Kuraray, Sumitomo & PTTGC to develop new Thai butadiene derivatives project

MOCOW (MRC) -- Kuraray, Sumitomo and PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) have signed a Key Principle Joint Venture Agreement confirming their intention to develop a project to manufacture and sell super engineering plastic and hydrogenated styrenic block copolymer (HSBC) products in Thailand, as per Apic-online.

The project involves a new facility, located in Hemaraj Eastern Industrial Estate in Rayong Province, which will have the capacity to produce 13,000 t/y of high-heat resistant polyamide 9T and 16,000 t/y of HSBC products.

Kuraray will also conduct a feasibility study for a 5,000-t/y 3-methyl-1,5-pentanediol unit. PTTGC has agreed to supply butadiene and isobutene feed for the project.

An investment decision is planned for the end of 2017 and a new joint venture company is expected to be formed at the beginning of next year.

The partners have already completed a front-end engineering design study for the project, following an agreement signed in September 2016, and said they are confident about implementing the project.

"This investment will play a key role in further developing Thailand's chemical sector and make an important contribution to the country's economic growth, increasing competitiveness and reinforcing the government's drive to become Thailand 4.0," said Supattanapong Punmeechaow, president and chief executive of PTTGC.

As MRC informed previously, 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.

Sumitomo Chemical is a Japanese based manufacturer of a diverse range of products, including basic chemicals, petrochemicals and plastics, fine chemicals, agricultural chemicals, IT-related chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

Kuraray produces specialty chemicals, fibres and other materials, including functional resins and films, synthetic isoprene chemical products, synthetic leather, vinylon fibre and polyester fibre.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Production of high density polyethylene (HDPE) in Russia decreased to about 405,300 tonne in the first five months of 2017, down 3% year on year. Gazprom neftekhim Salavat and Nizhnekamskneftekhim showed a decrease in production, according to MRC ScanPlast report.

May HDPE production in Russia was 93,000 tonnes, while in April it was about 73,900 tonnes. The main increase in production was provided by Nizhnekamskneftekhim. Overall HDPE output decreased 405,300 tonnes in the first five months of 2017, compared to 418,000 tonnes a year earlier. Kazanorgsintez and Stavrolen's higher output did not allow to offset the reduction in production at the other two plants.

Structure of HDPE production over the reported period looked as follows.

Russia's May HDPE production at Kazanorgsintez decreased to 40,100 tonnes from 46,100 tonnes a month earlier. The producer's total HDPE production was 222,900 tonnes in the first five months of the year, up 12% year on year.

May HDPE production at Stavrolen reached about 24,800 tonnes against 18,400 tonnes in April. The low figure for April was a result of ten-day scheduled maintenance works. The plant's HDPE output reached 116,300 tonnes in the first five months of 2017, up by 9% year on year.

Gazprom neftekhim Salavat produced 10,200 tonnes of HDPE in May, compared with 9,400 tonnes in April. Thus, overall HDPE production at Gazprom neftekhim Salavat reached 41,500 tonnes in the first five months of 2017, down by 9% year on year.

Nizhnekamskneftekhim shifted to the production of linear polyethylene and in the second half of January and returned to the production of HDPE only in the early May. HDPE production at the Tatar plant was 13,900 tonnes over an incomplete month of work. Overall HDPE production at the plant in January-May was only 24,600 tonnes compared with 67,100 year on year.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS) announced the launch of Experion Elevate, a real-time process supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) solution delivered as a secure and scalable service. Experion Elevate is a member of Honeywell’s suite of cloud-enabled solutions for operations technology and information technology (OT/IT). HPS made the announcement at its annual Honeywell Users Group symposium, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Today’s industrial organizations seek to leverage operational expenditures (OPEX) over capital expenditures (CAPEX) wherever possible, reducing the concern of purchase, installation, hosting and maintenance of hardware and software on premises. Small- to mid-sized companies may have limited capital, but want long-term use of the SCADA solution as well as flexibility in deployment, service and support and upgrades they may not otherwise pay for.

"By choosing Experion Elevate, process industry companies can take their performance to a new level with visibility of field assets from a central monitoring site and/or mobile locations," said John Rudolph, vice president and general manager, HPS Projects and Automation Solutions. "They can be sure their SCADA implementation will be robust, reliable and secure because their system is running on ours. Users can depend on Honeywell’s experience and vision for any size solution."

