Vopak Deer Park terminal, EPA reach emissions controls agreement

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Vopak Terminal Deer Park announced that it has reached an agreement with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the United States Department of Justice, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the Texas Attorney General regarding emissions controls at its Deer Park, Texas, facility, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

As part of the agreement (referred to as a consent decree) Vopak Terminal Deer Park is making a number of improvements to its facility, many of which are already underway. The consent decree is not an admission of liability, but rather represents an agreement between Vopak Terminal Deer Park and the government on a range of new controls and processes.

"Vopak is committed to being a leader and responsible company in the communities where we operate and we are happy to cooperate with all governmental agencies to ensure that our facilities meet the highest regulatory standards," said David Carter, Deer Park terminal manager. "We are also committed to continuous improvement and look for ways each day to innovate in our operations and the way we do business."

As part of the consent decree, Vopak Terminal Deer Park is investing approximately USD5 MM in capital upgrades at its facility, including enhanced operations procedures and improved tank covers. The company is also investing in advanced technologies such as the usage of Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) optical gas imaging cameras.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sinopec Yangzi Petrochemical has taken off-stream its polypropylene (PP) plant early this week, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the company has recently halted operations at its plant for a maintenance turnaround. The duration of the planned shutdown could not be ascertained.

Located in Jiangsu province, China, the plant comprising three units have a production capacity of 200,000 mt/year, 100,000 mt/year and 100,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed before, in early June 2016, Sinopec Yangzi Petrochemical took off-stream its polypropylene (PP) plant for a brief maintenance, which lasted around 1 week.

Sinopec Corp. is one of the largest scale integrated energy and chemical companies with upstream, midstream and downstream operations. Its refining and ethylene capacity ranks No.2 and No.4 globally. The Company has 30,000 sales and distribution networks of oil products and chemical products, its service stations are now ranked third largest in the world.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Burckhardt Compression was selected to modernize MOL Petrochemicals' third-party Hyper
Compressor at its LDPE plant in Tiszaujvaros, Hungary, said Burckhardt Compression.

The goal was to improve production performance and to establish a comprehensive, long-term service capability
with a running-hours guarantee.

The Hyper Compressor at the low density polyethylene (LDPE) plant has been in operation at MOL Petrochemicals in Tiszaujvaros, Hungary, since 1991. Burckhardt Compression is well-known for its Hyper Compressors and the MOL Group already has positive experiences working with Burckhardt Compression at another LDPE site.

Thanks to the high level of trust in Burckhardt Compression’s technology and its Hyper Compressor design and service capabilities, MOL decided to entrust Burckhardt Compression with this modernization project. Based on its many years of experience, Burckhardt Compression is capable of developing comprehensive solutions
that are compatible with the given framework of any third-party compressor.

The project scope includes the Burckhardt Hypropack™ cartridge system, plungers and central valves for two second-stage cylinders, which will be installed using special tools, all under the supervision of highly qualified reciprocating field service specialists. Burckhardt Compression will maintain a high level of service by deploying qualified service engineers and providing specific training for MOL Group both on-site and at its headquarters in Switzerland.

MOL Group, an integrated, international oil and gas company, has petrochemical plants in Tiszaujvaros, Hungary and Bratislava, Slovakia with combined annual production of 1.25 million tons. In line with its strategy MOL Group 2030, the company is diversifying away from motor fuels and expanding its petrochemicals portfolio with the aim of becoming a leading chemical company in Central and Eastern Europe. As a consequence, it plans to invest around USD 4.5 billion on growth projects by 2030, deepening its downstream integration throughout the value chain whilst
also moving towards semi-commodity and specialty products. MOL also commissioned a new butadiene plant last year, while a synthetic rubber plant (SSBR) - currently under construction - is scheduled to start operations in 2018.

Burckhardt Compression is a renowned original equipment manufacturer of high-pressure reciprocating Hyper Compressors for LDPE plants with a discharge pressure of up to 3,500 bar (50,000 psi). An outstanding track record with decades of experience in building Hyper Compressors makes Burckhardt Compression a competent and reliable partner for modernization projects and a trusted provider of global, one-stop maintenance and service solutions for
compressors of any brand.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC) has announced that it will move ahead to promote cooperation and licensing of its basic patent (the patent family of WO2011/125720) for the production of biomass-based polyurethane and polyester polyol with external organisations, reported GV.

According to MCC, this patent is broadly applicable for business activities such as manufacturing and sales of these products. The patent has been granted in Japan. Corresponding patents have been granted in the USA, Korea and China, and the company has also filed patent applications in other countries.

MCC said it will move actively to promote the spread of biomass-based products and to expand its own business, through cooperation and licensing with final consumer product makers as well as product manufacturing and sales companies, and contribute to global environmental sustainability. At the same time, MCC said it will take every appropriate action to defend its patent from any infringements.

As MRC wrote before, in July 2016, oversupply of purified terephthalic acid (PTA), mainly from China, prompted Mitsubishi Chemical to off load Indian as well as Chinese PTA businesses. Thus, Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings is planning to sell its PTA business, the primary raw material used to manufacture various polyester products and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), in India and China amid profitability concerns with oversupply of the acid, mainly from China, according to a Nikkei Asian Review report.

Mitsubishi Chemical with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, is a diversified chemical company involved in petrochemicals, polymers, agrochemicals, speciality chemicals and pharmaceuticals. The company's main focus is on three business pillars: petrochemicals, performance and functional products, and health care.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PTT LNG, a subsidiary of Thailand's PTT Plc, is planning to optimize its gas separation plants in Thailand to increase ethane production capacity to meet rising demand in the polymer industry, according to the Apic-online.

Specifically, the company plans to spend 21.4-million baht to upgrade its "gas separation unit 1." Capacity of the unit will be increased to 500,000 t/y from 330,000 t/y currently. The extra capacity is expected to feed PTT Global Chemical's operations.

The project will increase PTT LNG's total ethane production for its six gas separation plants to 2-million t/y. A schedule for the project was not given.

As MRC informed before, PTT is on track to start commercial operations at its new 400,000 mt/year metallocene C6 linear low density polyethylene plant at Map Ta Phut, Thailand, in the first quarter of 2018. PTT will start up the plant by the end of this year.

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.
MRC