Rain Carbon to build water-white resins plant in Germany

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Rain Carbon Inc., a leading global producer of carbon-based products, has announced that it will begin construction of a new resin polymerization and hydrogenation plant in mid-July at its integrated coal tar and petrochemical site in Castrop-Rauxel, Germany, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The plant hydrogenated water-white resins will serve as a cornerstone of Rain Carbon's new Advanced Materials product segment. Once operational in the third quarter of 2019, the plant will have a resins production capacity of up to 50,000 tons per year.

"In recent years, advances in science and engineering have unleashed the potential of coal and petro tars - two of our core raw materials - and we are rapidly mobilizing to leverage new opportunities to deliver advanced materials designed for lighter, faster and greener 21st-century applications," said Rain Carbon President Gerard Sweeney.

"Hydrogenation is the next step for hydrocarbon resin producers, to satisfy evolving regulatory requirements and growing demand by consumer- and industrial-goods manufacturers for cleaner and safer raw materials," Sweeney explained.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- July contract price of ethylene in Europe was agreed down by EUR50/tonne from June. However, European producers intend to roll over June export polyethylene (PE) prices for July shipments to the CIS markets, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

Negotiations over July PE shipments from Europe to the CIS countries began on Monday. But the lower ethylene prices in the region did not lead to a proportional decrease in export PE prices. European producers announced a roll-over of June prices for this month for all grades of ethylene polymers.

Negotiations over July shipments of low density polyethylene (HDPE) were held in the range of EUR1,080-1,155/tonne FCA, which virtually corresponded to June prices. Soma producers had minor restrictions on shipments, but they were not critical for most buyers.

Prices of black PE 100 also remained unchanged and were discussed in the range of EUR1,360-1,415/tonne FCA. Supply of this PE grade increased noticeably in July after two months of serious restrictions on shipments.

Deals for July shipments of European low density polyethylene (LDPE) were negotiated in the range of EUR1,080-1,150/tonne FCA, as a month earlier.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oil major BP discharged 130,000 tonnes, or nearly 1 million barrels, of Angolan crude to a Chinese independent refiner last week, after holding the oil on water for more than two months amid slowing Chinese demand and multi-year high oil prices, sources with knowledge of the offloading said Reuters.

Texas, a supertanker charted by BP carrying around 2 million barrels of Angolan crude, discharged part of the cargo in mid-April at Qingdao and was slated to offload the rest at Rizhao, another port in Shandong, shortly after.

Instead, the tanker had been anchored off the coast until last week, when it discharged at the Rizhao terminal 130,000 tonnes of Cabinda crude to Shandong Qingyuan Group.

Qingyuan, which is based at Linzi in the province of Shandong and operates a 5.2 million-tonne-per-year (104,000-barrel-per-day) refiner, is a regular customer of BP which has expanded its crude oil marketing to Chinese independent refiners over the last three years.

Qingyuan has received an annual crude import quota of 4.04 million tonnes and is one of the largest independently-run lubricant producers.

BP did not reply to Reuters’ request for comment. Qingyuan didn’t respond to a Reuters fax seeking comment.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals will upgrade its Rotterdam chlor-alkali plant to strengthen development of the local industrial cluster, as per the company's press release.

The company is preparing to invest in a second, independent production line for chlorine and caustic soda and will also implement a series of other upgrades, starting with the implementation of new ‘e-flex’ technology, which automatically adjusts production in line with electricity supplies.

The new production line, which is due for completion by 2021, will ensure a continuous supply of chlorine, including when one line is undergoing maintenance. It also enables the company to expand production capacity in the future to accommodate further demand growth. The Rotterdam plant is at the heart of an important industrial cluster for several essential chlorine derivatives including PVC, epoxy resins and polyurethane.

"Chlorine and caustic soda are essential raw materials for products ranging from pharmaceuticals to lightweight products such as epoxy resins used for wind turbines," said Knut Schwalenberg, Executive Committee Member responsible for Industrial Chemicals. "To safeguard a continuous supply in the future and to further improve safety and sustainability, we plan to turn our site in Rotterdam into the most advanced chlorine plant in the world."

The 'e-flex' technology, implemented this month, uses data analytics to automatically adjust chlorine production levels in line with changes in electricity supplies and thus optimize costs. Using flexibility - both in chemical production and electricity generation - will also help energy providers to balance large swings in supply from renewable sources such as wind power.

Werner Fuhrmann, CEO of AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals, said: “The upgrades at our Rotterdam site will safeguard our position as a trusted partner for our customers, who rely on us to support the growth of their business. Taking advantage of digital technologies such as ‘e-flex’ also shows that digitalization, business growth and a sustainable future can go hand in hand."

The Rotterdam site has the biggest single-line electrolysis unit in Europe, with a production capacity of over 630,000 tons per year of chlorine, as well as caustic soda and hydrogen. The company is currently preparing the permitting documentation for the new facilities and construction is expected to start in 2019.

As MRC informed before, in December 2016, AkzoNobel finalized the acquisition of BASF’s global Industrial Coatings business, which supplies a range of products for industries including construction, domestic appliances, wind energy and commercial transport, strengthening its position as the global number one supplier in coil coatings.

Akzo Nobel N.V., trading as AkzoNobel, is a Dutch multinational, active in the fields of decorative paints, performance coatings and specialty chemicals. Headquartered in Amsterdam, the company has activities in more than 80 countries, and employs approximately 55,000 people.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - The owners of a long-closed oil refinery on St. Croix will disclose an agreement with the Caribbean island’s governor to restart the plant and begin producing fuels late next year, according to people familiar with the talks, as per Reuters.

The refinery would process up to 150,000 barrels per day (Mbpd) and supply low-sulfur fuels required by an International Maritime Organization mandate that begins in 2020, according to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency review of the project.

The Caribbean is facing declining fuel supplies from Venezuela, which has sharply cut its shipments to the region.

Kenneth Mapp, the governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands, has scheduled a press conference for Monday morning to detail the deal with ArcLight Capital Partners and Limetree Bay Terminals LLC, which own the refinery, spokeswoman Lisa Posey said on Sunday. Any restart requires approval by the governor and legislature of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

BP Plc separately is in talks with the refinery’s owners to supply crude to the plant, said two of the people familiar with the matter. The deal under discussion would be similar to a supply and marketing arrangement BP struck with NARL Refining for the 115 Mbpd Come By Chance refinery in Newfoundland, one of the people said. That deal soured over two years ago.

BP spokesman Mike Abendhoff declined to comment. In the 1970s, the former Hovensa refinery on St. Croix was one of the world’s largest, able to process 650 Mbpd. It halted processing in 2012, filed for bankruptcy three years later and was sold to ArcLight and trading firm Freepoint Commodities. The two companies run Limetree Bay Terminals, a 32 million barrel oil storage and marine terminal on the site.

MRC