India imposes anti-dumping duties on PTA from Thailand & South Korea

MOSCOW (MRC) -- New Delhi?India's Finance Ministry has imposed definitive anti-dumping duties on purified terephthalic acid (PTA) from Thailand and South Korea, reported Apic-online with reference to the Hindu Business Line.

The duties were put into place after Reliance Industries Ltd. and MCPI Private Ltd. filed petitions seeking review investigations.

Based on recommendations of the Designated Authority in the Commerce Ministry in its sunset review findings, the Revenue Dept. has imposed a definitive anti-dumping duty of USD45.43 per ton on PTA exported by Indorama Petrochem Ltd. and TPT Petrochemicals PCL. For all other Thai exporters, an anti-dumping duty of USD62.55 per ton has been imposed.

An anti-dumping duty of USD27.32 per ton has been im-posed on PTA produced by Hanwha General Chemical Co. and exported by Hyosung TNC Corp.

For PTA exported by Taekwang Industrial Co., India has imposed anti-dumping duties of USD23.61 per ton. For all other South Korean exporters, an anti-dumping duty of USD78.28 per ton has been imposed.
MRC

Cheniere to become the second-largest LNG operator by 2020

MOSCOW (MRC) -- According to Judy Clark, Director, Project Engineering, Cheniere, the LNG operator will become the second-largest LNG operator by capacity by 2020, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

At present, Cheniere accounts for approximately half of US LNG export capacity in operation or under construction. These facts were discussed during the Rice Global Engineering and Construction Forum (RGF) roundtable. Held monthly on the Rice University campus in Houston, Texas, the RGF roundtable discusses the latest challenges and opportunities facing the contracting side of the global engineering and construction industry.

Ms. Clark’s discussion focused on several challenges that Cheniere faced in developing two LNG sites—Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi—and a sneak peek at the expansion of the Corpus Christi LNG terminal. By 2020, Cheniere expects to have more than 31 MMtpy of LNG capacity operational. This includes five liquefaction trains at Sabine Pass and two liquefaction trains at Corpus Christi. The company is also developing a sixth train at Sabine Pass—FID greenlighted and fully permitted, with a total capacity of 4.5 MMtpy—and a third train at Corpus Christi (completion by 2022), along with an 9.5-MMtpy mid-scale LNG project.

During the construction of Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi, Cheniere faced several engineering and uncontrollable challenges. One of the major challenges was uncontrollable market changes. “When Sabine Pass was built, it was originally set up as an import terminal,” said Mr. Clark, “the onset of US shale gas production completely changed market dynamics for the US LNG industry. This shift led to additional investments in adding new liquefaction trains to the existing facility."

Another major factor was Mother Nature. Both sites were in the path of three hurricanes: Rita, Ike and Harvey. However, neither site succumbed to any major damage. The Corpus Christi site only lost approximately one week of construction time during Hurricane Harvey.

The Corpus Christi site is also being expanded beyond three liquefaction trains. Cheniere plans to begin Phase 3 work (e.g., CCL Stage 3), which includes the construction of seven midscale LNG trains. FID on the project is scheduled for 2020, with operations to begin in 2025. Once completed, Trains 1–7 will have a total capacity of 9.5 MMtpy.
MRC

CEO says more than 20 groups interested in buying refineries

MOSCOW (MRC) -- More than 20 potential bidders are interested in the refineries that Brazil’s state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA plans to sell, the company’s chief executive officer said, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

CEO Roberto Castello Branco said more than 20 groups are interested in the four refineries in a first phase of privatizations.

Two are in the northeastern states of Pernambuco and Bahia, and two are in the southern states of Parana and Rio Grande do Sul. Four more refineries will be put on the block in the second phase.

As MRC informed earlier, 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.

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.MRC

Indorama Ventures acquires Sinterama

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL), a global chemical producer, has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Sinterama S.p.A, a leading Global polyester automotive interiors and high performance colored yarns manufacturer, as per IVL's press release.

