Covestro plans EUR100m global film production expansion

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Covestro intends to significantly expand its global film production to meet the growing demand in all regions. In particular, capacity expansions are planned at Map Ta Phut, Thailand, Guangzhou, China, South Deerfield, USA, and Dormagen, Germany, as per the company's press release.

The total investment of more than 100 million euros also includes the expansion of the associated infrastructure and logistics. According to current planning, over 100 new jobs will be created worldwide for the operation of the new plants. The high-quality semi-finished products are used in the automotive, medical technology and security card industries, amongst others.

"With this capacity expansion, we are investing in promising technologies and applications," says Dr. Markus Steilemann, CEO of Covestro. "The innovative high-tech materials offer solutions for future challenges and deliver their contribution to making the world a brighter place."

"We want to expand our global film production as quickly as possible to meet the growing demand in the regions," explains Michael Friede, global head of the Coatings, Adhesives and Specialties segment. "With modern and efficient production facilities, we want to offer our customers growth opportunities and strengthen them in their competitive environment. "

One of the new production facilities is being built in Map Ta Phut in Thailand and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2019. It is based on modern coextrusion technology.

At the Guangzhou site in China, the focus will initially be on converting the existing coextrusion line. The first new capacities are to be available there as early as mid-2019. In a second phase, capacity is also to be expanded there. In South Deerfield, Massachusetts, measures to increase efficiency and quality are already being implemented.

Covestro is also building new coextrusion lines in Dormagen, which are scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of 2020. Only a year ago, the company commissioned a new production line there for high-quality, multilayer flat films, including infrastructure and logistics facilities.
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MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of unmixed polyvinyl chloride (PVC) into Belarus increased to 14,800 tonnes in the first five months of this year, up 24% year on year, according to MRC DataScope.

According to the statistical committee of the Republic of Belarus, local converters significantly increased their purchasing of PVC in May 2018 after poor March and April. May imports were 3,200 tonnes, compared to 2,100 tonnes a month earlier.
Thus, imports of unmixed PVC grew in the first five months of 2018 to 14,100 tonnes from 11,400 tonnes a year earlier, with local windows producers accounting for the main increase in demand.

Russian producers with the share of 89% of the Belarusian market were the key suppliers of resin to Belarus in January-May. Producers from Germany and Ukraine were the second and third largest suppliers, respectively.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The U.S. Chemical Safety Board is analyzing metal shrapnel from an April explosion at a Husky Energy Inc refinery in Wisconsin that forced the evacuation of thousands of residents as it continues to investigate the cause of the blast, the agency’s chief said Reuters.

The metal shrapnel blown out from the gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) at the refinery in Superior, Wisconsin, tore through a tank containing hot asphalt, which spread fire through the plant, Kristen Kulinowski, the safety board’s interim executive, said.

The metallurgical analysis may determine what caused the explosion.

"It’s a painstaking process as much of the metal is covered with asphalt," Kulinowski said.

The refinery has remained shut since the explosion on April 26.

Husky spokeswoman Kim Guttormson said there is no date for the restart of the refinery, but the company may provide an update on its July 26 conference call on second-quarter earnings.

The CSB has not released control of the FCCU to Husky, board spokeswoman Hillary Cohen said. Another update on the investigation will be issued in August.

Like the National Transportation Safety Board, the CSB has no regulatory or enforcement authority but recommends changes in industry practices and regulations based on its investigations.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Honeywell announced that Cepsa will convert an alkylation unit using hydrofluoric acid to Honeywell UOP’s solid bed Detal-Plus technology at its refinery in San Roque, Spain, ,as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The unit produces linear alkylbenzene (LAB), which is used to make a variety of different detergent formulations, including biodegradable household detergents.

Honeywell will provide catalysts and adsorbents, basic engineering design and other associated services for the complex. When completed in 2020, this project will mark the world’s first conversion of an HF alkylation unit to solid bed technology. With the conversion to Detal-Plus technology, the plant’s capacity will increase by 50,000 metric tons to 250,000 metric tons of LAB per year.

"The Detal-Plus technology is a highly efficient solid bed process for making detergent alkylate," said John Gugel, president of Honeywell UOP. "It also has the added benefit of being far simpler to operate."

