KBR awarded contract for new BPA project in China

MOSCOW (MRC) -- KBR announced that it has been awarded a contract by Hainan Huasheng New Material Technology Co., Ltd. (Hainan Huasheng) to license Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation's (MCC) proprietary Bisphenol A (BPA) technology for a new plant in Dongfang City, Hainan Province, China, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Under the terms of the contract, KBR will provide a Licensing and Basic Engineering Design (LBED) package to Hainan Huasheng for building a grassroots 240,000 tons per annum BPA plant. KBR will also provide commissioning, startup support, and training services for the project.

The BPA technology, licensed by KBR and owned by MCC, provides superior product quality with a minimum long-term cost of production. To date there are more than 600,000 tons per year of BPA produced using this technology.

"We are honored to be chosen to support this significant project," said Doug Kelly, KBR President, Technology Solutions. "Hainan Huasheng's BPA award to KBR extends KBR's excellence and growing capability in the entire phenolics value chain."

"The quality of BPA product is essential to our downstream non-phosgene based polycarbonate unit. By using this advanced BPA process, which combines MCC's operational knowledge and KBR's phenolic chain experience, we are confident this project will be a great success," said Yao Guangqian, GM of Hainan Huasheng New Material.

We remind that, as MRC informed earlier, in May 2015, another major petrochemical producer in China - Chang Chun Chemical (Jiangsu) Co. - started up its second BPA plant at Changshu in China's Jiangsu Province using proprietary technology from Badger Licensing.

BPA is the main feedstock for the production of epoxy resins and polycarbonate (PC).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall estimated consumption of PC granules reached 66,100 tonnes in the first ten months of 2019, up by 14% year on year (57,900 tonnes).

KBR globally licenses and designs plants with proprietary technologies, including phenol/acetone, BPA and polycarbonate processes. KBR's integrated phenolic offering provides advantages in raw material, utility, OPEX and maintenance costs.
MRC

Sinopec completes main unit of the largest refinery in the Middle East

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) has completed the central unit of the Al-Zour refinery project in Kuwait, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

As the largest refinery in the Middle East, it will make Kuwait the biggest clean oil-producing country in the region with an annual processing capacity of 3,150 tons.

Launched in October 2015, the Al-Zour refinery project is the latest achievement of Sino-Kuwait cooperation, which also holds the record of being the world's largest one-time construction to date. Nearly 500 companies from 50 countries and regions participated in the project. The world-class refinery is being built with an investment of USD1.39 billion and produces mainly gasoline, diesel and kerosene to Euro 5 emission standards.

As one of the general contractors of Al-Zour refinery project, Sinopec Luoyang Engineering adopted an intelligent collaborative work system and utilised virtual designs to coordinate with global partners and share data to complete the 15 process production plants including the hydrodesulfurization plant.

An emphasis on locally-sourced materials has created a boost to the manufacturing industries of Kuwait as well as the development of the local economy and providing a large number of employment opportunities.

Usama Ali, project manager of Al-Zour refinery, spoke highly of Sinopec as a "trustworthy, professional and hardworking partner" and hopes Sinopec will continue to participate in further projects in Kuwait.

The Al-Zour refinery will provide high-quality clean fuel with high added-value for the global market, it's also a new milestone for Kuwait as the country pushes forward national economic transitions.

With 60 years of history, Sinopec Luoyang Engineering has completed 4,300 mid-to large-scale construction projects and has acquired 1,061 patents at home and abroad.

Adhering to independent innovation, Sinopec owns a series of world-leading technologies and solutions in areas of oil refining, ethylene, aromatic hydrocarbon and more, as well as the capabilities to build 10-million-tonnage refineries, million-tonnage ethylene units and million-tonnage aromatic hydrocarbon units.

In 2016, Sinopec's first overseas refinery project, the Yanbu Aramco Sinopec Refining Company in Saudi Arabia, officially began operations. A year later, Sinopec completed the upgrading of Kazakhstan's Atyrau Refinery.

As MRC reported before, Sinopec Guangzhou Petrochemical, part of China's petrochemical giant - Sinopec, restarted operations at its cracker in early December, 2019, following the completion of the turnaround. The company started maintenance at the plant on October 12, 2019. Located in the Guangzhou province of China, the cracker has ethylene production capacity of 260,000 mt/year and propylene production capacity of 150,000 mt/year.

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.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation or Sinopec Limited is a Chinese oil and gas company based in Beijing, China. Sinopec's business includes oil and gas exploration, refining, and marketing; production and sales of petrochemicals, chemical fibers, chemical fertilizers, and other chemical products; storage and pipeline transportation of crude oil and natural gas; import, export and import/export agency business of crude oil, natural gas, refined oil products, petrochemicals, and other chemicals.
MRC

TPC explosion may cut exports to oversupplied Asian butadiene market

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The oversupply condition in the Asian butadiene market is likely to be offset by a possible export cut from the US after a fire hit the TPC Group's Port Neches butadiene and raffinate petrochemical plant east of Houston, Texas, reported Apic-online with reference to industry sources' statement last Thursday.

