BASF and SINOPEC inaugurate world-scale isononanol plant in Maoming, China

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (SINOPEC) today inaugurated their world-scale isononanol (INA) plant in Maoming Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone, Maoming, China, said the company in its press release.

The plant will be run by BASF MPCC Company Limited (BMC), which is a 50-50 joint venture between BASF and SINOPEC. It has an annual capacity of 180,000 metric tons. This is the first INA plant in China and will serve the growing demand for next-generation plasticizers.

"The establishment of this plant is a perfect example of co-creation, bringing together the expertise of SINOPEC and BASF. This is also an important milestone for BASF because it helps us reach our own strategic goals. We are aiming to bring more of our production to the Asia Pacific region, where we will be closer to our direct customers and more closely in tune with the needs and the developments of key markets. Our midterm goal is that 75 percent of what we sell in this region is also produced in this region," said Albert Heuser, President Functions Asia Pacific, President & Chairman Greater China, BASF.

"MPCC is one of the largest refining companies in SINOPEC, with excellent economic performance that matches the foremost enterprises of the SINOPEC group. As the leading chemical company, BASF brings both technological and economic strengths. With this cooperation, the resources of the two partners complement each other, creating a win-win strategic fit that will boost the growth of both companies," said Yu Xizhi, Chairman of BMC.

INA is used for the production of diisononyl phthalate (DINP), a high molecular weight phthalate plasticizer. High molecular weight phthalate plasticizers have more favorable toxicological properties compared to low molecular weight phthalate plasticizers. The ongoing substitution of the low molecular weight phthalate plasticizers in the market by high molecular weight phthalates like DINP is expected to drive the demand for INA in the upcoming years. DINP is widely used as a plasticizer in industrial applications such as automotive, wires and cables, floorings, building and construction.

BASF and SINOPEC maintain a long-term partnership and jointly operate BASF-YPC Co. Ltd., a 50-50 joint venture formed in 2000 between BASF and SINOPEC in Nanjing, China.

As MRC informed earlier, BASF will expand its emollients and waxes production capacity with a new plant at its site in Jinshan, Shanghai.

Sinopec Corp. is one of the largest integrated energy and chemical companies in China. Its principal operations include the exploration and production, pipeline transportation and sale of petroleum and natural gas; the sale, storage and transportation of petroleum products, petrochemical products, coal chemical products, synthetic fibre, fertiliser and other chemical products; the import and export, including an import and export agency business, of petroleum, natural gas, petroleum products, petrochemical and chemical products, and other commodities and technologies; and research, development and application of technologies and information.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company (Orpic) plans to ramp up its asset base from the current USD4 billion to over USD10 billion in five years, while simultaneously enhancing its profit and contribution to the economy, as per GV.

"We are best positioned to achieve the vision of growing our company from an asset base of USD4 billion to over 10 billion in five years’ time. We will grow current contribution to GDP from 6 per cent by an additional 2 per cent and will generate four times more profit than we do today," said Musab Al Mahruqi, chief executive officer of Orpic.

He made these comments while speaking at the People Conference, which was held under the patronage of Sheikh Khalid bin Omar Al Marhoon, minister of civil service, at the Al Bustan Palace in Muscat.

Al Mahruqi further said: "This year, we are planning to start building the largest petrochemical project in Oman, the Liwa Plastics Industries Complex, at an estimated cost of USD5 billion".

Commenting on the Liwa Plastics project, he said, "We hope to sign a loan agreement, as well as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts by the end of the year."

As MRC wrote previously, in 2014, Orpic selected LyondellBasell's Spheripol polypropylene process technology for a new 300,000 tpy polypropylene (PP) plant to be built in Sohar, Sultanate of Oman. Start-up of the Liwa plastics project is planned for 2018.

