PCG reaches final investment decision to acquire MA plant

PETRONAS Chemicals Group (PCG) has reached a final investment decision (FID) to acquire the maleic anhydride (MA) plant in Gebeng, Malaysia, from BASF PETRONAS Chemicals (BPC), the producer said on Tuesday.

The MA plant will now be operated by PCG’s subsidiary, PETRONAS Chemicals MTBE, following the acquisition, it said in a statement.

The MA plant had earlier been closed by BPC after a product portfolio rearrangement exercise that resulted in the permanent shutdown of its butanediol (BDO) and derivatives facility.

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

PCG plans to upgrade the plant to produced refined MA by the second half of 2025, it said in a statement.

We remind, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PetChem) is focusing on expanding its specialties portfolio after posting a strong performance in 2022 amid geopolitical conflicts, market volatilities and general industry challenges, said the company. The group said its landmark acquisition of Sweden-based Perstorp Group resulted in further diversification of the group’s product offerings, specifically for its specialty chemicals portfolio.

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TotalEnergies confirms its commitment to the energy transition in Kazakhstan with the signature of a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for the Mirny project, said the company.

This will be the first PPA signed in the country for a wind project of such scale. Located in the Zhambyl region, the project aims to build a 1 GW onshore wind farm combined with a 600 MWh battery energy storage system for a reliable power supply. It represents an investment of about USD1.4 billion. After Irak, it is another prime example of TotalEnergies’ ability to leverage its position as a major partner in the upstream sector to speed up the development of renewable energy in oil and gas countries.

The electricity to be produced by the Mirny project will be sold in its entirety to the Financial Settlement Center of Renewable Energy, a public entity owned by the Government of Kazakhstan, for the supply of the national grid. The project will provide electricity to 1 million people.

This agreement has been signed in Astana between Total Eren, an affiliate of TotalEnergies, and the FSC, in the presence of Patrick Pouyanne, Chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies and the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Almasadam Satkaliyev. TotalEnergies will develop the Mirny project in partnership with the National Wealth Fund Samruk-Kazyna and the National Company KazMunayGas, which will each own a 20% stake in the project.

We remind, TotalEnergies is stepping up production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and low carbon energies of its Grandpuits site. These investments reflect the Company’s ambition to develop low carbon energies and the circular economy.

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Celanese Corporation has announced it will participate in the 36th Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS36) taking place on 11-14 Jun 2023 in Sacramento, CA, US, said the company.

The company will showcase an expanded portfolio of materials and systems developments that accelerate innovation for advanced mobility applications.

These include: all-in-1 battery module (prototype): based on tab cooling, structural thermoplastic cooling channels and an electrical connection plate, this concept can extend range, improve part integration and boost thermal management; busbars: a Celanese material-process-service solution for overmoulding busbars with Zytel HTN material reduces manufacturing time and cost, yet maintains performance and safety standards.

In addition, Celanese offers Fortron PPS, Frianyl PA, Vectra LCP and Crastin PBT for busbar applications. Hybrid thermoplastic/aluminium cooling plate: created with global automotive tier 1 Novares, this plate can extend both range and battery life and is based on a Celanese technology called ZytelBond resin that quickly bonds aluminium to injection-moulded parts made of Zytel resin, Zytel HTN or Celanyl PA. EV charging plug: Zytel HTN handles and plugs connect electric charging station cables to the car's charging socket, providing structural strength and electrical compatibility.

We remind, Celanese reported a Q1 adjusted earnings/share of USD2.01, beating its earlier guidance of USD1.50-1.75, said the company. Despite the guidance beat, the company's first quarter net income still fell year on year. The following tables show the company's Q1 financial performance. Figures are in millions of dollars. So far, underlying demand in April and May have increased by insignificant amounts over March. The increase has been too small to support higher prices.

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-German power generation company Uniper plans to develop a syngas project at the Chemelot chemicals production site near Maastricht, Netherlands, said the company.

The project would use a thermal process to treat biomass and then convert it to syngas, which, in turn can replace natural gas in chemical production processes, it said.

The process also produces biogenic carbon dioxide (CO2), which can be used to produce sustainable chemicals.

The project is in the early development phase, with a first operational phase targeted for 2027/2028. The plant could then be scaled up in subsequent years. Project costs were not disclosed.

“Green gas and electrification are possible routes to making chemical production processes more sustainable,” Uniper added.

We remind, Uniper and Shell have awarded contracts for the design studies of the main hydrogen production and carbon capture plant for the proposed Humber H2ub project. The project aims to produce low-carbon hydrogen using gas reformation with carbon capture technology at Uniper’s Killingholme power station site on the South Humber bank in the UK. Air Liquide Engineering & Construction, Shell Catalysts & Technologies and Technip Energies have now been awarded contracts to deliver the process design studies.

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Toray Industries plans to increase production capacity for its Torayfan biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) film at Tsuchiura in Japan’s Ibaraki prefecture by an additional 40%, as per company.

Last year, the company already completed a capacity expansion at Tsuchiura. However, in view of rising demand for automotive capacitor film from the electric vehicle (EV) sector, more capacity was needed, it said in a statement on Thursday.

The new expansion is expected to be completed in 2025. Costs or capacities in terms of tonnes or pounds per year were not disclosed.

Film capacitors are used in inverter circuits for the power control units of EV motors, among other applications.

With governments around the world moving to restrict sales of internal combustion engines (ICE) vehicles, Toray expects that the EV market will grow 20% annually through 2030, it said.

We remind, Toray Industries, Inc., announced that it has developed a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film that combines excellent applicability and adhesion for water-based and solvent-free coatings and can eliminate solvent-derived carbon-dioxide emissions. The company looks to produce the film at a domestic plant by end-March 2024 to help popularize eco-friendly film products for which decarbonization during manufacturing is desirable. These items include release, adhesive, printing, packaging, and automotive films.

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