CSPC shut No. 2 PP plant in China due to technical issues

MOSCOW (MRC) -- CNOOC and Shell Petrochemicals Co (CSPC) has taken off-stream its No. 2 polypropylene (PP) unit in Guangdong, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the company has halted operations at the unit on April 7, 2019 owing to technical issues. The plant is likely to remain shut for around 10 days.

Located at Huizhou in Guangdong province of China, the No. 2 PP unit has a production capacity of 400,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote previously, a blast at CNOOC’s Huizhou refinery that killed one worker has not affected crude oil runs at the company’s biggest refinery. The blast, which also injured another worker, came during a trail start of one of the refinery’s secondary units on Feb. 18, 2019. The blast was caused by fuel gas exceeding safe limits at a steam furnace at the refinery’s partial oxidization coal-to-hydrogen plant, according to the document published on the official wechat account of China’s Chemical Safety Association.

CNOOC and Shell Petrochemicals Company Limited (CSPC) was established in late 2000. It has built and now operates a world-scale petrochemical complex in the Daya Bay Economic and Technological Development Zone, Huizhou, Guangdong Province. The joint venture partners are Shell Nanhai BV, a member of the Royal Dutch Shell Group, with a 50 per cent stake, and CNOOC Petrochemicals Investment Limited (CPIL), also with 50 per cent. CPIL is owned by China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) (90%) and Guangdong Guangye Investment Group Company Limited(10%).

As an integrated petrochemical complex, the major facilities of the complex include 11 process units, steam and power generation and other utility provisions, storage and handling and shipping facilities, as well as environmental protection facilities. The heart of the complex is a world-scale cracker producing 950,000 tons per annum ethylene and 500,000 tons per annum propylene. In total, the complex produces some 2.7 million tons per annum of ethylene and propylene's derivative products to supply the domestic market.
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Strikes expected to hit oil refinery production

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Royal Dutch Shell confirmed labor strikes started on Monday at its 404,000 barrel per day Pernis oil refinery in the Netherlands and that production would be affected, reported Reuters.

"There will be impact on production but at this point we can’t say exactly what the exact impact will be because we don’t know yet," a spokeswoman said.

Dutch trade union FNV said production at the plant will be gradually reduced to 65 percent of capacity on Monday.

The reduction in capacity will last until Wednesday night, FNV spokesman Egbert Schellenberg said.

The Shell spokeswoman said a technical meeting with the unions was planned for Monday afternoon.

We remind that, as MRC informed before, in May 2018, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and Shell Nanhai B.V. (Shell) announced the official start-up of the second ethylene cracker at their Nanhai petrochemicals complex in Huizhou, Guangdong Province, China.

Royal Dutch Shell plc is an Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the biggest company in the world in terms of revenue and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors". Shell is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading.
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Eastman new solution to address global plastic waste issue

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Eastman has recently announced a breakthrough innovation to address the world's plastic waste problem. The firm’s innovation-driven growth strategy is underpinned by creating value through sustainability and a commitment to enhancing the quality of life in a material way, said Process-worldwide.

The strategy is driving the company's efforts to advance the circular economy by finding new uses for products or materials otherwise reaching end of life. In March, the company announced plans to launch an advanced circular recycling technology that breaks down polyester waste that cannot be recycled by current mechanical methods into basic polymer building blocks that can be reintroduced as new polyester-based polymers, delivering a true circular solution.

The recent announcement introduces a second Eastman innovation called carbon renewal technology, which is capable of recycling some of the most complex plastic waste, including non-polyester plastics and mixed plastics that cannot be recycled with conventional recycling technologies. With this new recycling technology, materials such as flexible packaging and plastic films, among others, can be diverted from landfills.

By modifying the front end of Eastman’s cellulosics production, carbon renewal technology uses plastic waste as feedstock and converts it back to simple and versatile molecular components. The process partially oxidizes the plastic and, at a very high efficiency, converts it into the basic building blocks of certain Eastman products, including Advanced Materials and Fibers segment products that serve ophthalmics, durables, packaging, textiles and nonwovens end-use markets.

The company has completed pilot tests at its Kingsport site and plans commercial production in 2019 by leveraging existing assets. This rapid success in developing a new recycling approach is a further example of how the firm leverages its scale and integration to provide sustainable solutions to the world.

The company is exploring commercial collaborations to yield mixed plastic waste to be recycled through carbon renewal technology at commercial scale.

As MRC informed earlier, Jacobs Engineering won a contract from Eastman Chemical to provide capital construction, maintenance and turnaround services at Eastman sites in Longview, Texas, and Kingsport, Tennessee. The contract includes additional maintenance services scope at the Kingsport facility where Jacobs previously provided capital construction services. At the same time, Jacobs will expand its delivery to maintenance and construction at Eastman's Longview facility.

