PTTGC awards EPC contract for Map Ta Phut olefins project

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC; Bangkok, Thailand) has awarded Samsung Engineering a USD127-MM EPC contract to modify the Map Ta Phut olefins complex in Thailand, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Samsung's scope is to increase the throughput of propane for the production of propylene by building propane-propylene split and distillation towers and modify the current facilities.

The project is scheduled to be completed by 2023. According to Business Korea, Samsung Engineering is currently carrying out two plant projects of PTT GC - the Olefin Project and the Propylene Oxide Project.

As MRC informed earlier, in November 2020, PTT Global Chemical said that its planned 1.5-million metric tons/year steam cracker project at Belmont County, Ohio, remained the top priority for its affiliate PTTGC America (PTTGCA). The company said that the project had not at any point been put on hold. In September 2020, PTTGC signed an ethane supply agreement with Range Resources Corp. (Forth Worth, Texas). Range will supply 15,000 b/d of ethane to a facility that includes a cracker with ethane feed capacity of 100,000 b/d and multiple facilities for creating ethylene derivative products.

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.

PTT Global Chemical is a leading player in the petrochemical industry and owns several petrochemical facilities with a combined capacity of 8.45 million tonnes a year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Japanese oil refiner Idemitsu Kosan Co Ltd is to move into the car market with plans to launch an electric vehicle next year at its 6,400 petrol stations via a joint venture with unlisted automaker Tajima Motor Corp, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The move shows how the oil refiner is stepping up its transformation into a supplier of low-carbon energy and materials as local oil demand drops due to a shrinking and ageing population that consumes less fuel.

Idemitsu and Tajima will form a new company, called Idemitsu Tajima EV, in April, and aim to unveil their first vehicle in October this year and start selling the product next year, with a price tag of between 1-1.5 MM yen (USD9,491-USD14,237).

The companies hope the new model, an ultracompact 4-seater electric vehicle with a driving range of up to 120 km and a maximum speed of 60 km per hour, will draw demand from individuals and businesses using cars for short distances for shopping and deliveries.

The car, 2.5 meters long and 1.3 meters wide, is smaller than that of conventional minivehicles in Japan.

"We believe there is about 1 million potential demand for ultracompact EVs as it is safer than bicycle or small motor bike and easier to drive than conventional minivehicle," Idemitsu President Shunichi Kito told a news conference.

"We plan to offer various services including sharing and subscription of the EV at our 6,400 petrol stations," he said.

As MRC reported earlier, Japan's Idemitsu Kosan took off-stream its naphtha cracker in Japan for a turnaround on September 7, 2020. The cracker remained 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 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.

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) -- The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), announced , that it has added White Spirit and Solvents to its refined products portfolio, said Chemweek.

This allows ADNOC to capture more value from Abu Dhabi’s natural resources, producing products that can be used by domestic industry to promote In-Country manufacturing, while also expanding its market reach internationally. White Spirit & Solvents are produced by ADNOC Refining in Ruwais. These specialty products have various industrial and household applications and are used to produce products such as varnish, adhesives, inks, paint thinners and cleaning agents.

Mr. Abdulla Ateya Al Messabi, CEO of ADNOC Refining, said: “In our Refineries, we continue to focus on stretching the margin from every barrel of oil that we process. I am proud of our teams who responded swiftly and efficiently to market dynamics, expanding and diversifying our product range and unlocking value from our operations and resources. These products will enable ADNOC to extend its reach to new markets and widen its customer base."

The expansion of ADNOC's product range is also part of its broader downstream 2030 Smart Growth Strategy. The strategy capitalizes on Abu Dhabi's proximity to global growth markets, access to competitive feedstock, and its attractive fiscal and regulatory environment. Since launching the strategy in 2018, ADNOC has attracted significant foreign investment into Ruwais and expanded downstream partnerships across its refining, fertilizer, and pipeline assets. This strategy is transforming Ruwais into a world-class and globally competitive chemicals cluster, stimulating private sector activity and long-term specialized employment opportunities, particularly for those from the Al Dhafra region.

