PP imports in Russia grew by 21% in January-August

Imports of PP block copolymers into Russia rose to 32,200 tonnes in the first eight months of 2018, compared to 28,900 tonnes a year earlier.
Russia's imports of PP random copolymers in August were about 3,000 tonnes against 4,300 tonnes a month earlier, the devaluation of the rouble against the euro forced local producers of pressure pipes to reduce the volume of polymer purchases in Europe. Overall imports of this grade of propylene copolymers were 24,200 tonnes in the first eight months of 2018, compared to 19,300 tonnes a year earlier, with imports of pipe grade propylene copolymers accounting for more than a two-fold increase.

Imports of other propylene polymers for the reported period increased to about 27,100 tonnes compared with 23,300 tonnes in the same time a year earlier.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Exxon Mobil Corp is planning to spend more than 500 million pounds (USD650 million) to upgrade the UK’s largest oil refinery, Fawley, on England’s south coast, reported Reuters with reference to a spokesman.

The project at the 270,000 barrel per day refinery - representing a fifth of British refining capacity - still needs a final investment decision which is not expected before the second quarter of next year, Exxon said.

The planned upgrade, which would include building a new hydrotreater and a new hydrogen plant, would reduce Britain’s reliance on diesel imports.

"ExxonMobil is considering significant upgrades at its Fawley site to help meet demand in the UK market for high quality fuels," Exxon said in a statement.

"If approved, the project, which is expected to involve an investment of hundreds of millions of pounds, will ... allow the site to process a wider selection of crude oils, and will help secure future employment for 1,000 employees at the site."

A spokesman confirmed a report in the Financial Times that the investment, if finalised, would amount to more than 500 million pounds.

The upgrade will allow the refinery to refine heavier, sourer barrels into ultra-low sulfur diesel, the FT reported.

As MRC wrote earlier, in October 2017, ExxonMobil Chemical Company commenced production on the first of two new 650,000 tons-per-year high-performance polyethylene (PE) lines at its plastics plant in Mont Belvieu, Texas. The full project, part of the company’s multi-billion dollar expansion project in the Baytown area and ExxonMobil’s broader Growing the Gulf expansion initiative, will increase the plant’s polyethylene capacity by approximately 1.3 million tons per year.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world's oil and about 2% of the world's energy.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- India’s state-run Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) will skip the purchase of Iranian oil in October due to a turnaround at its plants, reported Reuters with reference to a source privy to the plan.

The refiner will, however, lift 1 million barrels of Iranian oil this month, said the source, who did not wish to be identified.

There was no immediate response from BPCL on Reuters’ email seeking comments.

BPCL has changed a crude mix for its 240,000 barrels per day (bpd) Mumbai refinery after shutting down the fire-hit hydrocracker unit last month to optimize its processing and output of refined products, said the source.

The hydrocracker unit will remain shut for at least another two months.

The refiner’s 120,000 bpd Bina refinery in central India is also shut down for about 45 days from mid-August.

As MRC informed previously, BPCL plans to build a USD3 billion petrochemical unit to serve the Mumbai region, a company official said, to profit from the country's expected surge in demand for petrochemicals as its economy expands. BPCL's expansion is part of a national plan to spend USD35 billion on petrochemical production in order to meet the expected increase in consumption of the chemicals for products including plastics, paints and adhesives. India currently only produces about 20 million tonnes a year of petrochemicals, less than the 40 million tonnes of demand expected for the 2017/18 financial year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Royal DSM, a global science-based company in Nutrition, Health and Sustainable Living, has announced that FormFutura will distribute its high performance additive manufacturing filaments to customers in the fast-growing additive manufacturing/3D printing industry, as per DSM's press release.

The collaboration gives manufacturers, OEMs, designers and 3D printing service bureaus access to DSM additive manufacturing filaments for prototyping and industrial parts production.

A 25-year pioneer in stereolithography, DSM started developing high performance filaments based on its engineering plastics portfolio. Building on the company’s deep market-specific application understanding and expertise, DSM is further expanding its additive manufacturing activities into all polymer processing technology platforms - including experience from years of research in Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), Multi Jet Fusion, Ink Jet and Binder Jet processes.

"At DSM, we believe that partnerships across the additive manufacturing ecosystem are critical to unlock the full potential of this new technology,” said Jill Cohen, Global Director Marketing & Sales for DSM Additive Manufacturing. “Our collaboration with FormFutura allows us to extend our global reach, providing customers with easy ordering and support for our high-performance filaments across all regions and markets."

"We are proud of this collaboration with DSM as we see a rapidly growing demand in the FFF 3D printing market for industrial grade and high-performance materials in both industrial and SME sectors," said Arnold Medenblik, CEO of FormFutura. "The DSM materials are a great addition to our FormFutura product range and through our global network of resellers, these high-performance polymers will now be available to everyone. This new portfolio will also open doors to new markets for both FormFutura and our partners."

As MRC wrote before, in May 2018, Royal DSM announced that it has entered a preferred partnership with Chromatic 3D Materials to introduce thermoset materials for 3D-printing of finished manufactured goods.

FormFutura is a global supplier of filaments to the additive manufacturing industry, delivering excellent customer service, quality and service throughout the entire supply chain. Due to their operational effectiveness and customer focus they can unburden customers and add value to their supply chain by offering favorable purchase conditions and an extremely fast supply and (re)stocking of DSM products.

Royal DSM is a global science-based company active in health, nutrition and materials. DSM delivers innovative solutions that nourish, protect and improve performance in global markets such as food and dietary supplements, personal care, feed, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, automotive, paints, electrical and electronics, life protection, alternative energy and bio-based materials.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- India’s Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd naphtha sales premium has fallen to a more than one-year low as high supplies weighed, three traders who track the deals closely said, as per Reuters.

MRPL sold 35,000 tonnes for Oct. 7-9 loading from New Mangalore to Socar at around USD10 a tonne above Middle East quotes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis.

That was down from an average USD15 a tonne premium it had fetched for two cargoes sold for September loading. It was also the lowest premium MRPL has fetched since it sold cargoes for September 2017 loading.

As MRC wrote before, in August 2015, MRPL initiated its downward integration by amalgamation with ONGC Mangalore Petrochemicals Limited (OMPL).

Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL), is an oil refinery at Mangalore and is a subsidiary of ONGC, set up in 1993. The refinery is located at Katipalla, north from centre of Mangalore city. The refinery was established after displacing five villages of Bala, Kalavar, Kuthetoor, Katipalla, and Adyapadi.
MRC