Sasol Says Lake Charles Shut Without Damage from Hurricane Delta

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sasol Ltd. said its Lake Charles Chemicals Project in Louisiana remains shut, though no apparent damage to equipment was found following the nearby landfall of Hurricane Delta, reported Bloomberg.

While a preliminary assessment is underway, crews also indicated no flooding damage was experienced at the site from the hurricane that hit on Oct. 9, the company said in a reply to questions. Some power supply was lost overnight.

Delta was the second major weather system to strike the vicinity of the complex in less than two months. Hurricane Laura knocked out electricity to the site for weeks as Sasol struggles to finish the project that has been 99% complete since March. It was approved in 2014 at an estimated cost of USD8.1 billion, with a further $800 million budgeted for infrastructure improvement and land acquisition, but various setbacks have increased the total price tag to almost USD12.9 billion.

“We will resume the coordinated startup sequence of Sasol’s Lake Charles facilities when it is safe to do so,” the company said. “Start-up will depend on the availability of electricity and other feedstocks as well as the restoration process underway from Hurricane Laura.”

As MRC wrote previously, Sasol expected to restart crackers and downstream derivative units at its Lake Charles, Louisiana, complex by early- to mid-October once full load power is restored. By late September, Sasol had finished damage assessments of all 14 manufacturing units and associated utilities and infrastructure at the complex, which was shut ahead of Hurricane Laura's Aug. 27 assault. Lake Charles took a direct hit from the Category 4 storm, which came ashore Aug. 27 packing 150 mph winds.

We remind that Sasol's world-scale US ethane cracker with the capacity of 1.5 mln tonnes per year reached beneficial operation on 27 August 2019. Sasol's new cracker, the heart of Lake Charles Chemicals Project (LCCP), is the third and most significant of the seven LCCP facilities to come online and will provide feedstock to the company's six new derivative units at its Lake Charles multi-asset site.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,496,500 tonnes in the first eight months of 2020, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of all ethylene polymers increased, except for linear low desnity polyethylene (LLDPE). At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 767,2900 tonnes in the eight months of 2020 (calculated using the formula - production minus exports plus imports - and not counting producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply increased exclusively of PP random copolymer.

Sasol is an international integrated chemicals and energy company that leverages technologies and the expertise of our 31 270 people working in 32 countries. The company develops and commercialises technologies, and builds and operates world-scale facilities to produce a range of high-value product stream, including liquid fuels, petrochemicals and low-carbon electricity.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LG Chem Ltd., South Korea’s leading chemical firm, said Monday its operating profit hit a quarterly record high in the third quarter amid robust sales at the petrochemical and electric vehicle (EV) battery units, said Koreabizwire.

In its earnings guidance, the South Korean electric vehicle battery maker estimated its operating profit at 902 billion won (USD785 million) in the July-September period, up 158.7 percent from a year earlier. The third-quarter operating income estimate beats the market consensus of 732.8 billion won in the data compiled by Yonhap Infomax, the financial arm of Yonhap News Agency.

Robust sales in the petrochemical and EV battery units helped the company continue to report a larger-than-expected profit in the third quarter. LG Chem’s sales also hit a quarterly record high of 7.5 trillion won in the third quarter, the company said, without providing a net result for the third quarter in the guidance.

The company has said its EV battery plant in Poland began to produce products in a stable manner as the defect rate declined, which in turn improved its bottom line. LG Chem also operates electric vehicle battery plants in South Korea, China and the United States.

In July, LG Chem’s battery business unit achieved an operating income of 155.5 billion won in the second quarter on quarterly record sales of 2.82 trillion won. Cha Dong-seok, chief financial officer at LG Chem, said in July that the EV battery business unit could continue to post sharp growth in the third quarter due to increased shipments of EV batteries to Europe and increased sales of cylindrical batteries.

LG Chem is a key supplier of batteries to electric vehicles, including those of GM, Ford, Renault, Volvo, Audi, Volkswagen and Daimler, as well as South Korea’s largest carmaker, Hyundai Motor Co., and its smaller affiliate, Kia Motors Corp.

LG Chem said it is on track to boost its production capacity to 100 gigawatt hours by the end of this year, which is enough to supply batteries for about 1.7 million electric cars. LG Chem said its order backlog for EV batteries is currently valued at more than 150 trillion won.

The EV battery market has been on a roll as automakers around the world race to go electric and eco-friendly due to tightened regulations on greenhouse gas emissions, which scientists say are to blame for global warming. LG Chem is scheduled to release its third-quarter net result on Oct. 21.

As MRC informed earlier, LG Chem signed a conditional contract with Ningbo, China-based Ningbo Shanshan to sell a large portion of its liquid crystal display (LCD) polarizer business for USD1.1 billion. The sale reflects LG's strategy of exiting from the LCD business as cut-price Chinese electronics makers, such as Beijing-based BOE Technology, dominate the business.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall PE production totalled 1,712,400 tonnes in the first seven months of 2020, up by 58% year on year. Linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) accounted for the greatest increase in the output. At the same time, overall PP production in Russia increased in January-July 2020 by 24% year on year to 1,063,700 tonne. ZapSibNeftekhim accounted for the main increase in the output.

LG Chem Ltd., often referred to as LG Chemical, is the largest Korean chemical company and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. According to ICIS report, it is 15th biggest chemical company in the world in 2011. It has eight domestic factories and global network of 29 business locations in 15 countries. LG Chem is a manufacturer, supplier, and exporter of petrochemical goods, IT&E Materials and Energy Solutions.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PJSC Tatneft’s Tatneftegazpererabotka (UTNGP) is adding a new unit as part of an ongoing modernization program at its Minnibayevo gas processing plant (MGPP) in Tatarstan’s Almetyevsk region, said Chemweek.