The United States is a key butadiene supplier to Asia, mainly to South Korea. According to the United States International Trade Commission, or USITC, the US exported 7,433 mt of butadiene in August, while no exports were registered in September.

Around 5,000 mt of butadiene from the US is due to arrive in Asia in January, said market sources.

"Some end-users in Asia may start looking for spot butadiene cargoes in a bid to cover supply shortfall from the US," a Japanese trader said.

Some market sources said the latest sell tender from Taiwan - due to close later Thursday - would likely attract buyers' interests. Taiwan's Formosa is offering around 2,000 mt spot cargo for December loading.

On the other hand, market sources said Asian butadiene market would unlikely see a spike in price as spot butadiene cargoes remains available elsewhere in the region, such as Japan.

Japan's butadiene supplies are currently strong, due to lower synthetic rubber plant operations amid weak margins. Japan's butadiene exports in October stood at 23,433 mt, up 9.1% from a month earlier, according to the customs data. Of the total, exports to Korea rose 11.8% to 18,413 mt during the same period.

Trading sources in Asia said some end-users in the US are looking for spot butadiene cargoes in Europe after the explosion.

However, some others said that such demand would be short lived, considering unused butadiene capacity in the US. A trader pointed out that the butadiene production in the US is estimated around 1.4 million mt/year in 2019, compared to a total capacity of 2.5 million mt/year.

"As long as other butadiene plants in the US can get crude C-4 supplies, they can increase butadiene production," said a trader, adding that there may be some distribution restrictions on moving crude C-4 in the domestic US market.

Located adjacent to the Sabine Neches River, a 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. A source familiar with company's operations said the site has two butadiene lines with capacities of 166,000 mt/year and 260,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed before, petrochemical maker TPC Group Inc will rebuild the Texas plant shut in late November by devastating explosions that ignited fires that burned for six days.

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

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, overall ABS imports to the Russian market fell in the first ten months of 2019 by 2% year on year to 28,000 tonnes. This figure was 28,600 tonnes in January-October 2018. October ABS imports to Russia dropped by 4% year on year to 3,500 tonnes from 3,600 tonnes in October 2018. Imports of material into the country were 2,600 tonnes in September 2019.

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

GPPS and HIPS imports to Russian market grows by 11% in Jan-Nov 2019

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Overall imports of general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) and high impact polystyrene (HIPS) to Russia rose in the first eleven months of 2019 by 11% year on year to 44,700 tonnes, according to MRC's DataScope report.

This figure was at 40,200 tonnes in January-November 2018.


At the same time, GPPS and HIPS imports to the Russian market slumped by 40% in November, totalling 3,600 tonnes versus 6,000 tonnes in November 2018. Imports of material into the country were 3,600 tonnes in October 2019.

GPPS imports to Russia grew in January-November 2019 by 25% year on year to 25,600 tonnes. Russian companies reduced their imports of material by 42% last month: from 4,000 tonnes in November 2018 to 2,300 tonnes, imports were 1,800 tonnes a month earlier.

HIPS imports to the Russian Federation continued to decline for the third month in a row. They were 1,300 tonnes in November 2019 versus 2,000 tonnes a year earlier and 1,800 tonnes in October 2019. Imports of material into the country dropped in the first eleven months of 2019 by 3% year on year to 19,100 tonnes.

European material of Styrolution, Versalis and Trinseo accounted for about 90% of HIPS shipments and 61% of GPPS deliveries. Iranian GPPS of Petropaak and Artan Petro accounted for about 18% of the total imports. Imports of Iranian material fell by 3 times in September, there were no shipments in October and November at all.

MRC

Ukrainian PVC imports down by 28% in Jan-Nov 2019, exports up by 6%

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) into Ukraine decreased in the first eleven months of 2019 by 28% year on year, totalling 44,700 tonnes, whereas sales of Ukrainian PVC to foreign markets rose by 6% year on year, according to MRC's DataScope report.


Last month's SPVC imports into the Ukrainian market went down to 3,300 tonnes from 5,900 tonnes in October, with North American resin accounting for the decrease in shipments from major windows producers. Overall SPVC imports reached 44,700 tonnes in January-November 2019, compared to 61,600 tonnes a year earlier.

European producers with the share of about 64% of the total imports were the key suppliers of resin to the Ukrainian market in the first eleven months of 2019. Producers from the USA with the share of about 36% were the second largest suppliers.

This year's stronger demand for Ukrainian PVC from the domestic market did not lead to lower exports. 13,900 tonnes of suspension were shipped to foreign markets in November, whereas this figure was 17,000 tonnes a year earlier. Overall, 150,400 tonnes of PVC were shipped for export in January-November 2019 versus 142,500 tonnes a year earlier.

MRC