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Indorama acquires 32% of Indian fibres maker IRSL

MOSCOW (MRC) --Thai Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL), a global chemical producer, has announced that it has completed the share purchase of 83,000,000 newly issued shares in Indo Rama Synthetics (India) Limited (IRSL), equaling to approximately 31.79% of IRSL’s enlarged share capital at the price of INR 36 per share, as per the company's press release.

IRSL is a fiber manufacturing facility located in Nagpur, Maharashtra state, India. This facility has a combined capacity of 605,000 tonnes/ annum, consisting of polyester chips, fibers and filament yarns.

IRSL is a strong strategic fit with IVL’s Fiber strategy in home and apparel, where the company focuses on building a low-cost position in Asian operations and leveraging innovation in high-margin growth markets. This strategic investment provides IVL entry into a large domestic market where local presence gives duty and logistic benefits.

IVL has already invested in India over three years in the PET business. India is the second largest polyester market in the world after China with consumption growing at about 7.0% per annum, with a population of 1.2 billion. India’s per capita consumption of polyester is about 3 kg, compared to 14 kg in China. This low level per capita consumption is expected to increase along with the rise in India’s per capita GDP, which will provide affluence-related consumption and opportunities for growing into more functional and High Value-added (HVA) products. IVL is in a strong position to benefit from this evolving trend, backed by its strong R&D capabilities.

The textile industry contributes 15% of India’s exports and employs 4% of the population and therefore has an important part in India’s industrial policy.

Mr. Aloke Lohia, Group CEO of Indorama Ventures said, "This strategic investment is another step in executing our strategies to position IVL for sustainable growth. India has been on our radar for some time. It is the only large domestic market for fibers where we are not present. The market for fiber in India is expected to grow exponentially and is still largely untapped.

India is the largest textile market and IRSL has a key position. The strategic investment is expected to grow shareholder returns. This market has a large, untapped potential that will be highly lucrative as it expands.

As a company listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, we put the circular economy and sustainability as a priority. We will bring our knowledge and expertise of recycling to play a role in the creation of awareness and practices thus protect the environment and society."

As MRC reported previously, in early February, 2019, IVL commenced production of purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) at plants it acquired from Artlant PTA in Portugal and EIPET in Egypt, respectively. IVL completed the acquisition of the 700,000-t/y PTA facility, located at the Sines industrial complex, in Late 2017. Value of the transaction, which included all equipment, surface rights and employment contracts, was not disclosed.

Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited, listed in Thailand, is one of the world's leading petrochemicals producers, a global manufacturing footprint with 59 sites in 20 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. The company's portfolio is comprises necessities and high value-added (HVA) categories of polymers, fibers, and packaging. Indorama Ventures has approx. 19,000 employees worldwide and consolidated revenue of USD 10.7 billion in 2018. The Company is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI).
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KBR technology selected for Saudi Aramco Riyadh Refinery

MOSCOW (MRC) -- KBR, Inc. announced that it has been awarded a contract by Saudi Aramco for KBR's market-leading Supercritical Solvent Deasphalting (SDA) technology ROSE, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Under the terms of the contract, KBR will provide a 3-product ROSE technology license, basic engineering design, and proprietary equipment for Saudi Aramco's residue upgrading and clean fuels project at the Riyadh Refinery in Saudi Arabia. Our proven 3-product ROSE scheme will be designed to meet Saudi Aramco's specific objectives for their project.

KBR's highly efficient ROSE technology requires up to 60% less energy than other technologies and is designed for ease of operation, safety and high reliability. Leading KBR's line of environmentally friendly technologies, ROSE is setting the industry standard for assisting refiners in complying with the new International Marine Organization (IMO) fuel regulations that take effect in 2020 (IMO2020).

"We are honored that Saudi Aramco has selected the ROSE process for their clean fuels project at the Riyadh Refinery," said John Derbyshire, KBR President, Technology. "This award underscores our market leadership in residue upgrading solutions to help our clients address IMO2020 compliance challenges and improve the profitability of their refining assets."

As the market leader in SDA technology, KBR has licensed over 90% of the world's installed SDA capacity and continues to see a strong demand for the ROSE technology globally.

As MRC reported before, in October 2018, Saudi Aramco signed an agreement to invest in a refinery-petrochemical project in eastern China, part of its strategy to expand in downstream operations globally. The memorandum of understanding between the company and Zhejiang province included plans to invest in a new refinery and co-operate in crude oil supply, storage and trading. Zhejiang Petrochemical, 51 percent owned by textile giant Zhejiang Rongsheng Holding Group, is building a 400,000-barrels-per-day refinery and associated petrochemical facilities that was expected to start operations by the end of 2018.

Saudi Aramco, officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a Saudi Arabian national oil and natural gas company based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco"s value has been estimated at up to USD10 trillion in the Financial Times, making it the world"s most valuable company. Saudi Aramco has both the largest proven crude oil reserves, at more than 260 billion barrels, and largest daily oil production.
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