Solikamsk plant to produce rare earth metals for high-power magnets starting 2027

The mining division of Rosatom (Moscow), the Russian state atomic corporation, has begun designing and plans to commission, in 2027, the facility at its Solikamsk Magnesium Plant (SMZ) that will provide rare earth metals, including neodymium and praseodymium, for Russia’s first permanent magnets production, Rosatom and SMZ said in a joint statement Jan. 24.

The new rare earth metals separator plant represents an investment of 7 billion rubles ($71.5 million) and will come online in 2027 mainly to provide input materials to produce up to 1,000 metric tons per year of neodymium-iron-boron and potentially cobalt-samarium-based magnets that Rusatom Metal Tech, another subsidiary of Rosatom, expects to achieve by 2028.

SMZ processes loparite concentrate into niobium, tantalum and titanium at Perm Krai, Russia. However, other valuable rare earth elements remain in the collective concentrate unextracted, while the project’s technology provides for further enrichment stages with more products added to the output.

Rare earth elements are a group of 17 specialty metals used in high-tech applications including smartphones, wind turbines, magnetic resonance imaging, hard disk drives, LEDs, electric motors and more. Electric motors and generators driven by rare earth permanent magnets represent the most energy-efficient devices developed so far.

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Styrene monomer prices trended downward in Asia on Thursday, as per Polymerupdate.

An industry source in Asia informed a Polymerupdate team member, Prices were assessed lower due to weaker crude values coupled with sluggish buying sentiments in the Asian market.

On Thursday, FOB Korea SM prices were assessed at the USD 1030-1040/mt levels, down USD (-20/mt) from Wednesday's assessed levels.

CFR China SM prices on Thursday were assessed at the USD 1040-1050/mt levels, a decline of USD (-20/mt) from Wednesday.

Meanwhile, upstream benzene prices on Thursday were assessed flat at the USD 900-910/mt FOB Korea levels.

We remind, on Wednesday, FOB Korea SM prices were assessed at the USD 1050-1060/mt levels, an increase of USD (+20/mt) from Tuesday's assessed levels. CFR China SM prices on Wednesday were assessed at the USD 1060-1070/mt levels, a day on day rise of USD (+20/mt).

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ExxonMobil may build an ethane cracker and polyethylene (PE) plant near Corpus Christi, Texas, the company said in an application for a tax break.

If ExxonMobil proceeds with the project, it would be built in Calhoun county, which is north of Corpus Christi, the application said.

Construction could start in 2025 and finish at the end of 2030. Production could start in 2031, the application said.

ExxonMobil is considering other locations for the possible project, including the Middle East, Asia and other sites in North America.

ExxonMobil did not disclose capacity figures. The total capital investment could be $8.6 billion.

In a statement, ExxonMobil said it was evaluating multiple locations around the world for a future chemical plant. It acknowledged the advantages of a project on the Gulf Coast, which it could integrate with its operations in the Permian basin.

ExxonMobil is involved in another petrochemical project in nearby San Patricio county under the Gulf Coast Growth Ventures joint venture with SABIC. That project produces ethylene, PE and ethylene glycols.

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Dutch petrochemical company LyondellBasell is converting a refinery in Texas (USA) to produce plastic pellets from recycled secondary raw materials. The equipment will be installed after 2027. Currently, the processing capacity of the plant in Houston is 264 thousand barrels of oil per day, Reuters reports.

The first of two crude distillation units and the associated coke plant are scheduled to close in January. The second unit and the associated coke plant will be closed in mid- or late February 2025.

We remind, that earlier it was reported that LyondellBasell's profit in the third quarter fell by almost a quarter. Revenue decreased by 2.8%, from $10.6 billion in the third quarter of 2023 to $10.3 billion in the third quarter of 2024. EBITDA for the third quarter of 2024 amounted to $1.2 billion against $1.4 billion last year (-13.4%).

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Gas sale prices must reach a level that ensures the financing of gas infrastructure development projects and the implementation of major investment initiatives, department head at PJSC Gazprom Alexei Sakharov said during a session on legislative regulation of budgetary, tax and investment activities in the fuel and energy sector, as per Interfax.

The session was held by the expert council under the State Duma Energy Committee. The session discussed current issues of budgetary, tax and investment regulation for implementing the Energy Development Strategy until 2050 (ES-50).

Sakharov advocates the inclusion of a corresponding statement in the ES-2050 draft. "The current level of regulated wholesale gas prices does not provide for the formation of financial resources in amounts sufficient to realize the required capital investment in maintaining and developing gas infrastructure in the interests of Russian consumers. Over the long term, this will inevitably affect the reliability of the gas supply and complicate investment decisions regarding gas infrastructure development and other key infrastructure projects," he said.

Sakharov also called for enshrining a course towards increasing transportation tariffs for independent gas producers in the Energy Strategy - "the establishment of economically justified tariffs for gas transportation services for independent producers."

"Tariffs for independent gas producers' transportation services have been frozen since 2015, which means PJSC Gazprom provides these services at a loss," he said.

The current average tariff for independent producers' gas transportation is 65.2 rubles per 1,000 cubic meters per 100 km, whereas the current cost of this service is 109 rubles, he said. To ensure the financing of new projects, the tariff must be raised to approximately 170 rubles. The prolonged freeze of transportation tariffs combined with the annual indexation of wholesale prices further increases the disparity in profitability between Gazprom's field development and that of independent gas producers.

On the other hand, head of the Energy Ministry's Gas Industry Development Department Artem Verkhov noted the alternative position of independent producers, who argue that the gas transportation tariff should be lowered because "at the current tariff level, there is no development of the gas transportation system."

Gazprom's proposals align with the key objectives set out in Russia's Energy Security Doctrine, which according to the law on strategic planning in the Russian Federation must be taken into account when drafting strategic planning documents, including the ES-2050 project, Sakharov said.

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