INEOS Phenol breaks ground at its world scale Cumene investment at Marl, Germany

MOSCOW (MRC) -- INEOS Phenol has broken ground at its world scale cumene investment in Marl, Germany, said the company.

The new state-of-the-art 750 000 t unit is scheduled to be completed in 2021. Its location will help optimise the efficiency of the plant by integrating raw materials from the refinery and cracker complex. The site also benefits from the Marl harbour waterway connection.

The ceremony was attended by Economy Minister Andreas Pinkwart and local politicians, as well as customers and business partners of INEOS.

INEOS Phenol is the world’s largest producer of phenol and acetone and the largest consumer of cumene as an essential raw material. The construction of the plant will support customer’s ambitions and secure the supply of raw material to the INEOS phenol and acetone plants located in Gladbeck and Antwerp for decades to come.

At the ceremony, Andy Currie, Director of INEOS Capital, said: “INEOS Phenol has been a strong contributor to the INEOS Group for nearly 20 years. The investment here, at Marl in a world scale cumene unit will help underpin the continued success of this business for many more years to come."

Hans Casier, CEO of INEOS Phenol, added: “We are very pleased to be making this important feedstock investment in our European business. It shows a clear commitment by INEOS to its business, customers and suppliers. Our customers should be confident that we are investing in our business to meet their long-term business needs."

Minister Pinkwart said: “The chemical industry is the driver of innovation, it provides essential basics and is imperative for coping with tasks ahead. This new plant will be a fine example of the industry's innovative strength. Today's ground-breaking ceremony is also a sign for the unique ‘Verbund’ structure of our chemical industry in North Rhine-Westphalia. The ‘Verbund’ makes an important contribution to the attractiveness of chemistry in the northern Ruhr area and to the increasing competitiveness of our industry."

Phenol is the main feedstock component for the production of bisphenol A (BPA), which, in its turn, is used to produce polycarbonate (PC).

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, July imports of PC granules and compounds to Russia, excluding deliveries from Belarus, were 2,3400 tonnes, compared to 1,840 tonnes a month earlier and 1,070 tonnes in July 2018. Last month's imports of PC granules, excluding Belarusian shipments, were 1,940 tonnes (extrusion grade PC - 1,290 tonnes, injection moulding PC - 580 tonnes, blow moulding PC - 80 tonnes) versus 790 tonnes in July 2018. In June 2019, imports of PC granules reached 1,350 tonnes. Shipments of PC granules, excluding imports of Sabic material from Belarus, rose in January-July 2019 by 87% year on year to 9,140 tonnes from 4,890 tonnes a year earlier.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- US speciality chemicals company Trinseo SA has completed the acquisition of Dow Chemical’s latex production facilities and related infrastructure at Rheinmunster, Germany, said the company.

The €40m transaction, originally announced in May this year, includes full ownership and operational control of both latex production facilities at Rheinmunster, as well as site infrastructure and services contracts, and approximately 108 employees who have transferred from Dow to Trinseo.

“The completion of this acquisition is directly aligned with Trinseo’s strategy to grow its latex binders business in applications serving the coatings, adhesives and sealants markets, as well as speciality paper,” said Frank Bozich, president and CEO of Trinseo.

The Rheinmunster site, said Bozich, is “well positioned” for future expansion, and is ideally located to serve many of our European customers.

Trinseo aims to grow its latex binders businesses, particularly in applications serving the adhesives and construction industry.

“With these acquired assets, we will further enhance our product offerings to provide advanced solutions and chemistries that are required by our customers in attractive growth segments,” the company CEO added.

The acquisition enhances Trinseo’s production network across Europe – including an existing Trinseo latex production plant in Rheinmunster, which also houses the company’s R&D centre for latex binders, as well as operations in Hamina, Finland; Norrkoping, Sweden; and Terneuzen, The Netherlands.

Trinseo already operates a latex production plant Rheinmunster, in addition to sites in Hamina, Finland; Norrkoping, Sweden; and Terneuzen, The Netherlands.

As it was said earlier, Trinseo styrene unit in Terneuzen, Netherlands remains offline. It was shut in mid August.

As per MRC DataScope, shipments of general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) and high impact polystyrene (HIPS) from Iran to Russia increased in August almost by four times from the previous month, totalling 920 tonnes versus 240 tonnes in July. Imports from Iran were 420 tonnes in August 2018. Producers Artan Petro and Petropaak with the share of 62% and 35%, respectively, accounted for the bulk of shipments from Iran.

Trinseo is a global materials solutions provider and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders, and synthetic rubber.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oil prices fell on fading concerns of supply shortfalls and conflicts in the Middle East after the Sept. 14 attack on Saudi Arabia, but global benchmark Brent posted its biggest quarterly loss this year on demand fears due to the escalating U.S.-China trade war, said Reuters.

Brent crude LCOc1 futures settled at USD60.78, down USD1.13, or 1.8%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures, the U.S. benchmark, fell USD1.84, or 3.3%, to USD54.07.

Brent gained 0.6% while WTI fell 1.9% in September after volatile month where prices spike nearly 20% after the attacks halved Saudi Arabia’s output, but have pared nearly all those gains as output has been quickly restored.

