Roehm to shut MMA plant in Wesseling in June

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Roehm has planned to take off-stream its Methyl methacrylate (MMA) plant in June 2020, said Polymerupdate.

A Polymerupdate source in Germany informed that the company is likely to start turnaround at the plant on June 5, 2020. The plant is expected to remain under maintenance for about 10 days.

Located in Wesseling, Germany, the plant has a production capacity of 95,000 mt/year.

As it was written earlier, in August 2019, Rohm GmbH successfully completed the carve-out from Evonik Industries. Evonik Industries’ Methacrylate Verbund is thus transferred to its new owner, Advent International, as an independent company.

Acrylonitrile is one of the main raw materials for the production of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS).

According to the ICIS-MRC Price Report, in November ABS imports to Russia amounted to 3,300 tonnes against 3,500 tonnes a month earlier and 4,100 tonnes in November last year. Following the results of eleven months, ABS import into the country slightly decreased compared to the same period last year and amounted to 31,300 tonnes.

Rohm GmbH’s product portfolio includes acrylic glass which is used in cars, airplane windows, screens or displays, as building glazing, noise protection, and in the advertising industry. The indispensable precursor for it is methyl methacrylate.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of expandable polystyrene (EPS) into Belarus dropped in the first eleven months of 2019 by 2% year on year, totalling 12,000 tonnes, according to MRC's DataScope report.

November EPS imports into the country fell by 12% from October to 1,120 tonnes from 1,280 tonnes. Imports of material into the Republic of Belarus were 1,030 tonnes in November 2018.

Russia is the main EPS importer to Belarus.

Imports of Russian material to the Belarusian market decreased in the first eleven months of 2019 by 16% year on year: to 7,400 tonnes from 8,800 tonnes in January-November 2018.

The share of EPS imports from Russia in the total shipments to the country also decreased last year to 62% from 72% in 2018.

November shipments of Russian EPS to the region were 537 tonnes versus 755 tonnes in October, whereas imports of material were 789 tonnes in November 2018.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- UK waste management company Biffa announced the formal opening of its 27.5 million pound sterling (about USD35.7 million) facility in Seaham, County Durham, in northern England, reported Plastics Recycling Update.

Biffa called the facility, capable of recycling 57,000 metric tons of PET annually, "among the most modern and technically advanced of its kind in the world."

To start, the plant will produce flakes. Getting to that point has required a roughly USD19.5 million investment. According to a press release, over the next 12 months, another USD16.2 million will be spent expanding the facility’s capabilities to include compounding and palletizing.

"This facility will help the UK address two of its most pressing issues - plastic waste and the climate emergency," Michael Topham, Biffa’s chief executive, stated in the press release. "Whilst we must work towards reducing overall plastic consumption as a society, the fact remains that plastic has a vital role as a lightweight, durable, low energy-intensity material, that if recycled properly can have a sustainable role in modern life. Facilities like ours at Seaham will help ensure that we can recycle our own plastic waste here in the UK, creating jobs in the green economy and stimulating the development of more sustainable packaging."

According to the release, the facility will sell RPET into a variety of markets, including food and drink packaging and clothing. It is expected to generate about USD52 million in revenue a year.

A publicly traded company, Biffa collects garbage and recyclables, sorts and sells recyclables at materials recovery facilities (MRFs), recycles plastics, burns material for energy recovery and landfills waste. The company collects over 4 million metric tons of garbage and recyclables from UK households and businesses each year.

In terms of plastics recycling, Biffa already runs an HDPE recycling facility in Redcar, North Yorkshire. That plant produces food-grade recycled HDPE for use in milk bottles and other products.

"We have a significant opportunity to grow our Biffa Polymers business, with strong demand for the closed loop food grade recycled plastic we produce," according to a half-year financial report released in November. An accompanying presentation noted that demand for offtake at the Seaham plant was already exceeding capacity there.

Biffa also announced it will build a new plastics processing facility in Washington, a town in northern England not far from Seaham. That USD9 million facility will recycle up to 44 million pounds of plastic pots and trays per year. It will be built over the next year.

As per MRC's ScanPlast report, imports of PET chips into Russia increased by 13% year on year in the first eleven months of 2019, reaching 130,800 tonnes, compared to 116,100 tonnes a year earlier (excluding shipments from Belarus). Russia's PET imports almost doubled in November 2019, totalling 12,300 tonnes, versus 6,300 tonnes in October; imports of material were 8,200 tonnes in November 2018. The share of Chinese material was 78% (9,600 tonnes) in November versus 92% (5,800 tonnes) a month earlier.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The CEO of Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), the world’s fourth-biggest petrochemicals firm, said he expects a slowdown in 2020, although it was too early to determine the impact of the outbreak of China’s coronavirus on demand, reported Reuters.

SABIC had not suspended travel or taken any other measures because of the virus, Yousef al-Benyan said at a news briefing following the company’s publication of its financial results.

"We haven’t had any ban in terms of trade or travel to China so far," he added.

SABIC reported a fourth-quarter net loss of 720 million riyals (USD191.94 million), the first quarterly loss in over a decade, due to lower average selling prices and a writedown at an affiliate.

As MRC informed earlier, SABIC Europe, an affiliate of SABIC, conducted a maintenance work at its cracker No.3 at Geleen site in the Netherlands last 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.

Earlier last year, SABIC took off-stream its SABIC Olefins 4 cracker owing to technical issues on May 10, 2019. Further details on duration of the shutdown could not be ascertained. Located in beek, the Netherlands, the cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 690,000 mt/year and a propylene production capacity of 360,000 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.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) plans to voluntarily liquidate three wholly-owned subsidiaries, in line with its transformation plans, reported Kemicalinfo with reference to a statement sent to the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul).

The liquidation decision includes SABIC Industrial Catalysts Co., Saudi Carbon Fiber Co. and the Saudi Japanese Acrylonitrile Co. as per a Dec. 31 filing with the Saudi Stock Exchange.

According to the filing, Riyadh-based SABIC will continue to develop the products of these companies through other subsidiaries.

The liquidation is not expected to have any financial impact on SABIC’s consolidated financial statement.

As MRC informed earlier, SABIC Europe, an affiliate of SABIC, conducted a maintenance work at its cracker No.3 at Geleen site in the Netherlands last 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.

Earlier last year, SABIC took off-stream its SABIC Olefins 4 cracker owing to technical issues on May 10, 2019. Further details on duration of the shutdown could not be ascertained. Located in beek, the Netherlands, the cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 690,000 mt/year and a propylene production capacity of 360,000 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.

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