EQUATE announces April MEG India contract price

Global monoethylene glycol (MEG) producer EQUATE has nominated its April 2023 MEG India Contract Price (ICP) at USD515/tonne CFR India Main Ports, said the company.

The April nomination was USD23/tonne lower than the March number.

Spot MEG prices closed at USD495-505/tonne CFR China Main Ports (CMP) on 21 March.

We remind, The EQUATE Group, a global producer of petrochemicals and the world’s leading supplier of Ethylene Glycol, announced its full-year earnings for 2022. The EQUATE Group reported total revenue of USD3,947 million in 2022, compared to USD4,159 million in 2021. The Group also reported a net income after tax of USD611 million and EBITDA of USD1,217 million, compared to USD1,109 million and USD1,735 million, respectively, for 2021.

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China's diesel exports shipments surged to 1.44 million tons, up 113.8% in March, from 0.67 million tons a year ago, data from the General Administration of Customs showed, as per Reuters.

Jet fuel exports rose to 1.12 million tons, up dramatically from 0.77 million tons in the same period last year. However, the country's gasoline exports fell to 0.76 million tons from 1.16 million tons last year, the data showed.

Total diesel exports for the first quarter were up more than 450% on the same period last year, following dramatically increased shipments over the January to February period. Beijing issued 18.99 million tons of export quotas for refined fuel in the first batch of its 2023 allocation, up 46% from the corresponding 2022 allotment, as it aimed to ramp up refinery output and hoped to capture stronger export margins.

Discounts on crude imported from Russia have improved margins for Chinese refiners, helping to stimulate their export sector as China sells fuel that other refiners steer away from. The slowdown in China's property and construction sectors has reduced domestic demand for diesel, leading refiners to shift their inventories overseas.

Demand for kerosene in Asia has picked up sharply as governments, most notably China, have rolled back travel restrictions as the pandemic recedes.

China's domestic aviation market has seen a strong uptick, while the resumption of international flights has also pushed up demand for refueling airplanes at Chinese airports. Such fuel sales are counted as exports.

Though road traffic levels have dropped since their spike around the Chinese New Year period, resurgent domestic demand for gasoline following the ending of COVID restrictions led exports to fall.

Customs data also showed that China's imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in March rose 16.9% to 5.36 million tons. Total imports for Q1 stood at 16.43 million tons, down from 17.28 million tons in the same period last year.

As per MRC, CJ Biomaterials, Inc., a division of South Korea-based CJ CheilJedang and a primary producer of polyhydroxyalkanoates has appointed the Netherlands-based Helian Polymers as a distributing partner. Going forward, Helian will distribute CJ Biomaterials’ proprietary PHACT A1000P amorphous polyhydroxyalkanoate - aPHA - biopolymer in Europe. CJ Biomaterials launched its biopolymer activities in 2010. As part of the CJ Corporation, CJ Biomaterials plays a significant part in its global operations with production sites in Indonesia, Malaysia, China, the USA, and Brazil.

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MEGlobal has nominated its April 2023 monoethylene glycol (MEG) Asian Contract Price (ACP) at USD860/tonne, unchanged from its March ACP, said the company.

The price is on a CFR (cost and freight) Asia basis.

The April 2023 ACP reflects the short-term supply/demand situation in the Asian market.

We remind, MEGlobal has nominated its March 2023 monoethylene glycol (MEG) Asian Contract Price (ACP) at USD860/tonne, up by USD20/tonne from its February ACP.

MEGlobal is a fully integrated supplier of monoethylene glycol (MEG) and diethylene glycol (DEG), collectively known as ethylene glycol (EG).

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Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany) is investing in a pilot electrolyzer at its site in Herne (Germany) to produce green hydrogen as a starting product for isophorone diamine (IPDA), a key raw material for rotor blades for wind turbines, said Chemengonline.

