Chiba cracker to be taken off-stream by Idemitsu Koasan

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Japan's Idemitsu Kosan is in plans shut its naphtha cracker for a maintenance turnaround, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Japan informed that the cracker is expected to be taken off-line for maintenance on April 9, 2019. The shutdown is likely to remain in force until end-May 2019.

Located at Chiba in Japan, the cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 410,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote previously, Idemitsu Kosan shut its naphtha cracker for a maintenance turnaround in Chiba from September 20, 2017, to end-October 2017.

Idemitsu Kosan is a Japanese petroleum company. It owns and operates oil platforms, refineries and produces and sells petroleum, oils and petrochemical products. The company runs two petrochemical plants in Chiba and Tokuyama. The two naphtha crackers can produce up to 997,000 tonnes of ethylene per year.
MRC

Univar completes acquisition of Nexeo Solutions, creating Univar Solutions

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Nexeo Univar Inc., has announced that it has completed the acquisition of Nexeo Solutions, creating a leading global chemical and ingredients solutions provider, as per Plastics-Technology.

The combined company will conduct business as Univar Solutions, reflecting a commitment to combining the 'best of the best' from each legacy organization.

"Univar Solutions is uniquely positioned to drive growth and deliver significant value for shareholders, customers, suppliers and employees," said David Jukes, Univar Solutions president and chief executive officer. "Together, we have the ability to redefine chemical and ingredients distribution, to deliver superior growth for our partners, people and shareholders."

As MRC informed earlier, Nexeo Solutions, Inc. and The Surface Treatment global business unit of the Coatings division of BASF, operating under the Chemetall brand announced the expanded distribution relationship to include Chemetall’s surface treatment portfolio developed for the aerospace industry in the United States.

Chemetall, a leading global one-stop supplier for Aerospace OEMs and maintenance companies, with its well-known line of products including Ardrox and Naftoseal brands, offers sealants, non-destructive testing (NDT) products, corrosion inhibitors, cleaners, pretreatments and paint strippers for airframe, aircraft operation and aero-engine applications.
MRC

Ineos GBP1 Billion UK spending includes VAM

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ineos has selected its Hull, Saltend, UK, site as the location for its long planned 300,000 t/y vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) plant, which will cost GBP150 million and form part of a just announced GDP1 billion investment in its British asset base, said Chemanager-online.

Within the investment package, the Swiss-headquartered group’s largest single project will be a GBP500 million upgrade of the 500-km Forties Pipeline System it acquired from BP in 2017. The four decades old pipeline system carries around 40% of the UK’s oil production and eventually supplies the Petroineos refinery at Grangemouth, Scotland, in which PetroChina holds a 49.9% stake.

The aging facility has been in need of repair for some time. Shortly after Ineos bought it, a crack was discovered, forcing a three-week shutdown. Also for some time, Ineos has been planning to modernize energy supply at Grangemouth. The already begun investment in a new steam and power plant is expected to swallow GBP350 million in funding.

The power plant being built by US engineering contractor Fluor will replace an existing power station, which is also 40 years old. High pressure steam produced in the new plant will be used by production facilities at the Scottish site, Fluor said.

The industry association Oil & Gas UK called the Ineos investment plan “a vote of confidence” in UK industry. Since announcing the VAM project in spring 2018, Ineos has been playing a guessing game about where its plant would be built, following months of silence on whether a new plant would be built at all. In 2013, the group shuttered an existing plant at Hull, also acquired from BP, saying its high production costs made it was uncompetitive.

Ineos had suggested that the VAM plant could be built either at Hull or Antwerp – it has ethylene hubs at both locations. Director Tom Crotty said in July last year that construction would be financed from its own cash flow, but acknowledged talks with the UK Department Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy about investment aid.

“Any help would tilt the scales in favor of Hull,” Crotty was quoted as saying said at an industry forum on Brexit.This week’s announcement of the UK investment scheme was seen by some as an attempt to smooth the waters after the flap over plans by Ineos chaiman Jim Ratcliffe and the privately owned group’s two other shareholders to move their domicile to Monaco to save tax.

Ineos executives commenting on the new plans stressed that the group believes in the future of manufacturing at an “uncertain moment” in the country’s industrial life.
MRC

Tecnimont wins Borouge 4 FEED contract

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Italian contractor Tecnimont has won another contract for Borouge in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, as per Chemanager-online.

This time, Tecnimont will provide front end engineering and design (FEED) services for the fourth expansion of Borouge’s complex at Ruwais. The value of the contract for Tecnimont is roughly USD45 million on a reimbursable basis. Tecnimont has previously worked on Borouge’s first polyolefins complex, which was completed in 2001. Since then, it has also worked on the Borouge 2 and 3 complexes, in 2007 and 2010, respectively.

"Our strong, technological competitive edge in transforming natural resources into innovative, higher-value products enables us to be at the forefront of Abu Dhabi’s multi-billion downstream strategic investment plan," said Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO of Maire Tecnimont.

Borouge partners Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Borealis intend to finalize the downstream configuration within three months of awarding the FEED contract. FEED services are expected to finish during 2020. ADNOC and Borealis have also awarded a project management contract to TechnipFMC and a license contract to WorleyParsons.

The Borouge 4 complex will include a mixed feed cracker, the world’s largest with an ethylene capacity of 1.8 million t/y, using a variety of feedstocks that include ethane, butane and naphtha. Overall capacity will be 3.3 million t/y of olefins and aromatics.

Ahmed Omar Abdulla, CEO of Borouge, said the project is expected to generate more than USD3.5 billion in local activities during the engineering, procurement and construction phases. He added that once operational, Borouge 4 will contribute an extra USD6 billion to Abu Dhabi’s GDP.

In December 2018, Borouge started building its fifth PP plant in Ruwais. The 480,000 t/y unit, which will be integrated within Borouge 3, is scheduled to go on stream in the third quarter of 2021. It will expand Borouge’s total PP capacity by 25% to 2.24 million t/y.
MRC

March prices of European PVC rose for CIS markets

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Negotiations on prices of European polyvinyl chloride (PVC) for March shipments to the CIS markets have begun this week. European producers increased their export prices on rise in ethylene prices in the region, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

The March contract price of ethylene was agreed up by EUR30/tonne from February, which presupposes the decrease in PVC production costs by, at least, EUR15/tonne. Taking it into account European suppliers increased export prices of suspension PVC (SPVC) for March shipments to the markets of the CIS countries, prices are suggested to be risen by EUR10-20/tonne in comparison with February.

Demand for PVC from the main consumers in the CIS countries remained at a low level this month due to the seasonal factor. At the same time, some companies intend to slightly decrease the volume of purchases, since they have sufficient stocks of PVC from February purchases.

Some producers have restrictions on shipments in the current month, but given the low demand, such restrictions were not critical.

Deals for March shipments of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) to the CIS markets were discussed in the range of EUR710-765/tonne FCA, whereas last month's deals were done in the range of EUR690-755/tonne FCA.
MRC