Slovakia says hardest hit by Russia oil sanctions, expects solidarity

Slovakia said on Friday it would be hardest hit by European Union sanctions on Russian oil and it expected solidarity from Brussels to mitigate the impact, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The economy ministry said Slovakia had sought a three-year derogation on trade in piped Russian oil and oil products, but was unsuccessful as tough sanctions were approved with the aim of hitting Russian revenues following its invasion of Ukraine.

"The embargo ... was approved in a version with direct impact on the market for motor fuels and their production in Slovakia," the ministry said in a statement. "Within the declared solidarity we expect individual access to resources from REPower EU," it said, referring to the EU's plan to end dependence on Russian fossil fuels and tackle the climate crisis.

The ministry said the final version of the sanctions meant Slovakia could keep importing crude from Russia via the Druzhba pipeline, but after eight months this could only be used for production for the domestic market and oil product exports to the neighboring Czech Republic, which would be possible for further 10 months.

Slovakia's only domestic refiner, Slovnaft, runs on Russian oil. It said on Thursday the sanctions would have a severe impact on its production and create market shortages in fuels in the region as it could not make technological changes in time. The 124,000 bpd refinery, owned by Hungary's MOL , is based near Slovakia's borders with Hungary and Austria, and also has a product pipeline to the Czech Republic.

It exports the majority of its output, including diesel, petrol, jet fuel, sulphur and plastics to a number of central and west European countries and said forced a reduction in capacity may also threaten supplies to the domestic market.

We remind, Linde Engineering announced it has been selected by Slovnaft, a member of the MOL Group, a leading integrated Central Eastern European oil and gas corporation, to conduct a complex large-scale revamp of a polypropylene (PP3) plant in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Slovnaft is a crude oil refining enterprise located in Bratislava, Slovakia. The maximum annual refining capacity is 6 million tons of crude oil, which is primarily supplied via the "Druzhba" pipeline. The dominating place in the production portfolio belongs to motor fuel (about 4.5 million tons/year), chemicals (200 thousand tons/year) and primary plastic materials (400 thousand tons/year).
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Borealis, one of the world’s leading providers of advanced and circular polyolefin solutions and a European market leader in base chemicals, fertilizers and the mechanical recycling of plastics, has received a binding offer from AGROFERT, a.s. for the acquisition of Borealis’ nitrogen business including fertilizer, melamine and technical nitrogen products, said the company.

The offer values the business on an enterprise value basis at EUR 810 million. AGROFERT is a Czech-based group active in a number of industries in the countries of Central Europe, with activities spanning from chemicals and agriculture to food production. Generating a consolidated turnover of EUR 7.5 billion in 2021, the group comprises more than 200 companies and employs approximately 31.000. AGROFERT is also one of the leading European nitrogen fertilizer producers, with manufacturing facilities in Germany, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.

By adding Borealis’ production assets in Austria, Germany and France as well as a comprehensive sales and distribution network utilising the Danube River, this business combination would well complement AGROFERT’s existing capabilities in serving its customers across Europe.

Borealis will initiate mandatory information and consultation procedures with employee representatives shortly. The transaction is also subject to certain closing conditions and regulatory approvals, with closing expected for the second half of 2022. Borealis will continue to focus on its core activities of providing innovative and sustainable solutions in the fields of polyolefins and base chemicals and on the transformation towards a circular economy.

As per MRC, Borealis and Austria's leading energy company, VERBUND, are pleased to announce the installation of a new photovoltaic (PV) array at Borealis production location in Linz, Austria. The investment is in line with the Borealis aim to enhance the sustainability of its own operations while also supporting the Upper Austria Photovoltaic Strategy for 2030. Rooftop PV arrays are among the cleanest ways to generate renewable energy.

We remind, Borealis (Vienna), a leading producer of polyolefins, has delayed the start-up of a new, world-scale propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant at its existing production site at Kallo, Belgium, which is the company's biggest investment in Europe, until Q3 2023, citing Covid-19. The plant in Kallo in the port of Antwerp was previously targeted to begin operations by the end of next year.

As per MRC, Adnoc and Mubadala Mubadala announced a strategic transaction involving Borealis, one of Europe’s leading petrochemical companies. Under this agreement, Adnoc will acquire a 25% shareholding in Borealis from Mubadala. Upon completion of the transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, Borealis will be owned 25% by Adnoc and 75% by OMV, an Austrian multi-national integrated oil, gas and petrochemical company listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange.
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An explosion, followed by fire, occurred at Deepak Nitrite Company in Nandesari GIDC in Vadodara on 2 June, news agency ANI reported.

Further news reports suggest that the chemical factory witnessed five major explosions which was followed by fire. Several videos emerged of the fire accident wherein several blast noises could be heard from afar.

Fire and smoke made a dense cloud and rose up in the sky, followed by several more blast noises in the factory. Cause of the explosion is still unknown.

A Vadodara fire brigade official said a powerful explosion occurred when the fire started spreading in the factory during the evening, adding that 10 fire tenders are at the spot to douse the blaze.

