Korean Kolon Industries introduces post-consumer recycled PET Films

Korean Kolon Industries introduces post-consumer recycled PET Films

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Kolon Industries Inc., a South Korean industrial materials company, said Wednesday that it had succeeded in developing and commercializing post-consumer recycled (PCR) polyethylene terephthalate (PET) films, according to The Korea Bizwire.

Kolon Industries, in collaboration with major cosmetics and household goods maker LG Household & Health Care Ltd. and a packaging material firm Lotte Aluminum Co., has been engaged in the development of the nation’s first PCR PET films since the second half of last year.

Starting from this month, Kolon Industries will supply its newly-developed PCR PET films for some of the household items and food containers produced by LG Household & Health Care and Lotte Aluminum.

According to Kolon Industries, the annual demand for PET films is estimated to have exceeded 6 million tons but the share of PCR PET films remains low at less than 1%. However, as eco-friendly materials are increasingly popular along with the trend of reducing the use of plastics, demand for PCR PET films is soaring, mainly in areas with low technical barriers.

As MRC reported earlier, in April 2021, SK Global Chemical Co., a petrochemical subsidiary of SK Innovation Co., and chemical and textile heavyweight Kolon Industries signed a strategic partnership on 7 April to produce biodegradable polybuthylene adipate-co-terephthalate (PBAT) plastic from the third quarter of this year.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PET consumption grew to 263,660 tonnes in the first four months in 2021, up by 13% year on year. Bottle grade PET chips accounted for 78.3% of the increase in consumption due to the virtual absence of exports and higher imports. April estimated PET consumption was 80,150 tonnes, up by 34% year on year.
MRC

Australian Government selects six emission reduction technology projects

Australian Government selects six emission reduction technology projects

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Australian government picked six carbon capture, use and storage projects on Monday to receive a total of AD50 million (USD39 million) in funds as it looks to accelerate development of the technology to cut emissions, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Carbon capture has been tested for years but is gaining momentum as the International Energy Agency and others see it as essential to helping the world achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Australia's gas producers see carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a way of keeping gas in the mix amid the transition to cleaner energy, potentially linking carbon credits from CCS to their gas exports and using gas to produce hydrogen, with the carbon released in the process captured and stored.

The conservative government has made it a priority area for technology investment. Canberra received applications to support AD1.2 billion of investment in CCS projects, Energy Minister Angus Taylor said. Australia's no.2 independent gas producer Santos Ltd and its partner Beach Energy won AD15 million for their AD210 million Moomba CCS project, which will initially store 1.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year in depleted oil and gas fields in the Cooper Basin in South Australia.

Santos expects to make a final investment decision on the project later this year, after the government spells out a methodology for CCS projects to generate carbon credits, which the company said was "essential to make the project stack up economically".

Glencore plc won up to AD5 million for the AD210 million CTSCo project, which plans to capture carbon emissions at a coal-fired power plant and store it deep underground in the Surat Basin in Queensland. If proven to be safe and sustainable, the Surat Basin could hold "very sizeable" volumes of CO2 and store emissions from a range of industries, a Glencore spokesperson said. Three of the projects plan to demonstrate capture and use of carbon dioxide in making construction materials like concrete, masonry and plasterboard.

As per MRC, Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co Ltd said it would invest in the development of a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in Britain. The Japanese company will take a 15.4% share in Storegga Geotechnologies which is developing the Acorn CCS project to store carbon dioxide emissions in depleted North Sea oil and gas reservoirs. CCS traps emissions and buries them underground but is not yet at the commercialisation stage.

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 744,130 tonnes in the first four month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, PP deliveries to the Russian market were 523,900 tonnes in January-April 2021, up by 55% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas shipments of PP random copolymers decreased.
MRC

Indian Oil to invest in expansion project in Gujarat

MOSCOW (MRC) -- IndianOil and the Gujarat government on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) worth Rs 24,000 crore for promotion of investment in the state, said Timesofindia.

The MoU involves the state-owned refiner setting up a Petrochemical and Lube Integration (LuPech) project and Acrylics/Oxo Alcohol project along with other infrastructure projects at its Gujarat Refinery at Vadodara. The MoU was signed in the presence of Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Union Minister of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Steel Dharmendra Pradhan.

The LuPech project will produce import substitutes like Lube Oil Base Stock (LOBS) and Polypropylene. The Acrylics/Oxo Alcohol project at Dumad and Gujarat refinery will manufacture value-added Butyl Acrylate, a key ingredient for paints, coatings, adhesives, textile chemicals, plasticizer industry, and other similar products.

These projects will strengthen IndianOil’s readiness for venturing into petrochemical projects like PVC, Styrene, Acrylonitrile, Poly-Methyl Methacrylate and Ethylene Oxide in future. The Petrochemicals and Specialty products (Gr-II/III LOBS) integration index based on additional crude oil added under this project is estimated to be 20.7 per cent.

Another MoU was signed for infrastructure facilities at Dumad for the Koyali-Ahmednagar-Solapur Pipeline (KAhSPL) and Tank Truck Loading facility for Linear Alkyl Benzene (LAB) — a feedstock for detergent industries. The other infrastructure projects envisaged are New Flare System at Gujarat Refinery and a Hydrogen dispensing facility for Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEV).

IndianOil’s Gujarat Refinery will be implementing India’s first Hydrogen Dispensing facility as a clean fuel initiative. This facility aims to fuel hydrogen buses plying between Vadodara and Kevadia/Sabarmati Ashram. During his address, Rupani mentioned that Gujarat is a leading state in the field of oil and petrochemicals. The Chief Minister said, “As a result of the transparent policies, acceleration of ‘Ease of Doing Business’ and a favourable environment for industries in Gujarat despite the Covid-19 pandemic has for the fourth year in a row maintained its numero uno position as the highest recipient of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country."

