Sabic names DKSH as distribution partner in Asia

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Arabian chemicals major Sabic has named Swiss market expansion services group DKSH as a key distribution partner, said the company.

Financial details of the partnership were not disclosed.

As part of its strategy to foster the additional growth of its Specialties business, and to provide outstanding service to its customers in Asia Pacific, Sabic has named DKSH as a key distribution partner, serving SABIC customers for specialty engineering thermoplastics in Greater China, South Korea, and Southeast Asia.

This collaboration involves SABIC’s complete portfolio of specialty materials, including NORYL resins (polyphenylene ether-based materials), ULTEM resins (polyetherimide materials), LNP compounds and the full range of polycarbonate-based high-performance copolymers.

"We are delighted to welcome DKSH to our distribution network, as we seek to further expand our delivery of high-performance thermoplastic materials solutions, along with outstanding service, to our Specialties customers in Asia,” said Martin Tam, Director, Customer Fulfillment, APAC, Specialties, SABIC. “This collaboration will support existing customers, and help grow our customer base in strategic industries in Asia Pacific, including the key markets of China, Indonesia, Korea, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia."

Sabic Europe, an affiliate of Sabic, conducted maintenance works at its cracker No.3 at Geleen site in the Netherlands this autumn. The planned maintenance started in September and lasted around 2 months. The company operates two steam crackers in Geleen which are capable of producing 1,250,000 tons/year of ethylene and 675,000 tons/year of propylene in total.

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.

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) ranks among the world's top petrochemical companies. The company is among the worldпїЅs market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.

DKSH holds a leading position within the distribution of specialty chemicals across Asia, including polymers. Their specialty and business development approach relies on a strong commitment to R&D through a network of nine specialty chemicals innovation centers in the region.
MRC

Fuel and gas processing continue at Libyian Zawiya refinery despite oil stoppage

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Fuel and gas processing at Libya’s Zawiya refinery were continuing normally on Monday despite a halt to loadings from El Sharara oilfield, reported Reuters with reference to two refinery employees' statement.

Zawiya is connected to Sharara by a pipeline that was shut on Sunday by forces loyal to eastern-based commander Khalifa Haftar as part of a wider blockade, Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) said.

As MRC informed before, in late December 2019-early January 2020, Libya's oil infrastructure has once again found itself in the crosshairs of the country's prolonged civil conflict between the UN-backed Government of National Accord and the self-styled Libyan National Army. The country's 120,000 b/d Zawiya refinery was the target of an airstrike on 27 December, 2019, and state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC) confirmed that sites near the oil storage facility operated by the Zawiya refinery were hit by a bomb on Friday.
MRC

Vinmar links with Lanxess for North American distribution

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Vinmar Polymers America will distribute Lanxess Corp.'s high-performance plastics to customers in North America, said Plasticsnews.

VPA, a unit of Houston-based Vinmar International, and Lanxess of Pittsburgh will work together to complement Lanxess' market strategy with regionally placed inventory, along with sales and technical support, officials said in a Jan. 17 news release.

They added that the new arrangement broadens the existing relationship between Lanxess and Vinmar in Turkey and Australia.

Key North American product offerings will include the Durethan-brand line of nylon 6 and 6/6 resins and Pocan-brand PBT resins and blends, according to VPA President Kirt Dmytruk.

Lanxess Corp. is a unit of Lanxess AG of Cologne, Germany. The firm is a leading specialty plastics and chemicals maker with annual sales of almost USD8 billion. Vinmar is a global plastics and chemicals distributor that posted sales of USD3.6 billion in 2019.

Vinmar has been working to grow its VPA unit in the last year. In mid-2019, the firm acquired resin and sheet distributor Alpheus Enterprises of Mexico City.

In late 2019, Vinmar Senior Vice President Vishal Goradia told Plastics News that the firm plans to remain active in the M&A market while also growing its businesses organically. He added that Vinmar is looking at possible U.S. distribution and chemical acquisitions.

Earlier, Covestro closed the sale of its European polycarbonates (PC) sheets business to the Munich-based Serafin Group effective January 2, 2020. This includes key management and sales functions throughout Europe as well as production sites in Belgium and Italy.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated consumption of PC granules (excluding imports and exports to\\from Belarus) fell in January-November 2019 by 14% year on year to 70,700 tonnes (62,000 tonnes a year earlier).

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.

MRC

Guyanas first-ever oil cargo to be refined by oil major

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A vessel carrying Guyana’s first-ever shipment of crude set sail bound for the U.S. Gulf Coast, oil major Exxon Mobil Corp said, marking the tiny South American nation’s long-awaited debut as an oil exporter, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The Suezmax vessel Yannis P, loaded with about 1 million barrels of Liza light sweet crude was bound for Galveston, Texas, according to tracking service TankerTrackers.com, and departed from the floating platform Liza Destiny off Guyana.

Exxon and partners Hess Corp and China’s CNOOC started production at Guyana’s promising Stabroek block in December, ahead of schedule, after finding more than 6 billion barrels of recoverable oil and gas.

Exxon had said on Friday that the project’s first crude shipment would load during the weekend and head for its refining network. The U.S. company operates refineries in Louisiana and Texas in addition to plants inland in Montana and Illinois.

All commercial oil resources in Guyana, an impoverished nation whose economy is expected to be transformed by its emerging oil industry, have been found at the Stabroek offshore block, where Exxon and its partners have disclosed 15 large discoveries so far.

The Exxon-led venture alone expects to produce at least 750,000 barrels per day of crude by 2025, enough for Guyana to become an oil power alongside neighboring Venezuela and Brazil.

Guyana’s transition to an oil-producing country has sparked a political controversy in the nation’s ongoing presidential campaign over the way the government gave exploration and production rights and designed its royalty framework.

Guyana’s People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has criticized President David Granger’s 2016 deal with Exxon as too generous and pledged to “immediately engage the oil and gas companies in better contract administration/re-negotiation.” Exxon said the negotiated terms of the contracts “are competitive with other agreements signed in countries at a similar resource development phase."

Exxon is expected to export both its first two cargoes of Guyanese oil. Another of the first shipments from the Liza field is scheduled to be taken by U.S.-based Hess in February, with others earmarked for sale by the Guyanese government through an open-market tender won by Royal Dutch Shell.

In December 2019, ExxonMobil halted PE production at its site in Notre Dame de Gravenchon, France due to commercial reasons, without providing further details.

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

SHARQ plans shutdown at PE lines in Saudi Arabia

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Arabia’s SHARQ, or Eastern Petrochemical Company, is planning to shut its high density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) lines during the first quarter of 2020, reported NCT with reference to a source familiar with matter.

Located in Al Jubail, Saudi Arabia, each of the two PE lines has a production capacity of 400,000 tons/year.

The precise duration of the shutdown was not available at the time of press.

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.
MRC