SK Geo Centric to build a pyrolysis plant in Dangjin with Plastic Energy

SK Geo Centric joins forces with Plastic Energy, the UK-based plastic pyrolysis specialist, to build a waste plastic pyrolysis plant in Dangjin, Chungcheongnam-do province, said Skinnonews.

The plant is the second domestic pyrolysis plant after the Ulsan ARC (Advanced Recycling Cluster), which is under construction in the southern district of Ulsan with the goal of operations in 2025.

The two companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the construction of the Pyrolysis Plant 2 in Frankfurt, Germany on October 31 (local time). According to the MOU, the companies will establish a joint venture and construct a pyrolysis facility in the Songsan-2 Foreign Investment Zone in Dangjin. The specific timeline for construction and plant operation will be determined through future discussions between the two companies. The annual waste plastic processing capacity of Pyrolysis Plant 2 is planned to be 66,000 tons.

As the second plant will be located near the Seoul metropolitan area and Chungcheong regions, not only will its locational feature facilitate efficient waste collection from these areas, there is also the potential connection with the Ulsan ARC. The pyrolysis oil produced at Pyrolysis Plant 2 is expected to be further refined at the Ulsan ARC’s pyrolysis oil post-treatment facility for use in petrochemical processes.

Pyrolysis oil is created by heating waste plastics and discarded vinyl at high temperatures, and it is considered a crude oil substitute. Therefore, it is regarded as a crucial element in the circular economy for waste plastics, as it can be used in petrochemical processes to produce new petrochemical products. This process is also referred to as “Urban Oil Field” as it is extracting crude oil from waste materials.

Last year, SK Geo Centric continued its collaborative relationship with Plastic Energy by signing a Heads of Agreement (HOA) for the construction of a waste plastic pyrolysis plant in the Ulsan ARC. Building on Plastic Energy’s experience in operating stable pyrolysis plants in places including Seville, Spain, and its accumulated technology patents, the partnership aims to open up an era of a circular economy for waste plastics in South Korea.

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Dr. Daniel Schonfelder (47), Senior Vice President, Battery Base Metals & Recycling at BASF, will, as President, assume responsibility for the Catalysts division, based in Mannheim, Germany, effective January 1, 2024, said the company.

He will succeed Dr. Peter Schuhmacher (58), who will retire effective December 31, 2023.

We remind, BASF posted a 57.3% drop on earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) and a 28.3% drop in sales in the third quarter, due to considerably lower prices and lower volumes. For Q4, BASF expects global chemical production to further stabilise, while the macroeconomic outlook remains extremely uncertain in the current interest rate policy environment and in view of increasing geopolitical risks. The company also said that rising raw materials prices in particular could weigh on demand and margins.

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State-owned gas utility GAIL posted a 56% jump in the net profit during the September quarter buoyed by expanding gas transmission volumes and margins on the back of rising consumption, as per MSN.

Standalone net profit stood at Rs 2,404.8 crore during the July-September period against Rs 1,537.07 crore in the year-ago period. Pre-tax earnings from gas transportation business soared 82% to Rs 1,290.6 crore, while pre-tax earnings from the gas marketing jumped nearly 400% to Rs 1,784.58 crore.

These earnings helped offset losses in the petrochemical business, which narrowed to Rs 160.6 crore from Rs 346.2 crore in July-September 2022. Revenue from operations dropped to Rs 31,882.6 crore in July-September from Rs 38,490.89 crore on lower gas prices.

We remind, GAIL India is looking to allot Rup 30,000 crore of investment in the succeeding three years for pipelines, city gas distribution projects, existing petrochemical projects, equity contribution in group firms, and operational capex. It also anticipates polymer sales to rise twofold and natural gas transmission volume to increase by 12% in FY 2024. (1 crore=10 M, 1 lakh=100,000).


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Marathon Petroleum’s third-quarter net income fell 26.7% year on year to $3.28bn as revenues fell at a faster pace than costs and expenses, said Reuters.

The refining and marketing margin fell to $26.16/barrel, from $30.21/barrel in Q3 2022.

Refining capacity utilisation was 94%, compared with 98% in Q3 2022. The refining throughput was 3.0m bbl/day, unchanged from Q3 2022.

The company added that construction activities are progressing at the Martinez Renewables fuels facility in California.

Pretreatment capabilities are increasing through the second half of 2023, and the facility is expected to produce 730m gal/year by the end of 2023, Marathon said.

We remind, the board of directors of Marathon Petroleum Corp has declared a dividend of $0.825/share on common stock, an increase of approximately 10% over its previous dividend of $0.75/share. The dividend is payable 11 Dec 2023, to shareholders of record as of the close of business 16 Nov 2023.

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German chemicals maker BASF said third-quarter operating income dropped 57%, weighed down mainly by lower prices and sales volumes of basic petrochemicals, said Reuters.

Quarterly earnings before interest and taxes, adjusted for one-offs, dropped to 575 million euros ($609 million), slightly below an analyst consensus of 601 million euros posted on the company’s website.

BASF reiterated its outlook for 2023 operating income of between 4 billion and 4.4 billion, down from 6.9 billion in 2022.

We remind, -BASF has substantially reduced spending plans as part of wider belt-tightening initiatives in light of ongoing difficult macroeconomic conditions, with €4bn expected to be cut from the Germany-based chemicals major’s 2023-2027 budget. Speaking from the company’s Ludwigshafen, Germany, headquarters, BASF CEO Martin Brudermuller said that the company’s five-year capital expenditure budget is expected to be €24.8bn compared to original expectations of €28.8bn, with 2023 levels to be €1bn below its original plans.

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