Repsol declares FM for products shipped from its cracker in Portugal

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Spanish energy group Repsol has issued a force majeure on petrochemicals supplies out of its steam cracker unit in Sines, Portugal, according to S&P Global with reference to a company spokesperson.

"A technical problem has forced us to declare force majeure in all our base petrochemicals. We are currently carrying out all actions to minimize the impact of this situation, hoping to restore production as soon as possible," the spokesperson said.

It was unclear when the force majeure was declared and how long it would remain in place.

The steam cracker produces 410,000 mt/year of ethylene and 215,000 mt/year of propylene. At the site, the company also has a butadiene unit, with total capacity of 45,000 mt/year.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polyprolypele (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,255,800 tonnes in the first seven months of 2019, up by 9% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, the estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 796,120 tonnes in January-July 2019, up by 11% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.

Repsol S.A. is an energy company based in Madrid, Spain. It carries out upstream and downstream activities throughout the entire world. It has more than 24,000 employees worldwide. It is vertically integrated and operates in all areas of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading.
MRC

LDPE imports to Ukraine down by 1.5% in Jan-Jul 2019

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Overall imports of low density polyethylene (LDPE) into the Ukrainian market decreased in the first seven months of 2019 by 1.5% year on year to 45,400 tonne, as per MRC's DataScope report.

This figure was at 46,100 tonnes in January-July 2019.

At the same time, in July 2019, LDPE imports grew by 40.3%, exceeding 8,000 tonnes, compared to 5,700 tonnes a month earlier. Imports jumped during the stated month because of the concerns about the introduction of special duties from 1 August. Thus, some companies significantly increased their shipments from Russia.
MRC

Nizhnekamskneftekhim raises September PS prices by Rb2,000/tonne for Russian market

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Nizhnekamskneftekhim (part of the TAIF group) has increased its September selling prices of high impact polystyrene (HIPS) and general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) by Rb2,000/tonne for most Russian buyers, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

However, some market participants reported a roll-over of prices. But all the interviewed largest buyers reported this month's price increase.

Amid the deficit of polystyrene (PS), selling prices of a number of sellers rose by more than Rb2,000/tonne.

Thus, September prices of Nizhnekamskneftekhim's GPPS for injection moulding and extrusion were in the range of Rb90,500-95,500/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, and for foaming - at Rb88,500-93,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, whereas HIPS prices were at Rb95,500-100,500/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT.

PJSC "Nizhnekamskneftekhim" (NKNK) - one of the largest Russian manufacturers of petrochemical products. The industrial complex of the company includes ten major production plants and ten departments (Railway Transport, Ethylene trunk, etc..). NKNKh produces more than 120 types of chemical products, including synthetic rubber, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, surfactants. Nizhnekamskneftekhim is a member of TAIF Group of Companies.
MRC

Major petrochemical companies form Cracker of the Future Consortium and sign R&D agreement

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Six world's major petrochemical companies in Flanders, Belgium, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and the Netherlands (Trilateral Region) have announced the creation of a consortium to jointly investigate how naphtha or gas steam crackers could be operated using renewable electricity instead of fossil fuels, as per Borealis' press release.

The Cracker of the Future consortium, which includes BASF, Borealis, BP, LyondellBasell, SABIC and Total, aims to produce base chemicals while also significantly reducing carbon emissions. The companies have agreed to invest in R&D and knowledge sharing as they assess the possibility of transitioning their base chemical production to renewable electricity.

Base chemicals, which include ethylene, propylene, butadiene and BTX (benzene, toluene, xylenes), are produced in steam crackers and mainly transformed into plastics. These are used for lightweight components in vehicles, improving passenger safety and comfort and reducing fuel and emissions. Plastic packaging saves and preserves food from field to table. Overall, polymers make a major contribution to resource and energy efficiency and positively impact society.

Polymers will always be needed, especially in emerging, renewable energy-related technologies, where they are crucial, for instance for wind turbines, solar panels and batteries. The chemical industry has been at the forefront of those innovations and will continue to deliver solutions for a more sustainable future.

Steam crackers represent the principal opportunity for reducing the industry’s greenhouse gas emissions. One option currently under consideration is to electrically heat the cracking furnaces, rather than rely on fossil fuels.

Using electricity produced from renewable sources would significantly reduce cracker emissions. The key challenges in developing electricity-based cracker technology are ensuring that the chosen emissions reduction solution is technologically and economically feasible compared to the current process; that it fits into a future low-carbon value chain; and that it can be implemented in time to meet policy targets. Assuming these challenges are met, developing and implementing electricity-based cracker technology will help the sector maintain sustainable operations while reducing the carbon footprint of its products.

Following the signature of the agreement, the members of the consortium have begun exploring and screening technical options. If a potential technical solution is identified, the parties will determine whether to pursue joint development project(s), including R&D activities that could include a demonstrator for proof of concept in the case of base chemicals.

The collaboration is a direct result of the Trilateral Strategy for the Chemical Industry drawn up by the North Rhine-Westphalian, Flemish and Dutch ministries of economic affairs and the industry associations VCI (Germany), Essenscia (Belgium) and VNCI (Netherlands) to boost the sustainability of the chemical sector. The Trilateral Strategy to "become the world'?s engine for the transition towards a sustainable and competitive chemical industry cluster" was presented to the European Commission in late 2017. Three tables have been set up to elaborate strategy: Energy, Infrastructure and Innovation.

The Innovation Table has three key success factors: technical innovations to enable the energy and feedstock transition, digital transformation to enhance competitiveness, and framework conditions to enhance innovation through cross-border cooperation.

The trilateral region of the Netherlands, North Rhine-Westphalia and Flanders was a logical choice as a European starting point, since the combined region is the largest chemical cluster in the world with annual revenue of EUR180 billion and 350,000 jobs.

The six members of the Cracker of the Future Consortium, chaired by the Brightlands Chemelot Campus (Geleen, the Netherlands), aim to create innovative value propositions in developing sustainable technologies together in line with competition law.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polyprolypele (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,255,800 tonnes in the first seven months of 2019, up by 9% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, the estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 796,120 tonnes in January-July 2019, up by 11% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.
MRC

Versalis shut Dunkirk cracker after fire

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Italy’s Versalis (part of Eni) took its cracker in Dunkirk, France offline due to a fire which broke out at the company’s petrochemical plant, as per NCT with reference to market sources.

It is not yet known how long the unit will remain shut while the company could not be reached for comments at the time of press.

Local media sources also reported that the fire was brought under control with no reported injuries and the company is currently assessing the required repairs.

The cracker has a production capacity of 380,000 tons/year of ethylene and 95,000 tons/year of propylene.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polyprolypele (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,255,800 tonnes in the first seven months of 2019, up by 9% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, the estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 796,120 tonnes in January-July 2019, up by 11% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.

Eni is an Italian multinational oil and gas company headquartered in Rome. It has operations in in 79 countries, and is currently Italy's largest industrial company with a market capitalization of 68 billion euros (USD 90 billion), as of August 14, 2013. The Italian government owns a 30.3% golden share in the company, 3.93% held through the state Treasury and 26.37% held through the Cassa depositi e prestiti. Another 39.40% of the shares are held by BNP Paribas.
MRC