PVC imports to Russia down by 60% in 2017

Chinese producers traditionally have been the key foreign PVC suppliers for the past several years. December imports of Chinese acetylene resin dropped slightly to 3,000 tonnes from 3,300 tonnes a month earlier. A major cut in export PVC prices in China was the main reason for the increase in imports for the past two month, a significant fall in imports of acetylene resin is expected in January. Thus, imports of Chinese resin were 45,800 tonnes last year, compared to 95,800 tonnes a year earlier.

European producers shipped small quantities of suspension, overall imports of European PVC fell to 3,500 tonnes over the stated period from 6,400 tonnes a year earlier.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- The government will support state-owned companies working in the refining and petrochemicals sector to boost their production, Minister of Petroleum Tarek el-Molla said Thursday, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

During a meeting with the Alexandria Petroleum Company, Assiut Oil Refining Company (ASORC) and Egyptian Petrochemicals Company, heads of the companies presented their plans of production for fiscal year 2018/19.

Chairman of Alexandria Petroleum Company Medhat Bahgat said they plan to produce 99,000 tons of butange gas, 1.3 million tons of naphtha, 1.2 million tons of diesel, 1.4 million tons of fuel oil and 19,000 tons of asphalt.

The Alexandria-based company is planning two new projects to expand production and develop the facility.

As for ASORC, chairman of the company Nagy Kassab said they plan to refine one million ton of crude oil to produce 36,000 tons of butane, 520,000 tons of naphtha, one million ton of diesel, 2.3 million tons of fuel oil and 25,000 tons of jet fuel.

Chairman of Egyptian Petrochemicals Company plans to produce 90,000 tons of Polyvinyl chloride, 65,000 tons of sodium hydroxide and 15,000 tons of hydrochloric acid.

Egypt’s Petroleum Ministry aims to increase its annual production of gasoline, diesel, butane gas and jet fuel by 11.6 million tons in the next four years, at an investment of USD8.3 billion, boosting total production to around 28.5 million tons, up from the current 16.9 million tons.

This comes as part of the ministry’s plan to expand and develop refineries to boost domestic production of petroleum products, with the aim of filling the gap between production and consumption.

Under the plan, the ministry targets producing 3.113 million tons of gasoline, 6.603 million tons of diesel, 481,000 tons of butane gas and some 1.438 million tons of jet fuel.

Developing the petrochemical industry will result in an improvement in plastics industry, fibers industry and other related industries.

By 2020, Egypt plans to produce more than three million tons of chemical products, under a 20-year national plan, which involves a range of products from ethylene and polyethylene to olefins and aromatics.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Royal Dutch Shell plc (Shell) announces a final investment decision on the redevelopment of the Penguins oil and gas field in the UK North Sea, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The decision authorizes the construction of a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, the first new manned installation for Shell in the northern North Sea in almost 30 years. The redevelopment is an attractive opportunity with a competitive go-forward break-even price below USD40 per barrel. The FPSO is expected to have a peak production (100%) of circa 45,000 boe/d.

“Penguins demonstrates the importance of Shell’s North Sea assets to the company’s upstream portfolio,” said Andy Brown, Upstream Director. “It is another example of how we are unlocking development opportunities, with lower costs, in support of Shell’s transformation into a world class investment case.” The Penguins field currently processes oil and gas using four existing drill centers tied back to the Brent Charlie platform. The redevelopment of the field, required when Brent Charlie ceases production will see an additional eight wells drilled, which will be tied back to the new FPSO vessel. Natural gas will be exported through the tie-in of existing subsea facilities and additional pipeline infrastructure.

