PVC imports to Belarus rise by 17.3% in Jan-Sep 2021

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Overall imports of unmixed polyvinyl chloride (PVC) into Belarus totalled 45,600 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 17.3% year on year, according to MRC's DataScope report.

According to the Statistics Committee of the Republic of Belarus, local converters were unable to fully replenish their PVC inventories in September 2021 due to the increased supply from the main suppliers-producers from Russia. September imports were 5,600 tonnes, whereas this figure was at 4,900 tonnes a month earlier.

Thus, imports of unmixed PVC reached 45,600 tonnes in January-September 2021, compared to 38,900 tonnes a year earlier.
As reported earlier, Russian producers with the share of about 92% of the Belarusian market were the key suppliers of resin to Belarus over the stated period. Producers from Germany with the share of over 7% were the second largest suppliers.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Olin Corporation (Clayton, Missouri) has announced that Pat D. Dawson, Olin's Executive Vice President and President, Epoxy and International, will retire from Olin effective April 30, 2022, or an earlier mutually agreeable date, according to Street Insider.

Mr. Dawson will remain with Olin as an Executive Vice President until his retirement, focusing on business leadership transition activities and strategic business projects.

Mr. Damian Gumpel, Olin's current Vice President and President, Chlor Alkali Products and Vinyls will become its Vice President and President, Epoxy and Corporate Strategy, effective November 29, 2021. Damian will lead Olin's Epoxy and International operations, as well as Olin's Corporate Strategy activities, including mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Gumpel earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas - Austin and a Masters of Business Administration with Honors from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Olin further announced that it has hired Patrick M. Schumacher to serve as Vice President and President, Chlor Alkali Products and Vinyls, and Dana C. O'Brien to serve as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, both effective November 29, 2021.

Patrick Schumacher most recently served as Senior Vice President for Prince Corporation where he led the sales organization and global mergers and acquisitions activities. Prior to his time at Prince Corporation, Mr. Schumacher worked at Celanese Corporation in various leadership positions. While at Celanese, he was a Senior Vice President of multiple business areas from 2018 to 2020, Vice President, Emulsion Polymers in 2018, and Vice President, Business and Strategy Development from 2014 to 2018. Prior to joining Celanese, Mr. Schumacher was Managing Director, Head of Chemicals M&A Practice at Blackstone Group, Senior Vice President at UBS Investment Bank, an Associate at Lehman Brothers and an Associate at Valuemetrics. Mr. Schumacher earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance from the University of Wisconsin and Master of Science in Finance degree from Boston College.

Dana O'Brien was most recently Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer at The Brink's Company. Prior to her time at The Brinks' Company, Ms. O'Brien was Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at CenterPoint Energy from 2014 to 2019, Chief Legal Officer, Chief Compliance Officer at CEVA Logistics from 2007 to 2014, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Secretary at EGL, Inc. from 2005 to 2007, and held various legal roles at Quanta Services, Inc. from 1999 to 2005. Prior to transitioning to an in-house setting, Ms. O'Brien was an associate at Weil, Gotshal & Manges and a briefing attorney with the Supreme Court of Texas. Ms. O'Brien earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Trinity University and her Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Texas - Austin.

As MRC reported previously, Olin Corporation has recently announced that it plans to permanently shut down the remaining diaphragm-grade chlor-alkali capacity at its McIntosh, Alabama facility, by the end of third quarter 2022. The closure of approximately 200,000 electrochemical unit (ECU) tons is in addition to the 200,000 ECU tons shut down at McIntosh in first quarter 2021.

We remind that in July 2021, Olin Corporation entered into an agreement with ASHTA Chemicals, Inc. to purchase and sell the chlorine produced at ASHTA's Ashtabula, OH facility. Existing contracts will be honored for chlorine customers of both companies.

Olin Corporation is a leading vertically-integrated global manufacturer and distributor of chemical products and a leading US manufacturer of ammunition. The chemical products produced include chlorine and caustic soda, vinyls, epoxies, chlorinated organics, bleach, and hydrochloric acid.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Canadian midstream energy firm Pembina Pipeline welcomes Dow’s recent announcement of plans for new petrochemicals production in Alberta province, said the company.

Dow plans a net-zero carbon emissions ethylene and derivates complex at its site in Fort Saskatchewan, northeast of Edmonton. A first phase of the project could start up as early as 2027, with capacities for 1.8m tonnes/year of ethylene and 1.65m tonnes/year of polyethylene (PE).

Pembina, which ranks as the leading shipper of ethane in Alberta, estimates that the Dow project will require more than 100,000 bbl/day of ethane feedstock, it said. The project “should have positive implications” for Pembina and other midstream energy firms as new infrastructure will be required for ethane extraction and transportation, it added.

