PTTGC to ramp up petrochemical production by 15%

In 2023, PTT Plc's PTT Global Chemical Plc (PTTGC) aims to raise the production of petrochemical products by 15% to serve expanding demand after the pandemic, said the company.

Demand is predicted to return to levels observed before the pandemic. Additional output comes from the full operation of the oil refinery site of PTTGC, as well as plans to postpone plant closures for major maintenance. The firm also invested Baht 5.1 bn to increase the manufacturing capacity of the second unit of the olefin production site. The capacity growth is aligned line with the business strategic plan of PTTGC.

Operations at the new 250,000 tonnes/y polypropylene production unit are slated to begin in 4Q 2023. The project will raise polypropylene output to more than 1 M tonnes/y. Moreover, PTTGC is targeting to avoid fierce competition among petrochemical manufacturers by putting additional emphasis on the sales of high value-added polymers. Such products produce higher profit margins compared to that of commodity-grade petrochemical products. High value-added polymers are feedstocks for building materials, special textiles and automotive parts.

The firm intends to have high value-added polymers account for 56% of total sales by 2030, an increase from 36% in 2022, while the share of commodity-grade polymers will decline from 64% in 2022 to 44%. In 2023, PTTGC aims to assign capital expenditure of Baht 10 bn for the ongoing construction of a 75,000 tonnes/y polylactic acid (PLA) manufacturing site in Nakhon Sawan, Thailand. Its commercial operation is slated to begin in 2024. Moreover, the company intends to invest Baht 5 bn to support its carbon neutrality-related projects, including the usage of carbon-capture utilization and storage technology and reforestation, during 2022-2030.

As per MRC, Thai PTTGC is planning a capital investment of USD608 million over five years, including two start-ups this year. PTTGC's joint venture with Austrian packaging and recycling company ALPLA, called ENVICCO Ltd, is expected to produce recycled polymers at Map Ta Phut in Rayong Province. The ENVICCO plant, which can produce 30,000 tons per year of recycled polyethylene terephthalate (R-PET) and 15,000 tons per year of recycled low-density polyethylene (R-HDPE), is expected to enter commercial operation in the first quarter of 2022.

PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) was founded on October 19, 2011 after the merger of PTT Chemical Company and PTT Aromatics and Refining Company to become the flagship of the PTT chemical group. As a result of the integration, the company's total capacity for the production of olefins and aromatics reached 8.2 million tons per year, and oil products - 280 thousand barrels per day, which makes it the largest integrated petrochemical and oil refining company not only in Thailand, but also in Asia.

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Fluor Corporation announced financial results for its year ended December 31, 2022. Revenue for 2022 was USD13.7 billion and net income from continuing operations attributable to Fluor was USD145 million, or USD0.73 per diluted share, said the company.

Consolidated segment profit2 for the year was USD427 million compared to USD415 million in 2021. Excluding the adjustments outlined in the reconciliation table at the end of this release, the company recognized adjusted earnings per diluted share2 of USD0.82 for 2022. Results for the year reflect an average tax rate of 70% due to the current mix of global earnings and losses in jurisdictions that provide no tax benefit.

“In 2022, we demonstrated our resilience, continued to grow and remained steadfast in taking actions to achieve positive results,” said David Constable, chairman and chief executive officer of Fluor. “With a renewed sense of confidence, I am excited about the opportunities in front of us and encouraged by our ability to deliver significant shareholder value now and in the years ahead."

Full year new awards were USD19.8 billion compared to $10.0 billion a year ago. Ending backlog for 2022 was USD26.0 billion compared to USD20.8 billion in the prior year. General and administrative expenses for 2022 were USD237 million compared to USD226 million a year ago. Fluor’s cash and marketable securities at the end of the year were USD2.6 billion, including USD338 million in cash and marketable securities held by NuScale.

