TPC chemical plant that caught fire to close for extended period

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A Texas TPC Group petrochemical plant, still burning on Monday after a series of explosions last week that injured three and prompted thousands of evacuations, will be out of operation for an extended period, according to a letter to workers viewed by Reuters.

TPC Group Chief Executive Edward Dineen told the plant’s about 175 workers they would be paid through year-end but the facility which makes chemicals used in synthetic rubber and gasoline, would close "for an extended period," the Friday letter to staff said.

A TPC spokeswoman was not immediately available to discuss Dineen’s message.

The Port Neches, Texas, site has been burning for six days after an explosion that injured three workers and prompted the evacuation of about 60,000 residents over worries storage tanks could ignite and explode. The fire was contained and officials allowed residents to return to their homes on Friday.

By end of the year, "if not sooner, we hope to have a better handle on the situation at (Port Neches), including recovery team needs and potential rebuild team needs," Dineen said in his letter to workers.

Federal and state investigators have began probing the blasts and ensuing blaze.

Dineen wrote the Houston-based company has just begun the process of working with its insurance carriers on claims from the explosions and fire. The cause remains unknown, he wrote.

Records from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the state’s pollution regulator, show it began investigations of the plant in September 2014 after the company failed to meet carbon monoxide limits between 2011 and 2013. Those investigations have remained open into this year.

TPC received citations from the commission for failure to meet pollution limits on units, failure to maintain required equipment and maintain proper records between 2014 and 2019.

But the regulator rated the company’s performance at the Port Neches site as "satisfactory," according to a compliance history report provided by the agency on Monday.

The company and fire officials said on Monday there have been no new injuries, air monitoring continues to show no health hazards, and the fire "continues to be contained."

Workers are checking nearby properties for fallout from the fire and TPC insurance representatives are visiting properties damaged by the initial explosion, which could be felt miles away.

In addition to the company’s staff, another 50 people work at the plant, but are employed by other companies who contract with TPC to provide services such as maintenance of equipment.

Located adjacent to the Sabine Neches River, which is part of the Sabine Neches Waterway, TPC's Port Neches plant can produce more than 900 million lb (426,000 mt) of butadiene and raffinate a year, according to the company's website. The source familiar with company operations said the site has two butadiene lines with capacities of 166,000 mt/year and 260,000 mt/year. The MTBE unit at this site produces up to 400,000 mt/year.

Butadiene is one of the feedstocks for the production of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS).

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, in Asia, the falling prices of feedstocks for ABS production have been pushing prices of material down in the Russian market. LG Chem's import prices for November quantities were as follows for Russian buyers: natural ABS - at USD1,400-1,420/tonne FOB Korea, black ABS - at USD1,610-1,630/tonne FOB Korea, white ABS - at USD1,640-1,660/tonne FOB Korea. December prices may drop by another USD30-50/tonn.
Natural grades of Korean ABS went down to Rb138,000-143,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, in the domestic market in mid-November, whereas black ABS was offered at Rb156,000-160,000/tonne and white ABS - at Rb158,000-163,000/tonne CPT Moscow , including VAT.

Headquartered in Houston, TPC was acquired in 2012 by private equity groups First Reserve and SK Capital.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- US-based Conventus Polymers said on Monday that it has opened a Mexican subsidiary based in Guadalajara, said Plasticstoday.

It will offer the company’s product portfolio, including specialty nylons, polycarbonates, polysulfones, PEEK, thermoplastic vulcanizates and custom compounds, to processors and end users throughout the Mexican market.

Conventus has been doing business in Mexico for several years, the company noted. Establishing a legal entity strengthens its position in the Mexican market and allows the company to offer world-class service to both local plastic converters as well as U.S.-based OEMs that it currently supports. “Mexico makes strategic sense for several reasons, including our further commitment to key multinational OEMs,” said John Jorgensen, President of Conventus Polymers.

