Lanxess expands German compounding plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- German specialty chemicals company Lanxess AG has commissioned a new production line for the manufacture of specialty compounds at its Krefeld-Uerdingen site in Germany, as per Plasticsnews.

According to the Cologne-based company, the 7 million euro (USD8.6 million) investment was in response to growing demand for engineering plastics. The new line has an annual capacity of up to 10 kilotonnes per year, complementing the compounding lines designed for the production of Durethan nylon compounds and PBT compounds of the Pocan brand.

“We are responding in particular to the development of new forms of mobility such as electromobility,” said Michael Zobel, head of Lanxess’s high performance materials business unit.

Zobel went on to say that the additional capacity would also address the trends in the electrical and electronic industry such as the Industry 4.0, which are leading to a growing demand for complex thermoplastic compounds.

The new production line includes a high-performance twin-screw extruder with a modern raw material feeding, precise dosing and an a cooling and classifying technology.

Commenting on the added compounding capabilities, Stefanie Nickel, head of compounding in the high-performance materials business unit said the line was very well suited for glass fiber-reinforced nylon, which are used in lighter structural parts for cars.

Additionally, it is suitable for the production of compounds with high mineral content, which are used in thermally conductive housing parts, for example for the miniaturization of electronic assemblies.

“We also see great potential in flame-retardant compounds, for example for components in electric drives,“ Nickel added. Lanxess operates two compounding sites in Germany, in Krefeld-Uerdingen and Hamm-Uentrop.

Additionally, it has compounding lines in Wuxi, China, in Jhagadia, India, in Gastonia, N.C., and in Porto Feliz, Brazil. The company also announced plans for a 20 million euro ($24.6 million) compounding plant in Changzhou, China, set to be open in 2019.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Rosneft doubled its fourth-quarter net income to 100 billion roubles (USD1.74 billion) after it resolved a row with Sistema, the Russian energy company said on Monday. The net income met analysts' forecasts, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Sistema agreed to pay 100 billion roubles to Rosneft as part of an out-of-court settlement over oil producer Bashneft.

Rosneft said the deal added 48 billion roubles to its 2017 net income. Sistema said this month that it had completed all payments to Rosneft. Rosneft's shares were up by 0.7 percent as of 0906 GMT versus Moscow's stock market which was down 0.4 percent.

Rosneft, headed by Igor Sechin, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, has been expanding aggressively, investing billions of dollars in foreign assets.

It said on Monday in 2017 it had transferred USD2.1 billion to the Iraqi Kurdistan government as prepayments for future oil supplies, and USD1 billion to Venezuela's PDVSA last April as part of an oil supply deal.

Moscow-based brokerage Aton said in a note that net debt has not materially changed since the previous financial report, valuing it at 3.509 trillion roubles (USD61 billion).

"Rosneft is still the most leveraged oil company in Russia, and its deleveraging is perhaps investors' greatest hope with respect to its investment case," it said.

The company did not report its net debt in the latest report. The most recent estimate published by Rosneft was 2.216 trillion roubles (USD38 billion) excluding prepayments to foreign firms as of June 30, 2017.

Rosneft has prepayment and long-term supply deals with Vitol , Glencore, Shell, Total, Eni, BP and Trafigura. It also has similar deals with China.

As MRC wrote previously, in November 2017, Rosneft signed a deal with CEFC China Energy Company Ltd on oil supplies, further strengthening its foothold in the world’s largest energy consumer.

On Monday, Rosneft said its fourth-quarter liquid hydrocarbon production - largest among listed global oil producers - reached 56.51 million tonnes, raising its full-year output by 7.3 percent to 225.5 million tonnes, or 4.53 million barrels per day.

BP, which owns a 19.75 percent stake in Rosneft, sources a third of its oil in Russia.

Rosneft's fourth-quarter earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose almost 8 percent to 393 billion roubles on revenue of 1.7 trillion roubles, up more than 14 percent.

