Deepak Nitrite approves re-appointment of Shri Maulik D. Mehta as company CEO

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Deepak Nitrite Ltd., a chemical manufacturer in India, has approved the re-appointment of Shri Maulik D. Mehta as the company's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for a further period of five years with effect from 9th May, 2021, according to Kemicalinfo.

Maulik has around 13 years of experience in the areas of Business Development and has been responsible for the day-to-day business of all the verticals of the Company along with Group Strategy.

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) -- Maire Tecnimont Group, through its subsidiary Tecnimont, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with AVEVA to create new digital predictive and prescriptive maintenance services that drive enhanced business outcomes, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

This partnership will extend usage of AVEVA’s Asset Performance Management (APM) solutions across the Maire Tecnimont Group, globally, enhancing plant operability and lowering maintenance costs. This will in turn deliver increased information availability empowering better, more informed decision-making, and ultimately improving overall business performance.

As part of the agreement, the two companies will work together over a twelve-month period on a defined number of customer projects to promote the application of predictive maintenance technology for critical plant assets.

As an EPC contractor and global leader in the transformation of natural resources, Maire Tecnimont will leverage its unique process, automation, and maintenance competencies to supply plant owners with perfectly customized digital products and solutions that are tailor-made for their maintenance needs.

The combination of Maire Tecnimont’s proven market experience and AVEVA’s leadership as an industrial technology provider will deliver improved analytics which in turn will help to reduce inefficiencies, optimize operations, and improve our customer’s profitability.

With this MoU, Maire Tecnimont Group has reached a new milestone in its digital transformation journey, with the activation of a new technology-enabled value stream which is a crucial part of its roadmap. To achieve its drive to become the ‘contractor of the future’, Maire Tecnimont is enhancing overall value for plant owners through a suite of advanced digital products and services geared towards EPC customers.

As MRC wrote previously, Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. has just announced that its subsidiaries Tecnimont S.p.A. and Mumbai-based Tecnimont Private Limited were 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. 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.

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) -- Braskem SA (BAK) reported first-quarter net income of USD456.3 mln, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier, said the company.

The Butanta, Brazil-based company said it had net income of USD1.15 per share. The petrochemical company posted revenue of USD4.15 billion in the period.

Braskem shares have more than doubled since the beginning of the year. The stock has more than doubled in the last 12 months.

Braskem swung to a first-quarter net profit of reais (R) 2.49bn from a loss of R3.65bn in the same period of last year

Q1 recurring operating result surged, reflecting the 23% depreciation in the Brazilian real against the U.S. dollar.
Resin demand in the Brazilian market increased in the first quarter, led by healthy demand from various sectors of the economy, notably the automotive, infrastructure, agribusiness, construction, home appliance and packaging industries.

Compared to Q1 2020, the capacity utilisation rate of the crackers in Brazil increased, reflecting the non-scheduled shutdown of the cracker in Rio Grande do Sul in the prior year quarter.

Braskem America plans to raise North American polypropylene (PP) prices by 8 cents / lb (USD176/tonne) in addition to any changes in propylene feedstock prices from June 1. PP demand continues to be strong in the region thanks to increased manufacturing activity as well as increased demand for PP packaging and PP for filaments and fibers driven by the pandemic. Earlier it was reported that Braskem America in April raised the price of polypropylene (PP) by 12 cents per pound (USD265 /tonne).

According to the ICIS-MRC Price Report, in the Russian spot market last week the decline in prices for propylene homopolymer (PP-homo) continued for some sellers, and converters expect further price declines in May. In the contract market, on the contrary, the processors noted the rise in prices and quite serious.

Based in Sao Paulo, Braskem is a leading Brazilian petrochemical company and the main producer of polyethylene and polypropylene in the country. The company owns the largest petrochemical facilities in Latin America and is the fifth largest in the world in petrochemical production. Braskem operates 18 chemical plants with a production capacity of over 11 million tonnes of chemical and petrochemical products per year.
MRC

1. Indian refineries reduced fuel sales in April due to the second wave of coronavirus infections

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indian state refiners' local fuel sales in April declined due to state-level restrictions aimed at stemming a rampant second wave of coronavirus infections, preliminary data shows, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.The deadly second wave topped 400,000 new daily cases for the first time on Saturday. Authorities reported 401,993 new cases in the previous 24 hours, the highest daily count globally, after 10 consecutive days over 300,000. Deaths from COVID-19 jumped by 3,523, taking the total toll in India to 211,853.



MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Technip Energies has been recently awarded a significant Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Commissioning (EPCC) contract by Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) for its BR9 Expansion Project in Barauni, Bihar, in the Eastern part of India, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

This EPCC contract covers the installation of a new Once-through Hydrocracker Unit (OHCU) of 1 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) capacity, a Fuel Gas Treatment Unit (FGTU) and the associated facilities.

The OHCU, in combination with downstream refinery units, will enable production of BS VI Grade fuels - similar to Euro VI Grade fuels - and petrochemicals.

IOCL’s Barauni refinery, built in 1964, is the second refinery to be built in India. The BR9 Expansion project shall enhance refinery capacity from 6 MMTPA to 9 MMTPA and will add petrochemicals such as polypropylene (PP) into Barauni refinery’s product portfolio.

As MRC reported before, in February 2021, TechnipFMC announced the completion of its spin-off transaction to create two industry leading, independent, publicly traded companies, TechnipFMC and Technip Energies.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, 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.

Indian Oil Corporation Limited, or IndianOil, is an Indian state-owned oil and gas corporation with its headquarters in New Delhi, India.
MRC