Polief is not expected to resume PTA production this month

MOSCOW (MRC) - Polief is not expected to resume terephthalic acid (PTA) production by the end of November, as per ICIS-MRC Price Report.

Because of this Russian producers do not want to cut spot prices, and even slightly increased them. However, there were no signals of a possible shortage of Russian-made PET. Contract buyers continued to receive Russian material on average at Rb75,000-78,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT.

Spot prices from Russian producers were in the range of Rb82,000-88,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT.

Earlier it was reported about an accident at Polief, which happened on 9 October. Due to the collapse of the concrete tank, about 8 tonnes of untreated sewage spilled onto the territory of the plant and adjacent. A criminal case has been instituted on this fact regarding a violation of the rules for the treatment of environmentally hazardous substances and wastes. Investigation preliminary estimates environmental damage at 44 million roubles.

As MRC previously reported Polief plant suspended sales in the spot market after force majeure and focused on fulfilling of contractual obligations.

Polief launched the production of terephthalic acid (PTA) in Blagoveshchensk in September. The modernisation of the production of terephthalic acid (PTA) at Polyef was completed in mid-August. The volume of consumption of PTA in the Russian market is about 500,000 tonnes per year. Thus, the reconstruction of the existing production at Polief with an increase in the production capacity of the product from 272,000 tonnes to 350,000 tonnes per year will significantly replace imports. SIBUR began the reconstruction of the production of PTA in Blagoveshchensk in December 2017.

Polief JSC (Blagoveshchensk, Republic of Bashkortostan) is the only producer of terephthalic acid and the largest supplier of polyethylene terephthalate in Russia. The capacity for the production of PTA after modernisation is 350,000 tonnes per year, PET - 219,000 tonnes per year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ceyhan Polipropilen Uretim AS, a joint venture of Ronesans Holding and Algeria’s state-owned Sonatrach SPA, has recently let a contract to Honeywell UOP LLC to provide process technology for propylene production at a grassroots petrochemical complex in the Ceyhan Mega Petrochemistry Industry Zone of Ceyhan, Turkey, reported Oil&Gas Journal.

As part of the contract, Honeywell UOP will license its proprietary C3 Oleflex technology for the new propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit, which will be equipped to produce 457,000 tonnes/year of polymer-grade propylene for production of polypropylene (PP) at the complex, the service provider said.

Alongside technology licensing, Honeywell UOP also will provide customized basic engineering design, services, equipment, catalysts, and adsorbents for the plant.

Once completed, the PDH plant will be Turkey’s first.

The new unit will enable Ceyhan Polipropilen Uretim to manufacture polypropylene domestically, reducing Turkey’s dependence on imports from manufacturers in the Middle East and Western Europe. Demand for polypropylene in Turkey - which accounts for half the total demand for PP in the region - is expected to rise at about 2.5%/year over the next decade, Honeywell UOP said.

The PDH plant will reduce Turkish PP imports by 25%, as well as offset about USD13 billion in imported petrochemicals, representing a third of Turkey’s foreign trade deficit in manufacturing.

In 2017, Turkey imported more than 2 million tonnes of polypropylene, according to the service provider.

Ceyhan Polipropilen Uretim, which was formed early this year, plans to begin production at its new USD1.2-billion, 450,000-tpy PP plant in 2023, according to a Dec. 3, 2018, release from Ronesans Holding.

As MRC wrote before, Sonatrach's petrochemicals joint venture with Total has selected Honeywell UOP's C3 Oleflex technology for its proposed 565,000 tonne/year polymer-grade propylene project in Arzew, Algeria. The catalytic dehydrogenation technology converts propane into propylene.

Propylene is a feedstock for producing polyprolypele (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, the estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 976,790 tonnes in January-September 2019, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Teijin Ltd has recently started operations at its compounding plant and a related R&D facility in Ayutthaya, Thailand to address the rising demand for new compounds in the ASEAN region, driven by economic development and growth in population, according to PlasticsNesEurope.

