LG Chem to invest USD278 MM to increase acrylic acid, super absorbent polymer output

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LG Chem Ltd, South Korea’s largest chemical company, said on Tuesday it will spend USD278.32 MM on expanding its acrylic acid and superabsorbent polymer production capacity by the first half of 2019, as per the company's press release.

The company said in a statement that the investment aims to focus on boosting its higher-value petrochemical business.

The expansion will increase the production capacity of its plants in the southwestern city of Yeosu by 180,000 tpy of crude acrylic acid to 700,000 tpy, and by 100,000 tpy of super absorbent polymer to 500,000 tpy, LG Chem said.

Crude acrylic acid is a feedstock for super absorbent polymer that is typically used to make diapers.

As MRC reported earlier, in January 2016, South Korea's LG Chem said it had decided to drop a plan to jointly build a USD4.2-billion petrochemical complex in Kazakhstan, citing a prolonged slump in oil prices and a sharp increase in facility investments. In 2011, the chemical company said it would construct the complex near the western Kazakh city of Atyrau as part of a 50-50 joint venture with two Kazakh companies. The plan involved building ethylene and polyethylene plants with annual capacities of 840,000 tonnes and 800,000 tonnes, respectively.

LG Chem Ltd., often referred to as LG Chemical, is the largest Korean chemical company and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. According to ICIS report, it is 15th biggest chemical company in the world in 2011. It has eight domestic factories and global network of 29 business locations in 15 countries. LG Chem is a manufacturer, supplier, and exporter of petrochemical goods, IT&E Materials and Energy Solutions.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) — Britain's Forties oil and gas pipeline, one of the biggest in the North Sea, is being tested following repairs and full flows should resume in early January, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The closure of the pipeline since Dec. 11 has pushed oil prices above USD65/bbl in recent weeks, their highest level since mid-2015. Forties plays an important role in the global market as it is the biggest of the five North Sea crude streams underpinning Brent, a benchmark for oil trading in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

"The repair of the pipeline ... is now mechanically complete and pressure testing is well under way," Ineos said in a statement. "A small number of customers are now sending oil and gas through the pipeline at low rates as part of a coordinated plan that allows Ineos to carefully control the flow and pressure in the system."

The system, which carries about 450,000 bpd of crude to Britain, along with a third of the country's total offshore natural gas output, was shut down after a crack was found. Ineos said the oil and gas processing facility Kinneil should restart in the next 24 hr.

"Based on current estimates the company expects to bring the pipeline and Kinneil progressively back to normal rates early in the new year," Ineos said. Ineos was forced to declare force majeure on deliveries of Forties crude oil, natural gas and condensate, suspending its contractual obligations to customers by citing circumstances beyond its control.

This is believed to be the first force majeure on a major North Sea production stream in decades. Ineos didn't say when it expected to lift the force majeure. Ineos, a privately-owned chemicals company based in Switzerland, bought the pipeline system from BP in late October.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia's output of products from polymers dropped in November by 4% month on month. However, this figure grew in January-November 2017 by 4% year on year, reported MRC analysts.

According to the Russian Federal State Statistics Service, November output of unreinforced and non-combined films was 92,600 tonnes, compared to 101,100 tonnes a month earlier. Production of film products grew in January-November 2017 by 6.4% year on year to 991,800 tonnes.

Last month's output of porous boards, sheets and polymer films fell to 25,960 tonnes, whereas this figure was 27,420 tonnes in October. Overall production of these polymer products increased by 13.7% year on year in the first eleven months of 2017 to 254,600 tonnes.

November output of non-porous boards, sheets and films was 28,300 tonnes, compared to 29,700 tonnes a month earlier. Thus, output of these products rose by 13.5% over the stated period to 310,100 tonnes.

Last month's production of plastic bottles and flasks grew to 1,473,000 units versus 1,409,000 units in October. Output of these plastic products increased by 18% in the first eleven months of 2017, totalling 17,795,000 units.

November production of plastic windows and door blocks was 2,062,000 sq metres and 75,620 sq metres, respectively, versus 2,346,000 sq metres and 106,450 sq metres a month earlier. Output of these products was 20,540,000 sq meters in January-November 2017 and 882,100 sq meters, respectively, up by 10% and 6% year on year, respectively.

November production of polymer pipes, hoses and fittings decreased to 50,500 tonnes from 55,740 tonnes a month earlier. Overall output of these products totalled 526,100 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2017, down by 0.7% year on year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Huajin Chemical has shut its No.1 polypropylene (PP) unit at Liaoning Province, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the company has halted operations at the unit on December 22, 2017 for a maintenance turnaround. The exact duration of the shutdown was not available.

Located in Liaoning province, China, the No. 1 PP unit has a production capacity of 50,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed previously, on 14 August 2017, Liaoning Huajin Chemical restarted its PP unit following an unplanned outage. The unit was shut in end-July 2017 owing to shortage of feedstock.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) — Russia held on as China's largest crude oil supplier for the ninth month in a row in November, also topping Saudi Arabia for the year so far, Chinese customs data showed, as per Reuters.

Shipments from Russia in November reached 5.12 MMt, or 1.26 MMbpd, up 11% from a year ago, according to detailed commodity trade data for last month from China's General Administration of Customs.

That compared to October's 1.095 MMbpd in Russian oil imports, and a record set in September at 1.545 MMbpd. Saudi Arabia came in second, with November imports from there dropping 7.8% from a year ago to 1.056 MMbpd.

For the first 11 mos of the year, Russian supplies expanded 15.5% on the year to 54.77 MMt, or 1.2 MMbpd, overtaking Saudi Arabia by 159,000 bpd. The boost in Russian supplies was supported in part by robust demand from China's independent refineries, and also by increases in supplies via a trans-Siberia pipeline.

Iraq supplies ranked third in November with shipments at 4.21 MMt, or 1.023 MMbpd. Year-to-date Iraq supplied 5.5% more oil than a year earlier at 762,900 bpd, the data showed. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Russia and other non-OPEC producers on Nov. 30 extended an oil output-cutting deal until the end of 2018 in a bid to finish clearing a supply glut. But market watchers are increasingly interested in how producers will exit the deal once the excess is cleared.

US shipments to China—which have benefited from the OPEC-led output cuts—last month came in at 1.18 MMt, or 288,260 bpd. Supplies for January-November period totaled 6.8 MMt, or 148,600 bpd.

China's total crude oil imports rebounded to the second highest on record last month to 9.01 MMbpd, with imports partially driven by a new additional batch of import quotas released to independent refiners.
MRC