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 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 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 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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Brazil’s Petrobras has started output at the Itapu pre-salt field in the Santos basin via the P-71 floating production, storage and offloading vessel, said Upstreamonline.

The P-71 FPSO, which features a processing capacity of 150,000 barrels per day of oil and 6 million cubic metres per day of natural gas, was deployed in water depths of 2010 metres. “We were able to anticipate production of the P-71 platform, which was originally scheduled for 2023,” said Petrobras production development director Joao Henrique Rittershaussen.

“We will also be able to anticipate the ramp-up, which is excellent news not only for Petrobras but also for the country, which will receive royalties from this production earlier."

The P-71 is the last of six replica FPSOs ordered by Petrobras more than a decade ago to produce from its pre-salt assets.

The other were the P-66, P-67 and P-69 FPSOs producing in the Tupi field, the P-68 FPSO on stream in the Berbigao-Sururu field and the P-70 FPSO in operation at the Atapu field.

We remind, Petrobras’s chief executive will leave the Brazilian state-controlled oil and gas producer after only a short tenure, ahead of a possible shift in corporate strategy under president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Petroleo Brasileiro, as the Rio de Janeiro-headquartered group is formally known, on Tuesday said Caio Mario Paes de Andrade would join the incoming administration of the newly elected governor of Sao Paulo state.
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