Ineos to expand petrochemical plant capacity in Norway, build furnace

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Swiss-based chemicals major Ineos is building a new furnace at its petrochemical plant in Rafnes, Norway, as it expands capacity to use ethane made from US shale gas it will store in a tank under construction at the site, the chemicals and refinery, according to Reuters.

Ineos is building an ethane storage tank that will enable the plant to produce 570,000 tonnes per year of ethylene, a key substance in making plastics. The extra furnace will enable it to produce 620,000 tonnes per year.

The Norwegian plant currently houses 11 furnaces which process ethane gas and some oil-based liquids into ethylene. By the end of 2015 it will have built a 12th, Geir Tuft, the commercial director, told journalists at the site.

Tuft said that the company was spending around USD160 million on building the tank, the furnace and import facilities.

The move, taking advantage of the availability of cheap shale gas now being produced in the United States, will enable Ineos to stop buying more costly propane and make it more profitable on a long-term basis.

"It's more than likely now that the plant will be here in 2030," Tuft said.

As MRC informed earlier, in October 2012, Ineos announced it signed an agreement to secure ethane from the US that it will use as a feedstock to operate its steam crackers in Europe. It has agreed a long-term deal with Range Resources Corp. for the lifting of ethane from the Marcus Hook facility, located near Philadelphia, from 2015.

Ineos operates steam crackers in Grangemouth in the UK, Cologne in Germany, Lavera in France and Rafnes in Norway.

INEOS Group Limited is a privately owned multinational chemicals company consisting of 15 standalone business units, headquartered in Rolle, Switzerland and with its registered office in Lyndhurst, United Kingdom. It is the fourth largest chemicals company in the world measured by revenues (after BASF, Dow Chemical and LyondellBasell) and the largest privately owned company in the United Kingdom.
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Chevron Phillips now markets X line of PPS alloys under Ryton PSS brand

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP, owner of the broadest portfolio of PPS products and compounds worldwide, has announced that its Xtel polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) alloy products will now be marketed under the Ryton PPS brand name as XE or XK PPS alloys, according to the company's press release.

The goal of the brand change is to reduce confusion between the different Chevron Phillips Chemical PPS product lines and leverage the strength of the Ryton PPS brand.

"For years, the Ryton PPS brand has been recognized by customers as a trusted name for quality products because of its excellent chemical resistance, long term property retention and dimensional stability at high temperatures," said Kyle Mathis, Engineering Polymers General Manager for Chevron Phillips Chemical. "Aligning all our PPS products under the same brand reinforces to customers the quality of our high performance XE and XK products."

In addition to maintaining the chemical resistance, strength and thermal stability of traditional PPS compounds, Ryton XE and XK PPS alloys offer higher ductility and toughness while expanding the processing options to include extrusion and blow molding.

Because of their unique characteristics, XE and XK PPS alloys are well-suited for use in a variety of applications including under-the-hood automotive connectors, residential water meters and irrigation valves, as well as energy storage and lithium battery components.

Product brand changes are expected to be phased in over the next several months, beginning in January 2014.

As MRC reported earlier, in November, 2013, Yokogawa Electric Corp. selected as the main automation contractor for Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP’s USGC Petrochemicals Project, which was first announced in March 2011. The project will include an ethane cracker with capacity to produce 1.5 mln tpa and two new polyethylene facilities, each with an annual capacity of 500,000 tons. The ethane cracker will be built at Chevron Phillips Chemical’s Cedar Bayou plant in Baytown, Texas, and two polyethylene units will be built at a site in Old Ocean, also in Texas and near Chevron Phillips Chemical’s Sweeny plant.

Chevron Phillips is a chemical producer jointly owned by Chevron Corporation and Phillips 66. The company was formed July 1, 2000 by merging the chemicals operations of both Chevron Corporation and Phillips Petroleum Company. A 50/50 venture, the company continues to be governed by a board of directors composed of two members from each of the parent companies. Chevron Phillips is headquartered at The Woodlands, Texas (a northern suburb of Houston), and is a major producer of ethylene, propylene, polyethylene, polypropylene, K-Resin(r) SBC, ryton polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), alpha-olefins, polyalphaolefins, aromatic compounds and a range of specialty chemicals.
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Honeywell to automate systems for largest refinery in the Middle East

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Honeywell announced that it has been selected by Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) to provide the Integrated Control and Safety System (ICSS) for its new 615,000 barrel-a-day Al Zour refinery complex to be built in southern Kuwait, said the Wall Street Journal.

Honeywell will also provide the front-end engineering design (FEED) for the system. This will be Kuwait's fourth refinery and the largest refinery in the entire Middle East. The total capacity of Kuwait's three current refineries is 930,000 barrels a day. The new refinery is targeted for start-up in 2018.

"With this new refinery, Kuwait will become one of the largest producers of clean fuels in the Middle East," said James King, Honeywell general manager, Kuwait. "Honeywell's suite of proven technologies for the refining industry is well suited to support a quick and safe refinery start up, and efficient operations. We are pleased to have been selected for this important project."

