Advanced Polyolefins signs loan agreement with Saudi Industrial Development Fund

Advanced Petrochemical Company announced that Advanced Polyolefins Industry Company has signed a loan agreement with the Saudi Industrial Development Fund for 3 B riyals (USD266 MM), according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The loan is to finance the construction of propane dehydration (PDH) and polypropylene (PP) plants with the ability to manufacture 843,000 tpy of propylene and 800,000 tpy of PP in Jubail, Saudi Arabia.

As MRC wrote previously, in April, 2021, Advanced Petrochemical Co. announced that it had resumed operations at two plants in Jubail, Saudi Arabia after the completion of a scheduled turnaround. Thus, operations at the company's PP plant began on 28 March, 2021, whereas operations at its PDH unit restarted on 11 April, 202. Both plants were shut for repairs on 11 March, 2021. The maintenance works were implemented in line with the occupational safety and health standards, despite the COVID-19 outbreak.

We remind that SK Advanced started up a new PP plant in Ulsan, South Korea on 23 March, 2021, and managed to produce on-specification PP at this plant in the week ending 9 April, 2021.The PP unit is a joint venture between PolyMirae and SK Advanced, using the “Spheripol” process of LyondellBasell, and have an annual output of 400,000 tons/year.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 1,494.280 tonnes, up by 21% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whreas.shipments of PP random copolymers decreased significantly.
MRC

Phillips 66 announced the completion of the previously announced merger between Phillips 66 Partners (PSXP) and Phillips 66, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The merger resulted in Phillips 66 acquiring all limited partnership interests in PSXP not already owned by Phillips 66 and its affiliates. Partnership unitholders received 0.50 shares of PSX common stock for each outstanding PSXP common unit, including preferred units that were converted into common units at a premium prior to closing.

Effective March 9, 2022, PSXP’s common units will no longer be publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

As MRC reported previously, US Refiner Phillips 66 said on 30 September, 2021, it would cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30% from its operations by 2030, amid mounting pressure on the industry to join the fight against climate change and cut carbon emissions by mid-century.

We remind that US-based Phillips 66 remains open to developing another ethane cracker for its Chevron Phillips Chemical (CP Chem) joint venture, the refiner's CEO said in March 2018.

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 2,487,450 tonnes in 2021, up by 13% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 1,494.280 tonnes, up by 21% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whreas.shipments of PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

Phillips 66 is a diversified energy manufacturing and logistics company. With a portfolio of Midstream, Chemicals, Refining, and Marketing and Specialties businesses, the company processes, transports, stores and markets fuels and products globally. Headquartered in Houston, the company has 14,100 employees committed to safety and operating excellence. Phillips 66 had USD56 billion of assets as of Sept. 30, 2021.
MRC

Clariant has suspended all business with Russia with immediate effect after the country’s “intolerable acts of violence” in Ukraine, the Switzerland-headquartered chemicals producer said at the weekend.

"We strongly oppose Russia's war against the Ukraine and support the vote of the UN General Assembly that the Russian government must immediately stop the aggression, withdraw its troops, and abide by the rules of the UN Charter. Our thoughts are with our 146 employees and their families in the Ukraine and we are doing everything in our power to support them. We join them in hoping that this brutal violence will end soon. Continuing to do business under these circumstances is incompatible with our purpose and values. Therefore, we have decided to suspend all business with Russia with immediate effect," said Conrad Keijzer, Clariant’s Chief Executive Officer.

Many employees of Clariant have taken personal initiative to help their colleagues in the Ukraine or to support aid organizations on the ground. Clariant encourages these activities and is grateful that the Clariant Foundation has made a donation to UNICEF, which is working with communities in the Ukraine to ensure that children and families in need can be helped right away.

Clariant operates a sales office and a laboratory in Russia which contributes “approximately” 2% of total sales, said the company. Clariant’s total sales in 2020 amounted to Swiss francs (Swfr) 3.86bn or around USD4.2bn, which means its sales to Russia translate to around Swfr77m.

The company delayed the publication of its 2021 financial results after disclosing that it had opened an internal investigation into its accounting. Clariant said its Foundation had donated to the UN’s agency for aid to children UNICEF, although it did not disclose the amount.

