Phillips 66, Bayway Teamsters agree to more talks next week

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Phillips 66 and labor leaders representing workers at its 285,000 barrel per day Bayway refinery in Linden, New Jersey, will resume negotiations next week, reported Reuters with reference to a source familiar with the talks.

However, union workers at the Teamsters Local 877 said they were "preparing for the worst" whether it is a strike or a lockout, and that a date to resume conversations has not yet been decided.

The two sides hit an impasse late last week after failing to agree on changes to the contract expanding the tasks and responsibilities of refinery workers, which some union members deem a safety issue.

A three-year contract was voted down by union members earlier this month, and operations have continued under a 24-hour rolling contract that has been in place since the previous contract expired.

Phillips 66 did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Bayway refinery is the largest in operation in the US Northeast following a fire and series of explosions in June that led to the closure of the 335,000-bpd Philadelphia Energy Solutions facility.

Refining capacity in the region has declined over the years as much of the nation’s refining output now comes out of the US Gulf Coast and Midwest.

The union represents about 500 operators at the Bayway facility, which employs around 800 people, according to the company’s website.

If an agreement is not reached, the unionized refinery workers could be subject to a lockout, leaving the company without access to certain union-trained workers who handle emergency response systems.

However, Phillips 66 said in a previous statement that they "maintain qualified emergency response personnel who are not represented by the Teamsters Local 877."

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 1,436,390 tonnes in the first eight months of 2019, up by 9% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, the PP consumption in the Russian market was 909,260 tonnes in January-August 2019, up by 10% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Linde acquired a minority stake in ITM Power, a British manufacturer of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyzers for the electro-chemical splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen, said the company.

The transaction, which was completed on October 22, provides Linde with a strategic investment in a world leading manufacturer of integrated hydrogen energy solutions.

In addition to its investment, Linde will form a joint venture with ITM Power to implement projects based on ITM Power's technology. By bringing together ITM Power's expertise in PEM electrolysis and Linde's leading engineering procurement and construction experience, the joint venture will target large-scale industrial users, particularly in the metals and glass, electronics, refinery, chemistry and steel industries. In addition to opening new commercial opportunities, the joint venture is expected to create capacity to deliver a higher volume of projects, shorten lead times, improve execution and reduce costs.

"This investment reflects Linde's ongoing focus to deliver sustainable solutions while helping to make our customers more successful", said Dr Christian Bruch, Executive Vice President and CEO Linde Engineering. "The joint venture is an excellent opportunity to combine Linde's world-class engineering capabilities with ITM Power's electrolysis technology."

"The investment from Linde cements the relationship between us and provides ITM Power with a world-leading partner that brings deep expertise in engineering, procurement and construction plus a global customer base", said Dr Graham Cooley, CEO, ITM Power.

As MRC Gazprom announced at the St Petersburg International Gas Forum that it signed into a joint venture contract and an equity investment deal with German firm Linde AG. The joint venture will be responsible for
the planning and construction of industrial facilities for the processing and liquefaction of natural gas in Russia. Gazprom will be responsible in pilot testing before the commissioning of LNG plants.

PJSC Gazprom and PJSC Sibur Holding signed two roadmaps for cooperation for implementing major investment projects in gas processing and gas chemistry. Signed on 3 Oct 2019, the documents follow a coordination
agreement between the companies signed in Sep 2019. LPG and additional volumes of ethane fraction from the Amur gas processing plant to Sibur's future Amur gas chemical complex. Gazprom's Amur plant will include six processing
trains, two of which are scheduled for start-up in 2021. In addition to natural gas, the plant will produce ethane, propane, butane, pentane-hexane fraction, and helium. Sibur separately is developing the Amur complex
construction project, which will be technically affiliated with the Amur plant. The increase in feedstock supplies will allow Sibur to expand design capacities of the Amur complex from 1.5 M tonnes/y of polyethylene to about
2.3 M tonnes/y of polyethylene and 400,000 tonnes/y of polypropylene.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,436,390 tonnes in the first eight months of 2019, up by 9% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, the PP consumption in the Russian market was 909,260 tonnes in January-August 2019, up by 10% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.

