Bilcare expanding PETG capacity in Germany

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Bilcare Research AG is investing EUR10m in expanding PETG film production capacity at its two plants in Staufen and Botzingen in southern Germany, the company has confirmed to PNE, said Plasticsnewseurope.

Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Bilcare Research is a subsidiary of Indian pharmaceutical packaging research company Bilcare Ltd.

The new round of investment will go towards the expansion of Bilcare’s PETG shrink-film capacity, but will also enable the company to move into the production of PETG films for the medical device market.

“This investment will not only help us service the growth requirement of our existing shrink-film customers but also help us expand our product portfolio with PETG films for the medical device market and drive our global growth strategy forward,” said Vineet Mehrotra, CEO of Bilcare Research, in a statement 16 April.

Bilcare Research operates seven sites globally and manufactures rigid films and foils.

The company employs 1,200 people and registered annual sales of €300m last year.

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Finland’s Neste, Air BP to supply renewable jet fuel to Swedish airlines

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Neste, the world’s leading renewable products producer from wastes and residues, and Air BP, the international aviation fuel products and services supplier, have entered into an agreement to deliver sustainable aviation fuel to airline and airport customers in Sweden in 2019, said the company.

Neste and Air BP announced in 2018 their plans to explore and develop supply chain solutions for delivering sustainable aviation fuel to airports and airlines. As a next step in their collaboration Neste will combine its expertise in the production and blending of sustainable low-carbon aviation fuel with Air BP’s recognized excellence in safe, efficient and effective aviation fuel distribution solutions to jointly develop a viable supply-chain solution for sustainable aviation fuel to the Swedish market.

“I am very happy to announce that our collaboration with Air BP has taken its first concrete step, as aviation is one of our strategic growth areas. Sweden is becoming a leading country in decarbonizing aviation with its proposal to introduce a greenhouse gas reduction mandate for aviation fuel sold in Sweden. Together with Air BP we are able to support air transport in Sweden in their efforts, and this collaboration gives both of us valuable insight into developing similar supply chains to decarbonize aviation in other markets,” says Neste’s President and CEO Peter Vanacker.

Jon Platt, Air BP Chief Executive Officer added: “I am pleased that through our collaboration with Neste we will be able to offer our Swedish customers sustainable aviation fuel at a number of airports across the country in 2019. We are committed to supporting our customers, through initiatives such as this, as they work towards reducing their emissions and realising their low carbon ambitions."

Currently, sustainable aviation fuel offers the only viable alternative to fossil liquid fuels for powering commercial aircraft. The sustainable aviation fuel which Neste produces has proven its technical capability in thousands of commercial flights. It is produced from non-palm renewable and sustainable raw materials, and can reduce up-to 80% of greenhouse gas emissions over its life-cycle compared to conventional jet fuel.

Air BP has supplied sustainable aviation fuel in the Nordics since 2014 at around 10 airports, including most recently at Kalmar airport in Sweden and Oslo airport where they were the first to supply sustainable aviation fuel produced by Neste through the existing airport fuelling infrastructure, in collaboration with other key industry stakeholders.
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OOG seeks more partners, supply for USD15B refinery

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oman’s Overseas Oil and Gas LLC (OOG) is actively looking for new partners to develop USD15 billion new refinery in Bontang, East Kalimantan, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing with reference to OOG Chairman Khalfan Al Riyami.

OOG is currently in discussion with Japan’s Cosmo Oil International, a unit of Cosmo Energy Holdings, while looking for more investors "because it is a big project", Al Riyami said.

OOG currently controls 90 percent of the project and Indonesian state energy company PT Pertamina controls 10 percent

He said the cost of the project, which consist of a refinery and petrochemical plants, is USD15 billion. Pertamina initially estimated the project cost at USD10 billion.

The company aims to decide on financing source of the project within five months, Al Riyami said. The plant is scheduled to start operation around 2025-2026.

He added that OOG is also looking for more supply of crude oil for the 300,000 bpd refinery, preferrably from national oil companies.

OOG has signed memoranda of understanding with two local companies, PT Sanurhasta Mitra Tbk dan PT Meta Epsi Tbk, to build supporting facilities in Bontang, such as power stations, pipe infrastructure and water treatment for a combined value of USD3 billion.
MRC

Union workers to extend strike at Shell Pernis refinery

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dutch trade union workers have decided to extend strike action at Royal Dutch Shell’s Pernis oil refinery that they said would limit production to 65 percent of capacity, reported Reuters with reference to union spokesman Egbert Schellenberg.

Schellenberg, spokesman for the FNV union, said the action would continue at least until Shell came back with an offer that could reopen wage negotiations.

So far, Shell has made no proposal to settle the dispute over wage increases which has led to work stoppages at Europe’s largest refinery and Moerdijk chemical plants in the Netherlands since April 8, unions said.

Schellenberg said that in addition to the action at the 404,000 barrel a day Pernis refinery, the strike will continue to prevent maintenance at the Moerdijk facility.

Workers are demanding an immediate pay rise of 5 percent, while Shell has offered an increase of 4.5 percent spread out over two years.

Striking workers shut down a thermal gasoil installation at Pernis on Monday, the unions said, in the first sign of any impact from industrial action on the oil refinery.

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 incorporated in England and Wales, has its headquarters in The Hague and is listed on the London, Amsterdam, and New York stock exchanges. Shell companies have operations in more than 70 countries and territories with businesses including oil and gas exploration and production; production and marketing of liquefied natural gas and gas to liquids; manufacturing, marketing and shipping of oil products and chemicals and renewable energy projects.
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China to begin product safety crackdown following Jiangsu blasts

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China will launch a nationwide inspection into the safety of industrial products like food packaging and hazardous chemicals, market regulators said, the country's latest effort to allay public concerns after two deadly blasts, reported Reuters.

The State Administration of Market Regulation (SAMR) said in a notice on its website that maintaining quality and safety of major industrial products would "provide a solid guarantee of social stability, promote high-quality development and meet public demand for a good life".

The campaign will last until October and focus on "high-risk industrial products", as well as systemic, regional or industry-wide safety risks. It said it would increase scrutiny of manufacturers and operators of high-risk products and look at the use of explosion-proof electrics and structures.

Firms that prove incapable of making the required rectifications will have their operation licenses revoked, the notice said.

Two deadly blasts in eastern coastal Jiangsu province killed 85 people and injured dozens more last month, putting China's rapidly expanding but sometimes ramshackle chemical industry under intense scrutiny.

The government has already launched a month-long inspection campaign into hazardous chemical production after a blast at a pesticide plant killed 78 people.

The local government of Yancheng will shut down the chemical industry park where the blast occurred, the state news agency Xinhua said. Dozens of other industrial parks and hundreds of other small chemical manufacturers are also expected to be closed, state-owned tabloid Global Times reported on Tuesday.
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