In an accompanying project, Siemens Energy is researching how this new electrolysis technology stands up in industrial use. The project consortium started at the end of 2022 and runs until mid-2025. Both the investment and the research project receive funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

Judith Pirscher, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF): “Green hydrogen is the missing piece in the energy transition puzzle. By funding the H2annibal project, we are supporting research into innovative hydrogen technologies in real conditions in a chemical plant. In this way, we are speeding up the transfer from science to industry and supporting the ramp-up of the hydrogen economy in Germany. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research is providing total funding of around EUR9.3 million for these two projects."

Maike Schuh, CFO of Evonik: “We are investing massively in green growth to position ourselves more sustainably. To reduce our carbon footprint, we intend to invest a total of EUR700 million in production processes and infrastructure group-wide by 2030. Hydrogen electrolysis in Herne is a key element in that.”

Evonik and Siemens Energy are therefore driving forward the industrial transformation in the area of climate protection precisely where the Hannibal mine extracted hard coal until about 50 years ago. Rainer Stahl, manager of the Herne site: “In the H2annibal project, we are testing a new type of electrolysis technology and therefore making a contribution to reducing CO2 emissions and, at the same time, safeguarding the sustainable supply of hydrogen and oxygen to our production facilities in the mid-term.”

We remind, Evonik is doubling its global capacity for VESTAMID E, polyether block amide (PEBA), with a twofold approach including a major expansion of its production plant at the Multi-User-Site (MUSC) in Shanghai and an optimization project at its production facility in Marl, Germany, said the company. Construction at the Shanghai site starts in Fall 2023 and will increase the company’s ability for the polymerization of PEBA, a key step in producing the raw material, which is highly demanded by the global, athletic footwear market.

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CJ Biomaterials, Inc., a division of South Korea-based CJ CheilJedang and a primary producer of polyhydroxyalkanoates has appointed the Netherlands-based Helian Polymers as a distributing partner, said Sustainableplastics.

Going forward, Helian will distribute CJ Biomaterials’ proprietary PHACT A1000P amorphous polyhydroxyalkanoate - aPHA - biopolymer in Europe.

CJ Biomaterials launched its biopolymer activities in 2010. As part of the CJ Corporation, CJ Biomaterials plays a significant part in its global operations with production sites in Indonesia, Malaysia, China, the USA, and Brazil.

It is the first company in the world to produce aPHA, a softer, more rubbery version of PHA that offers fundamentally different performance characteristics than crystalline or semi-crystalline forms of the biopolymer. A 5,000-ton-per-year dedicated PHA plant in Indonesia was commissioned in 2022; aPHA has been available from the plant since Q1 of 2022.

CJ Biomaterials’ aPHA is TuV certified home and industrial compostable and marine and soil (ambient) biodegradable It can be used as a modifier with PLA and other biopolymers to improve their mechanical properties, such as toughness and ductility, while maintaining clarity. aPHA can also be used to tune the biodegradability of PLA, which could potentially lead to a home compostable product.

Helian Polymers is a materials company headquartered in the southern part of the Netherlands that specialises in the development of PHA biopolymers. The company has been active for over fifteen years in the biobased raw materials space and has proven capabilities to develop new custom-tailored biodegradable compounds, to meet specific needs.

“Helian possesses impressive research and development capabilities along with manufacturing expertise in introducing innovative solutions to market, and we are confident that they will greatly enhance our presence and expansion in the region,” said Max Senechal, Chief Commercial Officer at CJ Biomaterials.

CJ BIO and Helian previously collaborated on the development of a sustainable 3D printing filament consisting of 100% PHA-based building blocks. Working with CJ Biomaterial’s flexible and amorphous PHA grade, Helian Polymers was able to fine-tune the material’s mechanical properties and overcome problems with crystalline PHA like brittleness and shrinkage. In 2021, Helian Polymers, working together with CJ BIO and Helian sister company colorFabb, successfully launched a portfolio of PHA-based filaments with different properties.

We remind, Origin Materials and SCGP Packaging are considering building a plant in southeastern Asia that would use Origin's process technology to convert woody biomass into feedstock that can make polyester and carbon black, the companies said. Origin and SCGP have a strategic partnership that includes a joint development agreement. Under it, the two will explore licensing Origin's technology for a plant that could be built in one of the 10 countries that belong to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

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