PTTGC studying feasibility of building U.S. shale gas-based ethane cracker

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) is conducting a feasibility study for an ethane cracker in the U.S. that would be based on shale gas from the Marcellus basin in the U.S., according to local reports quoting Chief Executive Supattanapong Punmeechaow, said Apic-online.

The company is currently considering three sites that would have easy access to the Marcellus basin for the USD4.5-billion project, which is expected to produce 1-million t/y of ethylene.

A decision on the location is anticipated by the end of March. Following site selection and completion of the feasibility study, Supattanapong said the company will spend another year working out project details.

PTTGC is seeking a strategic partner for the project and is reported to be in talks with a Japanese firm.

As MRC wrote before, PTT Global Chemical has awarded an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to SK Engineering and Construction and PTT Maintenance and Engineering for a debottlenecking project that will increase aromatics capacity by 16% to about 1.2-million t/y at its Aromatics II complex in Rayong, Thailand. The approximately USD128.8-million project will increase paraxylene capacity to 770,000 t/y from 655,000 t/y, benzene capacity to 390,000 t/y from 355,000 t/y and will add 20,000 t/y of orthoxylene capacity. Completion of the expansion is scheduled for the end of 2015.

PTT Global Chemical is a leading player in the petrochemical industry and owns several petrochemical facilities with a combined capacity of 8.45 million tonnes a year. PTTGC is 49% owned by state-controlled parent PTT Pcl, and uses ethane and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from the gas plant as feedstock for its I4-2 olefins plant.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mitsui Chemicals said it is restructuring its organization as part of the company's effort to accelerate business strategy, new business and product creation strategy, and business support strategy in its 2014 mid-term business plan, said Chemicals-Technology.

As part of the restructuring, the Fine & Performance Chemicals Division and the Licensing Division, both part of functional chemicals, will be transferred to the basic chemicals business sector and petrochemicals business sector, respectively. Mitsui Agro, part of functional chemicals, will be upgraded from a division to a business sector. Functional chemicals will be renamed as the health care business sector.

A new research and development (R&D) center will be established to manage activities of its R&D Strategy Division, Mitsui Chemicals Singapore R&D Centre, synthetic chemicals laboratory, polymeric materials laboratory, new products development laboratory, process technology center, advancing analysis laboratory, and R&D Administration Division.

In addition, Mitsui will create a Fabricated Products Business Coordination Division and a Food & Packaging Business Promotion Division.

As MRC wrote before, Mitsui Chemicals is in plans to shut a naphtha cracker for maintenance turnaround. A Polymerupdate source in Japan informed that the cracker is likely to be taken off-stream on June 19, 2014. It is slated to remain off-stream for around one month. Located in Osaka, Japan, the plant has an ethylene production capacity of 450,000 mt/year.

Mitsui Chemicals,a Japanese chemical company, is a part of the Mitsui conglomerate. The company has a turnover of around 15 billion USD and has business interests in Japan, Europe, China, Southeast Asia and the USA. The company mainly deals in performance materials, petro and basic chemicals and functional polymeric materials.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Borealis, a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins and base chemicals, announces a net profit of EUR 141 million for the fourth quarter of 2014, compared to EUR 148 million in the same quarter of 2013, said the producer in its press release.

For the full year 2014 the company recorded a net profit of EUR 571 million, compared to EUR 423 million in 2013. The improved result over 2013 was driven by overall stronger margins in the olefins and polyolefins business and an improved contribution from Borouge following the startup of the Borouge 3 project. Within Base Chemicals the fertilizer business did not deliver as well as expected due to operational challenges at the newly acquired plants in France.

In the fourth quarter net debt reduced by EUR 255 million largely due to lower working capital needs driven by a lower price environment for polyolefins and by an inventory reduction following the completion of the site turnaround in Burghausen, Germany. In 2014, net debt increased by EUR 28 million. Borealis’ financial position remains strong with a gearing of 40%.

As MRC wrote before, Borouge, Borealis’ joint venture with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company in Abu Dhabi, UAE, started the cracker in June, three out of five polyolefin plants started up in the period until year end. Borouge 3 will deliver an additional 2.5 million tonnes of capacity when fully ramped up, bringing the total Borouge capacity to 4.5 million tonnes, thus making Borouge the biggest integrated polyolefins complex in the world. Borealis and Borouge will then have approximately 8 million tonnes of polyolefin capacity.

Borealis is a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers. With headquarters in Vienna, Austria, Borealis currently employs around 6,500 and operates in over 120 countries. It generated EUR 8.3 billion in sales revenue in 2014.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Stavrolen (LUKOIL) resumed production of polypropylene (PP) on Sunday, 1, March, said the company's customers for the MRC.

Company's customers said the producer following of a brief shudown resumed production of polypropylene. The company in the next two days will resume the shipments of the polymer into the market.

The shutdown of PP production was carried out on 20, February and was caused by the need to prepare the workshop for production of ethylene.

The annual production capacity at Stavrolen is 120,000 tonnes/year. The producer's PP production was 10,800 tonnes in January 2015. As in was written earlier, Stavrolen on 26, February 2014 had to shut polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) production. The company resumed PP production in October 2014, the resumption of PE production is expected in April.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- January imports of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) into Ukraine remained at a high level, despite a number of negative factors. SPVC imports increased in January 2015 by 34% year on year, according to MRC DataScope report.

Thus, despite seasonal factors and the severe recession in the economy, Ukrainian companies maintained quite high SPVC imports in January - over 8,000 tonnes, while this figure was about 6,000 tonnes a year earlier. At the same time, SPVC imports into the country dropped by 9% from December 2014 (8,800 tonnes). Local producers of window profiles accounted for large import quantities.

The structure of SPVC imports to Ukraine by countries looks the following way over the stated period.

January SPVC imports from the USA virtually remained at the level of December 2014 and totalled 3,400 tonnes (3,300 tonnes in December), whereas this figure was 3,800 tonnes in January 2014.

January shipments of European PVC to the Ukrainian market totalled 3,600 tonnes versus 2,200 tonnes in January 2014 and 4,200 tonnes in December 2014.

Shipments of Russian PVC to Ukraine have increased significantly in the past few months. The January figure reached 1,000 tonnes, up by almost two-fold from December 2014.

MRC