ADNOC Refining produces more than 40 million metric tons of high-quality refined products to markets around the world. It has the capacity to refine more than 922,000 barrels of crude oil and condensate per day into various products, including liquefied petroleum gas, naphtha, gasoline, jet fuel, diesel, base oil, and petrochemical feedstock; such as propylene. It also produces specialty products such as carbon black and calcined coke.

Since 2019 ADNOC Refining has been run as a joint venture company between ADNOC and the European energy firms Eni and OMV.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Vopak (Rotterdam, Netherlands) reports a 76% fall in net profit including exceptional items to EUR24.0 million (USD29.0 million) for the fourth quarter of 2020, despite a slight rise year on year (YOY) in sales to EUR303.7 million. Net earnings are also down 69% sequentially on the third quarter, with sales falling marginally, said Chemweek.

Excluding exceptional items, net profit fell 39% YOY to EUR56.8 million and 31% sequentially. Vopak says fourth-quarter EBITDA of EUR159.8 million, including exceptional items, was down 21% compared to the prior-year period and 18% sequentially. Excluding exceptional items but impacted by a one-off accounting loss of EUR20 million related to its associate terminal in Malaysia, EBITDA was EUR188.8 million, it says.

Vopak’s total storage capacity in the fourth quarter rose by 1.2 million cubic meters YOY to 35.6 million cu meters, with an average storage occupancy rate of 91%, up 6% YOY, but down slightly sequentially. For 2021 the company says new contributions from ongoing and planned growth projects, replacing EBITDA from divested terminals, could add between €30-50 million, subject to market conditions and currency exchange movements. Between €300-350 million is planned for growth investments in 2021 through existing committed projects, new business development, and pre-FID feasibility studies in new energies, including hydrogen, it says.

“We aim to allocate the majority of our growth investments to industrial, gas, and new energies infrastructures. Our positive views on chemicals have not changed. New growth investments in oil infrastructure are expected to be reduced and will mostly be targeted towards strengthening our leading hub positions,” says Vopak CEO Eelco Hoekstra.

Vopak also announced it will expand its Vlaardingen terminal in the port of Rotterdam, Netherlands, for the storage of waste-basted renewable feedstocks, mostly for the production of biodiesel and bio-jet fuel. A total of 16 storage tanks with a combined capacity of 64,000 cu meters will be constructed, it says. The project is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2022. It will also expand its terminal services in Qinzhou, China, by constructing a new jetty, to be used exclusively for propane, butane, ethylene, and propylene. The project is scheduled for completion in the second half of 2022, it says.

“We have momentum in capturing opportunities to serve large-scale industrial clusters, and are advancing our efforts in developing infrastructure to support the energy transition,” says Hoekstra. The company will continue to transform its portfolio and position itself towards more sustainable forms of energy and feedstocks, he says.

For the full-year 2020, Vopak reports net profit including exceptional items of EUR300.9 million, a YOY fall of 47%, on sales that declined 4% to €1.19 billion. Excluding exceptional items, net income fell 15% YOY to €305.8 million. A storage occupancy rate of 90%, up 6% compared to 2019, reflected “strong storage demand from oil markets and robust storage demand in gas and chemical markets,” it says.

As per MRC, SABIC and Vopak Holding Terminals BV have signed an agreement with the Jubail and Yanbu Industrial Cities Company (JYIC), owned by the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu (RCJY). Under the agreement, JYIC will become a 20 percent stake partner in Jubail Chemical Storage and Services Company (Chemtank).

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF has hiked its prices in Europe for its range of biodegradable bioplastics with immediate effect or as contracts allow, according to Chemweek.

No reason for the increase has been given.

Prices for several grades of the company’s bioplastic compound ecovio have been increased by EUR350/metric ton (USD422/metric ton), it says.

The bioplastic products are used mainly in bag applications for organic waste, fruit and vegetables, cling films, and agricultural mulch films, as well as for packaging solutions for paper coating, shrink films, and thermoformed and injection-molded applications.

As MRC wrote before, late last week, BASF said it was restarting one of its steam crackers at its Ludwigshafen complex in Germany after operations were halted last Wednesday due to a technical issue. The naphtha cracker produces ethylene and propylene, and is one of two crackers on the site. One has a production capacity of 420,000 metric tons/year, with the other’s capacity at 240,000 metric tons/year, according to IHS Markit data.

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).

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