LyondellBasell names Ken Lane executive vice president, Global Olefins & Polyolefins

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell, one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world, has announced Kenneth (Ken) Lane will assume the role of executive vice president, Global Olefins & Polyolefins (O&P) effective July 15, as per the company's press release.

Lane will have responsibility for the O&P Americas and O&P Europe Asia International (EAI) segments, reporting to Chief Executive Officer Bob Patel.

"Ken brings a unique perspective and set of skills to the table. He has worked around the globe and gained valuable experience in all facets of our business including manufacturing, marketing, mergers and acquisitions, profit and loss management and strategy," said Patel. "His proven track record in value creation will enable LyondellBasell to further build upon the very solid foundation that is today's O&P business."

Prior to joining LyondellBasell, Lane held a variety of positions with BASF, including president of the Monomers Division and president of BASF Catalysts. Before BASF, Lane also held a number of positions with BP Chemicals. Lane earned a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from Clemson University and a Master of Science in management from the University of Alabama.

Lane will be based in Houston, Texas.

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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Organic chloride levels in oil loaded at Russia’s Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga stood at 3.7 parts per million (ppm) on Monday, a level well within the normal range, reported Reuters with reference to Russia’s energy ministry.

Organic chloride levels have been closely scrutinized following a major oil contamination earlier this year. The ministry said it expected levels this week to range from 3.5 to 4.7 ppm. The maximum permitted level is 10 ppm, it said.

We remind that Russia's Druzhba pipelinewas halted in April after excessive levels of organic chloride used in oil extraction were found on the million-barrel-per-day pipeline that crosses Belarus and serves customers as far west as Germany.

As MRC wrote before, in early June 2019, the Czech oil refinery at Litvinov, owned by PKN Orlen unit Unipetrol, started receiving oil from state emergency reserves due to halt in Russian supplies via the Druzhba pipeline.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo, a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders and synthetic rubber, and its affiliate companies in Europe have announced a price decrease for all polystyrene (PS), as per the company's press release.

Effective 1 July, 2019, or as existing contract terms allow, the contract and spot prices for the products listed below will decrease as follows:

- STYRON general purpose polystyrene grades (GPPS) - by EUR5 per metric ton;
- STYRON and STYRON A-Tech and STYRON X- Tech high impact polystyrene grades (HIPS) - by EUR5 per metric ton.

As MRC informed before, Trinseo reduced its prices for all PS grades on 1 June,l 2019. Thus, June prices for the said products went down, as stated below:

- STYRON GPPS grades - by EUR105 per metric ton;
- STYRON and STYRON A-Tech HIPS grades - by EUR105 per metric ton.

Trinseo is a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber. Trinseo's technology is used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires. Formerly known as Styron, Trinseo completed its renaming process in 1Q 2015. Trinseo had approximately USD4.6 billion in net sales in 2018, with 16 manufacturing sites around the world, and approximately 2,500 employees.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Gazprom neftekhim Salavat, one of Russia's largest production complexes for oil refining and petrochemicals, has shut down its high density polyethylene (HDPE) production for a scheduled turnaround, according to ICIS-MRC Price Report.

The plant's clients said the maintenance at Gazprom neftekhim Salavat's HDPE production began on 1 July. The outage is scheduled to last for one month.

Gazprom neftekhim Salavat's low density polyethylene (LDPE) and HDPE production capacities are 45,000 and 120,000 tonnes per year, respectively. As noted earlier, Angarsk Polymers Plant had shut its production for a monthly scheduled maintenance from 22 June.

It is also worth noting that the next series of scheduled shutdowns to repair Russian polyethylene producers will begin in September. Three producers will simultaneously shut down their production capacities for maintenance works; Stavrolen, Kazanorgsintez and Tomskneftekhim.

OAO "Gazprom neftekhim Salavat" (formerly OAO "Salavatnefteorgsintez") is one of the leading petrochemical companies in Russia, carrying out a full cycle of processing hydrocarbon material. The list of products manufactured by the plant includes more than 140 items, including 76 grades of the main products: gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene, fuel oil, toluene, solvent, liquefied gases, benzene, styrene, ethylbenzene, butyl alcohols, phthalic anhydride and plasticizers, polyethylene, polystyrenes, silica gels and zeolite catalysts, corrosion inhibitors, elemental sulfur, ammonia and urea, glycols and amines, a wide range of household products made of plastics, surfactants and much more.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The board of heavily indebted Mexican state oil company Pemex has unanimously approved a merger of four of its subsidiaries into two units, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The merger of subsidiaries Pemex Exploration and Production with PPS and Pemex Industrial Transformation with Etileno is effective from July 1, the statement said.

The merger aims to consolidate “austerity measures” with the goal of strengthening the company, the statement said.

The government of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has repeatedly pledged to revive Petroleos Mexicanos, the formal name for Pemex. The world’s most indebted oil company, Pemex has seen oil output decline for 14 consecutive years.

As MRC informed earlier, Petroleos Mexicanos disclosed the results of the bidding process for the rehabilitation and commissioning works to be carried out on the H-Oil Plant located in the Miguel Hidalgo refinery in Tula, in the state of Hidalgo.

Pemex, Mexican Petroleum, is a Mexican state-owned petroleum company. Pemex has a total asset worth of USD415.75 billion, and is the world's second largest non-publicly listed company by total market value, and Latin America's second largest enterprise by annual revenue as of 2009. Company produces such polymers, as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS).
MRC