WL Plastics completes acquisition of Charter Plastics Titusville, Pennsylvania Site

WL Plastics completes acquisition of Charter Plastics Titusville, Pennsylvania Site

MOSCOW (MRC) -- WL Plastics, a subsidiary of UK petrochemicals major INEOS, has acquired the polyethylene (PE) pipe extrusion assets of Charter Plastics in Titusville, Pennsylvania, said the company.

Charter's Titusville site and associated assets can produce a range of PE pipe for end-uses such as potable water, reclaimed water, sewer, geothermal, gas, irrigation, and industrial applications. Financial terms were not disclosed.

This strategic acquisition provides the opportunity for WL Plastics to further diversify its product offerings, expand its customer base, and enter new regional markets. The Titusville site and associated assets have the capability of producing a broad range of polyethylene pipe for numerous end-uses including potable water, reclaimed water, sewer, geothermal, gas, irrigation, and industrial applications.

"We are delighted to bring such an established and well-positioned asset kit into the broader manufacturing base of WL Plastics,” said Mark Wason, CEO of WL Plastics. “We are excited to be a part of the Titusville community."

As per MRC, Ineos Styrolution's expanded acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) manufacturing facility at Wingles, France will be operational in the first quarter of 2022. Initially, Ineos announced plans to convert one of its three existing polystyrene production lines in mid-2018 (PS) to the ABS line with an expected capacity of about 50 thousand tons per year.

The original planned deadline for the expansion was the third quarter of 2020, but this has been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

WL Plastics is a wholly owned subsidiary of INEOS USA LLC d/b/a INEOS Olefins & Polymers USA, which is part of the INEOS Group, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of petrochemicals, specialty chemicals, and oil products. WL Plastics, with eight high density PE pipe production facilities in the US, was acquired by INEOS in 2016.
MRC

North American weekly chem rail traffic falls 3.3%

North American weekly chem rail traffic falls 3.3%

MOSCOW (MRC) -- North American chemical railcar traffic fell by 3.3% year on year for the week ended 15 January, as a small increase in US shipments was more than offset by declines in Canada and Mexico, according to the latest data from the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

The decline followed a 6.7% decline in the previous week, ended 8 January. For the first two weeks of 2022, ended 15 January, North American chemical railcar loadings were down 5.0% year on year to 91,437.

In the US, chemical railcar loadings represent about 20% of chemical transportation by tonnage, with trucks, barges and pipelines carrying the rest. In Canada, producers rely on rail to ship more than 70% of their products, with some exclusively using rail.

Total North American freight railcar traffic for the week fell by 5.3%. With the exception of coal and nonmetallic minerals, shipments fell in all the major commodity categories AAR is tracking.

As per MRC, North American chemical railcar traffic for the week ended 8 January fell by 6.7% year on year to 45,325 loadings, with decreases in all three countries - the US, Canada and Mexico. In the US, chemical railcar loadings represent about 20% of chemical transportation by tonnage, with trucks, barges and pipelines carrying the rest. In Canada, producers rely on rail to ship more than 70% of their products, with some exclusively using rail.

We remind, oil prices on Tuesday climbed to their highest since 2014 as investors worried about global political tensions involving major producers such as the United Arab Emirates and Russia that could exacerbate the already tight supply outlook. The risk added a premium to prices during the session. Brent crude futures rose USD1.03, or 1.2%, to settle at USD87.51 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures ended USD1.61, or 1.9%, higher at USD85.43 a barrel.
MRC

Oil refining capacity down for first time in 30 years in 2021

Oil refining capacity down for first time in 30 years in 2021

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Global oil refining capacity fell for the first time in 30 years last year, as new capacity was outweighed by closures, reported Reuters with reference to the International Energy Agency's (IEA) statement in its monthly oil market report on Wednesday.

Refining capacity was down by 730,000 bpd in 2021, the IEA said, but net additions were expected to amount to 1.2 MMbpd in 2022.

Global runs are forecast to rise by 3.7 MMbpd in 2022, the IEA added. Refinery throughput averaged 79.8 MMbpd in the fourth quarter of 2021, it added.

Over the last two years, about 900,000 bpd of refining capacity in Asia (excluding China) has been either shut or scheduled to permanently close before the end of 2022, the IEA said.

As MRC wrote previously, China's refinery output hit a fresh high in 2021, up 4.3% from a year earlier on robust fuel demand especially in the first half of the year, and as refiners ramped up processing to fill a supply gap after a hefty new tax closed loopholes in blending fuel imports. Total refinery throughput last year reached 703.55 MM tons, or 14.07 MMbpd, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Monday, roughly 620,000 bpd above the 2020 level.