Linde is a leading industrial gases and engineering company with 2018 pro forma sales of USD 28 billion (EUR 24 billion). The company employs approximately 80,000 people globally and serves customers in more than 100 countries worldwide. Linde delivers innovative and sustainable solutions to its customers and creates long-term value for all stakeholders. The company is making our world more productive by providing products, technologies and services that help customers improve their economic and environmental performance in a connected world.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Greif, a global leader in industrial packaging products and services, is delighted to announce its investment in a second intermediate bulk container (IBC) production plant in Russia, said the company.

Strategically located on Vorsino Industrial Park in Kaluga, adjacent to Greif’s steel drum production plant, the new hi-tech, food-grade IBC facility covers an area of 5,500 square meters and will allow Greif to double production capacity of IBCs in Russia.

Konstantin Savinov, Director of Operations EMEA Eastern Europe, said: “The opening of a new IBC facility in Russia underlines Greif’s ongoing commitment to the market. Continued investment from local government and multinational corporations, as well as its proximity to several of Greif’s key customers makes Kaluga an attractive region.

"The investment will allow us to better serve our existing customers by offering more flexibility, reduced lead times and lower transportation costs as well as the ability to dispatch combined batches of steel drums and IBCs. It will also mean we have the capacity to secure new contracts, particularly in the food industry, as well as coatings, petrochemicals and specialty chemicals."

Greif opened its first IBC facility in Russia in Kazan in 2007. The company also operates seven steel drum production facilities, the most recent of which was opened on Vorsino Industrial Park in July 2018.

As it was informed earlier, in March 2019, Greif Inc finished its earlier announced acquisition of Caraustar Industries Inc. Greif said that it will be able to reach at least USD45 M in performance improvements and cost synergies within the next 36 months through the incorporation of the previous Caraustar operations into Greif's existing business.

Greif is a global leader in industrial packaging products and services strategically positioned with nearly 300 operating locations situated across over 40 countries.
mrcplast.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Qingdao Lidong Chemical in Shandong province continues to run its paraxylene (PX) plant at about 70% in October, reported S&P Global with reference to a source close to the company's statement, adding that this was also due to poor production margins.

The company lowered its PX operating rate from 90% in August to 70% in early September and has kept this level of capacity utilisation ever since.

The plant has a production capacity of 1 million mt/year of PX and about 270,000 mt/year of benzene.

As MRC wrote before, China's Fuhaichuang Petroleum and Petrochemical, formerly known as Dragon Aromatics, shut one of its two PX lines at Gulei, Fujian province on 14 October also due to poor margins. The company has two lines that both can produce 800,000 mt/year of PX.

PX is a feedstock for the production of purified terephthalic acid (PTA). PTA is used to produce polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which, in its turn, is used in the manufacturing of plastic bottles, films, packaging containers, in the textile and food industries.

According to MRC's DataScope report, Chinese bottle grade PET deliveries to Russia increased 34% in the first eight months of 2019 to 95,600 tonnes. China accounted for 90% of the total imports, compared to 85% a year earlier.
August imports of material from China decreased by 41% to 7,600 tonnes from 12,800 tonnes in July. Jiangsu Sanfangxiang, Yisheng, Wankai and Sinopec were the leading Chinese suppliersof material to the Russian market.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brazilian petrochemical company Braskem SA is considering the sale of up to USD3 billion in bonds, reported Reuters with reference to Brazilian newspaper Valor Economico on Monday.

Citing sources, the paper said Braskem has met with investors in recent weeks and could consider the sale of bonds.

as MRC informed before, Braskem is no longer pursuing a petrochemical project, which would have included an ethane cracker, in West Virginia. And the company is seeking to sell the land that would have housed the cracker. The project, announced in 2013, had been on Braskem's back burner for several years.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,436,390 tonnes in the first eight months of 2019, up by 9% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, the PP consumption in the Russian market was 909,260 tonnes in January-August 2019, up by 10% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.

Braskem S.A. produces petrochemicals and generates electricity. The Company produces ethylene, propylene, benzene, toluene, xylenes, butadiene, butene, isoprene, dicyclopentediene, MTBE, caprolactam, ammonium sulfate, cyclohexene, polyethylene theraphtalat, polyethylene, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
MRC