W. R. Grace & Co. welcomes new UNIPOL polypropylene technology licensee in Indonesia

W. R. Grace & Co. (Grace) the leading independent supplier of polyolefin catalyst technology and polypropylene (PP) technology, has received a commitment from PT Kilang Pertamina International (PT KPI) to use Grace’s UNIPOL PP technology, which is part of its larger initiative, the Trans-Pacific Petrochemical Indotama (TPPI) Olefin Complex Development Project in Indonesia, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

This project will empower PT KPI to increase refinery and polyolefin capacity by addressing the gap between strong demand growth of petrochemicals and the shortage in domestic production capacity.

The 600,000 tpy polypropylene plant will be designed to produce homopolymers, random and impact copolymers to cover domestic and international market needs.

Laura Schwinn, President of Grace’s Specialty Catalysts business said, “We thank PT KPI for trusting Grace UNIPOL PP technology to deliver the technology, innovation and services that PT KPI will use to grow and enhance the polymer market in Indonesia and beyond. As a member of the UNIPOL PP technology global community, through the PPartner Program, they can gain access to services and knowledge for the lifetime of the plant to enhance efficiency and performance."

As MRC reported previously, W. R. Grace & Co., has recently awarded Oriental Energy a UNIPOL polypropylene (PP) process license for its Maoming plant in China. This is Oriental Energy's fifth PP production line and its fourth, which uses the Grace UNIPOL PP process with a production capacity of 400,000 tonnes per year.
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Air Products announced plans to start construction of a second hydrogen liquefaction plant in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, said the company.

This new source is in addition to the company's existing liquid hydrogen plant in Botlek, the Netherlands. Once operational in 2025, the plant will double Europe's total current liquid hydrogen capacity.

Liquid hydrogen produced at the plant will be used to supply increased demands from high tech industries as well as the mobility market. It will contribute to the decarbonisation of heavy-duty vehicles on Europe's path to climate neutrality by 2050.

Air Products is committed to contribute to the role of hydrogen in the energy transition. This project is an important milestone and a great addition to Air Products' hydrogen capabilities in Europe.

We remind, Imperial Oil has announced a long-term contract with Air Products which will supply low-carbon hydrogen for its proposed renewable diesel complex at its Strathcona refinery near Edmonton, Alberta. Air Products will provide pipeline supply from its hydrogen plant under construction in Edmonton and increasing overall investment in the facility to CAD$1.6bn to support the contract.

Air Products is a world-leading industrial gases company in operation for 80 years. Focused on serving energy, environment and emerging markets, the Company provides essential industrial gases, related equipment and applications expertise to customers in dozens of industries, including refining, chemical, metals, electronics, manufacturing, and food and beverage. Air Products is also the global leader in the supply of liquefied natural gas process technology and equipment. The Company develops, engineers, builds, owns and operates some of the world's largest industrial gas projects, including: gasification projects that sustainably convert abundant natural resources into syngas for the production of high-value power, fuels and chemicals; carbon capture projects; and world-scale carbon-free hydrogen projects supporting global transportation and the energy transition.
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Chemours has cut its full-year 2022 earnings guidance because of a continued decline in the demand outlook for titanium dioxide (TiO2) throughout Q3, most notably in Europe and Asia, said the company.

“Lower demand, coupled with continued high input costs, have impacted our projected results for the full year,” Mark Newman, CEO of the US-based producer, said in an update on Wednesday. In response, Chemours will be extending a scheduled outage on one of its production lines, in addition to other cost actions, he said without disclosing details.

Chemours’ adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for 2022 is now expected at between $1,400-$1,450m – at midpoint about 7% below the midpoint of the prior guidance range. However, earnings are expected to come in at about 9% above their 2021 level.

Chemours added that the reduction in the 2022 guidance was driven entirely by its Titanium Technologies segment.In its two other segments – Thermal & Specialized Solutions, and Advanced Performance Materials – Chemours expects “to drive 2022 earnings growth even as we enter the seasonally weaker second half,” Newman said.

“Our revised outlook assumes that the economic factors we’ve mentioned will not worsen or accelerate,” he added.

Chemours is due to announce its Q3 results after market close on 25 October.

We remind, The Chemours Company (Wilmington, Del.) announced that it will be expanding its Chemours Opteon YF (HFO-1234yf) capacity to help meet customer needs as they continue transitioning to lower GWP refrigerants. The Opteon YF and YF blends refrigerants are now used in millions of vehicles and thousands of retail stores around the world, with zero ozone depletion potential (ODP) and global warming potential (GWP) that is significantly lower than the legacy refrigerants.

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Spanish energy giant Repsol is investing 100 MM euros to reduce emissions at its 186,000 bpd Tarragona refinery in Spain, which begins two months of maintenance at the end of the week, said Reuters.

The distillation and hydrotreating fuel units will stop simultaneously on Sept. 23, while the remaining areas of the Tarragona complex, such as the chemical plants, will continue to operate normally, Repsol said.

Repsol has dubbed the project "the most important turnaround ever carried out at the refinery".

The work is designed to improve the energy efficiency of the complex's facilities and prevent the emissions of 32,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.

Repsol aims to be a net zero emissions company by 2050.

As per MRC, Repsol will build a new plant in Tarragona, with an investment of over EUR35 M for the manufacture of Cross-linkable Polyethylene (XLPE), a polymer used in cable insulation, located between the conductor and the outer protective layers. The plant will have an annual capacity of 27 kt and is scheduled to start in mid-2024. The LSHC (Linear Short Hyperclean) new technology selected for the plant, from Buss AG, will provide a product with very competitive properties, enabling Repsol to complete its product range for cables by incorporating materials for HV (high voltage) and EHV (extra-high voltage) cables.

Repsol is currently the leading producer and consumer of hydrogen on the Iberian Peninsula, and has renewable hydrogen as one of its key transformation pillarsfor achieving its goal of being a company with zero net emissions by 2050. The multi-energy company has its own renewable hydrogen strategy to deploy projects throughout the value chain, with a planned investment of 2,549 million euros by 2030.
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The European Commission (EC) has approved to Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS) the acquisition of HIP Petrohemija Pancevo, they announced from Brussels, said Ekapija.

The EC has concluded that the acquisition “would not cause concern in the market regarding competition”.

The Commission has concluded that the proposed acquisition would not cause concern in the market when it comes to competition, considering the moderate combined market position of the companies which is the result of the proposed transaction – says the statement by the EC.

It is added that the petrochemical company is active in the production and distribution of products such as ethylene, polyethylene and synthetic rubber, whereas NIS is “a vertically integrated energy company”.

The EC added that the procedure had been examined within the simplified merger review procedure.

We remind, HIP Petrohemija declares FM on PE supplies from Pancevo. According to a letter sent to its customers, Serbia’s HIP Petrohemija declared a force majeure on all of its products from Pancevo, Serbia. The company had to declare the force majeure on July 28 due to unexpected issues at the company’s ethylene plant. In its integrated petrochemical complex, HIP PetroHemija produces more than 600,000 tons/year of petrochemical products, while the company’s Pancevo complex houses a 200,000 tons/year steam cracker, a 90,000 tons/year HDPE plant and a 60,000 tons/year LDPE plant.

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