Sinochem starts up petrochemical complex in Fujian

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China’s Sinochem Quanzhou Petrochemical successfully started up its newly constructed naphtha cracker in Quanzhou, Fujian province on 16 May 2020, setting the company on track to bring its downstream units online by mid of the year, reported CommoPlast.

The cracker has an annual capacity of 1 million tons of ethylene.

The downstream units include a 350,000 tons/year polypropylene (PP) plant, 450,000 tons/year high density polyethylene (HDPE) plant, and 200,000 tons/year low density polyethylene (LDPE) units, which are expected to come on stream between June and July 2020.

Also at the same site, the company expanded the refinery units by 60,000 barrels per day, lifting the refining capability to 300,000 barrels per day from the previous 240,000 barrel.

As MRC informed before, in January 2020, Sinochem Energy, a unit of China’s Sinochem Group, agreed to sell a 20% stake to five state-owned firms for 11.56 billion yuan (USD1.65 billion).

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 557,060 tonnes in the first three month of 2020, up by 7% year on year. High density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments rose because of the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. Demand for LDPE subsided. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market was 267,630 tonnes in January-March 2020, down 20% year on year. Homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers accounted for the main decrease in imports.

Sinochem Group engages in energy, agriculture, chemicals, real estate, and finance service businesses in China and internationally. It is involved in the exploration and production, refining and trading, warehousing and logistics, and distribution and retailing of oil and gas. The company also produces and distributes fertilizers, such as nitrogen, phosphate, potash, and other fertilizers.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- South Korea’s Lotte Chemical Corp. has acquired a 4.46 percent stake in Japanese peer Showa Denko K. K. in a bid for future growth, said Chemweek.

The share purchase worth 161.7 billion won (USD132 million) was carried out in two phases between March and April, Lotte Chemical said.

A Showa Denko spokesperson declined to comment on the deal.

Showa Denko completed their planned acquisition of an 87.61 percent stake in Hitachi Chemical Co., a Japanese chemical giant, for about 845 billion yen (USD7.9 billion) through a tender offer on April 20.

The South Korean firm had bid for negotiation rights for the sale of Hitachi Chemical by its parent conglomerate Hitachi Ltd., according to a Yonhap News report.

Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong Bin said at a board meeting on Wednesday that the group needs to collectively invest in fields in which it can achieve future growth, the report said.

As MRC informed earlier, Lotte Chemical Titan might carry out a scheduled turnaround at its No. 1 cracker in Malaysia in 2021. No further details on the exact time period is revealed at the moment. The previous news reported that the company might shut down the No. 1 cracker with a capacity of 285,000 tonnes of ethylene per year and polyethylene (PE) 1 in June 2020 for 35 days overhaul.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 557,060 tonnes in the first three month of 2020, up by 7% year on year. High density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments rose because of the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. Demand for LDPE subsided. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market was 267,630 tonnes in January-March 2020, down 20% year on year. Homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers accounted for the main decrease in imports.

Lotte Chemical Titan produces Malaysia's most comprehensive portfolio of olefins and polyolefins which contribute to the enhancement of everyday life. Lotte Chemical Titan's production site in Malaysia consists of eleven process facilities, two co-generation plants and three tank farms. They are located on 2 sites in Pasir Gudang and Tanjung Langsat in the state of Johor. In 2006, Lotte Chemical Titan acquired PT Lotte Chemical Titan Nusantara, Indonesia’s first and largest polyethylene plant in the country. This acquisition boosted the polyolefins capacity by approximately 50%, thus making the company one of the largest producers in South East Asia. Lotte Chemical Titan was acquired by Lotte Chemical Corp., forming part of the Lotte conglomerate of Korea, in 2010. The company thus became one of Lotte Chemical Corp.’s largest overseas subsidiaries.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Completion of Shintech's USD1.49 billion expansions across the PVC chain at its Louisiana complex has been pushed back to the first quarter of 2021 from late 2020 because of a slowdown in the work to ensure safety protocols on coronavirus pandemic concerns, said S&P Global.

n July 2018, Shintech began to construct a new integrated plant to PVC from salt. The new plant will be on industrial Isite 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.

As MRC informed earlier, Shintech completed a turnaround at its 1.4 million mt/year polyvinyl chloride (PVC) complex, also in Texas in April of 2020.

