Huntsman to build new polyurethanes systems house in Dubai

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Huntsman Corporation has announced plans to build a new polyurethanes systems house in Dubai, reported PRNewsWire.

Located within the Jebel Ali Free Trade Zone (JAFZA), the new facility will strengthen Huntsman's differentiated downstream capabilities in the heart of the Middle East.

Targeted for completion by the second half of 2019, Huntsman's investment will increase the company's systems production capacity in the region and add a new dimension to its polyester polyol capabilities. The Dubai systems house will complement the company's two existing systems houses in the Middle East, in Turkey (Huntsman EMA) and Saudi Arabia (HAPC - a joint venture with the BCI Group of Companies), forming three strong pillars for growth.

Tony Hankins, President Huntsman's Polyurethanes division, said: "This is a bold and timely investment, which will serve as a strategic platform to expand our business in the Middle East and North Africa and build our market leading position. It represents the next step in our plan to strengthen our downstream network. We now have 30 facilities worldwide, which provide innovative solutions in close proximity to our customers."

Steen Weien Hansen, regional Vice President of Polyurethanes, further commented: "The MDI-based systems market in the Middle East has delivered strong growth in the last five years and this trend is forecast to continue at estimated rates of 7% annually. The construction of the new systems house will enable us to supply traditional and high-end rigid polyurethane formulations from a local source. It will also enable us to leverage our development and production know-how in polyester polyol and polyol blends for the fast-growing flexible foam and footwear markets, as well as pre-polymers for adhesives, coatings and elastomers applications."

Gulum Kabil, General Manager of Huntsman Polyurethanes' business activities in the Middle East and Turkey, will manage the new systems house.

As MRC reported before, in March 2018, Huntsman Corporation announced the acquisition of Demilec, one of North America’s leading manufacturers and distributors of spray polyurethane foam (SPF) insulation systems for residential and commercial applications, from an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners, Inc.

Huntsman Corporation is a publicly traded global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated and specialty chemicals with 2017 revenues of more than USD8 billion. Its chemical products number in the thousands and are sold worldwide to manufacturers serving a broad and diverse range of consumer and industrial end markets. The company operate more than 75 manufacturing, R&D and operations facilities in approximately 30 countries and employ approximately 10,000 associates within its four distinct business divisions.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Honeywell has announced that Shandong Tianhong Chemical Co., Ltd. has chosen Honeywell UOP’s C3 Oleflex propane dehydrogenation (PDH) technology to produce 250,000 metric tons per year of polymer-grade propylene at its facility at Dongying in China’s Shandong Province, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Tianhong Chemical becomes the 32nd company in China to license Honeywell UOP’s Oleflex technology.
Honeywell will provide licensing, the process design package, proprietary and non-proprietary equipment, on-site operator training, technical services for startup and continuing operation, and key catalysts and adsorbents for the project. The announcement marks Honeywell’s 32nd award in China for Oleflex technology.

"Customers such as Shandong Tianhong Chemical need to build and start up their propylene plants quickly so they can accelerate their return on investment," said John Gugel, vice president and general manager of Honeywell UOP’s Process Technology and Equipment business. "Honeywell UOP helps them achieve this with Oleflex technology, which is extremely efficient and features a proven basic design package that significantly shortens the build schedule."

Honeywell UOP’s C3 Oleflex technology uses catalytic dehydrogenation to convert propane to propylene and is designed to have a lower cash cost of production and higher return on investment compared with competing technologies. Its low energy consumption, low emissions and fully recyclable, platinum-alumina-based catalyst system minimizes its impact on the environment. The independent reaction and regeneration sections enable steady-state operations, improved operating flexibility, and a high on-stream factor and reliability.

Honeywell UOP also licenses C4 Oleflex technology, which converts butanes to butylenes, the primary ingredient for making high-octane fuel additives and synthetic rubber. Including this project, Honeywell UOP’s Oleflex technology has been selected for 52 out of 64 propane and isobutane dehydrogenation projects globally since 2011.

Since the Oleflex technology was first commercialized in 1990, Honeywell UOP has commissioned 29 units for on-purpose propylene and isobutylene production. Global production capacity of propylene from Oleflex technology now stands at approximately 6.8 million metric tons per year.

Thus, as MRC informed earlier, Ningbo Fortune Petrochemical Co. Ltd. and Zhangjiagang Yangzi River Petrochemical Co. Ltd. (YRPC), both subsidiaries of Oriental Energy Co. Ltd., are utilizing Honeywell UOP's C3 Oleflex process technology to each produce 600 Mtpy (thousands of tonnes per year) of on-purpose propylene from propane.

