Exports of injection moulding PET chips from Belarus up 40% in eight months

MOSCOW (MRC) - Export deliveries of injection moulding PET chips from Belarus in January-August increased by 40% compared to the same period last year and amounted to 10,000 tonnes against 7,800 tonnes year on year, according to MRC DataScope.

Exports of injection moulding PET in August from Belarus decreased by 41% to 1,000 tonnes from 1,800 tonnes in July. There were no practically exports of PET from the country last August.

Deliveries to Russia amounted to 43% (4,700 tonnes) in January-August from the total exports against a share of 67% (5,200 tonnes) in the same period last year. The share of exports to Russia from Belarus in August reached 59% (600 tonnes), in July it amounted to 29% (500 tonnes).

Export deliveries of injection moulding PET chips from Belarus in January-July increased by 28% compared to the same period last year and amounted to 9,940 tonnes against 7,760 tonnes year on year.

At the same time, export of injection moulding PET from the country in July almost doubled - from 1,010 tonnes to 1,840 tonnes. In July of the previous year, exports shipments of PET chips were 710 tonnes.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of polyethylene (PE) into Kazakhstan increased to about 110,100 tonnes in January-August 2019, up 3% compared with the same time a year earlier. Shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) increased, reported MRC analysts.

PE imports to Kazakhstan were 11,500 tonnes in August 2019, compared to 20,700 tonnes a month earlier, local companies reduced their purchases of HDPE in Uzbekistan. Total PE imports into the country were 110,100 tonnes in January - August 2019, compared with 107,100 tonnes in the same time a year earlier. LDPE and LLDPE shipments increased, whereas demand for high density polyethylene (HDPE) subsided.

The structure of PE imports by grades looked the following way over the stated period.

August imports of HDPE to Kazakhstan decreased to 8,400 tonnes against 17,300 tonnes a month earlier, local companies almost halved the purchase of bimodal polyethylene in Uzbekistan, and the delivery of HDPE from Turkmenistan was suspended. Thus, last year's overall HDPE imports exceeded 86,000 tonnes, down by 2% year on year.

August LDPE purchases by local companies decreased to 1,400 tonnes from 2,200 tonnes in July, local companies decreased their purchasing of PE in Russia. Overall LDPE imports into Kazakhstan totalled about 15,800 tonnes over the stated period, up by 29% year on year.


Purchasing of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) by local companies was 8,300 tonnes in the first eight months of 2019, compared to 6,900 tonnes a month earlier.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- McDermott International has announced that it has been awarded a contract by Saudi Aramco and Total Raffinage Chimie (Total) for their joint venture (JV) Amiral steam cracker project at Jubail, Saudi Arabia, according to Chemweek.

Amiral is a JV in which Aramco holds 62.5% and Total the rest. The plant, designed to produce 1.5 million metric tons/year (MMt/y) of ethylene, will be one of the world's largest mixed-feed crackers.

As part of the contract, McDermott's Lummus Technology will provide licensing and engineering services for its olefins technology, low-pressure recovery, pygas hydrotreating, CDMtbe methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) production technology using catalytic distillation, CDIB back cracking of MTBE to produce high-purity isobutylene and methanol, and BASF’s butadiene extraction process. In addition, Lummus will provide its proprietary Short Residence Time cracking furnaces.

Aramco and Total launched their USD5-billion Amiral JV project in October 2018. The steam cracker will be fed with a mixture of 50% ethane and refinery off-gases. It will supply ethylene to a downstream 1 MMt/y polyethylene manufacturing complex and other petrochemical products. The project aims to fully exploit operational synergies with the adjacent refinery, owned by Satorp, another JV between Aramco and Total. Third-party investors, including Daelim and Ineos, will locate plants at the value park adjacent to Amiral with a combined investment of USD4 billion. A final investment decision is expected in 2021.

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.

Saudi Aramco is an integrated oil and chemicals company, a global leader in hydrocarbon production, refining processes and distribution, as well as one of the largest global oil exporters. It manages proven reserves of crude oil and condensate estimated at 261.1bn barrels, and produces 9.54 million bbl daily. Headquartered in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, the company employs over 61,000 staff in 77 countries.

Total S.A. is a French multinational oil and gas company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world with business in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. The company's petrochemical products cover two main groups: base chemicals and the consumer polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene) that are derived from them.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Nghi Son Refinery & Petrochemical (NSRP) has undertaken a planned shutdown at its Polypropylene (PP) unit early this week, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Vietnam informed that the company has started turnaround at the unit on October 22, 2019. The unit is expected to remain shut till end-November, 2019.

Located at Nghi son, Vietnam, the PP unit has a production capacity of 400,000 mt/year.

As MRC reported before, NSRP shut its PP unit on 21 June, 2019, owing to technical issues. The exact duration of the shutdown could not be ascertained.

We also remind that Vietnam’s Nghi Son oil refinery officially began commercial production from 14 November 2018, following months of tests. The USD9 billion refinery is 35.1 percent owned by Japan’s Idemitsu Kosan Co, 35.1 percent by Kuwait Petroleum, 25.1 percent by PetroVietnam and 4.7 percent by Mitsui Chemicals Inc.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, 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) -- The Competition Commission of India has approved Saudi Aramco's planned purchase of a 70% stake in SABIC from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia in a transaction valued at USD69.1-billion, as per Apic-online.

The acquisition is in line with Aramco's long-term strategy to drive growth through an enhanced downstream portfolio by boosting global participated refining capacity to 8-million to 10-million b/d by 2030 from 4.9-million b/d currently. Of that capacity, 2-million to 3-million b/d will be converted into petrochemical products, Aramco earlier explained.

Aramco said it has no plans to acquire the remaining 30% publicly traded shares in SABIC. An expected closing date was not given.

As MRC informed before, negotiations between Indonesian state energy firm PT Pertamina and Saudi Aramco over a joint venture to upgrade Pertamina’s Cilacap refinery have been extended further until the end of this month.

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.

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.

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) ranks among the world's top petrochemical companies. The company is among the worldпїЅs market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.
MRC