Vietnam firm launches country's largest solar farm amid renewables drive

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Vietnam’s Trung Nam Group has launched a 450-megawatt solar farm, the largest of its kind in the Southeast Asian country, which is seeking to boost the proportion of renewables while reducing dependence on coal in its power mix, said HYdrocarbonprocesing.

Located in the central coastal province of Ninh Thuan, the 14 trillion dong ($604 million) solar farm is hooked up to the national grid via a 17 km (10.6 miles) transmission line, also built by Trung Nam, the private firm said in a statement.

Facing an imminent electricity shortage, Vietnam is developing renewables, along with LNG-to-power and coal-based projects, as hydropower has been almost fully tapped while oil and gas production has peaked. Plans to build nuclear power plants were scrapped in 2016.

Vietnam plans to raise the proportion of solar and wind energy in its power mix to 15%-20% by 2030 and to 25%-30% by 2045, from 10% currently.

The company said the solar farm, along with its other solar and wind power projects, will help ease the country’s imminent power shortage and diversify power sources.

“Vietnam’s solar and wind energy potential is immense and the country is on the right track to rapidly and effectively tap this potential,” Trung Nam chief executive officer Nguyen Tam Tien said.

Trung Nam said it was also looking to develop LNG-to-power projects, noting it will initially build a terminal in Ninh Thuan to facilitate the imports of liquefied natural gas for future power plants in the area.

Vietnam is also building a fleet of LNG-to-power plants, with the first to be operational by 2023, an ambitious move that could turn LNG into a major energy source for the country.

As MRC informed earlier, two consortiums led by Hyundai Engineering & Construction and Technip Italy are bidding for a USD1.8 billion project to upgrade and expand Vietnam’s Dung Quat refinery. Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical said in a statement the project would raise the refinery’s capacity by 30% to 8.5 million tons of crude oil a year, or 170,000 barrels per day (bpd).

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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Henkel has provided a business update for the third quarter and says that, based on preliminary figures, its adhesive technologies business unit achieved positive organic sales growth of 1.3% in the quarter, said Chemweek.

All business areas in adhesive technologies showed a recovery in demand compared with the second quarter, the company says. Henkel notes that in the first nine months of 2020, adhesive technologies recorded a 6.8% decline in organic sales.

“Despite the continued challenging economic environment as a result of the corona crisis, based on preliminary sales figures, Henkel delivered a strong organic sales growth of plus 3.9% in the third quarter. Sales reached around EUR5.0 billion [USD5.9 billion] and all business units contributed to the good performance,” says Carsten Knobel, CEO at Henkel.

Based on the preliminary business performance in the first nine months, Henkel has provided new guidance for 2020, following the withdrawal of its full-year guidance in April due to the high level of uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the adhesive technologies business, which is significantly impacted by a sharp decline in general industrial demand such as in the automotive industry, Henkel anticipates organic sales growth in the range of 5.5-6.5%, and an EBIT margin in the range of 14.5-15.0%. Henkel will publish its third-quarter results on 10 November.

As MRC informed earlier, Henkel AG & Co. KGaA (Dusseldorf, Germany) announced that Henkel Adhesives Technologies has officially inaugurated its new production facility in Kurkumbh, India.

Henkel are also partnering with Borealis and plastics solutions company Borouge to develop flexible packaging solutions for detergents containing both virgin polyethylene (PE) and high amounts of post-consumer recyclate (PCR) in efforts to increase sustainability.

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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Workers at French oil and gas major Total's Grandpuits refinery southeast of Paris have decided to suspend their strike, reported Reuters with reference to the union's statement.

Total said earlier that the strike had disrupted product shipments from its refinery near Paris but that the company would ensure supplies to petrol stations and customers could continue.

Workers at Grandpuits voted on Monday to hold a 24-hour strike, halting fuel shipments.

As MRC wrote before, Within the framework of its net zero strategy, Total will convert its Grandpuits refinery (Seine-et-Marne) into a zero-crude platform and will invest more then EUR500 mln into this project. By 2024 the platform will focus on four new industrial activities: production of renewable diesel primarily intended for the aviation industry, production of bioplastics, plastics recycling and operation of two photovoltaic solar power plants.

We remind that in November 2019, Total disclosed that itis evaluating construction of a new gas cracker at its Deasan, South Korea, joint venture (JV) with Hanwha Chemical.

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.

Total S.A. is a French multinational oil and gas company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world with business in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. The company's petrochemical products cover two main groups: base chemicals and the consumer polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene) that are derived from them.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russian Energy minister Alexander Novak said he had invited other BRICS countries - Brazil, India, China and South Africa - to take part in joint oil and gas projects in the Arctic, reported Reuters.

In a speech at a meeting of energy ministers from the group of major emerging economies, Novak added that the recovery on global energy markets would be slow in the wake of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

As MRC informed earlier, Russian oil pipeline monopoly Transneft and producer Rosneft have reached a settlement with Total over dirty oil supplies to the French company’s Leune refinery in Germany, Transneft said. Up to 5 MM tons of Russian oil in route to central Europe via the Druzhba pipeline were found to be contaminated last year. Total declared a force majeure in June 2019 on the production of jet fuel at its Leuna refinery in Germany following the supply of contaminated crude from Russia. Transneft did not disclose how much compensation would be paid to Total.

We remind that in November 2019, Total disclosed that itis evaluating construction of a new gas cracker at its Deasan, South Korea, joint venture (JV) with Hanwha Chemical.

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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Kemira has provided a brief business update and says that based on preliminary and unaudited information, the company's revenue in the third quarter was approximately EUR597 million (USD704 million) and operative EBITDA EUR113 million, said Chemweek.

In the second quarter of 2020, the company's revenue was EUR582.9 million, down 12% on a year-on-year basis.

Following the developments in the third quarter, Kemira has updated its outlook and still expects, in line with its previous guidance announced in July, that its operative EBITDA in the second half of 2020 will be lower than the EUR214 million recorded in the first half of the year, but it now expects full-year operative EBITDA to increase from the EUR410 million posted in 2019.

Kemira will announce third-quarter results on 27 October.

As MRC informed earlier, Kemira has signed a multiyear extension of its polymer supply agreement with Ithaca Energy. Kemira says it has signed a multiyear extension to its polymer supply agreement with Ithaca Energy (Aberdeen, UK). The agreement extends the contract between the two companies, signed in 2018, covering the supply of polymers to enhance oil extraction performance at one of the assets operated by Ithaca Energy in the UK North Sea.

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.
MRC