Dharmendra Pradhan said, “Gujarat has become the first choice of investors as in its roots is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision that implements new plans for the holistic development of the State." Giving further details during the MoU function, IndianOil Chairman S.M. Vaidya said, "Today Gujarat is charting a new path of prosperity. To power that journey, IndianOil’s Gujarat Refinery is now poised to grow to 18 MMTPA capacity. New units for the production of Polypropylene, Butyl Acrylate and Lube Oil Base stocks will also be added to the Refinery’s portfolio."

These projects will enable large-scale direct and indirect employment opportunities during the peak construction period and later for the operation of these facilities. During the construction stage, nearly 125 million person-hours of employment will be generated. The total investment outlook for these projects in different execution stages is nearly Rs 24,000 crore.

As per MRC, IOC is expanding its petrochemical capacity by more than 70 per cent from its current 3.2 million tonnes a year. It is also on new technologies that reduces the cost of producing petrochemicals. The project will add a 500,000 metric tons/year PP unit as well as a 235,000 metric tons/year lube oil base stock plant.

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 744,130 tonnes in the first four month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, PP deliveries to the Russian market were 523,900 tonnes in January-April 2021, up by 55% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas shipments of PP random copolymers decreased.

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

DSM completes sale of Advanced Solar backsheets business to Worthen Industries

DSM completes sale of Advanced Solar backsheets business to Worthen Industries

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Royal DSM has completed the sale of its advanced solar business in backsheet products to Worthen Industries (Nashua, New Hampshire), a company specialized in polymer technologies for multiple end markets, according to MarketScreener.

The proposed transaction was announced 11 March 2021. Financial terms have not been disclosed.

The deal covers DSM’s solar business that was not included in the company's agreement to sell its resins and functional materials businesses to Covestro in September 2020.

As MRC reported earlier, in April 2021, DSM said it had completed the sale of the resins & functional materials businesses to Covestro for EUR1.6 billion (USD1.9 billion), including EUR1.4 billion in cash. It included DSM Niaga, DSM additive manufacturing, and the coatings activities of the DSM advanced solar business, which together represented EUR1.01 billion of DSM’s 2019 total annual net sales and EUR133 million of DSM’s 2019 total EBITDA.

We remind that Covestro closed the sale of its European polycarbonates (PC) sheets business to the Munich-based Serafin Group effective January 2, 2020. This includes key management and sales functions throughout Europe as well as production sites in Belgium and Italy.

Royal DSM, commonly known as DSM, is a Dutch multinational corporation active in the fields of health, nutrition and materials. The Materials cluster is made up of DSM Engineering Materials, DSM Protective Materials and DSM Resins & Functional Materials. DSM Engineering Materials’ specialty plastics are used in components for the electrical and electronics, automotive, flexible food packaging and consumer goods industries.
MRC

PKN Orlen petchem merger plans credit positive outlook - Fitch

PKN Orlen petchem merger plans credit positive outlook - Fitch

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PKN Orlen’s strategic focus on petrochemicals on the planned merger with fellow Polish state-controlled groups Grupa Lotos and PGNiG could be positive for the credit outlook of resulting merged entity, said agency Fitch.

PKN Orlen’s credit profile will benefit from larger scale, stronger business diversification and expansion into the more stable utility sector if its merger with the second-largest refiner in Poland, LOTOS, and integrated Polish utility, PGNiG, is completed. The financial profile of the combined group and its strategic direction will be key to resolving the RWP. Fitch expects to resolve the RWP once the transactions, especially the merger with PGNiG, are closed, which is expected in 4Q21, but the process, including regulatory approvals, may be completed subsequent to six months in the future.

PGNiG is a Polish majority state-owned integrated utility with dominant domestic position in oil and gas exploration and production (E&P), gas imports, gas distribution and gas supply. Its 2019 EBITDA comprised 62% upstream, 36% gas distribution and 16% heat and power generation. LOTOS is the second largest refiner in Poland operating a 210 thousand barrels per day (kbbl/d) refinery in Gdansk, retail network with 513 stations and upstream assets with production of 20 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (kboe/d).

It added that Orlen’s planned merger with Lotos, the second-largest refiner in Poland, and PGNiG, a gas, heat and power utility, would benefit from larger-scale, stronger business diversification and expansion into the more stable utility sector.

As per MRC, the European Commission agreed to the merger of the Polish concerns PKN Orlen and Lotos. For example, PKN Orlen received conditional EU antitrust consent to take over its rival Lotos and announced that it plans to buy Poland's largest oil and gas company PGNiG. The Polish state is the largest shareholder in PKN Orlen, Lotos and PGNiG. Orlen's acquisition of Lotos was announced in February 2018.

As MRC informed earlier, Polski Koncern Naftowy Orlen SA, (PKN Orlen) reduced the production of terephthalic acid (PTA) at the plant in Wloclawek (Wloclawek, Poland) due to a technical breakdown. Production problems at the enterprise supplying raw materials for PTA production led to a decrease in its output in January and most of February by 20%, and by the end of February - by about 50%.

PTA is one of the main raw materials for the production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

As per MRC ScanPlast, Russia's calculated consumption of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) grew to 263,660 tonnes in the first four months in 2021, up 13% compared to the same period in the previous year. 78.3% of the increase in consumption falls on the share of bottled PET chips due to the virtual absence of exports and an increase in the volume of imports.

MRC