Philadelphia refinery closing reverses two years of US capacity gains

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The planned closing of an oil refinery in Philadelphia damaged by a massive fire last month will reverse nearly two years of capacity gains at US refineries, according to a Reuters analysis of government data.

Philadelphia Energy Solutions has said it will shut its 335,000 barrels per day (bpd) refinery this summer after a June 21 fire tore through a portion of the plant, destroying an alkylation unit.

The shutdown, which began last week and will continue through late August, will reduce overall US refining capacity by about 2%, to 18.46 million bpd.

US refining capacity was 18.8 million bpd as of Jan. 1, according to US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data released last month, up from 18.6 million bpd at the start of 2017.

US refiners have been increasing capacity mostly through debottlenecking and other efficiency gains, even as some smaller plants were idled. The number of US operating refineries last year fell by three to 132 while peak capacity increased by almost 204,000 bpd, the EIA’s 2019 refinery capacity report said.

PES agreed to delay job cuts for some union workers until Aug. 25 after dismissing 150 salaried workers. It plans to secure the fire-damaged plant to allow a sale and possible restart under a new owner.

One of the plants idled last year was Husky Energy’s 38,000 bpd Superior, Wisconsin, refinery, which is projected to reopen in late 2020 following USD400 million in repairs from an April 2018 explosion and fire.

About 55% of the US capacity growth last year came at plants along the US Gulf Coast. Refineries in the state of Texas alone accounted for 42% of the increase in national capacity, according to the report.

The nation's largest refinery, Motiva Enterprises' Port Arthur, Texas, plant was one of the refineries posting gains, increasing potential output by 4,000 bpd to 607,000 bpd.

The next large expansion in plant capacity is due in 2022 when Exxon Mobil Corp starts up a 250,000 bpd crude distillation unit at its 369,024 bpd Beaumont, Texas, refinery.

Marathon Petroleum Corp is the nation’s leading refiner by capacity with 16 percent of the national total, which it achieved with its October 2018 purchase of rival Andeavor.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Overall production of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) totalled 502,600 tonnes in the first six months of 2019, up by 4% year on year. At the same time, not all Russian producers raised their output, according to MRC's ScanPlast report.

June production of unmixed PVC in Russia was 79,600 tonnes, which practically the same as in May. Overall PVC production reached 502,600 tonnes in January-June 2019, compared to 484,600 tonnes a year earlier. All plants raised their output, except for Kaustik Volgograd.

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

RusVinyl (JV of SIBUR and SolVin) produced about 26,100 tonnes of PVC in June, with emulsion polyvinyl chloride (EPVC) accounting for 2,300 tonnes, compared to 24,600 tonnes a month earlier. Overall PVC production at RusVinyl was 166,800 tonnes in January-June 2019, up by 7% year on year. Such a significant increase in production was a result of the absence of long maintenance works.

SayanskKhimPlast produced 26,800 tonnes of suspension PVC (SPVC) last month, whereas this figure was 27,600 tonnes in May. The Sayansk plant managed to produce about 162,500 tonnes of resin in January-June, compared to 149,800 tonnes a year earlier.

Baskhir Soda Company produced about 22,400 tonnes of SPVC in June versus 23,800 tonnes a month earlier. Total SPVC production at Baskhir Soda Company increased to 137,300 tonnes in the first six months of this year, compared to 132,600 tonnes in the same period in 2018.

Kaustik (Volgograd) produced about 4,300 tonnes of SPVC in June, compared with 3,500 tonnes in May. It is worth noting that in the current year from mid-May to mid-June, the Volgograd producer shut its capacities for scheduled maintenance works, whereas there was no turnaround a year earlier. Kaustik's overall production of PVC reached 36,000 tonnes in the first six months of 2019 versus 46,400 tonnes a year earlier.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Plastics machinery maker Milacron Holdings Corp. is considering selling its Cimcool division, which produces coolants and lubricants for industrial machinery, said Canplastics.

Quoting what it calls “people with knowledge of the matter,” Bloomberg said the Cincinnati, Ohio-based company is working with an adviser to solicit offers for the business, which could go for as much as USD300 million.

A final decision hasn’t been made and Milacron could decide to keep the company, the people said.

Cimcool’s complete line of metalworking products includes precision metal removal fluids, rust preventatives, HVAC specialty fluids, and productive process and maintenance cleaners.

In May, Milacron announced that it was selling its Uniloy blow molding business to U.S.-based investment firms Osgood Capital Group LLC and Cyprium Investment Partners LLC for an undisclosed amount.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Under the terms of the deal, Pfizer acquired Therachon for 340 million dollars with an additional 470 million dollars for the achievement of vital milestones in the development and commercialisation of TA-46, said Process-worldwide.

USA – Pfizer has recently announced the successful completion of its acquisition of the privately held clinical-stage biotechnology company Therachon Holding. Under the terms of the transaction, Pfizer acquired Therachon for 340 million dollars with an additional 470 million dollars in additional payments contingent on the achievement of key milestones in the development and commercialisation of TA-46. TA-46 is an investigational medicine for the treatment of achondroplasia, a genetic condition and the most common form of short-limb dwarfism. There are currently no approved treatment options for achondroplasia.

"Therachon becoming part of Pfizer is representative of our Rare Disease team’s 30-year commitment to develop innovative medicines that address significant unmet medical needs of people with rare diseases,” said Seng Cheng, Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of Pfizer’s Rare Disease Research Unit. “With our leading scientific and development capabilities, we believe we can effectively advance the development of TA-46, which has the potential to be a first-in-class therapy for the treatment of achondroplasia."

The transaction is not expected to impact Pfizer’s current 2019 adjusted financial guidance.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oxea plans to build a new large-scale plant for the production of carboxylic acids in Oberhausen. With this project, the company is responding to rising global demand, said Process-worldwide.

Monheim am Rhein/Germany — With the construction of a new plant, Oxea intends to significantly improve the supply base for isononanoic acid. The plant is the sixth of its kind in the company's global production network. After commissioning by the end of 2021, it will double the current production capacity for isononanoic acid and increase the total production capacity for carboxylic acids by more than 30?%.

According to Kyle Hendrix, Global Commercial Director for Carboxylic Acids and Derivatives at Oxea, the Oberhausen site offers decisive advantages in terms of construction time and integration into the existing production network. The manufacturer will also set up its own logistics centre in Asia to support the growth and agility of the Asian market.

The construction of the sixth carboxylic acid plant plays an important role in the company's growth vision. Dr. Oliver Borgmeier, COO of Oxea, added that the production processes in the acid plants are to be further improved and bottlenecks eliminated in 2020 and 2021.

Carboxylic acids are used in the production of synthetic lubricants and as building blocks for the animal feed industry.
MRC