PE imports into Belarus decreased by 4.8% in 2017

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Overall imports of polyethylene (PE) into Belarus dropped in 2017 by 4.8% year on year, reaching 123,600 tonnes.
Local companies increased their purchasing of all PE grades, except for linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), as per MRC's DataScope report.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics of Belarus, December 2017 PE imports to Belarus grew to 11,200 tonnes from 9,100 tonnes a month earlier. Local companies increased their purchasing of PE in Russia and Ukraine. Overall PE imports into the country reached 123,600 tonnes over the stated period versus 129,800 tonnes a year earlier. Demand for low density polyethylene (LDPE) and HDPE increased, whereas linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) imports decreased.

The structure of PE imports to Belarus by grades looked the following way over the stated period.

December total LDPE imports decreased to 3,300 tonnes from 3,600 tonnes a month earlier. Local companies reduced slightly their PE purchasing in Azerbaijan. Overall imports of this PE grade into Belarus totalled about 36,800 tonnes in 2017, compared to 23,200 tonnes a year earlier.

December LLDPE imports were 1,700 tonnes versus 1,400 tonnes a month earlier, local companies significantly raised their purchasing of Middle Eastern butene PE. Thus, overall LLDPE imports exceeded 34,800 tonnes in January - December 2017, whereas this figure was about 52,700 tonnes a year earlier.

December HDPE imports rose to 6,200 tonnes from 4,000 tonnes a month earlier. Local companies increased their purchasing of PE in Russia and Ukraine.Overall HDPE imports into the country were about 52,000 tonnes in January-December 2017, up by 16% year on year.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant, a world leader in Specialty Chemicals, and its Healthcare Packaging business unit, is introducing a new brand name to encompass all of the products and technology related to equilibrium relative humidity (ERH) stabilization. The announcement is being made at Pharmapack Europe 2018, as per the company's press release.

The new brand - EQius - will be used as an umbrella brand for products currently marketed as EQ-Pak packets, EQ-Can canisters, EQ-Stopper closures, and EQ-Bag bags, along with the raw material that goes in them. The different forms make it possible to customize humidity control throughout the drug-product development cycle, from bulk ingredients to finished pharmaceuticals.

"When Clariant first introduced the 'EQ' concept, we offered only two forms - packets and canisters," recalls Elisa Le Floch, Pharm.D., Clariant Healthcare Packaging, Business Development Manager. "Since then, we have doubled the size of our portfolio of humidity-control packaging solutions and now make them available all over the world."

The EQius products are made using specially engineered sorbents that can act as humectants (desorbers) and desiccants (adsorbers) simultaneously, maintaining a particular equilibrium relative humidity inside product packaging. This line of standard equilibrium-stabilizer products can maintain ERH levels of 10%, 20%, or 30% to help protect finished drug products in bottles or tubes, or to help protect bulk ingredients (powders, capsules) in boxes or bags before, during, or after tableting or filling operations.

"While hydrolytic degradation of drugs can be addressed by removing substantially all humidity entering the packaging using a desiccant," Le Floch explains. "Specific drug properties may require that a specific range of humidity be maintain throughout the shelf life of a drug product or ingredient." Typical examples include micronized drug powders used in inhalers or gelatin capsules. In these and other applications both too much humidity and too little can cause unacceptable damage.

The existing Clariant humidity-equilibrium products themselves will not change. Once fully in place, the EQius brandname - which will be clearly printed on each unit - can be expected to make things simpler for customers. This new single and strong brand will likely offer increased protection against counterfeiting.

As MRC reported earlier, in March 2017, Clariant was awarded a contract by Dongguan Grand Resource Science & Technology Co. Ltd. to develop a new propane dehydrogenation unit in cooperation with CB&I. The project includes the license and engineering design of the unit, which is to be built in Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, China. The Dongguan plant will be one of the largest single-train dehydrogenation units in the world.

Clariant AG is a Swiss chemical company and a world leader in the production of specialty chemicals for the textile, printing, mining and metallurgical industries. It is engaged in processing crude oil products in pigments, plastics and paints. Clariant India has local masterbatch production activities at Rania, Kalol and Nandesari (Gujarat) and Vashere (Maharashtra) sites in India.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- A USD3.1 billion project to introduce crude processing flexibility, at the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) owned Ruwais oil refinery, was announced in February, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Known as the Crude Flexibility Project (CFP), the announcement is another significant step forward as ADNOC accelerates delivery of its Downstream refining strategy that aims to enhance margins by introducing asset flexibility, backed by strong crude and product marketing initiatives.

The announcement follows the awarding of the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract, for the project, to a joint venture between Samsung Engineering (Korea) and CB&I (Netherlands).

The refinery modifications, scheduled to be completed by the end of 2022, will enable ADNOC’s Ruwais Refinery-West complex to process up to 420,000 bpd of Upper Zakum crude, or similar crude types from the market, liberating Murban crude, which commands a higher price on global oil markets, to be utilised for export sales.

Abdulaziz Abdulla Alhajri, Director of ADNOC’s Downstream Directorate said: "Enabling the Ruwais Refinery-West to process Upper Zakum, or similar, medium sour crude, in place of Murban light sweet crude, will allow us to extract greater value from our crude resources. It will mean we can maximise the benefit of price differentials to enhance refinery margins, improve the middle distillate products and release valuable Murban crude into the market."

