Reliance to shut PVC plant in Hazira for maintenance

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is planning to shut one of its polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plants in India in March 2021 for a brief turnaround, according to CommoPlast with reference to market sources.

The unit located in Hazira is Reliance’s largest PVC plant with an annual capacity of 360,000 tons/year and is expected to remain shut for 15 days.

Reliance owns three PVC plants in India with plans to construct a new unit, however, the producer has yet to reveal the exact timeline for the new project.

The existing operations include the 360,000 tons/year unit in Hazira, the 315,000 tons/year unit in Dahej, and the 80,000 tons/year unit in Vadodara.

As MRC informed earlier, RIL undertook planned shutdown at its PVC plant in Dahej in late May, 2017, and the facility remained off-line for around 3 weeks. Located at Dahej in Gujarat, India, the plant has a production capacity of 315,000 mt/year.

According to MRC's DataScope report, imports of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) into Russia slightly exceeded 500 tonnes in January, down by 68% year on year. At the same time, exports decreased by 15%. January SPVC imports to Russia fell to 500 tonnes from 1,600 tonnes and 6,000 tonnes in January and December 2020, respectively. High PVC prices in the foreign markets and long New Year holidays put serious pressure on import purchases of PVC from Russian companies.

Reliance Industries is one of the world's largest producers of polymers. The company produces polypropylene, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride and other petrochemical products.
MRC

SK Group closes USD1.6-billion investment in Plug Power to develop hydrogen business in Asia

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SK Group, South Korea's largest energy provider and third-largest conglomerate, announced today the close of a USD1.6 billion investment and strategic partnership with Plug Power Inc., a leading provider of hydrogen fuel cell and fueling solutions enabling e-mobility, said Chemweek.

The partnership is part of a long-term, multi-billion dollar plan by SK to help lead the global transition to a hydrogen economy and make meaningful progress toward a more sustainable energy system.

Recognizing the importance of hydrogen as a clean alternative to traditional energy sources, SK Group has heightened its focus on building the infrastructure and developing the technology to make hydrogen energy a reality for global markets. SK Holdings, the holding company of SK Group, has established a Hydrogen Business Development Center taking the lead of the group's hydrogen long-term project that is comprised of members from SK's energy companies, including SK Innovation and SK E&S.

This new center will guide the companies' transition into the production and distribution of hydrogen energy, including the creation of a mass production facility and investments in global business opportunities. SK Group companies already are making strategic investments in their existing energy businesses and forming partnerships with global leaders in hydrogen energy technology.

As MRC reported previously, SK Innovation Co Ltd, the owner of South Korea's top refiner SK Energy, said in early February, 2021, that refining margins are expected to gradually recover this year on a pick-up in fuel demand as the impact of COVID-19 eases. The company, which has been battered by weak margins during the global pandemic, posted an operating loss of 243 billion won (USD218 million) in the October-December quarter.

We remind that SK Advanced is planning to start up the new polypropylene (PP) plant in Ulsan, South Korea this March 2021 as construction works are nearly completed. The PP unit is a joint venture between PolyMirae and SK Advanced, using the “Spheripol” process of LyondellBasell, and have an annual output of 400,000 tons/year. The unit will be utilizing the propylene output from SK’s 600,000 tons/year propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit at the same complex. It is expected that SK Advanced would have a smaller propylene allocation for export once the new PP line comes online.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 1 240,000 tonnes in 2020 (calculated using the formula: production, minus exports, plus imports, excluding producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply of exclusively PP random copolymer increased.
MRC

ADNOC acquires six VLCCs

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ADNOC Logistics & Services (ADNOC L&S), the shipping and maritime logistics arm of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), announced the acquisition of six Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Two VLCCs have already been deployed into the company’s fleet. ADNOC L&S has placed an order for three newbuild vessels with options, which will be delivered in 2022 and 2023, and purchased one additional existing vessel that will be joining its fleet shortly. These vessels are the first crude carriers to join the ADNOC L&S fleet, adding a total cargo capacity of 12 million barrels.

ADNOC L&S, which is currently the largest integrated maritime logistics and shipping company in the GCC, and owner and operator of the largest shipping fleet in the UAE, is pursuing a major fleet expansion program. This will enable the company to provide better service to its global customers, while also supporting ADNOC as it expands its production and refining capacity and grows its new trading operations. ADNOC has established two new trading companies: ADNOC Trading, which is focused on crude oil and started derivatives trading in September 2020; and ADNOC Global Trading (AGT), a joint venture with ENI and OMV that focus on trading of refined products and began operations in December 2020.