For the quarter, however, global benchmark Brent fell 8.7%, the worst quarterly drop since the fourth quarter of 2018, when prices dropped 35%.

WTI also dropped 7.5% in the third quarter, as concerns that the trade war between the United States and China has plunged global economic growth to its lowest levels in a decade weighed on oil demand growth.

China’s official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) was slightly improved this month, increasing from 49.5 in August to 49.8 in September, but remained below the 50-point mark that separates expansion from contraction on a monthly basis, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.

China, the world’s largest crude importer, warned of instability in international markets from any “decoupling” of China and the United States, after sources said U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration was considering delisting Chinese companies from U.S. stock exchanges.

“The U.S. and China are still far from any type of agreement. The concern is oil demand is not going to be there,” said Kyle Cooper, an oil analyst at IAF Advisors.

Saudi Aramco last week restored full capacity to the level before the attacks on its oil facilities, Ibrahim Al-Buainain, chief executive officer of its trading arm, said on Monday at a conference in the United Arab Emirates.

Aramco’s oil output capacity was restored to 11.3 million barrels per day (bpd) after the attack knocked out 5.7 million bpd of the kingdom’s output, sources told Reuters last week. Saudi officials said Aramco will reach 12 million bpd of capacity by November.

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) -- – Honeywell announced that Diamond Green Diesel will expand its annual production capacity of renewable diesel using Honeywell UOP’s Ecofining™ process technology to meet growing demand for renewable fuels in North America and Europe. With the planned USD1.1 billion expansion, the Norco, La.-based facility will become one of the world’s largest renewable diesel plants, said the company.

Diamond Green Diesel, a joint venture of Valero Energy Corp. and Darling Ingredients Inc, currently is the largest commercial advanced biofuel facility in the United States, producing 275 million gallons per year of Honeywell Green Diesel™, a high-quality renewable fuel. The plant expansion is expected to be completed in late 2021, and will increase the facility’s annual production by nearly 150 percent, to 675 million gallons.

“Demand has steadily increased for renewable diesel in the United States, Canada and Europe as advanced biofuel mandates seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said Jim Andersen, senior business leader of Honeywell UOP’s Renewable Energy and Chemicals business. “With the expansion of its facility using our Ecofining technology, Diamond Green Diesel will continue to meet growing demand for low-carbon fuels, and become one of the largest plants in the world for producing those fuels."

With low carbon mandates in North America and Europe projected to continue driving strong demand and premium pricing for renewable diesel, the expansion will add a second, parallel plant adjacent to the existing facility. With the expansion, Diamond Green Diesel will also produce about 60 million gallons per year of renewable naphtha for the production of gasoline.

The Honeywell Ecofining process, developed in conjunction with Eni SpA, converts non-edible natural oils, animals fats and other waste feedstocks to Honeywell Green Diesel, which is chemically identical to petroleum-based diesel. Honeywell Green Diesel offers improved performance over commercial biodiesel and petroleum-based diesel, and can be used as a drop-in replacement in vehicles with no equipment modifications. It also features an 80 percent life cycle reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to diesel from petroleum, and features a higher-cetane diesel value to provide better engine performance with fewer emissions.

The biomass-based diesel produced by Diamond Green Diesel is a qualified Advanced Biofuel under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Renewable Fuel Standard, which requires a minimum volume of transportation fuels sold in the U.S. to contain renewable fuel as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In addition to Ecofining technology, Honeywell has commercialized the UOP Renewable Jet Fuel Process™, which originally was developed to produce renewable jet fuel for the U.S. military. Honeywell Green Jet Fuel™ produced by this process technology can be blended seamlessly with petroleum-based fuel. When used in up to a 50-percent blend with petroleum-based jet fuel, Honeywell Green Jet Fuel requires no changes to aircraft technology and meets all critical specifications for flight.

As MRC informed earlier, Honeywell announced that PKN ORLEN has licensed the UOP MaxEne™ process, which can increase production of ethylene and aromatics and improve the flexibility of gasoline production.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Aramco has restored full oil production and capacity to the levels they were at before attacks on its facilities on Sept. 14, the chief executive officer of its trading arm, Ibrahim Al-Buainain, said Reuters.

Oil output capacity was restored on Sept. 25, he told a conference in the United Arab Emirates’ city of Fujairah. Oil production was restored to its pre-attack level of about 9.7 million barrels per day or even “a little higher” to replenish inventories, he said.

Saudi Arabia pumped about 9.78 million bpd in August.

“By Sept. 25 we were able to restore all capacity that we had before the attacks,” Al-Buainain said.

The attacks targeted the Abqaiq and the Khurais plants, causing a spike in oil prices, fires and damage that halved the crude output of the world’s top oil exporter, by shutting down 5.7 million bpd of production.

Saudi Arabia has managed to maintain supplies to customers at levels before the attacks by drawing from its huge oil inventories and offering other crude grades from other fields, Saudi officials have said.

Aramco’s oil output capacity was restored to 11.3 million bpd, sources told Reuters last week.

Saudi officials have said Aramco will reach 12 million bpd of capacity by November.

Yemen’s Houthi group claimed responsibility for the attacks but a U.S. official said they originated from southwestern Iran and Riyadh blamed Tehran. Iran, which support the Houthis in Yemen’s war, has denied any involvement in the 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