Saudi Aramco to sign USD10B of deals in France

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Aramco will sign eight deals worth USD10 billion with French firms, the chief executive of the state-run oil giant said- the main contracts expected to be sealed during Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit to France, as per ArabNews.

The powerful young prince who is behind modernizing reforms in Saudi Arabia is on a three-day trip at a time when relations between the two countries have become more complicated, including over how to address Iran's role in the region.

Amin Nasser told Saudi-run Al Arabiya TV on Monday that his company would finalize the accords on Tuesday. A Saudi-France economic forum is due to take place on Tuesday with an official signing ceremony in the afternoon.

Aramco and French oil major Total plan to sign an agreement to expand their joint venture refinery in Saudi Arabia, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on April 5.

Total declined to comment and Aramco did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The prince is not due to sign mega-contracts in France as he did in the United States and Britain in the past month. A French presidency statement said the two leaders would work on a strategic document that would lead to contracts by the year's end, when Macron travels to Saudi Arabia.

French officials dismiss suggestions that the lack of lucrative accords reflects a weakening in the relationship. They say a new "method" of working together does not depend on eye-catching new business.

As MRC wrote previously, in July 2017, Saudi Aramco and France's Total began considering building a mixed-feed cracker and derivatives in Jubail, near their joint refining complex. The cracker is expected to have a capacity of 1.5 MMtpy, said a source familiar with the plans, who described them as at an initial stage. The feedstock would partially come from SATORP, the existing Aramco-Total joint refining venture, and from Sadara, a joint venture between Aramco and Dow Chemical, also in Jubail. Sadara operates a mixed-feed cracker, the first in Saudi Arabia.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) - Production of unmixed polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in Russia increased to 246,800 tonnes in the first three months of this year, up 10% compared to the same period of 2017. All producers increased PVC output, according to MRC ScanPlast.

Some Russian producers increased their capacity utilisation except SayanskKhimPlast, the total output of unmixed PVC was 81,500 tonnes versus 75,400 tonnes a month earlier. Overall PVC production reached 246,800 tonnes in January-March 2018, compared to 224,700 tonnes a year earlier.

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

RusVinyl (JV of SIBUR and SolVin) produced about 30,800 tonnes of PVC in March, with emulsion polyvinyl chloride (EPVC) accounting for 2,500 tonnes, compared to 22,600 tonnes a month earlier. Thus, RusVinyl's overall production of resin reached 84,600 tonnes in the first three months of 2018 versus 77,600 tonnes a year earlier. The producer will shut its capacities for two week turnaround in the second half of April.

SayanskKhimPlast decreased capacity utilisation last month, the plant's SPVC production reached 19,800 tonnes, whereas this figure was 25,000 tonnes in February. The Sayansk plant managed to produce only 71,900 tonnes of resin in the first theree months of the year, compared to 59,600 tonnes a year earlier.

Bashkir Soda Company (BSC) produced about 22,900 tonnes of SPVC in March, whereas 20,500 tonnes were produced in February. The Bashkir plant's overall production of resin was 66,800 tonnes in January-March 2018, up by 3% year on year.

Kaustik (Volgograd) in March slightly increased SPVC production, reaching about 8,000 tonnes, compared with 7,300 tonnes in February. The plant's overall production of resin reached 23,600 tonnes over the stated period versus 22,600 tonnes a year earlier.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) is likely to take its No.1 cracker off-stream for a maintenance turnaround, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Thailand informed that the cracker is expected to be taken off-line in early-September 2018. The planned maintenance is likely to remain in force for around 40 days.

Located at Map Ta Phut in Thailand, the cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 460,000 mt/year and a propylene production capacity of 125,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote earlier, on 12 July 2017, PTTGC took off-stream its I-4 No.2 cracker in Map Ta Phut for maintenance. The turnaround lasted until late July. Located at Map Ta Phut in Thailand, the No.2 unit has an ethylene production capacity of 400,000 mt/year & a propylene production capacity of 50,000 mt/year.

PTT Global Chemical is a leading player in the petrochemical industry and owns several petrochemical facilities with a combined capacity of 8.45 million tonnes a year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Saudi Aramco took the first steps to integrating a petrochemicals business into the United States' biggest oil refinery, which is operated by its subsidiary Motiva Enterprises, as per Reuters.

