OMV opens plant in Austria to produce pyrolysis oil from plastic waste

Austrian company OMV has completed a large-scale expansion of its ReOil pilot plant for plastic recycling at its Schwechat refinery, as per company.

The new ReOil plant will be able to process up to 16,000 tons of difficult-to-recycle mixed plastic waste per year, the company said.

The ReOil technology was developed in 2009. In 2018, the company launched the first plant for recycling waste into pyrolysis oil - a raw material for the production of new plastic suitable for the production of food packaging, medical and automotive components. After several years of successful operation, a decision was made to build a larger facility.

"OMV's chemical recycling technology plays a key role in driving growth in our Chemicals segment. The start-up of the new plant marks an important milestone on our path to climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest. In addition to mechanical recycling, ReOil recycles plastic waste that would otherwise remain unrecyclable," says OMV CEO Alfred Stern.

Osterreichische Mineralolverwaltung is Europe's largest oil and gas company. Headquartered in Vienna, it was ranked 387th in the Forbes Global 2000 list of the world's largest companies in 2022. It is active in oil and gas production and refining, as well as in the petrochemical industry and plastics processing.

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Mainland China’s imports of para-xylene (p-xylene) moved 3% lower in February from the previous month after dropping 15% in January, customs data showed on March 21, as per Chemweek.

In January, mainland China imported around 708,514 metric tons, lower than the volume imported in December 2024 at 839,500 metric tons, the data showed. A similar trend was seen for February imports, with mainland China importing 685,506 metric tons.

The main reason for the fall in imports could be the ongoing sluggish downstream polyester demand on the back of weak domestic Chinese consumption, and the ongoing output curbs by producers, sources said to Platts.

Among the major exporters of p-xylene to mainland China, South Korea was at the top with around 315,308 metric tons in January and 271,319 metric tons in February, the data showed.

Japan took the second spot, exporting around 176,248 metric tons in January and 152,167 metric tons in February.

Imports from key suppliers Taiwan and Brunei moved higher in February from the previous month.

In January, Taiwan exported around 45,999 metric tons of p-xylene and almost double that volume in February at 90,987 metric tons.

Similarly, Brunei exported around 82,466 metric tons in January and around 48% higher volumes in February at around 121,778 metric tons.

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South Korea's toluene exports jumped to 75,813 metric tons in February from 18,048 metric tons in January, data from the Korea Customs Service showed on March 17, as per Chemweek.

South Korea flipped from being a net importer in January to a net exporter in February, with net imports and net exports at 49,520 metric tons and 39,704 metric tons, respectively.

The US was the largest buyer, importing 31,656 metric tons of toluene in February, while India purchased 30,627 metric tons. In January, India imported 14,958 metric tons of toluene, while Singapore took in 3,002 metric tons.

A March 5 report released by the US Energy Information Administration revealed that implied gasoline demand had climbed in the last three weeks in February.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s toluene imports declined to 36,698 metric tons in February from 67,846 metric tons in January, the data showed.

Japan overtook China to become the largest exporter of toluene to South Korea, with 26,609 metric tons in February and 28,365 metric tons in January. China was the second-largest exporter, with 10,080 metric tons in February and 39,481 metric tons in January.

Thailand exported 6,960 metric tons of toluene to South Korea in January.

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China’s petrochemical sector has seen a strong growth in production, but demand has not kept up, said Cheng Daqing, vice president at Sinopec, as per Chemweek.

China has become self-sufficient in the petchem industry with capacity growth expected to continue, albeit at a slower rate after 2030, he said at the World Petrochemical Conference (WPC) in Houston last week.

Softening domestic consumption and weakness in the housing sector have met economic headwinds caused by China’s aging population and rising tariffs, resulting in weak margins and falling prices for Chinese chemical products.

Further challenges lay ahead with pressure from decarbonization targets and an expected reduction in petrochemical feedstock.

China has targets for carbon neutrality by 2060, while an anticipated reduction in gasoline demand will result in a reduction of refinery throughout and, therefore, a supply challenge on naphtha.

A diversification of feedstock from naphtha to ethylene would aid margins and improve efficiency, Daqing said, pointing to the need to continue the energy transition, which is “essential for survival” for chemical producers.

High-end chemicals — such as specialty derivatives or engineering grade plastics — have more demand potential, which could also aid the market’s recovery.

Chemicals production has risen significantly, according to Xiangsheng Fu, vice chairman of the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation (CPCIF). However, domestic production still “cannot meet demand.”

Fu noted a significant gap between demand for high-end products, such as engineering grade nylon 66 and specialty resins, which CPCIF says would offer Chinese manufacturers better margins than currently oversupplied products.

By abandoning the “scale-first” mindset and focusing on innovation-driven growth, existing capacities will be revitalized through technological upgrades while phasing out inefficient capacities.

CPCIF's 15th five-year plan, which outlines Chinese chemical demand recovery, places an emphasis on development of high-end chemical production, limiting capacity expansions on products with weak margins, and "deepening interaction with the global economy," Fu said.

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China’s Qingdao Lidong has cut the operating rate at its 1 million metric tons per year para-xylene plant to 65%, from around 70%, following poor margins, as per Chemweek.

The source further added that there was no immediate plan to lower the run rate further and that it could continue operating at around 65% for at least another month.

We remind, Qingdao Lidong resumed paraxylene production at its plant in the Qingdao Economic and Technological Development Zone in China following scheduled maintenance. The 1 million tonne/year paraxylene plant was shut down for maintenance on March 25 and was expected to be completed on April 30 2022.

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