GAIL studying feasibility of doubling petrochemical capacity at its BCPL subsidiary

MOSCOW (MRC) -- GAIL has launched a study to double petrochemical capacity at its Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Ltd. (BCPL) subsidiary in Assam, India, according to Apic-online with reference to a local news report citing GAIL Chairman and Managing Director B.C. Tripathi.

The project, for which a schedule was not given, would use naphtha feedstock from Numaligarh Refinery, which recently received approval for an expansion to 9-million t/y from 3-million t/y presently. The refinery is expected to be completed in four years.

BCPL currently has a nameplate capacity of 220,000 t/y of linear low-density polyethylene and high-density polyethylene and 60,000 t/y of polypropylene.

Last year, PCN reported that Indian Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the government wanted GAIL to exit its non-core petrochemicals business "gradually" and focus on its pipeline business.

As MRC wrote previously, India's state-owned gas utility company GAIL India plans to import ethane from countries including the US, for its upcoming USD5 billion joint-venture Andhra Pradesh petrochemical plant. GAIL is seeking 1.3 million mt/year of ethane for 15 years for its JV ethane cracker with India's Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL), located on the east coast of India beginning 2022, the company said in February 2016.

Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) is the largest state-owned natural gas processing and distribution company in India. It is headquartered in New Delhi. It has the following business segments: natural gas, liquid hydrocarbon, liquefied petroleum gas transmission, petrochemicals, city gas distribution, exploration and production, GAILTEL and electricity generation.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Polypropylene (PP) imports into Russia slumped in the first five months of 2019 by 7% year on year to 74,200 tonnes.
The greatest decrease in imports accounted for homopolymer PP, according to MRC DataScope.

May PP imports into the Russian market decreased to 16,300 tonnes from 18,700 tonnes a month earlier, supply of all grades of propylene polymers declined. In general, total PP imports into the country decreased to about 74,200 tonnes in January - May compared with 79,300 tonnes year on year. The volume of external purchases for all grades of polymers of propylene decreased, with the exception of stat-copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers), with the most noticeably reduced imports of homopolymer PP.

Overall, the structure of PP imports by grades looked the following way over the stated period.
May imports of homopolymer PP were 6,500 tonnes, compared to 6,300 tonnes a month earlier. Thus, overall imports of homopolymer PP to Russia totalled 25,400 tonnes in the first five months of 2019, compared to 28,700 tonnes a year earlier.

May imports of PP block copolymers in Russia were about 5,100 tonnes against 5,600 tonnes in April on decreased demand for pipe PP.
Imports of PP block copolymers into Russia reached 21,200 tonnes in January-May 2019, compared to 20,000 tonnes a year earlier.

May imports of PP random copolymers were about 1,700 tonnes versus 3,600 tonnes a month earlier, on decreased volumes of pipe PP purchases. Total imports of PP random copolymers in Russia were 13,100 tonnes in January - May 2018, compared with 13,800 tonnes year on year.

Russia's imports of other polymers of propylene for the period were about 14,500 tonnes in the first five months of the year, compared with 16.900 tonnes year on year.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Canada is expected to issue a ban on common single-use plastics by 2021, said Plasticsnewseurope.

Making the announcement on 10 June in Montreal, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that a decision, based on scientific review, would be made on which items to be banned.

While inspire by a similar European move, the Canadian ban is expected to go beyond the sale of plastic straws, drink stirrers and cotton buds, which will be prohibited in Europe as of April 2020.

In Canada, the move is likely to cover additional items such as plastic water bottles, shopping bags and fast food containers.

With less than five months before a national election, climate change and the environment are top campaign issues in Canada.

Reports suggest that less than 10% of plastics used in Canada are recycled.

By comparison, EU legislation has set a target of recycling 90% of plastic bottles by 2025.
mrcplast.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- US crude oil stockpiles rose unexpectedly for a second straight week, despite the highest refining rates in six months and lower imports and production, reported Reuters with reference to the Energy Information Administration.

Gasoline inventories increased last week in line with forecasts, while distillates posted an unexpected drawdown, the statistical arm of the EIA said.

Crude inventories rose 2.2 million barrels in the week to June 7, compared with analysts’ expectations for a decrease of 481,000 barrels.

At 485.5 million barrels, commercial stocks were at their highest since July 2017 and about 8% above the five-year average for this time of year, the EIA said.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub for US crude futures rose 2.1 million barrels, the EIA said.

"The report was mostly bearish, given the sizeable crude oil inventory build," said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital Management in New York.

Crude prices extended their losses after the report. US crude futures was down USD1.40 a barrel at USD51.87, while Brent traded down USD1.40 at USD60.87 a barrel by 10:55 a.m. EDT (1455 GMT).

Net US crude imports fell last week by 140,000 barrels per day and crude production fell 100,000 bpd from its all-time peak to 12.3 million bpd in the week, it said.

On the demand side, refinery crude runs rose 126,000 bpd as refinery utilization rates jumped 1.4 percentage points to 93.2% of total capacity, their highest since January, EIA data showed.

"Imports fell and processing increased, but not enough to prevent the inventory build," said Carsten Fritsch, oil analyst at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt, Germany.

Gasoline stocks rose by 764,000 barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 743,000-barrel gain.

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 1 million barrels, versus expectations for a 1.1 million-barrel increase, the EIA data showed.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- When styrenics giant Ineos Styrolution needed a packaging solution at its Luran S1 facility, a production line in Ludwigshafen, Germany producing about 35,000 tonnes of packaged goods per year, it called in the services of Bischof + Klein, a leading European full-service supplier of flexible plastic and laminate packaging and technical films, said .

The solution turned out to be close to home: the stretch hood film developed by Bischof + Klein is based on Styroflex, an SBC copolymer produced by Ineos Styrolution.

For Ineos, the experience was a new one but it was “very motivating for us to see our own packaging material Styroflex through the eyes of a customer”, said Peter Lakeman, manager engineering Ludwigshafen at Ineos Styrolution.

Styroflex is a styrene-butadiene block copolymer (SBC) with the properties of a thermoplastic elastomer. In film applications, Styroflex provides excellent stretch recovery, transparency and puncture resistance. The grade chosen, PG77, was particularly tailored for packaging applications like stretch hood solutions. It combines maximum transparency with outstanding elongation and extreme toughness. Styroflex PG77 can be stretched up to 200% with enormous recovery capacity: It snaps back to its original shape, clings tightly to the load and holds it securely.

Frank Heermann, manager product development industrial packaging at Bischof + Klein, said the company enjoyed the collaboration with INEOS Styrolution in Ludwigshafen, adding that “it is interesting to see that the company is using its own products”.

As MRC informed earlier, in February 2019, Ineos Styrolution has made its first production move into China with the acquisition of two 200,000-tonne polystyrene facilities from Total S.A. The deal, which includes the Foshan site in the Guangdong Province in South China and the Ningbo site in the Zhejiang Province in Eastern China, was agreed in August 2018 and has now received regulatory approval. It also includes two sales offices in Gunagzhou and Shanghai.
MRC