Tosoh to permanently stop producing and selling TDI an related Products at its Nanyo complex

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Tosoh Corporation, a major Japanese petrochemical producer, has announced it will permanently stop producing and selling toluene diisocyanate (TDI) and TDI-related products from its Nanyo complex in Japan, effective April 2023, according to Apic-online.

Despite the continuous implementation of measures to improve profitability, the environment surrounding this business has become increasingly severe in recent years, and there are no prospects for improvement, the company stated.

Tosoh currently produce 25,000 t/y of TDI at the site.

As MRC reported earlier, Tosoh resumed normal production at its caustic soda plant in Nanyo City (Nanyo, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan) with the capacity of 1.188 million tons of caustic soda and 1.06 million tons of chlorine per year on June 24, 2021. The company experienced some technical issues when restarting after a scheduled repair. Since June 12, the caustic and chlorine production capacity utilisation was reduced by about 30%.

Founded in 1935, Japan's Tosoh Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo, is an international chemicals and specialty materials company. The main activity of the company is the production of chlor-alkali and petrochemical products, which include ethylene, propylene, polypropylene, polyethylene and synthetic rubbers. The Tosoh Group globally includes over 130 companies with manufacturing facilities and offices in Japan, China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Italy, UK, Greece, Switzerland and the USA.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia's overall production of high density polyethylene (HDPE) totalled slightly over 1.475 mln tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 8% year on year. At the same time, only one producer increased its output, according to MRC's ScanPlast report.

September HDPE production in Russia dropped to 146,400 tonnes, whereas this figure was 158,500 tonnes a month earlier; Gazprom neftekhim Salavat and Kazanorgsintez reduced their capacity utilisation due to the turnarounds. Thus, overall HDPE output reached 1,475,000 tonnes in January-September 2021, compared to 1,366,000 tonnes a year earlier. Only ZapSibNeftekhim's output increased, two more producers reduced their production.

The structure of PE output by grades looked the following way over the stated period.

September production of HDPE at ZapSibNeftekhim reached 98,900 tonnes against 103,200 tonnes a month earlier. In general, total output of HDPE at the Tobolsk plant approached the level of 885,900 tonnes in January-September, up 36% year on year.

Kazanorgsintez's total HDPE production fell to 19,400 tonnes last month from 29,500 tonnes in August, the decrease in production was due to the shutdown for scheduled maintenance in mid-September. Thus, overall production of this PE grade totalled 283,600 tonnes over the stated period, down by 26% year on year.

Stavrolen's September HDPE production was 24,900 tonnes versus 25,800 tonnes a month earlier. The plant's overall HDPE output exceeded 238,200 tonnes in January-September 2021, which virtually corresponded to the last year's figure.

Last month, the total volume of HDPE production at Gazprom neftekhim Salavat amounted to slightly less than 3,200 tonnes, in August there was no production due to the maintenance works. Thus, overall production of this PE grade totalled 66,800 tonnes at the plant over the stated period, down by 28% year on year.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. has announced that they have signed an Agreement of Intent with Rosneft for the implementation of a project related to the “Construction of the VGO Hydrocracking Complex” at the Ryazan Refining Company’s (RORC) production site, approximately 200 km southeast of Moscow, as per Maire Tecnimont's press release.

The agreement was signed on the occasion of the ХIV Eurasian Economic Forum in Verona, in Italy.

Vacuum Gas Oil (VGO) is produced by a vacuum distillation unit in a refinery plant. Rosneft’s subsidiary RORC is one of the largest Russian refineries by volume of refining and production output.

The project’s scope of work entails a full range of works related to the design, supply of equipment and materials, construction, start-up and commissioning, and project finance services.

The VGO hydrocracking complex will enable RORC to increase refining margins by converting heavy petroleum products into Class 5 light commercial petroleum products (gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel). The complex includes hydrocracking units, hydrogen production units, elemental sulphur production units, and off-site facilities. All equipment has high environmental performance characteristics. The project uses modern, highly efficient technology and equipment with an automated control system to reduce the carbon footprint of the plant.

Rosneft is implementing an unprecedented program to upgrade its refineries, with more than Rb900 B (USD13 B approximately) already invested to significantly increase the production of Class 5 gasoline, diesel fuel and fully meet the needs of the domestic market.

Pierroberto Folgiero, Maire Tecnimont Group Chief Executive Officer, commented: “We are really honored to put for the first time at Rosneft’s service our technological know-how as well as our engineering and construction capabilities for this strategic initiative to unlock greater value through the transformation of natural resources, while ensuring best environmentally performing standards. This achievement with a prestigious client such as Rosneft let us further consolidate our very strong track record in the Russian Federation, a market currently showing really significant investment trends in downstream”.