Captain Abdulkareem Al Masabi, CEO, ADNOC Logistics and Services said, “The acquisition of these six VLCCs is one of our most significant growth steps to-date. This strategic move allows us to offer new services to our customers and supports ADNOC and its Trading entities to access new global energy markets, while also delivering incremental value and a new revenue stream to our business.”

“Given recent market conditions, we were able to purchase both existing and newbuild vessels at competitive prices. Owning these vessels will deliver cost efficiencies for our business, as opposed to chartering vessels, while also enabling us to provide a more reliable service to customers. These purchases also further reinforce our position as the largest, fully integrated logistics and shipping company in the region, paving the way for the transportation of greater crude volumes to customers across the world.”

The latest purchases by ADNOC L&S reflects the company’s continued focus on modernizing, growing and diversifying its fleet. Built to ADNOC’s specification, the newbuild vessels will be equipped with industry-leading Smart Ship technology. While the specialist manufacturing facilities for this type of VLCC are only available in a limited number of countries, predominantly in Asia, ADNOC L&S secured higher levels of In-Country Value (ICV) for this important contract by ensuring that Project Management and design work for the newbuild vessels is undertaken in the UAE. In addition, a team of young UAE nationals from ADNOC L&S will work closely with the design and project management teams to enhance their knowledge and experience in the design, construction and future maintenance of VLCC vessels.

The six vessels, each with a minimum length of 330 meters (1,082 feet), will have a 300,000 metric tonnes deadweight and the ability to carry nearly two million barrels of crude oil, adding a total of 12 million barrels capacity to the ADNOC L&S fleet. Two VLCCs were delivered in December and are already operational on key ADNOC Trading routes and one additional existing vessel purchased this week will join the fleet shortly.

The establishment of a new VLCC fleet comes as ADNOC progresses its plans to grow its oil production capacity. The company currently has a capacity of over 4 mbopd, which it intends to grow to 5 mbopd by 2030.

ADNOC L&S grew its fleet with 16 deep-sea vessels in 2020. In addition to its new VLCC fleet, the company confirmed the order of five newbuild and one recent second-hand Dual Fuel Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGCs) for AW Shipping, its Joint Venture with Wanhua Chemical Group, and recently announced the purchase of four bulk carriers (3 Ultramax and 1 Handysize).

These orders add to ADNOC L&S’s fleet of 120 owned vessels, which includes deep-sea shipping, offshore support and marine services vessels. The ADNOC L&S international trading fleet transports crude oil, refined products, dry bulk, containerized cargo, LPG and LNG on its owned and chartered vessels, supporting ADNOC’s operations locally and facilitating the shipment of commodities to global markets.

As MRC reported previously, in early May, 2020, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) began a gradual restart of its Ruwais oil refinery complex after a scheduled maintenance shutdown. The Ruwais complex, which has capacity of 835,000 barrels per day, was shut down early this year, the ADNOC spokesman said.

And in late July 2019, ADNOC said its Ruwais refinery west cracker was offline for maintenance.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,220,640 tonnes in 2020, up by 2% year on year. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased. At the same time, polypropylene (PP) shipments to the Russian market reached 1 240,000 tonnes in 2020 (calculated using the formula: production, minus exports, plus imports, excluding producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply of exclusively PP random copolymer increased.
MRC

Agilyx and ExxonMobil form JV to supply plastics recycling industry

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Agilyx Corporation (AGLX), a wholly owned subsidiary of Agilyx AS (Euronext Growth (Oslo): “AGLX”) and a leader in advanced recycling technology, established Cyclyx International LLC., on January 1, 2021, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

ExxonMobil joined Agilyx to become a founding member of the joint venture which is focused on helping increase plastic waste recycling. Cyclyx will aggregate and pre-process plastic waste to meet the technical requirements of a wide range of recycling processes while ensuring reliable supply of feedstock to its customers. Cyclyx aims to transform the current supply chain and help accelerate the growth of the advanced recycling industry by connecting companies looking for plastic waste solutions with customers engaged in recycling initiatives.

The joint venture combines Agilyx’s expertise in plastic waste conversion with ExxonMobil’s technology expertise and large-scale petrochemical manufacturing network. As part of the agreement, Cyclyx will help supply plastic waste feedstocks for ExxonMobil’s advanced recycling projects. Advanced recycling involves breaking down plastic waste to its molecular building blocks which are then used in the process of making virgin-quality plastic and other valuable products.

