OQ Chemicals hikes price globally for neopentyl glycol

MOSCOW (MRC) -- OQ Chemicals (Monheim am Rhein, Germany) says it is raising its prices globally for neopentyl glycol due to strong demand and increasing raw material costs, effective 1 December 2020 or as contracts otherwise allow, according to Chemweek.

The price of the oxo intermediate product in North America and Mexico is being increased by 8 cents per pound, while in South America it will rise by USD180/metric ton. In Europe the product price is being hiked to EUR150/metric ton (USD178), while in all other regions of the world the price will increase to USD180/metric ton, it says.

OQ Chemicals (formerly Oxea) last raised the price of neopentyl glycol, along with several other oxo intermediate products, in September when it increased prices in the Americas.

As MRC reported earlier, in September 2020, OQ Chemicals entered into an agreement to license its advanced proprietary technology for the production of ethylene and propylene derivatives to Duqm Refinery and Petrochemicals Industries Company (DRPIC) in Oman. DRPIC, a joint venture between Oman Oil Company and Kuwait International Oil Company, is a planned grassroots petrochemical complex at Duqm, Oman. In all, DRPIC awarded twelve license packages to international licensors.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,594,510 tonnes in the first nine months of 2020, up by 1% year on year. Only high denstiy polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 880,130 tonnes in the nine months of 2020 (calculated using the formula: production minus exports plus imports, exluding producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply increased exclusively of PP random copolymer.

OQ Chemicals, formerly Oxea, is a global manufacturer of oxo intermediates and oxo derivatives, such as alcohols, polyols, carboxylic acids, specialty esters, and amines. These products are used for the production of high-quality coatings, lubricants, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products, flavours and fragrances, printing inks and plastics. OQ Chemicals is part of OQ, an integrated energy company that delivers sustainability and business excellence. OQ operates in 16 countries and covers the entire value chain from exploration and production to the marketing and distribution of its products.
MRC

PTT Global Chemical puts plans for Ohio petrochemical plant on hold

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PTT Global Chemical has put plans for the construction of a massive petrochemical plant in eastern Ohio on hold while it conducts another feasibility study, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing with reference to The Columbus Dispatch.

The proposed project, which was announced in 2015, has faced a series of delays.

PTT has put the blame for previous delays on the COVID-19 pandemic, the US-China trade war and opposition from environmental groups. The pullout of one of PTT’s two partners on the project, South Korea-based Daelim Chemical USA, has also added to the list of problems. Now the company tells the Bangkok newspaper it must factor in the election of Democrat Joe Biden as president on its revisions.

The company's decision to review the project makes sense, said Kathy Hipple, a financial analyst with the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, a Cleveland-based research group.

"There's still a lot of petrochemicals on the market. And demand is uncertain, post pandemic. But the broader (issue) is that the type of plastics that they were going to make -- the price has dropped a lot, since they first conceived of this project," she said.

"It no longer makes economic sense to invest USD10 billion in building a petrochemical complex, when the demand for this product is uncertain, the price for the product is very low."

It could be months before the feasibility study is completed.

"I expect it (the study) will be finished in the middle of next year at the soonest," Auttapol Rerkpiboon, the chief executive of PTT, told the Bangkok Post. PTT Global Chemical is a petrochemical arm of PTT.

The company remains committed to the project, and will continue to invest time and resources to it, PTT spokesman Dan Williamson said. He would not put a timeline on when the company will make a final investment decision.

It really comes down to a cumulation of risks, Hipple said.

"You might be able to interact with one risk factor and (the company) might be able to address a second risk factor. But take them all together, and then throw in uncertain regulatory (policy) at the most senior level," she said.

"If you're in the headquarters in Thailand, and you're trying to make ... sense of the crazy politics here. I wouldn't want to commit USD10 billion if I were a foreign company at this moment in US history. I would want to take a second look. That just seems like common sense."

The company's air permit for the project expires in June 2021, around the time when the feasibility study may be completed.

"They really have to make some choices, or they'll be going back through that (process) from scratch," said Megan Hunter, a staff attorney for Earthjustice, a non-profit that has represented a coalition of Ohio-based environmental organizations.

"There's a lot of hope for a different economic future, if this doesn't come in. This is yet another signal that there won't be all this effort and money invested into something that doesn't make sense for the valley," she said.

JobsOhio, the state’s economic-development arm, has poured USD70 million in loans and grants into the project, including site work. PTT says it has invested about USD200 million.

Belmont County is an attractive location for the plant because of its proximity to the plentiful, cheap natural gas of the Marcellus and Utica shale formations in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Many estimates have pegged the value of the project at USD6 billion to USD8 billion, making it the largest economic development project in the state.

