OMV continues to expand petrochemicals business

MOSCOW (MRC) -- OMV has made the decision to invest USD72.17mn in the construction of an ISO C4 plant – the building phase is now imminent, said Refiningandpetrochemicalsme.

Construction of the new plant will begin in summer 2019 at the Burghausen Refinery, with operations planned to start in September 2020. From this point onwards, high-purity isobutene will be produced in Burghausen using a brand new technology.

The idea behind the innovative method for heat integration came about through a collaboration by OMV and BASF and was jointly filed for a global patent by both companies. As a supplier of catalysts and licensor of petrochemicals technologies, BASF offers a catalyst system that intrinsically fulfils all process requirements.

The new unit for the production of high-purity isobutene will be integrated into the existing metathesis plant at the OMV Burghausen Refinery, which is responsible for the energy-efficient manufacturing of propylene for the plastics industry. One major advantage here is the exceptional energy efficiency of the planned ISO C4 unit.

The strategy developed by OMV for heat integration allows up to 80% of the heating energy required by the new process to be met by waste heat from existing facilities. The ISO C4 unit will have a production capacity of around 60,000t/a.

Isobutene is part of the C4 hydrocarbons group and is produced from crude oil components by means of thermal cracking. The isobutene produced will complement the current OMV product portfolio and will be used for manufacturing glues, grease and other chemicals such as antioxidants, as well as in the production of vitamin C.

The new ISO C4 unit is a further element that highlights OMV's talent for innovation. This exceptionally efficient and innovative technology has allowed us to raise the bar yet again in the petrochemicals sector following on from our metathesis plant that has been operational since 2007."The new ISO C4 unit is a further element that highlights OMV's talent for innovation. This exceptionally efficient and innovative technology has allowed us to raise the bar yet again in the petrochemicals sector following on from our metathesis plant that has been operational since 2007. In the medium- to long-term, the demand for fossil fuels will change, which will also affect the refining business. That is why the strategic focus of the OMV downstream business lies in petrochemicals. We want to achieve long-term, sustainable growth and continue to strengthen our competitive position", said Thomas Gangl, OMV executive board member for refining and petrochemical operations.

As the global market leader for process catalysts, we serve as a development partner for our customers and are proud to support OMV in becoming even more successful"With this seminal new technique for producing a key chemical, BASF is helping its customers to achieve more energy-efficient production. As the global market leader for process catalysts, we serve as a development partner for our customers and are proud to support OMV in becoming even more successful," said Detlef Ruff, senior vice president, process catalysts at BASF.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - The European Investment Bank wants to stop funding new fossil fuel-reliant projects by the end of 2020, a draft of the EU lending arm's new energy strategy, said Reuters.

The development bank proposed phasing out support to energy projects that were "reliant on fossil fuels: oil and gas production, infrastructure primarily dedicated to natural gas, power generation or heat-based on fossil fuels."

"These types of projects will not be presented for approval to the EIB Board beyond the end of 2020," the proposals said.

The EIB board, which is made up mostly of EU finance ministers, is expected to discuss the proposals at a meeting in September, though a final decision could take longer.

Resistance could potentially come from coal-reliant eastern European Union members or countries such as Italy where the EIB is helping fund the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline for gas.

"This long-term transition (to greener energy sources) is profound. Solidarity is required to ensure that potentially vulnerable groups or regions are supported," the EIB proposal document said.

The bank said it would provide extra support to those member states or regions with "a more challenging transition path".

Incoming President the European Commission, Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen, has called for the EIB to spend half of the roughly 70-80 billion euros-a-year it invests on green projects, suggesting turning parts of it into a "climate bank".

The EIB estimates that under 5% of its lending currently goes on fossil fuel projects. According to non-governmental group CEE Bankwatch Network it spent 12 billion euros ($13 billion) in the area between 2013 and 2017.

"The bank’s board must now approve the plan without delay," Greenpeace EU tweeted.

Xavier Sol, Director of NGO Counter Balance which campaigned for the move with 70 NGOs, think tanks and academics at an EIB meeting at its Luxembourg headquarters in June added it was "very good news".
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SABIC, of which 70% was acquired by Saudi Aramco from the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) in March 2019, has recorded a decline of 54.5% in H1-2019 profits, with the drop attributed to “lower average selling prices and decrease in share of results of associates and joint ventures”, said Refiningandpetrochemicalsme.

Profit during the first half of 2019 reached USD1.5bn from USD3.3bn in the same period last year, the company said in a stock market filing.

H1-2019 revenues reached USD19.5bn, down 14% from H1-2018’s corresponding figure of USD22.7bn.

Quarterly results at the Riyadh-based firm followed the trend, declining by 68.6% to reach USD565.3mn in Q2-2019 from Q2-2018's USD1.8bn.

