SIBUR and Sinopec to set up nitrile rubber JV in China

MOSCOW (MRC) -- As part of the regular meeting between the Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and the Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China Li Keqiang, SIBUR Holding (SIBUR) and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate in nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) production, according to SIBUR's press release.

The parties to the Memorandum have agreed to set up a joint venture (JV) for the production of nitrile butadiene rubber with a capacity of 50 ktpa in China. SIBUR’s share in the joint venture will be 40% and Sinopec’s 60%.

Pavel Lyakhovich, member of the Management Board and Managing Director at SIBUR, said: "This Memorandum comes as a result of the earlier negotiations between SIBUR and Sinopec around the NBR production project. We have resumed our efforts to set up a JV on the back of strong consumer demand for NBR in China, and we plan to leverage this opportunity to expand our business in the growing market. The combined expertise of SIBUR and Sinopec will help the JV gain a strong foothold in both Russia and China, as well as in other geographies."

Due to high resistance to aggressive agents, NBR is an essential material for various fuel and oil resistant industrial rubber products. It is indispensable for the manufacturing of seals, hoses and bag fuel tanks, and is also used in conveyor belts in food production. Yet another application of NBR is rubberised textile fabrics designed for aggressive environments.

As MRC wrote previously, in early September 2019, SIBUR, the largest petrochemical comples in Russia and Eastern Europe, and BASF, Geman petrochemical major, agreed to closely cooperate on sustainable development to share their best practices. SIBUR held a design session on sustainable development in the petrochemical industry. At the event, BASF shared details on its new sustainability strategy and its integration into the company's overall strategy. The participants were also presented with the company's methods of environmental impact assessment and approach to the circular economy, which embraces opportunities for chemical recycling of plastics, such as the ChemCycling project. With chemical recycling, fossil resources for chemical production can be replaced with recycled material from plastic waste.

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. Meanwhile, 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.

Sinopec Corp. is one of the largest scale integrated energy and chemical company with upstream, midstream and downstream operations. Its principal business includes: exploring, developing, producing and trading crude oil and natural gas; producing, storing, transporting and distributing and marketing petroleum products, petrochemical products, synthetic fiber, fertilizer and other chemical products. Its refining capacity and ethylene capacity rank No.2 and No.4 globally. Sinopec listed in Hong Kong, New York, London and Shanghai in August 2001. Sinopec Group, the parent company of Sinopec Corp., is ranked the 5th in Fortune Global 500 in 2012.

SIBUR is the largest integrated petrochemicals company in Russia. The Group sells its petrochemical products on the Russian and international markets in two business segments: Olefins & Polyolefins (polypropylene, polyethylene, BOPP films, etc.) Plastics, Elastomers & Intermediates (synthetic rubbers, EPS, PET, etc.). SIBUR’s petrochemicals business utilises mainly own feedstock, which is produced by the Midstream segment using by-products purchased from oil and gas companies. More than 26,000 employees working in SIBUR contribute to the success of customers engaged in the chemical, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), automotive, construction, energy and other industries in 80 countries worldwide. In 2018, SIBUR reported revenue of USD 9.1 billion and adjusted EBITDA of USD 3.3 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Arabia's oil supply is fully back online after weekend attacks halved output and the kingdom will achieve 11 million barrels per day (bpd) capacity by the end of September and 12 million bpd by the end of November, reported Reuters with reference to the energy minister's statement.

Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman also told a press conference that oil production in October would be 9.89 million bpd and that the world's top oil exporter would keep full oil supplies to customers this month.

He said Saudi Arabia would keep its role as the secure supplier of global oil markets, adding that the kingdom needed to take strict measures to prevent further attacks.

As MRC reported before, a number of Saudi Arabia's companies, such as Tasnee, Sadara, Advanced Petrochemical and Saudi Kayan, announced a curtailment of feedstock to their petrochemical plants, including polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) facilities, by an average of 30-50% due to the attacks on key Saudi Aramco facilities on Saturday.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Total’s Gonfreville refinery near Le Havre, France, started its scheduled maintenance September 4, reported Hellenic Shipping News with reference to the company's statement.