"This is a significant milestone for Agilyx and Cyclyx, as it marks the beginning of an entirely new approach to plastic waste recovery,” said Tim Stedman, chief executive officer at Agilyx. “Our mission at Agilyx is clear – to help solve the issue of plastic waste."

“This joint venture represents an entirely new proposition about the way we handle plastic waste,” said Joe Vaillancourt, newly appointed chief executive officer of Cyclyx. “The Cyclyx business model brings tangible solutions, turning plastic waste into valuable new products. Leveraging Agilyx’s expertise in plastics recycling and the scale of partners like ExxonMobil, we aim to create a lasting and impactful change."

"We see Cyclyx as helping to fill an important missing link in the plastics recycling value chain that is needed for advanced recycling solutions to scale,” said Karen McKee, President of ExxonMobil Chemical Company. “We share society’s concern about plastic waste, and our new joint venture is an important step in our efforts to develop advanced recycling technologies and approaches to help meet demand for certified circular polymers."

ExxonMobil holds a 25 percent equity interest in Cyclyx with Agilyx owning the remaining 75 percent. In addition to supplying plastic waste to Agilyx’s customers and ExxonMobil, Cyclyx also aims to supply other customers with feedstock solutions for a wide range of recycling initiatives.

Cyclyx invites other companies to join as members, connecting waste producers with advanced and mechanical recyclers through innovative supply chains. Members could include retailers, brand owners, waste management companies, petrochemical companies, municipalities and others looking for solutions to address plastic waste in the environment.

As MRC informed before, earlier this week, ExxonMobil Corp said it will close its 72-year-old Altona refinery in Australia, the country’s smallest, and convert it to a fuel import terminal as refiners struggle with low demand.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,220,640 tonnes in 2020, up by 2% year on year. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world"s oil and about 2% of the world's energy.
MRC

Indorama reports lower profit despite higher volume

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Thailand-listed Indorama Ventures Ltd (Ltd) expects demand recovery for its products to continue this year after it swung to a net profit of Thai baht (Bt) 1.61bn ($54m) in the fourth quarter of 2020, said Chemweek.

Fourth-quarter earnings were driven by stronger production volumes and contributions from its polyethylene terephthalate (PET) business. IVL's overall production rose by 21% year on year to 3.48m tonnes in the fourth quarter. Core EBITDA at its combined PET business rose by 31% year on year to USD177m in October-December 2020.

In 2021, the uptrend in crude oil prices is expected to positively impact its PET premiums this year and result in positive inventory valuation gains, IVL said in a statement. "We see robust demand for PET and tightness in the market, which will be positive for spreads across our value chain of paraxylene (PX), purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and monoethylene glycol (MEG)," the company said.

Moreover, higher freight costs from Asia to Europe and Americas increases the landed cost (import parity) into these net importing western countries, and IVL stand to benefit from being a domestic producer in these markets, it said. "Overall, we anticipate volumes growth to meet robust demand," the company said. In its integrated oxides and derivatives business, further recovery in monoethylene glycol (MEG) demand is expected this year, IVL said.

"We expect IVL to post solid Q1 earnings driven by higher PET spreads in both Asia and the west, healthy production volume, and continuing improvement in fiber and integrated oxides and derivatives units," said Naphat Chantaraserekul, analyst at Thai brokerage Krungsri Securities. The improvement at its oxides unit will be driven by methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) as demand is recovering after lockdown in South America, its key export market, he added.

Higher crude oil price is improving the MEG benchmark price and the US shale gas advantage, widening MEG spreads, it said. Crack margins have also recovered since the fourth quarter of last year, driven by strong derivatives demand and higher crude oil prices, the company noted. The company said that its construction of an integrated PET/PTA plant at Corpus Christi in Texas, US is expected to be completed in 2024. The plant is expected to produce 367,000 tonnes/year of PET and 433,000 tonnes/year of PTA.

As per MRC, Indorama Ventures (Bangkok, Thailand) has opened a recycling facility at Verdun, France and expanded two recently acquired facilities at Bielsko-Biala and Leczyca in Poland. The company says that 10 billion post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottles from across Europe will be recycled every year by 2023 in its new and expanded facilities in France and Poland.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,220,640 tonnes in 2020, up by 2% year on year. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased. At the same time, polypropylene (PP) shipments to the Russian market reached 1 240,000 tonnes in 2020 (calculated using the formula: production, minus exports, plus imports, excluding producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply of exclusively PP random copolymer increased.
MRC