Perstorp non-phthalate PVC plasticizer, Pevalen, obtains FDA approval for food contact applications

MOSCOW (MRC) -- As of May 28 2019, Perstorp has obtained FCN 001967 (Food Contact Notification) from the FDA for the use of Pevalen as a plasticizer in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) polymers for use in repeated?use food contact articles, as per.

"The food contact notification will further strengthen the offer to the North American market which we believe will be a major growth region for a product like Pevalen, as it helps flexible PVC producers design products that meet the highest national regulatory requirements, without sacrificing performance or quality", said Jenny Klevas, Product Manager, Perstorp.

Pevalen (pentaerythritol tetravalerate or PETV) is Perstorp’s high-performance, true non-phthalate plasticizer. It is the perfect choice for sensitive applications and products in direct human contact, e.g. apparel and accessories, sports & leisure products, automotive interiors or other indoor applications such as furniture, floors or wall coverings in both homes and public spaces. Pevalen has a unique performance not matched by any other general-purpose plasticizer with high plasticizing efficiency in combination with low migration and volatility.

"Global demand for non-phthalate plasticizers is predicted to continue to grow at about 100.000 tons per year", said Markus Jonsson, Vice President Plasticizers, Perstorp. Based on this forecast, Perstorp is substantially expanding the production capacity of Pevalen from 2019 onwards. Perstorp has entered into a long-term production agreement with the Italian company Alcoplast Srl. The new partnership more than doubles current production capacity, bringing it in total to 50.000 tons per year.

As MRC reported earlier, in December 2017, Perstorp announced world’s first portfolio of renewable alternatives to the essential polyols Pentaerythritol (Penta), Trimethylolpropane (TMP), and Neopentyl glycol (Neo).

Perstorp is one of the world leaders in various sectors of the specialty chemicals market, it's pioneer in formalin chemistry, plastics and surface materials. Perstorp was founded in 1881 and is controlled by PAI partners,a major European private equity company. The company has around 1,500 employees in with 22 production plants in Europe, Asia and North America.
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LyondellBasell announces leadership changes

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell, one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world, has announced the following senior leadership changes, as per the company's press release.

Thomas Aebischer, executive vice president and chief financial officer, has announced his intention to retire at the end of 2019. Aebischer joined LyondellBasell in January 2016 and played an instrumental role in building and enhancing the corporate finance function, helping to shape the company's growth strategy and leading the standardization of key business processes.

"Over the past several years, Thomas has helped the company think through our next phase of growth and how we will continue to deliver exceptional value for shareholders," said Bob Patel, LyondellBasell CEO. "I want to thank Thomas and wish him well as he enters the next chapter."

The company will be conducting a search for Aebischer's replacement over the next several months and anticipates naming this individual prior to the end of the year.

In addition, Torkel Rhenman will join LyondellBasell as executive vice president, Intermediates & Derivatives (I&D) effective July 1. Rhenman succeeds James Guilfoyle who was appointed executive vice president, Advanced Polymer Solutions and Global Supply Chain in 2018.

Rhenman is a well-rounded leader with a full range of experience leading global businesses, manufacturing, customer-facing roles and in emerging markets. Most recently, Rhenman was the chief executive officer of the Lhoist Group, a Belgium-based global minerals and mining company with 100 plants serving the steel, pulp and paper, mining, agriculture and construction industries. Prior to his role at Lhoist, Rhenman held a variety of positions in the U.S., U.K., Scandinavia, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and Japan with DuPont over a 26-year period. Rhenman holds a Master of Science in chemical engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden.

"Torkel brings a global perspective, depth of knowledge and a track record of creating value in the organizations he has led," said Patel. "As we look to the future, I'm confident that he will bring these experiences to the continued execution of our company's growth strategy."

As MRC wrote previously, in August 2016, LyondellBasell made the final investment decision to build a high density polyethylene (HDPE) plant on the US Gulf Coast. The plant will have an annual capacity of 1.1 billion pounds (500,000 metric tons) and will be the first commercial plant to employ LyondellBasell's new proprietary Hyperzone PE technology. The start-up of the new plant is scheduled for 2019.

LyondellBasell is one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world. Driven by its 13,000 employees around the globe, LyondellBasell produces materials and products that are key to advancing solutions to modern challenges like enhancing food safety through lightweight and flexible packaging, protecting the purity of water supplies through stronger and more versatile pipes, and improving the safety, comfort and fuel efficiency of many of the cars and trucks on the road. LyondellBasell sells products into approximately 100 countries and is the world's largest licensor of polyolefin technologies.
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ExxonMobil announces USD2B Baytown Chemical expansion

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil said that it will proceed with a USD2 billion investment to expand its Baytown, Texas chemical plant, which will create approximately 2,000 jobs during construction and contribute to the approximate 15 percent return the company expects from its chemical investments, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The Baytown expansion is in addition to the company’s 2017 Growing the Gulf initiative, which outlined plans to build and expand manufacturing facilities along the U.S. Gulf Coast, creating more than 45,000 high-paying jobs across the region.

"Our substantial investments in the United States support ExxonMobil’s long-term growth plans and will result in thousands more high-paying jobs,” said Darren W. Woods, ExxonMobil chairman and chief executive officer. “Through the billions of dollars that we’re investing in the Permian Basin to increase oil production and the expansion at our operations along the Gulf Coast, our company is making significant, lasting contributions to the U.S. economy and the many communities where we operate."

