Arkema opens first PEKK production plant in US

MOSCOW (MRC) -- French speciality chemicals supplier Arkema SA has started up a poly-ether-ketone-ketone (PEKK) production plant at its existing site near Mobile, Alabama, where it already produces acrylic polymers and plastics additives, said Plasticsnewseurope.

The move follows Arkema’s doubling of its PEKK resin capacities in France in 2017 and supports the strong demand for carbon fibre-reinforced composites and 3D materials, the company said 25 March.

The company statement did not provide further details on the investment size or production capacity of the plant. Sold under the brand name Kepstan, Arkem’as PEKK is the latest addition to the PAEK (poly-aryl-ether-ketone) family.

The material, according to the French company, “significantly increases” the number of applications suitable for very high-performance polymers by offering a wider range of processing techniques and thermo-mechanical properties.

Applications include in aeronautics, oil & gas, electronics and automotive industries, where lightweight materials are increasingly in demand.

The polymer range also features “excellent mechanical, chemical, fire and abrasion resistance”, making it suitable particularly for 3D printing, Arkema added.

"This new capacity… will enable our customers and their customers to better meet the future demand for ever more efficient materials," said Christophe Andre, vice president, advanced materials for Arkema.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Phillips 66 said it had contained a fire at its Los Angeles refinery. Officials said there were no injuries during the incident, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Phillips 66 said the fire occurred at the Carson facility, which is part of the Phillips 66 Los Angeles Refinery. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

The refinery processes mainly heavy, high-sulfur crude oil, according to the company’s website.

A plume of thick black smoke was visible when the facility was ablaze, however, the company said that the community air monitoring readings have shown no offsite impact.

Separately, the Los Angeles County Fire Department told Reuters that there are no known casualties and no evacuations.

As MRC wrote previously, US-based Phillips 66 remains open to developing another ethane cracker for its Chevron Phillips Chemical (CP Chem) joint venture, the refiner's CEO said in March 2018.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell Industries, one of the world's largest plastics, chemical and refining companies, said its 263,776 barrel-per-day refinery was operational, but shipping was affected by a shutdown of the Houston Ship Channel, reported Reuters.

"Lyondell Basell’s Houston refinery remains operational; however, we are experiencing constrained barge and vessel logistics capabilities," company spokeswoman Chevalier Gray said.

As MRC informed before, in September 2016, LyondellBasell selected its La Porte, Texas, manufacturing complex as the site for a new high density polyethylene (HDPE) plant. The plant will be the first commercial plant to employ LyondellBasell's new proprietary Hyperzone PE technology and will have an annual capacity of 1.1 billion pounds (500,000 metric tons). Construction began in early 2017 with start-up planned for 2019.

LyondellBasell is one of the world's largest plastics, chemical and refining companies. The company manufactures products at 57 sites in 18 countries. LyondellBasell products and technologies are used to make items that improve the quality of life for people around the world including packaging, electronics, automotive parts, home furnishings, construction materials and biofuels. LyondellBasell sells products into approximately 100 countries and is the world's largest licensor of polyolefin technologies.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Japanese refiners will unlikely continue to import oil from Iran in April unless Japan gets a sanctions waivers extension from the US government, reported Reuters with reference to Takashi Tsukioka, president of the Petroleum Association of Japan (PAJ).

The PAJ head said he believes the government is negotiating with the United States to get such a waiver and that PAJ would support this effort.

Japanese refiners have been asking the government to seek an extension of the U.S. sanctions waivers after the initial 180-day exemption period is over in early May.

Japanese officials and their U.S. counterparts met last week in Washington to discuss the U.S. sanctions on Iran, according to a statement from Japan’s foreign ministry.

"Japan has told the US that the sanctions should not negatively affect Japan’s stable supply of energy and Japanese companies’ operations," an official at Japan’s industry ministry said, although declining to comment on the result of the talks.

Asked if Japan will extend sovereign ship insurance to import Iranian oil to the financial year that starts on April 1, PAJ’s Tsukioka said: "We understand the insurance is due to roll-over. We are just waiting for an announcement."

Tsukioka had said in November, shortly after the U.S. sanctions waivers had been granted, that it was unclear whether the government would extend sovereign ship insurance into the new financial year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Aramco’s delayed initial public offering is shelving major North American expansion plans at its US refining subsidiary Motiva Enterprises LLC, sources said, at a time when its rivals grew their market share, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

After dissolving a partnership with Royal Dutch Shell PLC two years ago, Motiva set out to rebuild and boost market share in the Americas. It evaluated deals for LyondellBasell Industries NV's Houston refinery, with the Caribbean government of Curacao, and considered expanding its sole U.S. oil refinery.

But none of those came to pass as the company feared it might pay too much for acquisitions or become too exposed to disruptions by expanding its sole U.S. refinery, the people said. As a result, Motiva has slipped to 11th place from ninth among the top U.S. refiners by capacity since striking out on its own, according to U.S. government data, as other refiners inked deals to take advantage of the shale boom.

"They were very handicapped by the fact that the kingdom was contemplating the IPO,” a refining consultant to Motiva said, speaking on condition of anonymity as the talks were private. “What they told us was ‘until this gets done or resolved, we cannot do anything."

Saudi Aramco did not want Motiva to enter deals that could hamstring its IPO or raise questions about its strategy, leaving Motiva unable to expand, the people said. Plans for the Aramco IPO were shelved last year for the foreseeable future, sources told Reuters in 2018. Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said in January the kingdom would still go ahead, and list the company by 2021.

A Motiva executive said the company has not given up on increasing its U.S. processing might. “We don’t comment on anything specifically, but we do want to increase our refining capacity,” said Todd Fredin, the company’s head of supply, trading and logistics. A spokeswoman for Motiva declined to comment on past or potential acquisitions and expansion plans. Saudi Aramco declined to comment.

Vision 2030, the Saudi Crown Prince’s signature economic program designed to lessen the kingdom’s reliance on oil, also undercuts the need for U.S. expansion, said Andrew Lipow, president of refining consulting firm Lipow Oil Associates.

"They are in the process of trying to look toward 2030, and adding assets outside of Saudi Arabia” is not as critical anymore, he said. “A refinery in the United States doesn’t create jobs in Saudi Arabia."

Rivals have used acquisitions and expansion to boost their share of the U.S. market. Marathon Petroleum Corp last year acquired the fifth largest U.S. refiner Andeavor for USD23 billion.
MRC