The works will last around two months. The large-scale maintenance, which takes place once every seven years, follows the maintenance at the petrochemical site which took place last year. Preparations for the turnaround have been going on for the last three years.

As MRC informed before, in 2015, Total, Europe’s third-largest oil company, closed its remaining steam cracker in Carling, in the Lorraine region of eastern France. The cracker, which was shut down on 5 Oct., was the second steam cracker closed at the site. The company shut down its first cracker in 2009. Capacities were not available for either cracker. The closure was part of Total's plan to adapt its Carling petrochemical platform with the development of new activities in the growing polymers and hydrocarbon markets.

And in December 2017, Total inaugurated the new units at its Antwerp integrated refining & petrochemicals platform, which had progressively started up in the previous few months. This event marked the completion of the upgrade program launched in 2013 of one of the largest and most efficient integrated refining & petrochemicals platforms in Europe. Thus, the company invested more than EUR1 B to further improve the competitiveness of this major site located in the heart of Europe's main markets.

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. Meanwhile, 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.

Total S.A. is a French multinational oil and gas company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world with business in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. The company's petrochemical products cover two main groups: base chemicals and the consumer polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene) that are derived from them.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sika has agreed to acquire Crevo-Hengxin, a Chinese manufacturer of silicone sealants and adhesives used in both industry and construction applications, said European-coatings.

Crevo-Hengxin manufactures a broad range of silicone products used for facades, fenestration, insulated glass, interior finishing and other sealing.

With this takeover, Sika is expanding its Target Markets Industry and Sealing & Bonding presence in China and the Asia Pacific region, and is gaining additional silicone technology plus a production footprint. Crevo-Hengxin generates sales of 45 million Euro, with a workforce of 140 employees.

As MRC informed earlier, Sika has opened a new production plant in Central America, located in Palin in the metropolitan area of Guatemala City.

Crevo-Hengxin is a family-owned manufacturer of a broad range of silicone products used for facades, fenestration, insulated glass, interior finishing and other sealing and bonding applications. In addition, the company holds a leading position as supplier of silicones for the growing solar industry. Crevo-Hengxin is located in Changshu, 50 kilometers north of Suzhou.

Operations comprise a production facility, a state-of-the-art R & D Center, a warehouse, and offices.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Daesan integrated refining and petrochemicals complex in South Korea, owned by Hanwha Total Petrochemical, has started its new ethylene production capacities, said the company.

With a USD450 million investment, the site can now produce 1.4 million tons per year of ethylene, an increase of 30%.

This project was launched in April 2017 and is the first in a series of three at the complex. More than USD300 million are being invested to expand polyethylene production capacity by 50% to 1.1 million tons per year by the end of 2019, and nearly USD500 million are being invested to increase polypropylene production capacity by close to 60% to 1.1 million tons per year by 2021.

The three projects take advantage of abundant, cost-advantaged propane feedstock from the shale gas revolution in the United States. With these investments, the Daesan facility will be in a position to capture margins across the ethylene-polyethylene and propylene-polypropylene value chains. The additional production capacity will help meet rapidly growing Asian demand.

These investments and today’s successful start-up of the first project reflect our strategy of meeting growing global demand for petrochemicals by channeling our investments into our world-class complexes and leveraging cost-advantaged feedstock” said Bernard Pinatel, President, Refining & Chemicals, Total.

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.

Hanwha Total Petrochemicals Co., Ltd. is a joint venture between Hanwha General Chemicals and Total S.Aю Both companies own a 50% partnership in the venture. Founded in 2003 as a joint venture between Samsung General Chemicals and Total (as Samsung Atofina; changed name to Samsung Total in 2004), it was sold to Hanwha in 2015.The company manufactures building block chemicals that go into the making of a host of other chemicals needed to make various consumer products. It starts with a naphtha cracker, yielding propylene and ethylene, which are the raw materials in the production of all manner of polymers. Hanwha Total divides its operations in three: polymer production (polyethylene, polypropylene, high- and low-density polyethylene), base chemicals (selling the ethylene and propylene the company doesn't use itself, as well as aromatics used to make the materials that go into synthetic fibers), and oil products
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