SRF eyeing top-10 position with new film, resin plant in Thailand

MOSCOW (MRC) -- India’s SRF Ltd is building a new bi-axially oriented polyethylene terephthalate (BOPET) film line and a resin plant in Thailand as its aims to find a position among the top-10 global film players, as per Plasticsnewseurope.

The USD60m facility will be built at SRF’s current production site in Rayong, Thailand, where its subsidiary – SRF Industries (Thailand) Ltd – is operating the plant.

The new unit is scheduled to start operation in two years, with the new line adding an extra capacity of 40 kilotonnes per annum (ktpa).

The facility will house a 10.6m wide Dornier make line, which SRF claims to be the widest and latest technology machine available worldwide.

In addition, the company is installing direct film casting at the plant in order to save costs and increase competitiveness.

In direct film casting, the BOPET film stretching lines bypass the main extruder as the poly-condensation installation is connected directly to the film stretching line.

The investment, SRF expects, will help the company strengthen its presence in the buoyant South East Asian market.

SRF also believes that the colocation with the existing plant would create “significant synergies” and shorten production lead-times.

Thailand, specifically, offers a strong customer base and a favorable tax and duty structure for SRF, according to managing director Ashish Bharat Ram.

"Thailand presents itself as the best location for us to set up this new film line," he noted.

With this investment, SRF says it will be placed amongst the top 10 polyester film producers across the globe. SRF Ltd announced another very similar investment in June, marking the building of its first European manufacturing site in Hungary.

The company has earmarked EUR60m for the new facility, which will house an “ultra-modern” 10.4m wide BOPET film line capable of producing 40 ktpa.

The company expects to complete the European project by the end of next year. With addition of the two facilities, SRF’s total production capacity for BOPET and BOPP films will reach 260,000 ktpa, with manufacturing sites in four countries - India, Thailand, South Africa and Hungary.
MRC

Shandong refiner Haiyou extends crude unit shutdown indefinitely

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Independent Chinese refiner, Shandong Haiyou Petrochemical Group, has no definite plan to reopen its crude oil distillation unit (CDU) after shutting it down sometime in late May, reported Reuters with reference to two industry sources with knowledge of the plant's operation.

The plant, in the city of Rizhao in Shandong province, owns a CDU with a capacity of around 70,000 barrels per day (bpd), which it shut down after a local government order to cut down pollution ahead of a regional summit in June, the sources said.

Haiyou, however, will keep open its 1 million tonne-per-year delayed coker, a unit that processes residual fuel oil into lighter refined products such as diesel and gasoline, said one of the sources.

Falling profit margins following Beijing's move to tighten tax rules for independent oil refiners and blenders could be one reason for Haiyou's extended shutdown, the two sources said.

Haiyou's large debt burden could be another reason as the plant struggles to secure financing for oil purchases, said the second source, who has knowledge of the plant's financial status.

Haiyou has an annual crude oil import quota of 3.2 million tonnes.

Both sources declined to be named as they are not authorized to speak to press. Multiple calls to the company went unanswered.
MRC

Maintenance at Romanian refinery to weigh on OMV Q2 operating profit

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Austria’s oil and gas group OMV said planned maintenance at its Petrobrazi refinery in Romania will negatively affect its operating profit in the second quarter, reported Reuters.

The full-site turnaround will impact its second-quarter clean current cost of supplies (CCS) earnings in its downstream business by around 35 million euros (USD41 million) versus the first quarter, the group said on Wednesday.

The shutdown required OMV to store more crude, leading to not yet realized profits of around 60 million euros, it said.

As MRC informed previously, OMV Petrom estimates a net profit of RON 2.58 billion (EUR 555 million) this year, up by 7.5% (in local currency) versus 2017.
MRC

Fire at Ascend Materials quickly extinguished

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A fire occurred at Ascend Material's plant in Cantonment early Tuesday morning, but was quickly extinguished, as per Pensacola News Journal.

Escambia County Fire Rescue was dispatched to the plant for a mutual aid call just after 4 a.m. Tuesday morning.

The company tweeted at 6:36 a.m. that a fire had occurred at the site.

"A fire at our Cantonment, FL site occurred this morning," Ascend's tweet said. "The fire was put out immediately and there were no injuries."

Alison Jahn, a spokeswoman for Ascend, told the News Journal there was no risk to the public at any time, and the cause of the fire is under investigation.

Jahn said she would release more details once they become available.

Escambia County firefighters stayed on scene until 5:35 a.m., according to county spokeswoman Kaycee Lagarde.

As MRC wrote previously, in May 2016, Ascend Performance Materials said it had put plans to build a propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant on hold because of market conditions. The two-train project at Chocolate Bayou, TX, with a combined capacity of more than 1 million m.t./year of propylene, was expected to become the largest such facility in the United States and cost an estimated USD1.2 billion. It has already been delayed once from the original onstream date of 2016 to mid-2019. Ascend is expected to use the UOP Oleflex PDH technology.

Ascend Performance Materials is a global leader in the production of Nylon 6,6.
MRC

Solvay invests in the modernization of a cogeneration unit in Bernburg

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Solvay has announced a EUR48 million investment in the modernization of the gas cogeneration unit in its soda ash & bicarbonate plant based in Bernburg, Germany, as per the company's press release.

This investment secures the long term position of the site and increases its competitiveness, while maintaining the current production capacity. It is also in line with Solvay’s commitment to sustainable development and CO2 intensity reduction.

"With this new project, Solvay reiterates its commitment to serve its customers and answer their needs, by providing reliable and competitive supply of high-quality soda ash and sodium bicarbonate", said Christophe Clemente, President of Solvay’s Global Business Unit Soda Ash & Derivatives.

Solvay is an advanced materials and chemical company, committed to developing chemistry that addresses key societal challenges. Solvay innovates and partners with customers in diverse global end markets. Its products are used in planes, cars, batteries, smart and medical devices, as well as in mineral and oil and gas extraction, enhancing efficiency and sustainability. Its lightweighting materials promote cleaner mobility, its formulations optimize the use of resources and its performance chemicals improve air and water quality. Solvay is headquartered in Brussels with around 24,500 employees in 61 countries. Net sales were EUR10.1 billion in 2017, with 90% from activities where Solvay ranks among the world’s top 3 leaders, resulting in an EBITDA margin of 22%. Solvay SA is listed on Euronext Brussels and Paris and in the United States its shares are traded through a level-1 ADR program. (Figures take into account the announced divestment of Polyamides.)

Solvay Soda Ash and Derivatives (SA&D) is a world leader in its sector, producing soda ash serving the glass, detergent and chemical markets and developing solutions based on sodium bicarbonate and trona serving the healthcare, food, animal feed, and flue gas cleaning markets. SA&D has 11 industrial sites worldwide, more than 3,300 employees and serves 90 countries.

As MRC informed before, in early July 2016, Solvay completed the divestment of its shareholding in Inovyn (London), bringing to an end Solvay's chlorvinyls joint venture with Ineos. Solvay received exit cash proceeds amounting to EUR335 million (USD370.7 million). The dissolution of the jv follows regulatory clearances from the relevant authorities.

Solvay, with a market share 27%, is the second largest PVC manufacturer in Europe, after Kerling with 29% of the market. Solvay is headquartered in Brussels with about 30,900 employees spread across 53 countries.
MRC