Shell to collaborate with Keyera to explore low-carbon projects in Alberta

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Keyera Corp. said Tuesday that it has agreed to collaborate with Shell Canada Ltd. on potential low-carbon projects in the province of Alberta, according to MarketWatch.

The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding in which they would leverage existing assets and adjacent lands towards a lower-carbon aims and attract new investment opportunities to the region, Keyera said.

In addition, Keyera would leverage existing pipeline capable of transporting hydrogen to a hydrogen manufacturing and distribution network in the region which it said is another opportunity to decarbonize operations.

"Keyera...and Shell will explore opportunities to build a future open access gathering and distribution network to transport captured CO2 from Keyera and other operations in the region to Shell's proposed Polaris CCS storage hub," the company said.

As MRC wrote before, Shell faces writedowns on USD400 MM in Russian downstream assets, it said, having announced USD3 B worth of other projects previously. The oil major announced on Feb. 28 that it would quit its ventures in Russia with Gazprom and related entities including the flagship Sakhalin 2 LNG plant and the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project.

We remind that Shell Chemicals expects its new petrochemical complex in southwest Pennsylvania to come online by the end of 2022, Royal Dutch Shell CFO Jessica Uhl said February 3, during the company's Q4 2021 earnings call.

Royal Dutch Shell plc is an Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the biggest company in the world in terms of revenue and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors". Shell is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Nexeo Plastics, a leading global thermoplastics resin distributor, announces an agreement with AFC ECOPLASTICS to distribute bio-compounds for the blow and film molding market throughout Canada, Mexico and the United States, said the company.

"Our company is committed to providing customers with a large variety of high performing resins and compounds, including sustainable alternatives for single use applications,” said Arturo Hoyo, Nexeo Plastics’ Vice President of Product Line Management. “AFC Ecoplastics’ compounds fill a growing need for sustainable products that are durable and flexible and can be processed on existing machinery."

AFC’s bio-compounds include grades that meet ASTM D6400 for industrial composting and grades that are 30% biobased and 80% biobased, which are often ideal options for applications such as cutlery, straws, caps and closures.

"Nexeo Plastics is known as a leader in new technologies for plastics processors, and we are pleased to be part of a relationship to bring new, innovative compostable and biodegradable compounds to the marketplace,” said Nirav Patel, Chief Executive Officer, AFC Ecoplastics.

As per MRC, Nexeo Plastics acquired Italian thermoplastics distributor and compounder Nevicolor. In a deal that expands its European footprint, resin distributor Nexeo Plastics LLC has acquired Nevicolor SpA, a resin supplier and compounder based in Luzzara, Italy, for an undisclosed amount.

MRC earlier said, Nexeo Univar Inc., announced that it has completed the acquisition of Nexeo Solutions, creating a leading global chemical and ingredients solutions provider. The combined company will conduct business as Univar Solutions, reflecting a commitment to combining the 'best of the best' from each legacy organization.

Nexeo Plastics is a leading global thermoplastic resins distributor, representing quality products from world-class suppliers, and serving a diverse customer base across North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia. From material selection assistance to identifying supply chain and inventory solutions, we go beyond traditional logistics to provide value-added services across many industries, including automotive, healthcare, packaging, wire and cable,
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF is to increase its production capacity for plastic additives at its sites in Pontecchio Marconi, Italy and Lampertheim, Germany, said the company.

BASF did not disclose, however, current or future capacities for its production of plastic additives hindered amine light stabilizers (HALS).

"Enabling plastic materials in use for as long as possible in specific applications will minimize waste. The integrity and durability of plastic materials can be adversely affected by exposure to sun and artificial light, which leads to a breakdown of the chemical bonds in a polymer," - said BASF.

The growing scrutiny on the use and disposal of plastics is driving the industry to focus on more sustainable solutions. Enabling plastic materials in use for as long as possible in specific applications will minimize waste. The integrity and durability of plastic materials can be adversely affected by exposure to sun and artificial light, which leads to a breakdown of the chemical bonds in a polymer. Photodegradation leads to cracking, chalking, and a weakening of physical properties such as impact resistance and tensile strength. BASF’s HALS Tinuvin®, Chimassorb®, and Uvinul® play a key role in protecting polymers from UV radiation and are effective inhibitors of free-radical induced degradation. This characteristic helps to extend product lifetimes.

The production sites at Pontecchio Marconi and Lampertheim are world-scale, strategic production locations for HALS and NOR HALS to service customers globally. BASF has continuously invested in updated and expanded production capabilities, including surrounding infrastructure, to ensure highly efficient production of the best quality products.

