Imperial Oil to boost spending, slightly raise output amid volatile recovery

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Canada's Imperial Oil , one of the country's biggest crude producers and refiners, said that it would raise capital spending and production next year as a volatile recovery of energy demand continues, reported Reuters.

Chief Executive Brad Corson said at the company’s virtual investor day presentation that a recovery in global energy demand looked to be “highly uncertain” and dependent on the spread of COVID-19. Pandemic travel restrictions have crushed fuel demand, depressing oil prices and forcing producers to cut costs and jobs.

Imperial plans to spend CD1.2 billion (USD917.01 million) in 2021, up 33% from 2020. Upstream production looks to rise 5% to 415,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

The company, majority owned by US oil major Exxon Mobil Corp, said it would also aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions intensity, a measure of pollution per barrel, by 10% by the end of 2023 from 2016 levels.

Imperial said it has already cut emissions intensity by more than 20% since 2013 and will achieve further reductions by improving productivity at its Kearl site and adopting new technologies.

As MRC wrote previously, in July 2020, Imperial Oil said delayed turnarounds at its 120,000 b/d Sarnia, Ontario, refinery and one of three cokers at the Syncrude facility in Western Canada from the second quarter to the third quarter as it continues to assess the impact of the coronavirus on its operations.

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.
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Ontario invests USD350,000 for plastic sheeting maker to produce face shields

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Ontario provincial government is investing USD350,000 in clear plastic sheeting maker Integrated Packaging Films (IPF), of Ayr, Ont., to help the firm with the production of an additional four million face shields per month for use during the second wave of COVID-19, said Canplastics.

The funding will be used to help the company create new jobs and increase production of PET film by 49 per cent for use in the additional face shields.

"As a manufacturer of clear plastic sheeting for over 23 years, Integrated Packaging Films is excited to work towards protecting Ontarians against the COVID virus,” IPF president Bill Mechar said in a statement. “With the help of the government’s Ontario Together Fund, we will increase capacity of clear film and offer Canadian manufacturers locally made materials for fabricating face shields. This expansion will also create several new full-time jobs in our Ayr facility."

As MRC informed earlier, in response to urgent needs by medical professionals for protective equipment to combat COVID-19, Solvay is supplying high-performance, medical-grade transparent film to Boeing for its production of face shields.

According to MRC's DataScope report, Russian companies decreased their purchasing of PP in foreign markets in October including due to the reduction of export quotas from some producers, imports amounted to 17,900 tonnes against 19,900 tonnes a month earlier. Thus, overall PP imports into Russia reached 181,100 tonnes in January-October 2020, compared to 152,100 tonnes a year earlier. Purchasing of all grades of propylene polymers in foreign markets increased, with homopolymer PP imports accounting for the most noticeable rise.

Founded in 1997, IPF produces films for automotive, food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, printing, and consumer packaging markets.
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Linde triples production capacity for hydrogen refueling stations

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Linde and the Dalian Bingshan Group have signed an agreement to establish a joint venture company that will manufacture hydrogen refueling stations in Dalian, China (Liaoning province) to supply fuel cell-powered vehicles, starting in 2021, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

As a result, Linde will triple its production capacity for hydrogen refueling stations in the next few years. The new production facility in Dalian has been designed to meet the requirements of the rapidly growing APAC markets.

“The Asian market has long been one of the pioneers in hydrogen-based mobility solutions. Due to our many years of successful cooperation with our joint venture partner, this is the ideal location for us to expand capacity," said Dr. Alexander Unterschuetz, senior vice president Components, Linde Engineering.

In 2014, Linde started the world's first small series production for hydrogen refueling stations in Vienna. The IC90 and Twin IC90 systems to be manufactured in Dalian are based on the Ionic Compressor technology developed by Linde in Vienna. This technology has proved to be energy-efficient and space-saving. A sufficient infrastructure of hydrogen refueling stations is considered one of the key prerequisites for the market success of emission-free fuel cell vehicles.

Linde is a global leader in the production, processing, storage and distribution of hydrogen. It has the largest liquid hydrogen capacity and distribution system in the world. The company also operates the world's first high-purity hydrogen storage cavern coupled with an unrivalled pipeline network to reliably supply its customers. Linde is at the forefront in the transition to clean hydrogen and has installed over 190 hydrogen fueling stations and 80 hydrogen electrolysis plants worldwide. The company offers the latest electrolysis technology through its newly formed joint venture ITM Linde Electrolysis.