The Mexican initiative will expand Conventus’ reach into existing strategic markets such as automotive, electrical, industrial and consumer, according to Jorgensen. With a legal operating entity in Mexico, Conventus can offer its international customers import and export capabilities, local inventory and warehousing and local currency transactions, among other services. Conventus will handle all exporting, importing, insurance, customs clearance, duty costs, and freight from port to warehouse to the customer.

Conventus has established warehouses in Guadalajara and Queretaro in addition to its warehouses on the border. A compounding partner performs toll compounding of Conventus-branded products in Queretaro. This tolling arrangement allows Conventus to offer local production with quick turnaround times and minimal freight costs, the company said, adding that it will benefit from lower compounding conversion costs, which will make its products more competitive in the region.

Conventus is selling its same global portfolio of products in Mexico including specialty nylons, polycarbonates, polysulfones, polyetheretherketone (PEEK), thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPVs), and custom compounds.

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, Russia's estimated consumption of polycarbonate (PC) 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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LANXESS has acquired Brazilian biocide manufacturer Itibanyl Produtos Especiais Ltda (IPEL) to further expand its global biocide production network, said the company.

Both companies signed an agreement to this effect on Thursday November 28, 2019. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price. The transaction is still subject to the approval of the responsible antitrust authorities and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2020.

IPEL, with about 100 employees, had sales in the lower double-digit million euro range in 2018. Financial details were not disclosed.

IPEL is focused on biocides and specialty chemicals for the paint and coating industry. Biocides protect materials from infestation, destruction and decay caused by microorganisms. With the acquisition, LANXESS’ material protection products business is reinforcing its global presence and will be in a position to serve its South American customers from a local production facility, the company said. The business was previously represented with production facilities in Europe, the US and Asia.

As MRC informed earlier, LANXESS envisages an extensive range of potential applications for blow-molded components made from technical plastics in automobiles.

LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 7.2 billion in 2018. The company currently has about 15,500 employees in 33 countries and is represented at 60 production sites worldwide. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing and marketing of chemical intermediates, additives, specialty chemicals and plastics. LANXESS is listed in the leading sustainability indices Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI World and Europe) and FTSE4Good.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A fire broke out on Wednesday at an oil refinery operated by oil producer Gazprom Neft in the Russian region of Omsk, the RIA news agency cited emergency services as saying, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

According to RIA Novosti, which cite sources in emergency services, the fire occurred in a butylene tank. Its area was 150 square meters. The fire was assigned the third difficulty level.

"A minor fire in the tank capacity removed for repair was liquidated at 16:49 (Omsk time)," the press service said. There are no injuries. The company continues to operate normally, the incident did not affect the production program of the plant.

The atmosphere of the atmosphere is monitored by a mobile laboratory at the Omsk Oil Refinery.

As MRC informed earlier, Gazprom Neft and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) have entered into a Framework Agreement on Strategic Cooperation. The companies will explore opportunities for implementing joint projects in the upstream and downstream sectors, as well as in information technologies, artificial intelligence, and other areas.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,589,580 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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shell Singapore is due to restart its naphtha cracker in Bukom Island this week following a two months maintenance shutdown since the beginning of October 2019, reported CommoPlast.

Thus, this cracker was taken off-stream for the turnaround on 1 October 2019.

The cracker is able to produce 960,000 tons/year of ethylene and 550,000 tons/year of propylene.

As MRC informed earlier, in March 2019, Mammoet safely completed a critical lift at Shell’s Pennsylvania Chemicals Project in Potter Township, utilizing its MSG80 to hoist a 2,000 ton quench tower into position. The facility is the first major US project of its kind to be built outside of the Gulf Coast region in 20 years. Once operational, the facility will boast an ethane cracker and three polyethylene units, and is expected to employ up to 600 employees.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,724,670 tonnes in the first ten months of 2019, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market in January-October 2019 totalled 1,066,520 tonnes, up by 7% year on year. Supply of block copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymer) and homopolymer of propylene (homopolymer PP) increased, demand for statistical copolymers (PP random copolymer) decreased.

Royal Dutch Shell plc is an Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the biggest company in the world in terms of revenue and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors". Shell is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading.
MRC