PP imports to Belarus grew by 6.3% in Jan-Apr 2019

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Overall imports of polypropylene (PP) to Belarus rose in the first four months of 2019 by 6.3% year on year, totalling slightly over 34,100 tonnes. Exclusively homopolymer of propylene (homopolymer PP) accounted for the increase in demand, according to MRC's DataScope report.

April PP imports to Belarus were 9,500 tonnes, compared to 8,600 tonnes a month earlier, local companies raised their purchasing of homopolymer PP and propylene copolymer in Russia. Overall imports of propylene polymers exceeded 34,100 tonnes in January-April 2019, compared to 32,100 tonnes a year earlier, demand for homopolymer PP increased significantly, whereas demand for propylene copolymers subsided.

The supply structure by PP grades looked the following way over the stated period.


April imports of homopolymer PP exceeded 6,600 tonnes, compared to 6,000 tonnes a month earlier. Overall imports of homopolymer PP reached 24,000 tonnes in January-April 2019, up by 11.8% year on year. Russian producers with the share of about 86% of the total shipments were the key suppliers.

April imports of propylene copolymers into Belarus were 2,900 tonnes versus 2,600 tonnes a month earlier, local companies increased their procurement of injection moulding statistical copolymers (PP random copolymers) in Russia. Thus, overall imports of propylene copolymers reached 10,100 tonnes in January-April 2019, down by 4.9% year on year.

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LyondellBasell and Neste announce commercial-scale production of bio-based plastic from renewable materials

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell, one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world, and Neste, the world's largest producer of renewable diesel from waste and residues, have jointly announced the first parallel production of bio-based polypropylene and bio-based low-density polyethylene (LDPE) at a commercial scale, as per LyondellBasell's press release.

LyondellBasell production team in Wesseling, Germany shows off first batch of bio-polymer made from renewable materials.

The joint project used Neste's renewable hydrocarbons derived from sustainable bio-based raw materials, such as waste and residue oils. The project successfully produced several thousand tonnes of bio-based plastics which are approved for the production of food packaging and being marketed under Circulen and Circulen Plus, the new family of LyondellBasell circular economy product brands.

"LyondellBasell has an innovative spirit that spans decades, and an achievement like this showcases concrete actions we are taking in support of a circular economy," said Richard Roudeix, LyondellBasell Senior Vice President of Olefins and Polyolefins for Europe, Asia and International. "Through the use of renewable resources, we are contributing to the fight against climate change and helping our customers achieve their environmental targets."

"We are excited to enable the plastics industry to introduce more bio-based material into its offering. It is very satisfying to see Neste's renewable hydrocarbons performing perfectly in a commercial scale production of bio-based polymers, providing a drop-in replacement option to fossil materials," said Neste's President and CEO Peter Vanacker. "This pioneering collaboration with LyondellBasell marks a major milestone in the commercialization of Neste's renewable polymers and chemicals business focusing on developing renewable and circular solutions for forward-looking sustainable brands."

This achievement is extraordinary in that it combined Neste's unique renewable feedstock and LyondellBasell's technical capabilities. LyondellBasell's cracker flexibility allowed it to introduce a new renewable feedstock at its Wesseling, Germany site, which was converted directly into bio-based polyethylene and bio-based polypropylene. An independent third party tested the polymer products using carbon tracers and confirmed they contained over 30% renewable content.

LyondellBasell sold some of the renewable products produced in the trial to multiple customers, one of which is Cofresco, a company of the Melitta Group and with brands like Toppits and Albal, Europe's leading supplier of branded products in the field of household film. Cofresco plans to use the Circulen Plus bio-based polyethylene to create sustainable food packaging materials.

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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Kuwait says Mina Abdullah oil refinery affected by water supply cut

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Kuwait’s state refiner KNPC said on Wednesday that refining operations at its Mina Abdullah oil refinery have been affected by a cut in seawater supply, which is used to cool production units in the plant, reported Reuters.

KNPC said on its official Twitter feed that despite the temporary issue, its oil export operations have not been affected.

As MRC informed earlier, in November 2018, Kuwait Petroleum Co prepared a study to transform its al-Zour refinery into a commercial one to increase its profitability.
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Petronas starts naphtha cracking unit at new Pengerang oil refinery

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Malaysian state oil company Petroliam Nasional Bhd, or Petronas, and Saudi Aramco have started operations at their new 1.2-million-tonnes-per-year naphtha cracker, reported Reuters with referenece to multiple sources familiar the matter.

The cracker is part of the USD2.7 billion joint-venture oil refinery and petrochemical project known as RAPID - or Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development - located in Pengerang in the state of Johor, at the southern tip of peninsular Malaysia.

As MRC informed before, Petronas started trial runs at the Malaysian oil refinery in early 2019 and started offering some products in April.

Petronas, short for Petroliam Nasional Berhad, is a Malaysian oil and gas company wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia. The Group is engaged in a wide spectrum of petroleum activities, including upstream exploration and production of oil and gas to downstream oil refining; marketing and distribution of petroleum products; trading; gas processing and liquefaction; gas transmission pipeline network operations; marketing of liquefied natural gas; petrochemical manufacturing and marketing; shipping; automotive engineering; and property investment.
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Petrobras signs deal with Brazil regulator for sale of refining assets

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brazil’s state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA said it has signed a deal with local antitrust regulator CADE regarding the proposed sale of some of its refining installations, reported Reuters.

According to a securities filing, the company said the agreement will allow for increased competition in Brazil’s refining sector, by attracting new players to the business.

Petrobras, as the oil firm is known, will sell eight refineries in seven different Brazilian states.

Under the terms of the deal, some of the assets cannot be acquired by the same buyer, the company added in the filing.

Petrobras will hire an external agent to make sure it follows the commitments made to CADE.

After the announcement, Petrobras shares added to early gains and were trading near session highs, with common stocks up 2.3% and preferred stocks rising 1.84%.

As MRC wrote previously, in October 2017, Petrobras’s minority stakes in Braskem and Deten Quimica was excluded from Petrobras’s divestment program, according to a government decree published in Brazil’s Official Gazette. The decree prevented Petrobras from immediately selling its minority stake in Braskem, which had been announced last year. A new decree will be required to release the stock sale.

Headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Petrobras is an integrated energy firm. Petrobras' activities include exploration, exploitation and production of oil from reservoir wells, shale and other rocks as well as refining, processing, trade and transport of oil and oil products, natural gas and other fluid hydrocarbons, in addition to other energy-related activities.
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