BASF Group releases preliminary figures for the third quarter of 2022

BASF Group releases preliminary figures for the third quarter of 2022

BASF has released preliminary figures for the third quarter of 2022. Sales, income from operations (EBIT) before special items and EBIT are slightly above average analyst estimates, said the company.

Net income of BASF Group is expected to amount to EUR909 million. This is considerably below the prior-year quarter figure (Q3 2021: EUR1,253 million) and the average analyst estimates for the third quarter of 2022 ( EUR1,105 million). Net income contains non-cash-effective impairments on the shareholding in Wintershall Dea in the amount of about EUR740 million. These result from the partial write-down of Wintershall Dea’s participation in Nord Stream AG, which operates the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.

Sales increased by 12 percent in the third quarter of 2022 to EUR21,946 million (Q3 2021: EUR19,669 million). This was mainly driven by higher prices. Currency effects, primarily relating to the U.S. dollar, had a positive effect as well. Volumes declined compared with the prior-year quarter. Sales thus slightly exceeded average analyst estimates for the third quarter of 2022 (Vara: EUR21,076 million).

EBIT before special items amounted to an expected €1,348 million in the third quarter of 2022, considerably below the level of the prior-year quarter (Q3 2021: EUR1,865 million) and slightly above the analyst consensus for the third quarter of 2022 (Vara: EUR1,313 million). Increased prices for raw materials and energy could only partly be passed on through higher selling prices.

EBIT amounted to an expected EUR1,294 million in the third quarter of 2022, considerably below the figure for the prior-year quarter (Q3 2021: EUR1,822 million) and slightly above the analyst consensus for the third quarter of 2022 (Vara: EUR1,285 million).

The outlook published by the BASF Group for the 2022 business year in July remains unchanged. EBIT before special items continues to be expected between EUR6.8 billion and EUR7.2 billion.

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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Covestro breaks ground in Antwerp for new aniline plant

Covestro breaks ground in Antwerp for new aniline plant

Covestro AG (Leverkusen, Germany) broke ground in Antwerp, Belgium for a new world-scale production facility for the manufacture of aniline, said the company.

With the Covestro breaks ground in Antwerp for new aniline plant. At the same time, by using state-of-the-art technology, we are increasing the energy efficiency of production and thereby the competitiveness of the Antwerp site,” says Dr. Klaus Schafer, Chief Technology Officer at Covestro. Dr. Georg Wagner, Covestro Site Manager in Antwerp, sees the investment as a crucial step into the future: “The groundbreaking ceremony for the expansion of our aniline production is an important moment for our site. The expansion of aniline production is part of Covestro’s global MDI strategy.

Covestro AG (Leverkusen, Germany) broke ground in Antwerp, Belgium for a new world-scale production facility for the manufacture of aniline. With the capacity expansion, the company is strengthening its European production network for the foam component MDI. For this purpose, Covestro is investing more than €300 million. The plant is scheduled to be operational – depending on the volatile economic situation – in early 2025. This will create around 40 new jobs.

The basic chemical aniline is an important starting material for many chemical products, including the rigid foam component MDI. The product is mainly used for the production of insulation materials for buildings and refrigeration equipment. Due to the global trend towards sustainability and climate neutrality, the global MDI market is expected to grow by around six percent per year in the medium term. Given the current high electricity and gas prices, especially in Europe, demand for efficient insulation is likely to further increase.

“Even in challenging times, we must not lose sight of our goals. With the expansion of our aniline production, we are addressing the further increase in demand from our customers for energy-efficient solutions for the insulation of buildings and refrigeration appliances. At the same time, by using state-of-the-art technology, we are increasing the energy efficiency of production and thereby the competitiveness of the Antwerp site,” says Dr. Klaus Schafer, Chief Technology Officer at Covestro.

Dr. Georg Wagner, Covestro Site Manager in Antwerp, sees the investment as a crucial step into the future: “The groundbreaking ceremony for the expansion of our aniline production is an important moment for our site. The capacity expansion will enable us to continue to ensure the sustainable and efficient supply of our MDI network in Europe. In doing so, we will continue to draw on the attractive infrastructure and logistics at the heart of the port, from where we also have direct access to the raw materials we need. This investment further anchors us here in Antwerp and also creates sustainable jobs for the future."

