Dow presents broad range of PU solutions at Utech Europe 2018

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dow Polyurethanes, a business division of the Dow Chemical Company, has showcased an extended portfolio of technologies and latest innovations at Utech Europe 2018, as per GV.

According to the company, it is presenting a range of polyurethane solutions that help differentiate products and contribute to help meet sustainability goals, opening new opportunities for its customers and the industries they serve. Innovations featured at the trade show include envelope insulation technologies that can improve sustainability, efficiency and fire safety in buildings; foam materials that can deliver a comfortable experience for bedding and pillow applications; adhesives, binders and engineering elastomers solutions that help improve performance and durability of infrastructures; and automotive materials that contribute to improved vehicle performance, safety and fuel economy.

"At Utech Europe this year we will demonstrate what we mean by our brand promise 'Innovating for You'," explained Jon Penrice, Vice President Dow Polyurethanes Europe, Middle East, Africa and India (EMEAI). "We are committed to drive meaningful innovations that address global challenges and unmet market needs. We do this through the application of science, a collaborative value chain approach, continuous investments and a strong focus on sustainability."

Two new capabilities will be presented at Utech that intend to improve market response times and help Dow customers accelerate technology innovation: a space dedicated to sleep science and an independent R&D centre dedicated to testing and prototyping activities for the manufacturing of PU sandwich panels for thermal insulation. Marcel Moeller, Marketing Director Dow Polyurethanes EMEAI said, "Our focus on sustainable, collaborative innovation shows our commitment to the industry and our customers. By working with our customers and listening to market needs, we can develop products that meet both their present and future needs."

As MRC informed before, in January 2018, as part of DowDuPont Materials Science Division’s ongoing commitment to provide customers with greater access to expertise and products, the company announced that the technologies of Dow Corning Polyurethane Additives (PUA) would be incorporated into the Dow Polyurethanes portfolio under the Vorasurf polyurethane additives brand name.

The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation. Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, and synthetic rubber.
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MOSCOW (MRC) - Motiva Enterprises has decided not to add processing capacity at its refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, according to a company spokeswoman, fallout from last summer’s Hurricane Harvey that knocked nearly a quarter of all U.S. crude capacity offline, as per Reuters.

The decision, which puts Motiva on a path to buy or build another refining plant in the United States, is a significant change in the refiner’s plans from just two months ago when the company’s chief executive, Brian Coffman, said Motiva was weighing adding up to 900,000 barrels per day (bpd) of processing capacity to the company’s sole U.S. refinery, the 603,000 bpd Port Arthur refinery.

The U.S. refining unit of Saudi Aramco remains committed to “investigating opportunities to return to a refining scale of 1 million to 1.5 million barrels per day, (but) we do not expect to achieve this increased refining scale through the Port Arthur Refinery,” company spokeswoman Angela Goodwin told Reuters. “We are actively exploring a number of opportunities and locations as part of our growth strategy,” Goodwin said.

Goodwin cited “commercial sensitivity” in declining to discuss why the company shifted the expansion from Port Arthur, but people familiar with Motiva’s plans said the decision stems from the Port Arthur Refinery’s shutdown after Harvey flooded the area.

“They’re not going to do it in Port Arthur,” one of the sources said. “They don’t want all of their capacity shut like it was during Harvey. They still want to be making gasoline somewhere else while everyone is shut during a storm.”

Hurricane Harvey last year dropped more than 60 inches (1.5 m) of rain over southeastern Texas, halting refineries that account for a quarter of U.S. production of gasoline, jet fuel and diesel and most of its fuel exports. The storm caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to energy infrastructure and pushed up fuel prices for weeks.

Other Gulf Coast refiners, including Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) and Total SA (TOTF.PA), are bolstering their storm defenses, while an industry group is urging federal funding of an offshore dike that would protect the refining center from storm surges.

Total is adding generators and pumps at its 225,500 bpd refinery, also in Port Arthur, said spokeswoman Marie Maitre. It experienced a plant-wide power outage as Harvey drenched east Texas.

At Exxon’s refinery in Beaumont, Texas, 18 miles (29 km) north of Port Arthur, the company is raising an existing 10-foot flood wall by four feet, said people familiar with its operations.

The company is considering expanding the Beaumont refinery and two others along the Gulf Coast to double its ability to process growing U.S. shale oil, but has not reached a final decision.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Bayport Polymers LLC (Bay-Pol), a joint venture of Total and Novealis Holdings LLC - a joint venture of Borealis AG and NOVA Chemicals Inc. - held the official groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a new ethane cracker at the Total Port Arthur Refinery, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The new USD1.7-billion ethane cracker is the first project under construction by the recently-formed Bay-Pol joint venture.

The new 1 Mt/y ethane cracker is being built alongside Total's Port Arthur Refinery and the existing Total/BASF steam cracker and is expected to start up in 2020. About 1,500 jobs will be created during the peak engineering and construction activity, and, once fully operational, the cracker will require about 60 full-time jobs.

