Demand for PP subsides in export trades in Turkmenistan, but prices still remain steady

MOSCOW (MRC) -- On Tuesday, the first in April export trades for Turkmenbashi refinery's polypropylene (PP) were held at the State Commodity and Raw Materials Stock Exchange of Turkmenistan. Demand has subsided significantly since the March trades, only 500 tonnes of PP were sold during one trading day, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

According to the bidders, on Tuesday, 13 April, 2,000 tonnes of Turkmenbashi refinery's PP raffia grade were put up for export sale at the State Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange of Turkmenistan. The starting price was set at USD1,775/tonne FOB/FCA in accordance with the results of the March trades. Demand for PP was very weak in the trades, and only one deal was registered for 500 tonnes at the starting price.

The deal was done for shipments within six months.

The previous export trades for Turkmenbashi refinery's PP were held back on 10 March 2021, and only 1,500 tonnes of PP raffia grade were sold then at USD1,775/tonne FOB/FCA, given the starting prices of USD1,515/tonne FOB/FCA.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sasol announced it will work alongside a consortium comprising Linde PLC (Linde), ENERTRAG AG (ENERTRAG) and Navitas Holdings (Pty) Ltd (Navitas) – the LEN Consortium – to bid in concept for the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) under the auspices of the German Federal Government’s H2Global auction platform, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The LEN Consortium will enable Sasol to work with world-class partners on the opportunity, employing its extensive experience to produce liquid fuels and chemicals with Fischer-Tropsch (FT) technology. SAF is key to decarbonizing the aviation sector, which is widely viewed as one of the most challenging sectors in which to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. SAF production employs a Power to Liquid (PTL) process, which relies on the supply of a sustainable carbon feedstock (biomass or other unavoidable industrial carbon dioxide sources) and the production of green hydrogen through electrolysis using renewable energy. The carbon and hydrogen are converted to synthesis gas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, which in turn is converted to longer chain hydrocarbons for the production of jet fuel or SAF via the FT process.

The H2Global platform has developed a framework for double auction systems for required projects to produce green hydrogen and its derivatives, as well as the importation of the resulting products into Germany. H2Global will enable green hydrogen projects to be established in designated countries, such as South Africa.

Sasol, as a global leader in FT technology, licensing and operations, is exploring the feasibility of SAF production at its Secunda Synfuels plant with its consortium partners. The project would leverage Sasol’s existing facilities, deep technical know-how in the FT process and downstream processing capabilities.

"Action on climate change is central to Sasol’s strategy, and we continue to take significant steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions generated in our production processes," said Fleetwood Grobler, Sasol President and CEO.

Grobler added: “The decision to explore the creation of a SAF production demonstration facility at our Secunda Operations is aligned with our long-term decarbonization strategy. Green hydrogen is one of the key transitional fuel sources that we are working with via various strategic demonstration opportunities and partnerships. The H2Global consortium provides us with a powerful platform to support the development of these new technologies and their applications and markets.

“Sasol’s expertise in hydrogen and our extensive R&D capabilities, combined with our specialist knowledge of Fischer-Tropsch technology, supports our ambition to play a key role in creating South Africa’s hydrogen economy." Linde is a leading global industrial gases and engineering company listed on both the New York and Frankfurt stock exchanges. Through its ITM Linde Electrolysis joint venture, Linde is a leader in the design and operations of next generation PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) electrolysers required to produce green hydrogen.

ENERTRAG is a German renewables energy company that owns close to 1 Gigawatt generation capacity and operates more than 6 Gigawatts of renewable assets. It also has a strong presence in South Africa. Navitas is a South African development, construction and investment company that primarily focuses on solar photovoltaic technology and sectors related to the just energy transition.

Sasol and the LEN Consortium have jointly engaged with the German government to inform H2Global of its intention to bid via the double auction mechanism. The H2Global carbon auction rounds are expected to launch towards the end of 2021.

As per MRC, Sasol North America, a subsidiary of Sasol, halted phenol production in Houston (Houston, TX, USA) on March 27 due to a fire. The company managed to extinguish a fire at this plant with a capacity of 16,000 tonnes of phenol per year.

Phenol is the main raw material for bisphenol A (BPA) production, which in turn is used to produce polycarbonate (PC).

According to MRC ScanPlast, the total consumption of PC granulate in Russia (excluding imports and exports to Belarus) amounted to 8,100 tonnes in January 2021, which is 20% more than the same indicator of the previous year (6,800 tonnes).

Sasol Limited is an integrated energy and chemical company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. The company was formed in 1950 in Sasolburg, South Africa. The company produces liquid fuels, petrochemicals and electricity. The production facilities of the company are located in 37 countries of the world, and the staff is 32 thousand 400 people.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- German Evonik expands cooperation with IBM in the field of digitization. The two companies extend their strategic partnership ahead of schedule until 2025, as per the company press release.

Taking this decision early creates more opportunities for longer-term projects.

Furthermore, Evonik will be involved in the research and development of artificial intelligence at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT): Evonik is the world's first chemical company to participate at the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab.

