Yantai Wanhua Chemical to bring on-stream PDH plant in China

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Yantai Wanhua Chemical is likely to restart its propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant following a planned maintenance, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the company is expected to resume operations at the PDH plant on November 10, 2017. The plant was taken off-line for a maintenance turnaround on October 20, 2017.

Located at Yantai in Shandong, China, the PDH plant has a propylene production capacity of 750,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed previously, in August 2017, The Linde Group, a world leading industrial gases and engineering company, announced that it had signed an agreement with Wanhua Chemical Group, the world's largest producer of isocyanate (MDI), to expand the supply of gas to Phase II of Wanhua Chemical's Yantai operations. Under the new agreement, Linde will invest EUR108 mln (835 mln RMB) to build two additional energy efficient steam-driven ASUs, complementing the two existing ASUs already in place, to meet Wanhua Chemical's growing demand for industrial gases.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Evonik has developed a new high-performance plastic for demanding applications in professional sports, as per the company's press release.

VESTAMID CW1401 is an impact modified polyamide 12 (PA 12) which combines good elasticity and stability at temperatures as low as -40 C.

The new PA 12 molding compound has excellent low-temperature impact strength which, at 101 kJ/m, is twice as strong as other materials. This means that it can be used in applications where extreme pressure is applied and where stable properties are required from the materials at low temperatures.

This combination makes VESTAMID CW1401 the material of choice for the new ski and snowboard boots of the Austrian professional brand UPZ. "In downhill ski races and especially in snowboard races, the pressure applied to the boot is several times greater than is the case with the average amateur skier or boarder," says Wolfgang Aigner, managing director of AITEC GmbH. "The material used in the boot must be capable of permanently withstanding extreme loads."

VESTAMID CW1401 fulfills all these criteria. The boot parts that are subject to the greatest pressure are manufactured from Evonik’s high-performance plastic using an injection-molding process. They ensure optimal power transfer during the race while allowing the greatest possible flexibility and maximum comfort.

"New innovative products, which have been custom developed in close collaboration with our customers, form an important pillar of our organic growth," says Dr. Iordanis Savvopoulos, head of the Granules & Compounds Product Line at Evonik.

As MRC wrote previously, Evonik Resource Efficiency will invest in a capacity expansion of its performance foams business at its production site in Darmstadt, Germany. The investment will increase the output of the facility by about 20% as a first step. The Group will be adding production equipment to its operations complex that manufactures products marketed under the Rohacell brand. The expanded production capacity is expected to be operational in the second half of 2017.

Evonik, the creative industrial group from Germany, is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. 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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Borealis and Borouge, leading providers of innovative, value-creating plastics solutions, announce the launch of Anteo, a new family of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) packaging grades for the global packaging market, said Yourpetrochemicalnews.

Anteo delivers easy processability at lower extruder pressure, better sealing integrity and improved puncture resistance in combination with strong optics for enhanced shelf appeal. Boasting a unique combination of end-use properties for high-performance film applications, Anteo completes the full solution offer for high performance, multilayer flexible packaging applications using Borealis Borstar Bimodal Terpolymer (BBT) Technology.

Borouge produces Anteo at the Ruwais plant in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The reliable supply of Anteo to customers around the world is assured thanks to Borouge’s production, material handling, and global supply chain capabilities.

The global launch of Anteo is taking place simultaneously at three different geographic locations. The story of Anteo is highlighting the key aspects of the new technology and product, reflecting its uniqueness, usefulness and innovative elements: the launch of Borealis BBT Technology at the company’s Innovation Headquarters in Linz, Austria highlights the importance of the advanced and innovative technologies used to create the new product. Meanwhile, the launch of Anteo in Abu Dhabi, UAE, focuses on the significance of Borouge’s production facilities where the product is manufactured and exported from Abu Dhabi to both companies’ customers all over the world, who benefit from Borouge’s robust supply chain network. In Shanghai, China, the focus is on the development opportunities made available to provide Anteo product in such a huge market with an increasing base of current and potential customers.