As MRC reported earlier, the Indian company Nayara Energy, 49.13% of which is owned by Russia's largest state oil company - Rosneft, has recently launched a USD750 million petrochemical development program. Nayara Energy has the second largest refinery in India with a capacity of 20 million tons per year. The Indian company has already launched a refinery development program: within the first stage, it is planned to build units for the production of polypropylene (PP) with a capacity of up to 450,000 tonnes 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 1,638,370 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up by 10% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 989,570 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up by 30% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas shipments of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

Rosneft became Russia's largest publicly traded oil company in March 2013 after the USD55 billion takeover of TNK-BP, which was Russia’s third-largest oil producer at the time.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- KP Engineering, LP (KPE), a leader in the design and execution of customized EPC solutions for the refining, syngas, hydrogen, and renewable fuels industries, has entered into a mutual collaboration agreement with OMNI Conversion Technologies Inc. (OMNI), said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

OMNI is a Canadian company focused on producing clean green energy by converting energetic waste into OmniSyngasTM and OmniRockTM, with full diversion from landfill. The collaboration will enable the companies to supply equipment and technology to produce hydrogen from waste with a negative carbon footprint at less than half the cost of electrolysis.

A result of the long-standing mutually beneficial working relationship between KPE and OMNI, the new agreement formalizes the collaboration and provides a one-stop experience for potential customers. KPE and OMNI will co-market OMNI's patented technology. They will exclusively collaborate with each other to provide an integrated modular solution for converting a wide variety of minimally prepared wastes to hydrogen, while capturing CO2 for subsequent use or sequestration. Biomass-fed projects will fall outside of the scope of the agreement.

William E. Preston, president and chief operating officer, KP Engineering, said, “The partnership between KPE as an industry-leading EPC with a ground-breaking technology provider such as OMNI embodies the type of collaboration that will bring green hydrogen to fruition. This agreement solidifies an already highly efficient working relationship between KPE and OMNI, and will bring to market a cost-effective, zero- and even negative-carbon emission option for producing green hydrogen."

Marc Bacon, president and chief operating officer, OMNI, said “This agreement formalizes the close relationship OMNI enjoys with KPE. It provides seamless integration of OMNI’s GPRSTM units, developed over more than a decade at a cost of over $400 MM, with downstream unit operations by KPE to convert the syngas to hydrogen. We are thrilled to work with KPE in the new circular economy to reduce methane emissions from municipal solid waste (MSW) and other wastes by providing a one-stop, low-cost, and low-risk solution."

As MRC informed earlier, KP Engineering, an industry leader in engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) solutions, has been awarded a fixed-price EPC contract by Praxair, Inc. to expand carbon monoxide production at its Geismar, Louisiana plant.

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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Hess Corp expects to produce more than 1 MM gross barrels of oil per day (bpd) in Guyana by 2027 from at least six production units, reported Reuters with reference to the US oil producer's statement on Wednesday.

The projection comes shortly after a second floating production system arrived in the South American country's waters.

Hess added that it sees potential for up to 10 floating systems to develop the discovered resources on the block. ExxonMobil had previously said it expects to have five units in operation in Guyana by 2026 and sees a potential for a total of seven to 10 units.

Hess Chief Executive Officer John Hess also said the fourth development on the block, the Yellowtail project, was envisioned to have a gross capacity of about 250,000 bpd, with first oil expected in 2025.

The plans for the Yellowtail development was recently submitted to the government of Guyana for approval, the company added in a post-earnings conference call with investors and analysts.

The company, on the call, declined to provide final numbers on cost or wells planned, but added that breakeven for Yellowtail, even with some cost increases, would firmly be in the USD25 to USD32 per barrel range.

Higher production from Guyana, considered a growth engine for Hess, also helped the company offset output declines in North Dakota's Bakken and Gulf of Mexico.

Gross production from the Liza Phase I complex averaged 124,000 bpd in the third quarter, with the Liza Phase II development on track for start-up in early 2022 with a gross production capacity of 220,000 bpd.

Hess said the third development on the Stabroek Block at the Payara field is on track to achieve first oil in 2024, also with a gross capacity of 220,000 bpd.

The company said it expects to spend about USD1 B in Guyana in 2022, about USD250 MM more than this yr.

We remind that, as MRC reported earlier, ExxonMobil plans to build its first, large-scale plastic waste advanced recycling facility in Baytown, Texas, and is expected to start operations by year-end 2022. The new facility follows validation of ExxonMobil’s initial trial of its proprietary process for converting plastic waste into raw materials. To date, the trial has successfully recycled more than 1,000 metric tons of plastic waste, the equivalent of 200 million grocery bags, and has demonstrated the capability of processing 50 metric tons per day.

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 1,638,370 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up by 10% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 989,570 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up by 30% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas shipments of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.
MRC