Total Corbion PLA starts-up its 75,000 tonnes per year bioplastics plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Total Corbion PLA, a 50/50 joint venture between Total and Corbion, announces the start-up of its 75,000 tonnes per year PLA (Poly Lactic Acid) bioplastics plant in Rayong, Thailand, said the producer.

The plant has successfully produced Luminy® PLA resins. This bioplastic provides a valuable contribution towards the circular economy being 100% renewable and biodegradable and offering multiple environmentally-friendly waste solutions.

The new facility will produce a broad range of Luminy® PLA resins from renewable, non-GMO sugarcane sourced locally in Thailand: from standard PLA to innovative, high heat PLA and PDLA1 with unique properties. The products will meet customers’ needs in a wide range of markets notably packaging, consumer goods, 3D printing, fibers and automotive and are specifically optimized for extrusion, thermoforming, injection molding and fiber spinning processes.

At the end of their useful life, PLA products can be mechanically or chemically recycled, or in some cases composted and returned to the soil as fertilizer.

Total Corbion PLA will leverage on the integration with its lactide plant, the monomer required for the production of PLA, that has simultaneously been expanded to 100,000 tonnes per year production capacity. Furthermore, the 1,000 tonnes per year PLA pilot plant, which has been operational since the end of 2017, is located on the same site and will be used for product development.

The start-up marks a major milestone for both the joint venture and the bioplastics market. With this additional 75,000 tonnes per year facility, the global production of PLA bioplastics will increase by almost 50% to 240,000 tonnes per year. PLA is a fast-growing polymer market with an estimated annual growth rate of 10% to 15%.

"The start-up of this state-of-the-art plant establishes Total Corbion PLA as a world-scale PLA bioplastic producer, ideally located to serve growing markets from Asia Pacific to Europe and the Americas” says Stephane Dion, CEO of the company. “The subsequent increase in global PLA capacity will enable manufacturers and brand owners to move into the circular economy and produce biobased products with lower carbon footprints and multiple end of life options."
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Extrusion machinery maker Davis-Standard LLC has acquired Thermoforming Systems LLC (TSL), a manufacturer of thermoforming equipment for the North American food packaging industry, said Canplastics.

The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

“TSL is the market leader in thermoforming equipment technology for high volume packaging and we are excited to welcome their dedicated team to Davis-Standard today,” said Jim Murphy, president and CEO Pawcatuck, Conn.-based Davis-Standard President and CEO.

Yakima, Wash.-based TSL will continue to operate as a standalone company, Murphy added.

The acquisition is the second big purchase for Davis-Standard this year. In June, the company bought Brampton Engineering, a Brampton, Ont.-based maker of blown film technology.

Davis-Standard designs, develops, and distributes extrusion and converting technology. The company employs more than 1,300 workers, and has manufacturing and technical facilities in the U.S., China, Germany, Finland, Switzerland, Canada, and the UK.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oil major Shell has left the upstream sector in Ireland following the sale of its interest in the Corrib gas project, as per Offshore EnergyToday.

The Corrib natural gas field lies some 83km off the northwest coast of Ireland, approximately 3,000 meters under the seabed and in waters 350 meters deep. The field development started production on December 30, 2015.

The initial development comprises six subsea wells, and gas is transported through an 83 km pipeline to an onshore gas processing terminal. The gas is exported from the terminal via the Bord Gais Eireann link line to the existing Irish gas grid.

Shell said on Friday it had completed the previously announced sale of its shares in Shell E&P Ireland Limited (SEPIL), which holds a 45% interest in the Corrib gas venture, for up to USD1.3 billion to Nephin Energy Holdings Limited (NEHL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).

Completion follows receipt of all necessary partner and regulatory consents and the transaction’s effective date is January 1, 2017, Shell said.

The transaction includes an initial consideration of USD958 million (EUR840 million), an interest of USD54 million (EUR47 million), and additional payments of up to USD285 million (EUR250 million) between 2018- 2025, subject to gas price and production. Completion of the deal represents Shell’s exit from the upstream sector in Ireland.

