Formosa to shut HDPE plant in Taiwan for turnaround

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Taiwan's Formosa Petrochemical Corp (FPC) is in plans to take its high density polyethylene (HDPE) plant off-stream, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Taiwan informed that the plant is expected to be shut for maintenance on February 24, 2017. It is likely to remain off-line until mid-March 2017.

Located at Mailiao in Taiwan, the plant has a production capacity of 320,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed earlier, FPC's 320,000 mt/year HDPE unit was shut for a few days at the end of August 2016 due to ethylene shortage while its No. 2 steam cracker went through maintenance from July 29 to September 2. Other polyethylene units, including a 235,000 mt/year low density polyethylene (LDPE)/ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) swing plant and a 260,000 mt/year linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) plant, were not affected and were running at that period.

Formosa has three naphtha-fed steam crackers and each goes through maintenance once every three years.

The No. 1 cracker is able to produce 700,000 mt/year of ethylene, 350,000 mt/year of propylene and 109,000 mt/year of butadiene.

The No. 2 unit is able to produce 1.03 million mt/year of ethylene, 515,000 mt/year of propylene and 162,000 mt/year of butadiene.

The No. 3 steam cracker has the capacity to produce 1.2 million mt/year of ethylene, 600,000 mt/year of propylene and 180,000 mt/year of butadiene.

Formosa Petrochemical is involved primarily in the business of refining crude oil, selling refined petroleum products and producing and selling olefins (including ethylene, propylene, butadiene and BTX) from its naphtha cracking operations. Formosa Petrochemical is also the largest olefins producer in Taiwan and its olefins products are mostly sold to companies within the Formosa Group. Among the company's chemical products are paraxylene (PX), phenyl ethylene, acetone and pure terephthalic acid (PTA). The company's plastic products include acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) resins, polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP) and panlite (PC).
MRC

January prices of European PVC remained steady

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Negotiations over prices of European polyvinyl chloride (PVC) for January shipments to the CIS countries started last week. Weak demand and stability of ethylene prices made European producers roll over December PVC prices for January deliveries, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

The January contract price of ethylene was agreed at the level of December, which did not lead to an increase in the net cost of PVC production. Demand also remained weak from many export markets, which forced European producers to maintain December export prices for January shipments.

Weaker demand from a number of export markets already made European producers reduce their export PVC prices for the CIS markets back in the second half of November. Prices also dropped for these markets in December.

Negotiations over January shipments of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) to the CIS countries were held in the range of EUR715-780/tonne FCA, which virtually corresponded to the level of December prices. European producers do not have any restrictions for exports this month.
MRC

Singapore uncovers large oil heist at Shell biggest refinery

MOSCOW (MRC) - Eleven men were charged in a Singapore court on Tuesday in connection with a large-scale oil theft at Shell's biggest refinery, while police said they were investigating six other men arrested in a weekend raid, said Reuters.

Police in the island-state said on Tuesday they had detained 17 men, whose ages ranged from 30 to 63, and seized millions of dollars in cash and a small tanker during their investigations into theft at the Pulau Bukom industrial site, which sits just south of Singapore's main island.

Oil refining and shipping have contributed significantly to Singapore's rising wealth during the past decades. But the case underlines the challenges the industry faces in a region that has become a hot-spot for illegal oil trading.

The investigation began after Shell contacted the authorities in August 2017, police said in a news release. After "extensive investigations and probes," the Criminal Investigation Department, Police Intelligence Department and Police Coast Guard launched a series of simultaneous raids across Singapore, which led to the arrests.

Nine Singaporeans were immediately charged in the theft, of which eight were employees of the Singapore subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell PLC, court documents showed. Two Vietnamese nationals were charged with receiving stolen goods on a small tanker named Prime South (IMO: 9452804), the documents showed.

Shell confirmed on Tuesday that eight of the 11 men charged were current or former employees at Shell Eastern Petroleum (Pte) Ltd.

Shipping data from Thomson Reuters Eikon showed the Prime South had been shipping fuel between Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and Singapore for the past 30 days.
MRC

Japans Showa Shell sees Q1 crude refining down 5%

MOSCOW (MRC) - Japan's Showa Shell Sekiyu KK said late last week that its group refineries would refine 5 percent less crude for the local market in January-March than the same time a year ago, in line with the outlook for domestic demand, said Reuters.

Showa Shell said its four group refineries would refine 7.35 million kilolitres (513,700 barrels per day) of crude in the first quarter of the year. They have a total capacity of 588,000 bpd.

Refining volumes for export markets were not released. The four group refineries are: Showa Shell's 255,000-bpd Yokkaichi plant, unit Toa Oil's 70,000-bpd Keihin plant, affiliate Seibu Oil's 120,000-bpd Yamaguchi refinery and a 143,000-bpd Sodegaura refinery operated by Fuji Oil in which Showa Shell has a 6.6-percent stake.

There will be no group refinery maintenance during the three months, a Showa Shell spokeswoman said.

Idemitsu Kosan Co has completed the purchase of just under a third of Showa Shell, but its goals for full integration have been delayed indefinitely after opposition from Idemitsu's founding family.
MRC

Saudi Aramco hires former Shell executive for chemicals business

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Olivier Thorel has joined Saudi Aramco effective Jan. 1, 2018, as executive director for the company’s Chemicals business, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Thorel joined Shell in France in 1990 and held various positions in the Chemicals business in manufacturing, sales, marketing, supply chain, and as global general manage, based in France, the Netherlands, and London until 2006.

He then led the global base oil business and thereafter became vice president of supply, distribution and Shell pipelines for North America, based in Houston. Over the past four years, Olivier has led various parts of the Shell Chemicals business as vice president of Global intermediates, and then vice president of Chemicals Asia, Ventures and New Business Development, based in Singapore.

Thorel graduated in 1988 from Ecole Polytechnique (science and economics) and holds a master’s degree in Finance from Universite Paris-Dauphine. He completed an executive MBA at Insead in 2002. Olivier is French, married and father of four children. He originates from Corsica and is a passionate skier.

As MRC wrote previously, Saudi Arabia changed the status of its national oil giant Aramco to a joint-stock company as of Jan. 1, in a key step for an initial public offering (IPO) planned for later this year.

Saudi Aramco is an integrated oil and chemicals company, a global leader in hydrocarbon production, refining processes and distribution, as well as one of the largest global oil exporters. It manages proven reserves of crude oil and condensate estimated at 261.1bn barrels, and produces 9.54 million bbl daily. Headquartered in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, the company employs over 61,000 staff in 77 countries.
MRC