Lukoil selects Lummus ether and alkylation technologies for its Perm refinery

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Lummus Technology announced it has been awarded a contract from Lukoil Permnefteorgsintez for a new integrated methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) and alkylation plant at Lukoil's refinery in Perm, Russia, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The MTBE unit will use Lummus' CDEtherol technology and the alkylation unit will use Lummus' CDAlky technology.

Lummus processes will produce MTBE and alkylate, delivering clean, high-octane gasoline blend components improving fuel efficiency and reducing vehicle emissions. Lummus' scope includes technology licensing, basic engineering, technical services and proprietary equipment supply.

Lummus' CDEtherol and CDAlky technologies provide significant benefits to operators, including superior product quality, reduced utility and energy consumption, reduced maintenance requirements and the flexibility to produce biofuels in the future.

As MRC reported earlier, Honeywell announced last week that Lukoil -Permnefteorgsintez, a subsidiary of Lukoil, will use a range of Honeywell UOP process technologies at its refinery to convert low value vacuum gasoil into high value products such as gasoline and propylene.

Propylene is the main feedstock for the production of polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, 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.

Lukoil is one of the leading vertically integrated oil companies in Russia. The main activities of the company include exploration and production of oil and gas, production and sale of petroleum products. Lukoil is the second largest private oil company in the world in terms of proven hydrocarbon reserves. The structure of Lukoil includes one of the largest petrochemical enterprises in Russia - Stavrolen.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- MEGlobal has announced its Asian Contract Price (ACP) for monoethylene glycol (MEG) to be shipped in February 2022, according to the company's press release.

Thus, on 11 January, 2022. the company said ACP for MEG would be at USD880/MT CFR Asian main ports for arrival in February 2022, up by USD30/tonne from the previous month.

The February 2022 ACP reflects the short term supply/demand situation in the Asian market.

As MRC reported earlier, MEGlobal announced its January ACP for MEG at USD850/MT CFR Asian main ports, down by USD50/tonne from December.

MEG is one of the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, the situation in the Russian domestic PET market was steady in the first working week of the year. Prices of PET chips for contract buyers decreased from December at the beginning of the year, whereas spot prices generally remained the same.

MEGlobal is a fully integrated supplier of monoethylene glycol (MEG) and diethylene glycol (DEG), collectively known as ethylene glycol (EG).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo, a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders, and synthetic rubber, and its affiliate companies in Europe, have announced a price increase for all polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and acrylonitrile-styrene copolymer (SAN) in Europe, according to the company's press release as of January 5.

Effective January 1, 2022, or as existing contract terms allow, the contract and spot prices for the products listed below rose, as follows:

- STYRON general purpose polystyrene grades (GPPS) -- by EUR175 per metric ton;
- STYRON and STYRON A-Tech and STYRON X- Tech and STYRON C- Tech high impact polystyrene grades (HIPS) - by EUR175 per metric ton;
- MAGNUM ABS resins - by EUR155 per metric ton;
- TYRIL SAN resins - by EUR155 per metric ton.

As MRC reported earlier, Trinseo raised its prices for all PS, ABS and SAN grades on December 1, 2021, as stated below:

- STYRON GPPS -- by EUR50 per metric ton;
- STYRON and STYRON A-Tech and STYRON X- Tech and STYRON C- Tech HIPS - by EUR50 per metric ton;
- MAGNUM ABS resins - by EUR50 per metric ton;
- TYRIL SAN resins - by EUR50 per metric ton.

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, in Russia, prices of Nizhnekamskneftekhim's GPPS rose by Rb6,000/tonne at the beginning of the year and reached Rb178,750-189,700/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, whereas HIPS prices reached Rb184,750-195,700/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT. January prices of Penoplex's material grew by Rb2,000/tonne to Rb197,000-199,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, whereas prices of Gazprom neftekhim Salavat's GPPS were in the range of Rb178,500-187,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, this week.

Trinseo is a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber. Trinseo's technology is used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires. Formerly known as Styron, Trinseo completed its renaming process in 1Q 2015. Trinseo had approximately USD3.0 billion in net sales in 2020, with 17 manufacturing sites around the world, and approximately 2,600 employees.
MRC

1. Crude oil prices hold near USD85/bbl on stronger demand outlook

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oil prices were steady on Thursday near two-month highs, with Brent crude trading near USD85 a barrel, buoyed by expectations that a strong economic recovery will boost demand, but rising US inventories and high inflation capped gains, reported Reuters. Brent crude futures rose 26 cents, or 0.3%, to USD84.93 a barrel, by 1445 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 8 cents, or 0.1, to USD82.72 a barrel. Oil prices rallied more than 50% in 2021 and some analysts expect this trend to continue this year, forecasting that a lack of production capacity and limited investment could lift crude to USD90 or even above USD100 a barrel.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Negotiations over prices of European polyvinyl chloride (PVC) for January shipments to the CIS countries began in the middle of last week. Ethylene prices have been steady in the region for the second month in a row, on the back of which European producers rolled over their December export PVC prices for January shipments, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

The January contract price of ethylene was agreed at the previous month's level, which theoretically allowed to talk about the steadiness of the net cost of PVC production. Strong demand for resin also remained in Europe, including demand from some export markets. And these conditions allowed to maintain high prices for resin. Most producers rolled over their December export PVC prices for January shipments, which virtually corresponded to the level of November.

In fact, there was a shortage of PVC in Europe during the whole year of 2021 because of scheduled and unscheduled shutdowns for maintenance of local producers and lower imports. Supply of PVC has begun to gradually increase in the market for the past two months of 2021, but the market is far from being saturated. In addition, interruptions in the work of some producers remain.

In January, European producers were in no hurry to adjust their export prices for the CIS countries and, in fact, maintained them in the range of EUR1,650-1,710/tonne FCA, which virtually corresponded to the level of November and December.

At the same time, it should be noted that supply of PVC for shipments from the USA has grown significantly since December. Thus, the key suppliers announced their offer prices for February shipments at USD1,700/tonne CFR and lower.
MRC