Shell’s share of the Corrib gas venture’s production represented approximately 27,000 barrels of oil equivalent/day in 2016.

The sale will contribute to Shell’s USD30 billion divestment target for 2016-2018. Shell Energy Europe Limited (SEEL) has signed an offtake agreement to purchase Corrib gas following completion.

CPPIB is the new Corrib Gas JV partner and Vermilion, as per the strategic partnership agreement with CPPIB, is the new operator of the Corrib Gas Venture.

CPPIB plans to transfer SEPIL along with a 1.5% working interest to Vermilion.

Vermilion said on Friday that this transfer had received all required government approvals and is expected to be completed in the coming weeks. The estimated purchase price after interim period adjustments is approximately €6 million.

Following the transfer, Vermilion will hold a 20% operated interest in Corrib, NEHL will hold a 43.5% non-operated interest, and Equinor continues to hold a 36.5% non-operated interest.

Shell retains a presence in Ireland through its aviation joint venture, Shell and Topaz Aviation Ireland Limited.

Shell on Friday also completed the sale of its entire 44.56% interest in Draugen field and 12% interest in Gjoa in Norway to OKEA.

As MRC wrote before, in October 2018, Royal Dutch Shell agreed a USD1.9bn deal to sell its Danish upstream oil and gas assets to Norwegian Energy Company ASA (Noreco).

Earlier, in March 2016, in March 2016, Royal Dutch Shell Plc began lining up assets for a USD30 billion divestment program that might be extend from the US and Trinidad to India following its record takeover of BG Group Plc.

Royal Dutch Shell, commonly known as Shell, is an Anglo–Dutch multinational oil and gas company headquartered in the Netherlands and incorporated in the United Kingdom.Created by the merger of Royal Dutch Petroleum and UK-based Shell Transport & Trading, it is the fourth largest company in the world as of 2014, in terms of revenue, and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors".
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oil and gas major Total said on Friday it had begun the restart of its 253,000 barrel-per-day Gonfreville refinery in France’s Normandy region after unions suspended a week-long strike that disrupted output and deliveries, reported Reuters.

A Total spokeswoman said deliveries from its refineries and depots had resumed on Friday.

France’s CGT union suspended the strike on Thursday evening.

As MRC informed earlier, in December 2017, Total inaugurated the new units at its Antwerp integrated refining & petrochemicals platform, which had progressively started up in the previous few months.

Total S.A. is a French multinational oil and gas company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world with business in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. The company's petrochemical products cover two main groups: base chemicals and the consumer polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene) that are derived from them.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Bayer plans to exit animal health business, consumer health brands Coppertone and Dr Scholl’s, and cut 12,000 jobs worldwide. The company also plans to sell its 60 percent interest in Currenta, a JV with Lanxess, as per Worldofchemicals.

The company aims to strengthen its core life science businesses following the takeover of Monsanto. The job cuts are expected to be complete by the end of 2021 and a significant number of them is in Germany, the company said.

The job cuts will include approximately 900 jobs in pharmaceuticals R&D and around 350 positions in connection with the factor VIII facility in Wuppertal; roughly 1,100 jobs associated with the reorganization at consumer health; around 4,100 positions at crop science as the result of combining Monsanto; and a further 5,500 to 6,000 jobs in the corporate functions.

In addition to the planned portfolio measures, Bayer said that it intends to significantly improve its cost structure. The company aims to further strengthen innovation and productivity, to accelerate access to future technologies, and to further enhance competitiveness and profitability. In this context, the company will seek to achieve greater efficiency across its supporting functions and services.

Including the synergies expected from the acquisition of Monsanto, Bayer anticipates annual contributions of €2.6 billion from 2022 on as a result of its planned efficiency and structural measures.

“These changes are necessary and lay the foundation for Bayer to enhance its performance and agility. With these measures, we aim to take full advantage of the growth potential for our businesses. We are aware of the gravity of these decisions for our employees. As in the past, we will implement the planned measures in a fair and responsible way,” said Baumann.
MRC