SABIC, ExxonMobil advance Gulf Coast project with creation of new joint venture

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SABIC and ExxonMobil said that they have created a new joint venture to advance development of the Gulf Coast Growth Ventures project, a 1.8 million tonne ethane cracker currently planned for construction in San Patricio County, Texas, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The facility will also include a monoethylene glycol unit and two polyethylene units.

"We are very pleased to announce the creation of what is now planned to be the third joint venture between our two companies," said SABIC vice chairman and CEO Yousef Al-Benyan. "We look forward to the next phase of the project, which supports not only our goals for global diversification, but also supports Saudi Vision 2030. In addition, we are proud of the role the project will play in enhancing the economic profile of San Patricio County, Texas," Al-Benyan stated.

SABIC is the operating partner for two long-standing joint ventures with ExxonMobil in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kemya in Jubail and Yanpet in Yanbu.

Creation of the new joint venture represents a key milestone that allows the two companies to continue advancing the project, which is expected to create 600 new, permanent jobs, about 3,500 indirect and induced jobs during operations, as well as 6,000 construction jobs during the peak of construction.

"The new joint venture expands our long relationship with SABIC and builds on the success of several other joint projects," said John Verity, president of the ExxonMobil Chemical Company. "The project will create value not only for both of our companies, but for the surrounding communities through the creation of jobs and economic growth. We appreciate the support we’re receiving, and look forward to continuing our conversations with San Patricio County residents and businesses as we progress."

Construction of the project, announced in 2016, is pending completion of the environmental permitting process. The plant is expected to be operational in the 2021-2022 timeframe.

We remind that, as MRC informed before, in response to customer needs, in February 2018, SABIC announced projects in Asia and the Netherlands designed to increase global capacity for two of its high-performance engineering thermoplastic materials, Ultem and Noryl resins. The planned new production facility in Singapore is expected to go online in the first half of 2021. The company also plans to recommission operations at its Bergen op Zoom PPE resin plant in the Netherlands by the end of 2019 to produce polyphenylene ether (PPE), the base resin for its line of Noryl resins and oligomers.

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) ranks among the world's top petrochemical companies. The company is among the worldпїЅs market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world's oil and about 2% of the world's energy.
MRC

PetroChina Daqing took off-stream No.1 HDPE/LLDPE swing plant in China

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PetroChina Daqing Petrochemical has shut its No.1 high density polyethylene (HDPE)/linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) swing plant for a maintenance, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the company has commenced maintenance at the plant on May 10, 2018. The exact duration of shutdown could not be ascertained.

Located in Heilongjiang, China, the No.1 HDPE/LLDPE swing plant has a production capacity of 250,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote before, on 8 March 2018, PetroChina Daqing Petrochemical restarted operations at its LLDPE plant following a brief maintenance. The plant was taken off-stream for maintenance on March 5, 2018. Located in Daqing, China, the plant has a LLDPE production capacity of 60,000 mt/year.

PetroChina Company Limited, is a Chinese oil and gas company and is the listed arm of state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation, headquartered in Dongcheng District, Beijing. It is China's biggest oil producer.
MRC

PVC production in Russia rose by 6% in Jan-Apr

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia's overall production of unmixed polyvinyl chloride (PVC) grew in the first four months of 2018 by 6% year on year to 322,200 tonnes. All producers increased their output, according to MRC's ScanPlast report.

Some Russian producers reduced their capacity utilisation in April, the total output of unmixed PVC was 75,400 tonnes versus 81,500 tonnes a month earlier. Overall PVC production reached 322,200 tonnes in January-April 2018, compared to 302,600 tonnes a year earlier. All plants raised their production, with SayanskKhimPlast accounting for the greatest increase in the output.

