Sadara earnings decreased by 97%

Sadara Chemical Co., the parent company of Sadara Basic Services Co., reported a 97% slump in Q1 2022 net profit after Zakat and tax to SAR 45.9 million, compared to SAR 1.617 billion in the year-ago period, said Argaam.

The company attributed the profit drop primarily to the recognition of SAR 1.05 billion gains from debt restructuring in Q1 2021. Sadara also cited a decline in higher production costs due to higher feedstock prices despite a rise in average sales price compared to the first quarter last year.

Compared to the previous quarter, the company attributed a decrease in net profit to higher production costs and feedstock prices.

As per MRC, Sadara Basic Service’s first-quarter profit jumped year on year on the back of firmer pricing and debt re-profiling. Sadara Chemical Company (Sadara) announced its first quarter financial performance for 2021, stating that the company’s revenues reached more than SR4.4 billion — 30.5% higher compared to the previous quarter in 2020 and an increase of more than 80% compared to the same quarter last year.

We remind, Sadara Chemical Company (Sadara) resumed operations at its naphtha cracker in Jubail, Saudi Arabia oin 11 April, 2021, after unscheduled repairs. The company announced an emergency shutdown of its cracker with a capacity of 1.5 million tons/year of ethylene and 400,000 tons/year of propylene im mid-March due to an issue at the compressor.
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Indonesia's state energy company PT Pertamina said it will jointly study carbon capture technology at its refinery in Balikpapan with a local unit of French gas company Air Liquide, said Reuters.

Pertamina and Air Liquide Indonesia, signed a joint study agreement on capturing carbon emissions from its Balikpapan hydrogen production facility and storing the carbon in the Kutai basin area off East Kalimantan province.

Some of the emissions would be converted into products like methanol, which can be used to produce low-carbon fuels, Pertamina said in the statement. Indonesia, which relies heavily on fossil fuels for its energy, aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2060 and aims to nearly double the proportion of renewables in its energy mix to 23% by 2025.

Pertamina aims to slash its greenhouse gas emissions by 30% and increase its renewable energy mix to 17.7% by 2030. "We hope...the agreement between Pertamina and Air Liquide will have a positive impact on accelerating the implementation of low-carbon technology and providing low-carbon energy resilience in Indonesia," chief executive Nicke Widyawati said in the statement.

Pertamina has been exploring carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technology to offset emissions as it boosts oil and gas production, Nicke said. The company has signed a deal to explore lower carbon business opportunities in Indonesia with U.S. energy company Chevron Corporation. It also has a deal with ExxonMobil Corp to assess the potential for large-scale implementation of CCUS and hydrogen production at three of Pertamina's facilities.

As per MRC, Mitsui & Co and Indonesian state-owned energy and petrochemicals company Pertamina are looking at commercial opportunities for carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) in Indonesia. CCUS infrastructure is a factor in decisions where to locate new chemical plants. The companies have launched a feasibility study to evaluate the carbon dioxide (CO2) subsurface storage capacity of Indonesian oil and gas fields whose production volume has been declining.

We remind, PT Pertamina said on Wednesday that ensuring fuel supply was its “top priority” as workers plan a ten-day strike next week, just when fuel demand typically increases as people travel for year-end holidays. After the union failed to reach a deal with management over labour terms, workers at the country’s biggest fuel supplier are set to hold a national strike from Dec. 29 to Jan. 7.
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Braskem (Sao Paulo, Brazil) said it is supporting the efforts by Danish company Plastix (Lemvig) to market recycled plastics fibre waste of old fishing nets and other marine debris collected at various ports, said Plasteurope.

A Braskem press release said it has “joined forces with Plastix to help them optimise the recycling process and accelerate the introduction of this innovative and high-quality circular plastic to the market”. “Plastix is a small company with a very limited sales force. Braskem is lending its technical and commercial teams to help accelerate the uptake of this recycled material and help demand grow faster than it would without the partnership”.

Fibre waste from fishing nets and ropes made from various plastics are difficult to recycle but the Danish recycler says it has committed itself to developing industrial solutions to recycle them. Over the past few years, Plastix has made the sorting and recycling process technically and economically feasible, producing high-quality feedstock for many applications and any various production technologies ranging from packaging to pipes and durable consumer goods, Braskem said.

