RFCC unit that causes a disruption of the propylene feeds. Thus, the unit is to remain shut for around 10-12 days.

Located in Plaju, Indonesia, the PP unit has a production capacity of 45,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed earlier, in May 2016, PT Pertamina and Russia’s Rosneft OAO signed a cooperation agreement that includes a plan to build a new oil refinery in the Southeast Asian nation. Pertamina, which hasn't built a new refinery since 1997, will be the majority shareholder in the facility at Tuban, East Java. The two companies may invest USD12 billion to USD13 billion in the refinery project which includes a petrochemical unit, Dwi Soetjipto, president director of Pertamina, told a press conference after signing the accord.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market was 457,930 tonnes in January-May 2020 (calculated by the formula production minus export plus import). Deliveris of exclusively PP random copolymer increased.

Pertamina is an Indonesian state-owned oil and natural gas corporation based in Jakarta. It was created in August 1968 by the merger of Pertamin (established 1961) and Permina (established 1957). Pertamina is the world's largest producer and exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Inventories of oil products at the UAE's east coast port of Fujairah have climbed for the first time in three weeks, led by gains in gasoline and other light distillates, said S&P Global.

Total stockpiles were up 0.3% on the week to 30.218 million barrels as of June 22, after setting a record high of 30.71 million barrels on June 1, according to data released June 24 from the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone. Light distillates rose 10% to 8.244 million barrels, while both middle and heavy distillates declined.

Fujairah stockpiles are a clue to regional demand for refined products, with total inventories setting four record highs since early May as the coronavirus pandemic curbed the need for everything from gasoline to jet fuel and marine fuel. As the authorities in the region began to ease restrictions on movements, light and middle distillates inventories have declined this month.

The gasoline stored in Fujairah is more representative of demand in Pakistan than it is locally, so it reflects export demand and blendstock, Omar Najia, global head of derivatives at BB Energy in Dubai, told S&P Global Platts on June 24. Power used to generate electricity in the region is mostly from natural gas, he added.

"It's certainly true that the region does use more product in the summer for electricity generation mostly," he said. "Jet use is increasing also." Natural gas is not covered in the inventories, but the heavy distillates category does include fuel for power generation, and analysts have previously said they expect more demand imminently from Saudi Arabia as the weather gets hotter and air-conditioning use increases.

Middle distillates stockpiles fell 8% in the most recent week, to 5.073 million barrels, after hitting a record 5.997 million on June 1. The category includes jet fuel, kerosene, gasoil, diesel and marine bunker gasoil.

Heavy distillates declined 1% to 16.901 million barrels after reaching an all-time high of 17.178 million on June 8. Bunker fuel prices have been climbing on the back of increased crude prices, according to a Platts report about the inventories on June 24. Marine fuel with 0.5% sulfur delivered in Fujairah was assessed at USD320/mt on June 23, up USD10/mt from a week earlier.

As MRC informed before, global oil consumption cut by up to a third in Q1 2020. What happens next in the oil market depends on how quickly and completely the global economy emerges from lockdown, and whether the recessionary hit lingers through the rest of this year and into 2021.

Earlier this year, BP said the deadly coronavirus outbreak could cut global oil demand growth by 40 per cent in 2020, putting pressure on Opec producers and Russia to curb supplies to keep prices in check.

We remind that, in September 2019, six world's major petrochemical companies in Flanders, Belgium, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and the Netherlands (Trilateral Region) announced the creation of a consortium to jointly investigate how naphtha or gas steam crackers could be operated using renewable electricity instead of fossil fuels. The Cracker of the Future consortium, which includes BASF, Borealis, BP, LyondellBasell, SABIC and Total, aims to produce base chemicals while also significantly reducing carbon emissions. The companies agreed to invest in R&D and knowledge sharing as they assess the possibility of transitioning their base chemical production to renewable electricity.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 595,170 tonnes in the first five month of 2020, up by 10% year on year. Deliveries of all ethylene polymers, except for linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), rose partially because of an increase in capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market was 457,930 tonnes in January-May 2020 (calculated by the formula production minus export plus import). Deliveris of exclusively PP random copolymer increased.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Haldia Petrochemicals (HPL), a flagship company of The Chatt­erjee Group (TCG), alo­ng with its international partner Rhone Capital has acquired US-based Lummus Technology at an enterprise value (EV) of USD2.725 billion (around Rs 20,590 crore) from McDermott International, reported Business Standard.

In the joint acquisition, HPL’s share is at 57 per cent, the balance would be held by Rhone Capital. Under the new dispensation, Lummus Technology wou­ld function as a ‘standalone’ autonomous entity. The deal was completed on Tuesday.

Lummus Technology is a master licensor of proprietary technologies in refining, petrochemicals, gas processing and coal gasification sectors, as well as a supplier of proprietary catalysts, equipment and related engineering services. It has about 130 licensed technologies and more than 3,400 patents and trademarks.

Purnendu Chatterjee, founder chairman of TCG, said, "Our investments are both strategic and long-term, most of which span across 25 to 30 years. We have primarily focused on knowledge-based enterprises, and Lummus is a great addition to our portfolio. Leading with innovation, it delivers sustainable value to clients in areas of materials technology." "HPL, being a long-term client of Lum­mus, can share its customer experience and collaborate with Lummus to co-create innovations for the benefit of the industry," Chatterjee added.

HPL is one of the largest petrochemical companies in India, having its manufacturing facility in Haldia, West Bengal. It has a total capacity of 700,000 TPA of ethylene. With the deal, Lummus and HPL together would be in a position to provide a ‘value proposition’ to the clients of Lummus in India and abroad. The divestment of Lummus is part of McDermott’s restructuring process.

Leon de Bruyn, head of Lummus Technology, said, "For our customers, employees and partners, this is an important milestone. We would be able to focus exclusively on providing world class technologies and solutions and developing long-term strategies that will allow Lummus to lead and shape the future of our industry."

Rajnish Kumar, chairman, State Bank of India (SBI), the lead banker in the deal, said, "Acquisition of Lummus, world’s premier petrochemicals company by Haldia Petrochemicals, is a landmark achievement by an Indian company. I hope this acquisition will go a long way in furthering India’s strong footprint in technology space and support India’s mission of Atmanirbhar Bharat."

As MRC informed earlier, in late March 2020, India's private-sector Haldia Petrochemicals (HPL) shut its naphtha cracker after ports in the country declared force majeure to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 595,170 tonnes in the first five month of 2020, up by 10% year on year. Deliveries of all ethylene polymers, except for linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), rose partially because of an increase in capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market was 457,930 tonnes in January-May 2020 (calculated by the formula production minus export plus import). Deliveris of exclusively PP random copolymer increased.

Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd is a modern naphtha based petrochemical complex at Haldia, West Bengal, India. Haldia has played the role of a catalyst in emergence of more than 500 downstream processing industries in West Bengal with a capacity to process more than 3,50,000 TPA of polymers, among which are PE and PP. Once identified by promoter dispute and poor financial health, HPL turned around from 2015. Founded by Purnendu Chatterjee in the mid-80s, the US-headquartered TCG now has a controlling stake in HPL. TCG owns and controls companies as ‘long-term investments’ in sectors like, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, biotech, financial services, real estate and technology, serving global markets.
MRC