SK Global Chemical rebrands to SK Geo Centric in line with its strategy to be focused on recycling and eco-friendly materials

SK Global Chemical rebrands to SK Geo Centric in line with its strategy to be focused on recycling and eco-friendly materials

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Korea’s SK Global Chemical has changed its name to SK Geo Centric with effect from Sep. 1 as it adopts a strategy centered on recycling and eco-friendly materials, according to CHEManager.

“The plastic waste problem could turn into an opportunity. We will grow into the world’s largest urban oilfield company that converts plastic waste back into oil,” said SK Geo Centric CEO Na Kyung-soo.

The company’s primary goal is to establish facilities to process 900,000 t/y of plastic waste, which is equal to its annual domestic plastic production, by 2025, ramping up to 2.5 million t/y by 2027. It plans to invest about 5 trillion Korean won by 2025, both in South Korea and internationally, which will also include expanding capacity for green materials.

In addition, the Seoul-based group proposes to recycle 2.5 million t/y of plastic waste. It has signed Memoranda of Understanding with undisclosed domestic and international partners while it develops its own pyrolysis post-processing technology. Based on collaborations with overseas partners that own chemical recycling technologies such as solvent extraction, depolymerization and pyrolysis, SK Geo Centric intends to invest in plants both within and outside South Korea.

Besides, by working with the South Korean government and SMEs throughout the recycling chain, the company said it will build a recycling cluster that can process PE, PP, PET and complex materials.

“The plastic recycling market will grow by 12% by 2030, and the plastic waste market size is expected to reach 600 trillion Korean won by 2050. This implies that there is much room for growth,” said Na. “In the year 2025, we will create 600 billion Korean won in EBITDA from the eco-friendly and recycling sector to offset existing businesses, and also become a completely green company, even from a financial standpoint.”

SK Geo Centric will also increase production of eco-friendly materials from 500,000 t/y to 1.9 million t/y by 2025, and use bio-oil and pyrolysis oil in its plastics production rather than petroleum-based raw materials.

We remind that, as MRC reported before, South Korea's SK Innovation Co Ltd said in August, 2021, iit is considering spinning off and listing its growing battery business, taking a page out of rival LG Chem Ltd's playbook that is on track to list its battery unit this year. The move, announced by SK Innovation CEO Kim Jun earlier this year, comes as demand for electric vehicles (EVs) surges and carmakers partner with battery makers to ensure uninterrupted supplies.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,176,860 tonnes in the first half of 2021, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

MRC

Sherwin-Williams decreased Q3 sales guidance

Sherwin-Williams decreased Q3 sales guidance

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Sherwin-Williams Company (SHW) lowered its net sales guidance for the third quarter of 2021, while keeping its full-year net sales and net income per share view unchanged, said the company.

The company lowered its third-quarter consolidated net sales guidance to be up or down by a low-single digit percentage over third-quarter 2020 from its prior view of up mid-to-high single digit percentage.

The full-year 2021 consolidated net sales guidance remains unchanged at up a high-single to low-double digit percentage over 2020 levels.

The full-year net income per share guidance remains intact in the range of USD8.01-USD8.31 per share, including 80 cents per share for acquisition-related amortization expenses and a loss of 34 cents per share on the Wattyl divestiture.

The company stated that it is witnessing strong demand across the pro architectural and industrial end markets it serves. However, sustained and industry-wide raw material availability issues have not improved as expected, affecting its ability to fully meet high demand.

It now expects raw material availability, including the unfavorable impact of Hurricane Ida, to affect its third-quarter consolidated sales by a high-single digit percentage. Its total cost basket— including raw materials, transportation and labor— continues to move upward, the company noted.

As per MRC, the Sherwin-Williams Company will acquire the European industrial coatings business of Sika AG. The acquired business will become part of the Sherwin-Williams Performance Coatings segment and that includes approximately 130 Sika employees. The transaction is expected to close in the beginning of 2022.

We remind that Russia's output of chemical products rose in June 2021 by 10.2% year on year. However, production of basic chemicals increased year on year by 8.2% in the first six months of 2021, according to Rosstat's data. June production of polymers in primary form was 937,000 tonnes versus 956,000 tonnes in May. Russia's overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 4,460,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 12.8% year on year.
MRC

Binh Son refinery cuts output, faces suspension on weak demand

Binh Son refinery cuts output, faces suspension on weak demand

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Vietnam's Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical has cut output at its refinery for the second time in a month and could see operations suspended due to weak domestic fuel demand, as per Reuters.

The 130,000-barrel-per-day refinery in central Vietnam has cut output to 80% of capacity, the Thanh Nien newspaper reported, after a reduction last month to 90% of capacity as a worsening coronavirus outbreak hurt demand.

A new wave of infections since late April saw Vietnam impose movement restrictions in a third of its cities and provinces and forced many companies to suspend operations.

