Wood secures contract for petrochemicals project

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Wood has been awarded a new contract by Duqm Refinery and Petrochemicals Industries Company (DRPIC) to provide FEED (front-end engineering design) for a proposed onshore petrochemicals facility at the Special Economic Zone Area Duqm (SEZAD) in southern Oman, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Wood has already delivered associated studies for the facility which will include a world-scale steam cracker unit; production facilities for hydrogen, syngas, methanol, and other petrochemicals; and associated utilities.

SEZAD is one of the largest developments of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa, attracting significant investment for petrochemicals and infrastructure development aimed at supporting Oman’s overall vision for strong and sustainable economic growth.

Effective immediately, the project will be delivered by Wood’s capital projects teams based in Oman and the UK. The work is due to be completed by Q3 2020 and will see up to 300 people working on the project during the peak delivery phase.

Dave Stewart, CEO of Wood’s Asset Solutions business in Europe, Africa, Asia & Australia, comments: "This new contract continues our strong track record in delivering robust engineering design services on large, complex capital projects for greenfield developments in the Middle East.

"The award also demonstrates DRPIC’s confidence in our ability to successfully execute key design projects in support of their significant investment in Oman’s petrochemicals industry and continued growth of the SEZAD."

In 2018, Wood secured a new contract to provide two Terrace Wall double-fired delayed coker heaters at Duqm Refinery, following delivery of the facility’s pre-FEED, FEED, and ongoing project management. After completion, the refinery and petrochemical complex will have the capacity to process around 230,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

Duqm Refinery and Petrochemical Industries Company LLC is a joint venture between Oman Oil Company and Kuwait Petroleum International.

As MRC wrote before, in late March 2019, Wood was awarded a new contract by Sinochem Quanzhou Petrochemical for its 1MTA ethylene and refinery expansion project being built in Quanzhou, in the Fujian province of southeast China.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia's production of high density polyethylene (HDPE) totalled 408,200 tonnes in the first five months of 2019, down by 1% year on year. Only two producers out of four reduced their output, according to MRC's ScanPlast report.

May total HDPE output in Russia grew to 88,900 tonnes in May, whereas this figure was about 82,900 tonnes a month earlier, Kazanorgsintez increased its capactiy utilisation. Thus, overall HDPE production reached 408,200 tonnes in January-May 2019, compared to 412,400 tonnes a year earlier. Gazprom neftekhim Salavat and Kazanogrsintez's higher output did not allow to compensate for the reduction in the output of the two other plants.

The structure of polyethylene production by plants looked the following way over the stated period.

Kazanorgsintez's total HDPE output rose to 50,300 tonnes in May from 47,200 tonnes a month earlier. The Kazan plant's overall HDPE production totalled 229,000 tonnes in January-May 2017, up by 5.4% year on year.

Stavrolen produced 27,400 tonnes last month, compared to 26,600 tonnes in April. The plant's overall output reached 126,900 tonnes over the stated period, down by 1% year on year.

Gazprom neftekhim Salavat produced 10,500 tonnes in May, compared to 10,800 tonnes a month earlier. The Baskhir plant's overall HDPE output reached 50,000 tonnes in the first five months of 2019, up 1% year on year.

Nizhnekamskneftekhim produced exclusively linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) over the stated period.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- On June 18, 2019, and following the scheduled two-year construction period, Evonik officially commissioned its second complex for the production of MetAMINO® (DL-methionine) and strategically important precursors in Singapore, said the company.

“Our methionine complex on Jurong Island, which we commissioned in late 2014 has been a real success story. Now, we want to continue the success story with this second plant,” said Christian Kullmann, chairman of the Executive Board of Evonik, during the opening festivities.

Each plant has an annual production capacity of 150,000 metric tons of DL-methionine elevating Evonik’s annual global capacity to approximately 730,000 metric tons. The new complex has been modeled on the successful existing plant and has been constructed right next to it. “Synergies from the infrastructure that we set up in 2014, the complete backward integration of both plants into the precursor products, and the joint operation of the entire complex will bring about significant structural efficiency gains,” said Kullmann. In total, Evonik has invested more than half a billion euros in the new complex and has created more than 100 additional jobs at the site.

Evonik produces MetAMINO® in world-scale plants in Antwerp (Belgium), Wesseling/Cologne (Germany), Mobile (Alabama, USA), and in Singapore. This global production network ensures the highest supply security for its customers.

As Johann-Caspar Gammelin, chairman of the board of management of Evonik Nutrition & Care GmbH, explained, the demand for the methionine amino acid for animal nutrition in Asia continues to show strong growth. “On the one hand, the growing consumer affluence in Asia supports the increasing demand for animal protein. On the other, producers are increasingly focusing on more sustainable production of meat, eggs, milk, and fish. We are proud that our MetAMINO® plays a key role in supporting these efforts,” says Gammelin.