Aramco's Chief Executive Amin Nasser signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) worth USD8 billion-USD10 billion with Honeywell UOP and Technip FMC to study petrochemical production technology for use in a chemical plant the company is considering building at the Port Arthur refinery.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who was winding up a two-week visit to the United States, was present at the signing in Houston, Texas, on Saturday along with Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih and U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry.

"These agreements signal our plans for expansion into petrochemicals," Motiva's Chief Executive Brian Coffman said. Aramco, which wants to develop its downstream business as the government prepares to sell up to 5 percent of the world's largest oil firm in an initial public offering (IPO) this year, wants to use oil as a major petrochemicals feedstock.

Coffman also said Motiva was evaluating boosting the 603 Mbpd Port Arthur refinery's capacity to 1 million or 1.5 MMbpd, which would make it the largest in the world.

The aromatics unit for which Honeywell UOP's technology is being considered under one of the MoUs, would convert benzene and paraxylene, byproducts of gasoline production, into 2 million tons annually of feedstocks for chemicals and plastics.

The other MoU would allow Aramco to use Technip FMC's mixed-feed ethylene production technologies in the United States. The technology would produce 2 million tons a year of ethylene, which is used to make plastics, Motiva said.

The final investment decision on setting up a multi-billion-dollar petrochemical plant at Port Arthur is not expected until 2019, and is "dependent on strong economics, competitive incentives, and regulatory support," Aramco said in a statement.

Coffman did not provide a timeline for the possible expansion of the Port Arthur refinery's crude oil processing capacity. "That's something we're evaluating, we're studying for in the future," he said.

The 1.2 MMbpd Reliance Industries refinery in Jamnagar, India, has the world's largest crude oil processing capacity. Aramco said last year that it would invest USD18 billion in Motiva to expand the refinery and move into petrochemical production.

Other U.S. companies, including Chevron Phillips Chemical Co - a joint venture of Chevron Corp and Phillips 66 - and Exxon Mobil Corp, have recently opened plants, like the one Motiva is considering, to process ethane into ethylene. Chevron Phillips is considering building a second ethane cracker on the Gulf Coast of Texas.

The price tag for a large ethane cracker is typically over $6 billion, according to analysts. In addition to taking refining byproducts, ethane crackers provide hydrogen for refineries to use in making motor fuels.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mitsui Chemicals has announced its decision to set up a new production facility for Milastomer TPE at the Ohio plant of its US subsidiary Advanced Composites, Inc, as per GV.

There will be one production line; capacity is said to be 6,000 t/y. Construction start is scheduled for January 2019, completion for June 2019. Operations are expected to commence in October 2019.

Mitsui Chemicals currently owns production locations in Japan, Europe and China. The company said that the new facility will address growing demand in North America and will serve as the company's fourth production base worldwide. Mitsui Chemicals America, Inc. will sell Milastomer in North America, while Advanced Composites, Inc. will handle production.

As MRC informed before, in 2016, Mitsui & Co., Ltd. and Hankuk Carbon Co., a company listed on the Korea Exchange, entered into a strategic alliance agreement to engage in collaborative business activities relating to the processing of composite materials. Based on this agreement, Mitsui acquired a 10% equity stake in HC (on a voting rights basis) for an investment of KRW 30.6 billion.

Advanced Composites, Inc. is a joint venture of Mitsui Chemicals America, Inc. (59.8 %); Prime Polymer Co. Ltd. (3 %); Mitsui & Co. Ltd. (27 %); and Marubeni America Corporation (10.2 %). The company has been established in June 1986.

Milastomer is a thermoplastic vulcanizate elastomer (TPV), derived from olefin-based rubber and polyolefin resin. With its low density, light weight and good mouldability, the resin is marketed by Mitsui as a substitute for vinyl chloride and vulcanized rubber. Applications include auto parts, building gaskets, toothbrushes, golf club grips, and more. Global demand is projected to rise, primarily for applications such as automotive interior covers, weather strips, air bag covers and steering bellows. Demand for use in automotive interior covers is expected to expand especially in North America.

Mitsui Chemicals is a leading manufacturer and supplier of value added specialty chemicals, plastics and materials for the automotive, healthcare, packaging, agricultural, building, and semiconductor and electronics markets. Mitsui Chemicals is a Japanese Chemicals company, a part of the Mitsui conglomerate. The company has a turnover of around 15 billion USD and has business interests in Japan, Europe, China, Southeast Asia and the USA. The company mainly deals in performance materials, petro and basic chemicals and functional polymeric materials.
MRC