Enterprise to restart PDH unit in Texas this week

Enterprise to restart PDH unit in Texas this week

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Enterprise Products is expected to restart its propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit in Mont Belvieu, Texas, from maintenance this week, reported S&P Global with reference to sources.

This PDH unit has the capacity of 750,000 mt/y of propylene.

As MRC wrote before, Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPP), through one of its affiliates, has entered a long-term agreement with Marubeni Corp. of Japan, under which Marubeni will offtake polymer-grade propylene (PGP) produced from a second (PDH 2) plant currently under construction at EPP’s operations in Mont Belvieu, Tex., for supply to global customers. Concluded on June 16, the PGP offtake agreement is part of a long-term collaboration between EPP and Marubeni that also includes the export of liquefied ethylene, the first 25-million lb vessel of which loaded and sailed from EPP and Navigator Holdings Ltd.’s 50-50 joint venture marine terminal at Morgan’s Point, Tex., in early January, EPP and Marubeni said on June 30.

Propylene is the main feedstock for the production of polypropylene (PP).

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.
MRC

European Commission clears Lotos acquisition by PKN Orlen

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The European Commission has approved PKN Orlen’s acquisition of Grupa Lotos, said the Commission.

The approval is conditional on full compliance with a commitments package offered by PKN Orlen.

Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: "Access to fuels at competitive prices is important for businesses and consumers alike. Today, we can approve the proposed acquisition of Lotos by PKN Orlen because the extensive commitments offered by PKN Orlen will ensure that the relevant Polish markets remain open and competitive and that the merger will not lead to higher prices or less choice for fuels and related products for businesses and consumers in Poland and Czechia."

Decision follows an in-depth investigation of the proposed merger by the Commission, which combines PKN Orlen and Grupa Lotos (Lotos), two large Polish integrated oil and gas companies. They are both active in Poland, where they both own refineries, and also have activities in several other Central and Eastern European and Baltic countries.

During its in-depth investigation, the Commission gathered extensive information and feedback from competitors and customers of the merging companies.

The companies and Poland's state treasury agreed the deal in February 2018.

As MRC informed earlier, in H1 September 2019, Honeywell announced that PKN ORLEN had licensed the UOP MaxEne process, which can increase production of ethylene and aromatics and improve the flexibility of gasoline production. The project, for the PKN Orlen facility in Plock, Poland, currently is in the basic engineering stage. Honeywell UOP, a leading provider of technologies for the oil and gas industry, first commercialized the UOP MaxEne process in 2013. The process enables refiners and petrochemical producers to direct molecules within the naphtha feed to the processes that deliver the greatest value and improve yields of fuels and petrochemicals.

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.

PKN Orlen would be the first refining and petrochemicals company in Europe to use the Honeywell UOP MaxEne technology for molecule management of a naphtha stream to produce high-quality products including olefins, aromatics and gasoline.
MRC

Dow conducts maintenance at PDH unit in Freeport

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dow Chemical has begun scheduled maintenance at its propane dehydrogenation (PDH)unit in Freeport, Texas, reported S&P Global with reference to sources.

Thus, the planned turnaround at this PDH unit with the capacity of 750,000 mt/y of propylene started in the week ended July 10 and will last 45 days.

As MRC informed before, as part of the company’s current slate of low capital intensity, high-return incremental growth investments, Dow announced in August 2019 that it will retrofit proprietary fluidized catalytic dehydrogenation (FCDh) technology into one of its mixed-feed crackers in Plaquemine, Louisiana, to produce on-purpose propylene.

The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation. Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, and synthetic rubber.

Propylene is the main feedstock for the production of polypropylene (PP).

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.
MRC

ChemChina seeks partners for Syngenta stake

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China National Chemical Corp. has held talks with potential investors including China Investment Corp. for a stake sale in Syngenta Group Co. before an initial public offering of the Swiss agrochemicals company, said Bloomberg.

Bloomberg says ChemChina has also approached Silk Road Fund (Beijing) to invest in Syngenta. ChemChina aims to complete Syngenta’s pre-IPO financing before the end of this year, followed by a listing on Shanghai’s Star board for high-technology companies next year, Bloomberg says. Syngenta says it is focused on being ready for an IPO by mid-2022.

ChemChina bought Syngenta in 2017 for USD43 billion, making it China’s biggest foreign takeover to date. The main aim was to use Syngenta’s crop protection and seeds technologies to improve domestic agricultural output.

ChemChina last month officially launched the new Syngenta Group, which combined Syngenta AG, headquartered in Switzerland; Adama, based in Israel; and the agricultural businesses of Sinochem, based in China. The new entity has 48,000 employees in more than 100 countries and had sales of USD22.58 billion in 2019. The crop protection business had sales of USD10.499 billion; Adama, USD3.997 billion; Syngenta seeds, USD3.084 billion; and Syngenta Group China, USD4.996 billion. Syngenta is the global market leader in crop protection products, the global number three in seeds, the market leader in fertilizer in China, and the leading agriculture services provider in China. It operates 15 key production sites.

Meanwhile, the previously announced megamerger, which was to combine ChemChina with Sinochem to create one of the world’s largest chemical conglomerates, last year hit difficulties and the two companies reportedly abandoned those plans.