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 2,265,290 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2021, up by 14% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,363,850 tonnes in January-November, 2021, up by 25% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.
MRC

Tecam awarded new environmental technology project in Chile

Tecam awarded new environmental technology project in Chile

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Tecam has been awarded a new project for volatile organic compounds (VOC) vapour recovery at a petrochemical tank storage plant in Chile, said Hydrocarbonengineering.

Under the terms of the agreement, Tecam and its partner Cool Sorption will supply a Chilean tank storage plant with a vapour recovery unit (VRU) that will be connected to an existing Tecam regenerative thermal oxidiser (RTO). The VRU is expected to recover VOC vapours from storage, handling and distribution of gasoline at their tank farm.

Thanks to the installation of this VRU system, this petrochemical company will be able to recover approximately 500 litres/hr of gasoline during operations at this plant, making the return on investment (ROI) of this project attractive for the customer.

After recovering valuable vapours, the vented gas from the VRU system will be treated in the RTO supplied by Tecam to this customer one year ago. The RTO system was the most optimal solution after analysing the technical requirements of the customer, taking into account the air flow to be treated and the nature and characteristics of the gases emitted.

As per MRC, Tecam, a leading supplier of environmental technology, announces the installation of a new equipment for Volatile Organic Compounds emissions treatment at the production plant that the construction company Onduline has in northern Spain. Thanks to the installation of this turnkey project of environmental technology for emissions treatment, the Onduline production center will be able to eliminate 99.9% of its polluting emissions through an exhaust gas cleaning system that fully respects the environment.

We remind, KBR announced it has been awarded an engineering services contract by Woodside Energy (USA) Inc. for its proposed H2OK liquid hydrogen production facility project in Ardmore, Oklahoma. Under the terms of the contract, KBR will provide a front-end engineering design for Woodside's H2OK liquid hydrogen facility. Cryogenic liquid hydrogen is used in the transportation industry as a fuel for fleets where the combustion of liquid hydrogen produces zero-emissions, with water as the only by-product.
MRC

Radix helps Solvay improve equipment efficiency at its chemical production unit in Brazil

Radix helps Solvay improve equipment efficiency at its chemical production unit in Brazil

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Solvay, a global leader in materials, chemicals, and solutions, hired Radix to develop a system to monitor online the performance of its equipment at the Paulinia unit, Sao Paulo, Brazil chemical production unit, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The new system will help reduce corrective and preventive maintenance orders, increase productivity, and improve plant reliability.

Radix built the system using the AVEVA OSIsoft PI System and hybrid AI models to calculate performance indicators in real-time, and identify possible failures in 145 pieces of equipment. The project evaluated all equipment, revealing the best efficiency points, and how to avoid failures related to operational deviation or possible anomalies.

User-friendly dashboards were built to allow a visual understanding of the problem, what action should be taken, and the execute virtual maintenance rounds.

By implementing the solution, Solvay’s goal is to reduce emergency work from 16% (based on the 2018 report) to 5% by 2022. The project also reduced preventive maintenance and increased efficiency on some equipment by optimizing best process conditions.

"The initial result was very positive. In a short time, the system was able to present 35 true positive events. In other words, there were 35 alerts for the Solvay's maintenance team to take action and avoid mechanical loss in the equipment chosen for the analysis (pump, centrifugal compressor, liquid ring compressors, and a turbo generator),” explained Radix Project Manager Fabricio Rosado Urquhart.

He continued: “Asset performance and predictive maintenance are some of Radix's digital solutions for downstream & chemicals. These days, this industry is struggling to keep margins while needs to de-bottleneck plants to line up production with the market demand. As an end-to-end solution provider, Radix has the ability to combine process engineering domain expertise and technology to solve complex problems for plants assets and chemicals & petrochemicals supply chain."

In addition to these benefits, Solvay also noted a better integration between maintenance, operations, and engineering teams, resulting in joint analysis and decision-making, which was not usual in the past.

As MRC reported earlier, in August, 2020, through the acquisition of the Solvay polyamide (PA) business, BASF enhanced its R&D capabilities in Asia Pacific with new technologies, technical expertise, and upgraded material and part testing services. BASF is planning to integrate the R&D centers from Solvay into its R&D existing facilities in Shanghai, China, and Seoul, Korea. The enhanced capabilities will boost BASF’s position as a solution provider to develop advanced material solutions for key industries.

Solvay is a science company whose technologies bring benefits to many aspects of daily life. With more than 24,100 employees in 64 countries, Solvay bonds people, ideas and elements to reinvent progress. The Group seeks to create sustainable shared value for all, notably through its Solvay One Planet plan crafted around three pillars: protecting the climate, preserving resources and fostering better life. The Group’s innovative solutions contribute to safer, cleaner, and more sustainable products found in homes, food and consumer goods, planes, cars, batteries, smart devices, health care applications, water and air purification systems. Founded in 1863, Solvay today ranks among the world’s top three companies for the vast majority of its activities.
MRC