Tanker blast at Turkish port kills 1 Italian crew, operations continue

MOSCOW (MRC) -- An explosion on an LPG tanker killed an Italian crew member and injured 15 others at the port of Aliaga in Turkey’s western Izmir province but work at the petrochemical plant has continued, reported Reuters with reference to its operator's statement.

The vessel was anchored at harbour at Petkim petrochemical plant operated by the Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR.

Italian crew member Roberto Montegurdia died in the incident, Aliaga province’s sub-Governor Erhan Gunay told reporters. All injured personnel had been discharged from hospital, SOCAR later said.

"At Petkim Pier 5 around 23:20 (2020 GMT), a fire broke out due to an unspecified reason during the connection to the Italian flagged Synzania for the filling of liquid hydrocarbons," Petkim said in a statement.

"As a result of the immediate intervention of our teams, the fire was extinguished and cooling work on the ship is continuing," it added.

SOCAR said an investigation into the fire was ongoing. Operations at the Petkim plant and SOCAR’s STAR refinery were continuing, it said.

"Neither Petkim, nor STAR were closed for investigation. All facilities at Petkim continue operating as usually. The vessel on which the accident happened does not belong to SOCAR," SOCAR said in a statement.

As MRC informed before, in February 2019, Turkish subsidiary of Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR completed the integration of STAR refinery and Petkim petrochemical complex. The opening ceremony of the STAR oil refinery took place on October 19, 2018 in Izmir, Turkey. The total refining capacity of the refinery is 10 million tons, and Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR is the main supplier of crude for the refinery. The refinery will significantly reduce the dependence of Turkey on imports of petrochemical products.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL), has brought on-stream its polypropylene (PP) plant in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source, informed, that the company has recently resumed operations at the plant following a turnaround. The plant was shut for maintenance in mid-April, 2019.

Located in Mangalore, in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, the plant has a PP production capacity of 440,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed before, in June 2015, MRPL successfully commenced commercial production of PP from its polypropylene plant as part of its phase-III refinery expansion and upgradation project in Mangaluru. The plant has a capacity to produce 4,40,000 tonnes of PP per annum. Feedstock for the PP plant - polymer grade propylene - is being produced from upstream petrochemical fluidised catalytic cracking unit of the refinery. Technology provider for the PP plant is Novolen of Germany. The plant has been engineered and constructed by Engineers India Ltd.

Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL), is an oil refinery at Mangalore and is a subsidiary of ONGC, set up in 1993. The refinery is located at Katipalla, north from centre of Mangalore city. The refinery was established after displacing five villages of Bala, Kalavar, Kuthetoor, Katipalla, and Adyapadi.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) is in plans to undertake a planned shutdown at its low density polyethylene (LDPE) plant, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Thailand informed that the company is likely to start turnaround at the plant on July 7, 2019. The plant is expected to remain shut for around 3 weeks.

Located at Map Ta Phut in Thailand, the LDPE plant has a production capacity of 345,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote before, PTT started commercial operations at its new 400,000 mt/year metallocene C6 linear low density polyethylene plant (MLLDPE) at Map Ta Phut, Thailand, in the first quarter of 2018.

Previously, PTT had a total capacity of 800,000 mt/year of high density polyethylene (HDPE), 345,000 mt/year of LDPE and 400,000 mt/year of LLDPE at the same site.

PTT Global Chemical is a leading player in the petrochemical industry and owns several petrochemical facilities with a combined capacity of 8.45 million tonnes a year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Negotiations over July shipments of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) began in the Russian market last Wednesday. Local producers announced a further price increase of Rb1,000-2,000/tonne for July shipments to the domestic market, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

Strong seasonal demand and scheduled shutdowns for maintenance simultaneously at two plants led to a shortage of SPVC in the market. On the back of this, domestic producers announced a further rise in contract SPVC prices for July deliveries. At the same time, the increase in contract prices was less significant than in June, when the growth reached Rb4,000/tonne from May.

Some producers have reduced their exports since May in favour of shipments to the domestic market. The shutdown for a turnaround at Kaustik's (Volgograd) production capacities from mid-May to mid-June also led to lower sales of Russian polymer. However, lower exports did not allow to fully meet the growing seasonal demand for resin in the domestic market. And already in June, many consumers faced a shortage of SPVC, with the PVC segment with K=70 accounting for the acutest deficit.

