Amcor to shut down Chile flexible packages plant

MOOSCOW (MRC) -- Amcor plans to shut down its flexible packages plant in Santiago Norte, Chile, on the back of a “difficult industrial and economic” environment, the company said.

A spokesperson for the company said Amcor’s capsule business in Chile was not affected by the announcement. “Despite our continued efforts, the Santiago Norte flexibles plant has struggled to maintain viable operations in a difficult industrial and economic environment,” said the Amcor spokesperson.

“The plant will continue to operate until 30 June. It has been a very difficult decision and we are doing everything we can to support our flexible packaging team and our customers through the process." Earlier in April, the IMF forecast Chile’s GDP would decrease by 1% in 2023, although that was an improvement from its prior forecast of minus 1.5%.

The country’s economy has been slowing down in past quarters, although GDP in 2022 grew by 2.4% overall. Growth, however, came mostly from services sectors, while chemicals and the wider manufacturing industries posted declines in output.

Melbourne-headquartered Amcor produces flexible packaging, rigid containers, specialty cartons, and closures, and serves several industries such food, beverage, pharmaceutical, medical-device, home, and personal care, among others.

According to the company’s website, it posted USD15bn in sales in 2022, employs 44,000 workers, and operates 220 sites in 43 countries.

Polymers widely used in the packaging sector include polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).

“The polymer industry, to be honest, really has to get their act together because otherwise they will be regulated out of the market by regulators or by the market itself,” said Gerald Rebitzer, speaking to delegates at the conference.

We remind, Amcor plc announced its Amcor Australia & New Zealand (ANZ) business has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Australian-based technology pioneers, Licella Holdings Ltd (Licella), to invest in one of Australia’s first plastic advanced recycling facilities. As one of the first advanced recycling facilities to be built in Australia, the agreement supports Amcor and Licella’s commitment to creating a local circular economy for soft plastics in Australia and helps advance Amcor’s target to achieve 30% recycled content across its portfolio by 2030.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Keppel Infrastructure and ExxonMobil Asia Pacific have signed an agreement to develop access to low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia for scalable commercial and industrial applications in Singapore, said Reuters.

Keppel Infrastructure (KI) is the infrastructure arm of Singapore-based global asset manager and operator Keppel Corp. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two companies follows the Singapore government’s launch of its national hydrogen strategy in October last year, which expects hydrogen to meet up to half of Singapore’s power needs by 2050.

"As part of this hydrogen strategy, the Energy Market Authority and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore issued an expression of interest in December for proposals to build, own and operate low- or zero-carbon power generation and bunkering facilities on Jurong Island," KI said in a statement.

In addition to being a hydrogen carrier and storage medium, ammonia can be used directly as a carbon-free fuel or broken down into carbon-free hydrogen for use in power generation, as well as feedstock for refinery and petrochemical operations.

Currently, natural gas meets most of Singapore’s power generation demand.

We remind, ExxonMobil Corp has started up its long-planned project to expand light crude oil processing capacity by 250,000 b/d at ExxonMobil Product Solutions Co's integrated refining and petrochemicals complex along the US Gulf Coast in Beaumont, TX, US.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Aramco offered more vacuum gasoil (VGO) supplies to be exported from its Jizan refinery in May, according to traders and shipping data, in a sign that the refinery is yet to ramp up to full output, said Reuters.

The Jizan refinery, Aramco's newest facility, had been expected to ramp up output for 10-ppm gasoil and cut VGO exports this quarter when it hits full capacity.

However, Aramco recently offered three cargoes of 525,000 barrels of VGO each for loading out of Jizan in May, shipping records showed, up from two cargoes in April. Saudi Aramco was not immediately available for comment.

The cargoes are slated for loading between May 1-3, May 11-13, and May 21-23. Aramco usually offers up to two VGO cargoes per month, according to trade sources and past tender records. VGO, a residual oil left over from petroleum distillation, is typically used as a refinery feedstock to produce diesel.

