Biden plans phase-out of single-use plastics in federal procurement

The Biden administration on July 19 released a new strategy for reducing the federal government’s contribution to plastic pollution, “Mobilizing Federal Action on Plastic Pollution: Progress, Principles, and Priorities, said Chemweek.

” The administration also announced plans to phase out federal procurement of single-use plastics from food-service operations, events and packaging by 2027 and from all federal operations by 2035.

In its announcement, the administration said the new strategy marks the first time that the federal government is “formally acknowledging the severity of the plastic pollution crisis and the scale of the response that will be required to effectively confront it.” Developed by the Interagency Policy Committee on Plastic Pollution and a Circular Economy, the strategy outlines key principles for reducing plastic pollution, focus areas of federal agencies and opportunities for further action.

“Communities across the United States and around the world are facing a plastic pollution crisis,” states the announcement. “Plastic production and waste have doubled over the past two decades, littering our ocean, poisoning the air of communities near production facilities and threatening public health. The Biden-Harris Administration recognizes that pollution can occur at every stage of the plastic lifecycle, disproportionately impacting communities with environmental justice concerns, contributing to loss of biodiversity and exacerbating the impacts of climate change.”

The Plastics Industry Association (Washington, DC) said it was pleased to see that the strategy recognizes the need to invest in US recycling infrastructure, but that its overall thrust is misguided.

“We are disappointed in today’s White House announcement, which arbitrarily singles out plastic under the false pretense of a lower environmental impact,” said Matt Seaholm, the association’s president and CEO. “The Plastics Industry Association and its member companies are dedicated to keeping plastic waste out of the environment, and we continue to collaborate with policymakers at all levels of government to achieve this goal. … Instead of implementing arbitrary bans that don’t address our environmental challenges, we need to collaborate on sound policies that will truly help us achieve circularity.”

In Russia, the number of projects for the production of epoxy resin is growing against the backdrop of global trade wars in this market segment. The number of contradictions between the lobbied legislative requirements for the use of “bioplastics” and the negative practice of their use is also growing.
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Lithuania is urging the European Union to phase out Russian liquefied gas imports as quickly as possible after Europe imported more gas from Russia than from the United States in May for the first time in two years, as per Interfax.

The Lithuanian Energy Ministry said that Lithuania and 12 other EU countries at an informal EU Energy Council meeting in Hungary this week called for further discussions to find specific ways to end Russian LNG imports and urged the European Commission to draw up a plan of action.

"We need to mobilize our efforts and look for measures to further diversify our energy supply and to phase out Russian LNG imports as soon as possible. Over the past two years, we have achieved significant results in reducing the use of fossil fuels and rapidly developing renewable energy," Lithuanian Deputy Energy Minister Inga Ziliene said at the meeting.

The Financial Times has said Russian gas accounted for 15% of the total volume of gas, including liquefied gas, imported by the EU and other European countries in May, and American gas for 14%.

Sanctions on Russia's LNG sector were included in the 14th package of sanctions against Moscow adopted by the EU Council in June, but this does not include a ban for EU countries from buying Russian LNG.

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Kazakhstan's KazMunayGas (KMG) and Russia's Lukoil have been discussing the implementation of the Kalamkas-Sea/Khazar project, which is currently at the stage of selecting an engineering contractor, the KMG press service reported.

According to the press service, KMG CEO Askhat Khasenov visited Moscow on July 18, where he met with the management of Lukoil.

"In particular, issues of the implementation of the Kalamkas-Sea/Khazar project were raised, for which the selection of the engineering contractor is currently underway. According to the plan, the construction of the topside of the offshore platform weighing 14,000 tonnes should be performed at Kazakh shipyards," the information says.

KMG and Lukoil also discussed the expansion of Tengiz and Karachaganak fields. "Khasenov confirmed the invariability of KazMunayGas's course towards strengthening cooperation with Lukoil, expressing confidence in the successful implementation of joint initiatives," the company said.

In June it was reported that the oil and gas project for the development of the Kalamkas-Sea and Khazar fields was getting underway in Kazakhstan. It was noted that work on the construction of offshore platforms will begin in 2026 at Kazakh shipyards to ensure the earliest possible start of production at the Kalamkas-Sea field.

It was previously reported that KMG and Lukoil will make a final investment decision on the Kalamkas-Sea, Khazar, Auezov project in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea in 2025.

"During 2024, the front-end engineering design phase (FEED) with completion at the end of the year is planned. The final investment decision (FID) on the project is expected in 2025," the KMG report says.

According to preliminary estimates of the Kazakh company, the investments volume will be about $6.4 billion. Previously, the cost of developing the fields was estimated at approximately USD5 billion.

The project for the development of the Kalamkas-Sea, Khazar, Auezov fields was approved by the Central Commission for Exploration and Development of Hydrocarbon Fields of Kazakhstan in September 2023.

The fields are located in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea. The depth of productive horizons is at the level of 1,500 m- 2,000 m below the seabed.

Commercial production of the first oil at the Kalamkas-Sea, Khazar field is planned for 2028-2029. Total recoverable reserves are estimated at 48.5 million tonnes of oil and 19 billion cubic meters of gas. Anticipated production is about 4 million tonnes per year (80,000 barrels per day). The production plateau is at least five years, as indicated in the KMG report. Participants in the Kalamkas-Sea-Khazar project are KazMunayGas (50%) and Lukoil (50%).

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SM prices were assessed higher on Thursday, said Polymerupdate.

An industry source in Asia informed a Polymerupdate team member, prices edged higher on the back of a strong buying momentum in the Asian region.

On Thursday, FOB Korea SM prices were assessed at the USD 1115-1125/mt levels, a day on day rise of USD (+5/mt).

CFR China SM prices on Thursday were assessed at the USD 1130-1140/mt levels, a gain of USD (+5/mt) from Wednesday's assessed levels.

Meanwhile, upstream benzene prices on Thursday were assessed at the USD 1000-1010/mt FOB Korea levels, stable from Wednesday.

We remind, styrene prices in the Asian region fell on Tuesday, July 16, amid lower commodity prices combined with weak purchasing dynamics in the Asian region. On Tuesday, styrene prices on delivery terms FOB Korea were at USD1,115-1,125 per ton, which is USD10 lower than Monday's price level.

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Idemitsu Kosan Co. shut down its naphtha-fed steam cracker at Tokuyama, Japan, on July 15 amid some problems, a company source said to S&P Global Commodity Insights on July 18.

The source didn’t provide further details.

It is unclear when the cracker will be restarted. The unit can produce 623,000 metric tons per year of ethylene and 450,000 metric tons per year of propylene. The company also supplies crude C-4 to its external customers for butadiene production.

The cracker shutdown has led to reduced crude C-4 feedstock supplies and a butadiene shortage of 4,000 metric tons, according to some market sources. Of this shortfall, around 1,000 metric tons has not yet been covered, they said.

We remind, Idemitsu Kosan, one of Japan's largest petrochemical companies, plans to complete repairs at its No. 1 styrene line in Tokuyama, Japan, this week. Thus, repair work on this line No. 1 with a capacity of 120 thousand tons of styrene per year began on May 17, 2024.

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