Magellan eyes Freeport, Texas as spot for crude export

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Magellan Midstream Partners LP has begun talks with companies developing crude transportation assets in Freeport, Texas, as it considers building a US crude export terminal there instead of its previously planned spot off Corpus Christi, reported Reuters with reference to an executive.

The Houston pipeline operator is still actively exploring the construction of an inland exporting facility on a harbor island off Corpus Christi, but has begun considering "all of our options," including an offshore terminal off Freeport, closer to its crude storage and terminal assets in Houston, said Mark Roles, senior vice president at Magellan.

"Barrels from pretty much every basin in the U.S. come through Houston so you can get a variety of grades, which is good for international buyers," Roles said on the sidelines of the Argus Americas Crude Summit in Houston.

That Magellan is considering Freeport adds a new wrinkle to the race to build US export terminals capable of loading crude onto supertankers. The company had followed global commodities trader Trafigura SA and investor Carlyle Group in making plans for export terminals off Corpus Christi.

A Freeport facility would put Magellan in competition with Enbridge Inc, Kinder Morgan Inc and Oiltanking Partners LP, which have jointly proposed an offshore facility that would load 2 million barrels per day (bpd) onto supertankers 80 miles off Freeport.

Magellan’s potential Corpus Christi terminal would be capable of loading as much as 1.5 million bpd onto supertankers and would have room for up to 20 million barrels of storage capacity, Magellan told Reuters.

The Houston pipeline operator owns a terminal in Corpus Christi’s inner harbor, as well as other undeveloped property that could be used for additional storage tanks to connect to the terminal.

It is in talks with potential customers about the terminal, and has also held discussions about building pipelines between Houston and Corpus Christi and from the US oil storage hub in Cushing, Oklahoma to Houston, the company said.

But the oil flowing to Corpus Christi comes almost exclusively from Texas fields in the Permian Basin and the Eagle Ford Shale, while Freeport pipelines have connections to the U.S. oil storage hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, which holds crude from a variety of basins around the United States, Roles said.

"With all the politics involved, the permitting, I don’t believe more than two of these are going to get built," Roles said. "We want to be on one that’s successful and has long-term commitments on it."
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Samsung Electronics will start taking steps this year to replace plastic packaging materials with paper and other environmentally sustainable elements, said the company.

From the first half of 2019, the packaging used currently for Samsung’s products and accessories – ranging from mobile phones and tablets to home appliances – will be substituted with environmentally sustainable materials like recycled/bio-based plastics and paper.

To revamp product packaging, Samsung Electronics has formed a task force involving design and development, purchasing, marketing and quality control for innovative packaging ideas.

For mobile phone, tablet and wearable products, Samsung will replace the plastic used for holder trays with pulp molds, and bags wrapping accessories with eco-friendly materials. Samsung will also alter the phone charger design, swapping the glossy exterior with a matte finish and eliminating plastic protection films, reducing the use of plastics.

The plastic bags used to protect the surface of home appliances such as TVs, refrigerators, air conditioners and washing machines as well as other kitchen appliances will also be replaced with bags containing recycled materials and bioplastics, which are respectively made from plastic wastes and non-fossil fuel materials like starch or sugar cane.

Regarding paper, Samsung will only use fiber materials certified by global environmental organizations like the Forest Stewardship Council, Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Scheme and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative for packaging and manuals by 2020.

"Samsung Electronics is stepping up in addressing society’s environmental issues such as resource depletion and plastic wastes,” said Gyeong-bin Jeon, head of Samsung’s Global Customer Satisfaction Center. “We are committed to recycling resources and minimizing pollution coming from our products. We will adopt more environmentally sustainable materials even if it means an increase in cost."

Under the company’s circular economy policy, Samsung Electronics has set a mid-term implementation plan to only use paper packaging materials certified by forestry initiatives by next year. By 2030, Samsung aims to use 500 thousand tons of recycled plastics and collect 7.5 million tons of discarded products (both cumulative from 2009).

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF SE said Monday that it has combined its digitalization and IT units into one division called digitalization and information services, said the company.

The German chemical company said Christoph Wegner will lead the new division, becoming the group's chief digital officer.

"Over the last few years, we have shown how to implement digitalization in a chemical company. Now, the new organization will help lend more assertiveness to the topic," Mr. Wegner said.

BASF’s Digitalisation & Information Services division, which has been in operation since 1 January, will aim to “accelerate” the company’s digital drive.

The German producer reshuffled its corporate structure and board responsibilities as recently as December.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Increasing consumer demand for high-barrier transparent packaging materials has seen Japanese film maker Toyobo sign Terphane up as an exclusive distributor in the Americas, as per Plasticsinpackaging.

The agreement will focus on the ECOSYAR transparent gas barrier film, Toughster polyester film, Olyester heat-sealable polyester, and BOPET film made from 80 per cent post-consumer PET.

Jose Bosco Silveira Jr., president of Terphane, says the agreement with Toyobo signifies a new phase for the specialty polyester producer. “We understand that the players in the market, especially brand owners, need partners that participate in all stages of new product development and act with speed to bring innovative packaging to the market. These abilities are even more important in the premium products market.

"Because consumers react to transparent packaging at the moment of purchase with, ‘If I can see the contents of the package, it is because the product is good,’ the transparent packaging helps to build and support the brand’s value proposition. And in premium products and brands, a simple ‘window’ can validate the quality expected from the product’s positioning."

Toyobo’s general manager of Packaging Strategy and Marketing, Hisao Oku, said: "I am very pleased that the customers in Americas now have the access to our solutions through Terphane’s network."

Claims Toyobo, the ECOSYAR PET film line is technically aligned with market expectations for environmentally-friendly product by excluding chlorine in its formulation. Ceramic elements that are used guarantee film barrier properties and eliminate the use of PVDC, aluminium deposition and lamination with aluminium foil and other barrier materials that can compromise post-consumption recycling. In addition, the stability in the production process guarantees the stability of film barrier properties during the conversion process and on the store shelves. The possibility of producing thinner packages can reduce the generation of waste.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The state-owned Indian Oil Corp Ltd (IOCL) is in plans to shut its purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant for maintenance, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in the India informed that the company is likely to start turnaround at the plant in early-February, 2019. The plant is slated to remain under maintenance until end-February, 2019.

Located in Panipat, India, the PTA plant has a production capacity of 550,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote before, Indian Oil Corporation's Rs 34,555-crore 15 million tonnes per annum Paradip Refinery was commissioned in phases from March 2015 onwards. Indian Oil Corporation was conducting feasibility studies to set up a petrochemical complex at Paradip in Odisha for Rs 20,000 crore. The petrochemical complex will be built in the vicinity of the company’s to-be-commissioned 15-mln tpa greenfield refinery at Paradip. The petrochemical complex will be in addition to the already announced Rs 3,150-crore polypropylene project at the same location, the foundation stone for which was laid by MOS for petroleum and natural gas.

Indian Oil Corporation Limited, or IndianOil, is an Indian state-owned oil and gas corporation with its headquarters in New Delhi, India.
MRC