Arkema to build a new bio-based polyamide 11 powders plant in China

Arkema to build a new bio-based polyamide 11 powders plant in China

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Arkema announced the construction of a polyamide 11 powders plant on its Changshu platform in China, scheduled to come on stream in the first quarter of 2023, said the company.

This investment will further support the growing demand for advanced bio-circular materials in Asia.

Rilsan polyamide 11 powders, currently produced in France entirely from renewable castor beans, are recognized worldwide for their superior properties and performance in terms of toughness, durability, lightweight and processing versatility. They are used in very demanding applications and provide innovative solutions for fast-growing markets driven by megatrends such as durable home appliances, energy-efficient transport, and advanced additive manufacturing (3D printing) primarily for consumer, industrial, and aerospace markets.

Beyond the bio-based nature of the powder, this project will also contribute to Arkema’s ambitious sustainability commitments by using highly efficient manufacturing processes and by being physically closer to the new amino 11 plant in Singapore.

"We are very excited about this expansion", said Erwoan Pezron, Senior Vice President, High Performance Polymers. "There is strong and growing demand in Asia across all of our key powders markets and this added capacity will enable us to supply the region from within the region."

This expansion goes hand in hand with the Group’s major polyamide 11 plant currently under construction in Singapore, which is on track to start production mid-2022, and is included in the EUR450 million exceptional capital expenditure envelope dedicated to polyamide expansion in Asia.

In April this year, Arkema confirmed it is on track to begin production of Amino 11 and its flagship Rilsan® polyamide 11 high performance polymer at the new plant on Jurong Island, Singapore in the first half of next year. This plant, for which production will be 100%-derived from renewable castor beans, represents a 50% increase in Arkema’s global polyamide 11 capacity.

As per MRC, Arkema is further increasing its fluoropolymer production capacities in Changshu, China, by 35% in 2022. The increase in capacity is scheduled to come on stream before the end of 2022, the company said in a statement. Financial and overall capacity details of the expansion project were not disclosed.

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.
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Crude oil prices go up to multi-year highs as energy crisis grips major global economies

Crude oil prices go up to multi-year highs as energy crisis grips major global economies

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oil prices rose by about 2% on Monday, extending gains as an energy crisis grips major economies amid a pick-up in economic activity and restrained supplies from major producers, reported Reuters.

Brent crude was up USD1.45, or 1.8%, at USD83.84 a barrel by 1336 GMT, its highest since October 2018.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose USD1.71, or 2.2%, to USD81.06 for its highest since late 2014.

"Oil prices are likely to continue climbing in the short term," said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch.

Prices have risen as more vaccinated populations are brought out of coronavirus lockdowns, supporting a revival in economic activity, with Brent advancing for five weeks and US crude for seven.

The pace of economic recovery combined with cold weather have increased the demand for energy, while pressure on governments to accelerate the transition to cleaner energy have slowed investment in oil projects to boost supplies.

World leaders are due to meet in November at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) taking place in Glasgow to flesh out commitments on energy transition.

Prices for coal, gas and electricity have also surged to record highs in recent weeks, driven higher by widespread energy shortages in Asia, Europe and the United States.

Qatar, the world's largest seller of liquefied natural gas (LNG), told consumers it was powerless to cool energy prices as British steelmakers said they could be forced to halt output in the face of soaring costs.

In India, some states are experiencing electricity blackouts because of coal shortages. China's government, meanwhile, has ordered miners to ramp up coal production as power prices surge.

"The news from last week that the (US) Department of Energy is not planning to tap into strategic reserves for now is keeping the oil market tight and is supporting prices," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.

US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm last week said the administration was considering tapping the country's emergency oil reserves to cool gasoline prices, though the Energy Department later said it had "no plans to take action at this time".

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, together known as OPEC+, last week decided to maintain a steady and gradual increase in output.

As MRC informed before, US commercial crude stocks fell 3.48 million barrels to 413.96 million barrels in the week ended Sept. 17, to more than 8% below the five-year average, Energy Information Administration data showed. Stocks were last lower Oct. 5, 2018.

We remind that in late August, 2021, US crude stocks dropped sharply while petroleum products supplied by refiners hit an all-time record despite the rise in coronavirus cases nationwide, the Energy Information Administration said. Crude inventories fell by 7.2 million barrels in the week to Aug. 27 to 425.4 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 3.1 million-barrel drop. Product supplied by refineries, a measure of demand, rose to 22.8 million barrels per day in the most recent week. That's a one-week record, and signals strength in consumption for diesel, gasoline and other fuels by consumers and exporters.

We also remind that US crude oil production is expected to fall by 160,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2021 to 11.12 million bpd, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a monthly report, a smaller decline than its previous forecast for a drop of 210,000 bpd.
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LG Chem to invest in technical centres in the US and Europe by 2023

LG Chem to invest in technical centres in the US and Europe by 2023

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LG Chem Ltd., South Korea’s leading chemical company, said Monday it will establish technical support facilities in the United States and Europe to improve customer care services in its main markets, said Koreabizwire.

