Formosa to raise capacity utilisation at Taiwanese refinery in May

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Taiwan's Formosa Petrochemical Corp plans to ramp up operating rates at its refinery in May to 74% once it restarts a gasoline-making unit after maintenance and as refining margins have improved, reported Reuters with reference to the company's spokesman.

Formosa intends to process 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude in May, or 74% of its total capacity, up from 340,000 bpd in March and April, spokesman KY Lin told Reuters.

The higher utilisation rate comes as Asian gasoline refining margins have returned to pre-COVID-19 levels. Formosa is among the largest oil products exporters in Asia and a ramp-up in its output is expected to lead to more exports.

Formosa's refinery has been operating at about 60% between February and April due to maintenance, while its No.2 residue desulfurizer unit is undergoing repairs following a fire in July.

Formosa operates three crude distillation units with a capacity of 180,000 bpd each at its complex in Mailiao.

As MRC wrote earlier, Formosa Plastics Company (FPC), part of Formosa Petrochemical, is in plans to take off-stream its No. 1 cracker in Mailiao, Taiwan for a scheduled turnaround on 8 June, 2021. This cracker with an annual capacity of 700,000 tons of ethylene and 350,000 tons of propylene is expected to remain shut unitl mid-July, 2021.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 576,270 tonnes in the first three month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 410,890 tonnes in January-March 2021, up by 56% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.

Formosa Petrochemical is involved primarily in the business of refining crude oil, selling refined petroleum products and producing and selling olefins (including ethylene, propylene, butadiene and BTX) from its naphtha cracking operations. Formosa Petrochemical is also the largest olefins producer in Taiwan and its olefins products are mostly sold to companies within the Formosa Group. Among the company's chemical products are paraxylene (PX), phenyl ethylene, acetone and pure terephthalic acid (PTA). The company"s plastic products include acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) resins, polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP) and panlite (PC).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. announced that its subsidiaries Tecnimont S.p.A. and Mumbai-based Tecnimont Private Limited have been awarded an EPCC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Commissioning) Lump Sum contract by Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), for the implementation of a new paraxylene (PX) plant and the relevant offsites facilities, according to Kemicalinfo.

The plant will be located in Paradip, in the State of Odisha, in Eastern India. The overall value of the contract is about USD450 million.

The scope of work entails Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Commissioning activities up to the Performance Guarantees Test Run. Once completed, the new PX plant will have a capacity of 800,000 tons per year.

The time schedule is 33 months for Mechanical Completion from the award date, the company said.

The PX produced will be used to feed the adjacent PTA (Purified Terephthalic Acid) unit, thus ensuring availability of world-class feedstock that will provide a significant boost to India’s manufacturing industry, it added.

As MRC informed before, in March 2021, Indian Oil announced plans to expand the capacity of its refinery at Panipat, India, from 15 million metric tons/year (MMt/y), to 25 MMt/y. The company will also build a polypropylene (PP) unit and a catalytic dewaxing unit at the site. The cost of the project is 329.46 billion Indian rupees (USD4.45 billion). The plan is the latest in a series of projects approved by Indian Oil to improve integration with petrochemicals at the company's refinery sites. The capacity of the planned PP facility has not been disclosed.

PX is a feedstock for the production of purified terephthalic acid (PTA). PTA is used to produce polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which, in its turn, is used in the manufacturing of plastic bottles, films, packaging containers, in the textile and food industries.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PET consumption reached 64,750 tonnes in March 2021, which corresponds to the last year's figure (64,520 tonnes). Overall estimated PET consumption in Russia decreased by 5% year on year to 182,300 tonnes in January-March, 2021.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Deepak Nitrite Ltd., a chemical manufacturer in India, has announced its results for the final quarter and financial year ended 31 March 2021. The company’s net profit increased 68.4% to Rs 290.11 crore (USD39.2 million) in the quarter ended March 2021 against Rs 172.3 crore (USD23.3 million) during the prior year quarter, according to Kemicalinfo.

Sales grew 39% to Rs 1469.17 crore (USD198.7 million) in the quarter ended March 2021 as against Rs 1057.74 crore (USD143 million) during the previous quarter ended March 2020.

For the full year, net profit rose 27% to Rs 775.81 crore (USD104.9 million) in the year ended March 2021 as against Rs 611.03 crore (USD82.6 million) during the previous year ended March 2020.

The company's sales dropped 2.7% to Rs 4381.27 crore (USD592.5 million) in the year ended March 2021 as against Rs 4264.91 crore (USD576.8 million) during the previous year ended March 2020.

The growth was driven by specific business segments with Phenolics business growing 77% at Rs 937 crore (USD126.6 million). The company reported 30% growth in the fine and specialty chemicals vertical to Rs 206 crore (USD27.8 million).