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


RusVinyl (joint venture of SIBUR and SolVin) produced 20,900 tonnes of PVC in April, with 1,700 tonnes accounting for emulsion polyvinyl chloride (EPVC), compared to 30,800 tonnes a month earlier. The Nizhny Novgorod producer shut down its production for a scheduled turnaround in the third decade of April. The maintenance was finished in early May. Thus, RusVinyl's overall production of resin reached 105,500 tonnes in the first four months of 2018 versus 102,600 tonnes a year earlier.

SayanskKhimPlast increased its capacity utilisation last month, the plant's production of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) reached 24,300 tonnes, whereas this figure was 19,800 tonnes in March. The Sayansk plant managed to produce 96,200 tonnes of resin in the first four months of the year, compared to 83,500 tonnes a year earlier.

Bashkir Soda Company (BSC) produced 22,300 tonnes of SPVC in April, whereas 22,900 tonnes were produced in March. The Bashkir plant's overall production of resin was 89,100 tonnes in January-April 2018, up by 3% year on year.

Kaustik (Volgograd) slightly reduced its production last month, the plant's overall SPVC output was 7,900 tonnes versus 8,000 tonnes in March. The plant's overall production of resin reached 31,400 tonnes over the stated period versus 30,300 tonnes a year earlier.

MRC

European producers raised HDPE prices for May deliveries to CIS markets

MOSCOW (MRC) - May contract price of ethylene in Europe was agreed up by EUR20/tonne from the April level.
However, European producers increase only high density polyethylene (HDPE) prices for the May supplies in the CIS countries, according to the ICIS-MRC Price Report.

Negotiations on May PE shipments from Europe to the CIS markets began last week. But the increase in the price of ethylene in the region led to an increase in the export prices for only certain types of polyethylene for buyers from the CIS.

Prices for low density polyethylene (LDPE) were rolled over from April level. Negotiations on May shipments of HDPE were conducted in the range EUR1,020-1,100/tonne FCA, up EUR20/tonne from the April price level. There were no restrictions for May PE supply from European producers.

Prices of black PE 100 grew by EUR20/tonne in most cases and were discussed in the range of EUR1,300-1,360/tonne FCA. Most producers have serious export restrictions this month, and many companies have not been able to close their needs in full.

Deals for May shipments of LDPE were discussed in the range of EUR1,050-1,110/tonne FCA, which practically the same as in April.
MRC

Davis-Standard unveils new global brand

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Extrusion machinery maker Davis-Standard LCC used the NPE2018 trade show as the forum to unveil what it calls "the next evolution" of its global brand, as per Canplastics.

"The new identity and messaging strategy is designed to better express [our] customer-centric and forward-looking business approach, and also to provide customers and prospects with a more unified and compelling visual experience when interacting with Davis-Standard marketing and web resources," the Pawcatuck, Conn.-based company said in a statement.

The previous Davis-Standard brand dates back to the 1950s-60s, when Ben Davis joined Standard Machinery Co. to create the Davis-Standard name. The original company, Reliance Machinery Co., was founded in 1848 and manufactured cotton gins and paper binding machines. Extrusion was developed in the 1950s.

"We previously branded ourselves as ‘The Global Advantage,’ and we’ve executed that by expanding our global facilities and capabilities over the years. But now the focus is now more squarely on helping our customers execute, to better understand their requirements, to build stronger relationships and trust, and to provide the best total solutions," Davis-Standard president and CEO Jim Murphy said. "We felt our brand wasn’t fully reflective of our standing in the industry; we now have a brand that better speaks to our leadership. We have been on an upward trajectory and now is the time for our brand to embody what we have become, and still intend to become."

The company’s new tag line – "Where Your Ideas Take Shape" – is what Murphy describes as the brand’s exclamation point. "It reflects our intent to help customers create a better future, doing it with collaboration and teamwork,” he said. "We need to do this with each other within Davis-Standard and in partnership with our customers."

The brand refresh includes a new logo – the first logo update in nearly 50 years – and a brighter image. It also includes an updated brand story and a new website.
MRC