Maharashtra puts land purchase for Saudi Aramco refinery on hold

MOSCOW (MRC) -- India’s western state of Maharashtra has put on hold the process to buy land for the country’s biggest oil refinery that state-run oil companies are building with Saudi Aramco, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, after strong opposition from farmers, reported Reuters.

The USD44 billion refinery was seen as a game changer for both parties - offering India steady fuel supplies and meeting Saudi Arabia’s need to secure regular buyers for its oil.

But thousands of farmers are refusing to surrender land, fearing it could damage a region famed for its Alphonso mangoes, vast cashew plantations and fishing hamlets that boast bountiful catches of seafood.

"The entire (land acquisition) process has stayed. We haven’t acquired any land," Fadnavis told state assembly on Wednesday as opposition parties and a coalition partner Shiv Sena were opposing the refinery.

The Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd (RRPL), which is running the project, says the 1.2 million barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery, and an integrated petrochemical site with a capacity of 18 million tonnes per year, will help create direct and indirect employment for up to 150,000 people, with jobs that pay better than agriculture or fishing.

RRPL, a joint venture between Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum , has said suggestions the refinery would damage the environment were baseless.

Issues related to the land for the refinery will be sorted out by the state government soon given the importance of the project, RRPL Chief Executive officer B. Ashok told Reuters.

Land acquisition has always been a contentious issue in rural India, where a majority of the population depends on farming for their livelihood.

In 2008, for example, India’s Tata Motors had to shelve plans for a car factory in an eastern state after facing widespread protests from farmers.

As MRC informed previously, in March 2018, Saudi Aramco announced that it was seeking a majority stake in a proposed refinery-cum-petrochemicals complex in Maharashtra, India.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LG Chem, the South Korean petrochemical major, has resumed operations at its naphtha cracker in Yeosu, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in South Korea informed that the company has restarted the cracker on November 27, 2018 following a maintenance turnaround. The cracker remained off-line for around one month.

Located at Yeosu in South Korea, the cracker has an ethylene capacity of 1 million mt/year, propylene capacity of 500,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed before, LG Chem is planning to spend USD2.4-billion to expand its naphtha cracking center (NCC) and polyolefin (PO) plant in Yeosu, South Korea. 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.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Covestro has increased its stake in the joint venture DIC Covestro Polymer Ltd (DCP) from 50 percent to 80%, as per Worldofchemicals.

The investment is part of Covestro’s expansion of its global thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) business. The total investment sums up to a low double-digit million euro. Closing of the deal is planned for early second quarter of 2019.

DIC Corporation (DIC) will continue to support the success of DCP with its industry network, strong brand name, and as a reliable local partner.

“The strong and long-term partnership of both companies, as well as our thorough understanding of the future growth potential make this acquisition a fitting step in Covestro’s growth strategy focusing on sustainability-driven innovation,” said Dr Markus Steilemann, CEO of Covestro.

“DCP’s unique local capabilities together with Covestro’s global network will form a powerful combination going forward. The differentiated product portfolio fits well into our pursuit to grow in more resilient, profitable businesses. It shows a clear commitment from Covestro to the Japanese market,” added Kimiyasu Yonemaru, president of Covestro Japan.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Negotiations over December shipments of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) began in the Russian market this week. Expectedly producers had to reduce prices for supplies to the domestic market, according to ICIS-MRC Price Report.

SPVC prices reached the peak in the Russian market in October, and the traditional winter price fall began in November. November PVC prices decreased by roubles (Rb) 3,000–4,000/tonne from the October level.

Russian producers also had to cut December prices on average by Rb3,000/tonne. Demand for PVC from the Russian market began to decline in October under the pressure of the seasonal factor, and as a result, some producers increased exports volumes significantly.

October exports of suspension PVC from Russia exceeded 21,500 tonnes against 8,300 tonnes in September.
Total PVC exports from the country were about 109,700 tonnes in the first ten months of this year, up 52% year on year.

The demand for PVC from Russian consumers in a number of segments was at a high enough level in November as for the current time of the year. Some converters intend to keep large volumes of PVC purchases in December.

Nevertheless, despite the relatively good demand for PVC from the domestic market, Russian producers in November - December planned to increase exports further. In addition, there is an increased demand from some regions for Russian PVC. So, more than 11,000 tonnes of SPVC were shipped for export in the first half of November.

Some producers have significantly reduced their PVC stocks in the past few months on exports and intend to enter 2019 with minimal leftovers so as not to arrange so-called “winter programs” when significant discounts from current prices are given to large volumes of purchases. Overall, December deals for K64/67 PVC were negotiated in the range of Rb71,000-73,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, for lots of less than 500 tonnes.

Supply of K70 PVC has been tight for several months, and for December deliveries this material from a number of producers was on average by Rb2,000/tonne more expensive.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia's overall production of polypropylene (PP) fell in January-October 2018 by 1% year on year, totalling about 1.148,700 mln tonnes. At the same time, only two Russian producers from seven ones decreased their PP output, according to MRC ScanPlast report.

October output of polypropylene by local producers decreased to 75,700 tonnes against 118,800 tonnes a month earlier, the most decrease accounted for Ufaorgsintez, Poliom, SIBUR Tobolsk and Stavrolen shutdown. Russia's overall PP production reached 1.148,700 mln tonnes in the first ten months of 2018, compared to 1.158,100 mln tonnes a year earlier. At the same time, only SIBUR Tobolsk and Ufaorgsintez reduced the operating time, while other producers managed to improve their output.

The structure of PP production by plants looked the following way over the stated period.

SIBUR Tobolsk shut capacities for the turnaround in October, total polypropylene production was 8,400 tonnes against 45,600 tonnes in September. The Tobolsk plant's total PP production reached 373,600 tonnes in the first ten months of 2018, down by 11% year on year. The decline in production was a result of two shutdowns for scheduled maintenances this year.

Omsk Poliom (Titan) in October produced about 11,600 tonnes compared to 18,000 tonnes a month earlier; the plant shut PP production capacities 10 days turnaround in the early October. Total PP production at the plant over the reported period was about 177,600 tonnes, up 2% year on year.

Nizhnekamskneftekhim produced 18,800 tonnes of propylene polymers in October versus 18,300 tonnes a month earlier. The producer's PP output increased to 179,500 tonnes in January-October 2018 compared with 175,300 tonnes year on year.

Tomskneftekhim last month produced about 12,800 tonnes against 11,900 tonnes a month earlier. The plant in the ten months 2018 produced 116,500 tonnes, practically the same as in 2017.

Ufaorgsintez's PP output fell to about 3,500 tonnes in October from 6,200 tonnes a month earlier, the producer shut down its production capacities for a month long turnaround on 20 September. At the same time, due to limitations in raw materials after repairs, capacity utilisation was cut. Overall output of polymer at the Ufa plant rose to 98,200 tonnes in January-October 2018, compared to 102,300 tonnes a year earlier.

Neftekhimiya (Kapotnya) last month produced about 11,900 tonnes of PP, compared with 9,400 tonnes in September. The plant's overall PP output reached 111,000 tonnes over the stated period, up 28% year on year. A low indicator of the current year was a result of a long scheduled maintenance works in March-April.

PP production at Stavrolen (LUKOIL) reached in October 8,700 tonnes against 9,500 tonnes a month earlier, the reduction in production was due to a halt for a week of turnaround. Overall production of propylene polymers at the Budenovsk plant reached 92,300 tonnes in the first ten months of 2018 against 85,000 tonnes year on year.


mrcplast.com