INEOS Oligomers plans to build a new PAO plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- INEOS Oligomers will significantly grow its low viscosity polyalphaolefin (PAO) business. Investment by the business will significantly increase the supply of low viscosity PAO to a growing market, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

"The industry needs an increased supply of high quality base oils, such as PAO, to formulate the next generation of advanced lubricant products." said Bob Learman, INEOS Oligomers CEO. "INEOS is making the commitment to invest in both the PAO capacity and the necessary LAO feedstock supply to ensure PAO is a viable and secure long term formulation option for our customers."

Plans to build the world’s largest single train low viscosity polyalphaolefin plant are progressing well and the business expects the 120 Mtpy unit to be on-stream in the first half of 2019. "The new plant will provide additional capacity and security of supply. In addition it will make our overall production capability more flexible, which is important in supporting new products we plan to introduce to the market in the coming years to keep pace with evolving customer needs." said Joe Walton, Business Director INEOS Oligomers.

The business has also completed a debottleneck of its La Porte, TX plant, producing low viscosity grades and has optimized production runs at its plant in Feluy, Belgium. The projects have successfully increased its global low viscosity PAO capacity by approximately 15%. INEOS also has an engineering project to mechanically debottleneck the Feluy PAO plant which presents the business with a valuable option to add a further 15% to their capacity by early 2018.

End applications for polyalphaolefins have continued to grow across both high and low viscosity grades. These products are increasingly used in industrial and automotive applications including passenger car motor oils, lubricants for wind turbines, heavy-duty diesel engine oils, and other specialty fluids. Synthetic motor oils based on polyalphaolefins (PAOs) from INEOS Oligomers can help reduce engine wear and extend the service intervals compared to conventional petroleum based oils.

In addition to investment in its low viscosity grades INEOS Oligomers has also previously announced a new 20 Mtpy high viscosity PAO unit at its La Porte plant in Texas, to be commissioned in the first quarter of 2017. The unit, which is being built at the company’s existing PAO facility in La Porte, TX will use INEOS’ metallocene high viscosity PAO technology and will benefit from several site synergies.

In support of its investment to grow its capacity across its polyalphaolefins (PAO) facilities, INEOS has also confirmed that it has decided to build a 420 Mtpy LAO unit at Chocolate Bayou, TX. This unit will provide the raw materials (including up to 85 Mtpy of decene-1) used by its polyalphaolefins units.

As MRC informed earlier, Ineos UK E&P Holdings has entered into its first, five-year, reserve-based lending facility (RBL Facility) of GBP220 million (USD294M). The facility has been secured on attractive terms on the back of the recently-acquired assets from DEA UK and Fairfield Energy.

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.

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Essen-based Evonik Industries, a leading specialty chemicals manufacturer has recently reduced production capacity for superabsorbents by 40,000 metric tons to 530,000 meric tons per year. The production lines concerned are those at the Garyville and Greensboro (North Carolina, USA) sites, two of Evonik’s five superabsorbents production sites worldwide, said the producer in its press release.

"With this measure we’re adapting to demand trends. We plan to take the opportunity to bring capacity to the technological state of the art and to start up the lines again in 1-2 years," says Norbert Westerholt, head of the Baby Care Business Line at Evonik.

Evonik is pursuing the goal of remaining a reliable, competitive, and innovative partner of superabsorbents customers over the long term.

As one of the leading suppliers of superabsorbents, Evonik is established as a reliable, innovative and long-term partner in the superabsorbents industry.

As MRC informed before, in 2015, Evonik Industries invested over EUR400 mln in its plants in Germany in 2015. Last year, Evonik once again demonstrated its considerable power to create at its German sites. Thus, according to a recent projection, the company invested more than EUR 400 million in its domestic production plants. The lion’s share of the funds (around two-thirds) was divided among Evonik’s five-largest sites in Germany: Marl (hundreds of millions of euros), Hanau, Essen, Darmstadt, and Wesseling (tens of millions of euros at each site).

Evonik, the creative industrial group from Germany, is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. Profitable growth and a sustained increase in the value of the company form the heart of Evonik’s corporate strategy. Its activities focus on the key megatrends health, nutrition, resource efficiency and globalization. Evonik benefits specifically from its innovative prowess and integrated technology platforms. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world. In fiscal 2015 more than 33,500 employees generated sales of around EUR13.5 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of about EUR2.47 billion.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- French oil and gas company Total has shut down some units at its 247 Mbpd Gonfreville refinery in northern France following a technical incident, a spokesman said Monday, reported Reuters.

