Iraq aims to build new oil refinery

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Iraq has signed an initial deal with Swedish company SEAB to build a 70,000-barrels-per-day oil refinery near the northern city of Mosul, reported Reuters with reference to the oil ministry's statement.

The refinery will use the heavy crude oil from the northern Qayyara oilfield to produce fuel, said oil ministry officials, without giving an estimated cost of the project.

The Iraqi ministry said the memorandum was also signed by Turkey's Limak, but the Turkish construction company denied it was involved.

A company spokesperson told Reuters it had previously been in contact with SEAB but did not sign the contract.

As MRC informed previously, French giant TotalEnergies has signed a USD27-billion contract to invest in oil, gas and solar production in Iraq Sunday, as the country faces an acute energy crisis. The announcement of the deal, supposed in part to reduce Iraq's reliance on fossil fuels, came as Oil Minister Ihsan Ismail signed the contract at a Baghdad ceremony with TotalEnergies chief Patrick Pouyanne earlier this month.

We remind that in November 2019, Total disclosed that it is evaluating construction of a new gas cracker at its Deasan, South Korea, joint venture (JV) with Hanwha Chemical.

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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Japan’s exports extended double-digit gains in August, led by strong shipments of chip manufacturing equipment, although the pace of growth weakened as COVID-19 hit key Asian supply chains and slowed factory production, said Reuters.

The trade growth is unlikely to dispel worries about the outlook for Japan’s economy, which has not yet recovered to pre-pandemic levels after taking an enormous hit from a collapse in global trade in the first quarter of 2020.

Exports rose 26.2% in August compared with the same month a year earlier, the Ministry of Finance said on Thursday, marking the sixth straight month of double-digit growth as strong demand for chip-making equipment offset slowing U.S and European Union-bound shipments of cars.

However, the growth was slower than the 34.0% expected by economists in a Reuters poll and the 37.0% advance in the previous month. "Exports have been driving the economy. The recovery scenario for Japan’s economy may become shaky if they won’t grow,” said Takumi Tsunoda, senior economist at Shinkin Central Bank.

Policymakers are under pressure to keep the fragile recovery intact, which has been thrown into doubt due to a resurgence of the pandemic in other parts of Asia, leading manufacturing hubs such as Vietnam and Malaysia to roll out lockdown measures.

“The semiconductor issue had quite a big impact, which weighed on car exports a lot,” said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute. “I think it’s likely to impact exports at least until the year-end as bottlenecks in parts supply in Southeast Asia continue."

Toyota Motor Corp cut here its annual production target by 300,000 vehicles last week as rising COVID-19 infections slowed output at parts factories in Vietnam and Malaysia.

While vaccination rates are improving and daily COVID-19 infections appear to have peaked, analysts expect Japan to see annualised 1.2% growth here in the current quarter, much slower than projected last month, a Reuters poll on Tuesday showed.

By destination, shipments to China, Japan’s largest trading partner, rose 12.6% year-on-year in August, led by chemicals and semiconductor parts, the data showed. Exports to the United States, the world’s top economy, soared 22.8%, as strong demand for power-generating machines offset a decline in car shipments.

Shipments to Asia as a whole gained 26.1%, their slowest pace in five months, while those to the European Union advanced 29.9% in August. Imports jumped 44.7% in August compared with the same month a year earlier, versus the median estimate for a 40.0% increase, due to stronger demand for fuel and medical goods.

That brought a trade deficit of 635.4 billion yen (USD5.81 billion), the largest shortfall since December 2012 and bigger than the median estimate for a 47.7 billion yen deficit.

The trade data follows the Reuters Tankan poll on Wednesday, which found confidence among Japanese manufacturers fell to a five-month low in September as the latest wave of COVID-19 forced factory halts around Asia.

As per MRC, Asahi Kasei’s net profit for the fiscal year ending March 2021 slumped by 23.2%, weighed down by weakness in its materials business, and as the company booked a one-off loss for the period. The materials segment was hit by global economic deterioration amid the coronavirus pandemic. Sales for the segment declined by 9.3% year on year to Y991.2bn, with operating profit falling by 28% to Y66.5bn.

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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The engineering company Nipigaz, as part of a joint venture with the French Technip Energies, will deal with the decarbonization project for Zapsibneftekhim, Chairman of the Board, CEO of Sibur Mikhail Karisalov said in an interview.

In July, Sibur announced that within the framework of the deal with TAIF on the merger of oil and gas chemical businesses, it would exclude from its structure a non-core asset - the engineering company Nipigaz, whose shares would be distributed as dividends among the existing shareholders of Sibur Holding. According to Karisalov, the deconsolidation will take place in the near future.