Rosneft became Russia's largest publicly traded oil company in March 2013 after the USD55 billion takeover of TNK-BP, which was Russia’s third-largest oil producer at the time.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The LyondellBasell Houston Refinery, one of the oldest in the Greater Houston area, marks its 100th anniversary, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Over the last century, the Refinery has successfully risen to the challenges of the petroleum industry and market instabilities. Today, it stands as one of the largest refineries in the U.S. with output of 268,000 bpd. At the heart of their deep history are generations of employees who devoted their time and talent to helping shape our culture and achieving many milestones.

The Houston Refinery was one of the first petroleum refineries constructed on the Houston Ship Channel and traces its origin to 1918. The initial plant was operated by Sinclair Refining and later by Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO). The Refinery was part of a joint venture with CITGO Petroleum from 1993 –2006. The company reacquired full ownership of the plant in 2006 and the Refinery, operating as Houston Refining LP, is now a wholly owned subsidiary of LyondellBasell.

The refinery strives to be a good corporate neighbor by giving back to the communities we serve. As way to commemorate their centennial anniversary, Refinery employee volunteers will join the Houston Astros in distributing text books to 100 classrooms in Houston, Galena Park and Pasadena school districts through the ball club’s Literacy Bus program. In 2017, the site contributed more than $200,000 and 4,000 volunteer hours to support initiatives in the areas of health, safety, education and the environment
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Formosa Petrochemical Corp (FPCC) has undertaken an emergency shutdown at its No. 1 cracker in Mailiao, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Taiwan informed that the company has halted operations at the cracker on March 19, 2018 owing to technical issues. The plant is expected to remain off-line for around one day.

Located at Mailiao in Taiwan, the No. 1 cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 700,000 mt/year, propylene production capacity of 350,000 mt/year and butadiene production capacity of 109,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed before, 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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia's overall production of polypropylene (PP) grew in January-February 2018 by 4% year on year, totalling 245,100 tonne. All Russian producers increased their output, with Nizhnekamskneftekhim being the exception, according to MRC's ScanPlast report.

Some producers cut capacity utilisation in February; PP production in the country decreased to 113,900 tonnes, compared with 131,300 tonnes in January. In general, in January-February PP production in the Russian Federation exceeded the level of 245,100 tonnes against 234,700 tonnes a year earlier, the greatest increase in production showed SIBUR Tobolsk and Tomskneftekhim, while Neftekhimiya, Stavrolen and Nizhnekamskneftekhim lowered production indicators.

The structure of PP production by plants looked the following way over the stated period.

The largest producer of PP in Russia - SIBUR Tobolsk in February produced about 39,100 tonnes against 47,700 tonnes a month earlier. SIBUR Tobolsk's PP production exceeded 86,700 tonnes in January-February 2018, up 7% year on year.

Nizhnekamskneftekhim decreased capacity utilisation in February, total polypropylene production had decreased to 15,800 tonnes against 18,300 tonnes in January. The producer's PP production in January-February decreased by 4% from last year's level to 35,800 tonnes.

Poliom (Titan Group) last month, produced 17,200 tonnes of PP, compared with 18,500 tonnes in January. Total PP production at the plant over the reported period was about 35,700 tonnes, up 1% year on year.

Tomskneftekhim decreased production volumes in February, and the final production of propylene polymers was 11,100 tonnes against 12,700 tonnes in January. Total PP production at Tomskneftekhim over the reported period reached 23,900 tonnes, compared with 23,100 tonnes year on year.

February PP production at Ufaorgsintez decreased to 10,300 tonnes from 11,600 tonnes a month earlier. The producer's PP output decreased to 21,800 tonnes in January-February 2018 compared with 21,500 tonnes year on year.

Neftekhimiya (Kapotnya) also slightly decreased capacity utilisation in February, total polypropylene production had decreased to 10,700 tonnes against 12,300 tonnes in January. The producer's PP output in January-February reached 23,200 tonnes, down 27% year on year. A low indicator of last year was a result of a long scheduled maintenance works in March-April.

Stavrolen (subsidiary of Lukoil) produced 9,500 tonnes of PP in February against 10,200 tonnes in January. Overall PP production at the plant exceeded 19,700 tonnes in January-February, down 1% year on year.

MRC