Steve Phimister, Vice President for Upstream in the UK and Ireland said: “Shell has had a strong presence in this part of the northern North Sea for more than forty years. Having reshaped our portfolio over the last twelve months, we now plan to grow our North Sea production through our core production assets. In doing so, we will continue to work with the UK government, our partners and the regulator to maximize the economic recovery in one of Shell’s heartlands.”
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell, one of world's the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies, has teamed up with the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) to teach college professors from around the world about process safety so they can in turn better prepare their students for entering the chemical industry, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Last year, LyondellBasell donated USD750,000 to the AIChE Foundation to support the organization's Undergraduate Process Safety Learning Initiative, a multi-pronged initiative that will define how the next generation of chemical engineers are prepared to enter the workforce. The initiative is a global effort and core priority of the AIChE Foundation's Doing a World of Good campaign, which focuses on bringing chemical engineering expertise to bear for the good of society. LyondellBasell is part of the campaign's Founders' Circle and has made a major commitment to the process safety learning initiative.

As part of its sponsorship LyondellBasell hosted an industry-led faculty workshop at its Houston Engineering Center from January 9 to 11, to provide chemical engineering professors the tools and information they need to incorporate safety training into their curriculum to ensure their students graduate with a working knowledge of chemical process safety.

Dan Coombs, LyondellBasell's executive vice president of Global Manufacturing, Projects, Refining and Technology and member of the AIChE Foundation Board of Trustees Corporate Council, reflected on the benefits of the initiative stating, "At LyondellBasell, we work every day to be the best operated company in the industry and that requires an unwavering commitment to safety. The AIChE Foundation's Undergraduate Process Safety Learning Initiative provides the opportunity for our safety experts to actively engage in better preparing faculty members and developing curriculum that will give the next generation of chemical engineers a foundation of excellence in process safety."

More than 30 engineering professors from 16 colleges and universities, including seven Middle Eastern universities, attended the workshop to learn how process safety is put into industrial practice and the importance of process safety to the design and operation of chemical and refining plants. LyondellBasell safety experts led the workshop and reviewed safety best practices and industry case studies with the faculty members. Additionally, visiting professors toured LyondellBasell manufacturing sites to see how process safety solutions are implemented in real life so that these practices can be shared in the classroom.

On behalf of AIChE, Executive Director June Wispelwey expressed her appreciation to LyondellBasell for its generosity and commitment to promoting process safety within the chemical engineering industry. "AIChE and our Center for Chemical Process Safety are grateful for LyondellBasell's demonstration of commitment and stewardship, as we work together to promote the safety of the chemical enterprise and expand the knowledge base of practitioners around the world."

Some of the topics covered in the workshop included loss prevention strategy, hazard identification methods and risk assessment, dispersion and consequence modeling, inherently safe design, and evaluating the availability of safeguards.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- It is just over one year since BASF's Coatings division acquired Chemetall, a leading global surface treatment supplier. Being well-known within the industry for its high-quality products and solutions, Chemetall will operate as a brand of the Surface Treatment global business unit of BASF's Coatings division, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

During festive events at its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany and facilities worldwide, the new brand image of Chemetall was officially introduced. Martin Jung, Senior Vice President, Surface Treatment, BASF's Coatings division, recognized this milestone: "One plus one is greater than two! Our new brand image reflects the impressive know-how of BASF in chemistry and coatings applications with the market-leading expertise in applied surface treatment from Chemetall. Together, the businesses will offer unmatched solutions competence to customers."

BASF has long been recognized as a global innovation leader. Chemetall enjoys a great history of global recognition for providing its customers with high-performance products and individual solutions. The combination of expertise and innovation power of two global market leaders will accelerate innovation and drive even more customer success.

Julia Murray, Global Marketing Communications Surface Treatment, said: "The Chemetall brand is recognized for its technology leadership, and we take a great deal of pride in our customer-focused and customer-centric approach, locally and globally. Being part of BASF's Coatings division creates opportunities to increase customer benefits from our combined expertise and commitment to continuous innovation. We expect to further advance our customers' access to best-in-class technologies, systems, and solutions across the value chain, always with the goal of enhancing efficiencies and value for our customers."

Under the Chemetall brand, BASF develops and manufactures customized technology and systems solutions for applied surface treatment. The products protect metals from corrosion, facilitate forming and machining, allow parts to be optimally prepared for the painting process and ensure proper coating adhesion. These products are used in a wide range of industries and end-markets, such as automotive, aerospace, aluminum finishing, and metal forming.
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