For policymakers in Antwerp, Covestro’s capacity expansion is making a positive contribution to development in the region. “Belgium is the second most important export country for chemistry and life sciences within the European Union after Germany. The sector of chemistry and life sciences is today one of the most important industries in Flanders and heavily invests in R&D and innovation. Last year alone 2.6 billion euro or more than half of all the industrial investments in innovation in Flanders were announced in this sector. Today is another milestone in this respect”, explains Jan Jambon, Minister-President of the Flanders region.

The new plant will use state-of-the-art technologies that will help to significantly increase the energy efficiency of production in Antwerp. Currently, around 20 percent of the steam required on site is covered by using process heat generated during production. The remaining steam is generated using fossil resources. With the commissioning of the new plant, the share of steam generated from process heat will double to 40 percent of local demand, and the use of fossil fuels will decline. The potential savings correspond to up to 27,000 tons of CO emissions per year. The new plant thus makes an important contribution to achieving Covestro’s goal of being operationally climate-neutral by 2035.

The expansion of aniline production is part of Covestro’s global MDI strategy. The aim is to strengthen the production network for MDI in view of a further increase in demand. In Brunsbuttel, Germany, Covestro already commissioned a new plant for the production of MDI using the particularly energy-efficient AdiP technology in 2020. In Tarragona, Spain, a new chlorine production plant based on the likewise particularly energy-saving ODC technology is nearing completion.

We remind, Covestro has now received the internationally recognized ISCC Plus mass balance certification for its Leverkusen and Dormagen sites. Together with the Krefeld-Uerdingen site, which was already certified a year ago, the company can now supply its customers with large product volumes from renewably attributed raw materials from all three Lower Rhine sites in Germany. These are selected polycarbonates, components for polyurethane (PU) rigid and flexible foams, PU coating and adhesive raw materials, thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs) and specialty films. They are characterized by equally good quality and properties as their fossil-based counterparts.

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ExxonMobil partners with CF Industries in first Louisiana project for new "low carbon" division

ExxonMobil partners with CF Industries in first Louisiana project for new

ExxonMobil has agreed to capture and permanently store up to 2 million metric tons of CO2 emissions annually from CF Industries’ manufacturing complex in Donaldsonville, said the company.

It’s the first Louisiana project for ExxonMobil’s new Low Carbon Solutions division and ExxonMobil’s first effort to help a third-party company decarbonize its operations, says Dan Ammann, president of ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions.

Ammann declined to share details about the value of the investment or any new jobs associated with the project. CF Industries has previously announced plans for a USD200 million CO2 dehydration and compression unit at its Donaldsonville facility to enable captured CO2 to be transported and stored. ExxonMobil will transport the captured CO2 for permanent storage in Vermilion Parish, the companies say.

ExxonMobil also signed an agreement with EnLink Midstream to use EnLink’s transportation network to deliver the CO2. The 2 million metric tons of emissions captured annually will be equivalent to replacing approximately 700,000 gasoline-powered cars with electric vehicles, the companies say.

The project announced today involves CF Industries’ existing operations in Donaldsonville and is unrelated to a possible USD2 billion facility at the site, explains Chris Close, who directs the company’s corporate communications. Once sequestration begins, CF expects to produce 1.7 million tons of “blue” ammonia annually for uses including power generation and marine shipping, Close says.

Ammann acknowledged that carbon storage can be controversial and says the company will address any concerns with residents and regulators. ExxonMobil says it will spend $15 billion to lower carbon emissions over the next five years, and local company leaders want the Capital Region to attract as much of that investment as possible. “We have a lot of other interested parties in Louisiana and across the Gulf Coast that are interested in this kind of solution,” Ammann says.

“Louisiana’s chemical industry is at the forefront of reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” Louisiana Chemical Association President Greg Bowser says in a prepared statement. “For 50 years, carbon capture and storage has proven to be a safe way to prevent carbon emissions from ever reaching the atmosphere."