Marking Teijin’s third resin-related R&D hub in Asia, the new technical centre will collaborate with R&D units in Japan and China to develop compounds particularly for the automotive and E&E sectors.

In its statement, Teijin said it was positioning the new technical center as a development hub for the ASEAN region in order to to strengthen product development capabilities and increase focus on the fast-growing Chinese and ASEAN markets.

Teijin is currently producing compounds at its facilities in Japan and China and through subcontractor factories across the ASEAN region.

The new 10-kilotonnes-per-annum plant in Thailand will improve the company's production capacity to meet that growing demand more quickly.

The EUR11.3m facility, according to Noboru Yamanishi, general manager of Teijin’s resin & plastic processing business unit, will offer materials which will help reduce weight and enhance functionality of next-generation cars and communication device.

"We aim to contribute to the further development of the region by collaborating proactively with ASEAN customers and partner companies in order to provide innovative products that meet diverse needs," he added.

As MRC informed before, by end 2015, Japan's Teijin shut down its polycarbonate (PC) resin plant in Singapore and put the industrial facility on Jurong Island up for sale through an expression of interest. The Singapore plant haв 225,000 t/y of PC capacity.

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, Russia's estimated PC consumption rose in in the first three quarters of 2019 by 11% year on year to 61,000 tonnes (54,800 tonnes a year earlier). Consumption in the injection moulding sector grew in the first nine months of 2019 by 10% year on year to 7,900 tonnes from 7,200 tonnes a year earlier.

Teijin is a technology-driven global group offering advanced solutions in the areas of sustainable transportation, information and electronics, safety and protection, environment and energy, and healthcare. Its main fields of operation are high-performance fibers such as aramid, carbon fibers & composites, healthcare, films, resin & plastic processing, polyester fibers, products converting and IT. The group has some 150 companies and around 17,000 employees spread out over 20 countries worldwide.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China’s top oil and gas producer, PetroChina, aims to produce 25 million tonnes of crude oil per annum and 42 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas at its Changqing field by 2020, reported HellenicShippinNews with reference to the Gansu provincial government backed media reports, citing a company spokesman.

The spokesman said that the Changqing field also set a target of churning out 28 million tonnes per annum of crude and 45 bcm of gas by 2025.

Changqing, in the Ordos basin in Inner Mongolia, is China’s biggest gas field.

PetroChina in September said in a statement that it found additional proved original oil in-place of 358 million tonnes at the Qingcheng oilfield in Gansu province.

As MRC informed earlier, in April 2019, LyondellBasell announced that PetroChina will use the LyondellBasell Hostalen "Advanced Cascade Process" technology to produce 1,100,000 metric tons per year of high density polyethylene (HDPE) capacity. Licensor selection had been done by China HuanQiu Contracting & Engineering Co., Ltd. (HQC), a wholly owned subsidiary of PetroChina. The low-pressure slurry process technology will be used for a 300,000-mt/year HDPE unit to be built in Korla City, Xinjiang Province, a 400,000-mt/year plant in Jieyang City, Guangdong Province and a 400,000-mt/year plant in Yulin City, Shaanxi Province in the P.R. China.

We also remind that PetroChina Co, Asia’s largest oil and gas producer, reported a sharp fall in third-quarter profit on Wednesday, dragged down by weaker global energy prices and slowing growth in its domestic gas market.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's September estimated HDPE consumption fell to 70,570 tonnes from 108,320 tonnes a month earlier. Russian producers reduced their output due to maintenance works, whereas imports were high partially because of an increase in US shipments. The estimated HDPE consumption totalled 862,170 tonnes in January-September 2019, up by 7% year on year. HDPE imports increased by 47%, whereas production dropped by 5% due to a long period of maintenance works at three production capacities.

PetroChina Company Limited, is a Chinese oil and gas company and is the listed arm of state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation, headquartered in Dongcheng District, Beijing. It is China's biggest oil producer.
MRC