Recently approved for its permit to build, the project includes construction of a normal butane (n-butane) processing unit and associated off-site installations within the boundaries of the existing MGPP complex, Tatneft said.

The new n-butane unit will be equipped with the capacity to process 50,000 tonnes/year of n-butane into solid maleic anhydride, which is used to produce polymers used in the food, textile, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries, according to the operator.

Scheduled for commissioning in 2023, the n-butane unit comes as part of a broader upgrading program at the MGPP complex, which also includes the proposed reconstruction of a cryogenic unit for deep processing of dry stripped gas (DSG).

Alongside enabling deep processing of DSG, the cryogenic unit revamp—due to be completed in December 2023—also will increase the site’s depth of ethane fraction recovery the calorific value of carbon dioxide, as well as reduce the volume of hydrocarbons in nitrogen-containing gas, allowing the complex to reduce the amount of hydrocarbon emissions into the atmosphere by about 42%, Tatneft said.

The MGPP modernization program is part of Tatneft’s renewed focus on its gas processing and petrochemical operations given the current situation in the petroleum market, according to Azat Bikmurzin, director of Tatneft’s petrochemicals business.

As mRC informed earlier, PJSC Tatneft and Slovnaft announced they have signed a cooperation agreement for the development of joint projects in the downstream sector. The agreement document identified possible areas for the development of joint projects aimed at the production of biocomponents for motor fuels, modified road bitumen and lubricants.

We remind that Russia's output of products from polymers grew in August 2020 by 4.1% year on year. However, this figure increased by 1.9% year on year in the first eight months of 2020, reported MRC analysts. According to the Russian Federal State Statistics Service, August production of unreinforced and non-combined films rose to 126,300 tonnes from 118,200 tonnes a month earlier. Output of films products grew in January-August 2020 by 8.3% year on year to 863,200 tonnes. August production of non-porous polymer boards, sheets and films exceeded 38,700 tonnes versus 36,400 tonnes in July. Thus, overall output of these products reached 271,900 tonnes over the stated period, up by 3.5% year on year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Lummus Technology has formed a new business that will focus on circular economy and energy transition solutions, including plastic waste recycling and the processing of renewable bio-based feedstocks for the production of chemicals, polymers, and fuels, said Chemweek.

The new business, named Green Circle, will focus on cooperating with technology developers in these areas and help it serve customers looking for sustainable process solutions, Lummus says. The new entity will leverage the experience of its parent company in designing and integrating plants with modern olefins production facilities “to deliver technology that converts a wide range of end-of-life plastics derived from solid waste to value-added fuels or circular polymers for a true plastics-to-plastics formula,” it says.

Options for lowering the carbon footprint of existing facilities will also be provided, including through the production of renewable fuels, bio-based chemicals and polymers; technology for carbon dioxide (CO2) capture, utilization and storage; and sustainable hydrogen production, it says.

Through the new business, Lummus will “double down on our strategic intent to strengthen our leadership position in the circular economy and help drive the energy transition,” says Leon de Bruyn, president and CEO. It will also “accelerate our ability to scale-up and commercialize sustainable solutions,” he says.

As MRC informed earlier, Lukoil is planning a 280,000-metric tons/year PP plant at its integrated refinery and
petrochemicals facility at Burgas, Bulgaria. Lummus Technology has been awarded a contract by Lukoil (Moscow, Russia) to license its Novolen polypropylene (PP) process for a new 280,000-metric tons/year PP facility in Burgas, Bulgaria. The value of the contract and the timescale has not been disclosed.

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, Poliom took off-stream its PP production for the scheduled maintenance on 2 September; the shutdown will take a little more than two weeks. The plant's annual production capacity is 230,000 tonnes. It is also worth noting that Ufaorgsintez also shut its production capacities for a scheduled turnaround on 12 September, the outage will last until 10 October.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- As part of portfolio management reforms based on the Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Group’s medium-term management plan APTSIS 20, Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation has concluded agreements to transfer its polymer flocculant sales business to MT AquaPolymer, Inc. and Hymo Corporation, said the company.

Once the transfer is complete, the two companies will outsource the manufacture of polymer flocculants to MCC. The transfer is subject to obtaining approval from competition authorities.

MTAP is a leading Japanese manufacturer of polymer flocculants and handles the production and sale of the same types of products as those to be transferred. Hymo is a water treatment solution manufacturer that has a record of joint research and development with MCC on some of the products to be transferred.

These agreements have been reached in the expectation that the handover to the two companies of extensive sales networks built up by MCC and certain manufacturing technologies will reinforce the polymer flocculant business, which is a strength of the two companies.

As MRC informed earlier, Mitsubishi Chemical, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation, halted methyl methacrylate (MMA) production in Otake, Japan in mid-September for scheduled repairs. This production with a capacity of 110,000/tonne of MMA per year will be closed until mid-November.

The main application, consuming approximately 75% MMA, is in the production of polymethyl methacrylate acrylic plastics (PMMA). Methyl methacrylate is also used to produce methyl methacrylate-butadiene-styrene copolymer (MBS) used as a modifier for polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, September total production of unmixed PVC grew to 86,000 tonnes from 75,500 tonnes a month earlier, SayanskKhimPlast and RusVinyl increased their capacity utilisation. Overall output of polymer were 718,500 tonnes in the first nine months of 2020 versus 720,500 tonnes a year earlier, only two producers raised their production volumes, and RusVinyl cut its output.

Mitsubishi Chemical, a Japanese integrated chemical company, was established on October 1, 1990 through the merger of Mitsubishi Kasei and Mitsubishi Petrochemical Co. Due to its wide range of activities, it is one of the ten leading chemical companies in the world.
MRC