Trinseo drops sale of German PC business

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo SA has decided against the divestment of its polycarbonate (PC) resin operations in Stade, Germany, reported PlasticsNewsEurope with reference to the company CEO and president Frank Bozich.

The Bervyn, Pennsylvania-based supplier of plastics, synthetic rubber and latex binders disclosed in May that it was evaluating "strategic alternatives" for the PC business in northern Germany, which is Trinseo’s only polycarbonate manufacturing facility globally.

"Our primary goal of this evaluation was to ensure that we have a reliable and cost-effective supply of high-quality polycarbonate for our higher margin compounding businesses, which consumes approximately 40% of our polycarbonate production," explained Bozich during an earnings call 4 Nov.

After exploring "numerous options", the company concluded that the best option was to remain in operation at the site, which would offer "significant structural and raw material cost savings."

The savings, according to Bozich, will be a significant contributor to the USD20-30m savings that the company identified in a recent restructuring measure.

The move will also better support Trinseo’s growing sales to the higher margin medical and consumer electronics applications.

The Stade plant, in operation since 1990, includes a polymer production unit and a compounding facility, manufacturing approximately 120 polycarbonate products for various applications, according to the Trinseo website.

The plant, according to Trinseo has roughly 3% of total global capacity, and has to compete with increasing supply from China at a time of low demand.

As MRC informed before, Trinseo and its affiliate companies in Europe last announced a price increase for all polycarbonate (PC) grades in September 2019. Thus, effective September 3, 2019, or as existing contract terms allow, the contract and spot prices for the products listed below increased as follows:

- CALIBRE PC resins - by EUR100 per metric ton.

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.

Trinseo is a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber. Trinseo's technology is used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires. Formerly known as Styron, Trinseo completed its renaming process in 1Q 2015. Trinseo had approximately USD4.6 billion in net sales in 2018, with 16 manufacturing sites around the world, and approximately 2,500 employees.
MRC

ExxonMobil chemical plant in Baytown back to normal after upset

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Exxon Mobil Corp’s Baytown, Texas, chemical plant returned to normal operations on Tuesday after a malfunction in the polypropylene (PP) production area, reported Reuters with reference to sources familiar with plant operations.

Exxon spokeswoman Sarah Nordin declined to discuss the status of individual units at the Baytown complex, but said the company continues to meet its contractual commitments.

Exxon’s adjoining 560,500-barrel-per-day (bpd) Baytown refinery was unaffected by a transformer malfunction in the chemical plant, the sources said.

As MRC wrote previously, on 24 September 2019, ExxonMobil Corp shut its 369,024 barrel-per-day (bpd) crude oil refinery in Beaumont, Texas, because of flooding from Tropical Storm Imelda. Exxon earlier that day shut the Beaumont chemical plant, which adjoins the refinery. The company operates a cracker with a capacity of 830,000 mt of ethylene and 195,000 mt of proplyelen per year, low density polyethylene (LDPE) plant with a capacity of 236,000 mt per year and linear low density polyethylene plant with a capacity of 727,000 tonnes per year.

We also remind that in September 2019, ExxonMobil announced plans to spend GBP140 million over the next two years in an additional investment program at its Fife ethylene plant (UK), which has a capacity of more than 800,000 t/y.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,589,580 tonnes in the first nine months of 2019, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. 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.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world's oil and about 2% of the world's energy.
MRC

Senege resumed PET production after scheduled maintenance works

MOSCOW (MRC) - Senege New Polymers Plant resumed PET production in early November after a period of planned shutdown, as per ICIS-MRC Price Report.

Earlier it was reported that scheduled maintenance works at this enterprise with a capacity of 100,000 tonnes/year started on 8 October.

Price offers for spot buyers from the producer last week ranged roubles (Rb) 86,000-88,000/tonne, CPT Moscow, including VAT.

Spot prices of PET from the producer in October were at the level of Rb84,000-86,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT.

Senege (part of the Europlast group) is one of four Russian food PET plants. The total capacity of the plant is 100,000 tonnes/year.
MRC

PBF restarts hydrotreater early

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PBF Energy began restarting the cat feed hydrotreater at its 190,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Chalmette, Louisiana, oil refinery, a day ahead of schedule, reported Reuters with reference to sources.

PBF had planned to begin the restart of the 45,000-bpd cat feed hydrotreater, which was shut on Oct. 7 for a catalyst change, on Tuesday, the sources said.

The catalyst change on the hydrotreater is running about a week behind schedule, the sources said.

PBF spokesman Michael Karlovich declined on Monday to discuss operations at the refinery.

PBF continues to raise the production level on the 10,000-bpd Coker 1 that the company restarted last week for the first time in nine years, the sources said on Monday.

As MRC informed before, in September 2019, ExxonMobil announced plans to spend GBP140 million over the next two years in an additional investment program at its Fife ethylene plant (UK), which has a capacity of more than 800,000 t/y.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,589,580 tonnes in the first nine months of 2019, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. 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.

PBF Energy Inc. is a petroleum refiner and supplier of unbranded transportation fuels, heating oils, lubricants, petrochemical feedstocks, and other petroleum products. Headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey, the company's refineries include facilities in Chalmette, Louisiana, Toledo, Ohio, Port of Paulsboro in Gibbstown, New Jersey, the Delaware City Refinery in Delaware City, and the former ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance, California. PBF produces a range of products including gasoline, ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD), heating oil, jet fuel, lubricants, petrochemicals and asphalt
MRC

ClearSign receives engineering order from ExxonMobil

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ClearSign Combustion Corporation, an emerging leader in industrial combustion technologies that improve energy and operational efficiency while dramatically reducing emissions, has announced that the company has received a Purchase Order from ExxonMobil to perform early engineering and installation planning regarding a trial installation of the company’s ClearSign Core process burners at one of their Gulf Coast refineries, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

This order is the next step in the process for the Company to showcase ClearSign Core technology’s best-in-classNOx emissions and for ExxonMobil to assess applicability across its process heater fleet. The engineering follows the previously announced qualification program that the Company performed at their State-of-the-Art Seattle R&D facility. That testing was an evaluation over a broad range of typical conditions, including variations in fuel heating values, turndown, and excess air.

"We are delighted and encouraged by this highly significant order, and the ongoing engagement and interest from ExxonMobil," said Jim Deller, Ph.D, CEO of ClearSign. "This engineering order is one of the final steps prior to qualifying our ClearSign Core process burner technology for use in an ExxonMobil refinery, and is a significant milestone for our company in the process of demonstrating our technology with a supermajor at their facility. This is a culmination of months of thorough evaluation and coordination between our team and the Research and Engineering team at ExxonMobil. The specific site and location has been selected and we look forward to continuing to support ExxonMobil’s evaluation of our ClearSign Core technology."

As MRC informed before, in September 2019, ExxonMobil announced plans to spend GBP140 million over the next two years in an additional investment program at its Fife ethylene plant, which has a capacity of more than 800,000 t/y.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,589,580 tonnes in the first nine months of 2019, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. 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.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world's oil and about 2% of the world's energy.
MRC