ExxonMobil doubles PP capacity at Baton Rouge facility

ExxonMobil announced the successful startup of its new polypropylene production unit at the Polyolefins Plant in Baton Rouge, said the company.

The unit increases polypropylene production capacity along the Gulf Coast by 450,000 metric tons per year, meeting growing demand for high-performance, lightweight and durable plastics, particularly for automotive parts that can improve fuel efficiency and reduce vehicle emissions. Polypropylene, a polymer with several applications, is also used to improve the safety and efficiency of everyday products like medical masks and food packaging.

“With the startup of this new production unit, we are well positioned to responsibly meet the growing global demand for these high-performance polymers,” said Karen McKee, president of ExxonMobil Product Solutions. “The ingenuity of our people and our investments in technology enable us to produce high quality products that are essential to daily life."

ExxonMobil maintained its investments in this advantaged project through the COVID pandemic and related economic downturn. The total capital investment was more than USD500 million. ExxonMobil’s extensive mega-project management experience and unrivaled technology capability enabled the unit to start up according to planned cost and schedule.

During construction, the project employed more than 650 workers and with full operational status, requires an additional 65 full-time ExxonMobil jobs.

ExxonMobil’s integrated operations in Baton Rouge include a more than 500,000 barrel-per-day refinery, as well as chemical, lubricants, polyolefins and plastics manufacturing. ExxonMobil has more than 5,500 employees and contractors in the Baton Rouge area and its operations account for approximately one in every 10 jobs in the region.

We remind, ExxonMobil Corp., Irving, Texas, has announced plans to build its first large-scale postuse plastic advanced recycling facility in Baytown, Texas. The company says it expects to begin operations at the facility by the end of 2022.
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PJSC LUKOIL became one of the leaders of ESG-indices of Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP): Responsibility and Transparency and Sustainability Vector, said the company.

The 2022 index participant list was compiled on the basis of RAEX-600 Top 100 rating of the largest Russian companies and the Moscow Exchange Index companies list. The ESG-indices calculations were based upon public reports of the enterprises. The assessment took into account 44 indices and 73 indicators that reflect economic, environmental, social and governance aspects of sustainable development.

?The RSPP indices became the first Russian tool for comprehensive assessment of companies based on ESG-factors.

We remind, Romania's Petrotel Lukoil refinery, owned by Russia's Lukoil has found alternative fuel supplies and its petrol stations will not be affected by a ban on Russian imports. A European Union embargo from Dec. 5 is banning European buyers from purchasing and transporting Russian oil.

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Lummus Technology announced it has been awarded a contract by Zhangzhou CHIMEI Chemical Co. Ltd. for digitalization services at their petrochemical facility in Gulei, Fujian Province, China, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

"This award builds on the previous technology license Lummus provided to CHIMEI and highlights the digital capabilities we can offer to our long-standing customers," said Leon de Bruyn, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lummus Technology. "We provide CHIMEI with best-in-class process technology, plus digital tools and services to optimize the plant for peak performance throughout its life cycle."

Lummus will provide digitalization services including training and process simulation to CHIMEI for its diphenyl carbonate (DPC) unit. In 2021, Lummus was awarded a contract for the license and basic engineering for the same unit. Once the unit is complete, it will be capable of producing 156,000 metric tons per annum of DPC.

Lummus' O3S™ offering is part of a broad array of training and digitalization services the company provides to licensees to meet specific and individual requirements. These services include hands-on opportunities to simulate the operation of the plant, which enables operational teams to run the plant in a safer, more productive way, leading to better performance, higher efficiency and less waste.

We remind, Lummus Technology announced the launch of its Novolen PPure polypropylene (PP) portfolio, a new grade-range of polymers suitable for supporting production of high-quality products for automotive, healthcare components and food packaging materials. The new non-phthalate process technology provides significant energy savings by delivering an improved hydrogen response with the catalyst.

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Sika is opening a new plant for liquid membranes and mortar production in Chongqing, a city in southwestern China with 30 million inhabitants, said the company.

By commissioning the new plant, Sika is expanding its position in this rapidly growing metropolitan area, which is set to become even more important as China is creating the Chengdu-Chongqing business district with almost 100 million inhabitants.

The automotive, finance, and logistics sectors are well represented in the Chengdu-Chongqingregion, and the construction industry benefits from these operations and companies’ efforts to achieve more sustainable production.

With its new state-of-the-art plant in this region, Sika will be well-positioned to meet rising demand from the construction industry for high-quality, sustainable products, and will greatly expand its production capacity. The investment underscores Sika’s commitment to be close to the customer and offer the best product solutions and services on a local basis.

We remind, Sika is opening a new manufacturing plant for concrete admixtures in Stafford, Virginia, USA to help meet demand in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. According to the company, the new plant is well positioned to support the addiitonal needs of the announced infrastructure programme of CHF200-250bn (USD209-216bn) in these two regions. The new facility in Stafford will be the second-biggest manufacturing plant for Sika concrete admixtures in the USA.
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Russia's Transneft has received requests from Poland and Germany for oil in 2023, the state oil pipeline monopoly's head told Rossiya-24 TV, adding that supplies via the Druzhba pipeline's southern spur are expected to hold steady next year, said Reuters.

The EU has pledged to stop buying Russian oil via maritime routes from Dec. 5, with Western nations also imposing price caps on Russian crude oil, but the Druzhba pipeline remains exempt from sanctions. Transneft's comments are at odds with suggestions last month that Poland aimed to abandon a deal to buy Russian crude.

Sources familiar with the talks had told Reuters that Poland was seeking German support for EU sanctions on the Polish-German section of the Druzhba pipeline so that Warsaw could abandon a deal to buy Russian oil next year without paying penalties.

"They announced that they would not take oil from Russia from Jan. 1. And now we have received requests from Polish consumers: give us 3 MMt next year, and 360,000 tons for December, and Germany has already submitted a request for the first quarter," Transneft head Nikolay Tokarev said on Tuesday.

He also didn't rule out swap operations with Kazakhstan in supplying oil to refineries in Germany. Polish refiner PKN Orlen said on Tuesday it will not extend a contract for Russian oil which expires in January 2023, while a second long-term agreement for Russian crude will cease to be implemented once sanctions are in place. A German economy ministry spokesperson said reports that Germany had ordered Russian crude oil were false and the mineral oil companies at the eastern German refineries in Leuna and Schwedt are no longer ordering Russian crude for the next year.

Berlin aims to eliminate Russian oil imports by the end of the year and has for months been working with Poland to try to secure supply for Schwedt, which provides 90% of Berlin's fuel. Germany's economy ministry is optimistic Kazakh oil, which would come through the Druzhba pipeline via Poland, can help supplement replacement crude oil shipments for Schwedt.

Schwedt has reserved corresponding capacities for Kazakh oil in the pipeline system as of January, said the spokesperson, who added that these did not constitute orders.

We remind, in June, Russian oil pipeline monopoly Transneft will halt oil shipments to Poland via the Druzhba pipeline for four days to carry out maintenance work. The Soviet-built Druzhba pipeline, named after the Russian word for friendship, links Russian oilfields to European refineries and has the capacity to pump 1 million barrels per day (bpd).
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