Total says French palm oil curb threatens biofuel facility

MOSCOW (MRC) - French energy group Total said a move by lawmakers to exclude palm oil from raw materials approved for use in biofuel would put at risk its La Mede facility in southern France, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

French lawmakers last month voted to remove palm oil from the country’s biofuel scheme as of 2020, following longstanding controversy about the environmental impact of the crop that is mainly produced in Asia.

Total last year won the approval of the government to use palm oil to supply its former crude oil refinery at La Mede, which it is converting into a biofuel production site.

The company pledged that palm oil would account for less than half of raw material used, with French rapeseed crops and recycled oil also being used, but the plans caused an uproar among environmental activists and farmers.

"I hope lawmakers, who voted this amendment during the night at the end of December without realizing the consequences, will revert to a more reasonable position," Total Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne told French daily Le Figaro.

"This potentially casts doubt on the viability of the production line, the overall profitability of the site and the maintaining of jobs in a factory where Total has invested 275 million euros (USD316 million)," he said in an interview published on Friday.

Pouyanne said criticism of deforestation caused by palm oil plantations was excessive given that it took up less land than other oilseed crops, and that he supported the use of palm oil certified as sustainable.

A debate in Europe over the environmental impact of palm oil has caused tensions with top producers Malaysia and Indonesia.

A Malaysian minister said this week that the country’s relations with Europe will be affected restrictions on the use of palm oil in biofuels and that Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad would write to French President Emmanuel Macron on the issue.
MRC

PVC production in Russia grew 6% in 2018

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia's overall production of unmixed polyvinyl chloride (PVC) rose in 2018 by 6% year on year to slightly over 958,600 tonnes. All producers increased production volumes over the reported period, according to MRC ScanPlast.

December total production of unmixed PVC grew to 87,600 tonnes from 86,100 tonnes a month earlier, Bashkir Soda Company and SayanskKhimPlast increased its capacity utilisation. Overall PVC production reached 958,600 tonnes in January-December 2018, compared to 906,200 tonnes a year earlier. All plants raised their production, with RusVinyl accounting for the greatest increase in the output.

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


RusVinyl (JV of SIBUR and SolVin) produced about 29,000 tonnes of PVC in December, with emulsion polyvinyl chloride (EPVC) accounting for 2,200 tonnes, compared to 29,800 tonnes a month earlier. RusVinyl's overall output of resin reached 334,300 tonnes in 2018, up 7% year on year.

SayanskKhimPlast produced 27,300 tonnes of suspension PVC (SPVC) last month, whereas this figure was only 26,700 tonnes in November.
The Sayansk plant managed to produce about 278,800 tonnes of resin in 2018, compared to 263,500 tonnes a year earlier.

Baskhir Soda Company produced about 23,700 tonnes of SPVC in December, against 22,400 tonnes a month earlier. Producer's production of PVC in 2018 totalled 253,400 tonnes, up 4% year on year.

Kaustik Volgograd produced about 7,700 tonnes last month versus 7,200 tonnes in November. The plant's overall production of resin reached 92,200 tonnes over the stated period versus 87,000 tonnes a year earlier.

MRC

A. Schulman announces convertible special stock dividend

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell, one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world, has announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, A. Schulman, Inc., has declared a quarterly dividend of USD15.00 per share for A. Schulman's convertible special stock, as per the company's press release.

The dividend is payable on February 1, 2019 to shareholders of record as of January 15, 2019.

As MRC wrote earlier, in August 2018, LyondellBasell announced it had completed the acquisition of A. Schulman, Inc., a leading global supplier of high-performance plastic compounds, composites and powders.

A. Schulman, Inc. is a leading international supplier of high-performance plastic compounds, composites and resins headquartered in Akron, Ohio. Since 1928, the company has been providing innovative solutions to meet its customers' demanding requirements. The company's customers span a wide range of markets such as packaging, mobility, building & construction, electronics & electrical, agriculture, personal care & hygiene, sports, leisure & home, custom services and others. The company employs approximately 5,200 people and has 54 manufacturing facilities globally. A. Schulman reported net sales of approximately USD2.5 billion for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2017.