Back in April, several consumers began to contract PVC in China and the USA, in order to provide themselves with material during the summer period, but the volume of purchases was small, if compared to the needs in the "high season". Amid the current shortage, other consumers are not able to promptly increase purchasing of resin in foreign markets at the moment, since the delivery times, as a rule, exceed one month.

Two producers will simultaneously shut down their production capacities for maintenance works in July. SayanskKhimPlast intends to take off-stream its production for a scheduled turnaround on 5 July, the outage will last for 30 days. The Bashkir soda company will shut its production on 14 July, the outage will last for two weeks. Thus, production capacities with a total capacity of just under 600,000 tonnes per year will be shut for maintenance this month, which is quite critical, especially in a period of stronger summer demand.

The shortage of SPVC intensified in the Russian market in July, and some consumers were forced to reduce their capacity utilisation.

July deals for Russian resin with K64/67 PVC were negotiated in the range of Rb80,500-84,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, for lots of less than 500 tonnes. Some producers' prices of SPVC with K=70, which is in short supply, reached Rb87,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, this week.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Borealis, a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers, has announced the introduction of a new plastics recycling technology, Borcycle, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

This evolving technology will be used to produce high-quality compounds made of recycled polyolefins (rPO) such as the newly-launched Borcycle MF1981SY, an rPO with over 80% recycled content intended for use in visible appliance parts.

Borealis also announced a series of significant material improvements to existing recyclates in the established Purpolen brand portfolio. These market launches and product improvements are important technology advancements and thus accelerate the transformation to a circular economy of plastics. Borealis and its wholly-owned subsidiary, mtm plastics, will showcase the new Borcycle technology and recyclate innovations at the K 2019 in October.

Borealis is leading the industry by applying its Visioneering Philosophy to the development and implementation of novel polyolefins-based solutions that enable plastics reuse, recycling, and recovery, and by designing for circularity. These wide-ranging activities are gathered under the symbolic roof of EverMinds , the Borealis platform dedicated to promoting a more circular mind-set in the industry. By capitalising on its profound expertise in virgin polyolefins and collaborating with value chain partners, Borealis keeps discovering new opportunities for business growth within the circular economy.

The new technology, Borcycle, transforms polyolefin-based waste streams into recyclate material such as pellets. As a transformative technology, it complements the existing Borealis virgin polyolefins portfolio with a range of pioneering, circular solutions. It unites state-of-the-art technology with the profound Borealis polymer expertise gained over decades.

As a scalable and modular technology, Borcycle has been developed to meet growing market demand for high-quality recyclate. Leading appliance brand owners, for one, have pledged to increase the amount of recycled plastics in their goods. Yet until recently, producers have not been able to rely on a consistent supply of high-quality recyclate. The Borcycle technology will help address this challenge. Compounds made using the Borcycle technology deliver high performance, add value and offer versatility. Producers and brand owners in a range of industries will profit from the availability of high-quality recyclate that helps them meet environmental and regulatory challenges.

"Advancing technology is crucial if our aim is to implement value-creating solutions in the circular sphere," claims Maurits van Tol, Borealis Senior Vice President, Innovation, Technology & Circular Economy Solutions. "'Building tomorrow together' means innovating, collaborating, focussing on the customer, and above all taking action. The launch of our new recycling technology Borcycle is tangible proof of our commitment to achieving plastics circularity."

Borcycle MF1981SY is the first of several upcoming launches of rPO solutions made under the umbrella of the Borcycle technology. Borcycle MF1981SY will be available to Borealis customers in Europe. The compound is an exciting addition to the rPO portfolio because it is a 10% talc-filled compound that contains over 80% recycled material. It offers an ideal balance between stiffness and impact. The compound is especially suited for use in visible black parts, for example in small appliances.

Like its relatives in the mtm plastics family of recyclate materials, Borcycle MF1981SY is a truly sustainable offering. Recyclates from mtm save approximately 30% of CO2 emissions compared to virgin materials.

As MRC wrote previously, in March 2018, Borealis and United Chemical Company LLP (UCC) signed a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) for the development of a world-scale polyethylene project, integrated with an ethane cracker, in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Borealis is a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers. With headquarters in Vienna, Austria, Borealis currently employs around 6,500 and operates in over 120 countries.
MRC