Three die in Russian gas pipeline blast

Three die in Russian gas pipeline blast

A fire caused by an explosion on a key Russian gas export pipeline that claimed three lives has stopped burning about 24 hours after emergency services were alerted, according to authorities in the country’s Chuvashiya region, said Upstreamonline.

The incident took place near the village of Yambakhtino on a section of the Gazprom-operated Urengoy–Pomary–Uzhgorod trunkline, which carries volumes from the state-controlled company’s core producing fields in West Siberia’s Yamal-Nenets region across Central Russia and Ukraine to Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary.

The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry’s regional office in Chuvashiya said firefighters on site reported that the fire had stopped at about 14:00 local time, a little more than 24 hours after reports of an explosion and fire near Yambakhtino on Monday. Residents voluntarily evacuated their children from the village.

Authorities said seven firefighting units were sent to the site of the fire, which witnesses estimated reached a height of between 25 and 30 metres. The Emergency Situations Ministry’s regional office said one possible cause of the incident involved a safety violation during planned pipeline maintenance.

Russian social media network Mash, which released the names of three contractors who died as a result of the explosion, suggested that maintenance works on the site had extended for at least 12 hours past the deadline for completion.

We remind, 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. 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.
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Oxxynova is to cease production at its German DMT site at the end of 2022

Oxxynova is to cease production at its German DMT site at the end of 2022

Oxxynova is to cease production at its German dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) site at the end of 2022, primarily due to gas and electricity prices, said the company.

The 240,000 tonne/year plant in Luelsdorf, Germany is one of two in Europe, with Turkey’s 280,000 tonne/year SASA Polyester Sanayi plant in Adana left as the only remaining one.

Oxxynova is one of only two PX contract settlers on the buy side. Oxxynova’s indefinite exit may lead to imports of solid DMT or additional moves to purified terephthalic acid (PTA).

According to a letter understood to have been sent to customers, Oxxynova indicated it hopes to be able to play a role in the future business area of recycling, processing of chemical material and waste streams.

We remind, Oman Oil Company's Oxea constructed its 60,000 tonnes/y dioctyl terephthalate (DOTP) facility at the site of Oxxynova in Steyerberg, Germany. Start-up of the project was in 2H 2019.

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Canada ban on certain harmful single-use plastics starts to take effect this month

Canada ban on certain harmful single-use plastics starts to take effect this month

Canada will ban the manufacture and import for sale of single-use plastics in an effort to achieve zero plastic waste by 2030, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada, said Globalnews.

The ban covers single-use plastics including checkout bags, cutlery, food service ware, ring carriers, stir sticks and straws, the federal government stated in a news release published on June 20.

While the ban on the manufacture and import of single-use plastics will come into effect Tuesday, the sale of these items will be prohibited as of December 2023 to “allow businesses in Canada enough time to transition and to deplete their existing stocks,” according to the government’s website.

The ban on the manufacture and import of ring carriers (often used for beverage containers) will go into force in June 2023. In addition, Canada will also prohibit the export of plastics in the same six categories by the end of 2025.

Every year, Canadians throw away at least 3 million tonnes of plastic waste, with only nine per cent being recycled and the rest ending up in landfills, waste-to-energy facilities or nature, according to Environment Canada.

Canada’s single-use plastic ban is “an important step” that could eliminate an estimated 1.3 million tonnes of plastic waste annually that is hard to recycle, said Juan Jose Alava, research associate at the Ocean Pollution Research Unit at the University of British Columbia. Canada must go beyond banning single-use plastics in order to reach its goal of zero plastic waste, he said.

We remind, NOVA Chemicals Corporation (“NOVA Chemicals”), a leading producer of polyethylene resins, announced the launch of its new, mechanically recycled polyethylene resin: EX-PCR-NC4. Incorporating this product allows converters and brand owners to meet their sustainability goals, without compromising package performance in applications such as shrink, e-commerce, heavy-duty sacks, and protective packaging.

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Mitsubishi Chemical decided to withdraw from acrylic fibres business

Mitsubishi Chemical  decided to withdraw from acrylic fibres business

Mitsubishi Chemical will withdraw from its acrylic fibres business at the company's Hiroshima plant next year amid declining global demand and high raw material costs, said the company.

The company will end production of its Vonnel acrylic fibres at the end of March 2023 and stop output of its Vonnel M.V.P short-cut acrylic (polyacrylonitrile-based) fibres at the site at the end of August next year, the company said in a statement on 21 December.

Mitsubishi Chemical will end sales of both products at the end of December 2023.

"As the business environment becomes more severe due to declining global demand and soaring prices of raw materials and fuels, the MCG Group [Mitsubishi Chemical Group] has concluded that it is difficult to further improve profitability even with business restructuring measures, including withdrawal from general-purpose products, and therefore reached the decision to withdraw from the business," the company added.

The company developed its acrylic fibre products for clothing such as sweaters, cut and sewn products, underwear, socks and eco-fur; interiors, such as blankets and carpets; materials, such as non-woven fabrics.

We remind, Mitsubishi Chemical Group Corporation announced the start of labormanagement consultation on cessation of the production of methacrylates (MMA) at Mitsubishi Chemical UK's Cassel, said the company. Site, and announced today that its Corporate Executive Officers Committee resolved in the day to cease the
production of methacrylates at its Cassel Site subject to completion of the labor-management consultation.

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Strike action to resume at Exxon Mobil UK Fawley oil refinery in January

Strike action to resume at Exxon Mobil UK Fawley oil refinery in January

Strike action at Exxon Mobil’s 270,000 bpd Fawley oil refinery in southern England is set to resume on Jan. 9, a GMB union spokesperson said this week, said Reuters.

GMB and Unite union members began the strike on Nov. 21, which was suspended on Dec. 12 for the remainder of the year. The strike was continuous except for a three-day hiatus for negotiations on Dec. 5-7, the spokesperson said.

"Local members have returned to work as normal. The industrial action is planned to be recommencing from Jan. 9, subject of course to any fresh talks between the employers and the union," the spokesperson said.

The strike action has had no impact on refinery operations or fuel deliveries, most of which is transported by pipeline, an Exxon Mobil spokesperson said on Wednesday.

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

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