As MRC informed earlier, ChemChina plans to invest CNY50 billion in the construction of a cracking unit in Dongying, Shandong Province. The project is in a preliminary stage and no details were available at the moment. The company is also awaiting project approval from the government of Shandong. If approved by the government, ChemChina will build its first cracker.

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.

China National Chemical Corporation, commonly known as ChemChina, is a Chinese state-owned chemical company in the product segments of agrochemicals, rubber products, chemical materials and specialty chemicals, industrial equipment, and petrochemical processing.
MRC

Reliance-Aramco deal delayed, Reliance to spin off oil-to-chemicals business into separate subsidiary

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Reliance Industries says that due to unforeseen circumstances in the energy market as well as COVID-19, its talks with Saudi Aramco to form an oil-to-chemicals (O2C) partnership have not progressed according to the original timeline, reported Chemweek.

Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance, said during the company's annual shareholders' meeting on Wednesday that Reliance would approach the National Company Law Tribunal (Delhi, India) with a proposal to spin off its O2C business into a separate subsidiary to facilitate a partnership with Aramco. Ambani said he expects the spin-off to be completed by early 2021 but did not provide a date for the partnership with Aramco, which was originally due to be completed in March 2020.

Ambani said that Reliance remains "committed to a long-term partnership" with Aramco. However, he did not say whether this would involve Aramco buying a stake in the O2C business, as previously announced. Aramco had been planning to buy a 20% stake in the O2C division for USD15 billion, according to a nonbinding agreement reached in August 2019. However, the collapse in crude oil prices this year has complicated asset valuations and caused analysts to question whether the deal will go ahead, analysts say. Press reports in India say the deal is frozen.

Ambani told shareholders that the fiscal year ended 31 March was the most challenging for the global refining and petrochemical industries. “Even in this uncertain and volatile environment, our O2C business outperformed the sector and delivered an EBITDA of 553.94 billion Indian rupees (USD7.3 billion),” he said.

Ambani said that in 2020, business and consumer activity had come to a halt leading to unprecedented demand destruction and dislocation of margins. The company reports that all its manufacturing facilities have nevertheless continued to operate at more than 90% capacity utilization.

The company says that during India's lockdown, it grew its petchem and fuel exports by more than 2.5 times in just two weeks. In April 2020, the O2C business accounted for almost 50% of India's petrochemical and fuel exports, it says.

Ambani said that the company had commissioned India's first butyl rubber (BR) plant, which places its among the world's top-10 makers of the product. Reliance partnered with Sibur (Moscow, Russia) in a joint venture, Reliance Sibur Elastomers, to build the BR unit at Reliance’s integrated petchem site at Jamnagar, India, part of the O2C business.

The company says that its O2C business has “competitive feedstock streams that are the building blocks for specialty and new value chains of acetyls, acrylates, phenols, and polyurethanes.” Ambani told shareholders that Reliance had been approached by international companies for partnerships in its petchem business, including to utilize these basic petrochemicals.

“These potential partnerships will help us build competitive manufacturing capacity at our existing sites to serve the deficit Indian market that still depends on large-scale imports of chemicals," Ambani said. "With this we will have an integrated and competitive O2C portfolio, which is valuable to global companies as it provides access to the large and growing Indian market."

Ambani said it is imperative that the energy industry adopts a clean, circular, sustainable, and planet-friendly model that delivers green and affordable energy. This can be achieved by making carbon dioxide (CO2) a recyclable resource, rather than treating it as an emitted waste. “While Reliance will remain a user of crude oil and natural gas, we are committed to embracing new technologies to convert our CO2 into useful products and chemicals.”

The company says it has “made substantial progress on photosynthetic biological pathways to convert its CO2 emissions at the Jamnagar site into high-value proteins, nutraceuticals, advanced materials, and fuels.”

Reliance plans to develop next-generation carbon capture and storage technologies. It is evaluating novel catalytic and electrochemical transformations to use CO2 as a valuable feedstock. Reliance says it also has proprietary technology to convert transportation fuels into valuable petchem and material building blocks. The company intends to substitute transportation fuels with clean electricity and hydrogen.

Ambani said that the company would combine its capabilities in digital, power electronics, advanced materials, and electrochemistry to build full stack electrolyzer and fuel cell solutions in India. It will build an optimal mix of reliable, clean, and affordable energy with hydrogen, wind, solar, fuel cells, and battery, he said. Reliance has committed to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2035.

Ambani has set a 15-year vision to build Reliance as one of the world's leading new energy and new materials companies. The model envisages a large coalition of global financial investors, reputed technology partners, and startups working on futuristic solutions, he said.

“The new energy business based on the principle of carbon recycle and circular economy is a multi-trillion opportunity for India and the world,” Ambani said.

As MRC wrote previously, last August, Saudi Aramco entered into a non-binding initial agreement to buy 20% stake in Reliance Industries’ oil to chemicals divisions with an enterprise value of USD75 billion. The oil to chemicals division included RIL’s Jamnagar refining complex, petrochemicals and fuels marketing businesses.

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.

Saudi Aramco is an integrated oil and chemicals company, a global leader in hydrocarbon production, refining processes and distribution, as well as one of the largest global oil exporters. It manages proven reserves of crude oil and condensate estimated at 261.1bn barrels, and produces 9.54 million bbl daily. Headquartered in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, the company employs over 61,000 staff in 77 countries.

Reliance Industries is one of the world's largest producers of polymers. Thus, the company produces among others polypropylene, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride.
MRC