Lubrizol to restart Rouen plant after fire

MOSCOW (MRC)-- Lubrizol hopes to resume operations at its plant at Rouen in northwest France following a fire last month, said the company.

The precise date for a restart remains unclear. On September 26, a fire impacted Lubrizol production facility in Rouen, France.

Lubrizol’s Rouen site produces lubricant additives used in transportation and industrial applications. Production includes components for engine oils and components for hydraulic fluids. The fire and clouds of soot from it impacted Rouen and parts of northern France, raising health and environmental concerns.

The company will provide support for farmers who experienced loss as a result of the fire, and it will provide support for local businesses that were impacted as well as support for cleaning services, among other measures, he said.

The precise cause of the fire remains unclear.

As MRC informed earlier, Lubrizol has launched two thermoplastic polyurethane resins for hot melt adhesives (HMAs). The products belong to the plasticiser-free Pearlbond 300 TPU series that stands out for its low activation temperatures and good bonding properties to various substrates.

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.

The Lubrizol Corporation, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is an innovative specialty chemical company that apart from its production develops and supplies technologies to customers in the global transportation, industrial and consumer markets. Lubrizol is providing innovative solutions for its customers high-performance application needs and remains committed to ongoing investment in its CPVC capabilities that support future growth. With headquarters in Wickliffe, Ohio, Lubrizol owns and operates manufacturing facilities in 17 countries, as well as sales and technical offices around the world. Founded in 1928, Lubrizol has approximately 8,000 employees worldwide.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Biofuels groups have filed a petition in the U.S. court of appeals in Washington against the Environmental Protection Agency, challenging the agency’s process for granting refineries exemptions to the nation’s biofuel blending mandates, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The petition, filed by groups such as the Renewable Fuels Association, the American Coalition for Ethanol, and Growth Energy, challenges the EPA’s process for granting waivers to 31 oil refineries for 2018. The biofuels industry has criticized the Trump administration for expanding the number of waivers granted in recent years, claiming the exemptions undercut demand for fuels such as corn-based ethanol.

"We are going to hold the EPA accountable under the law for the damage it has done to rural communities, biofuel producers, and farm families," said Growth Energy Chief Executive Emily Skor.

Since August, when the EPA announced waivers for 2018, the Trump administration has tried to mend fences with the biofuels industry and corn lobby. Last week the EPA proposed a plan to boost biofuels demand that would base biofuel volumes required for blending on exemptions recommended by the U.S. Energy Department. The plan was met by further consternation from industry leaders.

"EPA continues to implement the Renewable Fuel Standard program in accordance with the Clean Air Act, taking into consideration additional direction from Congress, recommendations from Department of Energy, and relevant court decisions," EPA spokesman Michael Abboud said.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) is planning to take one of its HDPE lines off-stream for routine maintenance, according to CommoPlast with reference to market sources.

The number 2 unit is expected to remain offline from 27 November to 16 December 2019.

The No. 2 HDPE unit has an annual capacity of 300,000 tons.

The other two units with a combined capacity of 500,000 tons/year are not affected by the shutdown.

As MRC wrote previously, PTT started commercial operations at its new 400,000 mt/year metallocene C6 linear low density polyethylene plant at Map Ta Phut, Thailand, in the first quarter of 2018.

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.

PTT Global Chemical is a leading player in the petrochemical industry and owns several petrochemical facilities with a combined capacity of 8.45 million tonnes a year.
mrcplast.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sasol’s earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) for its fiscal year 2019 dropped 45%, said the company.

Cost over-runs at the Lake Charles cracker and petrochemicals complex, due to poor weather, worker issues, defective components, contract issues and other problems have seen the forecast cost of the project bloat from USD9bn to USD12.6bn-12.9bn.

Stating that the debacle has “tarnished” the company’s image, Sasol’s board is set to remove Sasol joint CEOs Bongani Nqwababa and Stephen Cornell as of 31 October, to be replaced by chemicals division executive vice president Fleetwood Grobler.

Base chemicals EBIT for fiscal year slipped to a R1.43bn (USD98.2m) loss compared to a USD918m gain during 2018, while performance chemicals earnings plummeted to a R7.04bn loss compared to a positive R7.85bn during the previous year.

Sasol’s gross margin dropped two percentage points as a softer macroeconomic environment impacted on demand, particularly for chemicals, which the company claims is a temporary dip.

Total expenditure amounted to R56bn, with R30bn of that siphoned into the Lake Charles project, raising company gearing to 56.3% as of the end of the fiscal year, significantly above market guidance of 44-49%.

As MRC wrote previously, Sasol's world-scale US ethane cracker reached beneficial operation on 27 August 2019. Sasol’s new cracker, the heart of our Lake Charles Chemicals Project (LCCP), is the third and most significant of the seven LCCP facilities to come online and will provide feedstock to our six new derivative units at our Lake Charles multi-asset site.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,255,800 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.

Sasol is an international integrated chemicals and energy company that leverages technologies and the expertise of our 31 270 people working in 32 countries. The company develops and commercialises technologies, and builds and operates world-scale facilities to produce a range of high-value product stream, including liquid fuels, petrochemicals and low-carbon electricity.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sasol is planning to start up its low density polyethylene (LDPE) new plant before end of 2019, according to CommoPlast.

Based in Lake Charles, United States, the plant has a production capacity of 420,000 tons/year. The start up has been delayed since beginning of the year due to technical issues.

As MRC reported earlier, Sasol's world-scale US ethane cracker reached beneficial operation on 27 August 2019. Its new cracker, the heart of our Lake Charles Chemicals Project (LCCP), is the third and most significant of the seven LCCP facilities to come online and will provide feedstock to our six new derivative units at our Lake Charles multi-asset site.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated LDPE consumption totalled 381,710 tonnes in the first eight months of 2019, up by 6% year on year. Some producers reduced their LDPE exports, whereas imports increased. Oversupply of LDPE vanished in the Russian market in September because of the outages simultaneously at two plants. However, this factor did not lead to a price rise.

Sasol is an international integrated chemicals and energy company that leverages technologies and the expertise of our 31 270 people working in 32 countries. The company develops and commercialises technologies, and builds and operates world-scale facilities to produce a range of high-value product stream, including liquid fuels, petrochemicals and low-carbon electricity.
MRC