LyondellBasell starts up fifth production line at PP compounding plant in Germany

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell has arted up a new, fifth production line at its polypropylene compounding plant in Knapsack, Germany capable of producing 25 kt/yr. With this, capacity of the Knapsack facility is over 200 kt/yr, making the site "the world’s largest polypropylene compounding facility", according to Plastemart.

Lightweight polypropylene materials produced by LyondellBasell are used in applications like automobiles and electrical appliances. The company said automotive OEMS are using the materials because it helps them to comply with European Commission rules on reducing CO2 emissions in new vehicle designs.

"Our polypropylene materials are helping to increase fuel efficiency and lower CO2 emissions by aiding in the light weighting of automobiles," Frank Noeltgen, Senior Director APS Business Europe, said in a statement. "The development of electric vehicles where components are needed for battery packs and under-the-hood applications is expected to support this trend."

The polypropylene compounding plant in Knapsack is operated by LyondellBasell’s Advanced Polymer Solutions (APS) global business. 12 new jobs were created with the opening of the new line.

As MRC informed previously, in late September 2019, LyondellBasell has declared a force majeure on PP supplies from its Carrington, UK facility. The news could not be confirmed directly by the company while the reason for the force majeure was not disclosed at the time of press. LyondellBasell’s Carrington plant is able to produce 210,000 tons/year of PP.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, 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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Phillips 66 returned the crude distillation unit (CDU) and vacuum distillation unit (VDU) to production at its 253,600-barrel-per-day (bpd) Alliance, Louisiana refinery, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing with reference to sources.

The 250,000-bpd CDU and 65,000-bpd VDU were knocked out of production on Oct. 2 when a pump failed on the CDU, the sources.

Phillips 66 did not reply to a request for comment.

Units supplied by the CDU and VDU are increasing their production levels, the sources said. A return to normal operations has been hindered because crude oil leaked into the refinery’s sewer and drainage systems following the pump failure, according to the sources.

As MRC wrote before, US-based Phillips 66 remains open to developing another ethane cracker for its Chevron Phillips Chemical (CP Chem) joint venture, the refiner's CEO said in March 2018.

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) -- Oil refiner Jiangsu Eastern Shenghong Co. has issued a green bond worth 1 billion yuan (USD140.60 million) to fund a petrochemical complex, the latest Chinese company to use clean financing to develop polluting fossil fuels, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The non-public offer is the largest single green corporate bond issued by a privately owned firm in China and will pay a 6% annual interest rate, the company said in a statement to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

Chinese coal, oil and gas producers are allowed to use green financing to pay for clean technology and efficiency upgrades, but regulators have been under pressure to bring China’s rules closer in line with international standards that ban such kinds of funding.

Green financing allows firms to gain access to funds from a growing number of investors now unwilling to support unsustainable and polluting industries.

However, the proceeds of Shenghong’s bond will be used to fund an oil refinery capable of processing 16 million tonnes per year of crude used as a feedstock for a petrochemical plant due to start operations in 2021, the official People’s Daily said, citing a company official on Wednesday.

The plant’s green credentials derive from its energy efficiency, which will exceed national standards, the paper said.

China’s private refiners have spent heavily to build new giant petrochemical complexes amid a push by Beijing to boost high-value added chemical production.

Another independent oil refiner, Rongsheng Petrochemical, tried to issue a green bond of up to 4 billion yuan that had secured approval from the securities regulator but scrapped that plan in June citing market volatility.

China issued USD21.8 billion in green bonds in the first half of 2019, up 62% on the year, but less than half was aligned with international standards, according to the Climate Bonds Initiative, which promotes green bond standards.

According to a review of financial data, Chinese financial institutions provided at least $1 billion in green financing to coal-related projects in the first six months.

The Shanxi Luan Group, one of China’s biggest coal firms, was allowed to issue a 3 billion yuan green bond in June, with the proceeds earmarked for a project aimed at generating power from high-sulfur coal.

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) -- Zhong An United Coal Chemical Co has undertaken an unplanned shutdown at its linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) units, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the company has halted operations at this unit owing to technical issues on October 6, 2019. The unit is likely to remain off-line for about one week.

Located at Huainan, Anhui province, China, the LLDPE unit has a production capacity of 145,000 mt/year.

As MRC reported earlier, Zhong An United Coal Chemical Co restarted its LLDPE unit following an unplanned outage on August 24, 2019. The plant was shut owing to technical issues on August 10, 2019.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, LLDPE shipments to the Russian market increased in the first seven months of 2019 by 8% year on year to 234,130 tonnes. Local producers increased their production by 24%.

Zhongan United Coal Industry Chemical Co. Ltd. mines, processes, manufactures, and distributes coal products. The company produces brown coal products, bituminous coal products, hard coal products, coking coal products, and other related products. Zhongan United Coal Industry Chemical markets its products throughout China.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Aramco, the world’s biggest oil producer, is expected to file its IPO prospectus by the end of the month, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.

The prospectus will reportedly first be published in Arabic on Oct. 25 and then in English two days later, according to a timeline seen by the Journal.

The state-owned oil enterprise will list its shares on Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul exchange, as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s economic reform plan. The crown prince anticipates listing 5% of the company in total domestically and internationally by 2020 or 2021. If the Saudi government decides to move forward with the listing, 1% to 2% of Aramco’s shares will be listed domestically by late November or early December, people familiar with the matter said.

The crown prince has indicated that he wants a valuation of USD2 trillion, though analysts and Aramco officials have valued Aramco at closer to USD1.5 trillion.

The Aramco IPO was delayed in 2018, reportedly over Saudi officials’ concerns about public scrutiny of the company’s finances. A drone and missile strike in September temporarily knocked out more than half of Saudi Arabia’s oil output, though officials stressed at the time that the Aramco IPO scheduling was not impacted.

As MRC informed earlier, in the early October, Saudi Aramco restored full oil production and capacity to the levels they were at before attacks on its facilities on Sept. 14.

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.

Saudi Aramco, officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a Saudi Arabian national oil and natural gas company based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco"s value has been estimated at up to USD10 trillion in the Financial Times, making it the world"s most valuable company. Saudi Aramco has both the largest proven crude oil reserves, at more than 260 billion barrels, and largest daily oil production.
MRC