ExxonMobil commissioned Ernst & Young to examine the contributions the company made to the U.S. economy in 2017 – the year the Growing the Gulf initiative was launched. The research concluded that during 2017, ExxonMobil contributed more than USD43 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product and direct, indirect and induced economic activity supported nearly 177,000 jobs across the country.

“This research, focused on a single year, is a powerful snapshot of how our business in the United States directly benefits the American economy,” said Woods. “It underscores the many ways that the company and our employees are contributing to prosperity across the country."

Woods said the company’s recent investments, such as a major expansion of oil and gas production in the Permian Basin and the planned expansion at Baytown, will continue to boost the U.S. economy. "Our Baytown chemical expansion will put us in a solid position to maximize the value of increased Permian Basin production and will deliver higher-demand, higher-value products produced at our Gulf Coast refining and chemical facilities,” said Woods.

“Global demand for chemicals is expected to be greater than energy demand growth and GDP growth over the next 20 years,” Woods said. The expansion, expected to start up in 2022, includes a new Vistamaxx™ performance polymer unit, which produces products that offer higher levels of elasticity, softness and flexibility, attributes that contribute to a reduction in materials used and increased performance in everyday products. The new unit will produce about 400,000 tons of Vistamaxx™ polymers a year.

The project will also enable ExxonMobil to enter the linear alpha olefins market. Linear alpha olefins are used in numerous applications, including high-performing engine and industrial oils, waxes and building blocks for surfactants, polyethylene plastic for packaging, and other specialty chemicals. The new unit will produce about 350,000 tons of linear alpha olefins a year.

ExxonMobil’s Baytown facility is the largest integrated petrochemical complex in the U.S. and is one of the most technologically advanced refining and petrochemical complexes in the world. Founded in 1919, the complex is located on approximately 3,400 acres along the Houston Ship Channel, about 25 miles east of Houston. The facility includes a refinery, chemical plant, olefins plant, plastics plant and global technology center.
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Clean oil arrives in Belarus as Russia tackles tainted fuel flows

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Belarus said that clean oil had reached it via the Druzhba pipeline from Russia, after several countries suspended such imports due to a contamination scandal that shocked the oil market and forced some states to open up strategic reserves, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Poland, Germany, Ukraine, Slovakia and other countries halted Russian oil imports via the pipeline last week after finding contaminants that could damage refinery equipment. Russian President Vladimir Putin called the incident damaging for Russia's image as a safe energy supplier, while pipeline monopoly Transneft said the oil had been contaminated deliberately.

A spokesman for Belarusian state oil firm Belneftekhim confirmed clean oil had arrived but reiterated that the company expected it to reach the Mozyr refinery, one of the country's two oil plants, no earlier than May 4.

The Russian energy ministry confirmed that clean oil reached Belarus on Thursday, saying the quality of oil was also expected to improve by May 7 at the Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga. Druzhba can pump up to 1 million barrels per day (bpd), amounting to 1 percent of global crude demand. In total, Russia is exporting around 4 million bpd and other destinations in the south, northwest and east are unaffected, traders have said.

A long outage could force refineries in Eastern Europe and Germany to cut operations and prompt Moscow to reduce oil production. It could also trigger claims by Western oil buyers against Russian producers and pipeline monopoly Transneft for lost profits as they struggle to sell contaminated oil.

Poland's energy ministry has decided to release mandatory oil reserves to secure output at domestic refineries. The released reserves are to ensure continuity of refinery processing at normal levels, a ministry spokeswoman said.

The Czech oil refinery at Litvinov has also started receiving oil from state emergency reserves due to a halt in Russian supplies.

Shareholders of two German refineries are arranging crude tanker shipments via the Baltic Sea in response to the Druzhba suspension, a spokesman for industry group MWV said.
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Citgo Petroleum in talks with Aruba on refinery contract

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Citgo Petroleum Corp said it is holding talks with the government of Aruba on its oil refinery operating contract, a day after Aruba disclosed it would form a committee to decide the fate of the plant, reported Reuters.

The US subsidiary of state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) said it is holding "active conversations with our counterparts in Aruba and hopeful that we will reach a solution for future work together."

Aruba’s prime minister, Evelyn Wever-Croes, on Monday said the Caribbean nation expects to overhaul or terminate the contract. US sanctions against Venezuela have hampered production.

An advisory committee will evaluate options including continuing to work with Citgo, terminating its contract and finding another operator, or seek another activity for the facility.

Citgo and Aruba in 2016 agreed to a 25-year contract to refurbish and reopen the 209,000-barrel-per-day refinery, which has been idled since 2012, when its former operator, US-based Valero Energy Corp, abandoned it over low profits.

The USD685 million overhaul, which had received initial funding from Citgo and PDVSA, had shown little progress since Washington in August 2017 issued a first round of sanctions on the Venezuelan state-run oil company. In late January, a second round of sanctions left the refinery without access to credit.

As MRC informed before, in late February 2019, Houston-based Citgo Petroleum slowed work on an overhaul of its 235 Mbpd Aruba refinery due to a lack of financing stemming from US sanctions on Venezuela's state-run PDVSA.
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