India plans to leverage investments for setting up three large petrochemical projects

India plans to leverage investments for setting up three large petrochemical projects

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Tamil Nadu government has categorised chemicals and petrochemicals as sunrise sectors to extend financial support through additional incentives. It has also leveraged investments for setting up of three large petrochemical projects in Thoothukudi, Nagapattinam and Cuddalore, according to Industries Minister Thangam Thennarasu, according to The New Indian Express.

Speaking at the summit on ‘Global Chemical and Petrochemical Manufacturing Hubs in India’, the minister said the three projects will position the State as a petrochemical investment destination.

Stating that the investment promotion agency, Guidance, is interacting continuously with all chemical associations to address their requirements, he said the State aims to establish sector-specific clusters for electronics, foods, furniture, chemicals and petrochemicals by identifying new industrial zones and industrial land banks.

Among the three projects is an oil refinery complex to be established at Thoothukudi with a whopping investment of around Rs 40,000 crore by Middle East-based Al Kharafi. Also, a nine-million-metric-tonne per annum refinery is being set up at Nagapattinam by Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd (CPCL), a subsidiary of the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL). The estimated investment in the CPCL-IOCL project, which will also have a petrochemical complex, is Rs 31,580 crore. The third project pertains to TCG group, which operates Haldia Petrochemicals in Bengal, setting up a petrochemicals project of international scale at Cuddalore.

The Thoothkudi project is awaiting clearance from the Ministry of Environment, said official sources. The project ran into trouble after Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (refinery division) directed the Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu to take appropriate action on complaints against ongoing land acquisition at Allikulam and surrounding villages in Thoothukudi.

In May 2020, the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate Change, said such a polluting industry cannot be allowed close to dense residential areas. It was suggested that SIPCOT find a place at least 25 km away from the town and 10 km from any habitation and ecologically-important areas. Official sources said the project will get clearance after consultations with people.

Similarly, the other two projects are facing opposition and the previous government had cancelled its notification on constituting a Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemical Investment Region (PCPIR), encompassing 45 villages in Cuddalore and Nagapattinam districts. The State Assembly had also adopted a Bill declaring the Cauvery delta area as a protected agricultural zone.

Meanwhile, the minister said the State has established a Polymer Park spread across 306 acres near Chennai to cater to the needs of plastic manufacturing and logistics industries. “We have proposed to establish a pharmaceutical park and a textile park in the State,” he added.

As MRC wrote before, in August, 2021, McDermott International announced a contract award for the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) of a new naptha hydrotreating unit and a new isomerization unit with associated facilities for the Barauni Refinery Expansion Project in Bihar, India, for Indian Oil Corporation Limited.

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.
MRC

Indorama board approves acquisition of land, assets for new PET recycling plant in Thailand

Indorama board approves acquisition of land, assets for new PET recycling plant in Thailand

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The board of directors of Thailand-based Indorama Ventures (IVL), a large producer of recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) for beverage bottles, has approved the purchase of land, buildings and utility machinery from Aurus Specialty to utilize for a proposed PET recycling facility in Thailand, according to Apic-online.

The assets, valued at a total of 112.90-million baht, will be acquired by Indorama Polyester Industries and Indorama Holdings, direct subsidiaries of IVL.

Subject to approval from the board of investment, the transaction is expected to be com-pleted in the first quarter of 2022.

The project will also comprise a preform manufacturing unit and a solar power facility to form a comprehensive green and sustainable recycling solution, IVL noted.

As MRC reported before, in July 2021, IVL has announced plans to build a facility in Karawang, Indonesia, to recycle almost 2 billion plastic bottles a year in support of the Indonesian government’s plan to reduce ocean debris. The facility, which is planned to open in 2023, will recycle 1.92 billion PET bottles annually and will employ 217 people.
The plant will provide the washed and shredded postconsumer bottles as PET flake feedstock to produce recycled resin that is suitable for food-contact use.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, September estimated PET consumption in Russia increased to 56,960 tonnes, up by 10% year on year. Russia's overall PET consumption reached 592,560 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 12% year on year.

Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited, listed in Thailand (Bloomberg ticker IVL.TB), is one of the world’s leading petrochemicals producers, with a global manufacturing footprint across Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe and Americas. The company’s portfolio comprises Integrated PET, Olefins, Fibers, Packaging and Specialty Chemicals. Indorama Ventures products serve major FMCG and automotive sectors, i.e. beverages, hygiene, personal care, tire and safety segments. Indorama Ventures has approx. 24,000 employees worldwide and consolidated revenue of US$ 11.4 billion in 2019. The Company is listed in the Dow Jones Emerging Markets and World Sustainability Indices (DJSI).
MRC

Demand for the products of polymer pipe manufacturers will grow significantly in Russia

Demand for the products of polymer pipe manufacturers will grow significantly in Russia

MOSCOW (MRC) - Demand for the products of manufacturers of polymer pipelines will grow significantly in Russia, primarily from the state, RBK reports.

As part of the reforms in the housing and communal services sector, the fate of heating networks and water pipelines, which are worn out by 60%, will have to be decided. The required expenditures for upgrading the infrastructure amount to more than 1 trillion rubles. A large-scale municipal reform should also accelerate the process of replacing metal pipes with polymer ones in engineering networks.

Even the coronavirus pandemic has not affected the growth of the polymer segment in the past year or two. According to Rosstat, in 2020 the market for polymer pipes exceeded half a million tons, an increase of almost 15% compared to 2019. In the first nine months of this year, Russia produced 19% more polymers compared to the same period in 2020.