In 2021, Plastix had launched what it called “green ropes”, produced through clean-tech mechanical reclaim technology with recyclate from discarded maritime fibres.

As per MRC, Braskem has agreed with Dutch recycler Terra Circular to enter a joint venture for mechanical recycling.
Financial details were not disclosed. Terra Circular, through its subsidiary ER Plastics, operates the production facilities, with nominal capacity for mechanical recycling of 23,000 tonnes/year. The plant is to process mixed plastic waste.
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MRC) -- Brazil’s Braskem (Sao Paulo), the largest polyolefins producer in the Americas, has signed an agreement with US engineering contractor Lummus Technology (Houston, Texas) to support the worldwide use of bioethanol in plastics production, said Plasteurope.

Collaboration between technology partners is key to achieving a circular economy for plastics, the Brazilian group said, noting that the pact with Lummus will bring together complementary knowledge and skills to shorten the timeline and extend the geographic reach of bioplastics technology.

Combining the experience and expertise of Lummus and Braskem to produce green ethylene will reduce the plastics sector’s carbon footprint and play a promising role in the energy transition, the companies added.

Each of the future cooperation partners possess extensive know-how in the field. Braskem, which touts itself as a pioneer supplier of renewable raw materials for bio-based plastics as well as producing the resin, recently said it aims to make 1 mn t/y of its I’m Green-branded PE by 2030.

In September 2021, the Brazilian player said it was studying plans to cooperate with Thailand’s SCG Chemicals (Bangkok) on a bio-ethanol dehydration plant for production of bio-based ethylene and PE.

As per MRC, Braskem has agreed with Dutch recycler Terra Circular to enter a joint venture for mechanical recycling.
Financial details were not disclosed. Terra Circular, through its subsidiary ER Plastics, operates the production facilities, with nominal capacity for mechanical recycling of 23,000 tonnes/year. The plant is to process mixed plastic waste.

As MRC wrote earlier, in late 2020, Braskem announced its latest sustainability ambitions to significantly expand its efforts to eliminate plastic waste in the environment by 2030 and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

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.

Braskem S.A. produces petrochemicals and generates electricity. The Company produces ethylene, propylene, benzene, toluene, xylenes, butadiene, butene, isoprene, dicyclopentediene, MTBE, caprolactam, ammonium sulfate, cyclohexene, polyethylene theraphtalat, polyethylene, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
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Speciality films producer Innovia Films (Wigton, UK) has opened a 6.2 mn, multi-layer coextrusion line at its manufacturing site in Plock, Poland, to produce sustainable, low-density polyolefin shrink film for shrink sleeve labels or tamper-evident applications, said Plasteurope.

The floatable shrink film separates easily from PET, HDPE, and polypropylene bottles and containers in the recycling process.

With the new line, Innovia will produce RayoFloat APO, a clear, uncoated shrink film with a density of < 0.93 g/cm? that is glossy, scuff resistant, and printable, with a controlled TD shrinkage up to 70%. The low-density floatable material is mainly for use within the food, beverage, and home and personal care industries.

Parent company and Canadian packaging giant CCL Industries’ (Toronto, Ontario) CCL Label division invested in Innovia’s Poland facility and will convert the recycling-friendly material into its EcoFloat line of low density polyolefin shrink sleeves and labels, according to Gunther Birkner, president of Innovia Films and a member of the management team at CCL. The RayoFloat APO and EcoFloat materials are endorsed by the European PET Bottle Platform (EPBP).

As per MRC, Innovia Films (Innovia) recognises that today’s competitive market place demands packaging films that perform on a variety of machines, at the highest possible speeds. As overall production costs are scrutinized, achieving high efficiencies is becoming increasingly vital. In response to these trends, Innovia is pleased to introduce its latest high speed Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene (BOPP) film - Propafilm REF.

As MRC wrote previously, in April 2016, Innovia Group reached an agreement to sell its Cellophane business and assets to Futamura Chemicals, and will continue to deepen its focus on it films and polymer banknote products going forward.

Innovia Films is a leading global manufacturer of two 'families' of speciality products supplied into the packaging, labels, tobacco overwrap and securities markets - Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene (BOPP) and Cellulose based films. With a turnover in excess of EUR400m, its total annual film production capacity currently stands at more than 120,000 tonnes.

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