Compostable bioplastics supplier Novamont boosts European presence with BioBag acquisition

MOSCOW (MRC) -- In a move designed to expand its distribution area, Italian compostable bioplastics supplier Novamont has acquired BioBag Group, a Norway-based supplier of low-impact solutions for waste collection and packaging, said Canplastics.

The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed. Both companies have worked together for more than two decades, and Novamont expects the acquisition to increase its geographic reach to areas where it is less present.

BioBag has developed a growing eCommerce platform, which is an important market channel for their existing applications and for the expanded product range that will be derived from Novamont’s innovations and upstream integration.

“This agreement allows Novamont to expand its model of circular bioeconomy,” Novamont CEO Catia Bastioli said in a Jan. 12 statement. “By joining our best skills and energies and fully integrating our supply chains we can better serve our partners upstream and downstream while further accelerating circular solutions for different market sectors and for communities pursuing our goal of producing more with less."

As MRC informed earlier, Mater-Bi, a company wholly controlled by the Novamont group, is a manufacturer of ORIGO–BI, biopolyesters with a high level of renewables, components of MATER-BI compostable bioplastics. The plant has been built to manufacture PET by reconversion of the former Mossi & Ghisolfi plant. The renovation included regeneration, modification and in some cases wholly renewal of its various sections to implement innovative technologies developed by Novamont in the form of a continuous process.

As per MRC's ScanPlast, Russia's estimated PET consumption reached 61,110 tonnes in November 2020, up by 1% year on year. Overall PET consumption in Russia reached 648,110 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2020, down by 18% year of year.

Headquartered in Novara, near Milan, Novamont has commercial offices in Germany, France, Spain, and the U.S., and operates through its own distributors in 40 countries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- OQ Chemicals (Monheim am Rhein, Germany) is to increase the price of 2-ethylhexanoic acid (2-EHA) in the US, effective 1 February 2021 or as contracts allow, citing supply and demand, reported Chemweek.

The price of 2-EHA will rise by 5 cents per pound, it says.

The company announced price hikes in the Americas last week for neopentyl glycol and oxo intermediates, citing increasing raw material costs and strong demand, also to be implemented on 1 February.

As MRC wrote before, in September 2020, OQ Chemicals entered into an agreement to license its advanced proprietary technology for the production of ethylene and propylene derivatives to Duqm Refinery and Petrochemicals Industries Company (DRPIC) in Oman. DRPIC, a joint venture between Oman Oil Company and Kuwait International Oil Company, is a planned grassroots petrochemical complex at Duqm, Oman. In all, DRPIC awarded twelve license packages to international licensors.

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.

OQ Chemicals, formerly Oxea, is a global manufacturer of oxo intermediates and oxo derivatives, such as alcohols, polyols, carboxylic acids, specialty esters, and amines. These products are used for the production of high-quality coatings, lubricants, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products, flavours and fragrances, printing inks and plastics. OQ Chemicals is part of OQ, an integrated energy company that delivers sustainability and business excellence. OQ operates in 16 countries and covers the entire value chain from exploration and production to the marketing and distribution of its products.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Germany-based chemical giant BASF has opened its ASEAN Technical Development Center adjacent to its existing polyurethane (PU) system house at its Bangpoo site in Thailand, said Canplastics.

In a news release, BASF said the new facility houses a state-of-the-art pre-polymer reactor technology to produce hardeners (component B) that are keys component to boost product development efficiency, thereby enabling faster time-to-market of PU materials and solutions.

The advanced reactor technology is further designed to deliver on a much larger capacity, meeting most demanding customer requirements across all grades. The new pre-polymer reactor technology is additionally capable of developing customized PU System products, which helps improve the commercialization of these specialized solutions.

"The ASEAN Technical Development Center also boasts several new service upgrades, such as more advanced testing and software capabilities,” BASF said. “With the new pre-polymer reactor technology, the ASEAN Technical Center strengthens and complements our technical support network in China, Korea, and Germany."

“Through the ASEAN Technical Development Center, we are better positioned to support our customers and help them capitalize on growth opportunities in ASEAN across key industries and applications,” said Andy Postlethwaite, senior vice president, performance materials Asia Pacific, BASF. “Together with the expanded polyurethane system house, we are demonstrating our commitment to ASEAN, with even more reliable supply, as well as technical expertise and innovation capabilities."

BASF previously increased the production capacity of its polyurethane system house in Bangpoo as part of a move to better meet the growing demand across automotive, consumer, construction, and industrial markets in ASEAN. With a total production area of 2,700 m2, the redesigned system house includes additional mixing vessels, reactors, and storage tanks.

