JG Summit to restart cracker after maintenance

MOSCOW (MRC) -- JG Summit Holdings, a major petrochemical producer in the Philippines, is due to restart its sole naphtha cracker in the Philippines at the beginning of this week (24-25 February) after major maintenance works, reported CommoPlast with reference to market sources.

The maintenance shutdown took place on 6 October 2019.

During the overhaul, the company also expanded the cracker to add another 160,000 tons/year of ethylene and 50,000 tons of propylene to the existing output. The total production at the cracker increased to 480,000 tons/year of ethylene and 240,000 tons/year of propylene.

we remind that in November 2017, JG Summit Olefins Corp. awarded an engineering, procurement and construction contract to Posco Engineering & Construction to expand an existing naphtha cracker and build a hydrogenation unit in Simlong, Batangas, Philippines.

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).
MRC

Imports of injection moulding PET chips increased by 37% in January in Ukraine

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of bottle grade polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in Ukraine dropped by 37% year on year to 12,500 tonnes in January from 9,100 tonnes a year earlier, according to MRC's DataScope report.

In December of the previous year, shipments of PET chips were 9,400 tonnes. Deliveries of Chinese bottle grade PET to the Ukrainian market fell to the two times in January amounted to 3,100 tonnes compared to 7,000 tonnes in January last year. Imports were at 4,700 tonnes in December 2019. The share of imports from China in the total volume amounted to 50% in January against 77% in January 2019.

The key suppliers of injection moulding Chinese PET chips to the Ukrainian market were producers Dragon, China Resources Chemicals and Yisheng Petrochemical.
Nevertheless, the import of injection moulding PET chips from Lithuania by Neo Group grew four times in January compared to the same period last year and reached the maximum value of the last ten years - 7,300 tonnes. This figure was 1,800 tonnes in January 2019.

In December last year, the volume of external supplies from Lithuania to Ukraine was at the level of 3,800 tonnes. The total volume of Lithuanian PET imports to the country increased to 59% in January 2020 against 40% in December last year. In January 2019, the share of imports was at about 20%. The main buyers of Lithuanian bottled PET were Coca-Cola Beverages Ukraine Limited and Retal.
MRC

Petro Rabigh to shut LDPE plant for maintenance in late February

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Arabia’s Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical (Petro Rabigh) is planning to shut its low density polyethylene (LDPE) plant in Rabigh, Saudi Arabia for maintenance in late February, 2020, reported NCT with reference to sources familiar with the matter.

At present the restart dates of this LDPE plant with the capacity of 160,000 tons/year could not be ascertained.

Petro Rabigh also operates No. 1 and 2 linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) units at the same location with a combined capacty of 600,000 tons/year.

Besides, the company has here a 300,000 tons/year high density polyethylene (HDPE) unit.

Sources also said they expect no impact on supplies during the shutdown.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, December estimated LDPE consumption virtually remained in Russia at the level of November - about 54,580 tonnes. Lower imports were offset by a decrease in export sales. Russia's estimated LDPE consumption totalled 593,660 tonnes in 2019, up by 9% year on year. Some producers' LDPE exports decreased, whereas imports grew by 25%.

PetroRabigh, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Japan's Sumitomo Chemical, has an annual output capacity of 18 million tonnes of refined products and 2.4 million tonnes of petrochemicals. Thus, the complex currently has a cracker to produce 1.6-million t/y of ethylene, as well as downstream production of polyethylene, polypropylene, propylene oxide, ethylene glycol and butene-1.
MRC

Reliance Industries to expand Dahej petchem plant with USD700M Investment

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is planning to expand Dahej Manufacturing Division (DMD), a petrochemical and downstream manufacturing unit, with an investment of Rs 5,100 crore (USD700 million), according to Kemicalinfo.

"Dahej petrochemical manufacturing facility is proposing to set up the new plants and facilities, which includes manufacturing of Ethylene Dichloride (EDC), CHDM, PET-G, establishing New incinerator in VCM unit, separation of hydrogen as a product in CA plant and CO2 recovery unit in EO-EG unit. These plants will be located within the existing RIL DMD spread over 700 hectares," the company said.

EDC is used a raw material for manufacturing Vinyl Chloride Monomer (VCM), which is used in making polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

The proposed EDC plant will meet the feedstock requirement of an initial plant which will produce 500,000 tons per year of Vinyl Chloride Monomer (VCM)/ polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The Dahej site has an existing 360,000 tons per year of VCM/PVC capacity and has approvals to build a new VCM/PVC plant of 1.2 million tons per year capacity.

According to the company, DMD will produce 200,000 ton per year of PET-G post expansion of the facility. PET-G or Polyethylene Terephthalate (with a glycol modification) is among the most common polymers used currently. It is used to make water bottles, food packets and other common plastic items.

DMD will also produce 50,000 ton per year of Cyclohexanedimethanol (CHDM), a key raw material used for producing PET-G as well as various other polymers. Amidst a global shift towards renewable energy and electric mobility, RIL is implementing a strategy to transform itself from a primary producer of fuels to chemicals.

In November 2019, RIL announced its plan on an oil-to-chemical strategy that involves setting up crude-to-chemical projects adjacent to the existing Jamnagar refinery and petrochemical complex at a cost of USD9.75 billion.

The company also plans to remove production bottlenecks at its flagship Vadodara Manufacturing Division (VMD) at a cost of Rs 2,270 crore (USD319 million).

RIL’s petrochemical production rose to 9.9 million ton during the quarter ended December 2019, as compared to 9.7 million ton produced in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

As MRC reported earlier, RIL undertook an unplanned shutdown at its PVC plant in Hazira in H2 December 2018, owing to technical issues. The unplanned outage was expected to remain in force for around two weeks. Located at Hazira in the western Indian state of Gujarat, the plant has a production capacity of 360,000 mt/year.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, January prices of Russian emulsions and suspensions for domestic consumers remained at the level of December. Russia's estimated consumption of unmixed PVC was about 972,920 tonnes in January-December 2019, up by 4% year on year. The Russian emulsion and suspension PVC markets showed an increase in supplies. Last month's estimated consumption of SPVC (excluding exports to Belarus) decreased to 64,430 tonnes from 67,430 tonnes in November.

Reliance Industries is one of the world's largest producers of polymers. The company produces polypropylene, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride and other petrochemical products.
MRC

Petrobras, oil workers reach agreement to end strike

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brazil’s state-controlled oil company Petrobras and unions representing the firm’s oil workers reached an agreement to end a partial strike, reported Reuters with reference to a judge at the country’s highest labor court.

As MRC wrote earlier, the chief executive of Brazilian state-run oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro said in December 2019 he wants to sell the company's stake in petrochemical company Braskem within 12 months.

We also remind that Braskem is no longer pursuing a petrochemical project, which would have included an ethane cracker, in West Virginia. And the company is seeking to sell the land that would have housed the cracker. The project, announced in 2013, had been on Braskem's back burner for several years.

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).

Headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Petrobras is an integrated energy firm. Petrobras' activities include exploration, exploitation and production of oil from reservoir wells, shale and other rocks as well as refining, processing, trade and transport of oil and oil products, natural gas and other fluid hydrocarbons, in addition to other energy-related activities.
MRC