China chemical groups seek Beijing nod for USD10 bn Indonesia refinery

Two Chinese polyester fiber makers are seeking Beijing's approval to build a USD10-B refinery and petrochemical complex in Indonesia, sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The move comes as China ramps up talks on mega investments in Southeast Asia as part of President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative, and as Beijing limits approvals for new domestic refineries to cut carbon emissions and a fuel supply overhang.

East China-based Tongkun Group and Xinfengming Group are planning a refinery-petrochemical complex in North Kalimantan province on Borneo Island, three sources said, to produce feedstocks for chemical fiber. Led by Tongkun, the proposed petrochemical complex would include a 200,000 barrels-per-day refinery and an 800,000 ton per year ethylene unit, which could be expanded in the future, said two of the sources.

The project would be part of a planned industrial park in North Kalimantan where companies broke ground on a USD2.6-B hydropower project last month to attract aluminum, battery and electric vehicle manufacturers.Tongkun has begun feasibility studies for the project, which would partly make paraxylene for its growing production of purified terephthalic acid (PTA) in China, a feedstock for polyester fiber, two sources said.

It is also seeking approval from China's state planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), they said. A Tongkun investor relations official said the Indonesia refinery project is at an early planning stage but declined further comment. A Xinfengming investor relations official declined to comment.

We remind, in November, top executives of the two Chinese companies briefed Indonesian President Joko Widodo on their investment plans in North Kalimantan on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, according to a post dated Nov. 18 on Tongkun's official WeChat account that gave few details.

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GAIL Gas Limited is also steering its pricing mechanism in line with the Government of India's guideline to pass on new domestic gas pricing benefits to its customers and has announced a substantial reduction in prices with effect from 9th April 2023, said the company.

GAIL Gas Limited has announced a reduction in its Domestic PNG prices by Rs. 7 per SCM in Bengaluru and Dakshin Kannada and Rs. 6 per SCM in all its other Geographical areas. The new effective Domestic PNG Prices is Rs 52.50 per SCM in Dewas, Meerut, Sonipat, Taj Trapezium Zone, Raisen, Mirzapur, Dhanbad, Adityapur and Rourkela and Rs 51.50 per SCM for Bengaluru & Dakshin Kannada.

Similarly, CNG Prices are also reduced by Rs 7 per kg in Karnataka GAs and Sonipat and Rs 6 per kg in rest of the GAs and by New CNG Price is Rs 85 per kg for Meerut & Sonipat; Rs 92 per Kg for Dewas, Taj Trapezium Zone & Dehradun; Rs.82.50 per kg for Bengaluru & Dakshin Kannada; Rs 87 per kg for Mirzapur, Rs 91 per kg for Raisen, Dhanbad, Adityapur, Puri and Rourkela.

The new guidelines aim to establish a stable pricing regime for domestic gas consumers while providing sufficient protection to producers from adverse market fluctuations, along with incentives to user industries and CGD sector. It will accelerate the expansion of CNG & PNG as a preferred fuel, and will also contribute to reducing the carbon footprint.

GAIL Gas Limited operates in 16 geographical areas across the country and is working towards gas based economy in India.

We remind, Government of India and India's largest gas utility and gas supply company, through a wholly owned MOL subsidiary signed a time charter contract for a newbuilding LNG carrier and a joint ownership of an existing LNG carrier. The new building vessel will be the second MOL Group LNG carrier serving GAIL; the parties signed a contract for the first vessel in 2019. The existing vessel still has been chartered to GAIL through a wholly owned MOL subsidiary from 2021 and even now, MOL’s shipping service is highly regarded by GAIL.

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Royal DSM, a global purpose-led science-based company, announces the completion of the sale of its Engineering Materials business to Advent International and LANXESS for an Enterprise Value of EUR3.85 billion, said the company.

The agreement was initially announced on 31 May 2022. The transaction covers all of DSM’s Engineering Materials activities and marks the conclusion of DSM’s divestment of its Materials businesses in order to focus on Health and Nutrition. DSM anticipates a book profit on the sale of Engineering Materials of around EUR2.7 billion. DSM will receive approximately EUR3.5 billion net in cash.

We remind, Versalis, Eni’s chemical company, has acquired the technology to produce enzymes for second-generation ethanol from DSM. The agreement has a strategic value for Versalis as it integrates with proprietary Proesa® technology, applied at the Crescentino plant for the production of sustainable bioethanol and chemical products from lignocellulosic biomass, improving the competitiveness of technology and production.

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Teijin Frontier Co., Ltd., the Teijin Group’s fibers and products converting company, announced it has developed a new foreign material removal technology to eliminate polyurethane (PU) elastomer fiber from discarded polyester apparel, said the company.