Now "Nipigaz" through Nova Energies (a joint venture with Technip) is engaged in the project for decarbonization of the production of "Zapsibneftekhim", with a very interesting potential, Karisalov said.

“As you know, the Tobolsk industrial site has a thermal power plant, which we once bought from Fortum. In addition, there are production facilities themselves - both those that were historically and that we have created over the past 10 years. So, the total potential of the project on decarbonization of our Tobolsk cluster - this is a decrease in emissions by almost 4 million tons of CO2 equivalent, "he said.

Karisalov noted that shareholders are looking for competitive niches for their engineering company, and low-carbon technologies are an area where today there is an opportunity to be among the first. “Therefore, we are looking at projects to reduce our carbon footprint with great interest. This implies both the development of know-how and the integration of available solutions,” he concluded.

Let us remind you that in March Nipigaz reported in March that a joint venture with Nova Energies is being created to implement investment projects to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the field of bioenergy, biochemistry, production of pure hydrogen and ammonia.

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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- W. R. Grace & Co., the leading independent supplier of polyolefin catalyst technology and polypropylene (PP) process technology, has licensed its UNIPOL PP process technology to GAIL (India) Ltd, India’s principal gas transmission and marketing company under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The 500 KTA polypropylene (PP) plant, located in Usar, Maharastra, India, will be the first PDH and PP plant in India. It is also the largest single-line UNIPOL PP process technology capacity that Grace has licensed in India.

This is GAIL’s second UNIPOL PP process technology license, continuing to show the confidence in Grace to deliver value even through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Laura Schwinn, President of Grace’s Specialty Catalysts business said, “We are honored to be the technology of choice for the first PDH-PP plant in India. We know that our UNIPOL® PP Process Technology and our catalysts will provide GAIL with the edge they are looking for in the Indian market. We are committed to their success through the services and solutions that we offer for the lifetime of the plant and we look forward to seeing their business grow and flourish in the years to come.”

Grace's all gas-phase UNIPOL PP process technology delivers technology, innovation, and services for plant lifetime performance. The versatile process technology provides the broadest range of PP homopolymers, random copolymers, and impact copolymers in the industry.

As MRC informed previously, in April 2018, W. R. Grace & Co. completed the USD416 million acquisition of the Polyolefin Catalysts business of Albemarle Corporation.

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.

A leader in polyolefin catalysts and licensing, W.R. Grace has the world’s broadest portfolio of polypropylene and polyethylene catalyst technologies used to produce thermoplastic resins for a variety of applications. A leading innovator and strategic partner to its customers, Grace supplies catalyst solutions for all polyolefin processes, as well as polypropylene process technology and process controls. Grace employs approximately 3,700 people in over 30 countries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Versalis, Eni’s chemical company, has acquired on an exclusive basis the technology and plants of Ecoplastic, an Italian company of the De Berg group specializing in the recovery, recycling and transformation chain of styrenic polymers, as per the company's press release.

The present agreement guarantees Versalis the expertise developed by Ecoplastic, allowing it to accelerate developments in advanced mechanical recycling and expand the portfolio of the Versalis Revive range of recycled polymers, consolidating its European leadership in recycled styrenic polymers.

Ecoplastic has developed a production process of styrenic polymers, expanded polystyrene (rEPS) and solid polystyrene (rGPPS) with recycled content up to 100% starting from secondary raw material obtained from expanded polystyrene waste selected from the industrial and commercial sectors.

The new products will be used for applications in which sustainability and circularity requirements are essential, such as packaging and construction.

The agreement with the De Berg group constitutes a concrete step for the start of the first phase of construction of the advanced mechanical recycling hub as part of the transformation project of the Porto Marghera plant, where the installation of the units acquired from Ecoplastic for the production of styrenic polymers obtained entirely from recycled, already sorted and pre-treated raw material, will take place from next year. The overall capacity of this first phase will be around 20,000 tons per year.

As MRC reported before, there is more uncertainty over Versalis’ plans for its Porto Marghera, Italy cracker closure following local media reports that the company has taken the earlier declaration for a Spring 2022 stoppage, off the table, said the company in April 2021.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, July estimated consumption of polystyrene (PS) and styrene plastics in Russia rose by 4% year on year, totalling 46,540 tonnes. Russia's overall PS consumption was 328,980 tonnes in January-July 2021, up by 23% year on year. Russia's July production of PS and styrene plastics was 44,520 tonnes, down by 4% year on year (42,770 tonnes).

Eni is an Italian multinational oil and gas company headquartered in Rome. It has operations in in 79 countries, and is currently Italy's largest industrial company. The Italian government owns a 30.3% golden share in the company, 3.93% held through the state Treasury and 26.37% held through the Cassa depositi e prestiti. Another 39.40% of the shares are held by BNP Paribas.
MRC