But every time PTT announces another delay, doubt grows about whether the company will proceed.

The state's economic development arm, JobsOhio, said the company remains committed to the project and is working closely with the company.

"The ethane feedstock at a major cost advantage, access to the Ohio River and the proximity to North American ethylene demand remains in Belmont County, and we consider this project to be very viable," JobsOhio spokesman Matt Englehart said.

"(The company) has expressed its belief in the long-term strategic importance of this transformational project, which would bring billions in investment while creating thousands of construction jobs and hundreds of permanent jobs."

As MRC wrote before, in June, PTTGCA said it delayed making a final investment decision to build the ethane cracker in US, which analysts estimate will cost USD5.7 billion, from the first half of 2020 to the first half of 2021 due to the coronavirus.

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

ccording to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,594,510 tonnes in the first nine months of 2020, up by 1% year on year. Only high denstiy polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 880,130 tonnes in the nine months of 2020 (calculated using the formula: production minus exports plus imports, exluding producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply increased exclusively of PP random copolymer.

PTT Global Chemical is a leading player in the petrochemical industry and owns several petrochemical facilities with a combined capacity of 8.45 million tonnes a year.
MRC

Global refinery maintenance activities are gradually getting back on track

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Refiners across the globe were severely impacted by COVID-19, which destroyed demand, reduced operations in several refineries and even compelled them to suspend operations, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Despite unfavorable conditions in the first three quarters of 2020, refiners are getting back to normalcy with seemingly improving market scenario, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. In the beginning of 2020, several refiners were forced to slash capital expenditure (capex) to sail through the crisis. This led to postponement or rescheduling of planned maintenance activities in several refineries across various regions. Lockdowns imposed in many countries also resulted in supply shortage of spare parts and contract workers, preventing refinery operators to go ahead with their maintenance activities as per original schedules.

Haseeb Ahmed, Oil and Gas analyst at GlobalData, comments: “As companies slash costs to stay afloat amid falling revenues, they are unwilling to infuse additional capex into maintenance schedules. Several refiners have pushed maintenance activities to 2021, as they re-assess their business portfolios. For instance, Milazzo Refinery and Eni have postponed maintenance activities in their respective refineries to Q2 2021."

Several refiners deferred maintenance schedules to Q1, Q2 or late 2021. Workers safety has been one of the key concerns for refiners to delay maintenance. Refineries located in North America and Europe have been impacted the most, since the pandemic was widely prevalent in these regions during the initial stage. However, many of these refineries have started maintenance and are taking adequate precautionary measures – albeit with delays. While refineries across Asia have started their maintenance activities, refineries situated in Oceania, or in the Middle East are yet to start.

Ahmed continues: "The implications of delayed maintenance activities, such as reducing refinery and losing supply contracts, have weighed down several refinery operators. Although maintenance activities are back on track across many regions after a hiatus, it is unlikely that refiners can catch-up with their initial schedules. "While, operators are adjusting to the new norm of operating refineries, the gradual improvement in global economy provides a ray of hope to run refineries at their maximum potential and cover the lost ground."

As MRC informed earlier, chemical companies across the UK are “battling through the pandemic and the threat of a Brexit no deal”. According to the CIA’s latest quarterly survey of its members, chemical businesses saw a modest expansion in the third quarter with the survey’s sales diffusion index reaching 55.4 and export growth to non-EU countries registering 56.5. Any figure above 50 represents growth. The overall performance index was 51.5, beating forecasts, CIA says.

As MRC informed before, SABIC Europe declared a force majeure on its low density polyethylene (LDPE) supplies from Wilton, the UK on November 3, 2020. The company had shut its LDPE plant for a maintenance work in the first half of October. The Wilton unit is able to produce 400,000 tons/year of LDPE.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, September estimated LDPE consumption in Russia fell to 23,930 tonnes from 47,610 tonnes a month earlier. Russian producers reduced their domestic LDPE shipments due to shutdowns for maintenance at production capacities in Ufa, Tomsk and Kazan. Russia's estimated LDPE consumption totalled about 406,500 tonnes in January-September 2020, which virtually corresponded to the last year's figure.
MRC

Braskem expands innovation center in US

Braskem expands innovation center in US

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Braskem says it has completed a USD10-million expansion of its innovation and technology center at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, according to Chemweek.

The expansion adds eight R&D labs, and equipment for developing technologies around catalysis, recycling, and 3D printing. This includes capabilities in catalysis and petrochemical process technologies, 3D printing research, as well as chromatography, polymer cracking and microscopy analyses.

