Yasref output drops temporarily following Houthi attack

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Production at Saudi Arabia's oil refinery in Yanbu has dropped temporarily following a drone attack overnight claimed by the Iran-aligned Houthi group in Yemen, said Reuters with reference to the Saudi state news agency SPA's report on Sunday.

The refinery, known as Yasref, on the Red Sea, will compensate for the shortfall from its stockpiles, the news agency said, citing a source at the Saudi energy ministry.

Yasref stands for Yanbu Aramco Sinopec Refining Co., a JV between Saudi Aramco and China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec), according to the refinery's website.

As MRC informed previously, in June 2018, Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. through its local subsidiary in Saudi Arabia, Jacobs ZATE, was awarded a three-year, general engineering services (GES) contract from Yasref to help optimize the production at Yasref's Yanbu Industrial City facilities in Saudi Arabia.

The Yasref full conversion refinery is the key facility in Yanbu Industrial City, covering about 5.2 million square meters. YASREF uses 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Arabian heavy crude oil to produce premium transportation fuels, as well as high-value refined products. The facility became operational in 2014, contributing to the Kingdom's vision to reliably supply domestic and international markets with high quality, clean refined products and fuels.

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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- OMV, the international, integrated oil, gas and chemicals company headquartered in Vienna, Austria, presents its Strategy 2030 today, said the company.

The firm has set out to transform itself into a sustainable fuels, chemicals, and materials company with a strong focus on circular economy solutions. Based on this new strategy representing the most fundamental strategic shift in the company’s history, OMV aims to become a net-zero emissions company by no later than 2050. The business segment Chemicals & Materials will be the growth engine of the company. It is to be substantially strengthened, expanded, and diversified, with the aim to establish a globally leading position in circular economy solutions.

The Refining & Marketing business is to become a leading European provider of sustainable fuels, feedstock, and mobility solutions. In line with the ambition to become a net-zero company, OMV will reduce its oil and gas production by around 20% by 2030 and will completely cease oil and gas production for energy use by 2050. At the same time Exploration & Production business segment will invest in geothermal energy and carbon capture and storage (CCS) leveraging existing assets and capabilities and contribute to a more sustainable society.

OMV’s goal is to become a leading global supplier of specialty polyolefin solutions. Important strategic guidelines include expanding the business in attractive markets, particularly in North America and Asia, as well as building sustainable polyolefin production, representing up to 40%of total polyolefin production in Europe. On top of this, the OMV Group intends to take a leading position in the field of renewable and circular economy solutions. Growth is also set to be achieved by diversifying the portfolio towards adjacent products and new product groups.

The company can build on a strong position. As a global, backward-integrated polyolefin producer with a base chemical capacity of 7 mn metric tons per year and around 6 mn metric tons of polyolefins, the OMV Group is among the top 10 polyolefin producers worldwide. Extensive innovation capabilities with innovation centers in Austria, Sweden, Finland, and Abu Dhabi, as well as 10,000 successfully filed and granted patents are a strong foundation for future success.

OMV has had a solid financial track record in recent years and expects its transformation strategy to lead not only to strong sustainability performance, but also to higher profitability and improved earnings quality. The Clean CCS Operating Result is expected to reach at least EUR 6bn by 2030. Operating Cash Flow (excl. net working capital effects) should reach over EUR 7 bn by that time. Following clear priorities in capital allocation – capex first, followed by dividend, inorganic growth, and deleveraging –investments of EUR 3.5 bn each year are planned to support organic growth. At least 40% has been earmarked for low-carbon projects.

As per MRC, OMV reported utilization of 83% at its European refineries in H1, 2021, down by 3% on the year yet "relatively resilient in light of the COVID-19 impact". It expects the utilization rates at its European refineries to remain at the 2020 level this year. Last year its refineries reported 86% utilization. The company's refineries in Europe ran at 85% utilization in Q2, up from 81% in the year-ago quarter.

As MRC wrote before, OMV is investing EUR40 million (USD48 million) to expand and modernize a steam cracker and associated units at its refining and petrochemicals complex at Burghausen, Germany. The upgrade will increase the site’s ethylene and propylene production capacity by 50,000 metric tons/year. Following a planned turnaround of the refinery, the revamped cracker and petchem units are expected to start operations in the third quarter of 2022. Initial groundwork is already underway ahead of the upgrade.

OMV produces and markets oil and gas, innovative energy and high-end petrochemical solutions – in a responsible way. With Group sales of EUR 23 bn and a workforce of around 20,000 employees in 2019, OMV Aktiengesellschaft is one of Austria’s largest listed industrial companies.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- PPG announced the opening of its new European Central Powder Coatings Research and Development (R&D) Center in Milan, Italy.

The facility’s expanded capabilities, which include a customer application center, will enhance and accelerate powder coatings product development. Financial details of the investment were not disclosed.

The R&D center will focus on innovating powder coatings product development, demonstrating advanced powder technologies and providing best-in-class customer and technical support. The Milan facility is a European hub for cross-technology research and development, hosting laboratories for other businesses that include automotive OEM and refinish coatings.

