OxyChem to conduct PVC turnaround in Texas in April

MOSCOW (MRC) -- OxyChem, the chemical division of Occidental Petroleum, has a seven-day polyvinyl cloride (PVC) turnaround slated for April at its plant in Pasadena, Texas, USA, reported S&P Global with reference to a source familiar with company operations.

This plant's production capacity is 1 million mt/year.

The company did not respond to a request for comment.

As MRC wrote before, OxyChem's La Porte complex has 1,250,000 tpa of vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) production capacity, which suffered a production upset in late June, 2015. VCM is an intermediate material that is later transformed into PVC.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, contrary to seasonal factors, Russian producers of unmixed PVC have maintained a high level of capacity utilisation. Russia's overal PVC output totalled 91,700 tonnes in January 2020, up by 4% year on year. January production of unmixed PVC was 91,700 tonnes versus 87,760 tonnes in January 2019 and 81,400 tonnes in December 2019. Thus, despite relatively weak demand for resin from the domestic market, the average capacity utilisation exceeded 95% last month. Russia's overall PVC production reached 975,000 tonnes in 2019, compared to 958,600 tonnes a year earlier.

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OxyChem) is a California-based oil and gas exploration and production company with operations in the United States, the Middle East, North Africa, and South America. Oxychem is Oxy"s Texas-based subsidiary which manufacture polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resins, chlorine and caustic soda used in plastics, pharmaceuticals and water treatment chemicals.
MRC

Shintech eyes Texas PVC turnaround in April

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shintech, a subsidiary of Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., is planning a month-long turnaround in April on one of the trains at its 1.4 million mt/year polyvinyl chloride (PVC) facility in Freeport, Texas, reported S&P Global with reference to a source familiar with company operations.

Market sources had expected the turnaround to occur in March, as is typical, but the source said it was planned for April. The upcoming planned work has prompted the company to stockpile PVC to meet domestic and contract demand, limiting export volume availability for March and April, the source said.

The company did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

As MRC informed previously, in July 2018, Shintech began to construct a new integrated plant to PVC from salt. The new plant will be on industrial site developed by Shintech, located next to Shintech's existing plant in Plaquemine, Louisiana.

Shintech obtained permits to build a plant capable of producing 1.9 billion pounds (860 thousand tons) per year of vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), the raw material of PVC, and 660 thousand tons per year of caustic soda, and has commenced construction of the first phase of the plan. The first phase will increase production capacity by 640 million pounds (290 thousand tons) of PVC per year and 270 thousand tons of caustic soda per year. The amount of this investment is expected to be $1.49 billion, which Shintech will fund by itself. Completion of the construction is targeted for the end of 2020. Annual production capacity after the completion of the first phase will be 7.14 billion pounds (3,240 thousand tons per year) of PVC and 1,570 thousand tons of caustic soda per year.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, contrary to seasonal factors, Russian producers of unmixed PVC have maintained a high level of capacity utilisation. Russia's overal PVC output totalled 91,700 tonnes in January 2020, up by 4% year on year. January production of unmixed PVC was 91,700 tonnes versus 87,760 tonnes in January 2019 and 81,400 tonnes in December 2019. Thus, despite relatively weak demand for resin from the domestic market, the average capacity utilisation exceeded 95% last month. Russia's overall PVC production reached 975,000 tonnes in 2019, compared to 958,600 tonnes a year earlier.
MRC

Formosa conducts maintenance at PVC and VCM plants in Poin Comfort

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Formosa Plastics USA, part of Formosa Petrochemical, has two ongoing turnarounds at its polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plant and an upstream vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) facility at the company's Point Comfort complex, also in Texas, reported S&P Global.

The PVC and VCM plants' production capacities are 798,000 mt/year 753,000 mt/year, respectively.

The PVC work at Point Comfort had been slated to wrap up by the end of February, but was still ongoing this week, according to a source familiar with company operations. The VCM work was scheduled to stretch into mid-March.

The company declined to comment.

All of the work was expected to limit export volume availability in March and April, market sources said.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, contrary to seasonal factors, Russian producers of unmixed PVC have maintained a high level of capacity utilisation. Russia's overal PVC output totalled 91,700 tonnes in January 2020, up by 4% year on year. January production of unmixed PVC was 91,700 tonnes versus 87,760 tonnes in January 2019 and 81,400 tonnes in December 2019. Thus, despite relatively weak demand for resin from the domestic market, the average capacity utilisation exceeded 95% last month. Russia's overall PVC production reached 975,000 tonnes in 2019, compared to 958,600 tonnes a year earlier.