"We have a clear value proposition when we make products with a lower carbon footprint or use plastic waste in a circular fashion,” says Gilfranque Leite, directory/innovation and technology at Braskem. “Our clients and brand owners have programs focused on these important areas, yet many don't have the in-house technology capabilities to do this R&D intensive work on their own. In partnering with Braskem, we can directly support them in achieving their sustainability goals.”

The expansion is also a part of Braskem’s broader innovation strategy, which is centered around developing technologies to support a carbon-neutral circular economy, the company says.

As MRC reported previously, Brazilian petrochemical producer Braskem's 450,000 mt/year PP plant in LaPorte, Texas, along the Houston Ship Channel completed its initial commercial production, as per the company's statement as of Sept. 10. "The launch of commercial production at our new world-class PP production line in La Porte clearly affirms Braskem's position as the North American polypropylene market leader," Braskem America CEO Mark Nikolich said in a statement. With a USD750 million investment, the new PP plant's construction started in October 2017 and was completed in June, 2020.

We remind that production at Braskem's new PP plant in the US was at 36,000 tonnes in October, close to the monthly production capacity of the plant of around 38,000 tonnes.

Braskem operates five other US PP plants in Texas, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, with a cumulative capacity of 1.57 million mt/year that the company acquired. The new plant in La Porte, Texas, is Braskem America's first PP new build.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 880,130 tonnes in the first nine months of 2020 (calculated using the formula: production minus exports plus imports, excluding producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply increased exclusively of PP random copolymer.

Braskem S.A. produces petrochemicals and generates electricity. The Company produces ethylene, propylene, benzene, toluene, xylenes, butadiene, butene, isoprene, dicyclopentediene, MTBE, caprolactam, ammonium sulfate, cyclohexene, polyethylene theraphtalat, polyethylene, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
MRC

Sherwin-Williams earnings jump on higher DIY paint demand

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sherwin-Williams (SW) reported third-quarter net income up 22.4% year-on-year (YOY), to USD705.8 million, on net sales up 5.2%, to USD5.12 billion, said Chemweek.

Adjusted earnings totaled USD8.29/share, beating analysts’ consensus estimate of USD7.75/share, as reported by Refinitiv (New York, New York). Higher sales for architectural paint, especially residential repaint and do-it-yourself (DIY) paint, drove the increases.

"Continued and unprecedented strength in our DIY business, solid demand across our residential repaint and new residential segments, and improving demand in our industrial coatings businesses and regions drove our strong third quarter results," says SW chairman and CEO John Morikis. “Improving sales, coupled with favorable customer and product mix, lower input costs and ongoing continuous improvement efforts, drove strong double-digit growth in EBITDA and diluted net income per share."

Americas segment sales grew 2.8% YOY, to USD2.98 billion, while segment profit increased 12.6%, to USD747.4 million. “The increase in the quarter was due primarily to higher residential repaint, DIY and new residential paint sales in the U.S. and Canada, partially offset by the impacts of COVID-19 on demand in some end market segments served,” SW says.

Performance coatings segment sales were up 1.2% YOY, to USD1.31 billion, while segment profit rose 12.9%, to USD155.3 million. Higher volumes and improving demand drove the increases, with particularly strong results in the packaging and wood business lines.

Consumer brands segment sales increased 23.5% YOY, to USD838.1 million, while segment profit grew 72.6%, to USD198.3 million. Sales and profits were boosted by higher sales volumes to retail customers, especially in North America and Europe.

SW is increasing its full-year 2020 earnings guidance to USD21.49-21.79/share, compared with guidance of USD20.96-21.46/share previously, due to continued strong demand, particularly in DIY residential businesses. This compares with full-year 2019 earnings of USD16.49/share. For the fourth-quarter, net sales are expected to increase by 3-7% YOY. Quarterly earnings guidance was not disclosed.

As MRC informed earlier, Heat-FlexTM Hi-Temp 1200 from Sherwin-Williams was chosen as the single coating protection against corrosion and high heat for the oil and gas bulk valves at Saudi Aramco’s Ras Tanura refinery. Experts from Sherwin-Williams collaborated with contractor Tecnicas Reunidas on the clean fuels and aromatics project to protect bulk valves for all process conditions and temperatures and ensure fault-free continuous operations at the facility near the industrial port city Jubail in Saudi Arabia.

We remind that Russia's output of chemical products rose in September 2020 by 6.7% year on year. At the same time, production of basic chemicals increased by 6.1% year on year in the first nine months of 2020, according to Rosstat's data. According to the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, polymers in primary form accounted for the greatest increase in the January-September output. Last month's production of primary polymers decreased to 852,000 tonnes from 888,000 tonnes in August due to shutdowns in Tomsk, Ufa and Kazan. Overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 7,480,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 16.4% year on year.

MRC