As per MRC, PPG has entered into an agreement to buy the powder coatings business of Italian company Arsonsisi, boosting its offering in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. As part of the deal, PPG will gain Arsonsisi’s highly automated, small- and large-batch powder manufacturing plant in Verbania. The acquisition will also add metallic bonding to the US group’s portfolio. According to PPG, metallic bonding is one of the fastest growing markets for powder coatings used in specialty finishes for automotive, appliance and general industrial applications.

We remind, PPG Industries Ohio Inc. received a patent in Russia for a new coating. The authors of the invention were a group of American specialists. The material is a film-forming composition that ensures the uniformity and appearance of the coating, and also avoids smudges. The material consists of polymer binders, polysiloxane resin, hardener and other substances.

PPG is a leading supplier of powder coatings to the automotive, transportation, appliance, furniture and other markets. The company expanded the business with its 2020 acquisition of Alpha Coating Technologies, which manufactures powder coatings for light industrial applications and heat-sensitive substrates, and its 2021 acquisition of Worwag, which makes liquid, powder and film coatings for industrial and automotive applications. PPG recently agreed to acquire the powder coatings business of Arsonsisi, including a manufacturing plant in Verbania, Italy.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Songwon appointed Dongbek Park as its new chairman of the board of directors, said the company.

Dongbek Park will take over responsibility as chairman and outside director from CEO Jongho Park, who will remain a member of the board of directors. Before retiring in 2014 Dongbek Park amassed extensive experience working in the chemicals industry and held various senior management positions at Songwon over the years.

“We welcome his broad background and vast experience in the industry, which will allow us to further strengthen the Songwon Group,” said CEO Johngho Park. As part of this restructuring, Songwon’s board will consist of four directors.

As well as Jongho Park, Hans-Peter Wuest and Choung-Sik Kim will continue to serve as Songwon’s executive board members and inside directors. “Songwon’s Board of Directors thanks the former members of the Board, Dieter Morath, Markus Oppliger and Gerhard Schlosser for their many years of dedication and commitment to Songwon,” the company said in a statement.

As per MRC, in October 2021, Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat LLC (GNS) signed an agreement for the development of a basic design and a license agreement for the use of Songwon Industrial technology. The contract makes it possible to organize the production of superabsorbent polymers (SAP) based on acrylic acid at the enterprise. The new production will be a continuation of the chain of processing of acrylates into superabsorbent polymers. In the manufacture of products will be used its own raw materials - butanol and propylene.

Songwon Industrial Co., Ltd. - the second in the world in terms of production of polymer stabilizers. The company's product range includes polymer stabilizers, alkylphenols and alkylcresols, PVC stabilizers, plasticizers, organotin, polyurethanes, flocculants. The company's headquarters is located in Ulsan, Korea.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Neste still has Russian oil contracts lasting until the end of 2021, but the firm is not making any new supply agreements for Russian origin oil, reported Reuters with reference to the executive vice president of oil products' statement.

"We have not bought Russian crude oil on the spot market since the start of the war," Markku Korvenranta, executive VP for oil products, said.

"We are not making any new supply agreements of Russian origin oil products for now. The remaining contracts end by the end of the year 2022."

Crude traders said Neste has been buying cargoes of Norway's medium, sour grade Johan Sverdrup to replace Russia's key export grade Urals as well as some sweet North Sea crude. One trader said the refiner had bought at least three cargoes of Johan Sverdrup for April delivery.

Russian oil accounted for 77% of the refiner's crude and feedstock in 2021.

As MRC informed before, earlier this month, Neste Corporation signed definitive agreements for the establishment of a 50/50 JV with US-based Marathon Petroleum. The JV will produce renewable diesel following a conversion project of Marathon's refinery in Martinez, California (the Martinez Renewable Fuels project). The closing of the JV is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, including obtaining the necessary permits, which depend upon certification of a final Environmental Impact Report.

we remind that Neste has successfully concluded its first series of trial runs processing liquefied waste plastic at its Porvoo refinery in Finland. After kicking the series off with its first-ever industrial scale trial run with liquefied waste plastic in 2020, Neste has conducted additional runs in 2021. In the course of the trial runs, Neste has been able to upgrade liquefied waste plastic to drop-in solutions for plastic production and develop industrial scale capabilities to upgrade recycled feedstocks. Trials pave the way for continuous and commercial activities. Neste has set itself the goal of processing more than 1 MM tons of plastic waste per year from 2030 onwards.

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.

Neste (Helsinki) creates solutions for combating climate change and accelerating a shift to a circular economy. The company refines waste, residues and innovative raw materials into renewable fuels and sustainable feedstock for plastics and other materials. The company is the world’s leading producer of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, developing chemical recycling to combat the plastic waste challenge. In 2020, Neste's revenue stood at EUR11.8 billion, with 94% of the company’s comparable operating profit coming from renewable products.
MRC