In this unique interplaying at the MIT campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, experts from academia and industry are investigating the potential uses and effects of artificial intelligence. "Bright minds from science and business are working jointly together on digital progress. We are delighted to be part of it," says Henrik Hahn, chief digital officer (CDO) of Evonik.

AI is a useful tool for innovation and improvements in the chemical industry. Evonik looks forward to joining the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab and its advisory board to contribute its ideas and applications across materials discovery, formulation technology, knowledge management and market analysis to advance overall applications of AI in the chemical industry. "The work on artificial intelligence is also a litmus test of what digital systems can do: For example, we are looking at how decisions can be made better, more systematically and faster with the help of algorithms," says Hahn. "Ultimately, it's about the value AI can add to the company," he says.

Hahn takes a positive view of the strategic partnership with IBM, which has already been active since 2017: "The joint work has helped to drive forward digital transformation in a targeted manner. Evonik sees itself as a pioneer in digitization in the chemical industry. Our partnership with IBM and our new commitment to the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab further substantiate this claim."

As part of the partnership, Evonik and IBM have already investigated new possibilities to create a collaborative intelligence between humans and machines, in pilot projects. Experts no longer have to search for valuable information like for a needle in a haystack. Instead, decades of knowledge are now easy to search and to analyze intuitively. New connections between data can now be found. Chemist can intuitively explore and compare formulations and their related properties to come up with ideas for new products.

Evonik and IBM have also succeeded in building Artificial Intelligence that will further accelerate the research for new materials. In close collaboration with IBM Research a Deep Neural Network was developed and trained that predicts properties or new formulations for high-performance polymers. These predictions help researchers like a compass pointing them in promising directions for new products and customer solutions.

As MRC informed earlier, in February, 2020, Dow and Evonik entered into an exclusive technology partnership. Together, they plan to bring a unique method for directly synthesizing propylene glycol (PG) from propylene and hydrogen peroxide to market maturity.

Propylene is the main feedstock for the production of polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, 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.

Evonik is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. The focus on more specialty businesses, customer-oriented innovative prowess and a trustful and performance-oriented corporate culture form the heart of Evonik’s corporate strategy. They are the lever for profitable growth and a sustained increase in the value of the company. Evonik benefits specifically from its customer proximity and leading market positions. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world with more than 33,000 employees.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Worley has been awarded a front-end engineering services contract by Phillips 66 to convert its San Francisco refinery in Rodeo, California, USA into a renewable fuels-manufacturing facility, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Under the contract, Worley will provide front-end engineering design services for the facility, which will be executed by Worley’s North America West team with support from Worley’s Global Integrated Delivery team.

The project will reconfigure the refinery and produce up to 650 million gallons per year of renewable transportation fuels from used cooking oils, fats, greases and vegetable oils.

Once built, the renewable fuels facility is expected to be one of the world’s largest facilities of its kind.

“As a global company headquartered in Australia, this project aligns with our strategic focus on sustainability and delivering a more sustainable world. We are pleased that Phillips 66 has engaged Worley in this important renewable fuels project and look forward to supporting Phillips 66’s energy transition goals, while also supporting Worley’s strategic focus on future fuels,” said Chris Ashton, Chief Executive Officer of Worley.

As MRC reported earlier, in October 2020, US refiner Phillips 66 said it plans to reconfigure its refinery in Rodeo, California to produce renewable fuels from used cooking oil, fats, greases and soybean oils.

We remind that US-based Phillips 66 remains open to developing another ethane cracker for its Chevron Phillips Chemical (CP Chem) joint venture, the refiner's CEO said in March 2018.

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

Moscow (MRC) -- Performance additives maker SI Group is opening a new plant to make Weston 705-brand antioxidants in Danyang, China by May 2021, said Canplastics.

In a news release, officials with the Schenectady, N.Y.-based company said that the additional sourcing point for this strategic antioxidant product will further increase security of supply for SI Group’s global customer base and will enable quicker expansion of the product in China and the rest of Asia Pacific region through compressed lead time and simplified logistics.

Until now, SI Group has supplied the Chinese market with Weston 705 from its U.S. plant in Morgantown, W.Va. SI Group officials describe Weston 705 as a modern liquid phosphite antioxidant that offers global regulatory compliance combined with a superior performance profile compared to the incumbent solutions. “It represents an industrially proven drop-in substitute to TNPP in most of its applications and can be deployed in a broad range of polyolefins and other plastics and elastomers that require stabilization,” SI Group said. The material meets most food contact standards and also offers lower discolouration.

"This is a prime example of our investment in the Asia Pacific region,” said David Lu, SI Group’s vice president and managing director, Asia Pacific. “We are committed to developing leading solutions that meet our customers’ needs with the global footprint to support reliable supply."

As it was written earlier, GE Toshiba Silicones (GETS) opened a silicones manufacturing facility in Nantong, Jiangsu province of China in 2007. The new plant, which costed USD78 million, will be the largest GETS facility in China.

We remind that Russia's output of chemical products rose in February 2021 by 5.3% year on year. Thus, production of basic chemicals increased year on year by 7.5% in the first two months of 2021, according to Rosstat's data. Last month's production of polymers in primary form in Russia was 861,000 tonnes versus 196,000 tonnes in January. Overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 1,770,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 8.4% year on year.
MRC