At the same time, according to Rosstat, the share of metal pipes used in the national economy of Russia in 2016–2020 was almost 68%, polymer pipes - less than 32%. The reason for the conservatism of some industries is also the lack of a sufficient regulatory framework. For polymers to become more widespread, business needs to be more actively involved in the development of relevant product standards - GOSTs and requirements for design, construction and operation, codes of practice and state prices for products and construction.

Polymer pipes have recently been increasingly used in various industries, primarily in housing and communal services, but if we talk about the oil industry, then not in all its segments it is still possible to introduce polymer technical solutions. We are talking, in particular, about large-diameter and high-pressure oil trunk pipelines.

The capacity of the market for polymer pipes in Russia (in 2020 - 0.44 million tonnes) is 31 times less than that of China (13.6 mln tonne) in absolute terms, according to Rosstat data. The consumption of polymers of pipe grades per capita in China and the European Union last year was 10 kg per person, in the USA - 9 kg per person, in Russia - only 3 kg per person.

The share of polymer solutions in the housing and utilities sector in Russia is 35%, and in Europe - 85%. If we talk about the field of oil and gas production, Russia consumes no more than 3% of the global volume of flexible polymer reinforced pipes.

Earlier it was reported that the Khabarovsk Pipe Insulation Plant (KhTZI) announced the expansion of the product line and the entry into new sales markets. This year the plant has launched production of pipes with polymeric foam insulation.

According to MRC's ScanPlast, the estimated consumption of PE in Russia amounted to 1,868.16 thousand tons in the first nine months of 2021, which is 18% more than in the same period a year earlier. The supply of all types of ethylene polymers increased.
MRC

Polymatiz will expand production of PP thermal insulation membranes

Polymatiz will expand production of PP thermal insulation membranes

MOSCOW (MRC) - Polimatiz (a subsidiary of Nizhnekamskneftekhim) will acquire a new line to increase the production of two-layer and three-layer vapor-permeable polypropylene membranes under the Polyspan®Stroy trademark, the company said.

The new production capacity will be 12 million square meters. m of products per year, and the localization of raw materials will be 100%. The main consumers will be large manufacturers of roofing and waterproofing materials.

The implementation of the project became possible, among other things, due to the attraction of a loan from the Industrial Development Fund (VEB.RF Group) in the amount of 68.3 million rubles. under the program "Labor productivity". The company is expected to increase labor productivity by 30% after the project is completed.

In total, at the last expert council of the IDF, 17 loans were approved for the implementation of projects in the Moscow, Rostov, Lipetsk, Sverdlovsk, Penza, Tomsk and Tula regions, in the Perm Territory, Sevastopol, as well as in the republics of Karelia and Tatarstan. The amount of loans from the IDF will exceed Rb2.28 bn, and the total budget for project implementation - Rb5.3 bn.

Earlier it was reported that Polymatiz in April last year began production of medical masks from a new production line. On April 13th, the line started operating at full capacity. The line capacity is 2.4 mln units per month.

According to the ICIS-MRC Price Rport, purchasing activity on the Russian PP spot market is still low. Most of the prices of Russian PP were stable during the week with a few exceptions. The supply of propylene homopolymer (PP-homo) from some sellers is limited, but there is no need to speak of a shortage. Many companies have already closed all of their deals for November deliveries.

The Polymatiz company was founded in 2006, and the official opening of the enterprise and the commissioning of equipment with a design capacity of 10 thousand tons of thermal insulation per year took place in July 2009.
MRC

Thyssenkrupp launches its 35th EnviNOx system in a move to reduce greenhouse gases close to zero

Thyssenkrupp launches its 35th EnviNOx system in a move to reduce greenhouse gases close to zero

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Recently, thyssenkrupp Uhde successfully commissioned its 35th EnviNOx system, a patented technology for the reduction of nitrous oxide emissions, which reduces greenhouse gases close to zero, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The process converts environmentally harmful nitrous oxide (N2O) and other nitrogen oxides into nitrogen, oxygen and water. At the latest installation for Arxada in Switzerland, annual emissions of N2O will be reduced by at least 98%, saving up to 600,000 tons of CO2-equivalents per year. This is a significant contribution to the country’s climate targets.

“The whole chemical industry faces the challenge of protecting the climate while growing profitably. With the realization of emission reduction solutions such as EnviNOx, we are really making an impact”, says Sami Pelkonen, CEO thyssenkrupp Uhde. “We focus on the development of sustainable solutions to make existing and new plants as environment-friendly as possible - up to completely climate-neutral chemicals such as green ammonia.”

The EnviNOx technology was originally developed for emission reduction in nitric acid plants and has already been installed in 35 chemical plants worldwide since the first installation in 2003. More EnviNOx systems are already ordered from various customers and will be installed and commissioned during the next months.

As MRC reported earlier, thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions’ subsidiary Uhde Inventa-Fischer signed a contract to build a new world-scale polymer plant for Yurek Polimer A.S.in Bursa, Turkey. The plant is planned to produce 300 metric tons per day (108,000 tons per year) of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) for low viscosity applications. The PET melt produced by thyssenkrupp technology will then be converted into PET Chips, as well as pre-oriented yarn.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, September estimated PET consumption in Russia increased to 56,960 tonnes, up by 10% year on year. Russia's overall PET consumption reached 592,560 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 12% year on year.
MRC