Scheduled maintenance of process units starts at Atyrau Refinery

Scheduled maintenance of process units starts at Atyrau Refinery

According to the approved preventive maintenance schedule issued by the RoK Ministry of Energy, the preventive maintenance campaign commenced at the Atyrau Refinery on 1 October 2022, said the company.

The process facility maintenance will be performed on a stage-by-stage basis. The Atyrau Refinery’s units operate according to the two-stream oil refining pattern and are shut down and started alternatively. Thus, the refinery will not be completely shut down. The refinery will continue to operate at the 50–70 % capacity during the maintenance, generating and shipping the target products.

In October to November, it is planned to refine 692,000 tonnes of oil. The average daily refining rate will be 11,347 tonnes, which corresponds to 68 % of the refinery’s design capacity. The average daily oil product generation volume will be as follows: 2,400 tonnes of motor gasoline per day, 2,600 tonnes of diesel fuel per day, 240 tonnes of jet fuel per day and 170 tonnes of liquefied gas per day.

The preventive maintenance at the Atyrau Refinery will be carried out according to the Industrial Safety Law On Civil Protection of the Republic of Kazakhstan to ensure safe and reliable operation of the process, power generation, compression and dynamic equipment so as to achieve the design performance, improve the environmental parameters and inspect the automation equipment.

The following works will be performed on the units during the scheduled maintenance: catalyst change-out, internal inspection, inspection and examination of reactors, tanks and vessels, columns, heat exchangers and pipelines.

The Atyrau Refinery’s ramp-up to stable operation is also scheduled on a stage-by-stage basis by the second ten-day period of November 2022.

As a reminder, the plant maintenance was previously expected to commence in September 2022. However, in order to stabilise the situation on the fuel and lubricants market, the maintenance was postponed to 1 October 2022.
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Shares in Braskem jump after report on new Apollo bid, shareholders deny

Shares in Braskem jump after report on new Apollo bid, shareholders deny

Shares in Brazilian petrochemical producer Braskem SA jumped more than 20% on Tuesday after local newspaper O Globo reported that U.S.-based asset manager Apollo made a new, higher bid for the company, as per Reuters.

According to the report, Apollo is willing to pay 50 reais per share of Braskem, which is controlled by state-run oil firm Petrobras and conglomerate Novonor, up 25% from Apollo's previous bid.

Responding to requests for comment by Reuters, Novonor and Petrobras said that they had no new information about a sale of their stakes in the firm.

Braskem shares ended up 20.4% at 33.58 reais on Tuesday, the top gainer on Brazil's Bovespa stock index, which dropped 0.96%. At its current share price, Braskem is valued at about USD4.5 B.

As per MRC, Braskem, the market leader and a pioneer in the production of biopolymers, entered into an agreement for the acquisition of shares and the subscription of new shares in Wise Plasticos S.A., a company engaged in mechanical recycling. Braskem will acquire an equity interest of 61.1% in the share capital of Wise for an estimated amount of RD121 million, part of which will be used to expand its current production capacity by two-fold to around 50,000 tons/year of recycling by 2026.

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BASF to build neopentyl glycol plant at Zhanjiang Verbund site in China

BASF to build neopentyl glycol plant at Zhanjiang Verbund site in China

BASF will invest in a new world-scale Neopentyl Glycol (NPG) plant with an annual production capacity of 80,000 metric tons at its new Zhanjiang Verbund site, China, said the company.

With the new NPG plant expected to come on stream in Q4 2025, BASF’s global NPG capacity will be boosted from 255,000 metric tons to 335,000 metric tons annually, strengthening its position as one of the world’s leading NPG manufacturers. Currently, BASF has NPG production facilities in Ludwigshafen, Germany; Freeport, Texas, United States; as well as Nanjing and Jilin, China.

Vasilios Galanos, Senior Vice President, Intermediates Asia Pacific, BASF, said, “Investing in an NPG plant at the Zhanjiang Verbund site will enable us to support the growing demand from customers in Asia, particularly in the field of powder coatings in China. Leveraging the synergies arising from our unique Verbund model and top-notch technologies, we are confident that our investment in the NPG plant will enhance our competitive edge mainly in China, the world’s largest chemical market.”

“We are responding to the growing demand of Chinese customers for environmentally friendly powder coatings. We will step up the construction of the new NPG plant to support the growth of our business partners, while expanding our footprint and sustaining our position as a leading supplier in this vast market,” added Anup Pandey, Director, Business Management, Acids & Polyalcohols, BASF Intermediates Asia Pacific.