DL-methionine is an essential amino acid which must be ingested as part of healthy nutrition. When added to poultry and pig feed, the crude protein content in the feed can be reduced, which benefits the animal organisms, and also reduces the impact on the environment. Through its contribution to efficient, healthy and environmentally friendly animal nutrition, the feed additive is an important component in providing a sustainable supply of animal protein for the world’s growing population.

Evonik’s Animal Nutrition business line has over 60 years of experience in the manufacture of essential amino acids and provides customers in more than 100 countries with solutions for efficient and sustainable animal nutrition. By extending its product range to include additional innovative and sustainable solutions in feed additives, and digital software concepts for efficient farm management, Evonik is making a substantial contribution to a holistic approach to healthy animal nutrition and sustainable animal husbandry, while creating added value for its customers.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global chemical and specialty materials company, has announced it will raise prices of all acetate tow product grades sold globally by up to 10%, as per the company's press release.

This price increase will be effective for orders shipped on or after July 1, 2019, or as contracts otherwise allow.

"To aid in securing sustainability of the Celanese acetate tow business, it is paramount that we increase prices and offset declines. Celanese is committed to our acetate tow business as we continue to invest in manufacturing assets, innovation and service in order to position the company as the strategic partner for our customers," said Marcel van Amerongen, Vice President, Acetate Tow, for Celanese.

As MRC informed earlier, Celanese has increased May list and off-list selling prices for Vinyl Acetate Monomer (VAM) sold in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Outside China (AOC). The price increases below were effective for orders shipped on or after 24 April, 2019, or as contracts otherwise allow, and are incremental to any previously announced increases. Thus, VAM prices rose, as follows:

- by EUR100/mt - for Europe, the Middle East & Africa;
- by USD50/mt - for AOC.

Besides, Celanese increased its prices of emulsion polymers by USD25/mt for AOC and prices of acetic anhydride by EUR30/mt for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Based in Dallas, Celanese employs approximately 7,600 employees worldwide and had 2017 net sales of USD6.1 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SIBUR and BASF are collaborating to develop innovative polymer solutions at SIBUR’s PolyLab Research and Development Center located in Moscow, Russia, as per SIBUR's press release.

The signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Cooperation took place on May 30, 2019 at SIBUR’s newly inaugurated state-of-the-art PolyLab at the Skolkovo Innovation Center to seal the strong commitment from SIBUR and BASF.

Both companies will work together to leverage on the digital technologies in production and R&D, and to develop an innovative range of polymers using the plastic additives offered by BASF. In addition, BASF will support with its technical expertise the development of new technology tests at PolyLab, the main R&D hub of SIBUR NIOST, and SIBUR’s production facilities. The companies plan to also jointly develop new high-performance additive solutions, focusing on highly demanding converting conditions for polymers and specifically targeting long term durable goods. They will promote these new solutions at joint technical events to educate SIBUR’s customers and industry players.

"The new agreement extends our strategic partnership with one of the global chemical majors and unlocks new opportunities for all consumers of polymer products. Combining the extensive knowhow from both companies, we will develop modern synthetic materials that are advanced and sustainable," said Pavel Lyakhovich, member of the Management Board and Managing Director, OOO SIBUR.

"SIBUR focuses very strongly on promoting innovative solutions to drive technological advancement in the industries they operate in, supporting circular economy. They have also been our long-term business partner,” said Achim "Sties, Senior Vice President, Performance Chemicals Europe, BASF SE. "At BASF, we are committed to developing additive solutions that perform economically and last longer. I am convinced that this extended partnership with SIBUR will accelerate the goals of both companies to drive long term success through innovative solutions by leveraging on the strong additives know-how of BASF and extensive synthetic polymer experience of SIBUR."

Polymers are well-known synthetic materials that are durable, strong, environmentally friendly to be widely used in construction, utilities, automotive, healthcare, food and other industries. The key priority of SIBUR’s PolyLab is to promote the use of polymers both to manufacture existing products, and to design novel solutions to drive technological advancement for the relevant industries. PolyLab will foster the use of recycled materials and the application of polymers in circular economy. For this purpose, samples of new PE Polyethylene and PP polypropylene grades will be transformed at the Center's pilot manufacturing lines into pipes, medical goods, films, food packaging, canisters and other products. This will provide a deeper insight into polymers’ properties and their impact on the end product quality to further improve the materials and boost production efficiency.

As MRC wrote before, in late May 2019, Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev cut the ribbon of the first domestic R&D centre for the development and testing of polymer products – SIBUR PolyLab located at the Skolkovo Innovation Centre.

SIBUR is a uniquely positioned vertically integrated gas processing and petrochemicals company. We own and operate Russia’s largest gas processing business in terms of associated petroleum gas processing volumes and are a leader in the Russian petrochemicals industry. As of 31 March 2014, SIBUR operated 27 production sites located all over Russia, had over 1,400 large customers engaged in the energy, chemical, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), automotive, construction and other industries in approximately 70 countries worldwide and employed over 27,000 personnel.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.
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