The planned modifications will add an Atmospheric Residue De-Sulphurisation (ARDS) unit that will enable the refinery to process the Upper Zakum crude, or other similar crudes from the market. The ARDS technology is extensively used in upgrading medium to heavy petroleum oils and residues to more valuable clean environmentally friendly transportation fuels and to partially convert the residues to produce low-sulfur fuel oil and hydrotreated feedstocks.

As part of the selection criteria for the EPC contract, ADNOC Refining carefully considered the extent to which bidders would help to drive In-Country Value (ICV) for the UAE. By integrating ICV criteria into the commercial evaluation process, ADNOC aims to maximise spend on local goods and services, to support socio-economic growth, improve knowledge transfer, and create job opportunities for UAE nationals.

As MRC informed before, in May 2017, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) announced that it would work together with the Austrian producer OMV to help grow Adnoc’s downstream businesses.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Energy Outlook explores the forces shaping the global energy transition out to 2040 and the key uncertainties surrounding that transition. It shows how rising prosperity drives an increase in global energy demand and how that demand will be met over the coming decades through a diverse range of supplies including oil, gas, coal and renewables, as per the company's press release.

"We are seeing growing competition between different energy sources, driven by abundant energy supplies, and continued improvements in energy efficiency. As the world learns to do more with less, demand for energy will be met by the most diverse fuels mix we have ever seen." Spencer Dale, BP group chief economist.

Speed of the energy transition is uncertain and the Outlook covers a range of scenarios. Its 'evolving transition' scenario, which assumes government policies, technologies and societal preferences evolve in a manner and speed similar to the recent past, expects:
Fast growth in developing economies drives up global energy demand a third higher.
The global energy mix is the most diverse the world has ever seen by 2040, with oil, gas, coal and non-fossil fuels each contributing around 25%.
Renewables are by far the fastest-growing fuel source, increasing five-fold and providing around 14% of primary energy.
Demand for oil grows over much of Outlook period before plateauing in the later years.
Natural gas demand grows strongly and overtakes coal as the second largest source of energy.
Oil and gas together account for over half of the world’s energy
Global coal consumption flatlines with Chinese coal consumption seeming increasingly likely to have plateaued.
The number of electric cars grows to around 15% of the car parc, but because of the much higher intensity with which they are used, account for 30% of passenger vehicle kilometres.
Carbon emissions continue to rise, signalling the need for a comprehensive set of actions to achieve a decisive break from the past.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Cepsa invests over EUR45 million to improve efficiency of its Huelva plants, as per the company's pres release.

Cepsa has worked in Andalusia for over 50 years and currently generates over 6,000 direct and indirect jobs
Cepsa today inaugurated its aromatics optimization plant at its La Rabida refinery in Palos de la Frontera in the presence of Susana Diaz, head of the Andalusian regional government, and Pedro Miro, CEO of Cepsa. The project was made with an investment of EUR45 million and is an example of efficiency and innovation in its processes. The plant took two years to build, and saw over 200 workers from auxiliary companies contribute.

The project has covered the installation of new processing and storage equipment and has employed over 550 tons of steel, 2,500m3 of cement, 95 new or adapted machines and 40 kilometers of cable. Its start-up helps to give Cepsa an added value in its aromatics products and an increase in benzene production, a key raw material for chemicals, which in turn means an increase in the refining margin.

Speaking at the event, Susana Diaz said: “One of the things that I value most about Cepsa is that it knew how to transform itself from being an oil company to a global energy company.” Diaz also expressed her gratitude for the company’s investment in Andalusia, where the company has over 3,000 employees.

On behalf of Cepsa, Pedro Miro, said: "This investment strengthens Cepsa’s positioning as an integrated, and sustainable value creating company that shows its commitment to innovation and excellence in operational management. The project also reinforces our presence in Andalusia, a region which we have contributed to for over 50 years and where we will keep on investing in integration, the best technology, and sustainable growth. All of that is aligned with our strategy for 2030, which will bring progress and new opportunities for Andalusia and for our staff across the world."

This project improves efficiency, diversifies Cepsa’s aromatics products and has other benefits such as a better fraction of crude oil to obtain benzene, a key product used in the chemical industry. It also helps to transform excess aromatics from the refinery into high value basic products for petrochemicals such as xylenes used in solvents, and improves benzene production costs at one of the refinery’s chemical plants.

This in turn helps Cepsa to lower its dependence on imported products such as benzene, which will be used at the Palos Chemicals plant to produce phenol, which is used in the pharmaceutical, agricultural and high tech plastic sectors. The xylene produced, used to produce nylon, PET, varnishes and more, will be sold and also used as a raw material for Cepsa’s Gibraltar San Roque refinery.

Cepsa has operated in Andalusia for over 50 years and currently employs 3,600 people directly and generates 2,600 indirect jobs. The company’s revenue of EUR14.5 billion makes it the region’s largest company in terms of production and revenue representing 10% of its GDP.

Cepsa has two oil refineries in the region, two petrochemicals plants, 6 cogeneration plants, a combined cycle plant, a biofuels plant, two liquefied gas bottling plants, 282 service stations, and provides fuel to four airports and 10 ports. It also has a stake in the gas pipeline MEDGAS, which supplies natural gas from Algeria and Europe via Spain.
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