Sinopec Maoming Petrochemical conducts maintenance at 3 million mt/year CDU in China

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sinopec Maoming Petrochemical, the subsidiary of one of the world's largest energy and chemical companies - Sinopec will shut a 3 million mt/year CDU for maintenance over mid-February till Mid-April, reported S&P Global.

As MRC informed before, Sinopec Qilu Petrochemical, another subsidiary of Sinopec, plans to shut the cracker unit in Tianjin in northeast China for scheduled repairs on 15 June, 2020. This cracking unit with a capacity of 900,000 tonnes of ethylene per year and 480,000 tonnes of propylene tons per year will be closed for scheduled repairs until 24 June, 2020.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,093,260 tonnes in 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments rose from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,260,400 tonnes in January-December 2019, up by 4% year on year. Supply of almost all grades of propylene polymers increased, except for statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers).

Sinopec corp. is one of the world's largest integrated energy and chemical companies. Business Sinopec Corp. includes oil and gas exploration, production and transportation of oil and gas, oil refining, petrochemical production, production of mineral fertilizers and other chemical products. In terms of refining capacity, Sinopec Corp. ranks second in the world, in terms of ethylene capacity - fourth.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dow’s CEO Jim Fitterling is to take on the additional role of board chairman in April, said the company.

"Jim has demonstrated exceptional leadership of Dow, successfully guiding the Company through its separation from DowDuPont Inc. and strengthening its competitive position among industry peers," said Jeff Fettig, non-executive chairman of Dow’s Board of Directors. "The board is confident that this appointment will enable Jim to continue to accelerate the meaningful changes he has already initiated for Dow to achieve its ambition as a world-leading materials science company."

Following the Annual Meeting, directors will select an independent lead director who has served for at least one year on the Board.

Dow also announced that Jill Wyant, executive vice president and president of global regions at Ecolab Inc., has been nominated to stand for election to Dow’s Board of Directors at the Company’s Annual Meeting. As a senior strategy and operating executive with 25 years of experience leading Fortune 500 businesses in the industrial and healthcare sectors, Ms. Wyant brings a strong track record of driving business growth and profitability through breakthrough innovation, manufacturing excellence and operational efficiency, as well as experience driving enterprise-wide digital transformations.

"We are certain that Jill’s fresh and relevant perspective from a parallel industry will enhance the diversity of experience and ideas within our Board," said Fettig. "Her global business management, innovation, sustainability and consumer expertise is fully aligned with Dow’s ambition and growth strategy."

Furthermore, Ruth G. Shaw, former group executive for public policy and president at Duke Nuclear, will continue to serve out her term until the Annual Meeting, at which time she will retire in accordance with the director tenure requirements of the Company’s Corporate Governance Guidelines. With 15 years of exemplary leadership on Dow’s Board, Ms. Shaw has contributed significantly to the oversight of Dow and served on a variety of committees, including, most recently, as chair of the Compensation and Leadership Development Committee. She also helped lead the Company through several transformational events, including the DowDuPont transaction.

Dow’s Board of Directors bring a variety of relevant skills and diverse experiences, which includes senior leadership, global business, capital allocation, financial acumen, technology expertise, operational experience, as well as marketing and academic research backgrounds. The board is comprised of a strong balance of new and experienced directors, with more than half joining in the past five years. Additionally, Dow’s board possesses gender and ethnic diversity – more than half of the independent directors are female or members of a U.S. ethnic minority group.

As MRC reported earlier, Dow plans to install a new furnace in its steam cracker at Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada, increasing its ethylene capacity, currently 1.42 million metric tons/year (MMt/y), by 130,000 metric tons/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 2,093,260 tonnes in 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments rose from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,260,400 tonnes in January-December 2019, up by 4% year on year. Supply of almost all grades of propylene polymers increased, except for statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers).

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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Fluor Corporation has announced that it was recently awarded a contract to provide engineering, procurement and construction for a new 400 kilo-ton-per-annum adiponitrile (ADN) plant in Shanghai, China, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The new ADN plant is part of INVISTA’s ongoing work at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park where the company recently completed a 215 kilo-ton-per-annum hexamethylenediamine (HMD) plant and a 150 kilo-ton-per-annum nylon 6,6 polymer plant. Fluor booked the undisclosed contract value in the fourth quarter of 2019.

"Fluor has been providing engineering, procurement and construction solutions to clients in China for more than 40 years," said Mark Fields, group president of Fluor’s Energy & Chemicals business. "With this award, our proud legacy in China continues and we look forward to supporting INVISTA’s efforts to expeditiously increase production of ADN with their company’s most-advanced technology to meet growing demand within China and globally."

When complete, INVISTA’s new ADN plant will integrate with its existing HMD and polymer facilities to directly supply domestic customers with the key building blocks to produce nylon 6,6 and other high-value products in China. These products are used in the production of a variety of goods, including those in the automotive, industrial, apparel and consumer electronics industries.

"We’re pleased to be working with Fluor to advance our ADN project in China," said Bill Greenfield, president, INVISTA Intermediates. "We’re excited about this project and are committed to maintaining an accelerated timeline—with completion planned in 2022."

