Total Petrochemical will pay USD8.75 mln for failing to comply with enforcement settlement to resolve air violations

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Total Petrochemical USA Inc. will pay an USD8.75 million penalty for failing to comply with the terms of a 2007 settlement with the United States that resolved alleged violations of the Clean Air Act at its Port Arthur, Texas, refinery, according to the Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Between 2007 and 2011, Total violated numerous requirements of the 2007 settlement, including failing to comply with emissions limits for benzene, a harmful air pollutant. The company also failed to perform corrective actions or to analyze the cause of over 70 incidents involving emissions of hazardous gases through flaring. EPA discovered the violations through a review of the quarterly compliance reports required by the 2007 settlement.

The 2007 settlement required that Total pay a USD2.9 million penalty and make upgrades to its facility to reduce emissions of harmful air pollution to resolve Clean Air Act violations. The 2007 settlement further required that Total upgrade leak detection and repair practices and implement programs to minimize flaring, which can result in emissions of gases that can cause serious respiratory problems and exacerbate asthma.

In addition to the penalty, the recent action extends the requirement that Total comply with a lower benzene emissions limit for an additional two years. The enhanced limit for benzene, which is 30% lower than the federal limit, was initially required by the 2007 settlement. In addition, Total must hire a third-party to audit its compliance under the settlement and must implement a company task force to monitor its compliance.

Reducing illegal emissions of toxic air pollutants at facilities that have a significant impact on air quality and health in communities is one of EPA’s national enforcement priorities.

We remind that, as MRC reported earlier, The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged France-based oil and gas company Total S.A. with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by paying USD60 million in bribes to intermediaries of an Iranian government official who then exercised his influence to help the company obtain valuable contracts to develop significant oil and gas fields in Iran.

Total Petrochemicals & Refining USA, Inc. (TPRI) is part of the Refining-Petrochemicals Americas Segment of Total S.A., one of the largest integrated international oil and gas companies with operations in more than 130 countries worldwide. TPRI is headquartered in Houston and is a major producer of polypropylene, polystyrene, styrene, base chemicals and polyethylene in the United States. Its refinery produces transportation fuels and other petroleum-based products for the global market. The company employs more than 1,600 who work in support of manufacturing and research/development activities in Texas and Louisiana.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF, the German chemicals giant, has opened a new production plant for concrete admixtures in Kazan, Russia, reported the company on its site.

Together with the facility inaugurated in Podolsk near Moscow in 2012, BASF now supplies the Russian construction sector with a broad range of concrete admixtures from two production sites. This enables BASF to even better meet the specific requirements of its customers in the growing Russian market.

"Russia is an extremely attractive market for our business. We anticipate above average growth in the Russian construction industry in the coming years. Our investment in an additional production plant enables us to support our customers in Russia even more flexibly and efficiently," said Dr. Tilman Krauch, head of BASF’s Construction Chemicals division.

At its Kazan site, BASF manufactures 20 varieties of concrete admixtures, including latest generation products based on polycarboxylate ether (PCE) technology. Production focuses on innovative admixtures for accelerated concrete curing and prolonged workability even at low temperatures.

Specifically geared toward supporting the Russian construction sector, these admixtures can for example help to extend construction phases even during longer cold spells. When formulating admixtures, the BASF experts factor in the properties of the regional cement and other regional concrete raw materials, thereby providing their clients with tailored solutions.

Kazan is the economic center of a region with an excellent infrastructure. Also, Kazan’s central location facilitates a quicker and more flexible response to requests from Russia’s east.

As MRC wrote previously, SIBUR, a leading Russian gas processing and petrochemicals company, and BASF have recently signed a long-term cooperation memorandum to supply additives used for polymer production and processing at SIBUR’s production facilities. The deal provides for supplies of additives used to produce polypropylene, polyethylene, synthetic rubbers, thermoplastic elastomers (TPE), and ABS plastics at SIBUR's production facilities, with BASF ensuring also technical support.

BASF is the largest diversified chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. BASF had sales of EUR72.1 billion in 2012. The construction industry is one of BASF"s key customer industries, accounting for up to 10% of total Group sales. Sales to the construction industry in 2012 were EUR5.2 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ufaorgsintez resumed production of low density polyethylene (LDPE) at its second reactor after a scheduled turnaround, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

Ufaorgsintez resumed LDPE (158 and 153) production at its second reactor on Saturday, 21 September, after the outage for scheduled maintenance works. However, the production is not loaded to its full capacity because of a feedstock shortage. The turnaround began on 16 September and lasted about 5 days.

The annual capacity of Ufaorgsintez's PE production is about 88,400 tonnes. The Ufa plant produced about 63,300 tonnes of LDPE in the first eight months of 2013.

Ufaorgsintez OAO manufactures organic synthesis products in Russia and Europe. Its products include ethylene, propylene, ethanol, cumol, ethyl benzol, phenol, acetone, copolymer rubber, polyolefines, poly vinyl chloride and polyethylene items, thinners, and dilutants. The company exports its products to Byelorussia, Kazakhstan, Finland, Germany, France, and Brazil. Ufaorgsintez OAO was founded in 1956 and is based in Ufa, Russia. As of January 22, 2010, Ufaorgsintez OAO operates as a subsidiary of Bashneft Joint Stock Oil Company.

According to the producer's data, the company is one of the largest in Russia in terms of production - 40% phenol, 13% polyethylene, 20% polypropylene.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Polyom ( group Titan) plans to resume production of polypropylene (PP) in the next two days after a scheduled maintenance works, according to ICIS-MRC Price Report.

Polyom stopped its PP production for scheduled turnaround on 1, September 2013. Initially the plant planned to have two weeks scheduled maintenance, but for some reason the resumption of the operation was shifted on 23-24 September.

Polyom started production of polypropylene on 11 February 2013. The annual capacity of the plant is 180 tonnes. In less than seven months of the work, the company produced 73,600 tonnes of polypropylene.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - "Bashkir Soda Company" (formerly Kaustik, based in Sterlitamak) resumed its suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) production on 17 September following a week long maintenance work, according to a ICIS-MRC Price Report.

The plant's annual capacity of SPVC production is 210,000 tonnes. The company has announced its plans to increase capacity to 400,000 tonnes/year. The plant's production of PVC totalled about 124,600 tonnes in the seven months of the current year.

As MRC noted earlier, JSC "Kaustik" (Sterlitamak) was reorganised in April 2013, through a takeover of JSC "Soda" (Sterlitamak). In May 2013 JSC "Kaustik" was renamed into "Bashkir Soda Company".

MRC