Ineos to buy Sasol stake in Gemini HDPE project for USD404 million

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ineos has agreed principle terms with Sasol (Johannesburg) for the USD404-million acquisition of the South African company’s 50% ownership stake in their Gemini high-density polyethylene (HDPE) manufacturing joint venture at La Porte, Texas, according to Chemweek.

The target closing date for the acquisition is 31 December, the companies say.

Ineos Olefins and Polymers (O&P) USA, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ineos, will become the sole owner of the 470,000-metric tons/year HDPE unit. The company has been the operator of the Gemini plant located within Ineos’ Battleground manufacturing complex since its startup in 2017. The proposed purchase from Sasol subsidiary Sasol Chemicals North America will allow it to “further expand its reach” in the rapidly growing specialty PE markets for pressure pipe and high molecular weight film, it says. It will also “increase Ineos Group’s global HDPE market share and strengthen its ability to service the rapidly growing bimodal markets,” it adds. The transaction is subject to financing and other customary adjustments.

“We are excited about the opportunity to acquire Sasol’s half of Gemini. This world-class asset is positioned to serve the growing global bimodal markets and would allow our business to meet increased demand from our customers,” says Ineos O&O CEO Michael Nagle. Ineos has four other production plants with 767,000 metric tons/year of total HDPE capacity at Deer Park, Texas.

Sasol president and CEO Fleetwood Grobler says the divestment “continues the transformation of Sasol’s chemicals business toward specialty chemicals markets.” Proceeds from the transaction will be used to repay near-term debt obligations, the company says. The value of the net assets relevant to the sale was USD176 million as at 30 June 2020, which is net of debt facilities, as disclosed in Sasol’s financial statements, it says. The loss attributable to the net assets was USD18 million for the financial year ended 30 June, with the proposed sale to only be effective upon restructuring of the existing debt facilities, it adds.

In October, 2020, as MRC reported before, Sasol agreed to form an equal JV with LyondellBasell, with LyondellBasell to pay USD2 billion to acquire 50% of Sasol’s new 1.5-million metric tons/year steam cracker, and low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) plants at Lake Charles, Louisiana. That transaction is also expected to close by the end of the year.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, September estimated HDPE consumption in Russia fell to 55,790 tonnes from 119,750 tonnes a month earlier. ZapSibNeftekhim increased its export polyethylene (PE) sales. Kazanorgsintez's production capacities were also shut for a turnaround. Overall HDPE shipments to the Russian market totalled 911,650 tonnes in the first nine months of 2020, up by 6% year on year. Production grew significantly, whereas imports slumped by 27%.

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.

INEOS Group Limited is a privately owned multinational chemicals company consisting of 15 standalone business units, headquartered in Rolle, Switzerland and with its registered office in Lyndhurst, United Kingdom. It is the fourth largest chemicals company in the world measured by revenues (after BASF, Dow Chemical and LyondellBasell) and the largest privately owned company in the United Kingdom.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Aspen Technology, Inc., a global leader in asset optimization software, has announced that Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery (Hengli), a leading Fortune Global 500 refinery in China, has chosen Aspen DMC3TM software to accelerate digitalization at its integrated refining and chemical plant in Dalian, China, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

With this deployment, Hengli can achieve operational speed and sustainability via patented adaptive process control technology in pursuit of its intelligent plant strategy.

Ricky Li Xianyou, vice president, Hengli, said: "To strengthen the company’s industry leadership, Hengli has selected Aspen DMC3 software as part of the company’s holistic approach to future proof its intelligent plant concept. Factoring in solid ROI projections, this partnership with AspenTech will enable Hengli to maximize the company’s performance across the asset lifecycle and achieve operational excellence via asset optimization."

Jack Ding, Country manager, China, Aspen Technology, added: "With a focus on a strong customer relationship, we are pleased to partner Hengli in the company’s journey to accelerate digital transformation. Prior to the deployment of Aspen DMC3 software, Hengli was already ahead of the innovation curve by capitalizing on a suite of aspenONE solutions that can maximize productivity across the asset lifecycle."

Aspen DMC3 accelerates optimal deployments in simultaneous process optimization and testing. This enables the plant to adopt a scalable and sustainable approach via patented adaptive process control technology. Process manufacturers can achieve real-time agility and maximize performance in a seamless yet robust manner.

