Formosa unexpectedly shut its No. 2 cracker in Taiwan

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Formosa Plastics, part of Formosa Petrochemical, has shut down its No.2 cracker in Taiwan on 1 June, reported Chemweek with reference to OPIS.

No reason for unplanned closure was given. The cracker is expected to be idle during one week.

Located at Mailiao in Taiwan, the No.2 cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 1.03 million mt/year, propylene production capacity of 515,000 mt/year and butadiene production capacity of 162,000 mt/year.

Formosa, Asia's top naphtha importer, operates three naphtha crackers in Mailiao. These units have a total capacity of 2.93 million tpy of ethylene.

As MRC informed earlier, Formosa Plastics' new 1.5 million mt/year cracker in Point Comfort, Texas, came online in early January, 2020, and was seen ramping up through January.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 721,290 tonnes in the first four month of 2020, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments grew partially because of the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 347,440 tonnes in January-April 2020 (calculated by the formula production minus export plus import). Supply exclusively of PP random copolymer increased.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The American Chemistry Council (ACC) announced on Tuesday that it has approved four new members - three regular and one affiliate - at its virtual annual meeting, as per Chemweek.

The regular members include KMTEX, LLC (Port Arthur, Texas), Nylon Corporation of America (NYCOA, Manchester, New Hampshire), and Synthomer plc (Essex, United Kingdom). KMTEX is the largest toll distillation provider in the Gulf Coast, with 40 years of experience in separating and purifying many chemistries, including glycols, solvents, and aromatic hydrocarbons. NYCOA is a leading manufacturer of engineered nylon resins, including specialty high-performance nylons and Synthomer is a global supplier of aqueous polymers.

At the Affiliate level, ACC’s board approved the addition of Leschaco, Inc. (Bremem, Germany), a global logistics service provider.

"At a time of great economic uncertainty, ACC’s continued growth speaks to the value we bring to our members through initiatives as diverse as state and federal advocacy, Responsible Care®, and sustainability,” says ACC President and CEO Chris Jahn. “More than ever, our industry is playing an essential role in solving global challenges. The addition of these members strengthens an already large group of strong and committed companies, dedicated to advancing the health, safety, and well-being of our global community as well as advancing the industry’s policy priorities."

As MRC reported earlier, in July 2019, polymer maker Synthomer Plc said it had agreed to buy Omnova Solutions Inc (OMN.N) for an enterprise value of USD824 million in a bid to strengthen its global position. Acquiring Omnova will help Synthomer bolster its footprint in Europe and Asia and help penetrate into China, Synthomer said in a statement. The deal was closed in early 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 721,290 tonnes in the first four month of 2020, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments grew partially because of the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 347,440 tonnes in January-April 2020 (calculated by the formula production minus export plus import). Supply exclusively of PP random copolymer increased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Xinneng Fenghuang (Tengzhou) Energy Company has brought on-stream its No. 2 & No. 3 methanol units in Tengzhou, Shandong province, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that, the company resumed operations at the units following a maintenance turnaround on May 31, 2020. The units remained off-line for about three weeks.

Located in Shandong province, China, the No. 2 methanol unit has a production capacity of 360,000 mt/year and No. 3 methanol unit has a production capacity of 200,000 mt/year.

We remind that, as MRC informed earlier, Sinopec Zhongyuan Petrochemical restarted its methanol-to-olefins (MTO) plant in China in mid-February 2019, following an unplanned outage. The was shut on November 5, 2018 owing to bearish market conditions. Located at Henan in China, the MTO plant has an ethylene and propylene capacity of 100,000 mt/year each.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 721,290 tonnes in the first four month of 2020, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments grew partially because of the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 347,440 tonnes in January-April 2020 (calculated by the formula production minus export plus import). Supply exclusively of PP random copolymer increased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A joint petrochemical complex planned by CPC Corp., from Taiwan and state-owned energy producer, PT Pertamina is to be built in Balongan, West Java, said senior minister last week, said Theinsiderstories.

The projects is estimating need costs USD12 billion and to start operating in 2026. Coordinating minister for economic affairs, Airlangga Hartarto told reporter through a video conference said, that both have entered the final stage of talks over the investment. Now, the two companies are finalizing details of the plan, which is one of 245 national strategic projects being run by President Joko Widodo’ government, which include toll roads, railroads, airports, harbors and refineries, as well as gas distribution and irrigation systems.

Early January, CPC Corp. announced is committed to investing USD22 billion for the development of the Balongan petrochemical refinery. In 2018, the company and Pertamina has signed a USD6.49 billion framework agreement for the project. Its estimating, CPC it will take an investment around USD700 million to construct a new plant with an annual capacity of 1 million metric tons of ethylene.