LyondellBasell is one of the world's largest plastics, chemical and refining companies and a member of the S&P 500. LyondellBasell manufactures products at 55 sites in 17 countries. LyondellBasell is also a leading licensor of polypropylene and polyethylene technologies. The more than 250 polyolefin process licenses granted by LyondellBasell are twice that of any other polyolefin technology licensor.
MRC

Nizhnekamskneftekhim awards contract for new methanol unit

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PJSC Nizhnekamskneftekhim and Haldor Topsoe have signed contracts for license and engineering services for a new methanol unit with a capacity of 500,000 tons per year, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The signing ceremony took place in the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Tatarstan in Kazan.

Azat Bikmurzin, the Director General of PJSC Nizhnekamskneftekhim (TAIF Group of Companies), and Bjerne S. Clausen, CEO and President of Haldor Topsoe, signed the contracts. A TAIF Group delegation led by Albert Shigabutdinov, the Director General of TAIF Company, took part in the signing ceremony.

Nizhnekamskneftekhim mainly uses methanol (methyl alcohol) to produce formaldehyde as a feedstock for the company’s isoprene production. The new methanol unit will make the isoprene facilities more efficient and reduce production costs.

As MRC informed before, in 2012, Nizhnekamskneftekhim licensed the Innovene G and Innovene S polyethylene (PE) technologies from INEOS for the company's new petrochemical project at Nizhnekamsk in Russia's Republic of Tartarstan. The 300,000 tpy Innovene G and 300,000 tpy Innovene S polyethylene plants were part of a larger expansion at the complex.

PJSC "Nizhnekamskneftekhim" (NKNK) - one of the largest Russian manufacturers of petrochemical products. The industrial complex of the company includes ten major production plants and ten departments (Railway Transport, Ethylene trunk, etc..). NKNKh produces more than 120 kinds of chemical products, including synthetic rubber, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, surfactants. Nizhnekamskneftekhim belongs to GC "TAIF".
MRC

Indian refiners pay for Iranian oil in rupees

MOSCOW (MRC) -- India has begun paying Iran for oil in rupees, a senior bank official said, the first such payments since the United States imposed new sanctions against Tehran in November, reported Reuters.

Washington gave a six-month waiver to eight countries, including India, allowing them to import some Iranian oil.

India, the world’s third-biggest oil importer, wants to continue buying oil from Iran as it offers free shipping and an extended credit period, while Iran will use the rupee funds to mostly pay for imports from India.

"Today we received a good amount from some oil companies," Charan Singh, executive director at state-owned UCO Bank told Reuters. He did not disclose the names of refiners or how much had been deposited.

New Delhi recently issued a notification exempting payments to the National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC) for crude oil imports from steep withholding taxes, enabling refiners to clear an estimated USD1.5 billion in dues.

An industry source said India’s top refiner Indian Oil Corp and Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals have made payments for Iranian oil imports. Neither was immediately available for comment.

Iran is devising payment mechanisms including barter with trading partners like India, China and Russia following a delay in the setting up of a European Union-led special purpose vehicle to facilitate trade with Tehran, its foreign minister Javad Zarif said earlier on Tuesday.

In the previous round of US sanctions, India settled 45 percent of oil payments in rupees and the remainder in euros but this time it has signed deal with Iran to make all payments in rupees as New Delhi wants to fix its trade balance with Tehran.

Indian imports from Iran totaled about USD11 billion between April and November, with oil accounting for about 90 percent.

Singh said Indian refiners had previously made payments to 15 banks, but they will now be making deposits into the accounts of only 9 Iranian lenders as one had since closed and the US has imposed secondary sanctions on five others.

The nine banks are Saman Bank Corp., Bank Pasargad, Bank Eghtesad Novin, Karafarin Bank, Bank Samayeh, Middle East Bank, City Bank, Bank Hekmat Iranian, and Tourism Bank.

As MRC wrote previously, in October 2018, India set up a panel of officials to suggest ways to settle land acquisition issues for a planned USD44 billion refinery on the west coast. Saudi Aramco and ADNOC will hold a 25 percent stake in the planned 1.2 million barrel per day refinery and petrochemical project while a consortium of Indian refiners led by IOC will together hold the remainder. India aims to start production from the planned project by 2022.
MRC