Shenhua Ningxia resumes PE plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shenhua Ningxia Coal Industry Group (SNCG), a subsidiary of Shenhua Group, one of the largest petrochemical producers in China, has restarted its HDPE/LLDPE swing plant following an unplanned outage, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source informed that the company had resumed operations at the plant on March 29, 2018. The plant was shut on March 1, 2018 on account of the fire occcured in ethylene tank on February 28, 2018.

Located at Ningxia province of China, the HDPE/LLDPE swing plant has a production capacity of 450,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed before, on 28 November, 2017, SNCG commissioned new polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) plants in Ningxia province with the capacity of 450,000 and 550,000, respectively.

Shenhua Ningxia Coal Industry Group Co., Ltd. engages in coal mining and washing, coal deep processing, coal chemical industry, electric power, real estate, and other businesses.
MRC

PP imports to Ukraine up by 3% in Jan-Feb

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Overall imports of polypropylene (PP) into the Ukrainian market rose in the fist two months of 2018 by 3% year on year, totalling about 18,700 tonnes. Statistical copolymer of propylene (PP random copolymer) accounted for the greatest increase in demand, according to MRC's DataScope report.

February PP imports to Ukraine fell to 8,900 tonnes from 9,900 tonnes a month earlier, with propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounting for a decrease in shipments. Overall imports of propylene polymers reached 18,700 tonnes in January-February 2018, compared to 18,100 tonnes a year earlier. Demand grew only for propylene copolymers, with PP random copolymer accounting for the greatest increase.

The supply structure by PP grades looked the following way over the stated period.


February imports of homopolymer PP to the Ukrainian market dropped to 6,500 tonnes from 7,500 tonnes a month earlier. Homopolymer PP raffia grade from Saudi Arabia accounted for the main decrease. Overall shipments of homopolymer PP reached 14,000 tonnes in the first two months of 2018, down by 2% year on year.

February imports of block copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) were less than 1,000 tonnes, down by 10% month on month. Demand for pipe grade propylene copolymers subsided from local companies. About 2,000 tonnes of PP block copolymers were imported over the stated period, whereas this figure was slightly over 1,900 tonnes a year earlier.

February imports of PP random copolymers exceeded 3,300 tonnes versus 1,100 tonnes a month earlier, demand for PP increased from pipes producers. Overall imports of PP random copolymer reached 2,400 tonnes in January-February 2018, whereas this figure was 1,600 tonnes a year earlier.

Overall imports of other propylene copolymers were about 400 tonnes over the stated period, compared to 376 tonnes a year earlier.

MRC

Environment tax declaration begins

MOSCOW (MRC) -- An employee of a local taxation bureau in Yuncheng, North China's Shanxi Province, presents an environmental pollution tax receipt, also the first receipt of its kind in the province, on Sunday, as per GlobalTimes.

The first environment tax declaration period in China started on Sunday, and although some industries are likely to face rising costs, inflation is not likely to rise, experts said.

The Environmental Pollution Tax (EPT), which went into effect on January 1, is a binding measure to tackle pollution. The tax replaces the pollutant discharge fee, which authorities had collected for four decades.

An employee from Shanghai-based chemical company BASF received on Sunday the first environmental pollution tax receipt from the local taxation bureau of the Shanghai Pudong New Area, which was also the first receipt of its kind in the country, domestic news site thepaper.cn reported.

After the tax took force, officials from taxation bureaus in different provinces explained to enterprises and individuals the tax procedures such as the scope of the tax, tax rates and the calculation basis.

"It's been a major focus for us in the past three months," an employee of a taxation bureau in Central China's Hubei Province, who preferred not to be identified, told the Global Times on Sunday.

The law provides guidelines for how much tax companies will have to pay for emitting different types of pollutants. Factories will have to pay 1.2 yuan to 12 yuan (USD0.19 to USD1.91) for each unit of atmospheric pollutant they emit. For example, that range of taxes will be levied for each 950 grams of sulphur dioxide.

Regions and provinces had unveiled different EPT rate standards by the end of 2017, taking into account local pollution challenges and industrial structures, which would be less than 1 percent of the total corporate tax, according to the website of the State Administration of Taxation (SAT).

"It's a smooth transition from the pollutant discharge fee to the EPT, which won't make any change in terms of tax burdens for polluting enterprises," the employee from the taxation bureau said.

From 2003 to 2015, total pollutant discharge fees collected reached 211.6 billion yuan (USD33.66 billion), the SAT website showed. The SAT said in a post in February that more than 260,000 enterprises would be involved in the first environment tax declaration period.

