Tosoh conducts maintenance at VCM unit in Yokkaichi

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Tosoh Corporation has shut its vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) unit for an unscheduled turnaround, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Japan informed that the company took off-stream this plant on September 9, 2019, because of a technical issue. The plant is likely to resume its production after two weeks from its shutdown.

Located in Yokkaichi, Japan, the VCM unit has a production capacity of 250,000 mt/year.

As MRC reported earlier, Tosoh shut its No.1 VCM plant in Nanyo for a maintenance turnaround on October 17, 2018. The plant remained under maintenance until early-December 2018. Located in Nanyo, Japan, the No.1 VCM plant has a production capacity of 250,000 mt/year.

VCM is a feedstock for the production on polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

According to MRC's DataScope report, Imports of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) into Russia totalled 130,100 tonnes in the first eight months of 2019, up by 55% year on year. Imports also increased by 174% year on year to 36,900 tonnes.

The Tosoh Group comprises over 100 companies worldwide with over 12,000 employees and net sales of JPY 743.0 billion (USD 6.9 billion) in fiscal 2017. The group is one of the largest chlor-alkali manufacturers in Asia. Tosoh’s petrochemical operations supply ethylene, polyethylene, and functional polymers, while its advanced materials business serves the global semiconductor, display, and solar industries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BP Plc began a planned overhaul of the small gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) at its 430,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Whiting, Indiana, refinery, said sources familiar with plant operations, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

BP is continuing to increase production levels on the large crude distillation unit (CDU) at the refinery on Wednesday, but will not run the 240,000 Pipestill CDU at full capacity, while the 65,000 bpd FCCU 600 is shut for the overhaul, the sources said.

As MRC informed previously, in November 2018, BP Plc’s trading arm entered a tolling agreement with the owners of an idled oil refinery in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, cementing plans to bring the plant back online six years after it was idled by previous owners. Under BP’s tolling agreement with Limetree Bay Refining LLC, owner of the idled Hovensa refinery, BP will supply the facility with crude and sell its products, low-sulfur fuels that will meet an International Maritime Organization mandate in 2020.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption was 1,081,100 tonnes in the first half of 2019, up by 8% year on year. Deliveries of all PE grades increased. Meanwhile, the estimated consumption of PP in the Russian market totalled 694,210 tonnes in January-June 2019, up by 14% year on year. The supply of propylene block copolymers (PP-block) and propylene homopolymers (PP-homo) increased.

BP is one of the world's leading international oil and gas companies, providing its customers with fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, retail services and petrochemicals products for everyday items.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia's output of chemical products dropped in August 2018 by 3.7% month on month.
Production of basic chemicals increased by 3.4% in the first eight months of 2019, according to Rosstat's data.

According to the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, the largest increase in production volumes on an annualized basis accounted for mineral fertilizers and polymers in primary form. Thus, 255 ,000 tonnes of ethylene were produced in August, compared to 233,000 tonnes a month earlier. Angarsk Polymers Plant and Gazprom neftekhim Salavat shut down their production capacities for maintenance in July. Thus, 2,056,000 tonnes of this olefin were produced in January-August 2019, up by 2.5% year on year.

Benzene production in August amounted to 117,000 tonnes against 108,000 tonnes a month earlier, which was also a result of the shutdowns in Angarsk and Salavat. Overall output of this product reached 968,000 tonnes in the first eight months of 2019, up by 0.5% year on year.

August production of sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) were 111,000 tonnes (100% of the basic substance) versus 97,900 tonnes a month earlier. SayanskKhimPlast and Bashkir Soda Company shut their capacities for scheduled maintenances in July. Overall output of caustic soda totalled 853,900 tonnes over the stated period, compared to 844,500 tonnes a year earlier.

1,939,000 tonnes of mineral fertilizers (in terms of 100% nutrients) were produced in August versus 1,99 mln tonnes a month earlier. Overall, Russian plants produced 16,253,000 tonnes of fertilizers in January-August 2019, up by 3.7% year on year.

Last month's production of polymers in primary form decreased to 734,000 tonnes, up 6.5% from July due to scheduled maintenance works of several manufacturers. Overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 5,668,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by only 3.4% year on year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil has announced plans to spend GBP140 million over the next two years in an additional investment program at its Fife ethylene plant, which has a capacity of more than 800,000 t/y, according to ScottishEnergyNews.

The programme will aim to upgrade key infrastructure and introduce new technologies to significantly improve the plant’s operational reliability and performance. In particular, the impact of flaring is expected to be reduced.

The project is also expected to support around 850 local construction jobs and benefit 40 local suppliers.

Jacob McAlister, plant manager at the Fife ethylene plant, said: "This investment further contributes to the local economy and across Scotland through job creation and procurement contracts."

The program adds to other recent investments that ExxonMobil is making in its UK production assets. In April, the company said it planned to proceed with an expansion at its Fawley refinery and petrochemical plant near Southampton.

This project, which will cost more than ?800 million, will see the addition of a hydrotreater to remove sulfur from diesel, along with a hydrogen plant. Construction is scheduled to start late this year with start-up anticipated in 2021.

A USD75 million project to double capacity of advanced elastomers in Newport, Wales, was also completed in May.

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.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world's oil and about 2% of the world's energy.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Operations were normal last Thursday at Lyondell Basell Industries 263,776 barrel-per-day (bpd) Houston refinery after the closure of the upper Houston Ship Channel by protesters from Greenpeace USA, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing with reference to sources familiar with plant operations.

The refinery has not made plans to cut back production or shut units, the sources said. The refinery has crude on-hand to continue operating for several days.

As MRC reported earlier, Lyondell Basell Industries Houston refinery had a minor upset in steam supply that was corrected quickly and not repeated. Refineries in the Houston area suffered only minor problems in the first night of Tropical Storm Imelda’s passage across the southeast Texas.

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.

LyondellBasell is one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world. Driven by its 13,000 employees around the globe, LyondellBasell produces materials and products that are key to advancing solutions to modern challenges like enhancing food safety through lightweight and flexible packaging, protecting the purity of water supplies through stronger and more versatile pipes, and improving the safety, comfort and fuel efficiency of many of the cars and trucks on the road. LyondellBasell sells products into approximately 100 countries and is the world's largest licensor of polyolefin technologies.
MRC