Whether the customer chooses a traditional on-premises solution, an off-premises solution or a combination of the two, Honeywell can meet their business needs with operational efficiency and easy integration to its best-in-class Experion SCADA solution, the company said in a press release.

Experion SCADA is at the heart of Honeywell’s Experion systems and provides a scalable, integrated multi-service system with human-machine interface (HMI). The use of Honeywell’s Distributed System Architecture (DSA) allows multiple SCADA servers to operate as one within a single asset or across the enterprise and enables global access to points, alarms, interactive operator control messages and history.

As MRC informed earlier, Honeywell Process Solutions, with the support of the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), will establish a new industrial cyber security center of excellence (COE) for Asia Pacific in Singapore. The COE will feature a cyber security research and development lab, an advanced training facility and a security operations center that provides managed security services.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Qatar Petroleum’s Wave LNG Solutions and Shell Gas & Power Developments B.V. (Shell) have signed a framework agreement to develop liquefied natural gas (LNG) marine fueling - or bunkering - infrastructure at strategic shipping locations across the globe, as per Shell's press release.

LNG bunkering provides the shipping industry with a new fuel that helps meet the industry’s environmental and economic objectives. Increasing numbers of ship owners and operators are turning to LNG over traditional marine fuels in response to tighter sulfur and nitrogen oxide emissions regulations. In October 2016, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) announced the introduction of a global 0.5% sulfur cap from 2020.

Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Qatar Petroleum’s President and CEO, said: "We are pleased to team up with our long-term partner and industry pioneer, Shell, on this important initiative. We view LNG bunkering as a promising opportunity for LNG to further grow as a clean energy source."

Mr. Al-Kaabi added: "LNG demand for bunkering is expected to increase significantly over the coming years and we believe there is real potential for such demand to reach up to 50 million tons per annum by 2030. Obviously, achieving this figure requires focused investments and the right partnership model, similar to the one we are establishing today."

On his part, Mr. Ben van Beurden, Shell’s Chief Executive Officer, said: "As two of the world’s leading LNG suppliers, Shell and Qatar Petroleum have the capability and experience to deliver LNG as a marine fuel to ship owners and operators who must meet tougher emissions regulations from 2020. We look forward to working with Qatar Petroleum to increase the availability of LNG as a fuel for transport."

This agreement follows two Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) Shell and Qatargas signed with industry partners in 2016 to explore LNG bunkering opportunities in the Middle East. Pursuant to the agreement signed today, Qatar Petroleum and Shell will evaluate and progress the development of LNG bunkering facilities at various locations across Europe, the Middle East and East Asia.

As MRC informed previously, in October 2016, Royal Dutch Shell signed a preliminary memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran’s National Petrochemical Co. (NPC) for cooperation in the petrochemical industry.

Royal Dutch Shell plc is an Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the biggest company in the world in terms of revenue and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors". Shell is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Petrochemical giant Ineos intends to increase the ethylene capacity of its cracker facilities at Grangemouth in Scotland and Rafnes in Norway to over 1 million tonnes each, as per company's press-release.

The company currently produces nearly 4.5 million tonnes of ethylene and propylene annually across Europe, but remains the largest buyer of ethylene and propylene in the region.

Ineos Olefins and Polymers North CEO Gerd Franken said: "These are exciting times for Ineos as we plan to further increase the capacity of our crackers and at the same time to build an entirely new PDH plant in Europe. These expansions and new builds will increase our self-sufficiency in all key olefin products” Ineos founder Jim Ratcliffe added: “These projects represent the first substantial investments in the European chemicals industry for many years. It has only been made possible because of our USD2 billion investment in our Dragon Ships programme which allows us to import ethane and LPG from the US."

In combination, these three major projects will significantly increase the quantities of propylene and ethylene produced by INEOS in Europe, and will support the continued growth and future profitability of INEOS’ ethylene and propylene derivative businesses.

As MRC informed earlier, Ineos announced plans to construct a world-scale PDH (Propane Dehydrogenation) unit in Europe. The plant will produce 750,000 tonnes per annum of propylene for Ineos units across the continent. A number of possible locations are currently being considered including a number of Ineos sites at Antwerp in Belgium.

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.
MRC