LG Chem to invest USD2.4-Bn to expand its NCC and PO facility in South Korea

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Seoul's LG Chem is planning to spend USD2.4-billion to expand its naphtha cracking center (NCC) and polyolefin (PO) plant in Yeosu, South Korea,, as per Apic-online.

The project, which will expand the NCC and PO facility by 800,000 t/y each, is expected to be completed in the second half of 2021.

Also, as part of the investment, the company said it will build a mass production complex in Dangjin, Chungnam Province, for "future promising materials," such as super insulation, light weight and high strength materials.

The expanded NCC will increase LG Chem's ethylene production capacity to 3.3-million t/y, making it the "largest" ethylene producer in Korea, the company noted.

As MRC informed earlier, in January 2016, LG Chem said it had decided to drop a plan to jointly build a USD4.2-billion petrochemical complex in Kazakhstan, citing a prolonged slump in oil prices and a sharp increase in facility investments. In 2011, the chemical company said it would construct the complex near the western Kazakh city of Atyrau as part of a 50-50 joint venture with two Kazakh companies. The plan involved building ethylene and polyethylene plants with annual capacities of 840,000 tonnes and 800,000 tonnes, respectively. The project was announced in 2013.

LG Chem Ltd., often referred to as LG Chemical, is the largest Korean chemical company and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. According to ICIS report, it is 15th biggest chemical company in the world in 2011. It has eight domestic factories and global network of 29 business locations in 15 countries. LG Chem is a manufacturer, supplier, and exporter of petrochemical goods, IT&E Materials and Energy Solutions.
MRC

CPC plans USD6.6 B investment in Paradip petrochemical plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Taiwan’s state-owned CPC Corp has proposed to invest USD6.6 billion in a petrochemical project in Paradip, a seaport town in Odisha, reported Reuters with reference to the country’s oil minister.

The planned petrochemical project will use the feedstock produced at Indian Oil Corp’s refinery in Paradip, the minister tweeted after a meeting with a delegation led by CPC.

IOC, the country’s top refiner, operates a 300,000 barrels per day refinery at Paradip.

IOC chairman had said last year at a shareholder meeting that the company would invest 320 billion rupees (USD4.67 billion) over the next few years to augment its petrochemical capacity.

As MRC wrote before, in early December 2017, CPC Corporation resumed operations at its residue fluid catalytic cracker (RFCC) unit in Dalin following a turnaround. The unit was shut for maintenance in mid-September 2017. Located at Dalin in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, the RFCC has a production capacity of 400,000 mt/year.

CPC Corporation, Taiwan, is engaged in the exploration, production, refining, procurement, transportation, storage, and marketing of oil and gas. The company provides fuel oil, including automotive unleaded gasoline and diesel fuel, low-sulfur fuel oil, marine distillate fuels, marine residual fuels, and aviation fuel; petrochemicals, such as ethylene, propylene, butadiene, benzene, para-xylene, and ortho-xylene; liquefied petroleum gas products comprising liquefied petroleum gas, propane, butane, and a propane/butane mixture; lubricants, motor oil, industrial oil, grease, and marilube oil; SNC products, including petroleum ether, naphtha, toluene, xylene, crude octene, methyl alcohol, normal paraffin, viscosity-graded asphalt cement, and sulfur; and natural gas.
MRC

Qingdao Jinneng New Material selects world-leading PP technology of LyondellBasell

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell has announced that Qingdao Jinneng New Material Co., Ltd. has selected LyondellBasell’s world leading polypropylene (PP) fifth generation Spheripol technology for a 450KTA unit to be constructed in their petrochemical complex in Qingdao City, Shandong Province, P.R China, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

"The Spheripol process is recognized globally for its proven track record, favorable economics and its ability to produce the industry benchmark products that are demanded by customers," said Dan Coombs, executive vice president Global Manufacturing, Projects, Refining and Technology at LyondellBasell. "This fifth generation Spheripol technology is the result of a continuous improvement furthering our ability to meet customer needs."

Mr. QIN Qingping, Founder and CEO of Jinneng Science & Technology Company., Ltd., parent company of Qingdao Jinneng New Material Co. Ltd., said, "We selected Spheripol for its capacity to produce a broad product slate, process efficiency and outstanding performance of environment friendly technology." Spheripol is the leading polypropylene process technology with more than 24 million tons of licensed capacity. It combines globally recognized quality polypropylene grades with leading monomer efficiency and investment cost to make it the technology of choice.

As MRC reported earlier, in March 2018, Dongming Hengchang Petrochemical selected Spheripol PP technology from LyondellBasell for implementation at a plant in Heze City, Shandong Province, China. The plant will be capable of producing 200,000mt of PP per year. Grades of PP produced using the Spheripol process are often used to make film for the safe storage of food and plastic pipes for the delivery of drinking water, as well as wastewater removal and sterile syringes in the healthcare sector.

LyondellBasell’s Spheripol PP process technology has more than 22 million tonnes (Mt) of licensed capacity.
MRC

Celanese Corporation declares quarterly dividend of USD0.54 per share

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company, has declared a quarterly dividend of USD0.54 per share on its Series A common stock, payable on August 6, 2018, as per company's press release.

The dividend is payable to stockholders of record as of July 27, 2018.

As MRC informed before, Celanese Corporation announced that it will increase the price for emulsions sold in Europe. Effective July 1, 2017, or as contracts otherwise allow, the following price increases will apply:

- EVA - EUR75/tonne;
- VAM Homopolymers (PVAC) - EUR75/tonne;
- VAM Copolymers - EUR75/tonne;
- Pure Acrylics - EUR180/tonne.

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Based in Dallas, Celanese employs approximately 7,600 employees worldwide and had 2017 net sales of USD6.1 billion.
MRC

KBR awarded contracts for world-scale methanol plant project

MOSCOW (MRC) -- KBR, Inc. announced it has been awarded a reimbursable Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management (EPCM) contract by Methanex Corporation for providing Front End Engineering Design (FEED) services for a 5000 MTPD world-scale methanol plant to be located adjacent to their existing Geismar, Louisiana facilities, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Under the terms of the contract, KBR will work closely with Methanex to provide FEED services for a third methanol operating plant at the site. The FEED work, which will be executed from KBR's Houston Operations Center, is expected to be completed over the next 12 months with Final Investment Decision expected by mid-2019.

Pending a Final Investment Decision to proceed with the potential third plant in Geismar, KBR will then have the opportunity to provide detailed EPCM services for the new facility.

"This significant award demonstrates KBR's integrated engineering, procurement and construction management offerings, from the front end engineering, through project completion," said Farhan Mujib, President, Hydrocarbons Services Americas. "The award of this project demonstrates KBR's strength and capabilities in Gas Monetization projects. I am delighted for this opportunity to further KBR's partnership with Methanex and look forward to supporting Methanex on this major potential project."

For more than 40 years, KBR has designed, constructed and maintained hundreds of petrochemical plants across the globe.

Estimated revenue associated with this project will be booked into backlog of unfilled orders for KBR's Hydrocarbons Services Business Segment in Q3 2018.
MRC