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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Six Pines Investments LLC, a wholly-owned, sustainable investment subsidiary of Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC (CPChem) has announced its equity investment in two leading circular plastics recyclers, Nexus Circular LLC (Nexus) and Mura Technology Ltd. (Mura), according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.
In October 2020, CPChem announced success in its first commercial scale production of polyethylene (PE) using advanced recycling technology. The company markets its new circular PE under the name Marlex Anew Circular Polyethylene and is working toward an ambitious annual production goal of 1 B pounds of circular PE by 2030.
Mura and Nexus are leading plastics recyclers that convert waste plastics into high quality feedstock used in advanced recycling technologies to produce circular plastics. These strategic investments made from its Six Pines subsidiary reflect CPChem’s commitment to foster innovation and accelerate the transition to a circular economy for plastics.
Benny Mermans, vice president of sustainability at CPChem said, “We are excited about the capabilities and opportunities at Mura and Nexus. We share a common goal to keep plastic waste out of the environment. Waste plastics should not end up in the environment, as they can be sustainably recycled to create new plastics again and again. Investing in Nexus and Mura will accelerate our efforts to produce Marlex Anew Circular Polyethylene and the expansion of our circular product portfolio.”
As MRC reported before, Chevron Phillips Chemical will make a final investment decision on a new cracker in far southeast Texas in 2022, followed by an FID in 2023 on an USD8 billion joint venture petrochemical complex along the US Gulf Coast in 2023, said Phillips 66 CEO Greg Garland in early August.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,047,100 tonnes in the first ten months of 2021, up by 17% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased.
CP Chem is a joint venture of Phillips 66 and Chevron.
Headquartered in San Ramon, California, Chevron Corporation is the the second-largest integrated energy company in the United States and among the largest corporations in the world. Chevron is involved in upstream activities including exploration and production, downstream activities including refining, marketing and transportation, and advanced energy technology. Chevron is also invested in power generation and gasification processes.
MRC
Chevron Phillips subsidiary purchases stake in two leading circular plastics recyclers
Arkema appointed Megafarma as its exclusive distributor for coating applications in Mexico
MOSCOW (MRC) -- Arkema Inc., a manufacturer of specialty polyamide coating additives, has appointed Megafarma, the Mexican affiliate of Azelis Americas, LLC as its exclusive distributor for coating applications in Mexico, effective Jan. 1, 2022, said the company.
The Orgasol and Rilsan® D polyamide products are high performance coating additives designed for liquid and UV coatings. Based on Arkema’s specialty polyamide chemistries and proprietary processing, these additives improve multiple performance aspects of coating formulations such as abrasion, stain and chemical resistance while also providing gloss control and texture. These advanced materials are utilized extensively across a wide range of high performance market segments including coil, wood, flooring, automotive, electronics and transfer paper. The Orgasol® product line includes polyamide 6, polyamide 12 and polyamide 612 powders and are designed with an exceptionally narrow particle size distribution. The range of polyamide 11 powders is marketed under the Rilsan® trademark, a completely bio-circular polymer derived from renewable and sustainable castor oil.
"Since 2016, the Azelis team has done a terrific job promoting these products in Canada,” said Steve Serpe, North American market manager at Arkema Inc. “The technical and commercial expertise of the Megafarma team ideally positions them to penetrate the high performance coatings industry in Mexico."
Arkema recently commissioned a new production line for Orgasol® polyamide powders at the Mont plant in France, increasing its global capacity by over 50 percent to support the increased market demand for these materials in fast-growing industrial applications.
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.
As per MRC, Arkema has brought on stream new Kynar PVDF capacities in its Calvert-City plant in the United States. With this 20% increase in its US production capacities, Arkema will further support its customers’ strong demand in the region. Through this investment and following the successful start-up of a similar expansion at its Changshu, China plant in 2017, Arkema, which operates fluoropolymer production facilities on the three major continents - Europe, North America, and Asia, further consolidates its world-leading position in PVDF.
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 factories in Europe, North America and Asia.
MRC
COVID-19 - News digest as of 16.12.2021
1. Crude oil prices rise on consumer demand, inventory declines
MOSCOW (MRC) -- :Oil prices edged higher on Wednesday, rebounding from early losses after US inventory data showed strong consumer demand and as the Federal Reserve said it would end its pandemic-era bond purchases in March to slow rising inflation, reported Reuters. Prices had been pressured most of the day due to ongoing concerns that supply growth will outpace demand next year and worries that COVID-19 vaccines may be less effective against the spreading Omicron variant. Brent crude futures settled up 18 cents, or 0.2%, to USD73.88 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude ended up 14 cents to USD70.87 a barrel. The Federal Reserve said it would end its pandemic-era bond purchases in March and begin raising interest rates as unemployment remains low and inflation has risen.
MRC
PE imports to Kazakhstan down by 15% in Jan-Oct 2021
October PE imports to Kazakhstan reached 14,000 tonnes versus 12,100 tonnes a month earlier, Russian producers and Uzbek manufacturer increased their PE shipments to the local market after scheduled shutdowns for maintenance. Overall PE imports totalled 131,500 tonnes in January-October 2021, compared to 154,000 tonnes a year earlier. Purchases of low density polyethylene (LDPE) grew significantly, whereas HDPE and LLDPE imports decreased.
The structure of PE imports by grades looked the following way over the stated period.
October HDPE imports rose to 10,500 tonnes from 9,900 tonnes, Uzbek producers increased their export sales. Overall HDPE imports totalled almost 103,800 tonnes in the first ten months of 2021, down by 19% year on year.
October LDPE imports grew to 2,600 tonnes from 1,300 tonnes a month earlier, a Russian producer raised its shipments to the local market after a turnaround. Overall LDPE imports reached 18,700 tonnes over the stated period, up by 18% year on year.
October LLDPE imports virtually remained at the previous month's level and were slightly over 900 tonnes. Overall LLDPE imports reached 9,000 tonnes in January-October 2021, down by 17% year on year.
MRC
MEGlobal nominates ACP for January 2022 at USD850 per tonne
MOSCOW (MRC) -- MEGlobal has announced its Asian Contract Price (ACP) for monoethylene glycol (MEG) to be shipped in January 2022, according to the company's press release.
Thus, on 14 December, the company said ACP for MEG would be at USD850/MT CFR Asian main ports for arrival in January 2022, down by USD50/tonne from the previous month.
The January 2022 ACP reflects the short term supply/demand situation in the Asian market.
As MRC reported earlier, MEGlobal announced its December ACP for MEG at USD900/MT CFR Asian main ports, down by USD120/tonne from November.
MEG is one of the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
According to ICIS-MRC Price report, next month's contract prices of PET chips are expected to fall down in the Russian domestic market on lower Asian prices, on the basis of which PET prices are calculated for the vast majority of formula customers. However, appreciation of the dollar against the rouble will significantly reduce the amount of the decrease.
MEGlobal is a fully integrated supplier of monoethylene glycol (MEG) and diethylene glycol (DEG), collectively known as ethylene glycol (EG).
MRC