Borealis’ proprietary BBT Technology offers exceptional flexibility in polymer design by combining smart catalyst design with a superior, two-reactor system process with two comonomers. The result: unique polyethylene resins with superior processability. This property is augmented by other high performance-related attributes like flexibility, stiffness, toughness, purity, outstanding sealability, and appealing optics.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) — South Korea's S-Oil corp said on Monday that profits from refining crude oil would stay strong for the next couple of years due to a tight outlook for supply, said Reuters.

Oil giant Saudi Aramco is the top shareholder in S-Oil, South Korea's third-largest refiner. "Strong refining margins will be sustained for the next couple of years given a tight supply-demand balance outlook on the back of persistently slow capacity expansions," the refiner said in an earnings statement provided in English.

S-Oil reported a 553.2 B won (USD492.32 MM) operating income in the third quarter of 2017, well over four-times the 116.2 B won recorded a year ago. Operating income soared mainly on strong refining margins and a broad rise in oil prices, the refiner said.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, Asian refiners boosted their output to sell their products to the United States and reap profits from higher prices as the storm hit US Gulf Coast and forced to shut down about a quarter of US refineries.

Asian refining margins, or profits of processing a barrel of Dubai crude into refined products, have averaged USD7.35/bbl so far in October, up from USD5.98/bbl in October last year. S-Oil said it would operate its refinery units at an "optimal level" throughout the fourth quarter without planned maintenance, as previously announced.

When asked on a call with analysts whether the refiner had any maintenance plans for next year, a senior S-Oil official said the company had not confirmed its plans for 2018. On the same call, S-Oil officials said they expected independent refineries in China to maintain stable run rates next year.

They also said the profit or 'crack' on producing diesel was likely to remain at this year's levels in 2018 on the back of robust global economic activity.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Iran's total crude and condensate exports for October are expected to tumble by nearly a fifth from the previous month to a 19-month low, dented by production issues, a person with knowledge of the country's tanker loading schedule said, as per Reuters.

The hiccup in output from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' No.3 producer should help the cartel tighten global supply, supporting oil prices which hit a 27-month high this week on Saudi Arabia's resolve to end a global oil glut.

Shipments of condensate have dropped due to a "technical problem" at the South Pars field, with maintenance work expected to take up to two months to complete, National Iranian Oil Company's Director of International Affairs Saeid Khoshrou told Reuters in late September. The preliminary schedule for October shows a decline of some 800,000 bpd from a 6-yr high of nearly 2.9 MMbpd in February. Tehran had been regaining market share at a faster pace than analysts had projected since sanctions were lifted.

Crude and condensate exports for October will be 2.09 MMbpd, the lowest since March 2016, down from 2.57 MMbpd in September, the person said. The source declined to be named as the information is confidential. The Islamic Republic was exempt from an OPEC deal to reduce output, allowing the country to regain market share after Western sanctions over its disputed nuclear program were lifted in January 2016.

Exports to Europe are set to tumble 39% to 510,000 bpd in October from a month earlier, while loadings for Asia will fall 9% to 1.47 MMbpd, according to the source. Exports to the Middle East will hold at 111,000 bpd. However, shipments to Japan are set to jump 83% to 218,000 bpd in October from a month earlier, while shipments to top buyer China will rise 2%.

India is set to overtake South Korea as the No.2 buyer, taking 377,000 bpd, the source said. South Korean loadings are set to drop by 48 percent from a month earlier to 238,000 bpd, which sources say is partly due to refinery maintenance season.

Belarus is taking its first barrels since February. Iran has been producing around 3.8 MMbpd over the past few months, according to a Reuters survey.

The OPEC producer aims to raise its output capacity to 4.7 MMbpd by 2021, Amir Zamaninia, Iran's deputy oil minister for trade and international affairs, said last week.
MRC