Still, there are companies that see the new law as a new financial burden. Besides heavy polluters such as steel and cement manufacturers, the agriculture sector will face increasing costs in the short term, domestic fertilizer industry information sit fert.cn reported in mid-March. Some pesticide makers may also pay "millions of yuan" under the EPT, fert.cn estimated.

Still, the increasing costs for fertilizer producers will not be reflected on farm products, Liu Xuezhi, a senior expert on macroeconomics at the Bank of Communications, told the Global Times on Sunday.

"Prices of farm products fluctuate following seasonal changes and weather, so the implementation of the EPT will have little impact on that," he said.

Consumer Price Index (CPI) is expected to have posted a mild rise in March, the expert said.

"However, the EPT will have bigger impact on industries, including papermaking, steel and coal," he said.

CPI quickened to 2.9 percent in February, according to the official data released on March 9. This year's official target for the CPI is "about 3 percent," according to the central government's website.

While authorities are cracking down on pollution and levying taxes on businesses that have caused heavy pollution, the tax burden will not raise product prices, Liu Jianwen, professor at the Peking University Law School, told the Global Times.

"The major target (of the EPT) is to make companies to be more conscious of environmental protection," he said.

The first declaration period will run from Sunday to April 15, according to the SAT.

As MRC wrote before, in late 2016, BASF announced that within the next five years, the company plans to invest globally more than EUR200 million in its plastic additives business, approximately half of which in Asia, focusing on capacity expansions and operational excellence.

BASF is the largest diversified chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.
MRC

Bahrain discovers largest oilfield in decades

MOSCOW (MRC) - Bahrain said on Sunday it had discovered the country's largest oilfield in decades, located off the west coast of the kingdom, according to Reuters.

The new light shale oil and gas resource is expected to contain many times the amount of oil produced by Bahrain's only existing oilfield, as well as large amounts of gas, BNA reported.

The oil discovery is the kingdom's largest since 1932, BNA said. It did not give any details on the oil reserves discovered.

Bahrain relies on the Abu Safa oilfield for the majority of its oil, and shares the field with Saudi Arabia.
MRC

China leads globally with most upcoming hydrotreater capacity additions by 2021

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Analysis of hydrotreater capacities for global refineries shows that China has the highest capacity globally with 1,591.8 thousand barrels per day (mbd) to be added between 2018 and 2021, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Nigeria and Iran follow with 919.6 Mbpd and 789.7 Mbpd added respectively by 2021, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

In 2021, China will account for 23 percent of the total global planned hydrotreater capacity additions. A total of six planned refineries are expected to start operations by 2021. Among these, Dayushan Island refinery will have the highest hydrotreater capacity of 576.0 Mbpd, followed by Jieyang and Dalian III refineries with a capacity of 310.0 Mbpd and 288.0 Mbpd, respectively.

Nigeria will contribute approximately 13 percent of total global planned hydrotreater capacity additions in 2021. The country has 10 planned refineries expected to start operations by 2021, with total hydrotreater capacity of 919.6 Mbpd. Lagos I refinery will have the greatest hydrotreater capacity of 504.0 Mbpd, followed by Ibafon and Ibeno I refineries with capacities of 180.0 Mbpd and 72.0 Mbpd, respectively.

Iran will contribute about 11 percent of total global planned hydrotreater capacity additions in 2021. Iran has five planned refineries with combined hydrotreater capacity of 789.7 Mbpd. Siraf refinery will have the utmost hydrotreater capacity of 438.0 Mbpd, followed by Pars and Mazandaran refineries with capacities of 136.0 Mbpd and 105.7 Mbpd, respectively.

Kuwait will account for around 10 percent of total global planned hydrotreater capacity additions in 2021. Al-Zour refinery has planned hydrotreater capacity of 696.0 Mbpd and is expected to come online by 2019.
Malaysia will contribute about 6 percent of total global planned hydrotreater capacity additions in 2021. The country has two planned refineries with combined hydrotreater capacity of 413.5 Mbpd: Pengerang refinery will have the capacity of 368.0 Mbpd, followed by Kuantan Port refinery with capacity of 45.5 Mbpd.

Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Turkey are the other countries that will contribute 4 percent each to the total global planned hydrotreater capacity additions in 2021. Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Turkey are expected to add planned capacity of 288.0 Mbpd, 288.0 Mbpd, 279.1 and 258.0 Mbpd, respectively.
MRC