Kazanorgsintez to shut its LDPE production for turnaround on 26 September

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Kazanorgsintez (part of TAIF Group) will begin shutting down its low density polyethylene (LDPE) production for a scheduled turnaround on 26 September, according to ICIS-MRC Price Report.

The plant's sources said the outage at some LDPE lines will last until 24 October 2019.

The plant's overall annual LDPE production capacity is 225,000 tonnes.

As reported earlier, Kazanorgsintez gradually took off-stream its 3rd LDPE line on 10-12 April, 2019. The outage was long and lasted for almost one month. Kazanorgsintez began gradually resuming its operations at its 3rd LDPE line since 5 May, and the restart had been fully completed by 12 May. The third line's production capacity is 140,000 tonnes/year.

PJSC "Kazanorgsintez" (part of TAIF Group) is one of Russia's largest plants. Kazanorgsintez produces 40% of overall Russian polyethylene (PE) and is the country's largest exporter. To date, the plant produces PE, polycarbonate (PC), PE pipes, phenol, acetone, bisphenol A. Kazanorgsintez is Russia's only PC producer. It manufactures a total of 170 items of products. Kazanorgsintez's annual output is 1.6 million tonnes. The plant is Russia's largest producer of high density polyethylene (HDPE). The plant's annual HDPE production capacity is 540,000 tonnes and its annual LDPE capacity is 225,000 tonnes.
MRC

MOSCOW (Market Report) -- Poliom (joint venture of SIBUR and Gazprom Neft) shut down its polypropylene (PP) production for a scheduled turnaround, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

Market participants said on 10 September, Poliom took off-stream its PP production for the scheduled maintenance, which will take a little more than two weeks. The plant's annual production capacity is 230,000 tonnes.

It is also worth noting that Ufaorgsintez also intends to shut its production capacities for a scheduled turnaround on 17 September, the outage will last for 12 days. Nizhnekamskneftekhim's production with an annual capacity of 210,000 tonnes is expected to be shut for slightly over than a one-week maintenance in late September.

Poliom, one of the largest PP producers in Russia, started its operations in 2013. Poliom was formed as a joint venture of such companies, as Gazprom Neft (25%), SIBUR (25%) and the Titan Group of Companies (50%), in 2014. The plant’s capacity is 218,000 tonnes of high-tech products per year, the assortment includes about 100 grades of PP. The propane-propylene fraction, which comes from the Omsk Oil Refinery Gazprom Neft, is the main feedstock for the plant's production. SIBUR provides distribution of finished products in the market of the Russian Federation and the CIS countries. The plant is certified according to international standards. The best developments and technologies are used at Poliom to ensure a zero-waste production cycle.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Late resumption after maintenance of two Russian low density polyethylene (LDPE) plants in the second half of the month led to price increases. LDPE prices continued their upward trend in the first decade of September, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

Angarsk Polymers Plant and Gazprom neftekhim Salavat's LDPE production capacities were shut for maintenance in late June-early July, the turnarounds were scheduled to last for 30 days. But due to technical issues, these two producers finished their maintenance works with a great delay, which caused tight supply of LDPE in the second half of August and price rises. Shutdowns for turnarounds were also scheduled simultaneously at three plants in September, this factor has begun to put pressure on prices since the first days of the month, but the price increase was small in the first decade.

The plant's customers said Angarsk Polymers Plant had resumed production after a long turnaround only by the end of the first decade, with its capacity utilisation being reduced during the month. Due to a shortage of ethylene, Gazprom neftekhim Salavat resumed its LDPE production in early September, having virtually been idle for two months.

Tomskneftekhim took off-stream its production capacities for a two-week maintenance on 5 September. Ufaorgsintez will shut some of its production capacities for a one-week maintenance from 17 September, and Kazanorgsintez will begin shutting down its production from 26 September, the turnaround at some lines will last until 24 October.

A number of market sellers' supply of LDPE was somewhat tight, but there was no excitement because of this. Most converters were in no hurry to build up additional stocks and made purchases as per their current needs.

At the same time, a slight shortage led to higher prices for some grades. Prices of Russian 158 grade LDPE have grown to Rb83,000-85,500/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, since the beginning of the month. Prices of 153 grade polyethylene (PE) were in the range of Rb91,500-94,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT. Prices of 108 grade LDPE virtually did not go up, and the material was sold at Rb80,500-83,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indian Oil Corp has taken off-stream its naphtha cracker for a planned turnaround, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in India, informed that, the company has started turnaround at the cracker, in early-September, 2019. The cracker is slated to remain off-line, for a period of around one month.

Located in Panipat, in the northern Indian state of Haryana, the cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 857,000 mt/year and propylene capacity of 425,000 mt/year.

As MRC reported before, Indian Oil witnessed a massive blast in its refinery at Panipat, Haryana. A domestic source informed then that the blast took place in the naphtha cracker of the refinery in the afternoon, on 22 January 2018. One contractual employee of IOCL was reportedly killed in the accident while 5 others were injured.

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.

Indian Oil Corporation Limited, or IndianOil, is an Indian state-owned oil and gas corporation with its headquarters in New Delhi, India.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Evonik Venture Capital has invested in a 3D-printing start-up in China that makes implants for neuro and spine surgery, said company.

The technology enables faster recovery and fewer post-operation checks for patients and less surgical risk for doctors. Evonik is the lead investor in a high single-digit million-euro round of fundraising for Shanghai-based Meditool.

“This is our first direct investment in China and our first direct investment after initiating our second venture capital fund this year,” said Bernhard Mohr, head of Evonik Venture Capital. “Meditool is a good example of how venture capital is helping Evonik secure access to disruptive technologies."

Meditool has developed its own hardware and software systems. The software can read and process images directly from commonly used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography scan (CT) devices. A readily printable 3D model is generated by the software and sent to the printer. The implants are 3D printed with a high-performance polymer supplied by Evonik called Polyetheretherketone (PEEK).

“Meditool’s technology pays directly into our strategy of expanding in high-tech applications for our additive manufacturing materials,” said Thomas Grosse-Puppendahl, head of the Evonik’s innovation growth field Additive Manufacturing. “Medical applications are of particular interest and our high performance polymers have already been proven as a reliable implant material in other applications such as dental."

Evonik is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. The focus on more specialty businesses, customer-oriented innovative prowess and a trustful and performance-oriented corporate culture form the heart of Evonik’s corporate strategy. They are the lever for profitable growth and a sustained increase in the value of the company. Evonik benefits specifically from its customer proximity and leading market positions. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world. In fiscal 2018, the enterprise with more than 32,000 employees generated sales of €13.3 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of €2.15 billion from continuing operations.
MRC