As MRC wrote previously, Canadian midstream energy companies Pembina Pipeline and Inter Pipeline (IPL) are mulling the prospects of dehydrogenation/polypropylene (PDH/PP) production in Alberta province. On May 31, 2021, Pembina and Inter Pipeline entered into an agreement to create one of the largest and best positioned energy infrastructure companies in Canada. Together the companies' diversified and integrated asset base can support and grow an extensive value chain for natural gas, natural gas liquids and crude oil, from wellhead to end user, that far exceeds anything either company can do separately.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,138,510 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

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 oil and others, produced in Western Canada and North Dakota.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- The EU Innovation Fund has given a positive grant decision of EUR88 million funding to Neste’s green hydrogen and CO2 capture and storage project, which aims to quickly and efficiently reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the Porvoo refinery in Finland, according to Hydrocarbon Engineering.

The project introduces carbon capture and storage (CCS) and electrolysis solutions that allow decarbonisation of production at the refinery. It is currently in the feasibility phase.

The project will strongly contribute to the reaching of both Finland’s and the EU’s climate targets and has a significant role in Neste’s target of carbon neutral production by 2035.

With this transformation project, a reduction of more than 4 million t of CO2 emissions can be achieved at the Porvoo refinery in the first 10 years of operation.

The company also aims to gather a network of leading European technology suppliers and R&D institutes, laying the foundation for a world-class European hub for renewable hydrogen and CO2 utilisation.

As MRC reported earlier, in July, 2021, Neste and LyondellBasell announced a long-term commercial agreement under which LyondellBasell will source Neste RE, a feedstock from Neste that has been produced from 100% renewable feedstock from bio-based sources, such as waste and residue oils and fats. This feedstock will be processed through the cracker at LyondellBasell’s Wesseling, Germany, plant into polymers and sold under the CirculenRenew brand name.

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 1,868,160 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 18% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,138,510 tonnes in January-September 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) decreased significantly.

Neste (Helsinki) creates solutions for combating climate change and accelerating a shift to a circular economy. The company refines waste, residues and innovative raw materials into renewable fuels and sustainable feedstock for plastics and other materials. The company is the world’s leading producer of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, developing chemical recycling to combat the plastic waste challenge. In 2020, Neste's revenue stood at EUR11.8 billion, with 94% of the company’s comparable operating profit coming from renewable products.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Honeywell has announced the expansion of its facility in Baton Rouge, La. to double the capacity of its Solstice ze (1234ze), an ultra-low-global-warming-potential (GWP) solution, according to CISION.

Solstice ze is used in foam insulation, as a propellant in personal and household care products, and in refrigeration and air conditioning applications.

Honeywell will invest significant capital in the facility for the growth of Solstice ze, which is part of the company's Solstice line of products based on hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) technology that helps customers lower their carbon footprint without sacrificing end-product performance.

The demand for low-GWP solutions continues to grow, and this new capacity will help meet the needs. Multiple global regulations stemming from the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol require the phasedown of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), driving the demand for sustainable solutions. Honeywell has already invested over one billion dollars in research, development and new capacity for its Solstice technology, having anticipated the need for lower-GWP solutions to combat climate change more than a decade ago.

About half of Honeywell's investment in new product introduction research and development is directed towards products that improve environmental and social outcomes for customers, such as Solstice. This aligns with the company's commitment to become carbon neutral in its facilities and operations by 2035, building on a track record to sharply reduce its greenhouse gas intensity as well as its decades-long history of innovation to help its customers meet their environmental and social goals. Worldwide adoption of Solstice products has avoided potential release of more than 250 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, equal to eliminating the potential emissions from more than 52 million cars per year.

Honeywell is a Fortune 100 technology company that delivers industry-specific solutions that include aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings and industry; and performance materials globally. Its technologies help aircraft, buildings, manufacturing plants, supply chains, and workers become more connected to make our world smarter, safer, and more sustainable.

As MRC reported previously, Honeywell has recently announced the commercialization of a revolutionary process that expands the types of plastics that can be recycled and can produce feedstock used to make recycled plastics with a lower carbon footprint. The new technology can reduce the need for fossil fuels in the creation of virgin plastics while enabling hundreds of cycles of recycling, with the goal of enabling a circular economy for plastics. Honeywell's UpCycle Process Technology utilizes industry-leading molecular conversion, pyrolysis, and contaminants management technology to convert waste plastic back to Honeywell Recycled Polymer Feedstock, which is then used to create new plastics.

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 1,868,160 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 18% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,138,510 tonnes in January-September 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) decreased significantly.
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