Linde and the Dalian Bingshan Group have been running a successful joint venture in Dalian since 2005. As Linde Engineering's most important production facility in China, the company produces and sells large air separation plants and other plant components.

As MRC informed earlier, Linde has entered into a long-term agreement with Samsung Electronics to supply ultra-high purity industrial gases for the South Korean tech giant’s latest semiconductor facilities in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. Currently the main supplier of industrial gases to Samsung’s existing facilities in Pyeongtaek, Linde said this second agreement will see the company build, own and operate air separation plants in Samsung’s latest world-class manufacturing complex.

As MRC informed earlier, Linde GmbH and Shell have announced an exclusive collaboration agreement on ethane-oxidative dehydrogenation (E-ODH) technology for ethylene production. The catalytic process is an alternative route to ethane steam cracking, offering the potential of economic advantages, acetic acid co-production and significantly lower overall carbon footprint through electrification of power input.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing 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.
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Ingevity to challenge US court ruling in patent infringement case against BASF

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ingevity says it intends to challenge a decision of the US District Court for the District of Delaware regarding a patent-infringement complaint brought by Ingevity against BASF, reported Chemweek.

Ingevity says the court’s decision is based on an inaccurate interpretation of intellectual property (IP) law. Ingevity’s suit against BASF alleges that BASF infringed an Ingevity patent through testing canister systems using a BASF-developed product that Ingevity says would likely compete with Ingevity’s “honeycomb” technology, the company says.

According to Ingevity, its patent covers certain canister systems designed to achieve gasoline vapor emission levels that comply with the most stringent US Environmental Protection Agency tier 3 and California LEV III regulations. The company notes that its patent rights preclude third parties - including competitors, suppliers, testing facilities, and automotive original equipment manufacturers - from engaging in development activities such as prototype creation, testing, marketing, and qualifying that fall within any of the patent’s claims until March 2022, when it is set to expire.

“We intend to pursue our remedies to overturn this decision, including an appeal to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, if necessary. Ingevity is the established technology leader in providing world-leading products for use in automotive evaporative emissions-control systems. Our leadership and expertise in this application are unique and it is incumbent upon us to defend our innovations against infringement - including premature development activity - for the benefit of our customers and shareholders,” says Ed Woodcock, executive vice president and president/performance materials at Ingevity.

The company says the court’s decision is expected to have a limited impact on its commercial operations or financial results through patent expiration in March 2022. It notes that the decision by the US District Court has no bearing on one of the company's other patents in the area of canisters designed to reduce emissions in new, emerging “low-purge” engines. This IP is currently protected by patents in the US, as well as China and Europe, it says.

As MRC informed previously, German chemicals maker BASF said in early November it had put a project to build a petrochemicals complex in India worth up to USD4 billion on hold due to the economic uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. BASF signed a memorandum of understanding with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Adani Group and Borealis AG in October 2019 to evaluate a collaboration to build the chemical site in Mundra, in India’s Gujarat state.

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.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.
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COVID-19 - News digest as of 20.11.2020

1. COVID-19 period an inflection point for energy transition

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The COVID-19 period will be viewed “as an inflection point for the global energy transition,” according to Mark Eramo, global vice president/oil markets, midstream, downstream, chemicals at IHS Markit. The impact of the pandemic going forward on the decarbonization of energy consumption “causes a faster pace of change, versus what we’ve seen in the past,” said Eramo, speaking at the Chemical Industry Financial Outlook & Sustainability Forum 2020, being held in a virtual format and hosted by IHS Markit. Peak oil demand may also now have taken place, Eramo says. “We believe COVID-19 has reset oil demand at a lower level. With the move to work from home—even after we get a vaccine and get back to normal—we’re looking at scenarios where 2019 could be that peak in world oil demand, depending on whether we return to our commutes, by car, train, or plane, and the degree that all that comes back.” Oil demand in 2020 is forecast by IHS Markit to be about 94 million b/d, well down on the 2019 total of just more than 100 million b/d.


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