INEOS Styrolution and Agilyx to build PS chemical recycling facility

MOSCOW (MRC) -- INEOS Styrolution has partnered with post-consumer plastics recycling company Agilyx to build a polystyrene (PS) chemical recycling facility in Channahon, Illinois, US, said Packaging-gateway.

Designed to process 100t of post-consumer PS every day, the new facility will convert the waste into styrene material suitable to use in new polystyrene product manufacturing.

The new facility will use Agilyx’s proprietary chemical recycling technology to break down polystyrene to its molecular base monomers.

With Agilyx’s chemical recycling process, contaminated polystyrene can also be transformed into new, food-grade plastic products or packaging. This encourages circular recycling economy.

INEOS Styrolution Americas Standard Products vice-president Ricardo Cuetos said: “This is an incredibly exciting time to be in this industry.

"Agilyx’s chemical recycling technology is a game-changer to advance the circular recycling pathway of plastics. A benefit of chemical recycling is there is no degradation over multiple cycles. The polymers can continue to create new products over and over again of the same purity and performance of virgin polystyrene.

"This plant will dramatically increase recycling rates in the greater Chicago area, dispelling the myth that polystyrene cannot be recycled. We are thrilled to partner with Agilyx on this project."

Agilyx successfully completed the development programme for INEOS Styrolution with the selection of post-consumer polystyrene feedstock. The styrene product meets INEOS specifications.

The project’s next phase involves the engineering and design of the facility.

As per ICIS-MRC Price Report, Ineos Styrolution"s general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) imports into Russia increased in the first ten months of 2019 by 2 times year on year to 10,600 tonnes. This figure was 4,900 tonnes in January-October 2018. Ineos Styrolution is the largest GPPS supplier to Russia. European material accounted for 45% of the total GPPS shipments over the stated period versus 30% in the first ten months of 2018. However, October Styrolution"s GPPS shipments to the Russian market decreased by more than 2 times to 700 tonnes from 1,500 tonnes a month earlier, the company"s imports into the country were 700 tonnes in October 2018.
MRC

CGT union says refinery production could be halted

MOSCOW (MRC) -- France’s hard-left CGT union said strikes had entered a second day at five refineries, and that while production was not impacted there were no deliveries being made from the affected facilities, reported Reuters.

"We have not called for the halt in production at the refineries. That could happen early next week," Emmanuel Lepine, Secretary General of the CGT petrol branch told Reuters.

As MRC wrote earlier, staff at seven of France's eight refineries joined a general strike Thursday, affecting oil product deliveries. Thus, Total reported difficulties in accessing its terminals at the Gonfreville, Grandpuits, Donges and Feyzin refineries and La Mede biofuels plant Thursday morning. In addition, access had been difficult to the terminals at Portes-les-Valence and Puget-sur-Argens. Total said, with 200 oil terminals in France, supply to its retail stations had not been affected, despite the blockades. At the same time, ExxonMobil, which operates the Gravenchon refinery near Le Havre and the Fos-sur-Mer plant in the south, said Gravenchon had not been hit by the strike, but there had been a minor impact on road traffic due to external blockades around the site.

We also remind that France's Feyzin refinery was in the process of halting units and the steam cracker was running at reduced rates on 9 October, 2019. Local media had reported earlier that the refinery had been halting operations since Monday, 7 October, due to a strike. The company said it regrets the decision by labor unions to call a strike while discussions were ongoing with refinery staff about a planned indefinite closure of a unit due to lower product demand.

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.
MRC

Devon Energy announces agreement with Dow to develop STACK Acreage

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Devon Energy has agreed with chemicals major Dow to jointly develop a portion of Devon’s STACK oil and gas acreage in central Oklahoma, said US energy company.

Under the agreement, Devon will monetise half of its working interest in 133 undrilled locations in exchange for about USD100m, over the next four years, it said.

"Devon’s returns associated with this agreement are expected to be enhanced by lower well costs from focused infill development drilling and midstream incentive rates that lower per-unit operating costs for each new well brought online," it added.

"Dow is a world-class organisation and this mutually beneficial agreement will help us bring forward value in the STACK, while delivering carry-enhanced returns that compete effectively for capital within our portfolio," added Devon CEO Dave Hager.

Devon anticipates no change to its production targets or capital spending outlook in 2020 as a result of this agreement. Activity in 2020 will start with the development of two drilling units in northern Canadian County, where drilling operations are expected to commence mid-year.

With this agreement, Devon will retain 100 percent of its production and cash flow from existing operations in the STACK play. Devon will serve as operator and is responsible for capital allocation and project timing with this agreement.

Vinson & Elkins LLP acted as legal advisor to Devon. Latham & Watkins LLP acted as legal advisor to Dow.

As MRC reported before, Dow Chemical's propylene dehydrogenation (PDH) unit in Freeport, Texas, was offline in October - November, 2019, for a turnaround, said US olefin market participants. Sources said the PDH unit went offline for scheduled maintenance September 26, and the work was expected to last 45-60 days. Originally, sources expected the turnaround to begin in early September, but then learned it had been delayed.

Propylene is a feedstock for the production of polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall PP production rose to about 1,163,200 tonnes in the first ten months of 2018, up by 1.3% year on year. Three producers out of seven reduced the capacity utilisation.

