Highsun invests in new nylon-6 line in China

MOSCOW (MRC) -- HSCC, also known as Highsun, is installing a polyamide 6 (PA6) film grade polymer line with a nameplate capacity of more than 70,000 tonnes/year at its site in Fuzhou, Fujian province, said Chemweek.

The line will include an integrated dry-blending system, enabling HSCC to produce a full range of differentiated PA6 polymers targeted at the film market, it said in a statement.

70,000-metric tons/year PA6 production line in Fuzhou will start operations in March 2021.

German chemical engineer Uhde Inventa-Fischer is the project’s technology partner. Financial details were not disclosed.

As it was written earlier, in accordance with the agreement initially announced on June 10, 2019, Air Liquide has closed the sale of its subsidiary Air Liquide Fuzhou to Highsun Holding Group, the parent company of Fujian Shenyuan New Materials Co., Ltd.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,760,950 tonnes in the first ten months of 2020, up by 3% year on year. Only high density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 978,870 tonnes in January-October 2020 (calculated using the formula: production minus exports plus imports minus producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply of exclusively of PP random copolymer increased.

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MOSCOW (MRC) - U.S. governors from Massachusetts and Connecticut announced their commitment to a low-carbon transportation program on Monday, but gasoline-related trade groups say it has flaws that will harm, rather than promote, use of fuels that produce fewer pollutants, as per Reuters.

Some oil refiners and energy trade groups have been more supportive this year of low-carbon fuel programs nationwide because the incentives can prove profitable for their industries. The Transportation and Climate Initiative Program, or TCI-P, favored by the states would require large gasoline and diesel suppliers to purchase auctionable "allowances" for the pollution caused by combustion of fuels they sell in participating areas.

Trade groups, including the National Association of Truckstop Operators (NATSO) and the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), argue that TCI-P fails to effectively encourage investment in alternative fuels, and instead only penalizes fuel retailers that sell traditional fuel, according to a letter seen by Reuters addressed to a Massachusetts state official.

Another incentive program, California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard, allows refiners to generate tradable credits with production of lower carbon-intensive fuels. "Market-oriented incentive policies have proven to drive private sector investment in clean fuels, but TCI's centralized, punitive structure will make businesses reluctant to embrace alternative fuels," said David Fialkov, counsel to NATSO.

Kathleen Theoharides, secretary for the executive office of energy and environmental affairs in Massachusetts, said that through the program, the market would encourage investment. "This is certainly going to send a market signal that if they make investments in renewable blends, they can pass on a cheaper cost to consumers and outcompete their competitors," Theoharides said.

As MRC informed earlier, during the week ended 19 December, chemical railcar traffic in North America totaled 45,883 carloads, down 1.2% from the previous week and up 0.6% year-over-year (YOY). On a four-week basis, volume was up 6.1% from 2019 and down 4.6% from 2018 (chart). For the year to date, chemical railcar traffic in North America was down 2.8%, even with the previous week and the highest figure since mid-May, when volume for the year to date was down 2.4%.

We remind that Russia"s output of chemical products rose in October 2020 by 7.2% year on year. At the same time, production of basic chemicals grew in the first ten months of 2020 by 6.3% year on year, according to Rosstat's data. According to the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, polymers in primary form accounted for the greatest increase in the January-October output. October production of polymers in primary form grew to 857,000 tonnes from 852,000 tonnes in September. Overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 8,340,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 17% year on year.

We also remind that Russia's output of products from polymers grew in October 2020 by 6.3% year on year.
However, this figure increased by 1.5% year on year in the first ten months of 2020. According to the Russian Federal State Statistics Service, October production of unreinforced and non-combined films rose to 124,000 tonnes from 117,600 tonnes a month earlier. Output of films products grew in January-October 2020 by 8.5% year on year to 1 104,900 tonnes.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- SQM (Santiago, Chile) says its board has approved the initiation of a process to increase the company's capital by up to USD1.1 billion by issuing about 22.4 million Series B shares of common stock, said Chemweek.

The process will begin with an extraordinary shareholders' meeting on 22 January 2021, where the company will seek approval for the capital increase.

The capital increase will part finance SQM's recently announced capital expenditure (capex) program for 2021–24, which will expand the company's capacity for lithium, iodine, and nitrates.

As per MRC, SQM inked a long-term agreement with LG Energy Solution to supply the South Korean battery maker with ultralight metal lithium, a main ingredient in powering electric vehicles. SQM, the world’s No.2 producer of lithium, said the contract would run between 2021 and 2029 and involves the supply of approximately 55,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent.

We remind that Russia's output of chemical products rose in October 2020 by 7.2% year on year. At the same time, production of basic chemicals grew in the first ten months of 2020 by 6.3% year on year, according to Rosstat's data. According to the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, polymers in primary form accounted for the greatest increase in the January-October output. October production of polymers in primary form grew to 857,000 tonnes from 852,000 tonnes in September. Overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 8,340,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 17% year on year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan on 19 December inaugurated a lube blending plant of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) in the city, according to Energyworld.

With an investment of Rs 142 crore, the project generated nearly 72,000 man-days, a statement issued by the oil marketing PSU said.

The plant was inaugurated in the presence of IOC chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, it said. IOC said the new plant will make the country self- reliant in the field of lubricants.

Pradhan was quoted as saying that the unit is strategically located near the port area and will have an annual throughput of one lakh kilolitre.

As MRC reported earlier, in August 2020, Indian Oil sai it will build an integrated paraxylene (PX) and purified terephthalic acid (PTA) facility at Paradip in Odisha State, India, at an estimated investment of 138 billion Indian rupees (USD1.84 billion). The project will be completed by early 2024, with the complex planned to produce 800,000 metric tons/year of PX and 1.2 million metric tons/year of PTA, it says.

PTA is used to produce polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is used in the manufacturing of plastic bottles, films, packaging containers, in the textile and food industries.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PET consumption reached 59,310 tonnes in October 2020, down by 8% year on year. Overall consumption of PET in Russiareached 589,580 tonnes in the first ten months of 2020, down by 20% year on year.

Indian Oil Corporation Limited, or IndianOil, is an Indian state-owned oil and gas corporation with its headquarters in New Delhi, India.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Three naphtha crackers in South Korea, one of Asia's largest petrochemical centers, are to resume operations in December and January after months of maintenance and outages, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing with reference to company officials' statement on Tuesday.

As the companies prepare to ramp up production, they have purchased large volumes of spot naphtha, lifting prices in the region to their highest in months, trade sources said.

"There is more demand (for naphtha). All these crackers are recovering and returning to the market," one of the sources said.

Petrochemicals producers across Asia are increasing output on the back of strong margins, the sources said.

Lotte Chemical began test runs at its 1.1 million tonnes per year (tpy) cracker in early December and plans to resume commercial production later this month, a company official said. The plant has been shut since March after a fire.

LG Chem plans to restart its cracker in Yeosu between the middle and end of January, a company official said. The cracker, which can produce 1.2 million tonnes of ethylene per year, was shut in November after a fire.

A third petrochemical producer, YNCC, aims to restart one of its crackers in Yeosu on Jan. 14, a company official said, after the completion of maintenance and the planned expansion of the facility.

A second company official said the expansion is expected to be completed in January, raising the facility's capacity by 335,000 tpy to 915,000 tpy.

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

According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia decreased in January-November 2020 by 17% year on year and reached 569,900 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the greatest reduction in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia increased by 21% year on year to about 202,000 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2020. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.
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