LBI nominates Anthony Chase and Robert Dudley as directors

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell (LBI), one of the largest plastics and chemicals companies in the world, HAS announced Anthony Chase, chairman and chief executive officer of ChaseSource L.P., and Robert Dudley, former group chief executive and director of BP, have been nominated to stand for election to its board of directors at the company's annual general meeting of shareholders on May 28, 2021, as per the company's press release.

In addition, the company announced that director Bella Goren has decided not to stand for re-election at the 2021 annual general meeting.

"We are very grateful for Bella's service to our company. She has been an important part of our success over the last seven years and we wish her all the best in her future endeavors," said Mr. Aigrain.

As MRC wrote previously, LyondellBasell and Covestro's jointly-owned propylene oxide(PO)/styrene monomer (SM) unit at Maasvlakte, Netherlands, was reportedly producing at a lower rate in the first half of March following an incident at the site on 10 February, 2021. The site produces 313,000 metric tons/year of PO and 680,000 metric tons/year of styrene. A four-week turnaround was planned at the site, beginning in the second half of March.

Styrene is the main feedstock for the production of polystyrene (PS).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated consumption of PS and styrene plastics totalled 520,630 tonnes in 2020, which corresponded to the same figure a year earlier. December estimated consumption of PS and styrene plastics grew by 5% year on year to 47,490 tonnes.

LyondellBasell is one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world. Driven by its employees around the globe, LyondellBasell produces materials and products that are key to advancing solutions to modern challenges, like enhancing food safety through lightweight and flexible packaging, protecting the purity of water supplies through stronger and more versatile pipes, improving the safety, comfort and fuel efficiency of many of the cars and trucks on the road, and ensuring the safe and effective functionality in electronics and appliances. LyondellBasell sells products into more than 100 countries and is the world"s largest producer of polymer compounds and the largest licensor of polyolefin technologies. In 2020, LyondellBasell was named to Fortune Magazine"s list of the "World"s Most Admired Companies" for the third consecutive year.
MRC

COVID-19 - News digest as of 02.04.2021

1. Mammoet successfully lifts three columns for petchem expansion project in India

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mammoet completed the lifting of three columns for the Guru Gobind Singh Polymer Expansion Project in Bathinda, Punjab, India, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing. Thus, the team lifted a 1,305t ethylene fractionator, and 2 propylene fractionators weighing 1,200t and 2,490t - the second of which was lifted in two sections. The MSG80 crane, which was locally available in India, was used for lifting of these three columns via a total of four lift operations. In addition, the team worked in double shifts to move the crane to a new location for the customer. The MSG80 ring crane’s 3,000t lifting capacity and impressively small footprint for such a high load moment crane (34m diameter with 80,000 tonne-meters) made it ideal for the job. It made the project more convenient for the customer as heavy items could be fully dressed -eliminating the need for vertical assembly work on two of the units.

MRC

Sadara to restart its Jubail cracker in mid-April

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sadara Chemical Company (Sadara) is planning to resume operations at its naphtha cracker in Jubail, Saudi Arabia in mid-March after unscheduled repairs, according to CommoPlast with reference to market sources.

The company announced an emergency shutdown of its cracker with a capacity of 1.5 million tons/year of ethylene and 400,000 tons/year of propylene im mid-March due to an issue at the compressor.

Besides, the company has also taken the downstream polyethylene (PE) plants offline until the cracker comes back online. The PE plant consists of a 340,000 tons/year of low density polyethylene (LDPE) line and a 600,000 tons/year high density polyethylene (HDPE)/linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) swing line.

As MRC informed before, in late March 2021, Saudi Aramco said it restructured its debt financing for Sadara Chemical Company, its joint venture (JV) with Dow Chemical, an American petrochemical major. The Saudi national oil company also said an agreement had been reached to allocate more natural gas feedstock to the joint venture, which has been building the world’s biggest chemical complex ever delivered in a single phase, in Jubail.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 241,030 tonnes in January 2021 versus 217,890 tonnes a year earlier. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 141,870 tonnes in January 2021 versus 123,520 tonnes a year earlier. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.
MRC

Danimer Scientific to expand bioplastic plant in Georgia

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Danimer Scientific, a developer and manufacturer of biodegradable materials, plans to invest USD700 million in expanding their Bainbridge manufacturing operations, nearly quadrupling their workforce in Decatur County, said Manufacturing Net.

