Zhejiang Petrochemical starts up new HDPE plant in China

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Zhejiang Petrochemical Co Ltd (ZPC) has successfully started up its high density polyethylene (HDPE) plant since last week, reported CommoPlast with reference to market sources.

Based in Zhejiang, China, the petrochemical complex consists of 450,000 tosn/year of HDPE, 400,000 tons/year of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) and two polypropylene (PP) plants with combined production capacity of 900,000 tons/year.

As MRC informed before, on 30 December 2019, Zhejiang Petrochemical Co Ltd started up its ethylene cracker. Based in Zhejiang, China, the cracker is able to produce 1.4 million tons/year of ethylene.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, November estimated HDPE consumption in Russia rose to 84,460 tonnes from 55,990 tonnes a month earlier. Russian producers raised their output after the shutdowns for maintenance in October, imports also increased. Russia's estimated HDPE consumption totalled 1,002,590 tonnes in January-November 2019, up by 3% year on year. HDPE imports grew by 42%, whereas production dropped by 9% due to a long period of maintenance works at three production capacities.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shintech's new 500,000 mt/year cracker is expected to start up this month or February after more than a year of delays, reported S&P Global with reference to sources familiar with the company operations.

It will be the eighth new cracker after Formosa's one to come online in the first wave of petrochemical infrastructure to emerge from the US natural gas shale boom that unearthed cheap ethane feedstock.

All told, the eight crackers starting up since 2017 will bring more than 9.7 million mt/year of new ethylene capacity online. A second wave of new cracker capacity under construction or planned beyond 2020 will add at least 8.8 million mt/year of output, though Saudi Aramco's Motiva Enterprises has not disclosed the capacity of a new cracker planned near its 603,000 b/d refinery in Port Arthur, Texas.

As MRC wrote previously, originally, Shintech's cracker was slated to start up in summer 2018, Shintech delayed that milestone to December 2018, then to the first half of last year, and again to December 2018.

The cracker will expand Shintech's in-house feedstock output and reduce ethylene purchases from other producers. Ethylene from the company's new cracker will be sent as feedstock to Shintech's polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production at the same site.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,904,410 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments increased from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,161,830 tonnes in January-November 2019, up by 7% year on year. Deliveries of all grades of propylene polymers increased, with the homopolymer PP segment accounting for the largest increase.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Daelim has been recently awarded a contract by Hyundai Chemical, a joint venture of Hyundai Oilbank and Lotte Chemical, for a heavy feed petrochemical complex being built in Daesan, South Korea, as per Apic-online.

The project, scheduled to be completed in 2021, will include the production of 300,000 t/y each of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE), as well as 250,000 t/y of polypropylene (PP).

Daelim's contract, valued at KRW 535.4-billion, in-volves responsibility for design, materials and equip-ment, procurement and construction.

LyondellBasell's Lupotech T process technology will be used for the LDPE plant. The HDPE and PP unit will utilize Univation Technologies' Unipol PE technology and W. R. Grace & Co.'s Unipol PP technology, respectively.

As MRC wrote before, in February 2019, Saudi Aramco with its partner Total has announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Daelim, a South Korean petrochemical company. Under the MoU, Daelim is planning to build a new 80,000 tons state-of-the-art Polyisobutylene (PIB) plant, which is expected to come on-stream in 2024. This agreement is another step to drive Saudi Aramco’s petrochemicals growth strategy. This follows Saudi Aramco’s announcement in October 2018 to launch an engineering study to build a large petrochemical complex in Jubail.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,904,410 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments increased from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,161,830 tonnes in January-November 2019, up by 7% year on year. Deliveries of all grades of propylene polymers increased, with the homopolymer PP segment accounting for the largest increase.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Formosa Plastics' new 1.5 million mt/year cracker in Point Comfort, Texas, has come online and was seen ramping up through January, reported S&P Global with reference to sources familiar with the company operations.

"Formosa cracker is running, and is shown to be ramping up to full rates by the end of January," one of the sources said.

"The new unit was up last week and has been running smooth," a second source said.

The company's new 400,000 low density polyethylene (LDPE) plant at Point Comfort "should be ready in February for now," the second source added.

A company spokesman did not provide any update on the status of the plants Wednesday.

Formosa had initially planned to start up the new cracker and LDPE plant by end-2019, but spokesman Fred Neske said days before Christmas that the units encountered unexpected delays. At the time, he said Formosa had no timeline on when the startup process would resume.

As MRC informed earlier, Formosa Plastics Corp. Louisiana, a subsidiary of Formosa Plastics Corp. USA, is investing USD332 million to expand its production of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resin and add production equipment in two other units at the company’s industrial manufacturing site in Baton Rouge, La., on the east bank of the Mississippi River. The project will include installation of new machinery and equipment for the expansion of the PVC resin production unit, expected to result in a 20% increase in production capacity and sales; installation of new machinery and equipment for a halogenated acid production unit for internal use in the production of vinyl chloride monomer; and installation of utilities equipment needed for operations, the Louisiana Economic Development (LED) said. Launch of the new operations is scheduled for late 2021 or early 2022.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,904,410 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments increased from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,161,830 tonnes in January-November 2019, up by 7% year on year. Deliveries of all grades of propylene polymers increased, with the homopolymer PP segment accounting for the largest increase.

Formosa Petrochemical is involved primarily in the business of refining crude oil, selling refined petroleum products and producing and selling olefins (including ethylene, propylene, butadiene and BTX) from its naphtha cracking operations. Formosa Petrochemical is also the largest olefins producer in Taiwan and its olefins products are mostly sold to companies within the Formosa Group. Among the company's chemical products are paraxylene (PX), phenyl ethylene, acetone and pure terephthalic acid (PTA). The company"s plastic products include acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) resins, polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP) and panlite (PC).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority has recently signed five memoranda of understanding (MOUs), with a combined value of 7.5 billion Saudi riyals (USD2 billion), with a number of major petrochemical companies at a ceremony in Riyadh in the presence of Saudi Deputy Minister of Industry Osama al-Zamil, reported Chemweek.

Agreements signed include a SAGIA and BASF deal to study the feasibility to build a petrochemicals plant at Jubail Industrial City; a deal with SNF to evaluate the establishment of a polyacrylamide plant; a deal with Mitsui & Co., for a 1-million metric tons/year ammonia plant at Jubail, in addition to building a new petrochemical plant and an agreement with Shell Overseas Services to build a new plant at Jubail Industrial City to produce value-added catalysts. The fifth MOU is with Shell and Advanced Metallurgical Group to build a residue upgrading catalyst manufacturing facility (see separate story).

Ibrahim al-Omar, governor of SAGIA, said, "Our country is undergoing a significant economic transformation. The petrochemicals sector provides exciting opportunities for international investors as we look to draw on the expertise and experience of the private sector in transforming the industry."

As MRC informed before, BASF, the world's petrochemical major, restarted its No. 1 steam cracker on September 30, 2019, following a maintenance turnaorund. The plant was shut for maintenance in mid-August, 2019. Located at Ludwigshafen in Germany, the No. 1 cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 235,000 mt/year and a propylene production capacity of 125,000 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 1,904,410 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments increased from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,161,830 tonnes in January-November 2019, up by 7% year on year. Deliveries of all grades of propylene polymers increased, with the homopolymer PP segment accounting for the largest increase.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries. BASF generated sales of around EUR63 billion in 2018.

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