LG Chem will invest around 120 billion won (USD103 million) to establish tech centers in Ohio, the United States, and Frankfurt, Germany, with their full-scale operations scheduled to start in 2023. The U.S. and Europe are the main markets that account for more than 20% of global demand for the company’s strategic products, LG Chem said.

The company said each tech center is a “dedicated customer support organization” that will provide comprehensive technical solutions like product development and quality improvement to those who purchase its petrochemical products.

LG Chem added its American and European tech centers will each have various pilot facilities for customer-tailored technical support, particularly centered on automotive materials and packaging films, as well as eco-friendly products.

A total of 70 research and development experts, including application technology teams, such as extrusion processing and injection technology, will be stationed to provide technical support in need, the company said.

With its American and European tech centers, LG Chem said the company will have a “global quadrilateral customer support system,” connecting South Korea, China, the United States and Europe.

LG Chem is currently building a tech center in Huadong, China, with its operation slated for 2022. In addition to tech centers, LG Chem will also build an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) compound plant at the site of the U.S. tech center.

It will invest around 60 billion won to construct the facility that will have an annual production capacity of 30,000 tons by 2023. The North American market accounts for 10 percent of global demand for ABS, the company added. LG Chem said it also plans to consider building an ABS polymerization plant to better respond to North American customers.

As MRC informed earlier, LG Chem started up its new second naphtha cracker in Yeosu in mid-June, 2021. The second cracker's production capacity will be 900,000-1,000,000 mt/year.

According to the ICIS-MRC Price Rport, ABS imports to Russia increased by 30% in in January-August 2021 compared to the same period last year and amounted to 27,900 tonnes against 21,400 tonnes. The share of South Korean supplies fell to 57% (15,800 tonnes) against 63% (13,500 tonnes) a year earlier.

LG Chem Ltd., often referred to as LG Chemical, is the largest Korean chemical company and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It has eight domestic factories and global network of 29 business locations in 15 countries. LG Chem is a manufacturer, supplier, and exporter of petrochemical goods, IT&E Materials and Energy Solutions.
MRC

COVID-19 - News digest as of 11.10.2021

1. Asia distillates-gasoil prices are on the rise

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Asia's middle distillate markets firm on Friday, buoyed by a firming demand outlook and tighter regional supplies, said Hydrocarbonprocessing. Recovering industrial demand due to easing COVID-19 restrictions and increased usage of the fuel for power generation on the back of high coal and gas prices are boosting the markets, trade sources said. Rising natural gas and thermal coal prices are likely to see increased gas-to-oil switching, supporting demand for residual fuel oil and gasoil, ANZ Research said in a note. ANZ analysts raised their fourth-quarter 2021 crude oil demand forecast by 450,000 bpd amid rising gas-to-oil switching in the power generation and industrial sectors and a continued recovery in demand for transportation fuels. The front-month gasoil time spread climbed to 72 cents a barrel, its highest since December 2019, Refinitiv data in Eikon showed.

MRC

Fire at gasoline tank at Lebanon southern Zahrani city put out

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A fire that broke out Oct. 11 at a gasoline tank at the Zahrani oil installations in southern Lebanon has been contained, the prime minister's media office said on Twitter, days after the country plunged into darkness due to a lack of fuel for power plants, reported S&P Global.

The cause of the fire at the gasoline tank, which belongs to the Lebanese army, will be investigated, according to the Twitter post quoting energy minister Walid Fayyad.

The fire comes a few days after Lebanon's main power plants in Zahrani and Deir Ammar in the north ran out of fuel as the cash-strapped government struggles to buy feedstock for its facilities.

Iraq agreed this year to sell Lebanon 1 million mt/year of heavy fuel oil in return for goods and services, which will help OPEC's second-biggest producer reduce a surplus of the commodity. Because Iraq's fuel oil doesn't meet specifications of its power plants, Lebanon will resell the Iraqi fuel and use the proceeds to buy spot cargoes of fuel that is compatible with its facilities, Lebanon's former energy and water minister Raymond Ghajar said July 24.

One million mt/year of fuel would meet around a third of Lebanon's needs, he said at the time.

Lebanon is suffering from severe power outages due to the financial crisis gripping the country, which relies on imported oil products for electricity generation.

We remind that as MRC wrote before, Borealis has declared a force majeure (FM) at its steam cracker in Stenungsund, Sweden after a fire. The FM at the Swedish cracker with the capacity of 625,000 mtyear of ethylene was declared on 14 September, 2021, and the cracker was shut on 11 September due to a malfunction and the fire. A Borealis spokesperson said that the duration of the force majeure was not yet clear.

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 1,396,960 tonnes in January-July 2021, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 841,990 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, up by 29% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.
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