BASF to build medical center at Ludwigshafen, scraps plans for new office building

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF says it is continuing the modernization and expansion of its Ludwigshafen, Germany, complex with construction of a medical center focused on occupational medicine, according to Chemweek.

Work on the new building will begin in early 2021 with completion scheduled for mid-2023, the company says. Meanwhile, due to the economic environment caused by COVID-19, BASF has examined all planned construction projects and decided no longer to pursue a project to construct a new office building at Gate 2 of the site, on the plot of what used to be the Friedrich-Engelhorn skyscraper, it says.

“Due to the economic situation and the shift toward more mobile working, we have revised our priorities and placed them elsewhere. The alignment to future demands and strengthening the site are our central goals. We are therefore focusing our investments on the areas of production, engineering, innovation, and health and safety,” says Michael Heinz, board member and site director at BASF.

The planned medical center at BASF’s Ludwigshafen site comprises a six-story main building and a two-story ambulance station covering a total area of 11,500 square meters, the company says. It will house examination rooms, training rooms and offices, facilities for medical diagnostics for employees, as well as an emergency medical service, BASF says.

BASF confirmed the continuation of the modernization strategy at Ludwigshafen with the Site Agreement 2025, signed in July 2020, according to which the company plans to invest a sum of at least EUR1.5 billion/year (USD1.8 billion) there between 2021 and 2025.

As MRC reported earlier, BASF has restarted its No. 1 steam cracker in Germany following a maintenance turnaorund. Thus, the company resumed operations at the plant on September 30, 2019. The plant was shut for maintenance in mid-August, 2019. Located at Ludwigshafen in Germany, the No. 1 cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 235,000 mt/year and a propylene production capacity of 125,000 mt/year.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing 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.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries. BASF generated sales of EUR59 billion in 2019.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Milliken (Spartanburg, North Carolina) says it has joined the Polypropylene Recycling Coalition (PRC), an industry collaboration launched in July by The Recycling Partnership (TRP) aimed at improving recovery and recycling of polypropylene (PP) in the US, according to Chemweek.

The company says it will “tap into its material science expertize” to help the coalition increase the supply of high-quality recycled PP, including funding the PRC’s efforts to enhance PP recycling infrastructure in the US, establishing consumer education programs that encourage curbside recycling, and offering its product portfolio to packaging producers looking to use recycled PP material. Up to 1.6 billion pounds/year of PP could be available from single-family homes in the US for potential recycling into new products, according to the TRP, a non-profit organization.

The coalition aims to improve PP recycling by awarding financial grants for waste sorting equipment and supporting consumer education programs and research, with the goal of making it easier for PP to be recycled and ensuring more recyclers can sort waste material at their facilities.

Joining the coalition “will add a new dimension to our goal to boost plastic circularity - which includes maintaining a robust portfolio of additives and modifiers,” says Allen Jacoby, senior vice president/plastics additives at Milliken’s chemical division.

As MRC informed before, in August 2019, Milliken & Company unveiled plans to construct a new, state-of-the-art chemical manufacturing plant and knowledge center in Asia. Expected to begin operations in Q1 2021, the facility expands Milliken’s chemical manufacturing footprint to support increasing demand across Asia, including rapidly growing markets in India and China. The company currently operates an applications lab and technical service and sales office in Singapore, and recently celebrated its 20-year presence in the region.

We also remind that at Hispack 2018 trade fair in Spain, Milliken Chemical showcased containers of NX UltraClear polypropylene (PP) made using its Millad NX 8000 clarifier, and highlighted why that material is the preferred solution for packaging.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, 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.

Milliken is an innovation company that has been exploring, discovering, and creating ways to enhance people’s lives since 1865. The company creates coatings, specialty chemicals, and advanced additive and colorant technologies that transform the way we experience products from automotive plastics to children's art supplies.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Vietnam oil importers are offering domestic retailers a commission on diesel sales, in an unusual tactic to clear high inventories built up as the coronavirus pandemic has slashed demand, according to two sources, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The move underscores difficulties they face in moving the industrial fuel in emerging economies such as Vietnam which has posted the lowest second-quarter economic growth in decades. “Diesel demand is almost dead because it has been strongly disrupted in industrial factories where activity has been killed by COVID-19,” a Vietnam-based oil industry source said.

"So importers are offering sales commission bonuses to retailers to digest the huge inventory, but they still failed to sell." Refineries in Vietnam, which meet about 70% of the country’s fuel demand, usually have term contracts with retailers and traders, who, in turn, typically fill the demand-supply gap by importing fuels.