The spokesman said the incident occurred in a steam producing unit whose backup was under maintenance.

"The site decided to protectively shutdown some of its units," he said, adding that it was still unclear how much production was affected and when the units would resume.

As MRC wrote before, in late 2014, Total, Europe’s third-largest oil company, permanently shut its high density polyethylene (HDPE) line in Belgium. The plant was shut permanently owing to weak margins which have arisen on account of cheap imports in the region. Located at Antwerp in Belgium, the line has a production capacity of 70,000 mt/year.

Total S.A. is a French multinational oil and gas company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world with business in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. The company's petrochemical products cover two main groups: base chemicals and the consumer polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene) that are derived from them.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. has received a contract from INEOS Oligomers to design and build a large linear alpha olefin (LAO) unit at the INEOS petrochemical complex in Chocolate Bayou, Texas, as per Jacob's press release.

The LAO unit is expected to come online in November 2018, with a production capacity of 380 Mtpy.

Jacobs is providing engineering, procurement and construction services for the new unit, which is based on proprietary and differentiated INEOS Oligomers technology.

Jacobs Senior Vice President Petroleum and Chemicals Manuel Junco stated, "With a streamlined project execution approach, our team is committed to delivering a safe, innovative facility that allows INEOS to meet increasing demand for LAO in the Gulf Coast region and beyond."

As MRC reported earlier, in June 2016, Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. received a contract to provide detailed engineering and procurement assistance services to TCI Sanmar Chemical for its PVC-2 polyvinyl chloride plant expansion project in Port Said, Egypt. When complete, the PVC-2 facility’s production capacity is expected to be 200 kilo-tonnes per annum (KTPA). Combined with its other global facilities, this takes TCI Sanmar’s total PVC production capacity to 400 KTPA, strengthening the company’s position as one of the largest PVC producers in the Middle East and North Africa. The project’s schedule includes 18 months of engineering and 21 months for mechanical completion.

Jacobs is one of the world’s largest and most diverse providers of full-spectrum technical, professional and construction services for industrial, commercial and government organizations globally. The company employs 60,000 people and operates in more than 30 countries around the world.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL), a global chemical producer, has announced the completion of joint venture of IVL’s PET Company, Micro Polypet Private Limited (MicroPet), in India with Dhunseri Petrochem Ltd. (Dhunseri), as per the company's press release.

Simultaneously, IVL has acquired a 50% stake in Dhunseri’s PET Company in India, Dhunseri Petglobal Ltd. By combining the two companies as equal partners, the resulting total capacity of 700,000 tonnes per annum will make the new joint venture the second largest in India.

Mr. Aloke Lohia, Group CEO of IVL said "Today’s milestone is an important step in driving IVL’s strategic priorities forward while bringing together two leading companies with complementary strengths, brands and experiences. India is a very large country with a well-educated and booming middle class that will embrace the modern, hygienic lifestyle offered by PET packaging."

The potential for growth in the PET industry in India is significant given that per capita consumption of PET in India is currently at 0.6 KG per annum as compared to 2.6 KG per annum in China and 10.9 KG per annum in USA. The joint venture will gain from significant synergies as being the sole producer of PET Resin in Northern and Eastern India and with all its manufacturing sites being effectively integrated with third party PTA suppliers.

As MRC reported previously, in Q1 2016, BP PLC sold its petrochemical complex in Decatur, Alabama, to Indorama Ventures Public Co. Ltd., for an undisclosed sum, as part BP's plan to restructure its global petrochemicals business. The divestment was in line with BP’s global petrochemicals strategy of pursuing a competitively advantaged portfolio through world-scale, low-cost facilities that utilize BP proprietary technology, including the production of purified terephthalic acid, or PTA, a key raw material in the production of polyester.

The Decatur complex makes chemicals essential for the production of thousands of items, from plastic water bottles to flat-screen televisions. Located on 1,000 acres in Northern Alabama, the complex can produce one million tons per year of PTA, as well as paraxylene (PX), a raw material for PTA production. The site also is the world’s only commercial manufacturer of naphthalene dicarboxylate (NDC), a specialty chemical used in new-generation polyesters and resins used to make LCD flat-panel displays, ultra-thin data storage tape and other products.

Indorama Ventures is a leading producer in the polyester value chain in Thailand with strong global network and manufacturing across Asia, Europe and North America. Its products serve major players in diversified end use markets, including food, beverages, personal and home care, health care, automotives, textile, and industrial. The company’s main products are PTA, PET and polyester fibre, which are distributed across the world.
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