The Detal-Plus technology, which was co-developed with Cepsa, is the first solid bed technology with the flexibility to produce LAB for a variety of different detergent formulations. The heart of the process is Honeywell UOP’s new ZDA-30 series catalyst which features higher activity and selectivity, making it more energy efficient.

"In addition to pioneering development of this technology with UOP, Cepsa is the world leader in the manufacture of LAB," said Miguel Angel Calderon, vice president, Technology at Cepsa. "This project allows us to revamp the Puente Mayorga plant at San Roque, so we can enhance its competitiveness, and apply this experience to our other installations around the world."

The Detal-Plus technology, combined with Honeywell UOP’s Molex, Pacol, DeFine and PEP processes, forms an integrated and energy-efficient LAB complex. The Molex process provides one of the most economical routes to produce normal paraffins from kerosene. Pacol technology performs dehydrogenation of normal paraffins to olefins, and PEP technology handles the selective removal of aromatics Honeywell pioneered the manufacture of LAB in the 1960s, helping address the negative environmental impact of conventional detergents.

Today, LAB from Honeywell UOP processes is the most widely used component in the production of biodegradable detergents, emulsifiers, dispersants, wetting and foaming agents. Cepsa is a global energy company, which operates at all stages of the hydrocarbon value chain, and manufactures products from plant-based raw materials. It is a wholly owned business of Mubadala Investment Company, one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds. With more than 85 years of experience and a team of nearly 10,000 professionals, Cepsa is active on five continents through exploration and production, refining, chemical, marketing, gas and electricity, and trading activities.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Azerbaijan's Socar is refocusing its trading arm's activities on LNG and its new Turkish refinery while winding down less profitable trades as it feels the sting of weak profits, reported Reuters with reference to sources familiar with the matter.

Many trading houses had weaker performances in 2017 due to a less lucrative, backwardated market structure for much of the year and relatively low volatility.

Geneva-based Socar Trading also was stung, costing its chief executive Arzu Azimov his job.

The firm was set up in 2007 and has become a global player in the last few years, having previously been only a marketer of its country's crude, Azeri Light. Poaching top traders from established rivals, it moved into paper trading and third-party oil.

At the end of May, executive chairman Adnan Ahmadzada was appointed and the CEO role was taken by Mariam Almaszade, formerly of trading firm Maddox.

Last year the firm traded 1.54 million barrels per day of crude, of which about 1.06 million bpd was third-party, the company said. Combining crude and oil products, it traded 104 million tonnes.

The firm closed its back office in Estonia's capital Talinn last month and plans to exit fuel oil trading by the end of the year, one of the sources said.

At least four traders in the heavy distillates division have left, including manager Pino Petricone, the sources said.

Adding impetus is an upcoming change in shipping fuels. In 2020, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) will ban ships using fuel with a sulphur content higher than 0.5 percent, compared to 3.5 percent now, unless a vessel has equipment to clean up its sulphur emissions.

The industry expects demand for fuel oil to plummet as few ships have such equipment.

Socar has previously grappled with some over-stretches. The firm announced the closure of its Calgary office at the end of 2017 to focus on its Houston one instead. It also previously left middle distillates, such as diesel.

For traders, liquefied natural gas is the flavor of the month. As the market slowly becomes more liquid, firms are rapidly expanding their LNG divisions and investing in infrastructure.

Socar sold its first cargo of LNG in 2017 as part of its investment in an LNG-to-power project in Malta.

It is studying several options in Africa and Asia and plans to increase its headcount in London, including with more LNG-focussed hires, one of the sources said.

Looking forward, the firm may beef up products trading once more after its Star refinery in Turkey starts up, including a return to middle distillates depending on possible export volumes and how the market looks after the IMO change, they said.

Socar is sending a cargo of Azeri Light and Russian Urals crude to start the commissioning of its new 200,000-barrels-per-day refinery in Turkey.

The process is expected to be complete by the end of October and the plant will later run mainly on medium sour grades, namely Russian and Iraqi oil, one of the sources added. (Additional reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar and Shadia Nasralla in London, Devika Krishna Kumar and Liz Hampton in New York; Editing by Dale Hudson)

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