EQUATE announces Feb MEG India contract price

Global monoethylene glycol (MEG) producer EQUATE has nominated its February 2024 MEG India Contract Price (ICP) at USD552/tonne CFR (cost & freight) India Main Ports, said the company.

The February nomination was USD32/tonne higher than January number.

We remind, EQUATE has nominated its January 2024 MEG India Contract Price (ICP) at $520/tonne CFR (cost & freight) India Main Ports, the company said. The January nomination was $43/tonne higher than December number.

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Oil major Shell has withdrawn from talks on building a petrochemicals plant in the southern oil hub of Basra, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Shell in a separate statement confirmed it was leaving the project.

A statement from Iraq's oil ministry said Shell would not continue discussions with the Ministry of Industry and Minerals and the Ministry of Oil regarding its role as "a major investor" in the Nebras Petrochemical Project, although it affirmed its continued support for the project through its partnership with Basra Gas Company.

In 2015, Shell signed an outline deal worth $11 billion with Iraq to build the petrochemical complex that would in theory come online within six years and would make Iraq the largest petrochemical producer in the Middle East.

An Iraqi energy official with knowledge of the project talks said financial and contractual issues delayed reaching a final deal with Shell and "caused the initial deal to collapse".

We remind, in early February, Royal Dutch Shell, a prominent Anglo-Dutch oil and gas company, declared force majeure concerning the supply of butadiene to its facility in Norco, Louisiana, USA. Market reports have confirmed the shutdown of a line with a substantial capacity of 265,000 tonnes of butadiene annually. This operational halt is anticipated to persist at least until the conclusion of February, with the precise cause of the disruption remaining undisclosed.

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The Dow Chemical Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dow, announced today the closing of its green bond offering of USD600 million aggregate principal amount of 5.150% notes due 2034 and USD650 million aggregate principal amount of 5.600% notes due 2054, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The notes represent the Company's inaugural green financing instrument, in alignment with Dow's Green Finance Framework ("Framework") published on our website on January 25, 2024. The Framework was established to support the execution of Dow's sustainability strategy and achieve its targets focused on climate protection and a circular economy. Dow intends to allocate proceeds from this offering toward projects that meet eligibility criteria contained within the Framework, including expenditures and investments related to our Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta Path2Zero project. Additional details on eligibility criteria and use of proceeds are available in the Framework.

"This green bond offering marks a foundational opportunity for investors to participate in Dow's strategy to decarbonize and drive circularity while growing earnings over the cycle," said Jeff Tate, Dow's chief financial officer. "We expect the proceeds of this instrument to primarily support our project to build the world's first net-zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions ethylene and derivates complex in Alberta, which achieved the critical milestone of final investment decision from our Board in November 2023."

In 2020, Dow announced its intention to be carbon neutral for Scopes 1+2+3 plus product benefits by 2050. The commitment included a mid-term target to reduce by 2030 the Company's Scope 1 and 2 net annual carbon emissions by 5 million metric tons versus its 2020 baseline. Achieving this 2030 target represents a total 30% emissions reduction versus Dow's 2005 level.

Additionally in 2022, Dow announced its Transform the Waste strategy – which will enable the development of circular ecosystems by transforming plastic waste and alternative feedstock to commercialize 3 million metric tons per year of circular and renewable solutions by 2030.

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Indonesia's state energy company Pertamina will reduce production capacity at its Balikpapan refinery starting in the third week of February as an upgrade of the facility advances, the company said.

The "plant stop revamp" at the country's second-largest refinery will last for two months, the company said, during which capacity will be reduced to 60,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 260,000 bpd normally.

Pertamina is revamping Balikpapan to increase its capacity to 360,000 bpd and to be able to produce fuel with Euro V emission standards.

As of last month, 87% of the upgrade had already been completed.

The Balikpapan project is part of Pertamina's long-term refinery upgrade plans. It is aiming to complete the first phase of Balikpapan upgrade this year.

We remind, Pertamina expects to complete the capacity upgrade at its Balikpapan refinery in April next year, Nicke Widyawati, chief executive of Pertamina, the parent company of PHE. Pertamina is expanding Balikpapan's capacity to 360,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) from 260,000 bpd currently. The refinery would also be able to produce fuel to Euro V emission standards.

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W.R. Grace & Co. announced that China Coal Shaanxi Energy & Chemical Group Co., Ltd. has expanded its license for Grace’s UNIPOL PP process technology, doubling its polypropylene production capacity from 300 to 600 kilotons per annum, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The agreement also includes Grace’s UNIPOL UNIPPAC process control software enabling China Coal Shaanxi Company to drive improvements in metrics such as throughput, onstream time, and continuity.

Located in Yulin City, Shaanxi province, China, the new reactor line is expected to begin producing high-quality homopolymers, random and impact copolymers, and terpolymers in 2025.

Thomas Deman, President, Specialty Catalysts, Supply Chain and Procurement, Grace, said: "We are delighted to support China Coal Shaanxi Company in expanding their PP production capabilities to meet customer demand. Combining Grace’s UNIPOL® PP technology and UNIPOL UNIPPAC® process control software together is the fastest, most efficient way for China Coal Shaanxi Company to maximize reactor performance while realizing competitive advantages in product differentiation, quality, and cost."

China Coal Shaanxi Company stated: "We licensed our first 300 KTA line from Grace in 2011 and are pleased to expand the relationship with this newest reactor line that will double our PP resin production capacity and enhance our product portfolio. We chose Grace because of the proven advanced PP technology, reliable production capabilities, technical service, and UNIPOL UNIPPAC® process control software.”

Grace is a leading global licensor of the process technology for producing polypropylene, a highly durable and tough plastic. In 2023, Grace secured nearly 2.5 million tons of licensed capacity with five polypropylene manufacturers, worldwide. Fully recyclable, the high-performance polypropylene resins produced using UNIPOL® PP process technology are ubiquitous and can be found in automotive parts, packaging, and consumer goods.

We remind, W. R. Grace & Co, the leading independent supplier of polyolefin catalyst technology and polypropylene process technology, announced that Oriental Energy Co. Ltd. has started up a new plant with Grace’s UNIPOL PP Process Technology. Located in Maoming, China, the new 400 Kpy reactor line began producing high-quality homopolymers and random copolymers on September 15, 2023.

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