Kazakhstan exports 30,000 tonnes of polypropylene to Europe in 2023, targeting 100,000 tonnes

Kazakhstan exported 30,000 tonnes of polypropylene to Europe last year, and is aiming to increase shipments to 100,000 tonnes, Deputy Energy Minister Askhat Khasenov said, as per Interfax.

"In 2023, we exported 30,000 tonnes of Kazakh polypropylene to Europe, and we plan to increase the volume to 100,000 tonnes in the future," Khasenov told reporters on Thursday.

Khasenov noted that polypropylene is "the second most popular plastic in the world," with consumption growing by an average of 3%-4% annually.

The polypropylene production plant of Kazakhstan Petrochemical Industries Inc. LLP launched operations in early November 2022. The facility has capacity of 500,000 tonnes of polypropylene per year, utilizing propane from the Tengiz field as raw material. Constructing the complex cost the participants USD2.63 billion, including the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) agreement totaling USD1.865 billion.


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South Korean petrochemical company LG Chem denied a media report saying it is considering merging its naphtha cracker business with rival Lotte Chemical, said Reuters.

Lotte Chemical also denied the report in a regulatory filing on Wednesday.

Shares in South Korean industry No. 1, LG Chem, and No. 2, Lotte Chemical, rose 2.8% and 3.8% respectively versus the wider market's 1.7% rise, after newspaper Korea Economic Daily reported they are in talks to potentially merge their general-purpose naphtha cracker businesses to prevent losses as supply from China increases.

We remind, LG Chem is in talks with Kuwait Petroleum Corp. on the sale of part of its stake in the naphtha cracking center located in Yeosu. Lotte Chemical is exploring options for the sale of its Lotte Chemical Titan manufacturing facility in Malaysia amid challenging economic conditions.

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Markus Kamieth becomes the new Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE, said the company.

At the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting at the Rosengarten Congress Center in Mannheim, Germany, outgoing Chairman Dr. Martin Brudermuller presented his successor with a cycling jersey printed with the BASF logo.

Kamieth obtained his doctorate in organic chemistry at the University of Essen in 1998 and started his career at the company one year later. He has been a member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE since 2017. Brudermuller worked at BASF for 36 years. He was appointed to the Board of Executive Directors in 2006 and became Chairman in 2018.

We remind, Germany's BASF SE, the world's largest chemical company, cut its net profit and revenue by 12% in the first quarter, it said in its financial statements. Net profit reached 1.368 billion euros compared to 1.562 billion euros a year earlier. BASF's revenue in the last quarter amounted to 17.553 billion euros compared to 19.991 billion euros for the same period the previous year.

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Azerbaijani gas shipments to Hungary under a contract for 100 million cubic meters began in April of this year, Azerbaijani Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population Sahil Babayev said on Thursday at a briefing following the 10th meeting of the Azerbaijani-Hungarian intergovernmental commission in Baku, as per Interfax.

"These are the first steps, and very serious discussions are now underway to significantly increase the volume of supplies," Babayev said. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said at the briefing that representatives of MOL were in Baku to discuss increasing gas purchases. "Hungary bought 50 million cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas in April," he said.

Szijjarto said that MOL also expected to increase its participation in Azerbaijan's oil and gas sector. "Azerbaijan's energy resources play an important role in Hungary's energy system," he said. State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR) and Hungary's MVM CEEnergy signed a contract in June 2023 for the supply of 100 million cubic meters of gas.

Szijjarto said earlier that Budapest had reached an agreement with Baku to increase purchases of Azerbaijani gas to 1 billion cubic meters per year.

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The production complex for terephthalic acid and polyethylene terephthalate (TPA/PET) in Atyrau is set to launch operations in 2029, said Interfax, citing Kazakh Deputy Energy Minister Askhat Khasenov.

"The TPA/PET plant is set to begin operations in 2029," Khasenov told journalists in Astana. Khasenov said that the project's pre-feasibility study is currently underway in partnership with China's Sinopec.

Regarding guarantees to supply paraxylene from the Atyrau Refinery as a raw material for PET, Khasenov said that the refinery plans to complete its modernization by 2027 to produce benzene and paraxylene without affecting the production of gasoline and diesel fuel.

Khasenov also said that no restrictions are anticipated on paraxylene production by the time the PET project is launched.

During a meeting between Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Sinopec Chairman Ma Yongsheng, during Tokayev's official visit to China, the parties announced that Sinopec planned to construct a production facility for terephthalic acid and polyethylene terephthalate in Atyrau.

The press service of KazMunayGas (KMG) announced that Magzum Mirzagaliev, chairman of the company's board of directors, and Ma Yongsheng, chairman of the Sinopec board of directors, have signed an agreement to develop jointly a preliminary feasibility study for establishing terephthalic acid (TPA) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) production.

According to KMG, the planned future production capacity is up to 735,000 tonnes of PET per year. The primary raw material for the TPA/PET project is paraxylene, which is produced at the Atyrau Oil Refinery.

We remind, China Petrochemical Corporation (SINOPEC) has officially become a shareholder in the Polyethylene project, a report from the press service of the Kazakh government said. Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov met with Sinopec President Zhao Dong and CEO of SIBUR Mikhail Karisalov on Friday, the press service said. Discussions centered on the collaborative development of an integrated gas-chemical complex for polyethylene production valued at USD7.7 billion. With a capacity of 1.25 million tonnes per year, the project will eventually represent 1% of global capacity.

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