EU Plastic Tax approved by European Council: A Danger for the EU Single Market & Recovery

MOSCOW (MRC) -- EU Plastic Tax approved by European Council: A Danger for the EU Single Market & Recovery, said Polymercomplyeurope.

The plan foresees a EUR0.80/kg levy on non-recycled plastic packaging waste to be paid by member states into the EU budget.

While the tax has been presented by the European Commission as “contribution to the EU budget designed to incentivise member states to increase recycling from plastic waste”, the European plastics industry is warning that it might have the opposite effect. Further fiscal measures are not the most efficient tool to drive innovation and investments that are needed to meet the intended policy objectives of the Green Deal.

"As the revenues of the EU plastic tax are not earmarked to be invested into the waste and recycling infrastructure, it will not increase the recycling of plastic waste in Europe,” Said EuPC Managing Director Alexandre Dangis. "Instead, it will further increase the cost of plastic recycling and encourage the shift to other packaging materials with a bigger environmental impact. To truly increase recycling rates across Europe and protect the environment, taxation of the landfilling of plastic packaging waste would be more efficient.

Improving the recycling of plastics packaging requires considerable investment by the entire plastics value chain in innovation, new machinery, and the ecological design of plastic packaging. With expected revenues of around €6-8 billion per year flowing into the general budget of the EU, this money would not be available anymore to be invested in the transition towards a circular economy.

As a next step, further details on the tax will have to be worked out in a specific law and approved by the European Parliament and Council of the EU. While much of the details remain obscure up to now, it is already clear that the member states will have large freedom in the implementation of the measures to collect the funds to be transferred to the EU. The implementation and complexity of different schemes from country to country will lead to a host of heterogeneous measures destroying the single market.

As MRC informed earlier, an estimated 11 million metric tons (MMt) of plastic waste enter the ocean every year and this will almost triple by 2040, to 29 MMt, if immediate and sustained action is not taken, according to a newly published in-depth report.

According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia dropped in January-June 2020 by 7% year on year to 328,000 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the main decrease in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia rose in the first six months of 2020 by 21% year on year to 105,300 tonnes. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia's overall polypropylene (PP) production grew in first six months of 2020 by 24% year on year to 904,800 tonnes. ZapSibNeftekhim accounted for the main increase in the output, according to MRC's ScanPlast report.

Russian producers reduced their total PP production in June to 149,400 tonnes from 162,900 tonnes a month earlier, ZapSibNeftekhim reduced its capacity utilisation. Russia's overall PP production reached 904,800 tonnes in the first six months of 2020, compared to 732,000 tonnes a year earlier. Four out of eight producers increased their capacity utilisation, with a new producer -ZapSibNeftekhim - accounting for the main increase in the output.

The structure of PP production by plants looked the following way over the stated period.

SIBUR Tobolsk raised its capacity utilisation last month, the plant's production rose to 49,500 tonnes in June versus 38,500 tonnes a month earlier. The Tobolsk plant's overall PP production reached 218,100 tonnes in January-June 2020, down by 13% year on year.

ZapSibNeftekhim, the second Tobolsk manufaturer, produced 20,100 tonnes of PP last month versus 44,100 tonnes in May because of a scheduled shutdown for maintenance. The plant's overall output totalled 202,500 tonnes in the first six months of 2020.

Omsk Poliom increased its capacity utilisation in June, having produced 15,100 tonnes of PP, compared to 14,300 tonnes a month earlier. The Omsk plant's overall PP output was about 94,000 tonnes over the stated period, down by 13% year on year.

Nizhnekamskneftekhim produced 17,900 tonnes of propylene polymers last month versus 19,000 tonnes a month earlier. The Nizhnekamsk plant's overall output of polymer exceeded 110,000 tonnes in the first six months of 2020, compared to 105,900 tonnes a year earlier.

Tomskneftekhim produced 12,700 tonnes of propylene polymers in June versus 13,100 tonnes a month earlier. The Tomsk plant's PP output reached 77,100 tonnes in January-June 2020, up by 3% year on year.

Ufaorgsintez' PP production was about 11,000 tonnes last month versus 9,900 tonnes in May. The Ufa plant's overall output of polymer reached 65,300 tonnes in January-June 2020, down 2% year on year.

Neftekhimiya (Kapotnya) produced over 12,500 tonnes of PP in June, compared to 13,000 tonnes a month earlier. The plant's overall PP output reached 75,100 tonnes in the first six months of 2020, up by 6% year on year.