As per MRC's DataScope report, last month"s SPVC imports into the Ukrainian market decreased to 2,800 tonnes from 3,700 tonnes in March, plastic products producers cut purchases amid the spread of coronavirus. Overall SPVC imports reached 14,300 tonnes in January-April 2020, compared to 15,500 tonnes a year earlier. Weaker demand for PVC in the domestic market made some producers to increase exports in April. The key suppliers of PVC to the Ukrainian market were producers from Europe, their share in total imports for the period under review amounted to about 80%. Producers from the USA with the share of about 19% were the second largest suppliers.

Shintech, the North American division of one of the largest Japanese companies - Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd. Shintech is a leading global manufacturer of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and silicone and specialty chemicals.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Qatar Petrochemical Company (QAPCO) has failed to restart its linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) line and extented force majeure on shipments of material, reported CommoPlast.

The company unexpectedly shut down the LLDPE line on 3 May 2020 due to an unspecified technical issue. The shutdown has forced its sole marketing and distribution arm - Muntajat to declare force majeure on the shipment of these cargoes to Asian customers.

Apparently, the plant failed to restart on 12 May and official notification has been sent to customers informing that the company is working to bring the 570,000 tons/year LLDPE line online by 20 May 2020.

“The force majeure, therefore, would remain in place until further notice as the stoppage has significantly impacted and prevented our ability to meet our delivery obligations,” said, the official statement.

As MRC informed previously, in 2013, Qatar Chemical and Petrochemical Marketing and Distribution Company (Muntajat) took over the marketing and distribution responsibilities for Qatar’s globally recognised Lotrene brand of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and LLDPE. Muntajat has the mandate to export Qatar’s 10 million tonnes/year of chemicals and petrochemicals to markets worldwide.

In Qatar, LDPE and LLDPE are produced by Qatar Petrochemical Company (Qapco) and Qatofin, respectively, and these high-quality products are being sold to more than 4,500 customers worldwide under the brand name Lotrene.

Qatar’s chemical and petrochemical industry’s planned investments will further increase the country’s export portfolio to 23 million tonnes per year by 2020, from 10 million tonnes in 2013, according to Muntajat CEO Abdulrahman Ali Al-Abdulla's statement.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, March LLDPE shipments to Russia grew to 36,790 tonnes from 25,690 tonnes a month earlier, production increased. Overall LLDPE shipments into the Russian market totalled 110,000 tonnes in the first three months of 2020, up by 11% year on year. SabSibNeftekhim accounted for the main increase in shipments.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Toray Industries, Inc., announced today that it will lift production capacity for Torayfan oriented polypropylene film for Automotive capacitors by 60% at its Tsuchiura Plant in Ibaraki Prefecture in 2022, said the company.

The goal is to capitalize on an expanding market for electric vehicles. Torayfan is a lighter plastic film among other plastic films. It is a very tough material with excellent mechanical and electrical properties. Its broad application extends from industrial to film capacitors and packaging. Film capacitors, a prime application of Torayfan, are commonly used in electric circuits of consumer electronics, IT equipment and inverter circuits for the power control units of electric vehicle motors.

Since film capacitors are relatively large components in power control units, PCUs have been desired to be smaller and lighter to enable Automotive OEMs to improve driving performance and efficiency while enhancing interior spaces and design flexibility. In order to reduce capacitor size, moreover, the film must be thinner. But the problem is that thinner films reduce voltage resistance. Torayfan dominates the automotive capacitor film market because of its unique technologically in maintaining thinness and voltage resistance.

Recent years have seen automotive emissions regulations tighten around the world amid a growing awareness of environmental issues. It has become difficult for vehicles employing internal combustion engines to clear regulatory requirements. It is against that backdrop that the demand for electric vehicles is set to grow 20% annually. The growth drivers are Europe and China, where stricter environmental legislation are to be in force. Toray’s Tsuchiura Plant increased capacity would cater to the demand expansion for automotive capacitors.

By swiftly boosting capacity at that facility, Toray hopes to further expand its business in the years ahead in keeping with its corporate philosophy of contributing to society by creating new value with innovative ideas, technologies, and products.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market was 267,630 tonnes in January-March 2020, down 20% year on year. Homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers accounted for the main decrease in imports.
MRC