UK to introduce plastic banknotes in 2016

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Qatar Petroleum (QP) and Qatar Petrochemical Company (QAPCO) have signed the FEED contract with Tecnimont SpA for the Al Sejeel Petrochemical Complex, to be built in Ras Laffan Industrial City, according to the Qapco's statement.

The signing of the FEED contract for the project, in which QP and QAPCO own respectively 80% and 20% equity interest, marks a strategic milestone for the progress of the mega-petrochemical complex.

The complex's construction scheduled for completion in 2018. It will comprise the worlds largest mixed-feed steam crackers, and is designed to produce 2.2 million tpa of polymers, including polyethylene (PE) - high density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) - and polypropylene (PP) resins.

Al Sejeel Petrochemical Complex will surely be unique in terms of its feedstock, as it will assure production efficiency and access to a steady supply of critical chemical building blocks while increasing its global competitiveness. The plants will be processing several feed types simultaneously, namely ethane, butane, and naphtha, ensuring an optimum use of natural resources and allowing extra flexibility and diversity in terms of products.

"It is the vision of our leadership to harness the tremendous potential of the petrochemical sector, and to embark on a large-scale expansion of our downstream industry. To this end, we aim to raise our petrochemical output to 23 million tpa by 2020, thus supporting the growth and diversification of the Qatari economy," Dr. Al-Sada added.

Over the course of one year the project has achieved significant progress.

As MRC informed previously, this summer, QP and Qapco signed technology licence contracts for the multibillion dollar Al Sejeel petrochemical complex with Univation Technologies for the PE technology and Dow Chemical for PP technology. The Project Management Contract (PMC) was also awarded, marking the firm progression of the project, as Al Sejeel is entering phase IV.

Tecnimont SpA is a leading global engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) with a vast experience to execute large and complex projects worldwide, being in particular the market leader in polyolefin with about 30% of world installed capacity. In Qatar Tecnimont has already experience as EPC contractor for petrochemicals.

Qatar Petroleum is a state owned petroleum company in Qatar.

Qatar Petrochemical Company (QAPCO) is a Qatar-based company established in 1974 and is a joint venture between Industries Qatar (80%) and Total Petrochemicals (20%). The company is currently one of the largest producers of low density polyethylene (LDPE) in the region. In addition to LDPE, QAPCO also produces linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), ethylene, and sulfur, which it sells to over 4500 industry customers in 145 countries through its extensive global marketing network.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Motiva Enterprises plans to shut the fluid catalytic cracker at its refinery in Convent, Louisiana, by October 2016 because it’s unprofitable to operate, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The refinery’s crude units don’t produce as much feedstock, such as vacuum gasoil, as the unit can process. Motiva found it too costly to purchase additional feed, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public. A catalytic cracker upgrades vacuum gasoil into gasoline and other fuels.

Motiva may add other equipment, such as a third crude unit, to boost its ability to make catalytic cracker feed. It’s more profitable for the company to make and sell feedstock to other refineries than to process it at Convent.

The company is alternately considering adding a ROSE unit, which can convert heavy residual fuel into feed for catalytic crackers, the person said. Motiva is also weighing whether to add a coker, another unit that breaks down residual fuel into lighter products, to back up its hydrocracker when that unit is shut for repairs, the person said.

Without a catalytic cracker, the Convent plant will focus more on making diesel, the person said.Destin Singleton, a spokeswoman for Motiva in Houston, said in an e-mail seeking comment about these plans that she would respond as soon as possible.

In addition to the catalytic cracker, the refinery has two crude units, the hydrocracker, which converts heavy fuel oil into lighter fuels like gasoline, and an H-Oil unit, or heavy-oil cracker. An alkylation unit works in association with the catalytic cracker to make high-octane gasoline blending components.

Convent receives crude primarily by pipeline and distributes finished oil products by pipe, rail, truck and water to markets along the Gulf Coast and in the southeastern United States, the company said on its website.

The 255,000 bpd Convent plant is 80 km west of New Orleans. Motiva operates a second plant in Louisiana, the 250,000 bpd Norco refinery, about 21 km west of New Orleans.

As MRC wrote before, the company had a fire at the unit's reactor on August 12, 2013 at the sulfur unit. Kim Windon, a Houston based spokeswoman for Motiva, confirmed that there was a small fire in a unit that was quickly extinguished.

Motiva is a refining and marketing joint venture of Saudi Refining, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabian Oil, and Shell Oil, a unit of Royal Dutch Shell.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The November output of finished products from polymers in Russia dropped in all key sectors. However, production of major products from polymers grew by 7.3% over the eleven months of 2013, reported MRC analysts.

The output of key products from polymers in Russia fell in November by 13.8% from October. The sector of production of plastic windows and window sills accounted for the greatest reduction.

In general, the output of products made of polymers from January to November looks the following way.

According to the Federal State Statistics Service, the November production of plastic windows and window sills fell to 2.3 million square meters from 3.4 million square meters in October. Production of these products from polymers reached 25.8 million square meters over the eleven months of 2013, up by 7.7% year on year.

About 89,400 square meters of doors and their boxes from polymers were produced last month, down by 17% from October. The overall output of these products totalled 903,800 tonnes from January to November 2013, down by 3.9% year on year.

The November production of plates, films and non-combined sheets dropped to 68,800 tonnes from 76,800 tonnes a month earlier. The overall output of these products from polymers totalled about 773,700 tonnes from January to November 2013, up by only 0.4% year on year.

Production of hoses and fittings from polymers fell to 47,600 tonnes last month from 50,400 tonnes in October. The overall output of these products totalled about 544,100 tonnes over eleven months of the year, down by 17.3% year on year.

The November output of plates, sheets, combined and porous films by Russian companies dropped to 19,1000 tonnes, down by 6.9% from October. The total production of these products amounted to 192,300 tonnes from January to November 2013, up by 15.9% year on year.

Production of bottles, large bottles and flasks from polymers rose to 1.1 billion pieces in November. The output of these products totalled about 12.5 billion units from January to November 2013, down by 0.3% year on year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PolyOne Corporation, a premier global provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions, has begun production at a new facility in Turkey, as per the company's statement.

The operations feature enhanced capabilities to better serve customers with an expanding portfolio of specialty polymer formulations.

The facility is located in Istanbul and provides high-level production, service and flexibility characteristics required by PolyOne's customers.

"Demand for PolyOne solutions and service in Turkey continues to increase," said Holger Kronimus, vice president of Europe, PolyOne Corporation. "These investments will further enable PolyOne's growth by providing customers a broader portfolio of offerings and even more efficient delivery times."

According to Pagev, the Turkish plastics industry association, the domestic plastics industry is growing at more than 10% per annum. "Turkey is one of the fastest growing markets for thermoplastics in the world, and the specialty polymer solutions formulated by PolyOne deliver on the needs of original equipment manufacturers and plastics processors throughout the region," added Mr. Kronimus.

As MRC informed before, in June, PolyOne completed the previously-announced sale of its vinyl dispersion, blending and suspension resin assets to Mexichem for USD250 million in cash. The sale of PolyOne's last remaining resin production assets marks an important milestone in the company's ongoing specialty transformation that began in 2006, according to top officials.

PolyOne Corporation is a global provider of specialized polymer materials, services, and solutions. PolyOne is a provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions with operations in specialty polymer formulations, color and additive systems, polymer distribution and specialty vinyl resins. The company's full-year revenues in 2012 increased 4.5% to USD3.0 billion, compared to USD2.9 billion in 2011.
MRC