We remind, Fluor Corporation announced that its Advanced Technologies & Life Sciences business was selected by Agilent Technologies, Inc., to expand its oligonucleotide therapeutics manufacturing facility in Frederick, Colorado, just north of Denver. Fluor is supporting engineering and procurement as part of the project. The total project value is USD725 million.

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Saudi Chemical Holding Co.’s (SCHC) subsidiary Saudi Chemical Co. Ltd., in partnership with a local company, received a gas allocation letter from the Ministry of Energy to establish a facility for the production of nitric acid and ammonium nitrate, said the company.

The facility’s annual production capacity for nitric acid will be 440,000 tons, and for ammonium nitrate will be 300,000 tons, SCHC said in a statement to Tadawul.

The project is the first of its kind in the region. It provides the raw materials required for several downstream industries in local markets, mainly civil and military explosives, fuel of missiles and rockets propellants, smelting salts used in the production of solar panels, in addition to some pharmaceuticals.

The financial impact of this announcement cannot be determined at present, the statement noted, adding that any future developments will be announced.

We remind, the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia has inked an agreement worth $1 bn with UPL Ltd to produce specialized agriculture chemicals within the Kingdom.

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Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) reported fourth-quarter earnings of USD1.93 bn, said the company.

The Houston-based company said it had net income of USD1.74 per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring gains, came to USD1.61 per share.

The results did not meet Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of USD1.83 per share.

The oil and gas exploration and production company posted revenue of USD8.33 billion in the period, which also did not meet Street forecasts. Five analysts surveyed by Zacks expected USD8.67 bn.

For the year, the company reported profit of USD13.3 bn, or USD12.40 per share. Revenue was reported as USD37.1 bn.

We remind, Enterprise Product Partners and Occidental Petroleum plan to forge a carbon dioxide sequestration and transportation system that could sell carbon management services to emitters along the Texas Gulf Coast, they said in a statement. They plan to combine the pipeline company’s transportation network with carbon sequestration hubs under development by Oxy, an oil producer expanding into the carbon management business. The idea is to focus initially on capturing emissions along the industrial corridor from Houston to Beaumont and Port Arthur.

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South Korea’s Lotte Chemical Corp. said Tuesday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with U.S. ammonia producer CF Industries Holdings Inc. to explore opportunities for clean ammonia production in the U.S. and its potential introduction to Korea, said the company.

The two companies agreed to cooperate with clean ammonia production and investment in Louisiana, where CF Industries runs a complex.

Under the MOU, Lotte Chemical’s global infrastructure and CF Industries’ ammonia plant operation capabilities and distribution network will be leveraged to build local production facilities and to bring in clean ammonia into Korea, Lotte Chemical said in a release.

Their cooperation is in line with the U.S. government’s eco-friendly and energy support policies following the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

The U.S. government is fostering the clean hydrogen and ammonia industry and helping build related infrastructures by offering tax credit and other incentives under the IRA. In view of this, the two companies are looking for opportunities to raise cost competitiveness and prepare for an increase in demand for clean hydrogen and ammonia in Korea.

To revitalize the hydrogen economy in Korea, the key is the supply of stable clean hydrogen and ammonia from overseas regions with abundant resources and less geopolitical risks, said Hwang Jin-koo, head of hydrogen energy business at Lotte Chemical.

Lotte Chemical, which is pushing for a green transition, plans to invest 6 trillion won ($4.56 billion) by 2030 with the goal of producing and selling some 1.2 million tons of clean hydrogen. Clean ammonia is a key feedstock for hydrogen production.

We remind, Lotte Chemical announced it has formed a clean ammonia global consultative body with RWE, a German energy company, and Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation, with a goal to cooperate and jointly develop a large-scale clean ammonia production and supply chain in Asia, Europe and US, said the company. As part of this move the three companies on 7 February signed a joint study agreement (JSA) which will see the entities engage in joint research for the production and export project of clean ammonia, both blue and green, at the Port of Corpus Christi in Texas, where the largest energy export terminal in the US is located.

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