Danimer Scientific (Bainbridge, Georgia) says it has doubled the scale of its greenfield bioplastics project to 250 million lbs (113,000 metric tons) per year of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) and chosen a site in Bainbridge, Georgia. The company plans to complete the first, 125 million lbs/year phase in mid-2023, with the second phase to go online in early 2024. Total project cost is estimated at USD700 million.

The project is currently in the pre-construction and engineering phase, says Danimer, which expects to break ground during the first quarter of 2022. In December 2020, Danimer began the 45 million lb/year expansion of its Winchester, Kentucky, PHA facility, which currently has a capacity of 20 million lbs/year. The company expects to bring the new capacity online in the second quarter of 2022.

PHA is a biodegradable plastic that Danimer produces by fermentation from vegetable oil. On 16 March, Danimer and snack giant Mars Wrigley announced a two-year partnership to develop home-compostable packaging based on Danimer’s Nodax PHA.

As per MRC, Kemira announces exclusive partnership with Danimer Scientific to develop biodegradable coating for paper and board industry. Partners evaluate Danimer Scientific’s NodaxTM PHA as commercial, fully biobased alternative for polyethylene to manufacture recyclable paper and board products from renewable sources. Kemira, a global leader in sustainable chemical solutions for water intensive industries and Danimer Scientific, a leading developer and manufacturer of biodegradable materials, today announced a partnership to develop biodegradable aqueous barrier coatings for more sustainable paper and board 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 241,030 tonnes in January 2021 versus 217,890 tonnes a year earlier. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 141,870 tonnes in January 2021 versus 123,520 tonnes a year earlier. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.
MRC

Mammoet successfully lifts three columns for petchem expansion project in India

Mammoet successfully lifts three columns for petchem expansion project in India

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mammoet completed the lifting of three columns for the Guru Gobind Singh Polymer Expansion Project in Bathinda, Punjab, India, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Thus, the team lifted a 1,305t ethylene fractionator, and 2 propylene fractionators weighing 1,200t and 2,490t - the second of which was lifted in two sections.

The MSG80 crane, which was locally available in India, was used for lifting of these three columns via a total of four lift operations. In addition, the team worked in double shifts to move the crane to a new location for the customer.

The MSG80 ring crane’s 3,000t lifting capacity and impressively small footprint for such a high load moment crane (34m diameter with 80,000 tonne-meters) made it ideal for the job. It made the project more convenient for the customer as heavy items could be fully dressed -eliminating the need for vertical assembly work on two of the units.

Work required was then significantly reduced for the third column, shortening the overall construction lead time. This in-country relocation of this MSG80 crane made the project more cost-effective compared to procuring a crane with same capabilities from a location further away. It also saved valuable time, allowing our customer to meet their challenging schedule.

While the initial coronavirus breakout and crisis placed travel restrictions on the Mammoet crew, the team remobilized through special arrangements and took on the challenge to accelerate the completion of the installations. Expanded working hours were implemented to ensure that the crane could be disassembled and reassembled in good time. Lastly, Mammoet cooperated with the plant owner and their construction team to complete the lifts and demobilized from site within the allotted schedule.

The completed project is part of an expansion plan to build an integrated petrochemical manufacturing site within Guru Gobind Singh’s current refinery complex. The refiner aims to increase India’s refined hydrocarbon product capacity.

As MRC informed earlier, in March 2019, Mammoet safely completed a critical lift at Shell’s Pennsylvania Chemicals Project in Potter Township, utilizing its MSG80 to hoist a 2,000 ton quench tower into position. The facility is the first major US project of its kind to be built outside of the Gulf Coast region in 20 years. Once operational, the facility will boast an ethane cracker and three polyethylene (PE) units.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 241,030 tonnes in January 2021 versus 217,890 tonnes a year earlier. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 141,870 tonnes in January 2021 versus 123,520 tonnes a year earlier. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.
MRC