Stavrolen (Lukoil) produced 10,700 tonnes of propylene polymers last month versus 10,900 tonnes in May. The Budenovsk plant's overall production of propylene polymers exceeded 62,800 tonnes in the first six months of 2020 versus 56,100 tonnes a year earlier.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia's production of high density polyethylene (HDPE) totalled 892,800 tonnes in the first six months of 2020, up by 84% year on year. ZapSibNeftekhim accounted for the main increase in the output, according to MRC's ScanPlast report.
June HDPE production in Russia was 114,400 tonnes, whereas this figure was at 176,400 tonnes a month earlier, the largest producer - ZapSibNeftekhim - shut its production capacities for a scheduled maintenance. Thus, overall HDPE output in the country reached 892,800 tonnes in January-June 2020, compared to 486,400 tonnes a year earlier. All producers raised their output, but ZapSibNeftekhim accounted for the greatest increase.

After the Tobolsk plant, Gazprom neftekhim Salavat and Stavrolen showed good indicators of growth in the output of material over the stated period, these producers increased their HDPE production by 5% and 6%, respectively, to 163,900 tonnes and 64,400 tonnes.

Russia's second largest polyethylene (PE) producer - Kazanorgsintez - accounted for a minimal increase in HDPE production: the output rose to 271,100 tonnes, up by 1% year on year. The growth in production of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) was the main reason.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Arkema is investing in Continuous Composites, a US-based start-up company that is developing a new method of 3D printing composite materials that could eliminate much of the prohibitive expense that restricts their widespread adoption, said the company.

It did not disclose the size of the investment. Arkema has already signed a joint development agreement with Continuous Composites in September 2019, and the two met several milestones, the French company said.

The two companies have been adapting Arkema's N3xtDimension photocurable resins to Continuous Composites's CF3D process, short for continuous fibre 3D printing. The CF3D process can eliminate much of the time and expense in making composite materials, according to a presentation by Tyler Alvarado, CEO.

Under the process, dry fibre comes off of spools and enters a printer head, where it is impregnated on site with ultraviolet-curable resins. The process eliminates the need for pre-impregnation (pre-preg), removing a large chunk of the expense in making composite materials.

The process can print shapes in free space that can support themselves, Alvarado said in his presentation. This eliminates the need for moulds, which are massive for composite parts made for the aerospace industry. Because the resin is cured by UV light and not by heat, it removes the need for autoclaves, another source of the large costs involved with composites.

Alvarado said the company's CF3D process can print up to 10 feet/second (3 metres/second). Continuous Composites said its technology uses thermoset resins, but it did not provide details beyond that, and it did not say if the process could accommodate thermoplastics.

As MRC informed earlier, in October 2019, Arkema successfully brought on stream a new 90,000-ton acrylic acid reactor at its Clear Lake, Texas site to support the growth of its North American customers in the superabsorbents, paints, adhesives and water treatment markets.

As MRC informed earlier, Russia's output of products from polymers grew in April 2020 by 11.2% year on year due to quarantine restrictions. However, this figure increased by 3.4% year on year in the first four months of 2020. According to the Russian Federal State Statistics Service, April production of unreinforced and non-combined films decreased to 107,000 tonnes from 110,400 tonnes a month earlier. Output of films products grew in the first four months of 2020 by 12.5% year on year to 402,800 tonnes.

Arkema is a global manufacturer in specialty chemicals and advanced materials, with 3 business segments - High Performance Materials, Industrial Specialties, and Coating Solutions - and globally recognized brands. The Group reports annual sales of EUR8.8 billion. Buoyed by the collective energy of its 20,000 employees, Arkema operates in close to 55 countries.
MRC

1. Chinese June crude imports from Saudi Arabia, Russia, Brazil hit fresh highs

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China's crude imports from main suppliers Saudi Arabia, Russia and Brazil all hit fresh highs in June, boosting the country's total crude imports to a record high - and almost touching 13 million b/d in a month for the first time, reported S&P Global with reference to General Administration of Customs's data released July 26. Main supplier Saudi Arabia delivered 2.17 million b/d of crude to China in June, edging up 0.2% from the previous record high in May on barrel-per-day basis, while imports from Russia reached 1.95 million b/d, inching closer to the 2 million b/d mark and surpassing the previous high in May of 1.82 million b/d. Fourth-largest supplier Brazil delivered 1.22 million b/d in the month, up 20.9% from the previous record high of 1.01 million b/d last November, the GAC data showed. China's crude imports from US hit an eight-month high of 143,452 b/d in June, despite being down 23.7% year on year. There were no Iranian crude imports in June for the first time since January 2007, when S&P Global Platts began tracking GAC data. China's total crude oil imports surged 34.4% year on year to record high of 12.99 million b/d, or 53.18 million mt, in June as the Chinese buyers who had rushed into the market to secure cheap crudes in late March received their deliveries in the month. Over January-June, crude imports from OPEC+ suppliers rose 7.5% year on year to 8.71 million b/d as members competed to secure outlets in China during the COVID-19 pandemic, the data showed. However, the group's market share in China fell to 80.5% in the first half of the year from 82.3% a year earlier.



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