As MRC reported previiously, in early November 2020, Invista and Hengli Petrochemical (Huizhou) reached agreement to license INVISTA’s P8 PTA technology for two purified terephthalic acid (PTA) lines. These two lines will be installed at Xiachong, Daya Bay, Huizhou City, Guangdong province, China. The kick-off meeting was successfully concluded on October 23, 2020, between Hengli, Invista and CTCI (the engineering contractor).

PTA is used to produce polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is used in the manufacturing of plastic bottles, films, packaging containers, in the textile and food industries.

As per MRC' ScanPlast, calculated consumption of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) reached 52,71o tonnes in September 2020, down 27% compared to the same time a year before. Total consumption of PET in Russia in the nine months of 2020 reached 530,750 tonnes, down 22% than the same indicator last year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- TUV SUD National Engineering Laboratory has secured Government funding to build the UK’s first mobile primary standard facility for testing hydrogen refueling stations (HRS) to ensure they deliver the correct amount of fuel, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Funded by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), through the National Measurement System mechanism, the mobile facility will ensure accurate and consistent measurement of the dispensed quantity of fuel at HRS. This will assure drivers of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) that financial transactions are correct and ensure accurate fiscal measurements for future taxation purposes.

Dr Martin Hanton, technical director at TUV SUD National Engineering Laboratory, said: "The design of petrol and diesel refueling stations is highly standardized and if hydrogen FCEVs are to become a viable transport choice, then establishing a standardized refueling infrastructure is crucial. Ensuring the consumer gets what they pay for at the refueling station necessitates accuracy at the nozzle, not the meter. We must therefore bring the calibration facility to the refueling station and that is precisely what we will do with our new mobile primary standard," concluded Hanton.

The international accuracy requirements for HRS fuel dispensers are mandated as ±2% for new installations. However, current ranges can be anywhere between ±1 – 10%. Furthermore, if a consumer disputes the dispensed volume, Trading Standards cannot investigate at present as the UK currently has no traceability chain that is linked to a physical primary standard for hydrogen, or the equipment and skills to test fuel dispensers. TUV SUD National Engineering Laboratory’s new mobile facility will provide this measurement traceability for the UK and the only practical, traceable capability to test hydrogen refueling stations for dispensed quantity at the nozzle in the country.

Marc MacDonald, head of Clean Fuels at TUV SUD National Engineering Laboratory, said: “From our involvement in EU projects such as MetroHyVe, it is clear that the dispensed quantity performance of HRS can be variable, in part due to inconsistency in design. We have seen that compliance with the prevailing regulation (OIML R-139) is possible, but not always achieved, especially if less than a full tank fill is delivered. We will use our new mobile facility to work with industry and test HRS for compliance with the regulations, which is essential to ensure public support for FCEVs use."

TUV SUD National Engineering Laboratory has selected Edinburgh-based hydrogen technology specialist Logan Energy to construct the mobile test facility. Chosen for their proven track-record in delivering integrated hydrogen technologies, the company has successfully supported the development and deployment of zero emission technologies throughout the UK and Europe.

Bill Ireland, CEO of Logan Energy, said: “This is an exciting collaboration between two Scotland-based teams and is fantastic recognition of our expertise and experience in delivering hydrogen systems and refueling stations. This project is all about accuracy in a process that has proved difficult to control. We will be setting industry standards to ensure accuracy when it comes to refueling vehicles."

Once completed, the new mobile primary standard facility will also be used to conduct a research campaign, which will be used to update industry guidance for the design, construction, modification and maintenance of HRS. This latest project supports TUV SUD National Engineering Laboratory’s ongoing work as part of the European Metrology Programme for Innovation and Research (EMPIR) Metrology for Hydrogen Vehicles program, which is part of the world’s first large-scale research project to tackle hydrogen fuel measurement inaccuracy challenges.

As MRC informed previously, global oil demand may have already peaked, according to BP's latest long-term energy outlook, as the COVID-19 pandemic kicks the world economy onto a weaker growth trajectory and accelerates the shift to cleaner fuels.

Earlier this year, BP said the deadly coronavirus outbreak could cut global oil demand growth by 40 per cent in 2020, putting pressure on Opec producers and Russia to curb supplies to keep prices in check.

And 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 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, excluding producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply increased exclusively of PP random copolymer.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- S&B has announced the successful, on-time completion of two NGL fractionation plants for Phillips 66, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The plants have a combined capacity of 300,000 bpd, quadrupling the processing capacity at the Phillips 66 Sweeny Hub.