Honeywell has provided industry-leading technologies to KNPC's refineries for about 30 years through its Process Solutions (HPS) business and has long-sustained a presence in Kuwait. As the main automation contractor for the new Al Zour refinery, Honeywell will supply Experion(R) PKS as the main control system for the refinery complex, as well as integrate all process automation systems throughout the site. Additionally, having HPS perform front-end engineering and design of the system will help drive consistent designs from other contractors throughout the entire project and help speed its completion.

The new refinery complex will help to meet domestic demand and export of ultra-low sulfur products such as fuel oil, diesel and kerosene, as well as petrochemical feedstocks.

MRC wrote before, Honeywell's UOP granted the third technology license for its breakthrough methanol-to-olefins (MTO) technology to China's Shandong Yangmei Hengtong Chemicals. The Chinese company will use Honeywell UOP's advanced MTO process to convert methanol from gasified coal into ethylene and propylene.
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Qatar is on track for 23 million tonnes petrochemical exports a year by 2020 - Muntajat CEO

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Qatar’s chemical and petrochemical industry’s planned investments will further increase the country’s export portfolio to 23 million tonnes per year by 2020, from 10 million tonnes in 2013, reported GV with reference to Muntajat CEO Abdulrahman Ali Al-Abdulla's statement.

As demand for chemicals and petrochemicals continues to rise, the Gulf petrochemicals industry continues to be the largest producer and exporter in the world, accounting for 11% of the USD 600 billion global market, he said as Qatar participated at the Gulf Petrochemicals & Chemicals Association (GPCA) annual forum in Dubai recently.

"Following the positive global outlook on market demand and consumption patterns, Muntajat plans to expand its portfolio of products that will better serve the needs of customers worldwide. Our developing global network of offices and advanced supply chain programme will ensure that we offer world-class logistical support as well as high-quality products," al-Abdulla said.

Muntajat recently decided to set up its international marketing company at The Hague in The Netherlands. Muntajat has now entered a new phase of expansion as the company is currently implementing its supply chain programme and building a global network of offices and warehouses, the company said.

Since starting its operations on 1 February this year, Muntajat has shipped more than 4.6 million tonnes of chemicals, polymers and fertilisers to more than 120 countries across the world.

As MRC wrote previously, in early 2013 , Qatar Chemical and Petrochemical Marketing and Distribution Company (Muntajat) has taken over the marketing and distribution responsibilities for Qatar’s globally recognised Lotrene brand of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE). This marks the company’s entry to the polymers sector, Muntajat’s third area of operations after the "successful transition" earlier this year of the marketing and distribution activities of the chemicals and fertilisers produced in Qatar.
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Clariant expands its ethoxylation site in Texas

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, announced the second expansion of its ethoxylation site at Clear Lake in Pasadena, Texas (USA), said the producer.

Following the first expansion in 2012, now already fully utilized, the investment will provide the necessary further capacity to continue profitable growth of the Business Unit Industrial & Consumer Care (ICS) in North America and Latin America.

The expansion includes new reactors and additional storage facilities, bringing the overall ethoxylation capacity to more than 125 000 metric tons from 95 thousand metric tons at present. Products manufactured include High Molecular Weight Polyethylene Glycols (PEGs), alcohol ethoxylates, sodium isethionates and ethoxylated specialties. The current expansion brings the total investment over the last five years to CHF 65 million. The new plant will go online in mid-2015.

"The investment is another important step in the implementation of our business strategy focussing on profitable growth. With the expansion, we can increase our market share in markets with good growth potential", said Hariolf Kottmann, CEO.

Michael Willome, Head of the Business Unit ICS emphazises: "Ethoxylated products including Polyetylene Glycols are a cornerstone of our growth strategy, especially for the fast growing markets in the Americas with their greater demand for personal and home care products. "

Located in the southeast part of Houston’s metro area near Galveston Bay, the Clear Lake site is home to production of a variety of products, including Genapol surfactants that are used in such applications as crop-protection, detergents, home and personal care, as well as metalworking. The focus of the Clear Lake site is on ethoxylation. The facility uses large quantities of ethylene oxide that is added to such raw materials as alcohols to produce the surfactants that go into such products as soaps and shampoos. The plant, built in 1994, is a former Hoechst Specialty Chemicals facility that sits on a larger site now owned by Celanese. From 1997-2008, Celanese manufactured products for Clariant at the plant.

Clariant is an internationally active specialty chemical company, based in Muttenz near Basel. The group owns over 100 companies worldwide. Clariant is divided into eleven business units: Additives; Catalysis & Energy; Emulsions, Detergents & Intermediates; Functional Materials; Industrial & Consumer Specialties; Leather Services; Masterbatches; Oil & Mining Services; Paper Specialties; Pigments; Textile Chemicals.
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