Jubail United Petrochemical to restart MEG plant in Saudi Arabia

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Jubail United Petrochemical Co (JUPC) is likely to restart its No.1 monoethylene glycol (MEG) plant, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Saudi Arabia informed that the plant is likely to be restarted by end-August 2014. It was shut in early July for a maintenance turnaround.

Located at Jubail in Saudi Arabia, the plant has a production capacity of 700,000 mt/year.

We remind that, as MRC wrote before, Sinopec Hubei Chemical Fertilizer has started a new MEG plant on February 8, 2014. Initially the plant was scheduled to start commercial production in late 2013. Located at Zhejiang in Hubei province of China, the plant has a production capacity of 200,000 mt/year.

Another Chinese petrochemical producer Hubei Chemical Fertilizer started a new monoethylene glycol (MEG) plant in late 2013. Located in Hubei, China, the plant has a production capacity of 200,000 tonnes per year.
MRC

Kazanorgsintez shuts HDPE production for turnaround from 10, September

MOSCOW (MRC) - Russia's largest producer of polyethylene - Kazanorgsintez (Taif) plans to stop the production of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) for scheduled maintenance works from 10, September, according to ICIS-MRC Price Report.

Kazanorgsintez traditionally shuts its HDPE production for maintenance works in September. This year the company will shut its HDPE production for the turnaround from 10, September to 18, September. The producer resumes HDPE production after the turnaround from 5, October and also will be delayed for several days.

As it was reported before, Nizhnekamskneftekhim, the second in Tatarstan producer of polyethylene in Russia because of the circumstances in the Russian market (emergency shutdown of Stavrolen resulted in the shortage in the domestic market) doe not plan to shut for the turnaround this year.

Kazanorgsintez is the largest producer of polyethylene in Russia with total capacity of 730,000 tonnes/year.
Its HDPE production capacity is 540,000 tonnes/year.
MRC

Dupont fined USD1.275 million in West Virginia toxic pollution case

MOSCOW (MRC) - DuPont will pay a fine of USD1.275 million and spend an estimated USD2.3 million more to settle claims by U.S. officials that the global chemical conglomerate failed to prevent toxic releases of hazardous substances in West Virginia that killed at least one man, said Reuters.

E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co reached the settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice in a case about eight alleged releases of harmful levels of hazardous substances between May 2006 and January 2010 from a DuPont facility in Belle, West Virginia, the EPA said.

Several of the releases posed "significant risk to people" and a nearby river, the government said in statement announcing the settlement. One DuPont worker died after exposure to a toxic gas released due to DuPont’s "failure to comply with industry accident prevention procedures," the EPA said.

The problems came to light in January 2010 when plant operators discovered that more than 2,000 pounds of methyl chloride had been leaking, and employees had failed to respond to alarms triggered by the release.

In addition to the USD1.275 million penalty, DuPont is to take corrective actions to prevent future releases. The company has estimated it will spend USD2.276 million to complete required improvements. The company said it already has spent nearly USD7 million to comply with an EPA order for corrective measures.

DuPont expressed deep "regret" for the death of its employee in a statement issued Wednesday and pledged tight controls.

"We remain committed to meeting all regulatory requirements and operating at the highest standards for protection of our employees, contractors, community and the environment," the company said.

The EPA said that inspections of DuPont's records identified five incidents in which the company released harmful quantities of hazardous substances and then did not report the releases in a timely manner. The largest of these was the release of 80 tons of methanol into the Kanawha River in West Virginia on Sept. 21, 2010.

As MRC wrote before, DuPont Co. had said its first-quarter earnings fell 57% as the chemicals and agricultural-products company reported that growth in most of its businesses was offset by harsh weather and shifts in agriculture. The bottom line also was impacted by the sale of its performance coatings business last year, which had contributed nearly USD2 billion of income for the year-earlier period. In the latest quarter, earnings from the company's remaining operations rose 4.2%.

DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802. DuPont developed many polymers such as Vespel, neoprene, nylon, Corian, Teflon, Mylar, Kevlar, Zemdrain, M5 fiber, Nomex, Tyvek, Sorona and Lycra. DuPont developed Freon (chlorofluorocarbons) for the refrigerant industry, and later more environmentally friendly refrigerants. It developed synthetic pigments and paints including ChromaFlair.
MRC

Reliance Industries plans turnaround at its largest cracker for 4 weeks

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) has scheduled a planned turnaround at its Hazira manufacturing site, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The cracker unit will be shut for a period of about 4 weeks, starting from the last week of September 2014.

This opportunity will be utilised to carry out other routine maintenance and turnaround activities to enhance productivity.

RIL’s crackers at other locations will continue at normal levels of operations. With advance planning and inventory management, impact on external sales is likely to be minimal.

As MRC informed previously, Reliance Industries is implementing a new project to source 1.5 million tpy of ethane feedstock from the US to feed its crackers in India.

"The shale gas industry in North America has grown exponentially in the past five years," Reliance said in a media release. "As a result, ethane has become the dominant feedstock for crackers replacing liquids."

Earlier, RIL said thay it will invest up to USD700 mln in its shale gas venture in the current fiscal and also ramp up spends under the USD13 bln capex programme in the petrochemical and refining business.

Reliance Industries is one of the world's largest producers of polymers. The company's polymer production in 2010-11 (polypropylene, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride) made 4,094 kilo tonnes.
mrpclast.com

PC imports in Ukraine grew by 9% in January-July 2014

MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports polycarbonate (PC) to the Ukrainian market increased by 9% in the first seven months of the year to 2,400 tonnes, according to MRC DataScope report.

Polycarbonate market in Ukraine is completely depends on import, that is, the volume of imports actually can be compared to the volume of PC consumption in the country. The main refining sector is the injection moulding, which takes 60% from the total PC market in the country.

Sheet extrusion segment takes 25%, and the blowing of bottles - about 15%. Moulded parts made from PC are mainly used in the automotive, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and exported to Europe and the CIS countries, mainly from Sabic, Bayer.

Over the reported period consumption of injection moulding PC in Ukraine grew by 4%, reaching 1,100 tonnes. The second largest sector is the sheet extrusion, with 572 tonnes imported in January-July, up 112% year on year on the back of increased production of PC sheets.

Ukrainian converters processed 410,000 tonnes of PC in the blow moulding sector over the reported period, up 17% year on year. The popularity of the delivery of water in offices and homes has increased, which in turn stimulated the demand for bottles of 19 litres.

According to market players, buying activity fell significantly in the summer. In the first place, it resulted from the holiday season and the unfavourable economic and political situation in the country. Lull in the market will last until the beginning of autumn. Foreign producers left export prices steady in Ukraine.

The price for PC in the domestic market most of all depend on the exchange rate fluctuations. Seasonality in the sector of extrusion blow moulding and has practically no effect on the Ukrainian prices of raw materials.

MRC