"This is an important milestone for our new company," said Diane Chamberlain, Bay-Pol President. "The power of partnership demonstrated here today firmly positions Bay-Pol to deliver innovative products and applications to new and existing customers, while reinforcing our position in an increasingly competitive polyethylene market."

The groundbreaking ceremony saw senior executives of the joint venture in attendance, including Bernard Pinatel, President, Refining & Chemicals, Total, Mark Garrett, CEO, Borealis, Todd Karran, CEO, NOVA Chemicals, alongside Diane Chamberlain and the Bay-Pol leadership team.

Speaking at the event, the three partners commented:

"We are excited to see the construction of our first project in the joint venture with Borealis and NOVA. This project is in perfect alignment with Total's strategy to expand in petrochemicals by leveraging our integrated platforms like Port Arthur and taking advantage of the abundance of ethane in the U.S. With our partners, we are ready to provide for the growing demand for superior products to the marketplace," said Bernard Pinatel, President, Refining & Chemicals, Total.

"We are excited to see this project come to fruition and officially break ground. The new ethane steam cracker is a key growth initiative for Borealis. Our partnership with Total and NOVA Chemicals will position us as a leader in the U.S. and allow us to deploy sophisticated technology with our partners," said Borealis Chief Executive Mark Garrett.

"The ethane steam cracker is the first phase of our joint venture with Total and Borealis, which will help us gain additional access to the U.S. Gulf Coast. This project will allow us to better serve our customers throughout the Americas by delivering a broader slate of products that help make everyday life healthier, easier and safer," said Todd Karran, CEO, NOVA Chemicals.

As MRC informed before, in late May 2018, Total S.A., Borealis AG and NOVA Chemicals Corporation announced they had closed a joint venture in petrochemicals on the U.S. Gulf Coast after receiving all required regulatory approvals. The company named Bayport Polymers LLC (“Bay-Pol”) is 50% owned by Total and 50% owned by Novealis Holdings LLC, a joint venture between Borealis and NOVA Chemicals. Diane Chamberlain is appointed President of the new entity.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC) has selected consortia for the long-awaited contracts to finance and carry out the rehabilitation of the four chronically underperforming state refineries, as per Yourpetrochemicalnews.

Company executives made the announcement in early May, while similarly much-delayed plans to encourage the development of private and modular refineries were also reported to be gathering pace.

The positive news came as senior officials were forced to appear before a parliamentary panel to justify a request to deploy additional government funds on maintenance at the existing facilities – in light of the apparent failure of previous efforts in this regard.

NNPC managing director Maikanti Baru told a conference in Texas at the start of May that a tendering process initiated two years ago seeking companies to rehabilitate the state refineries at Kaduna, Port Harcourt and Warri was close to being completed and that the winners would be announced imminently. A company spokesman later elaborated that the board expected to reveal the names in June.

Under the repair-operate-maintain (ROM) model unveiled in 2016, companies or consortia would finance and execute the work required to restore the facilities to full combined capacity of 445,000 bpd and recoup the investment from revenues earned from operating the refineries for a period on Abuja’s behalf.

"This model is expected to be a self-sustaining financial model with near zero reliance on the federal government funds,” Baru explained. “For smooth running and implementation, we are also changing the operating and commercial framework of the refineries to make them work efficiently and be commercially viable."

In February, reports emerged that a consortium comprising the US’ GE, Swiss-based trader Vitol, Italy’s Saipem and local duo Sahara Group and MRS Oil Nigeria had been provisionally chosen to restore the Warri and Kaduna refineries. A team of Spain’s CEPSA, Italy’s Eni, the local Oando and Swiss-based trader Trafigura was said to be in line for the contract covering the two refineries at Port Harcourt.

The first phase of the 125,000 bpd Warri refinery in Delta State was completed by Snamprogetti – now part of Saipem – in 1978. The 110,000 bpd Kaduna plant in the northern state of the same name was commissioned two years later by Japan’s Chiyoda.

The larger of the adjacent Port Harcourt facilities – which have total capacity of 210,000 bpd – was brought on stream by a Japanese team of JGC and Marubeni in 1989.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy is likely shut its cracker in Kawasaki owing to technical issues, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Japan informed that the company is expected to undertake an unplanned shutdown at the cracker on June 8, 2018. The cracker is slated to remain off-line for around 10 days.

Located at Kawasaki in Japan, the cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 448,000 mt/year and propylene production capacity of 273,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote before, seven naphtha crackers in Japan are expected to be shut in 2018 for scheduled maintenance, industry and company sources said in early 2018.

Thus, Mitsubishi Chemical shut its 539 Mtpy naphtha cracker from May 9 to July 3, followed by a scheduled restart on July 4, a company spokesman said. Other ethylene manufacturers operating crackers include oil refiner JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy, and Osaka Petrochemical Industries Ltd, a wholly owned unit of Mitsui Chemicals.
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