Orpic (Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company) is one of the leading companies in Oman and has two refineries in that country, in Sohar and Muscat. Orpic is owned by the Government of the Sultanate of Oman and Oman Oil Company SAOC, the trading company created by the Government of the Sultanate of Oman for managing investments in the energy sector.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shinkong Synthetic Fibers Corp is likely to shut its polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plant for a maintenance turnaround, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Taiwan informed that the plant is likely to be taken off-stream towards the end of December 2015. It is expected to remain shut for around 1 month.

Located at Taoyuan in Taiwan, the plant has a production capacity of 200,000 mt/year.

We remind that, as MRC informed previously, in October 2015, Lotte Chemicals, another major PET producer in Asia, plans to shut its PET plant for a maintenance turnaround. The plant is expected to remain under shutdown mode for a period of around two weeks. Located in Ulsan, South Korea, the plant has a production capacity of 450,000 mt/year.

Besides, in April 2015, Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) successfully put into operation two plants in Dahej, Gujarat, India, the first of which was a PET resin plant, which consists of two lines with a combined manufacturing capacity of 650 KTA. The plant had been built with Invista technology for continuous polymerization and Buhler AG technology for solid state polymerization. The second facility is a new purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant that provides a capacity of 1,150 KTA.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Polymir plant, subsidiary of "Naftan", produced 94,900 tonnes of low density polyethylene (LDPE) in the first nine months of this year, down 9% year on year, said the National Statistics Committee of Belarus.

According to the National Statistics Committee of Belarus, a local polyethylene producer - Polymir increased production of polyethylene to 10,800 tonnes in September, compared with 10,100 tonnes in August. Total LDPE production at the plant was 94,900 tonnes in the first nine months of 2015, compared with 104,300 tonnes in the same time a year earlier.

The decline in the output resulted mainly from lengthy scheduled shutdown at the second line of LDPE plant.
As MRC informed earlier, Polymir shut down its second line at LDPE plant for a scheduled maintenance on 13, June.
The shutdown was planned to done for three weeks, but because of technical problems the operation at the second line was resumed only in the end of July. The producer's annual LDPE production capacity is 130,000 tonnes.

Plant Polymir ("Naftan") - the largest petrochemical company in Belarus, producing a wide range of chemical products, such as low density polyethylene (LDPE), acrylic fibers, products of organic synthesis, hydrocarbon fractions, etc. Polymir was founded in 1968. Technologies of the largest foreign companies from Great Britain, Japan, Germany, Italy (Courtaulds, Asahi Chemical Co. Ltd, Kanematsu Gosho, SNIA BPD, etc.), as well as the development of scientific research institutes and design institutes of the CIS countries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The world's first front end carrier without metal reinforcement has now leapt across the platforms: The Volkswagen Group is using the front end carrier made from the BASF plastic Ultramid in the new Passat and Sharan models – after the integration in the Golf VII where in 2013 a polypropylene/steel hybrid part was replaced with an all-plastic part made from Ultramid B3WG8 and with BASF's comprehensive simulation service, said the company in its press release.

In this way, BASF's polyamide 6 helps to ensure that also these two front end carriers are considerably lighter than the previous models and save installation time as well as costs. The globally available polyamide 6 grade is manufactured at certified production sites with process-oriented quality management. BASF thus meets the requirements that car manufacturers have in terms of cost efficiency, reliable supply, and flexibility.

The new Passat has been named the European "Car of the Year" 2015 thanks to its innovations regarding safety, design, and overall quality, among other things. The front end carrier in the Passat is the largest polyamide part in the vehicle and weighs around 2.6 kg. The Ultramid® B3WG8 used is reinforced with 40 percent glass fibers and boasts an excellent combination of fatigue and endurance strength. This means that the plastic part shows the correct dynamic stiffness at defined locations and also meets the car maker's specifications for crash acceleration and vibration behavior of the whole front end and radiator system.

As MRC informed earlier, BASF and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (SINOPEC) today inaugurated their world-scale isononanol (INA) plant in Maoming Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone, Maoming, China.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.

MRC