The cooperation between the producers is carried out in the form of the construction of a global-scale naphtha cracker plant and a global petrochemical downstream development unit in Indonesia. The Indonesian operator is committed to diversifying its business into new and renewable energy segments to support the government program for an energy mix portions of 25 percent by 2025.

Later the naphtha cracker plant is expected to produce at least one million tons of ethylene per year and build a downstream unit that will produce other refined derivative products to meet the needs of the world industry, especially in Indonesia.

Currently, Pertamina‘ petrochemical processing capacity is only 700 kilotons per annum. Its capacity will increase gradually as the refinery mega project is completed consisting of two new refineries includes Tuban and Bontang, and four revitalized refineries such as Balikpapan, Cilacap, Balongan, and Dumai.

In 2026, the plant will be able to produce around 6,600 kilotons per year of petrochemical products. So far, the country spends USD3 billion per year to import oil and gas which is almost 70 percent of the country’ national needs.

Recently, CPC has been set up to build and operate a lubricant oil blending plant together with a solvent and chemicals storage complex in Vietnam and thence from that base to explore the Southeast Asian market for those products. This project is the second investment case for the company under the New Southbound Policy, the first being Daihai Petroleum Corporation – an LPG import and marketing joint-venture, located in the port city of Haiphong in northern Vietnam – along with TASCO Group, Chin Lead Co., and HPI Co., local branch.

Since CPC closed its fifth naphtha cracker in Kaohsiung in 2015, the Taiwanese firm has been seeking to relocate its naphtha operations to Indonesia. CPC and Pertamina had previously discussed a plan that was scrapped after negotiations failed to make progress.

As mRC informed earlier, PT Pertamina will develop its Cilacap refinery in Central Java “independently”, the state energy company said, dropping a plan to boost capacity through a joint venture with Saudi Aramco. The two companies have been in talks to upgrade the Cilacap refinery since 2016 and last year said that they would finalise a joint venture plan in the first quarter of 2020.

As MRC informed earlier, Pertamina carried out planned maintenances at the liquid catalytic cracking unit in Balongan (Balongan, West Java, Indonesia). Repair work on this installation with a capacity of 180,000 tonnes/year of propylene started on 19 March of this year and ended on 19 April.

Propylene is a feedstock for producing of PP.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market were 192,760 tonnes in January-February 2020, down by 6% year on year. Homopolymer PP accounted for the main decrease in imports.

Pertamina is an Indonesian state-owned oil and natural gas corporation based in Jakarta. It was created in August 1968 by the merger of Pertamin (established 1961) and Permina (established 1957). Pertamina is the world's largest producer and exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BP announced that David Lawler, CEO of BPX Energy (Denver), will add to his portfolio the responsibilities of chairman and president of BP America, succeeding Susan Dio on 1 July 2020, said Chemweek.

Lawler will become BP's chief representative in the United States. With 13,000 employees and USD30 billion invested since 2016, BP has a larger economic footprint in the US than anywhere else in the world, the company says. In 2019, these businesses accounted for a third of BP's global revenue.

Lawler will take the helm as BP embarks on a new ambition to become net zero by 2050 or sooner and to help the world get to net zero. Bernard Looney, BP CEO said, "Beyond a track record of delivering strong safety, environmental and commercial results, [Lawler] brings an authentic and inspiring leadership style. His curiosity and willingness to do things differently will be essential as we reinvent BP and reimagine energy for people and our planet."

Lawler has served as CEO of BPX Energy since 2014. In 2018, he led the USD10.5 billion acquisition and integration of BHP's American shale assets, BP's largest acquisition since buying Arco in 1999. In addition to focusing investment on the highest quality barrels – aimed at delivering returns and cash flow rather than production volumes alone – Lawler's team also developed oilfield infrastructure to lower operational emissions and eventually eliminate routine flaring in the Permian Basin.

We also remind that, in September 2019, six world's major petrochemical companies in Flanders, Belgium, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and the Netherlands (Trilateral Region) announced the creation of a consortium to jointly investigate how naphtha or gas steam crackers could be operated using renewable electricity instead of fossil fuels. The Cracker of the Future consortium, which includes BASF, Borealis, BP, LyondellBasell, SABIC and Total, aims to produce base chemicals while also significantly reducing carbon emissions. The companies agreed to invest in R&D and knowledge sharing as they assess the possibility of transitioning their base chemical production to renewable electricity.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 383,760 tonnes in the first two month of 2020, up by 14% year on year. High density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments increased due to the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 192,760 tonnes in January-February 2020, down by 6% year on year. Homopolymer PP accounted for the main decrease in imports.

BP is one of the world's leading international oil and gas companies, providing its customers with fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, retail services and petrochemicals products for everyday items.

MRC