CPC announces new manager at its Pasadena Plastics Complex

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chevron Phillips Chemical announces that Gary Piana, plant manager in Pasadena, Texas, will be transitioning to a new role as plant manager in Baytown, Texas, said Bicmagazine.

Chad Jennings, olefins technical manager at the company’s corporate office in The Woodlands, Texas, has accepted the position as plant manager in Pasadena, Texas.

Having spent the last three years as Pasadena’s plant manager, Piana is leaving the facility with the best safety and environmental record its achieved in decades. Known for his active roles in the Pasadena community, Piana will remain chairman of the board of directors of the East Harris County Manufacturers Association until his term expires; however, he will resign from the board of directors of the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce and the chamber’s legislative affairs committee.


“We’d like to thank Gary for the leadership he has shown in the community during these past three years,” said Bryan Canfield, vice president of manufacturing at Chevron Phillips Chemical. “Our relationships in the Pasadena area are very important to us and Gary has made that a top priority."

Prior to his current appointment, Jennings served as plant manager for Ras Laffan Olefins Company in Qatar, operations manager for S-Chem Jubail Chevron Phillips in Saudi Arabia, and then assumed the role of turnaround manager, where he led the maintenance and contract organization of more than 2,500 contractors. Jennings also has held various engineering and superintendent positions at the company’s Sweeny/Old Ocean facilities in Brazoria County.

Jennings has a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Tennessee Tech University. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Susanne, and their children, Sydney and Ethan. They enjoy church activities, traveling, and supporting their children in sports and music pursuits.

After his transition into his new role, Jennings will serve on the board of directors of the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce and attend the Pasadena Community Advisory Committee meetings on behalf of Chevron Phillips Chemical’s Pasadena Plastics Complex.

As MRC informed earlier, Chevron Phillips restarted tail gas compressors at its 1.725 million tonne/year ethylene/propylene plant in Cedar Bayou, Texas, US. The shutdown on 29 September resulted in two days of emissions. The unit has returned to normal operation.

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

Helm to inrease share of propylene from Schwedt

MOSCOW (MRC)--Helm will increase the volume of propylene it markets from the PCK refinery at Schwedt in Germany by more than 100,000 tonnes from 1 January, said the company.

An additional shareholder of PCK Schwedt had awarded Helm with the “exclusive marketing and logistic services from one of the most modern refineries in Europe”.

Benjamin Kraatz, head of the propylene department at Helm AG, said: “We are very pleased with this development. The increase in volume will further strengthen our reliability and flexibility towards our partners. Thanks to Helm's excellent logistics and supply chain coordination, we are well equipped to provide the best possible service to our suppliers and customers.”

In January 2019, Helm started to market a “major share” of propylene produced from Rosneft’s German refineries, of which the PCK Schwedt refinery is one. The others are the MIRO refinery in Karlsruhe and the Bayernoil refinery in Vohburg.

Propylene is the main feedstock for producing polyprolypele (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, 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.

Helm AG is a Hamburg, Germany based family company established in 1900. HELM is one of the world’s largest chemicals marketing companies. The Company secures access to the world’s key markets through its specific regional knowledge and over 100 branches, sales offices and participations in over 30 countries. As a multifunctional marketing organization HELM is active in the chemicals industry (Feedstocks and Derivatives), in the crop protection industry, in active pharmaceutical ingredients, pharmaceuticals and in the fertilizer industry. Helm AG has a total of 1,521 employees.

MRC

Lotte Chemical Titan starts maintenance at PP plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Lotte Chemical Titan has take off-stream its polypropylene (PP) plant for a turnaround, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Malaysia informed that the company has undertaken a planned shutdown at the plant on October 2, 2019. The plant is slated to remain shut for around two weeks.

Located at Pasir Gudang, Malaysia, the PP plant has a production capacity of 200,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote before, in September 2018, Lotte Chemical Titan successfully began commercial operations at its new PP plant in Pasir Gudang, Johor, Malaysia. The 200,000-t/y facility is known as PP3. The cost of the project was not given.

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.

Lotte Chemical Titan produces Malaysia's most comprehensive portfolio of olefins and polyolefins which contribute to the enhancement of everyday life. Lotte Chemical Titan's production site in Malaysia consists of eleven process facilities, two co-generation plants and three tank farms. They are located on 2 sites in Pasir Gudang and Tanjung Langsat in the state of Johor. In 2006, Lotte Chemical Titan acquired PT Lotte Chemical Titan Nusantara, Indonesia’s first and largest polyethylene plant in the country. This acquisition boosted the polyolefins capacity by approximately 50%, thus making the company one of the largest producers in South East Asia. Lotte Chemical Titan was acquired by Lotte Chemical Corp., forming part of the Lotte conglomerate of Korea, in 2010. The company thus became one of Lotte Chemical Corp.’s largest overseas subsidiaries.
MRC

Marquis Energy to cut ethanol production rates

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Marquis Energy will cut ethanol production rates at its 100 million gallons-per-year plant in Necedah, Wisconsin, Chief Executive Officer Mark Marquis told Reuters, the latest company to announce output cuts amid weaker margins, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The company will continue to run its 400 million gallons-per-year Hennepin, Illinois, plant at full production, he added.

The move comes after President Donald Trump’s administration this month decided to grant exemptions from the nation’s biofuel laws to 31 refineries. The decision infuriated ethanol producers who blamed the Trump administration for bailing out the oil industry while U.S. farmers are suffering due to trade tariffs and low prices.

“When we heard they issued 31 SREs (Small Refinery Exemptions )... it just devastated the industry,” Marquis said.

The nation’s largest ethanol producer, POET, announced on Tuesday it was cutting production at its plants, blaming the waivers for the move.

Biofuel supplier World Energy announced last week that the company will stop production and furlough employees at facilities in Georgia, Mississippi and Pennsylvania because of the SRE decision.

The EPA said in a statement on Tuesday there was “zero evidence” that the refinery waivers have hurt demand for ethanol, which biofuels producers dispute.

Refining margins to produce ethanol in the Corn Belt are negative, falling on Tuesday to USD-0.04 a gallon, below last year’s level of USD0.04 a gallon for this time of year, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.
MRC

Gazprom and SIBUR to assess gas processing and petrochemical projects in Tatarstan and Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area


MOSCOW (MRC) -- Gazprom and SIBUR get down to assessing gas processing and petrochemical projects in the Republic of Tatarstan and Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area, said the company.

On the margins of the 9th St Petersburg International Gas Forum SIBUR and Gazprom have signed two roadmaps to promote cooperation between the two companies on large-scale investment projects in the realm of gas processing and petrochemistry.

The documents were issued in furtherance of the Cooperation Agreement signed in September 2019 at the 5th Eastern Economic Forum.

The first roadmap envisages completion of feasibility studies for projects involving transportation of ethane-containing gas from the deposits of the Nadym-Pur-Taz region and construction of a gas processing plant in the Republic of Tatarstan.

The second roadmap deals with the diagnostics, geotechnical investigations and construction cost estimates required for completion of the Novy Urengoy Gas Chemical Complex project in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area.

Based on the results of the roadmap activities, the parties will decide on further cooperation in project implementation.

As it was informed earlier, SIBUR subsidiary BIAXPLEN has acquired a 50% stake in the European BOPP film producer Manucor. Manucor is a leading European BOPP (biaxially oriented polypropylene) film producer, with a single production site of 100,000 tonnes/year in Italy. BIAXPLEN is a subsidiary of Russian petrochemical company SIBUR, and Russia’s largest BOPP film producer.

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.

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