Shell Singapore shutting down steam cracker after burst water pipeline: sources

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shell Singapore is in the process of shutting down its mixed feed steam cracker in Bukom following a burst water pipeline Monday, as per Apic-online.

The steam cracker is able to produce 960,000 mt/year of ethylene, 540,000 mt/year of propylene and 155,000 mt/year of butadiene. The refinery also produces 230,000 mt/year of benzene.

The sources said Shell was forced to shut down two boilers out of four following a burst pipeline. It is unclear how long the cracker would be down.

We remind that, as MRC wrote before, in March 2018, Shell EP Middle East Holdings B.V. completed the sale of the entire share capital of Shell Iraq B.V (SIBV), which held its 19.6% stake in the West Qurna 1 oil field, for USD406 million, to a subsidiary of ITOCHU Corporation.

Royal Dutch Shell plc is incorporated in England and Wales, has its headquarters in The Hague and is listed on the London, Amsterdam, and New York stock exchanges. Shell companies have operations in more than 70 countries and territories with businesses including oil and gas exploration and production; production and marketing of liquefied natural gas and gas to liquids; manufacturing, marketing and shipping of oil products and chemicals and renewable energy projects.
MRC

TOYO awarded expansion of naphtha cracking furnace project in Japan

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Toyo Engineering Corporation (TOYO, President and CEO Haruo Nagamatsu) was awarded an expansion of naphtha cracking furnaces project from Maruzen Petrochemical Co., Ltd. to increase ethylene production at its Chiba Plant, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

TOYO had participated in this project from basic design stage and highly appreciated by the client for optimum design and proposals to emphasize shortest construction period.

Since 1967 when received an order of the third Ethylene Plant at Chiba Plant, TOYO continued to execute various projects of the client for many years. Based on these experiences, TOYO will carry out this project towards completion scheduled in 2020 under the safety-first policy.

As MRC reported earlier, in June 2018, Toyo Engineering Group was awarded a construction project by PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical Tbk (CAP), Indonesia's largest petrochemical company, and its subsidiary PT Petrokimia Butadiene Indonesia (PBI). This project involves the construction of Butene-1 production unit with capacity of 43,000 tons/year and Methyl tert-butyl ether production unit with capacity of 127,000 tons/year commissioned by PBI, as well as an Enclosed Ground Flare with capacity of 220 tons/hour commissioned by CAP. They are to be constructed inside CAP's existing petrochemical complex in Cilegon, Banten, on the western tip of Java,Indonesia.
MRC

Polyolefins margins drive Borealis Q2 net profit jump

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Polyolefins and chemicals group Borealis (Vienna / Austria) witnessed a rise in net sales by 7% to EUR 4.2 bn in the first half of 2018. In contrast, the company's net profit fell by the same percentage to EUR 533m, as per Pplasteurope.

A separate look at the first two quarters of 2018 shows that while Q1 produced a slump in net income, down 23% to EUR 240m, mainly due to low margins in the polyolefin business and the Borouge 2 maintenance – see Plasteurope.com of 09.05.2018 – Q2 turned around, with an increase of 12% to EUR 293m. This was due to rising margins, despite investments in the joint venture the company has with Total Petrochemicals and Refining USA (Houston, Texas / USA) and Nova Chemicals (Calgary, Alberta / Canada), named Bayport Polymers.

The Austrian group is growing its recycling strategy, with capacity expansions started up in Germany this year – see Plasteurope.com of 11.06.2018. It also recently signed an agreement to take over compatriot plastics recycler Ecoplast Kunststoffrecycling.
MRC

Fire breaks out at BPCLs Mumbai refinery, 2 injured

MOSCOW (MRC) - A fire broke out at state-controlled Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd’s Mumbai refinery, leaving two people injured, as per Reuters.

The fire started around 0915 GMT in the compressor shed of the hydrocracker plant, the company said in a statement.

“The fire is still on but is under control,” the company added.

The fire is confined to the hydrocracker plant, said Mumbai fire chief P. S. Rahangdale, adding that two hose lines of fire engines and two hose lines of fixed firefighting installations were in operation.

“Cooling operation is in progress,” he said.

MRC

Covestro completes PC sheets business sale to Plaskolite

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Germany-based materials manufacturer Covestro yesterday successfully closed the sale of Covestro’s Polycarbonates (PCS) sheets business in Sheffield (US) to Plaskolite, as per Europawire.

Acrylics sheets manufacturer Plaskolite will continue operations at the facility, which generated sales of about USD 170 million in 2017.

The sale of the sheets business is part of Covestro’s efforts to optimize its porfolio. After thorough evaluation, the company has decided that the sheets business will not be a strategic fit for its Polycarbonates segment in the long run. Besides the sale of the US sheets business, Covestro has also sold its sheets business in India, and is transferring its production in Guangzhou, China, into a speciality films site.

After Covestro had decided that its US sheets business could develop and grow better under a new owner, the company announced in March 2018 to have signed an asset deal with Plaskolite.

Both companies agreed on a purchase price in the high-double-digit million US Dollar range.

With 2017 sales of EUR 14.1 billion, Covestro is among the world’s largest polymer companies. Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, construction, wood processing and furniture, and electrical and electronics industries. Other sectors include sports and leisure, cosmetics, health and the chemical industry itself. Covestro has 30 production sites worldwide and employs approximately 16,200 people (calculated as full-time equivalents) at the end of 2017.
MRC