Boasting high chemical and thermal stability, NPG is an intermediate mainly used in the production of powder coating resins, which are particularly successful in the construction industry and for coating of household appliances. Due to their low volatile organic compounds (VOC), powder coatings enable their users to comply with VOC emission standards by reducing the release of VOCs by up to 50% compared to liquid coatings. Other applications for NPG include the manufacture of lubricants, plasticizers and pharmaceuticals. For example, it is used as a building block in the synthesis of hormones, cardiovascular drugs and painkillers.

BASF and Hannong Chemicals are planning to establish a production joint venture “BASF Hannong Chemicals Solutions Ltd.” BASF will hold 51% and Hannong Chemicals 49% shareholding, in the proposed joint venture. The joint venture will combine BASF’s strong technology and product innovation capabilities with Hannong’s highly efficient production capabilities to supply best-in-class non-ionic surfactant products to BASF and Hannong Chemicals, each with their own sales and distribution network, enabling the two companies to cater for increasing market demand.
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Cepsa signs green hydrogen shipping deal with Rotterdam port

Cepsa signs green hydrogen shipping deal with Rotterdam port

Spanish oil and gas group Cepsa has signed a deal with the Dutch port of Rotterdam to ship green hydrogen from southern Spain to northern Europe, the oil company and the port said.

“Cepsa and the Port of Rotterdam are to work together to establish the first green hydrogen corridor between southern and northern Europe, ensuring a green hydrogen supply chain between two of Europe’s main ports, Rotterdam and Algeciras,” Cepsa said in the press release.

The hydrogen will be produced at Cepsa’s San Roque Energy Park near the Bay of Algeciras, and will be exported through hydrogen carriers such as ammonia or methanol to the Port of Rotterdam.

The trade lane is expected to be operational by 2027. Comparatively, first supply corridors from the European Hydrogen Backbone, a plan developed by gas transmission operators for the transport of hydrogen pipe, are due to be completed by 2030.

We remind, Cepsa, a leading international company committed to sustainable mobility and energy, and Ohmium International, a company specialized in the design, manufacture, and deployment of PEM electrolyzers, have announced an agreement to develop highly efficient green hydrogen projects in the Iberian Peninsula.

Cepsa is a Spanish petrochemical company. Full name Compania Espanola de Petroleos S.A. The company is headquartered in Madrid. Refining is one of the main activities of CEPSA. The production of asphalt and other road surfaces is another of the company's core activities; nine CEPSA factories are engaged in the production of these products.

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Sherwin-Williams to acquire Italian wood coatings company Industria Chimica Adriatica S.p.A.

Sherwin-Williams to acquire Italian wood coatings company Industria Chimica Adriatica S.p.A.

The Sherwin-Williams Company announced an agreement to acquire Industria Chimica Adriatica S.p.A. (ICA), an Italian designer, manufacturer and distributor of industrial wood coatings used for kitchen cabinets, furniture and decor, building products, flooring and other specialty applications, said the company.

The acquired business has annual sales of more than €150 million, with sales and operations globally, including production facilities in Italy and Poland, and ICA's interest in the India-based joint venture, ICA Pidilite. ICA has approximately 600 employees and will become part of the Sherwin-Williams Performance Coatings Group operating segment. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2022.

"This wonderful company brings us innovative waterborne and solvent liquid coatings technology, including an award-winning range of ultra-matt protective coatings and a growing portfolio of BIO water-based coatings products, which are made with recycled raw materials," said Sherwin-Williams Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, John G. Morikis.

"In addition to this strong technical expertise, ICA has excellent relationships with multi-national and local customers, multiple product specification and approval positions, strategically located manufacturing and distribution, and an outstanding commercial team focused on delivering innovative and value-added solutions. The combination of our businesses provides numerous opportunities to accelerate profitable growth in the region and beyond. The outstanding leadership and talented employees of ICA have built an admirable track record of success over the last 50 years, and we look forward to welcoming them to the Sherwin-Williams family upon the close of the transaction."

As per MRC, Sherwin-Williams Company (SHW) lowered its net sales guidance for the third quarter of 2021, while keeping its full-year net sales and net income per share view unchanged. The company lowered its third-quarter consolidated net sales guidance to be up or down by a low-single digit percentage over third-quarter 2020 from its prior view of up mid-to-high single digit percentage. The full-year 2021 consolidated net sales guidance remains unchanged at up a high-single to low-double digit percentage over 2020 levels.
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