Shandong Tianhong Chemical Co. Ltd. manufactures specialized chemical products, including methyl methacrylate (MMA). A subsidiary of China Wanda Group, Shandong Tianhong Chemical markets its products for the tire, acrylonitrile, chemical and carbon black industries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- At the 2018 edition of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, SUEZ’s CEO, Jean-Louis Chaussade, and Vice President of Rosneft Andrey Shishkin strengthened their working relationship with the signing of a Strategic Cooperation Agreement (SCA), as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The agreement will further technology development and implementation of water, wastewater and waste programs at Rosneft refinery and petrochemical sites.

SUEZ will provide technologies and solutions with pilot testing as needed. Areas of focus include wastewater pre-treatment, biological wastewater treatment, desalination for reuse, water purification by evaporation and various treatment programs for cooling water systems. SUEZ will also expand its existing technical advisory services currently deployed at one of Rosneft’s sites to other sites owned and operated by Rosneft.

"Effectiveness and environmental safety of the oil and gas production is only possible if the latest technologies are used. Rosneft highly prioritizes innovative development in its operations and actively uses the latest digital technologies in all areas of the company's activities. We are pleased that the experience and competencies of SUEZ, the leading company in the field of environmental technology development, are being used at Rosneft's facilities", said Andrey Shishkin, Vice President of PJSC "Oil Company “Rosneft", commenting on the signing of the agreement.

The new agreement comes at the heels of an already existing and positive working relationship between SUEZ and Rosneft, which started more than a decade ago. Since that time SUEZ supplied its MBR technology and cooling water treatment services to multiple Rosneft refineries. In January 2018, Rosneft and SUEZ put into operation a biological wastewater treatment plant at Rosneft’s Bashneft-Ufaneftekhim facility, which will treat up to 84,000 cubic meters of wastewater per day using SUEZ industrial wastewater treatment technology. The equipment is being serviced by SUEZ as part of a 15-year agreement.

As MRC informed before, in late June 2017, Rosneft and Sinopec Group signed a Framework Agreement on joint pre-feasibility study of the project related to the construction and operation of a gas processing and petrochemical complex in East Siberia. The Agreement signed in furtherance of the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in petrochemical projects, provides to select a technology for natural gas processing from its components to polymers. The parties also decided to choose a consultant for the project management and identified competitive challenges and the time to fix them before entering the stage front-end engineering design (FEED). In the event of successful outcomes as stipulated by the Framework Agreement, it is supposed to create a joint venture between Rosneft and Sinopec in 2017. The project will meet the growing demand for polyethylene and polypropylene in Russia and in China.

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) -- LUKOIL has commenced production of road bitumen at its Perm refinery. The product complies with the new national standard requiring extended life and advanced durability of materials, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The earlier commissioned railway overpass for the discharge of fuel oils ensures an efficient utilization rate of the petroleum-residue recycling plant and of bitumen production capacities, the latter amounting to 2,400 metric tons a day.

LUKOIL Lubricants Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary responsible for the marketing of lubricants and asphaltic products, will undertake the shipment and marketing of these products of the Perm refinery.

As MRC informed earlier, in February 2017, LUKOIL sold Ukrainian plant Karpatneftekhim. Then, the Antimonopoly Committee gave permission for the purchase of a 75% stake in Lukoil Chemical B.V. (Netherlands), which owned 100% of LLC "Karpatneftekhim" (Kalush, Ivano-Frankivsk region).

Lukoil is one of the leading vertically integrated oil company in Russia. The main activities of the company include operations for exploration and production of oil and gas, production and sale of petroleum products. Lukoil is the second largest private oil Company worldwide by proven hydrocarbon reserves. The Lukoil structure includes one of the largest Russian petrochemical plant - Stavrolen.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brazil's antitrust regulator laid out a plan to increase competition in the fuels market, which could lower prices in the medium term after a spike that sparked a week-long strike by truckers which roiled Latin America's largest economy, reported Reuters.

In a study, the economic department of the Cade regulator and its technical body laid out nine measures that it says could boost competition in a sector often accused of collusion.

The proposal includes changes to the tax code and the regulatory framework, such as lifting a ban on direct sales of ethanol from producers to gasoline stations, allowing refineries and distributors to own gas stations and distributors to import fuels.

Cade and Brazil's oil regulator ANP will set up a working group this week, comprising three representatives from each watchdog, to assess the implementation of the nine measures.

The plan should decrease local fuel prices in the medium term, the study said, in effect providing a new response to growing calls for government measures to offset rising global prices.

The government on Sunday agreed to introduce fuel subsidies and tax cuts as striking truckers demanded. But so far, officials have resisted demands to change state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA's pricing policy that takes global prices as a benchmark.

Cade's board will meet later on Tuesday to discuss potential actions related to the fuel crisis.
MRC