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

Trinseo announces quarterly dividend

MOSCOW (MRC) --Trinseo, a global materials solutions provider and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders and synthetic rubber, has announced that its Board of Directors authorized a quarterly dividend of USD0.40 per share, as per the company's press release.

The dividend will be a cash distribution payable on April 23, 2020, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on April 9, 2020.

Trinseo is a public limited liability company formed under the laws of Luxembourg. Under current Luxembourg tax law, distributions to shareholders via repayments of equity or share premium are not subject to Luxembourg withholding tax. Distributions made by Trinseo on or prior to January 23, 2020 were repayments of equity or share premium and were therefore not subject to Luxembourg withholding tax.

The distribution to the company's shareholders declared on February 26, 2020, and future distributions, will be considered a dividend made on the common shares and is subject to a 15% withholding tax under Luxembourg law. Trinseo will deduct this tax from the dividends paid to our shareholders and transfer this tax to the Luxembourg tax authorities.

As MRC reported earlier, Trinseo and its affiliate companies in Europe have announced a price reduction for all polystyrene (PS) grades in Europe. Effective March 1, 2020, or as existing contract terms allow, the contract and spot prices for the products listed below went down as follows:

-- STYRON general purpose polystyrene grades (GPPS) -- by EUR65 per metric ton;
-- STYRON and STYRON A-Tech and STYRON X- Tech high impact polystyrene grades (HIPS) - by EUR65 per metric ton.

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, prices of Russian PS will remain unchanged until the end of the first quarter. Nizhnekamskneftekhim rolled over February prices of its material for shipments in March. Penoplex and Gazprom neftekhim Salavat also maintained their GPPS prices the same.

Trinseo is a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber. Trinseo's technology is used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires. Formerly known as Styron, Trinseo completed its renaming process in 1Q 2015. Trinseo had approximately USD4.6 billion in net sales in 2018, with 16 manufacturing sites around the world, and approximately 2,500 employees.
MRC

LyondellBasell Spheripol technology again selected by Hyosung Vina Chemicals

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell, the world’s largest licensor of polyolefin technologies, has announced that Hyosung Vina Chemicals Co., Ltd. will use the LyondellBasell Spheripol technology for a new facility, reported EinNewsDesk.

The process technology will be used for a 300 KTA polypropylene (PP) plant to be built in Cai Mep Industrial Zone, Vung Tau Province, Vietnam.

"This additional award for our Spheripol technology from Hyosung makes us particularly proud, as it once again demonstrates how confident operators are with our licensing offer," said Jim Seward, Senior Vice President, R&D, Technology and Sustainability at LyondellBasell. Seward added, "The unmatched licensing track record of our polyolefin technology portfolio makes the Spheripol process the technology of choice in the polyolefin industry."

Mr. Kyong Yong Cha, Vice President at Hyosung Corp., stated: "We are very satisfied with the outstanding project execution and support for the first Spheripol technology project at Hyosung Vina Chemical and we trust the wide range of products offered by LyondellBasell’s Spheripol technology will be a good choice for our additional polypropylene plant."

Spheripol technology is the leading polypropylene process technology with more than 27 million tons of licensed capacity. The latest fifth generation Spheripol technology includes process improvements that further maximize operational efficiency. The plant will commence operations using Avant ZN catalyst.

New licensees can take advantage of LyondellBasell’s in-house expertise of continuous production improvement, sustainable product development and catalyst knowhow, by optionally joining our Technical Service program.

As MRC informed before, LyondellBasell announced that Ceyhan Polipropilen Uretim A.S, a joint venture between Turkey’s Ronesans Holding and Algeria’s Sonatrach S.p.A., has selected the company’s Spheripol technology for a new polypropylene (PP) unit to be constructed in Ceyhan, Turkey. The unit will have a production capacity of 450,000 tons/year of PP.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, 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).

LyondellBasell is one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world. Driven by its 13,000 employees around the globe, LyondellBasell produces materials and products that are key to advancing solutions to modern challenges like enhancing food safety through lightweight and flexible packaging, protecting the purity of water supplies through stronger and more versatile pipes, and improving the safety, comfort and fuel efficiency of many of the cars and trucks on the road. LyondellBasell sells products into approximately 100 countries and is the world's largest licensor of polyolefin technologies.
MRC