As per MRC, ExxonMobil said it will exit a major oil and gas project and cease investing in Russia, making it the latest western oil company to cut ties with the country following its invasion of Ukraine. The Texas-based energy supermajor said it was “discontinuing operations” at the Sakhalin-1 project in Russia’s far east, one of the largest foreign-operated oil and gasfields in the country. Exxon follows BP, Shell and Norway’s Equinor, which have said they will dump stakes in projects and sell out of Russian state-backed energy groups after Moscow was hit with a barrage of western sanctions.
mrchub.com

Eni and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Republic of Mozambique (MADER) signed an agreement for the cooperation and development of agricultural projects in Mozambique, aimed at producing oil seeds and vegetable oils to be used as agro-feedstock for the production of biofuels, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Under the agreement, Eni and MADER will assess potential sites and the most appropriate crops for the production of oil seeds and vegetable oils, focusing on areas that would not compete with food production and taking into consideration the preservation of forests and natural ecosystems. Other initiatives include the collection and valorization of agricultural and agro-processing residues, by-products and co-products, for production of biofeedstock and natural climate solutions.

The agreement builds on the MoU signed in 2019 by Eni and the Government of Mozambique for the joint definition of sustainable development and decarbonization projects to support the country’s national and local economic and social development agenda.

Also, it is in line with Eni's commitments to accelerate the energy transition in fossil fuel producing countries, promoting the integration of the African continent into the biofuel value chain through agribusiness and industrial development initiatives aimed at the production of advanced biofuels, helping the decarbonization of the transport sector and promoting development opportunities.

As MRC wrote earlier, Eni is evaluating conversion of its Livorno refinery in northwest Italy into a biorefinery, as part of the Italian company's wider strategy to make its activities more environmentally sustainable. Eni has already converted two of its Italian refineries and is looking to almost double its biorefining capacity to around 2 million mt/year by 2024, and expand this to at least five times by 2050, as part of its pledge to achieve complete carbon neutrality by 2050.

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 2,487,450 tonnes in 2021, up by 13% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 1,494.280 tonnes, up by 21% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whreas.shipments of PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

Eni, abbreviation of Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi, in full Eni SpA, Italian energy company operating primarily in petroleum, natural gas, and petrochemicals. Established in 1953, it is one of Europe's largest oil companies in terms of sales.
MRC

Covestro is consistently pursuing its path to a circular economy and is now offering customers a climate neutral MDI (methylene diphenyl diisocyanate). It is climate neutral from the cradle to the factory gate of Covestro, according to SpecialChem.

The alternative raw materials are used based on plant waste that are allocated to the products with the help of certified mass balancing according to ISCC PLUS. The new MDI grades can be used in numerous applications in the automotive sectors, cold chain, and construction.

According to a common calculation model, on balance no CO2 emissions are generated in the aforementioned part of the value-added cycle. The climate neutral MDI and its precursors are manufactured at the ISCC PLUS-certified Covestro sites in Krefeld-Uerdingen, Antwerp and Shanghai.

"With the launch of our climate neutral MDI, we are now further expanding our portfolio of climate neutral products," says Sucheta Govil, chief commercial officer of Covestro. "I am pleased that this will enable us to even better support our customers in large parts of the world in meeting their own sustainability goals and transitioning to a circular economy."

Hermann-Josef Dorholt, head of the performance materials segment, adds, "Climate neutral products are an important factor in achieving our sustainability goals. Our climate neutral MDI has another major advantage: it is a drop-in solution – so our customers can use it immediately in their production without any changeover and without compromising on quality."

This is the case, for example, in building insulation. MDI is an indispensable raw material for the production of polyurethane (PU) insulation boards and sandwich panels, among other products.

As MRC informed before, in April 2021, DSM completed the sale of the resins & functional materials businesses to Covestro for EUR1.6 billion (USD1.9 billion), including EUR1.4 billion in cash.

We remind that Covestro closed the sale of its European polycarbonates (PC) sheets business to the Munich-based Serafin Group effective January 2, 2020. This includes key management and sales functions throughout Europe as well as production sites in Belgium and Italy.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated consumption of PC granules (excluding imports and exports to/from Belarus) totalled about 82,300 tonnes in 2021, down by 8% year on year (89,200 tonnes a year earlier).

Covestro (formerly Bayer MaterialScience) is an independent subgroup within Bayer. It was created as part of the restructuring of Bayer AG from the former business group Bayer Polymers, with certain of its activities being spun off to Lanxess AG. Covestro manufactures and develops materials such as coatings, adhesives and sealants, polycarbonates (CDs, DVDs), polyurethanes (automotive seating, insulation for refrigerating appliances) etc. With 2020 sales of EUR 10.7 billion, Covestro has 33 production sites worldwide and employs approximately 16,500 people (calculated as full-time equivalents).
MRC