Q2-2019 revenues also dropped 17% for SABIC to reach USD9.6bn, down from Q2-2018's USD11.7bn.

MRC informed earlier, SABIC has announced that the company is making significant investments in expanding the capacity of its ULTEM and EXTEM high heat resin production in order to meet growing demand.
The new production plant in Singapore is due to come on-stream in the first half of 2021, making SABIC the only high heat resin producer with manufacturing capability in all regions.

SABIC is a global chemical company, employing over 540 people across two sites in Teesside. Its Wilton site is located on Wilton International, one of the UK’s leading process manufacturing sites.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Asahi Kasei has decided to expand its plant for the artificial suede LamousTM in Nobeoka, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan, by four million m2/year, increasing the total production capacity to 14 million m2/year upon completion in 2021, said the company.

Dyed by Italian company Miko, LamousTM is sold under the brand name DinamicaTM in Europe. Lamous™ is a premium artificial suede featuring a unique three-layered microstructure. Because of its luxurious smooth texture and flexibility in design as well as superior environmental characteristics, the material can be found worldwide in a wide variety of applications including automotive interiors, furniture upholstery, IT accessories, or apparel. Sold in markets around the world, Lamous™ is enjoying particularly strong demand growth in auto-motive interiors and IT accessories. With the capacity expansion, Asahi Kasei will further strengthen its supply capabilities in this growing market.

The production at the plant in Nobeoka, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan, is currently undergoing a capacity increase from six million m2/year to ten million m2/year. Starting from the second half of fiscal year 2019 (April 2019 – March 2020), the capacity will be further increased from then ten million m2/year to 14 million m2/year. The start-up of the plant with maximum capacity is scheduled for the second half of fiscal year 2021 (April 2021 – March 2022).

Koushiro Kudou, President of the Strategic Business Unit “Performance Products” at Asahi Kasei comments: “Asahi Kasei is determined to contribute to a more sustainable society. In Europe, Lamous™ is dyed by Italian company Miko and marketed under the brand name Dinamica™ mainly as material for automotive interiors. Partly made of recycled polyester, Lamous™ is processed with water-based polyurethane, making it a rather eco-friendly material. With our sustainable products and technologies, our Lamous™ business will further contribute to the growing market for artificial suede.”

The three-layer structured LamousTM is made of front, back, and core layers. They are three-dimen-sionally entangled with microfibers, and the core layer is composed of a fine, specially-woven fabric called “scrim,” which improves strength and dimensional stability. Impregnation with water-based polyurethane imparts a soft and highly flexible texture.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said state-run Saudi Aramco's talks with Reliance Industries to buy a minority stake in the Indian conglomerate's refining assets have not stalled, reported Reuters.

"The two companies, Reliance and Aramco, are talking with a lot of goodwill, with good intention," al-Falih told Reuters in an interview on Thursday.

Reliance, controlled by Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani, operates the world's biggest refining complex with capacity to process 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil at Jamnagar in western India.

State-owned Aramco, the world's biggest oil producer, plans to boost investment in refining and petrochemicals to secure new markets for its crude amid a recent demand slowdown.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that talks between the companies had hit a roadblock as Reliance was keen on a higher valuation.

But Falih, who met Indian oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan in New Delhi on Thursday, said he was 'optimistic' that a deal between the two companies would work out.

"We still see daylight. We will announce the terms when they are concluded," he said.

Aramco and the United Arab Emirates' national oil company ADNOC teamed up with state-run Indian refiners last year in a plan to build a 1.2 million barrel per day refinery.

But the plan has faced delays as farmers refused to surrender land, forcing the Maharashtra government to find a new location.

India has invited Saudi Arabia to help build its strategic petroleum reserves, Pradhan tweeted after his meeting with Falih.

Pradhan asked Saudi Arabia to continue to ensure balance in oil markets, and raised concerns over disturbances in the Strait of Hormuz affecting the movement of crude and gas tankers.

Saudi is the second biggest oil supplier to India after Iraq.

Falih said the kingdom will supply additional oil to India if required. New Delhi has suspended purchases of Iranian oil from May, under pressure from U.S. sanctions against Tehran's nuclear programme.

As MRC wrote previously, in October 2018, Saudi Aramco signed a long-term deal with Zhejiang Rongsheng to supply crude oil to the Chinese company’s new refinery in eastern China.

Saudi Aramco is an integrated oil and chemicals company, a global leader in hydrocarbon production, refining processes and distribution, as well as one of the largest global oil exporters. It manages proven reserves of crude oil and condensate estimated at 261.1bn barrels, and produces 9.54 million bbl daily. Headquartered in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, the company employs over 61,000 staff in 77 countries.

Reliance Industries is one of the world's largest producers of polymers. Thus, the company produces among others polypropylene, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride.
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