Last week, the importers offered a sales commission of about 2,500 Vietnam dong (USD0.1079) per litre of diesel, a second source said. The pump price of diesel in Vietnamese cities is around 12,000 dong per litre. Diesel, which accounts for about 30% to 40% of a refinery’s output, is used to fuel heavy machines and generators.

A source with Nghi Son refinery in Thanh Hoa province reported that its operations are being maintained at normal levels, though its fuel inventory has been higher recently. "This is because Dung Quat refinery has suspended its production for maintenance and many importers have scaled down their imports,” he said, referring to the 130,000-barrels-per-day refinery in the central province of Quang Ngai which is currently undergoing major maintenance.

A spokesman at Nghi Son refinery did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The sources declined to be named as they are not authorized to speak with media. Slow diesel sales in the region also caused middle distillates inventories at Asia’s oil hub Singapore to rise to over a nine-year high. Benchmark Asian diesel margins are currently languishing 75% lower than their historical average for this time of year, Refinitiv Eikon data showed. Vietnam’s gasoline demand has also been dented by fewer vehicles plying the streets, the sources said.

As MRC informed earlier, Nghi Son Refinery & Petrochemical (NSRP) has been facing a persistent technical issue that forces the company to take its polypropylene (PP) unit in Vietnam off-stream for a week starting 7 September for repair. The 370,000 tons/year PP line was operating at reduced rates over the past couple of weeks before the shutdown.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, 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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- AkzoNobel has provided an update on its business performance and says that market headwinds have continued to ease during recent months, said Chemweek.

Based on current trading, the company expects total revenue for the third quarter to be close to the level in the same period of the previous year in constant currencies. Details about profit expectations have not been provided.

The company says that since the situation with COVID-19 is still evolving, trends differ per region and segment. However, end-market demand for decorative paints is strong in Europe and South America, and continues to improve for performance coatings, it says.

AkzoNobel suspended its 2020 financial ambition earlier this year, in response to the significant market disruption resulting from the pandemic. In its second-quarter results, the company noted that despite improvement in sales in June, the economic environment would remain uncertain in the second half due to the pandemic.

Financial results for the third quarter will be announced on 21 October, the company says.

As it was written before, AkzoNobel finalized the acquisition of BASF’s global Industrial Coatings business, which supplies a range of products for industries including construction, domestic appliances, wind energy and commercial transport, strengthening its position as the global number one supplier in coil coatings.

As MRC informed earlier, BASF would expand the capacity of ethylene oxide and ethylene oxide derivatives at its Verbund site in Antwerp, Belgium. The total investment adds about 400 000 tpy to BASF’s production capacity for the corresponding products with an expected investment amount exceeding EUR500 million.

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

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.

Akzo Nobel N.V., trading as AkzoNobel, is a Dutch multinational, active in the fields of decorative paints, performance coatings and specialty chemicals. Headquartered in Amsterdam, the company has activities in more than 80 countries, and employs approximately 55,000 people. Established in 1992 and specializing in sustainable water-based and advanced eco-friendly products, Mapaero operates a production facility in France and has around 140 employees.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Australia’s Viva Energy Group announced it may be able to resume full output at its Victorian refinery if coronavirus lockdown curbs are eased, but warned a full shutdown is still in the cards given the dire long-term outlook for the industry, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

A virus-driven demand slump has battered Australia’s oil refiners and sparked threats of closures, prompting the government to launch talks with the industry on how to shore up the sector. Viva, which has already reduced production at its Geelong refinery, said if COVID-19 restrictions are relaxed as foreshadowed and fuel demand recovers, the refinery could return to full production in November 2020.

However, the longer-term outlook for the refining business remains very challenging and continues to weigh on regional margins, Chief Executive Scott Wyatt said in a statement. While the company was encouraged by the government review of the sector, it was looking at other ways to address operating losses, including a full shutdown. It expects to provide an update in October.

On Sunday, coronavirus hotspot Victoria state extended a hard lockdown in its capital Melbourne until Sept. 28 and outlined a staged plan for easing curbs, due to a slower than hoped decline in infection rates. Viva said it has invested more than AD600 million (USD437.04 million) in the refinery since buying it in late 2014.

Australia’s biggest fuel supplier Ampol Ltd earlier said it planned to restart its Lytton oil refinery in September after five months of shutdown, saying refining was still a better alternative than importing products.

In August, global oil major Royal Dutch Shell was forced to shut its 110,000-barrel-per-day refinery unit in the Philippines as a demand slump hurt margins. Viva’s shares fell as much as 5% on Monday to their lowest since mid-June.

As MRC informed earlier, Royal Dutch Shell Plc has restarted the gasoline-producing fluid catalytic cracker (FCC) at its 318,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Deer Park, Texas refinery. The 70,000-bpd FCC was shut on Aug. 23.

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

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