The technology features a new processing agent used during the pretreatment phase of the chemical recycling process, which helps improve the quality of the recycled polyester fiber that is derived from clothing containing PU elastomer fiber. In addition to removing the PU elastomer fiber, the new technology eliminates foreign materials such as dyes, and helps to omit the decolorization process of polyester fiber. Teijin Frontier has been conducting tests of this new technology since October 2022 for practical use.

Guided by THINK ECO environmental strategy, Teijin Frontier is striving to achieve ambitious sustainability goals by developing advanced technologies that support recycling and enhance the value of environmentally responsible materials. As part of its initiative focused on polyester fiber, the company is working with the supply chain to establish a comprehensive ecosystem spanning apparel collection, sorting and recycling. Teijin Frontier is confident that its new foreign material removal method can help expand the scope of fiber-to-fiber recycling and contribute to a zero-waste society.

The new foreign material removal technology swells the PU elastomer fiber, breaks the chemical bonds and dissolves them with the new processing agent. Simultaneously, the agent eliminates foreign substances including dyes to optimize decolorization of the polyester fiber. For system cost control and environmental load reduction, the processing agent can be collected and reused. Recycled polyester materials generated by this method can be used in the existing chemical recycling process.

Stretchable polyester clothing that contains PU elastomer fiber is becoming popular as the demand in the industry for quick-drying, wrinkle-resistant, and comfortable-to-wear is increasing along with the trend to casual wear. However, as conventional chemical recycling technology for polyester assumes 100% polyester products, the quality of the recycled product deteriorates when PU elastomer fibers are included. Therefore, it is important to remove PU elastomer fiber from discarded polyester clothing.

We remind, Teijin said that it has started producing and marketing biomass-based polycarbonate (PC) resin products at the company's Matsuyama and Mihara production sites. "Beginning on 30 January, Teijin... has started producing and marketing biomass PC resin products containing bisphenol A (BPA) made from biomass naphtha that was tracked with the mass-balance approach as well as the conventional PC resin products using petroleum-derived raw materials," the company said in a statement.

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MRC) -- Asahi Kasei established a “Care for Earth” investment framework as a new initiative for carbon neutrality by investing USD100 million worldwide in early-stage startups that aim to solve issues in environmental fields such as hydrogen, energy storage, carbon management, and bio-based chemicals over the 5-year period up to fiscal 2027, said the company.

Since 2008, Asahi Kasei has advanced corporate venture capital (CVC) activity in order to create new businesses by investing in startups and performing joint developments with them. Based in Silicon Valley since 2011, this activity has facilitated investments in over 50 startups in the US, Europe, China, and Japan, resulting in numerous collaborations and two acquisitions* which have sparked innovation.

Asahi Kasei is helping to solve issues in society with all of its businesses providing value from the perspectives of “Care for People” to realize active life in the new normal and “Care for Earth” to realize a carbon neutral and sustainable world.

Until now, Asahi Kasei has focused its CVC investments in the area of “Care for People” such as healthcare, IoT, and homes, which have relatively short timeframes to commercialization. The area of “Care for Earth,” in contrast, tends to have longer-term commercial prospects, while fields such as hydrogen and energy storage lack established value chains, making it difficult to invest under the conventional framework.

“Our CVC team is excited for the opportunity to accelerate investments in early-stage startups hard at work to make a difference for our planet,” said Dr. Takashi Morishita, General Manager of Corporate Venture Capital at Asahi Kasei. “We are seeing a lot of passionate people leading these decarbonization initiatives and it feels good to help them on their way. The ideas and technology being innovated now will be an invaluable asset in actualizing a carbon neutral society."

To achieve carbon neutrality in 2050, Asahi Kasei aims to reduce its own GHG emissions and to contribute to reducing GHG emissions throughout society, while creating new businesses through the newly established “Care for Earth” investment framework whose investment horizons and investment decision criteria are different than before. The new investment framework is also expected to help Asahi Kasei advance the transformation of its Material sector portfolio through participation in business ecosystems for carbon neutrality.

We remind, Asahi Kasei Plastics North America (APNA), global compounder of of advanced engineered polymers and Asahi Kasei Asaclean Americas (AKAC), global supplier of purging compounds and concentrates, are merging effective April 1, 2023, said Canplastics. The combined company will operate as APNA and be headquartered in Fowlerville, Michigan. The merged entity creates a plastics-focused powerhouse with customers spanning the automotive, industrial, and consumer industries. APNA’s broad portfolio now includes Xyron modified PPE, Thermylene chemically coupled PP, Leona nylon 66, 66+6i, Tenac homopolymer and copolymer POM, Thermylon nylons 6 and 66, and Asaclean purging compounds and concentrates.

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