PPG to expand coatings production capacities in The Netherlands and Poland for packaging applications

PPG to expand coatings production capacities in The Netherlands and Poland for packaging applications

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PPG has announced an expansion of its coatings manufacturing capacity in Europe for packaging applications, according to BusinessWire.

The investments at sites in The Netherlands and Poland will support growing customer demand in the region for the latest generation of coatings for aluminum and steel cans used in packaging for beverage, food and personal care items. Financial details related to the expansions were not disclosed.

The projects include a further expansion of the company’s location in Tiel, The Netherlands, which will increase the plant’s production capacity for PPG INNOVEL non-BPA internal coatings for beverage cans by 30%. Expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2022, the project follows a 50% expansion completed at the end of 2020.

The Tiel plant also will double its production capacity for PPG iSENSE external coatings that are used for the exterior of metal cans for beverage and personal care packaging. That project is expected to be completed by the end of 2021.

PPG Innovel is the most widely used, non-BPA internal beverage can spray technology in the world, providing flavor-neutral properties and suitability for a broad range of filling products. PPG iSense specialty overvarnish coatings offer differentiating sensory surface effects for can exteriors, including textured finishes that help brands stand out on increasingly crowded store shelves.

PPG also will double capacity at its Cieszyn, Poland, plant to support the growth of the PPG NUTRISHIELD line of non-BPA, internal, food can coatings. The project is expected to be completed by the end of the third quarter of 2021.

These latest investments follow a project completed last year to expand packaging coatings capacity at the company’s Bodelshausen, Germany site. That project doubled production capacity for white lacquers that are used on the external surface of personal care and caps and closures packaging. The research and development (R&D) facility at the site has also been expanded and now represents the company’s European R&D packaging center of excellence. Its official inauguration will be later this year.

As MRC reported earlier, in January 2021, PPG Industries announced it will acquired Worwag (Stuttgart, Germany), a producer of liquid, powder and film coatings for industrial and automotive applications.

Besides, PPG said 24 December, 2020, that it ha completed the acquisition of specialty transport coatings maker Ennis-Flint.

BPA is the main feedstock for the production of polycarbonate (PC).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated consumption of PC granules (excluding imports and exports to/from Belarus) totalled 34,000 tonnes in the first four months of 2021, up by 11% year on year (30,500 tonnes a year earlier).
MRC

Asia Distillates-Gasoil cash differential falls but ends week higher on improving demand in the region

Asia Distillates-Gasoil cash differential falls but ends week higher on improving demand in the region

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Cash discounts for cargoes of Asia's 10 ppm gasoil slipped on Friday on weaker physical deal values in the Singapore trading window, but ended the week higher on signs of improving demand in Asia, reported Reuters.

The 10 ppm cash differential was at a four-session low of minus 4 cents a barrel below Singapore quotes on Friday, down from minus 2 cents in the previous session. The differential climbed to a more than two-week high premium of 5 cents a barrel on Wednesday. Sentiment, however, was capped by concerns of rising regional supplies as refiners in north Asia resume operations following seasonal refinery turnarounds.

China's diesel exports plunged 38% in May from a month before to their lowest level this year, as reduced fuel output during the refinery maintenance season forced refiners to prioritise domestic consumers. China shipped out 1.68 million tonnes of diesel last month, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Friday. That compares with 2.72 million tonnes in April, but was still higher than 1.45 million tonnes in May last year. May gasoline exports were at 1.55 million tonnes, edging up 5% from April and more than double the low base in May 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic curbed travel demand overseas. Jet kerosene exports were up 1.8% year-on-year at 570,000 tonnes. Chinese refiners have been carrying out overhauls since late March, affecting more than 1 million barrels per day of crude processing capacity in April and May.

Gasoil stocks held independently in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub dropped 7.4% to 2.1 million tonnes in the week ended June 10, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed. ARA jet fuel inventories dipped 2.1% this week to 1.1 million tonnes.

In Singapore, middle distillate inventories jumped 15% to a four-week high of 12.96 million barrels in the week to June 16, according to Enterprise Singapore data. The 1.69 million barrel increase in distillate inventories was the largest weekly build up in 14 months.

Brent crude's premium to Dubai quotes DUB-EFS-1M rose on Friday to the highest in 21 months on the back of stronger demand this summer, effectively keeping Atlantic Basin grades out of Asia's reach, according to traders and Refinitiv data.

As MRC informed previously, Asia's cash differentials for jet fuel flipped into premiums for the first time this year in early May, partly supported by firmer deals in the physical market, while prompt-month spread for the aviation fuel stood at its narrowest contango in more than two months.

We remind that slumping fuel consumption during the pandemic is accelerating the long-term shift of refining capacity from North America and Europe to Asia, and from older, smaller refineries to modern, higher-capacity mega-refineries. The result is a wave of closures, often centering on refineries that only narrowly survived the previous closure wave in the years after the recession in 2008/09.

We also remind that PetroChina has nearly doubled the amount of Russian crude being processed at its refinery in Dalian, the company's biggest, since January 2018, as a new supply agreement had come into effect. The Dalian Petrochemical Corp, located in the northeast port city of Dalian, was expected to process 13 million tonnes, or 260,000 bpd of Russian pipeline crude in 2018, up by about 85 to 90 percent from the previous year's level. Dalian has the capacity to process about 410,000 bpd of crude. The increase follows an agreement worked out between the Russian and Chinese governments under which Russia's top oil producer Rosneft was to supply 30 million tonnes of ESPO Blend crude to PetroChina in 2018, or about 600,000 bpd. That would have represented an increase of 50 percent over 2017 volumes.