The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation. Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, and synthetic rubber.

Devon Energy Corporation is a leading independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company. Devon's operations are focused onshore in the United States.
MRC

Saudi Aramco shares to start trading December 11

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Aramco shares will start trading on Dec. 11, the Saudi securities exchange Tadawul said in a statement on Friday, reported Reuters.

Saudi Arabia’s state oil giant priced its initial public offering at 32 riyals (USD8.53) per share on Thursday, raising USD25.6 billion and beating Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s record USD25 billion listing in 2014.

The Aramco IPO was launched to raise funds to help diversify the kingdom away from reliance on oil and create jobs for a growing population.

Aramco shares will trade using the symbol 2222 and will have a daily 10% plus or minus fluctuation limit, Tadawul said on its website.

"On the first day of trading only, the opening auction for the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) will be extended for 30 minutes," it added.

As MRC informed before, Saudi Aramco, which temporarily lost half of its oil production following the September 14 attacks on two key oil facilities, is running its local refineries at full capacity and is forging ahead with plans to start up new refineries. The company is also starting up a joint venture refinery in Malaysia next year. According to Aramco's bond prospectus released in April, the refining and petrochemical joint venture with Petronas - the Malaysian national oil company - collectively known as PRefChem, was supposed to start this year.

The PRefChem joint venture includes a 300,000 b/d refinery, an integrated steam cracker with capacity to produce 1.3 million mt of ethylene located in Johor, Malaysia. Aramco was supposed to provide a significant portion of PRefChem's crude supply under a long-term supply agreement. Jazan and PrefChem will help Aramco reach a gross refining capacity of 5.6 million b/d, it said in the prospectus. The company currently owns and has stakes in four refineries abroad with a total refining capacity exceeding 2 million b/d.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,724,670 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.

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.
MRC

PKN Orlen olefin plant extension nearer at hand

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PKN Orlen's Petrochemicals Development Programme is about to reach another milepost. As part of the project to extend the olefin complex in Plock, a contract has been signed for technical consultancy and Project Management Contractor (PMC+) services, as per the company's press release.

It is expected to optimally prepare the project for successful delivery within the allocated budget and schedule.

"We have taken another major step towards the key milestone in our plans to develop the petrochemical business, which is the olefin plant extension. Petrochemicals have enormous potential we are determined to make the most of. Our capital projects to develop the petrochemical area will solidify our position on the European market while providing tangible benefits to the Polish economy, turning it from an importer into a net exporter of petrochemicals," says Daniel Obajtek, President of the PKN Orlen Management Board.

The technical consultancy and PMC+ contract has been signed with Fluor, one of the world’s leading providers of engineering & design services. It guarantees proven, tailored-to-fit solutions designed to support complex projects in the en’ergy and fuel sector. The services will involve end-to-end project management across all functional areas – from managing its timescales, costs, contractors and risks, through ensuring work safety, technical support and supervision of technical design standards, to managing procurement and actual execution. The works will engage a fully integrated team, made up of PKN Orlen employees and a PMC+ consultant.

"Given the scale of our venture, we have decided to deploy a consulting service within the PMC+ framework. In the case of particularly large projects, such as the olefin plant extension, this solution is a globally applied standard. Our contract with Fluor will fully integrate the project management, offering potential synergies and facilitating knowledge flows between PKN ORLEN and the contractor," stresses Zbigniew Leszczynski, Member of the PKN ORLEN Management Board, Development.

Thanks to the PMC+ collaborative work model, PKN Orlen will gain know-how in managing integrated capital projects. The model will also help develop and enhance the company’s in-house capabilities to benefit its further projects. In addition, by effectively employing the industry’s best business practice, it will allow PKN ORLEN to strengthen its competitive advantage on the market.

The value of the petrochemicals and base plastics market is forecast to double by 2030. Demand for petrochemicals is set to rise, fuelled by the world’s expanding population, economic growth, and shifts in demand for industrial raw materials. Therefore, PKN ORLEN is poised to take full advantage of its potential in petrochemicals.

Investments under the Petrochemicals Development Programme are expected to add some 30% to PKN Orlen’s existing capacity, while ensuring a marked improvement in Poland’s overall trade balance in petrochemicals. The programme will be pursued\\until the end of 2023. Next year will witness the launch of a Research & Development Centre to generate a range of proprietary technologies. The ongoing projects to expand the phenol capacity and construct an aromatic derivatives plant are also at an advanced stage. Once they are completed, PKN Orlen’s annual EBITDA is estimated to grow by PLN 1.5bn, translating into measurable benefits for the company and its shareholders.

As MRC reported earlier, in H1 September 2019, Honeywell announced that PKN Orlen had licensed the UOP MaxEne process, which can increase production of ethylene and aromatics and improve the flexibility of gasoline production. The project, for the PKN ORLEN facility in Plock, Poland, currently is in the basic engineering stage. Honeywell UOP, a leading provider of technologies for the oil and gas industry, first commercialized the UOP MaxEne process in 2013. The process enables refiners and petrochemical producers to direct molecules within the naphtha feed to the processes that deliver the greatest value and improve yields of fuels and petrochemicals.

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.
MRC