Detailed engineering on the project is well underway, procurement has begun, and construction is anticipated to begin this year. Mechanical completion of the new ADN plant is planned for the first quarter of 2022.

As MRC reported before, in early December 2019, Fluor bagged PMC contract to PKN Orlen to expand ethylene capacity in Plock.

Ethylene is the mainfeedstock for the production of polyethylene (PE).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,093,260 tonnes in 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments rose from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC)--DuPont’s CEO Marc Doyle and CFO Jeanmarie Desmond will be leaving the company, effective immediately, as it aims to "accelerate" an improvement in performance, said the company.

DuPont has announced that its Board of Directors has appointed current Executive Chairman Edward Breen to the additional role of CEO. In addition, Lori Koch, VP of Investor Relations and Corporate Financial Planning and Analysis, has been named Chief Financial Officer.

Both appointments are effective immediately.

The Board of Directors has made these leadership changes to accelerate operational performance improvement and to more directly tap Ed Breen’s significant management experience. As a result, Marc Doyle and Jeanmarie Desmond, who have served as CEO and CFO respectively, will depart the company.

"Since he first assumed the Chairman and CEO role of DuPont in 2015, Ed Breen led the company through an extensive transformation to further unlock the potential of its distinctive capabilities, innovative portfolio and deep customer relationships,” said Alexander Cutler, DuPont’s lead independent director. “After careful consideration, the Board concluded now is the right time to make these leadership changes, including restoring Ed to the chief executive role to draw more directly on his substantial operating experience."

"The Board and I deeply appreciate Marc and Jean’s significant contributions over decades of service to the company,” said Ed Breen. “Most recently, they led the company through a period of important transition, and we are grateful for their dedication to DuPont over the course of their careers.

As it was written earlier, BASF and DuPont Safety and Construction declared that the companies inked an agreement wherein BASF will sell its ultrafiltration membrane business to DuPont.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,093,260 tonnes in 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments rose from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,260,400 tonnes in January-December 2019, up by 4% year on year. Supply of almost all grades of propylene polymers increased, except for statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers).

DuPont makes a broad array of industrial chemicals, synthetic fibres, petroleum-based fuels and lubricants, pharmaceuticals, building materials, sterile and specialty packaging materials, cosmetics ingredients, and agricultural chemicals. It has plants, subsidiaries, and affiliates worldwide.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - SIBUR's net profit under IFRS in 2019 increased by 27.6% and amounted to 141.4 billion rubles, the company said.

The increase in net profit is mainly due to the revaluation of debt in foreign currencies.

Revenue decreased by 6.6% compared to 2018 and amounted to 531.3 billion rubles. "Revenue declined amid negative dynamics in the gas processing and infrastructure segments, as well as elastomer plastics and intermediates," the press release said. The company notes that the increase in revenue in the segment of olefins and polyolefins as a result of the start of test sales of Zapsibneftekhim polypropylene helped partially offset the decline in the total indicator.

EBITDA decreased by 15.4% - to 170 billion rubles - mainly due to a decrease in the segment of gas processing and infrastructure, as well as in the segment of plastics, elastomers and intermediate products. This effect was partially offset by the contribution of the olefin and polyolefin segment. The EBITDA of the olefin and polyolefin segment showed a significant increase - 30% - up to 49 billion rubles.

In 2019, SIBUR’s gas refineries processed 22.6 billion cubic meters. meters of associated petroleum gas (APG), which is 1.5% higher than in the same period in 2018. ShFLU fractionation volume remained at the level of 2018 and amounted to 7.7 million tons. LHG sales decreased by 4%, to 5.1 million tons due to an increase in domestic consumption of this type of raw material during commissioning at ZapSibNeftekhim.

As of December 31, 2019, the total debt of the company amounted to 379.7 billion rubles, an increase of 14.2% compared to December 31, 2018. The increase in the indicator is associated with the continuation of the selection of credit lines for the ZapSibNeftekhim project, as well as the inclusion of lease obligations in the debt in accordance with the application of the new IFRS 16 standard from January 1, 2019.

The amount of debt at the end of the year amounted to 379.7 billion rubles, an increase of 14.2%. SIBUR's net debt grew by 14.1% and amounted to 362.3 billion rubles. The net debt / EBITDA ratio was 2.1x compared to 1.6x at the end of the previous year.

It was previously reported that the net profit of SIBUR Holding under IFRS in 2018 decreased by 7.9% compared to 2017 and amounted to 110.8 billion rubles.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,093,260 tonnes in 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments rose from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,260,400 tonnes in January-December 2019, up by 4% year on year. Supply of almost all grades of propylene polymers increased, except for statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers).

SIBUR is a vertically integrated gas processing and petrochemical company, operating at 26 production sites located in various regions of the Russian Federation. SIBUR sells products to more than 1.4 thousand consumers in the fuel and energy complex, the automotive industry, construction, production of consumer goods, chemical and other industries in 75 countries of the world.
MRC