“This unprecedented, large-scale, low-carbon partnership is a key milepost on Louisiana’s path toward a brighter future for our climate, our economy and our people,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said in a prepared statement. “The collaboration and innovation to bring carbon capture and storage technology forward at this scale reaffirms our state’s ability to grow our economy without sacrificing our long-term emission-reduction goals to net zero by 2050."

We remind, ExxonMobil is gradually shutting down its 235,000 barrel per day (bpd) Fos-Sur-Mer refinery in France as a result of ongoing strike action. Walkouts caused the gradual shut down of Exxon's 240,000 bpd Port Jerome-Gravenchon oil refinery and Notre Dame de Gravenchon (NDG) petrochemical site in France on Sept. 20 before spreading to Fos-Sur-Mer 24 hours later.
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LyondellBasell to form waste plastics JV in Germany

LyondellBasell to form waste plastics JV in Germany

LyondellBasell and 23 Oaks Investments, Leiferde/Lower Saxony, Germany, signed an agreement to create Source One Plastics, a joint venture that will build an energy efficient, advanced plastic waste sorting and recycling facility in Germany, said the company.

Using renewable energy from wind and biomass, the new unit is designed to process the amount of plastic packaging waste generated by approximately 1.3 million German citizens per year. This waste is not recycled today and is mostly incinerated.

The Source One Plastics facility will produce processed waste that will provide a material part of the feedstock for an advanced recycling plant that LyondellBasell plans to build at its Wesseling, Germany, site. Using LyondellBasell's proprietary MoReTec technology, this plant will be the first commercial scale, single-train advanced recycling plant, designed to demonstrate its capability for further scalability. LyondellBasell already operates a semi-industrial scale MoReTec plant at its Ferrara, Italy, site.

LyondellBasell's new plant is designed to convert hard-to-recycle post-consumer plastic waste into feedstock for new plastic materials. Once in operation, it will enable recycling of most types of plastic materials such as multi-layered food packaging items or mixed plastic containers. The final investment decision on this project is scheduled for the coming months. Both projects contribute to LyondellBasell's sustainability ambition to end plastic waste in the environment.

"We are committed to supporting our customers to meet their demand for renewable and circular solutions," says Yvonne van der Laan, LyondellBasell Executive Vice President, Circular and Low Carbon Solutions. "To truly achieve a circular economy, we have to find creative solutions to meet society's needs. We are taking an important first step into the upstream side of the business to secure access to plastic waste that we will convert into new plastic materials at our advanced recycling plants. This will enable us to meet our circularity ambition and produce two million tonnes of polymers from recycled or renewable resources annually by 2030."

23 Oaks Investments is a strategic solution provider in the upcycling of post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic waste with extensive experience in the plastics industry. The Source One Plastics joint venture will provide a broad portfolio of services including waste procurement, sorting, and pre-treatment to deliver feedstock suitable for producing high-quality PCR material for a range of applications.

"With our global experience at all levels of the circular economy and our extensive knowledge in all areas of the plastic recycling value chain combined with our strong hands-on approach, we feel we have right mix of competencies to make Source One Plastics a success," says Kai Hoyer, Managing Partner of 23 Oaks Investment. "Together with LyondellBasell's commitment to expand on its circular polymer product offering and its work to develop advanced recycling into an industrial scale technology, 23 Oaks can contribute its part to make this a reality."

In addition to its advanced recycling semi-industrial scale plant, LyondellBasell holds a 50% share in Quality Circular Polymers (QCP). QCP uses a mechanical recycling process to produce premium plastic pellets from post-consumer packaging waste for use in such applications as electrical appliances, washing detergent bottles and suitcases.

We remind, LyondellBasell and Genox Recycling have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish a joint venture (JV) to build a plastics recycling plant in Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province with a planned start up in 2023. The plastic recycling plant will use mechanical recycling technology to recycle post-consumer plastic waste and produce new polymers sold under the LyondellBasell CirculenRecover product portfolio.
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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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