“The successful completion of this project is due to our team and the partnership we created with Phillips 66 throughout the entire process,” said David Taylor, COO of S&B Engineers and Constructors. “Planning, designing, and building a large-scale plant, such as this, takes a significant amount of time and effort. Phillips 66 trusted our processes, procedures and workflows, which created an environment that allowed us all to succeed.”

The on-time mechanical completion of this project has increased significance because peak construction occurred at a time when COVID-19 cases were rising in the United States.

“Safety is our number one value at S&B,” said Taylor. “With 2,000 people working on site, we took precautions early to ensure the safety of our team members. Mandates for face coverings, staggered lunches and buses, social distancing, and compliance auditing were all important protocol changes that our team members had to accommodate to keep each other safe.”

In the last five years, S&B has designed and built 13 NGL fractionation plants. With the completion of this project S&B has now designed and installed more than 2 MMbpd of NGL fractionation capacity for its clients.

This project added the second and third fractionation plants to the original first train built for Phillips 66. All three plants were executed contractually lump sum in the Phillips 66 Sweeny Hub in Old Ocean, Texas.

As MRC informed before, last month, US refiner Phillips 66 said it plans to reconfigure its refinery in Rodeo, California to produce renewable fuels from used cooking oil, fats, greases and soybean oils.

We remind that US-based Phillips 66 remains open to developing another ethane cracker for its Chevron Phillips Chemical (CP Chem) joint venture, the refiner's CEO said in March 2018.

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, excluding producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply increased exclusively of PP random copolymer.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chemical services company AquaChemie Middle East, part of the UAE-based AquaChemie Group, today broke ground on its petrochemical terminal in DP World’s flagship, Jebel Ali Port, Dubai, said Chemweek.

The specialized bulk storage terminal will have a total envisaged capacity of around 40,000 CBM, out of which 35,000 CBM will be in bulk storage tanks and about 5,000 CBM in ISO tanks and drums. The $40 million project aims to boost the growing petrochemical trade between manufacturers and end-users in the Middle East and the world, while also addressing the acute shortage of storage facilities for redistribution and lease for bulk chemicals in Jebel Ali Port.

Scheduled for construction completion by early Q2 2022, the terminal is designed to store flammable chemicals, up to NFPA Class 1B. Over 100 chemicals of UN Class3 hazardous classification or non-hazardous chemicals can be stored in the facility’s nitrogen blanketed tanks. AquaChemie Middle East targets revenue of around USD400 million from the petrochemical terminal business in the next 7 years. Matt MacDonald, global engineering, management, and development consultancy, is responsible for the design, engineering, and project management.

“The entire AquaChemie team and I are eagerly waiting for this project to come into reality in the next 16-18 months’ time. This terminal project is a huge step for AquaChemie; to become one of the prominent players in the petrochemical business in the region,” V. Anandkumar, Partner and Director at AquaChemie Middle East said.

“Being associated with the petrochemicals industry for over three decades, I am excited to soon play a direct role in the distribution of additional 100-150 KTA (Kilo tonnes per annum) of over 50 petrochemicals globally,” Subrato Saha, Co-Founder and Director of AquaChemie Middle East, said.

According to Saha, the new terminal will serve as a one-stop solution for sourcing raw materials and processing chemicals for several industries and is poised to service sectors like oil and gas downstream, fine chemicals, fertilizer plants, paints and coatings, pharma, agrochemicals, textiles, and other industrial products.

As MRC informed earlier, Japanese multinational, through its subsidiary Kurita Europe GmbH, an international leader in waterprocess specialty chemicals, and UAE-based AquaChemie DMCC, a leading regional process industry player, have signed a strategic agreement to set up a joint venture company, under the name of Kurita AquaChemie.

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, excluding producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply increased exclusively of PP random copolymer.

AquaChemie was established in Dubai, UAE, in late 2008. Since then, it has expanded its operation all across the GCC region, with a strategic presence in Hong Kong. AquaChemie DMCC is its flagship company, managing the chemicals business. AquaChemie is into specialty chemicals manufacturing, sales, distribution, services, and bulk terminal operation. It has corporate offices, manufacturing facilities, bulk storage terminal, warehouses, a fleet of ISO tanks, and operation skids in GCC countries. With a team of over 120 people, driven by expertise, experience, and ethics, AquaChemie is one of the fastest-growing chemicals companies in the Middle East.
MRC