As MRC reported before, Deepak Nitrite’s fully-owned subsidiary Deepak Phenolics started up its new phenol/acetone plant, located at Dahej in the state of Gujarat, on 16 August 2018. The plant, which is operated under Deepak Nitrite’s wholly-owned subsidiary Deepak Phenolics Limited, is able to produce 200,000 tonnes/year of phenol and 120,000 tonnes/year of acetone. There is also the potential for a capacity expansion in the future. Deepak Phenolics’ plant is the largest phenol/acetone plant in India.

Deepak Phenolics shut its phenol/acetone plant in Dahej on 25 March, 2020, because of the nationwide lockdown because of the spread of coronavirus. It resumed operations in late April, 2020.
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Sabic has introduced LNP ELCRIN WF0061BiQ resin, which uses ocean-bound PET bottles as a feed stream for chemical upcycling into polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) resin, said Interplasinsights.

Ocean-bound plastic is mismanaged waste that originates within 30 miles (50 km) of the coast and therefore likely to end up in the ocean. The new grade is the latest addition to SABIC’s extensive portfolio of chemically upcycled LNP ELCRIN iQ materials. LNP ELCRIN WF0061BiQ resin is a candidate for consumer electronics applications and automotive seating, as well as electrical connectors and enclosures.

Sabic intends to upcycle 10 billion plastic bottles into higher-performing, durable materials within the next 10 years through working within the plastics supply chain to find solutions to address urgent environmental issues.

The new LNP ELCRIN WF0061BiQ grade, a glass fibre-reinforced PBT material, features non-brominated, non-chlorinated flame retardancy meeting the UL94 V0 standard at 0.8mm and F1 rating. Heat-resistance, toughness and stiffness, and high flow qualities makes it suitable for moulding thin-wall applications for outdoor environments such as electrical equipment enclosures.

All LNP ELCRIN iQ materials can serve as possible drop-in replacements for conventional PBT. SABIC’s proprietary upcycling technology, which involves the repolymerisation of ocean-bound PET into PBT, delivers virgin-like performance properties. This process surpasses mechanical recycling in quality and consistency.

Sabic has introduced numerous innovative grades to the LNP ELCRIN iQ portfolio, including glass- and mineral-reinforced products and flame-retardant formulations that incorporate pre-consumer recycled glass fibre diverted from the waste stream of industrial processes. The use of recycled glass fibre further enhances the circularity of these upcycled PBT materials.

Alongside the creation of new, sustainable materials, Sabic also regularly formulating new resins and compounds using environmentally responsible and safer chemistries, such as non-brominated/non-chlorinated flame retardants.

As per MRC, Sabic has completed the acquisition of Clariant’s 50% stake in specialties company Scientific Design. The purchase makes SABIC a 100% shareholder of Scientific Design, which is a licensor of high-performance process technologies and catalysts producer.

As MRC informed previously, in January 2022, ExxonMobil and SABIC announced the successful startup of Gulf Coast Growth Ventures world-scale manufacturing facility in San Patricio County, Texas. The new facility will produce materials used in packaging, agricultural film, construction materials, clothing, and automotive coolants. The operation includes a 1.8 MM metric tpy ethane steam cracker, two polyethylene (PE) units capable of producing up to 1.3 MM metric tpy, and a monoethylene glycol (MEG) unit with a capacity of 1.1 MM metric tpy.

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) ranks among the world's top petrochemical companies. The company is among the world's market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.
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Maritime waste is increasingly emerging as a significant source of waste and pollution. On land, this waste is often landfilled or burnt; in the oceans, discarded ‘ghost’ fishing gear and ropes from the maritime industry form hazardous traps for marine life of all kinds, said Sustainableplastics.

Determined to address this issue, Danish cleantech recycling company Plastix has come up with technology that enables used and abandoned fishnets, trawls and ropes that would previously have ended up in the environment to be mechanically recycled into high-grade and virgin-like raw materials.

For international compounder Hexpol TPE, this presented an intriguing new resource. "We are continually investigating new recyclate sources to support the shift away from virgin materials. Reutilising what would be waste and giving it a new life to help keep valuable materials in circulation," according to Jill Bradford, global marketing manager at Hexpol TPE.

"What drew us to working with Plastix was the controls and quality of their products and that their work is evidence-based. They have conducted Life Cycle Assessment to provide data on the carbon footprint of their products." Hexpol TPE has now launched a new family of thermoplastic elastomer materials containing recycled content from post-use maritime ropes.

As the newest member of the Dryflex Circular TPE portfolio, the Dryflex Circular MWR TPEs are available in 40 Shore A to 50 Shore D hardnesses with 10 to 60 % recycled content and come in black, blue, green and mint colours.

The Dryflex Circular TPE portfolio also offers custom-formulated materials with PCR (Post Consumer) and PIR (Post Industrial) recyclate. Dryflex Circular TPEs are recyclable in closed-loop systems.

As per MRC, Hexpol acquired 100% of VICOM 2002 S.L., a Spanish Polymer Compounder active in the interesting and growing product segment “wire and cable”. VICOM’s turnover 2020 amounted to some EUR30 mln, is profitable and employs some 30 people in its production facility in Barcelona.

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 744,130 tonnes in the first four month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, PP deliveries to the Russian market were 523,900 tonnes in January-April 2021, up by 55% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas shipments of PP random copolymers decreas
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