BASF runs a global production network and is the only supplier of plastic additives with production sites on four continents.

As per MRC, BASF launched a new fluid catalytic cracking catalyst designed to maximize butylenes from resid feedstocks. Fortitude, the latest product based on BASF’s multiple framework topology (MFT) technology, is optimized to deliver superior selectivity to butylenes while maintaining catalyst activity.

As per MRC, BASF, the world's petrochemical major, is strengthening its global catalyst development and helping customers to bring new products faster to the market. As part of this strategy, BASF is building a new pilot plant center at its Ludwigshafen site. The new Catalyst Development and Solids Processing Center will serve as a global hub for pilot-scale production and process innovations of chemical catalysts.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Michelin has suspended production in Russia and halted exports to the country, said Reuters.

In 2004, Michelin became the first international tyre company to open its own production in Russia, with sales in the country currently representing 2% of the group's total and 1% of its global passenger car tyre production, Michelin said in a statement.

The group's only plant in Russia, Davydovo, repairs truck tyres and produces up to 2 million new car tyres per year, mainly for the Russian market and some Northern European countries.

"The plant was already working at a very low level since several days. There is a lot of supply difficulties - which means we have disruption of financial flows, and there's a problem of currency instability," the company's spokesperson told Reuters.

Michelin was looking for alternative supply sources in Asia and the Middle East, the spokesperson said, adding the group would continue to pay the wages of the more than 1,000 people it employs in Russia, including 750 at the Davydovo plant.

It had stopped sales of plane tyres and mining tyres following U.S. sanctions, before halting exports completely on Tuesday.

Earlier it was reported that in April 2015, Nizhnekamskneftekhim (NKNKH), a member of TAIF Group, signed a five-year agreement with the tire company Michelin on the supply of synthetic rubber.

Michelin has been in Russia since 1997 and was the first foreign tire manufacturer to open a plant in 2004. Michelin Russia employs approximately 1,000 people, including 750 at the Davydovo plant. This site has a production capacity of 1.5 to 2 million tires per year, mainly for passenger cars. Most of the production is intended for the Russian market and to a lesser extent for certain Northern European countries. Michelin's sales in the country represent 2% of the Group's total sales and 1% of its global passenger car tire production.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Genomatica and Asahi Kasei announced a strategic partnership to commercialize renewably-sourced nylon 6,6 made from Genomatica’s bio-based hexamethylenediamine (HMD) building block, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Asahi Kasei looks to this partnership to support its goal to be first-to-market with a more sustainable nylon 6,6 for the automotive and electronics industries, based on plant-based HMD, and to accelerate the achievement of its corporate sustainability objectives.

HMD is a key component of nylon 6,6 (also known as polyamide 6,6) and multiple other types of nylon, with a global market of 2 MMtpy. Conventional HMD is made starting from fossil fuels, such as crude oil or natural gas. Renewably-sourced HMD made with Genomatica’s technology is derived from renewable feedstocks, such as plant-based sugars, and can improve the sustainability of the many materials made from it.

Building upon Genomatica’s recently-announced breakthrough to successfully produce significant volumes of plant-based HMD, Asahi Kasei intends to apply the GENO HMD process technology to make more sustainable materials for use in products such as high-temperature automotive parts, electronics or yarns to produce airbags. Asahi Kasei will have preferential access to early volumes of renewably-sourced HMD and perform nylon application testing, leveraging Asahi Kasei’s experience developing successful nylon applications. Asahi Kasei anticipates licensing Genomatica’s GENO HMD process technology to commercialize bio-based nylon 6,6.

Genomatica develops complete, integrated process and manufacturing plant designs that use biotechnology, fermentation and renewable feedstocks to make widely-used ingredients and materials with lower carbon footprints. Asahi Kasei expects Genomatica’s innovation to help the company reach its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.

As MRC informed before, in July 2019, Asahi Kasei decided to expand its plant for the artificial suede LamousTM in Nobeoka, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan, by four million m2/year, increasing the total production capacity to 14 million m2/year upon completion in 2021.

Asahi Kasei Corporation is a multinational Japanese chemical company. Its main products are chemicals and materials science. It was founded in May 1931, using the paid in capital of Nobeoka Ammonia Fiber Co., Ltd, a Nobeoka, Miyazaki based producer of ammonia, nitric acid, and other chemicals. Now headquartered in Tokyo, with offices and plants across Japan, as well as China, Singapore, Thailand, USA and Germany.

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