The acquisition comprises five production sites in four countries in Italy, Brazil, China and Bulgaria, the last being a new market for IVL. It has a combined capacity of around 30,000 tonnes/ annum. Europe imports over 275 KT of yarns annually and Sinterama can grow and strengthen its position as local supplier. The company currently employs 889 people.

The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter 2019, subject to regulatory approvals.

Sinterama holds leading positions in the highly specialized applications in Europe, with an excellent reputation and proven technology. The company is vertically integrated from chips to yarns and offers a vast range of colored polyester yarns for the automotive, furnishing, apparel and technical applications. Since its inception in 1968, Sinterama has offered the most innovative solutions and invested in cutting-edge product research. It has substantial accumulated knowledge developed over a long period of time. This will provide IVL comprehensive and innovative solutions for automotive and home applications to better serve customers and meet customers’ needs in the future.

This acquisition is a perfect fit for IVL. Sinterama has a strong production base, providing an excellent platform to integrate IVL’s existing specialties business. The highly complementary portfolio, customer base and geographical footprint of the two companies will open up new market opportunities and enhance value to our customer by further enabling them to leverage IVL’s existing manufacturing capabilities and supply chain.

Mr. Aloke Lohia, Group CEO of Indorama Ventures said: "This acquisition marks an important milestone in our strategic alliance with Sinterama, which has been a partner in Trevira since 2011 and is the industry partner of choice for high-value filament yarns. While we have achieved significant growth in this space over the past years, we believe Sinterama will be the catalyst for us to consolidate and advance our position in this highly demanding and exclusive market.

Sinterama brings along a very experienced team of highly respected professionals who together with IVL management make a formidable combination of managerial excellence.

Bringing Sinterama’s experience and network of strategically located facilities into IVL will enable us to provide best-in-class offerings for customers. We are now better positioned than ever to meet the needs and exceed the expectations of customers on a truly global scale."

As MRC wrote earlier, in February 2019, IVL commenced production of purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) at plants it acquired from Artlant PTA in Portugal and EIPET in Egypt, respectively. IVL completed the acquisition of the 700,000-t/y PTA facility, located at the Sines industrial complex, in Late 2017.

Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited, listed in Thailand, is one of the world's leading petrochemicals producers, a global manufacturing footprint with 59 sites in 20 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. The company's portfolio is comprises necessities and high value-added (HVA) categories of polymers, fibers, and packaging. Indorama Ventures has approx. 19,000 employees worldwide and consolidated revenue of USD 10.7 billion in 2018. The company is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI).
MRC

Lotte Titan resumes production at PE units

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PT Lotte Titan Nusantara, Indonesia, has restarted its Linear Low Density Polyethylene (LLDPE) units, at Cilegon, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Indonesia, informed that, the company has resumed operations at the units, on August 12, 2019. The units were shut since August 4, 2019 owing to power failure.

Located in Cilegon, Indonesia, the No. 1, 2 and 3 units have a production capacity of 125,000 mt/year, 125,000 mt/year and 200,000 mt/year respectively.

As MRC informed before, on 17 March, 2017, PT. Lotte Titan Nusantara Indonesia restarted its linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) plant following an unplanned outage. The plant was taken off-stream in end-February 2017 owing to technical issues. Located in Merak, Indonesia, the plant has a production capacity of 200,000 mt/year.

Lotte Chemical Titan produces Malaysia's most comprehensive portfolio of olefins and polyolefins which contribute to the enhancement of everyday life. Lotte Chemical Titan's production site in Malaysia consists of eleven process facilities, two co-generation plants and three tank farms. They are located on 2 sites in Pasir Gudang and Tanjung Langsat in the state of Johor. In 2006, Lotte Chemical Titan acquired PT Lotte Chemical Titan Nusantara, Indonesia’s first and largest polyethylene plant in the country. This acquisition boosted the polyolefins capacity by approximately 50%, thus making the company one of the largest producers in South East Asia. Lotte Chemical Titan was acquired by Lotte Chemical Corp., forming part of the Lotte conglomerate of Korea, in 2010. The company thus became one of Lotte Chemical Corp.’s largest overseas subsidiaries.
MRC