Invista expands global polyols capacity

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Invista announced that it is expanding capacity at its polyols manufacturing facilities. According to the company, it will install a new reactor at its Terate aromatic polyester polyols manufacturing facility in Vlissingen, the Netherlands, as per GV.

This investment is in addition to recently achieved capacity increases at its facility in Wilmington, NC, USA, the company said. No details on the production capacities were disclosed.

"This is a very exciting time to join the Invista Polyols team," said Ariel Felice, who was recently appointed as Vice President of Invista Specialty Intermediates. "This investment will not only provide additional capacity in North America and Europe, but will also better align our production capability with the increasing demand from our customers. Our continuing growth is driven by our product developments and collaborative innovation with our customers. By experimenting with our Terate HT technology alongside our customers, we are discovering performance improvements in key foam attributes such as long-term thermal resistance and R-value stability at low temperatures."

According to Invista, Terate aromatic polyester polyols allow formulation flexibility in achieving the range of physical and flammability properties required of polyurethane and polyisocyanurate foams. Terate HT polyols are said to offer further advances in burn performance, ease of processing and efficiency in rigid foam manufacture. This product line can be used in a variety of applications including flex-faced boardstock, metal-faced sandwich panels, spray foam, and bunstock foam.

As MRC informed previously, in April 2015, Invista brought production of its TERRIN polyols to Europe via its facility in Vlissingen, The Netherlands. The site produced its first commercial TERRIN polyols in late 2014 and completed the requirements for REACH registration in Europe.

TERRIN aliphatic polyester polyols contain a minimum of 50% recycled content - with some containing renewable content, as well. Formulators can use TERRIN polyols in lieu of or in combination with conventional polyether or polyester polyols to formulate a variety of polyurethane products.

Invista is one of the world's largest integrated producers of polymers and fibers, primarily for nylon, spandex and polyester applications. With a business presence in over 20 countries, Invista's global businesses deliver exceptional value for their customers through technology innovations, market insights and a powerful portfolio of global trademarks.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) — Japan's Idemitsu Kosan said on Wednesday it restarted the 414,000 tpy Chiba naphtha cracker after works to increase its capacity to process propane were completed, as per Reuters.

A company spokeswoman said the cracker was restarted early this week without identifying the specific date. The cracker, which had been shut since Sept. 22, was slated to resume operations in about a month.

The company last year announced the upgrade would boost the cracker's capacity to process propane as feedstock by three or four times.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company, has declared a quarterly dividend of USD0.46 per share on its Series A common stock, payable on November 9, 2017, said the producer in its press release.

The dividend is payable to stockholders of record as of October 30, 2017.

As MRC reported before, Celanese Corporation has recently announced plans to expand the capacity of its global compounding assets and certain product-specific manufacturing production sites to support the significant growth in its engineered materials business.

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Based in Dallas, Celanese employs approximately 7,300 employees worldwide and had 2016 net sales of USD5.4 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- India's HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd (HMEL), part-owned by steel tycoon L N Mittal, may halt naphtha exports from the 2021-2022 fiscal year when it starts its USD3.1 B cracker, reported Reuters with reference to the chairman of Hindustan Petroleum Corp.

Like other Indian refiners, is also building a petrochemical complex linked to its refinery to cater for an expected surge in demand for goods ranging from plastics to paints and adhesives.

The cracker will have an annual capacity of 1.2 MMt with a provision to raise it to 1.5 MMt, M. K. Surana told Reuters. He said the project would cost about USD3.1 B.

State-owned refiner HPCL and Mittal Energy Investments Pvt Ltd each own a 49% stake in the project.

The cracker will have the flexibility to use naphtha, gases generated during crude oil processing and kerosene, he said.

"The project will be ready in 2021 and then we may not export naphtha," Surana said.

HMEL has recently raised capacity of its Bathinda plant in northern India by 28% to about 230,000 bpd.

HMEL is not a regular exporter of naphtha. But after recent expansion it is estimated to annually export about 250,000 t of naphtha.

As MRC informed earlier, state-owned refiner HPCL is building a new 9 mln tpa refinery-cum-petrochemical complex at Pachpadra in Rajasthan and a petrochemical complex at Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh as part of a Rs 61,000-crore expansion. HPCL will also invest part of the amount over the next four years for expanding and upgrading its existing refining capacity to meet higher quality fuel norms, the company said in an investor presentation. HPCL is upgrading both its Mumbai and Visag refineries to produce fuel meeting Euro-VI emission norms.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) is an Indian state-owned oil and natural gas company with its headquarters at Mumbai, Maharashtra and with Navratna status. HPCL has about 25% marketing share in India among PSUs and a strong marketing infrastructure. The Government of India owns 51.11% shares in HPCL and others are distributed amongst financial institutes, public and other investors.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- KBR, Inc. announced it has entered into an Engineering agreement for the residue hydroprocessing unit at the Jordan Petroleum Refinery (JPRC) Expansion Project, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

This award follows an earlier decision for KBR as selected licensor for its proprietary Veba Combi Cracking (VCC) technology.

KBR will provide the basic design package for the unit using its proprietary VCC slurry phase hydrocracking technology. This unique technology is capable of processing a wide range of feedstocks and enables production of fuels that meet environmental specifications without further upgrading.

The VCC technology will be implemented at JPRC's refinery in Jordan and will be the core of the refinery's expansion plans to increase production to 120,000 bpd.

KBR's portfolio of refining technologies enables refiners to process a wide variety of crudes, including heavy opportunity crudes, while retaining the flexibility to adjust the fuel mix and quality to meet ever changing market demands. KBR's experience as a technology developer and licensor, along with comprehensive studies and proven project delivery capabilities, has resulted in KBR licensing, designing or constructing more than 60 greenfield refineries and well over 1,000 refining units of every type and size around the world.

Revenue associated with this project will be booked into backlog of unfilled orders for KBR's Technology and Consulting Business Segment in the Q4 2017.
MRC