As MRC reported before, Deepak Nitrite’s fully-owned subsidiary Deepak Phenolics started up its new phenol/acetone plant, located at Dahej in the state of Gujarat, on 16 August 2018. The plant, which is operated under Deepak Nitrite’s wholly-owned subsidiary Deepak Phenolics Limited, is able to produce 200,000 tonnes/year of phenol and 120,000 tonnes/year of acetone. There is also the potential for a capacity expansion in the future. Deepak Phenolics’ plant is the largest phenol/acetone plant in India.

Deepak Phenolics shut its phenol/acetone plant in Dahej on 25 March, 2020, because of the nationwide lockdown because of the spread of coronavirus. It resumed operations in late April, 2020.

Phenol is one of the main feedstocks for the production of bisphenol A (BPA), which, in its turn, is used for the production of polycarbonate (PC).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, overall estimated consumption of PC granules in the Russian market totalled 25,000 tonnes in the first quarter of 2021 (excluding imports and exports to/from Belarus), compared to 22,700 tonnes a year earlier. Demand increased by 10%.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Marathon Petroleum Corp's 585,000-bpd Galveston Bay Refinery in Texas City, Texas, on Tuesday issued a shelter-in-place notice because of a toxic leak, reported Reuters with reference to people familiar with plant operations.

Marathon and Texas City officials ordered workers and nearby residents to go indoors and close windows for over an hour due to a leak of hydrofluoric acid (HF), said the people, who spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonymity. Hydrofluoric acid forms a ground-hugging cloud at room temperature that can lead to severe health problems and even death.

Two workers were taken to a nearby medical facility as a precaution due to a chemical leak at the plant, said Marathon spokesman Jamal Kheiry. He did not disclose the chemical involved.

"The Galveston Bay Refinery's automated response systems today activated mitigation measures in response to a small chemical release," Kheiry said in a statement. "The release has been stopped and air monitoring data indicate no offsite impact."

As MRC informed earlier, most units were shut on Sunday night and Monday morning (15-16 February) at Marathon Petroleum Corp's 585,000 barrel-per-day Galveston Bay Refinery in Texas City, Texas, as temperatures plunged due to a Arctic cold front reaching the Gulf Coast. They resumed operations in the first half of March.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 576,270 tonnes in the first three month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 410,890 tonnes in January-March 2021, up by 56% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Two senior U.S. Senate Democrats on Tuesday proposed spending USD73 B to electrify the nation's 70,000 transit buses as part of a push to move the U.S. toward zero-emission transportation, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Banking Chairman Sherrod Brown noted that only 2% of U.S. buses were zero-emission vehicles. They propose using funds to buy electric transit buses and vans and other vehicles and for related infrastructure costs.

The plan calls for "100% zero emission vehicles." A fact sheet did not specify a date to phase out diesel-powered buses but prioritized funding for areas with the poorest air quality. The senators said the average cost of a battery electric bus was between USD850,000 and USD900,000 and that hydrogen fuel cell buses averaged USD1 million or more.

"Significantly increasing the size of orders for zero-emissions buses will lead to major reductions in prices," the fact sheet said, adding agencies would save money on operating costs once upfront costs and infrastructure issues are addressed. Schumer said the plan would replace "dirty, diesel-spewing buses, create new American jobs, help save the planet and protect public health."

President Joe Biden's administration, as part of its USD2.3 trillion infrastructure and jobs plan, has proposed USD25 billion for zero-emission transit vehicles and USD20 billion for electrifying school buses as part of a USD174 billion EV and infrastructure package.

The senators' plan would require that all vehicles purchased using the funds be made in the United States. American Public Transportation Association Chief Executive Paul Skoutelas said the sector strongly supports "a game-changing investment in zero-emission buses and charging infrastructure."

The senators cited a study from the Center for Transportation and the Environment estimating costs to transition to a zero-emission transit bus fleet by 2035 at between USD56 billion and USD89 billion. The U.S. government in 2020 spent just USD130 million on zero- emission bus grants, the senators said.

As per MRC, oil prices rose after more US states eased lockdowns and the European Union sought to attract travellers, while soaring COVID-19 cases in India capped gains. Brent crude futures were 86 cents, or 1.27%, higher at USD68.42 a barrel at 1224 GMT, after climbing 1.2% before. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures also rose 77 cents, or 1.19%, to USD65.26 a barrel, after gaining 1.4% on Monday. Both contracts were up over USD1, or about 2%, in earlier trade.

We remind that in December 2020, Sibur, Gazprom Neft, and Uzbekneftegaz agreed to cooperate on potential investments in Uzbekistan including a major expansion of Uzbekneftegaz’s existing Shurtan Gas Chemical Complex (SGCC) and the proposed construction of a new gas chemicals facility. The signed cooperation agreement for the projects includes “the creation of a gas chemical complex using methanol-to-olefins (MTO) technology, and the expansion of the production capacity of the Shurtan Gas Chemical Complex”.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 576,270 tonnes in the first three month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 410,890 tonnes in January-March 2021, up by 56% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.
MRC