Indian chemical company TCI Sanmar plans USD300 mln expansion in Egypt

Indian chemicals company TCI Sanmar has announced plans to invest USD300 million in expanding its operations in Egypt, according to a statement from the Egyptian Ministry of Transport and Industry.

This significant investment is set to enhance the company's existing facilities and establish new infrastructure within the country. Specifically, TCI Sanmar is considering the development of a new ethylene reception and transportation station at the West Port Said Port, with an investment totaling USD150 million. Additionally, the company aims to boost the capacity of its existing factories in Port Said, which focus on the production of Vinyl Chloride Monomer (VCM) and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), with an equal investment of USD150 million.

The announcement followed a meeting between Egypt’s Deputy Prime Minister for Industrial Development and Minister of Industry and Transport, Lieutenant General Kamel El-Wazir, and a delegation from TCI Sanmar, led by Chairman PS Jayaraman. The meeting focused on exploring investment opportunities and discussing the company's future projects within the Egyptian market. TCI Sanmar is noted as the largest producer of PVC in the Middle East and North Africa, providing approximately 3,000 direct and indirect jobs in Egypt. Currently, the company exports 70 percent of its production while directing 30 percent to the local market. The company has expressed its readiness to shift its production focus entirely to the Egyptian market to help reduce imports and conserve hard currency.?

In March 2024, the company commissioned a 41,000 tonne PVC paste expansion project in Cuddalore (Tamil Nadu, India).

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Sulfindo Adiusaha eyes maintenance at caustic soda unit, said Polymerupdate.

Sulfindo Adiusaha is likely to shut down its caustic soda unit in Bojonegara. A Polymerupdate source in Indonesia informed a team member, “The unit is planned to be taken off stream for maintenance in September 2024. The exact date and duration of the shutdown could not be ascertained.

PT Sulfindo Adiusaha was established in 1987. The company produces VCM, PVC and caustic soda. The capacity of VCM is 130,000 tonnes per year, PVC - 95,000 tonnes per year.

It was previously reported that Sulfindo Adiusaha had completed a vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production expansion project in Merak, Indonesia, by early 2022. The company's total production capacity for VCM and PVC will increase from the current 120,000 tons to 370,000 tons and from 110,000 tons to 360,000 tons, respectively. The production expansion was completed in the second half of 2021 - early 2022.

Earlier, Indonesia's Sulfindo Adiusaha signed a memorandum of cooperation with Hyundai Engineering in South Korea regarding this expansion project.

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Sasol announced the appointment of Walt Bruns as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Executive Director of Sasol Limited, effective 1 September 2024, said the company.

Walt, a certified chartered accountant in South Africa, is currently CFO of Sasol Southern Africa including Energy and Chemicals. In a career spanning more than 15 years at Sasol, Walt has held a variety of senior management positions across different functions and geographic locations, including more than three years as CFO of Sasol’s global chemicals business and Planning and Optimisation roles in both Germany and South Africa. Prior to joining Sasol, he worked for Deloitte in South Africa and the United States of America.

Walt is well positioned for the role, owing to his in-depth knowledge of Sasol and his extensive global experience across the chemicals and energy businesses. As CFO he will focus on driving sustainable value and supporting Sasol’s strategic transformation for the future.

Hanre Rossouw will step down as CFO and Executive Director on 31 August 2024. He will however remain with Sasol as an Executive Advisor until 31 October 2024 to ensure a seamless and structured handover.

Trix Kennealy, Chairman of the Sasol Audit Committee, said: “On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Hanre for his significant contribution and leadership over the past two years, during particularly challenging times. The Board welcomes Walt and is looking forward to working with him. His background and experience are well aligned with Sasol’s near and long-term objectives, and he will play a key role in re-shaping our financial success.”

Simon Baloyi, Sasol President and CEO, congratulated Walt on his appointment and added: “I am proud that we were able to draw from our internal talent pool for this appointment, which will contribute towards maintaining continuity as we pursue our strategic ambitions.”

We remind, Sasol North America, a subsidiary of Sasol, has shut down its olefins facility in Lake Charles, USA, for unscheduled maintenance due to freezing temperatures in the region. The company shut down its ethylene, ethylene oxide, propylene, and ethylene glycol production on January 15 until approximately the end of this week. The weather conditions have impacted not only Sasol's operations, but also personnel and logistics throughout the region.

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Slower consumption in China spurred the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cut estimates for global oil demand growth this week, highlighting the vital role that the world's second largest economy plays in energy markets, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Yet, overall electricity generation in China climbed to new highs in the first half of 2024 - indicating robust use by households and factories - and imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) rose 10% to the highest in three years.

The country's ongoing efforts to transition energy systems away from polluting fuels towards cleaner power sources can help reconcile some of the conflicting signals, and account for cuts to refined fuel use and rising electricity demand.

But record large thermal coal imports during the first half of 2024 also underscore the enduring challenge facing China's power suppliers, which remain hugely dependent on some fossil fuels even as they cut back consumption of others.

Below are some of the key energy and power sector data points that can help provide a gauge of China's appetite for fossil fuels going forward, and the potential impact on world markets.

The main high-level measure of China's oil demand is the country's imports of crude oil, as China imports roughly 75% of its total oil needs and is the world's largest crude purchaser.

China's imports in July fell to their lowest since September 2022, as weak processing margins and low fuel demand curbed operations at state-run and independent refineries.

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Topsoe has signed an agreement with HOLBORN Europa Raffinerie GmbH (HOLBORN), to provide its HydroFlex™ technology for the production of SAF and renewable diesel at its plant in Hamburg. HOLBORN is a successful oil refinery that supplies Hamburg and northern Germany with fuels and heating oil, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The production will serve to address the rapidly growing demand for SAF. As cited by the International Energy Agency’s Net Zero Scenario, over 10% of fuel consumption in aviation needs to be SAF by 2030 to stay on course for net zero CO2 emissions by 2050. In 2022, the International Air Transport Association estimated global SAF production to make up only around 0.1% to 0.15% of total jet fuel demand.

Elena Scaltritti, Chief Commercial Officer at Topsoe, said: “We are pleased to sign this agreement with HOLBORN. To support the energy transition, we need a cleaner long-distance transportation sector. A key step in securing this is by increasing production of SAF and renewable diesel. HOLBORN is spearheading the rollout of SAF in Northern Europe through its Hamburg plant, and we are proud to be a part of this process. We look forward to delivering our technology and continue working with HOLBORN to accelerate the uptake of SAF in Europe and globally.”

Lars Bergmann, Chief Executive Officer at HOLBORN, said: “Our complex in Hamburg is at the forefront of our commitment to implement the energy transition. As such, it is vital we bring in the best technology to deliver on the high standards and specifications required for the project. HOLBORN is very pleased to sign this agreement with Topsoe, who are proven market leaders, and whose technology is vital for processing our specific feedstock requirements.”

HOLBORN develops the renewable fuels complex for Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) inside the existing refinery in Hamburg, Germany. The plant is expected to be operational in early 2027, including the interconnecting infrastructure with the existing facilities. Once completed, the plant will produce approximately 220,000 tpy of renewable diesel and SAF using waste and residue feedstocks.

This agreement with HOLBORN follows a number of wins announced by Topsoe for the roll-out of its HydroFlex™ technology, including Braya Renewable Fuels’ Come By Chance plant in Canada, Cepsa Bioenergia San Roque’s Palos de la Frontera plant in Spain, and Guangxi Hongkun Biomass in China.

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