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

Pembina and TC Energy team up for carbon transportation and sequestration project

Pembina and TC Energy team up for carbon transportation and sequestration project

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Canadian midstream energy company Pembina Pipeline and energy infrastructure major TC Energy (formerly TansCanada) plan to build a “world-scale” carbon transportation and sequestration system in Canada’s oil-rich Alberta province, said the company.

Pembina Pipeline Corp. and TC Energy Corp. have announced a plan to develop a carbon transportation and sequestration system in Alberta.

The companies say the project will form the backbone of Alberta's carbon capture utilization and storage industry. It will be capable of transporting more than 20 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.

Pembina and TC Energy plan to retrofit existing pipelines as well as build new systems to connect the province's largest sources of industrial emissions to a sequestration location northeast of Redwater, Alta.

They say that by using existing assets it speeds up timing of the project, reduces environmental and community impacts and is cheaper. Pembina and TC Energy hope to have the first phase to be operational as early as 2025.

As MRC informed earlier, the proposed merger of Canadian energy companies Pembina Pipeline and Inter Pipeline (IPL) could lead to the construction of a second propane dehydrogenation and polypropylene (PP) plant in Alberta. The Canadian company Inter Pipeline Ltd will complete the construction of a polypropylene (PP) plant in Alberta province, Canada by the end of the year, and the polypropylene production itself will begin in early 2022. In addition, the construction of a propane dehydrogenation unit is due to be completed next month. The polypropylene production capacity will be 525 thousand per year.

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.

Pembina Pipeline has been a gas supplier to the North American power system for over 60 years. Pembina owns and operates pipelines that transport a variety of hydrocarbon fluids, including conventional and synthetic crude oils and others, produced in Western Canada and North Dakota.
MRC

ExxonMobil restarts small CDU at its Baton Rouge, Louisiana refinery

ExxonMobil restarts small CDU at its Baton Rouge, Louisiana refinery

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil restarted the small crude distillation unit (CDU) at its 502,500 barrel-per-day (bpd) Baton Rouge, Louisiana, refinery, following a month of work, reported Reuters with reference to sources familiar with plant operations.

An Exxon spokeswoman declined to discuss the status of specific units at the Baton Rouge refinery.

The 90,000-bpd PSLA-8 CDU was shut on May 18 for planned maintenance scheduled to last at least 30 days, the sources said. PSLA-8 is one of four CDUs at the Baton Rouge refinery, which is Exxon's second-largest in the United States.

As MRC informed previously, earlier this month, Gov. John Bel Edwards and ExxonMobil Baton Rouge Refinery Manager David Oldreive announced the company’s final investment decision for more than USD240 million in capital improvements at the ExxonMobil Baton Rouge Refinery.

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.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world's oil and about 2% of the world's energy.
MRC

Arkema launched a new range of PVDF using biofuel-based feedstock

Arkema launched a new range of  PVDF using biofuel-based feedstock

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Arkema has launched a new range of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) for lithium-ion batteries, made using bio-feedstock, said the company.

Kynar CTO PVDF grades using the mass balance approach under the ISCC+ certification process will be produced firstly in Arkema’s Pierre-Benite plant in France for its European customers, focusing initially on grades specifically targeted for the lithium-ion battery market.

This patent pending technology allows a climate change impact reduction of almost 20% of the Kynar® PVDF binder (expressed in kg eq. CO2/kg, according to the ISO14040 standard) while reducing dependence on upstream crude oil consumption. The crude tall oil used in upstream feedstock production is a residue of the Kraft process of wood pulp manufacture. The new Kynar® CTO grades are certified to be compliant with industry leading responsible forestry standards. They do not result in deforestation, and there is no direct competition with food crops.

As per MRC, Trinseo completed the EUR1.14 billion acquisition of Arkema's PMMA business in May. The EUR1.14 billion deal was announced in December and was expected to be completed by mid-2021. The company has seven PMMA plants, four in Europe and three in North America. Products are marketed under the Plexiglas brands in the Americas and Altuglas in the rest of the world. PMMA Manufacturing Arkema is an integrated business from methyl methacrylate (MMA) to PMMA, marketed under the Plexiglas brands in the Americas and Altuglas in the rest of the world.

The main sector consuming approximately 75% of MMA is the production of polymethyl methacrylate acrylic plastics (PMMA). Methyl methacrylate is also used to produce methyl methacrylate-butadiene-styrene copolymer (MBS), used as a modifier for polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

According to the ICIS-MRC Price Report, PVC prices in Russia broke another historic record in May, but this factor did not affect demand. The key issue was whether the seller had enough resin. Some companies began to work out options for providing themselves with raw materials for July, a period of stoppages for repairs of two manufacturers.

Arkema is one of the world's leading chemical manufacturers headquartered in Colombes (near Paris, France). Founded in 2004 as a result of the restructuring of the French oil company Total, Arkema, with a turnover of EUR6.5 billion, has operations in 40 countries, 10 research centers around the world, and 85 plants in Europe, North America and Asia.
MRC