The rise in Aramco's VGO exports also comes at a time when diesel refining margins have weakened globally. Asian refiners' diesel margins have collapsed by more than 50% to USD14.46 a barrel on Tuesday, compared with the start of the year, Refinitiv data showed.

Meanwhile, benchmark Northwest European diesel refining margins fell below USD16 a barrel this week, their lowest since Feb. 25, 2022, as imports into the region remained high.

We remind, Saudi Aramco has signed 59 corporate procurement agreements (CPAs) worth a potential total of USD11 billion with up to 51 domestic and international manufacturers, as a part of its coveted in-kingdom total value add (IKTVA) localisation programme.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. announces that some of its Sustainable Technology Solutions subsidiaries, which are directly controlled by NextChem Holding, have been awarded several new contracts for technology licensing and engineering services for an overall value of approximately USD 90 million, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

These contracts have been granted by international clients mainly in Europe and the Far East.

In particular, Stamicarbon, NextChem Holding innovation and licensing company engaged in nitrogen technologies, has been awarded licensing, process design package and equipment supply contracts for an Ultra-Low Energy grassroots urea plant in the Jiangxi province, China.

This will be the largest Ultra-Low Energy plant with a design capacity of 3,850 metric tons per day and the seventh one globally based on Stamicarbon’s proprietary innovative design, which allows steam consumption to be reduced by about 35% and cooling water consumption by about 16% compared to traditional processes.

We remind, Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. announces that, through its subsidiary NextChem Holding S.p.A., it is expanding into the high-value derivates and biodegradable plastic by-products licensing markets with the acquisition of an 83,5% stake of Conser, a technology licensor and process engineering design company based in Rome, Italy.

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MOSOCW (MRC) -- Aggreko, the world’s leading provider of mobile modular power, temperature control and energy solutions, today announced the launch of two new rental heat exchanger fleets, the Large Node Heat Exchanger and the Hastelloy-C Crossflow Heat Exchanger, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The readily available equipment provides customers in petrochemical and refinery operations with the industry’s largest heat exchanger, as well as the only exchanger made from Hastelloy. Both products are designed to ensure seamless operations for petrochemical plants, refineries, and complex chemical contexts by maintaining customer production rates and enhancing the equipment processes.

The Large Node Heat Exchanger is, at 5,700 square feet, the largest on the market and enables petrochemical and refinery customers to reduce their carbon footprint by replacing several smaller heat exchangers with a single Large Node Heat Exchanger. This makes them ideal for plants and refineries where space is at a premium, while their ready deployment means Aggreko can quickly install the exchangers with limited production disruption.

Made from a unique corrosion-resistant nickel alloy, the Hastelloy-C Crossflow Heat Exchanger is designed for particular applications in petrochemical plants, refineries, and complex chemical contexts. Unlike other heat exchangers on the market, this material allows for higher resistance to a wide range of corrosive chemicals and gasses. The composition of the Hastelloy-C Crossflow Heat Exchanger enables it to meet unique PCR applications beyond the capabilities of typical exchangers. With the launch of the Hastelloy-C Crossflow Heat Exchanger, Aggreko is the only solutions provider to offer a heat exchanger with this metallurgical composition for PCR customers.

“We’re excited to position ourselves as the only temperature control provider that offers a Hastelloy heat exchanger, along with the industry’s largest exchanger,” says Yvonne McAnally, Product Leader at Aggreko North America. “We’ve long been known as a reliable provider of high-quality heat exchangers that ensure petrochemical and refining facilities can maintain production during maintenance periods and emergency repairs – and we’re pleased to now offer those same services for even more unique applications."

The launch of these two exchanger fleets is the latest step in Aggreko’s ongoing mission to provide temporary solutions to customers that rely on mobile power solutions without compromising reliability or negatively impacting budgets.

As per MRC, Saudi Aramco said it plans to invest in a USD7 B project to produce petrochemicals from crude oil at its South Korean affiliate S-Oil Corp's refining complex in the port city of Ulsan. The project, named Shaheen, is the Saudi company's biggest investment in South Korea and will mark the first commercial use of Aramco and Lummus technology to produce chemicals from crude, Aramco said in a statement.


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