"If the restrictions in the southern provinces continued into October, the refinery would probably have to suspend its production," the newspaper cited an unnamed executive of the company as saying.

The plant's refined fuel inventories have more than doubled from a month ago to 410,000 cubic metres, the executive was quoted as saying, adding that monthly sales have halved from pre-pandemic volumes to 300,000 cubic metres.

Binh Son has had to sell 1 million barrels of crude oil and is considering selling another 1 million barrels to free up its storage capacity, the report added.

Contacted by Reuters, a company source, who declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak to media, said: "We are operating at the lowest capacity possible and are seeking measures to keep our supply chain from being disrupted."

As MRC wrote before, Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical took off-stream its PP plant in Vietnam for a maintenance turnaround in June 2017 for a period of around 7 weeks. The exact date shutdown could not be ascertained. Located in Vietnam,the plant has a production capacity of 150,000 mt/year.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,176,860 tonnes in the first half of 2021, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical (BSR) is a subsidiary of state-owned oil firm PetroVietnam.
MRC

Talos assures not responsible for oil leak in U.S. Gulf of Mexico

Talos assures not responsible for oil leak in U.S. Gulf of Mexico

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oil producer Talos Energy Inc said the company's assets were not the source of an oil spill in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico around Louisiana, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The company said it was notified of an oil release observed on Bay Marchand Block 5 in Louisiana state waters on Aug. 31, due to its status as a prior lessee of the block, but it ceased production from the block in 2017.

The U.S. Coast Guard said on Monday it was investigating nearly 350 reports of oil spillage in and along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico following Hurricane Ida.

Clean-up crews and a dive team were at the leak site in the Bay Marchand area on Sunday seeking to contain the spill and pinpoint its source and location.

A miles-long black streak of oil in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana was visible from the air after Hurricane Ida tore through the region a week ago.

As it was written earlier, Talos Energy said on Sunday that the rate of oil flowing from a spill of unknown origin in U.S. Gulf of Mexico following Hurricane Ida appears to have decreased. Clean-up crews and a dive team were at the leak site in the Bay Marchand area of the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday seeking to contain the oil and pinpoint its source and location. A miles-long black streak of oil in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana was visible from the air after Hurricane Ida tore through the region a week ago.

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 1,176,860 tonnes in the first half of 2021, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

Talos Energy is a technically driven independent exploration and production company focused on safely and efficiently maximizing long-term value through its operations, currently in the United States and offshore Mexico, both upstream through oil and gas exploration and production and downstream through the development of future carbon capture and storage opportunities.
MRC

Climeworks AG starts up plant capturing carbon from air in Iceland

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The world's largest plant that sucks carbon dioxide directly from the air and deposits it underground is due to begin operating, the company behind the nascent green technology said.

Swiss start-up Climeworks AG, which specializes in capturing carbon dioxide directly from the air, has partnered with Icelandic carbon storage firm Carbfix to develop a plant that sucks out up to 4,000 tons of CO2 per year. That's the equivalent of the annual emissions from about 790 cars. Last year, global CO2-emissions totalled 31.5 billion tons, according to the International Energy Agency.

Direct air capture is one of the few technologies extracting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and is viewed by scientists as vital to limit global warming, blamed for causing more heatwaves, wildfires, floods and rising sea levels.

The Orca plant, a reference to the Icelandic word for energy, consists of eight large containers similar in looks to those used in the shipping industry, which employ high-tech filters and fans to extract carbon dioxide.

The isolated carbon is then mixed with water and pumped deep underground, where it slowly turns into rock. Both technologies are powered by renewable energy sourced from a nearby geothermal power plant. Direct air capture is still a fledgling and costly technology, but developers hope to drive down prices by scaling up as more companies and consumers look to reduce their carbon footprint.

There are currently 15 direct air capture plants operating worldwide, capturing more than 9,000 tons of CO2 per year, according to the IEA. U.S. oil firm Occidental is currently developing the largest direct-air-capture facility, to pull 1 MMtpy of carbon dioxide from the open air near some of its Texas oilfields.

Climeworks, which recently signed a 10-year carbon removal purchase agreement with major insurance firm Swiss Re, also offers a subscription service, which allows consumers to pay for carbon removal through monthly payments.

As per MRC, Equinor-led Northern Lights venture and Swiss start-up Climeworks will explore the potential for capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere in Norway, the partners said. Climeworks provides direct carbon capture technology, while Northern Lights, which also includes Shell and Total , plans to store CO2 in a geological formation under the seabed off Norway's coast.

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 1,176,860 tonnes in the first half of 2021, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

Climeworks is a Swiss company specializing in technologies for capturing carbon dioxide in the air. The company filters CO? directly from the ambient air through an adsorption-desorption process.
MRC