Linde completed work at Amur Gas Chemical Complex

Germany-based engineering company Linde has completed their efforts as part of implementing the Amur Gas Chemical Complex (AGCC) construction project, as per TASS.

"Linde has completed its work within the AGCC project framework. We are dealing with its adaptation to new conditions together with partners from Sinopec," the Russian chemical giant said. Early in 2020, Linde made the contract for provision of pyrolysis services for AGCC.

The Amur Gas Chemical Complex is the joint venture of Sibur (60%) and China’s Sinopec (40%) for polyethylene and polypropylene production. The capacity of the plant will be up to 2.7 mln tonnes of polymers annually.

As per MRC, 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. The revamp will extend the plant’s capacity by 18 percent to 300 kilotons of polypropylene per year, and the storage facility will be expanded from the current 45 to 61 silos in total. The revamped plant has been designed to offer a higher degree of operational flexibility by producing multiple product grades and utilizing intermediate storage to ensure just-in-time production.
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CNOOC, Guangdong Provincial Development and Reform Commission, Shell Group and ExxonMobil jointly signed a memorandum of understanding on the Daya Bay carbon dioxide capture, utilization and storage (ccs/ccus) cluster research project in the form of "Online + offline" in Beijing, Guangzhou, London and Houston, said the .

This is China's first large-scale offshore ccs/ccus cluster research project (3-10million tons), and it is also another important measure for CNOOC to actively promote the "double carbon" work.

In November, ExxonMobil made a final investment decision to proceed with a USD10-billion chemical complex at Huizhou. The greenfield project includes a steam cracker with nameplate ethylene capacity of 1.6 MMt/y, three polyethylene lines, and two polypropylene lines.

Shell and CNOOC separately operate a 50-50 petrochemical joint venture at Huizhou, which started operations in 2006. Shell and CNOOC announced plans in 2020 to add a third cracker to their site. The CCS project would be “a follow-on to [ExxonMobil’s Huizhou project], and potentially impact more broadly to multiple industries within the Dayawan Petrochemical Industrial Park."

The CCS project at Huizhou could become one of the first chemical decarbonization projects in China. The companies will also evaluate China’s carbon policy systems and propose policies to support deployment of CCS projects in the Dayawan Industrial Park. “Collaboration with government and industry is an important part of unlocking future carbon capture and storage opportunities, with the potential for large-scale reductions of emissions from vital sectors of the global economy,” said Dan Ammann, president of ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions.

Currently, ExxonMobil estimates that it has an equity share of one-fifth of global CCS capacity at approximately 9 MMt/y.

As per MRC, China oil giant CNOOC Ltd shares surged as much as 44% in their Shanghai debut on Thursday, defying broad market weakness, as investors sought safety in the Chinese oil giant amid high energy prices and quickening inflation. After opening 20% higher, CNOOC shares immediately shot up 44% on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, hitting a price ceiling for the day and triggering a 30-minute trading halt. The stock ended the session up 27.7%.
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Trinseo, a specialty material solutions provider, opened its new Global Business Services (GBS) office in Dublin City Centre, welcoming representatives from leading local businesses and organisations, staff and partners to an official unveiling ceremony attended by Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar TD, said the company.

Residing across two floors at 76 Sir John Rogerson’s Quay in the city’s Docklands, Trinseo’s new GBS is in one of the most attractive waterfront properties in the South Docklands within the newly developed office building.

Frank Bozich, Trinseo President & CEO, said: "Trinseo’s move to establish a significant base in Ireland is a huge step forward as we continue to transform into a higher-growth, higher-margin and less-cyclical specialty materials and sustainable solutions provider to better serve our customers worldwide. We’re delighted to be in Ireland and open our offices in Dublin. We’re proud to become part of a rich community of high-calibre, high-growth companies in a dynamic and vibrant city business hub which is home to some of the world’s biggest companies."

Established in 2010, Trinseo has grown to become a leading global specialty materials solutions provider with a focus on delivering innovative, sustainable and best-in-class materials to unlock value for companies. Last October, the company announced its plans to establish its new Global Business Services function in Dublin City Centre and launched a major recruitment initiative to fill more than 100 highly skilled roles across many facets of finance, procurement, cash collections and IT.

Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar TD, said: "Congratulations to the Trinseo team and the very best of luck with this new office. I’m glad to see you will still be promoting a flexible working environment, for the more than 120 new staff you’ve hired since deciding to invest here. It’s a great vote of confidence in Dublin City and underlines our attractiveness as a base. It’s a pleasure to be here in person to warmly welcome the new team as they embark on their new careers. The very best of luck with this expansion."

Speaking at the new office opening, Lori Wilcox, Global Business Services Leader said: "Since announcing our arrival in Ireland last year, we have been focused on building a stellar team of diverse and talented people for our Global Business Services function who share in our vision for the future, our values and our culture. Our ambition is to cement Trinseo as a great place to work locally. We want to grow our team with us and enable them to enjoy a rewarding career with a global company.

The new office is a fantastic multifunctional space where staff can connect and collaborate as part of our flexible ways of working and I’m delighted to welcome everyone here today. It’s an exciting time for Trinseo, and we’re proud to become part of the City of Dublin."

Martin Shanahan, CEO, IDA Ireland said: "Trinseo was attracted to Ireland due to the country’s international reputation as a location where companies can quickly establish their operations – this is evidenced by the fact that the company has added 120 talented people to its team here in less than a year. I would like to wish Trinseo continued success and our ongoing support as they further develop their business from Ireland."

