Idemitsu Kosan starts turnaround at its cracker in Tokuyama

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Japan's Idemitsu Kosan has taken off-stream its naphtha cracker for a turnaround, according to Apic-onlne.

A Polymerupdate source in Japan informed that, the company halted operations at the cracker on September 7, 2020. The cracker is likely to remain under maintenance by end-October, 2020.

Located at Tokuyama, Japan, the cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 690,000 mt/year and propylene production capacity of 110,000 mt/year.

Idemitsu Kosan also operates another cracker in Chiba, Japan, with an ethylene production capacity of 410,000 mt/year.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall PE production totalled 1,712,400 tonnes in the first seven months of 2020, up by 58% year on year. Linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) accounted for the greatest increase in the output. At the same time, overall PP production in Russia increased in January-July 2020 by 24% year on year to 1,063,700 tonne. ZapSibNeftekhim accounted for the main increase in the output.

Idemitsu Kosan is a Japanese petroleum company. It owns and operates oil platforms, refineries and produces and sells petroleum, oils and petrochemical products. The company runs two petrochemical plants in Chiba and Tokuyama. The two naphtha crackers can produce up to 997,000 tonnes of ethylene per year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China’s Sinochem Quanzhou Petrochemical is expected to start up its 1 million tons/year cracker in China around mid of September 2020, reported CommoPlast with reference to a source close to the company.

Hence the company's polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) new plants shall start up around October period.

The new plants include a 450,000 tons/year high density polyethylene (HDPE) plant, a 200,000 tons/year low density polyethylene (LDPE) line and a 350,000 tons/year PP line.

Sinochem Quanzhou Petrochemical began trial runs at its HDPE plant on 25 August, 2020, according to market sources.

As MRC informed before, in January 2020, Sinochem Energy, a unit of China’s Sinochem Group, agreed to sell a 20% stake to five state-owned firms for 11.56 billion yuan (USD1.65 billion).

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall PE production totalled 1,712,400 tonnes in the first seven months of 2020, up by 58% year on year. Linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) accounted for the greatest increase in the output. At the same time, overall PP production in Russia increased in January-July 2020 by 24% year on year to 1,063,700 tonne. ZapSibNeftekhim accounted for the main increase in the output.

Sinochem Group engages in energy, agriculture, chemicals, real estate, and finance service businesses in China and internationally. It is involved in the exploration and production, refining and trading, warehousing and logistics, and distribution and retailing of oil and gas. The company also produces and distributes fertilizers, such as nitrogen, phosphate, potash, and other fertilizers.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Kazanorgsyntez, TAIF Group, Russia's largest producer of polyethylene, has begun a sequential shutdown for scheduled maintenance works of its high density polyethylene (HDPE) production facilities, MRC analysts reported.

According to the clients of the enterprise, Kazanorgsintez began a sequential shutdown for the maintenance works of HDPE capacities last weekend, a complete shutdown of capacities is planned by the end of this week. The shutdown will be quite long and will last approximately until the end of October. The plant's production capacity is 540,000 tonnes per year.

It is also worth noting that in line with the maintenance works of HDPE capacities, there will be short shutdown of low density polyethylene (LDPE) production facilities. The plant's annual production capacity is 225,000 tonnes.

As already noted, Ufaorgsintez shut its LDPE facilities for maintenance over the weekend for repairs.

Kazanorgsintez is the largest domestic producer of polymers and ethylene copolymers, a leading enterprise in the chemical industry of the Russian Federation, which is of strategic importance for the development of the economy of the Republic of Tatarstan and is part of the TAIF Group of Companies. At present, the company produces ethylene, polyethylene, polycarbonate, polyethylene pipes, bisphenol, phenol, acetone, ethylene glycols, ethanolamines and other organic synthesis products. The product range includes over 170 items. Kazanorgsintez's annual output is 1.7 million tonnes. The products comply with international quality standards and are exported to 31 countries around the world. The main types of raw materials for production are: ethane, ethylene, liquefied hydrocarbon gases (propane, butane), benzene, ethylene oxide, propane-propylene fraction, vinyl acetate.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- An idled oil storage facility off Venezuela's eastern coast is in "satisfactory" condition, an official with state company Petroleos de Venezuela said, after a series of incidents in recent months raised concerns about environmental hazards, reported Reuters.

About 1.3 million barrels of Corocoro crude have been stuck for over a year aboard the Nabarima FSO (floating storage and offloading facility), part of the Petrosucre joint venture between PDVSA, as the company is known, and Italy's Eni SpA, as US sanctions have complicated the nation's exports.

With no operating crew on board, in July the vessel presented an 8% incline that created the risk of a spill, and in late August a sea water leak led to flooding in the engine room. Both issues were resolved.

In the company's first public comments on the issue, PDVSA offshore executive director Pedro Figuera said in a late Wednesday night tweet that the vessel "complied with environmental and operational standards."

"The conditions of normalcy and operational reliability of the Nabarima vessel have been deemed satisfactory," Figuera wrote, along with a video of workers aboard the vessel.

Eni had said earlier on Wednesday that the vessel was "stable" and that it was evaluating options to offload the crude, some of which would need authorization under the US sanctions regime.

The concern over the Nabarima comes a month after an oil slick, which opposition lawmakers said came from PDVSA's El Palito refinery, washed up on the shores of Morrocoy national park in western Venezuela, known for pristine beaches and sensitive mangroves.

As MRC informed before, Russian state oil company Rosneft's decision to cease operations in Venezuela and sell its assets there to a Russian government-owned company was a "maneuver" made in reaction to collapsing oil prices, a US State Department official said earlier this year.

We remind that Angarsk Polymers Plant, part of Russian oil giant Rosneft, has resumed its low density polyethylene (LDPE) production after an unscheduled shutdown because of a technical issues at the ethylene unit. The plant"s customers said Angarsk Polymers Plant had brought on-stream its LDPE production by 28 August after the forced shutdown due to technical problems at its ethylene production. And the first shipments of polyethylene (PE) to customers began on 31 August. The outage lasted slightly over two weeks and began on 10 August The plant"s annual production capacity is about 75,000 tonnes.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, June estimated LDPE consumption in Russia grew to 55,260 tonnes from 45,490 tonnes a month earlier. Kazanorgsintez raised its PE output after a spring shutdown for a scheduled turnaround. Russia's estimated LDPE consumption rose to 291,270 tonnes in January-June 2020, up by 5% year on year. Russian producers raised their production, and LDPE imports also increased.

We also remind that Russia's overall PE production totalled 1,712,400 tonnes in the first seven months of 2020, up by 58% year on year. Linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) accounted for the greatest increase in the output. At the same time, overall PP production in Russia increased in January-July 2020 by 24% year on year to 1,063,700 tonne. ZapSibNeftekhim accounted for the main increase in the output.
MRC