The ASEAN car market by production volume continues to grow with differentiated products and emerging applications, BASF said. “Thailand and Indonesia are among the largest automotive industries in Southeast Asia, while Vietnam is already one of the world’s largest footwear exporters, and its industry is expected to grow as more manufacturers are relocating their manufacturing base there,” the company added.

As per MRC, BASF announced that the implementation of the methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) capacity increase programme for production facilities at its Verbund site in Geismar, LA, USA, is progressing on schedule. Over time, the company targets to double the capacity from 300,000 t/y to approximately 600,000 t/y. BASF said with this stepwise capacity addition, it will support the ongoing growth of its North American MDI customers.

As MRC reported earlier, nn 17 December, 2020, BASF opened its ASEAN Technical Development Center adjacent to its existing polyurethane (PU) System House at Bangpoo site in Thailand. The new facility houses a state-of-the-art pre-polymer reactor technology to produce a hardener (component B) - a key component to boost product development efficiency, thereby enabling faster time-to-market of PU materials and solutions.

We remind that German chemicals maker BASF said in early November it had put a project to build a petrochemicals complex in India worth up to USD4 billion on hold due to the economic uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. BASF signed a memorandum of understanding with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Adani Group and Borealis AG in October 2019 to evaluate a collaboration to build the chemical site in Mundra, in India’s Gujarat state.

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.

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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Total has become the first major energy company to quit the main U.S. oil and gas lobby due to disagreements over its climate policies and support for easing drilling regulations, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Total said it would not renew its 2021 membership with the American Petroleum Institute (API) following a review of the lobby's climate positions, describing them as being only "partially aligned" with Total's. Its withdrawal from the century-old API comes ahead of a sweeping change in policy direction in the United States, with incoming President Joe Biden promising to tackle climate change and bring the country to net-zero emissions by 2050.

The points of difference include API's support for the rollback of U.S. regulation on emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, for oil and gas drillers as well as on how to assign a price to carbon, seen as a critical method to curb emissions. "As part of our Climate Ambition made public in May 2020, we are committed to ensuring, in a transparent manner, that the industry associations of which we are a member adopt positions and messages that are aligned with those of the Group in the fight against climate change", Total Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne said.

In a statement, the API thanked Total for its membership. "We believe that the world's energy and environmental challenges are large enough that many different approaches are necessary to solve them, and we benefit from a diversity of views," the API said.

Total's operations in the United States include a number of offshore oil and gas fields in the Gulf of Mexico, a major refining and petrochemical plant in Port Arthur, Texas as well as renewable energy businesses.

Total last year announced plans to cut its carbon emissions, with the aim of reaching net zero emissions from its operations and its energy products sold to customers in Europe by 2050 or sooner.

As MRC informed earlier, Total and Engie (Paris, France) will cooperate in developing, building, and operating green hydrogen production and storage facilities at the 500,000-metric tons/year La Mede biorefinery at Chateauneuf-les-Martigues, France, to create supplies for biofuel output.

As MRC wrote earlier, within the framework of its net zero strategy, Total will convert its Grandpuits refinery (Seine-et-Marne) into a zero-crude platform and will invest more then EUR500 mln into this project. By 2024 the platform will focus on four new industrial activities: production of renewable diesel primarily intended for the aviation industry, production of bioplastics, plastics recycling and operation of two photovoltaic solar power plants.

We remind that in November 2019, Total disclosed that itis evaluating construction of a new gas cracker at its Deasan, South Korea, joint venture (JV) with Hanwha Chemical.

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.

Total S.A. is a French multinational oil and gas company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world with business in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. The company's petrochemical products cover two main groups: base chemicals and the consumer polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene) that are derived from them.
MRC

1. Global chemicals output climbs for sixth month

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Data collected and tabulated by the American Chemistry Council (ACC) show that global chemicals production rose 1.9% in November, up from 1.7% in October and extending the recovery that began in June. During November, chemical production grew in all regions except the Former Soviet Union (FSU), said Hydrocarbonprocessing. Headline global production was up 3.7% year-over-year (Y/Y) on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis and is now 2.9% above the pre-COVID peak last December. Global output stood at 122.0 percent of its average 2012 levels. During November, global capacity rose 0.1% and was up 2.2% Y/Y. With improving production, capacity utilization in the global chemical industry rose 1.5 points to 82.9%. This is up from 81.7% in October and the pre-COVID peak in December 2019, but below the long-term (1987-2017) average of 86.5%.



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