As per MRC, Trinseo will use gasification technology to depolymerize post-consumer polystyrene waste into pure styrene. It’s a first-of-its-kind project on an industrial scale. Trinseo’s plant will process 15 kilotons of recycled polystyrene flakes every year. These will be transformed into high-quality recycled styrene and used for the production of new polystyrene and/or styrene derivatives, including acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and styrene acrylonitrile (SAN).

Trinseo is a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber. Trinseo's technology is used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires. Formerly known as Styron, Trinseo completed its renaming process in 1Q 2015. Trinseo had approximately $4.8 billion in net sales in 2021 and has 26 manufacturing sites and one recycling facility around the world and approximately 3,400 employees.
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Neste has made the final investment decision to invest into new renewable products production capacity in Rotterdam, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The decision is based on demand for renewable products growing substantially with customers' higher climate ambitions. Neste’s current 1.4 MMt capacity for renewable products in Rotterdam is the largest in Europe. The Rotterdam refinery expansion investment of approximately EUR 1.9 B will expand Neste’s overall renewable product capacity by 1.3 MMtpy, bringing the total renewable product capacity in Rotterdam to 2.7 MMt annually, of which sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production capability will be 1.2 MMt. The company’s target is to start up the new production unit during the first half of 2026.

“The investment in the expansion of our Rotterdam refinery strengthens our global leading position in renewable products. It also marks an important step in ensuring our future competitiveness and our renewables’ growth strategy execution as it will bring a substantial amount of renewable diesel, SAF and renewable feedstock for polymers and chemicals to our sustainability-focused customers,” says Matti Lehmus, President and CEO of Neste.

“This investment will further strengthen our competitive advantages which are based on the global optimization of our production and waste and residue raw material usage. With our proprietary NEXBTL™ technology, high quality renewable products can be refined flexibly from a wide variety of lower quality waste and residues. The new production line - together with our Singapore expansion - will be best in class in terms of energy efficiency and raw material flexibility,” continues Lehmus.

Neste currently has a renewable products global production capacity of 3.3 MMt annually. Neste’s ongoing Singapore expansion project and the joint venture with Marathon in Martinez, CA, that is still pending for closing, will increase the total production capacity of renewable products to 5.5 MMt by the end of 2023, and make Neste the only global provider of renewable fuels and renewable feedstock for polymers and chemicals with a production footprint on three continents. When completed, the Rotterdam expansion project will further increase the company’s total production capacity of renewable products to 6.8 MMt by the end of 2026.

As per MRC, Neste and United Airlines announced that they have signed a new purchase agreement that provides United the right to buy up to 160,000 mtons (52.5 MM gallons) of Neste MY SAF over the next three years to fuel United flights at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, and potentially other airports, as well. With this agreement, United became the first U.S. airline to make an international purchase agreement for SAF.

As MRC reported earlier, Neste has a target to process annually over 1 MM tons of waste plastic from 2030 onwards. The company plans to use liquefied plastic waste as a raw material at its fossil oil refinery to upgrade it into high-quality drop-in feedstock for the production of new plastics.
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INEOS Oligomers has announced that it has started up its new 120,000 tonne per annum Low Viscosity Polyalphaolefin (LV PAO) unit at Chocolate Bayou, TX, said the company.

This facility is the world’s largest single PAO train and complements existing units in La Porte, TX and Feluy, Belgium.

It positions INEOS Oligomers as the world’s largest merchant supplier of LV PAO with an unprecedented production footprint in LV PAO. Facilities operated across 3 distinct locations, provide stronger security of supply to the global lubricants industry.

The new Chocolate Bayou LV PAO unit is fully integrated into INEOS’ production of Linear Alpha Olefin (LAO), the raw material used for PAO. Its feedstocks are also supplied from the adjacent LAO plant that started up in 2020 and from its Joffre, Canada LAO unit.

Peter Steylaerts, Business Director INEOS Oligomers said “Our new LV PAO unit comes at the right time to fulfil increasing needs from the lubricant industry for low viscosity low volatility engine oils, electrical transmission fluids and heat transfer fluids for data servers and electrical batteries. It also brings state of the art technology allowing a step change in efficiency of production."

LV PAOs are used in various lubricants such as engine oils, gear oils, transmission fluids, hydraulic fluids and greases. They offer excellent thermal and oxidative stability, better flow properties and better energy efficiency leading to reduced fuel consumption, reduced emissions, less frequent oil changes and improved reliability of machineries. They are also used in other applications such as processing aids, polymer modification and cosmetics.

As per MRC, INEOS Olefins Belgium is the first industrial player to sign an agreement with Fluxys to participate in the feasibility study for the development of an open access hydrogen network in the port of Antwerp, said the company.
The cooperation follows the market consultation initiated by Fluxys last year to match supply and demand for hydrogen in the Belgian industrial clusters. The European Commission considers hydrogen essential for becoming carbon-neutral. When hydrogen is used as a fuel, it is carbon-free and essentially only water vapour is emitted. It is also an important raw material for the chemical industry.

NEOS Styrolution is the leading global styrenics supplier, with a focus on styrene monomer, polystyrene, ABS Standard and styrenic specialties. With world-class production facilities and more than 90 years of experience, INEOS Styrolution helps its customers succeed by offering solutions, designed to give them a competitive edge in their markets. At the same time, these innovative and sustainable best-in-class solutions help make the circular economy for styrenics a reality. The company provides styrenic applications for many everyday products across a broad range of industries, including automotive, electronics, household, construction, healthcare, packaging and toys/sports/leisure. In 2020, sales were at 4 billion euros. INEOS Styrolution employs approximately 3,600 people and operates 20 production sites in ten countries.
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