North American weekly chemical rail volume up on US gain

MOSCOW (MRC) -- During the week ended 19 December, chemical railcar traffic in North America totaled 45,883 carloads, down 1.2% from the previous week and up 0.6% year-over-year (YOY), according to Chemweek with reference to data released on 23 December by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

On a four-week basis, volume was up 6.1% from 2019 and down 4.6% from 2018 (chart). For the year to date, chemical railcar traffic in North America was down 2.8%, even with the previous week and the highest figure since mid-May, when volume for the year to date was down 2.4%.

Chemical railcar traffic in the United States contributed 33,276 carloads to the total, up 2.7% YOY and up 2.1% from the previous week. For the year to date, US chemical railcar traffic was down 3.5%.

Canadian chemical rail traffic totaled 11,820 carloads, down 3.5% YOY and down 8.8% from the previous week. For the year to date, Canadian chemical railcar traffic was down 0.9%.

Chemical railcar traffic in Mexico totaled 787 carloads, a YOY decrease of 17.3% and a sequential decrease of 13.0%. For the year to date, Mexican chemical railcar traffic was down 2.3%.

We remind that Russia"s output of chemical products rose in October 2020 by 7.2% year on year. At the same time, production of basic chemicals grew in the first ten months of 2020 by 6.3% year on year, 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-October output. October production of polymers in primary form grew to 857,000 tonnes from 852,000 tonnes in September. Overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 8,340,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 17% year on year.

We also remind that Russia's output of products from polymers grew in October 2020 by 6.3% year on year.
However, this figure increased by 1.5% year on year in the first ten months of 2020. According to the Russian Federal State Statistics Service, October production of unreinforced and non-combined films rose to 124,000 tonnes from 117,600 tonnes a month earlier. Output of films products grew in January-October 2020 by 8.5% year on year to 1 104,900 tonnes.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- UPM (Helsinki, Finland) says it has agreed to buy the entire annual lignin production of Domtar Paper Co.’s plant at Plymouth Mill, North Carolina, starting in January 2021, said Chemweek.

The 20,000-metric tons/year of lignin will enable UPM to increase its existing supplies and expand its role in the growing lignin business and different application segments, it says. Part of the additional lignin supply will be used to complement UPM’s BioPiva products brand.

The agreement with Domtar “enables us to expand our lignin business in the growing biochemicals market before the start-up of our biorefinery in Leuna, Germany,” says Juuso Konttinen, vice president/biochemicals at UPM. Demand for sustainable lignin solutions has been increasing steadily, according to the company.

Lignin products can be used as a renewable alternative to fossil-based products in a growing range of applications, including lignin-based phenolic resins.

UPM is building a EUR550-million (USD652 million) biochemicals refinery in Leuna, Germany, to produce up to 220,000 metric tons/year of biobased monoethylene glycol, monopropylene glycol, and industrial sugars as well as renewable functional fillers and lignin, using sustainably sourced hardwood as feedstock. The biorefinery is scheduled to start operations by the end of 2022.

As mRC informed earlier, Neste, a leading producer of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel and a forerunner as a provider of renewable and circular solutions for the petrochemical industry, and LG Chem, South Korea’s largest diversified petrochemicals company and a leading manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries for energy solutions, have announced their aim to build a strategic long-term partnership to develop and grow the biopolymers and biochemicals market globally, and more specifically, in the LG Chem’s home market Korea.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,760,950 tonnes in the first ten months of 2020, up by 3% year on year. Only high density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 978,870 tonnes in January-October 2020 (calculated using the formula: production minus exports plus imports minus producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply of exclusively of PP random copolymer increased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Johnson Matthey and ThyssenKrupp have agreed to renew their collaboration around ammonia process and catalyst supply, said Chemweek.

Under the terms of the partnership, founded 20 years ago, ThyssenKrupp exclusively uses Johnson Matthey’s catalysts for plants built using ThyssenKrupp’s Uhde ammonia process.

ThyssenKrupp is “licensor of the largest ammonia plants in the world," Johnson Matthey says. "The Uhde ammonia technology has ultra-low energy consumption and enables the highest production in a single-train unit, thus minimizing investment costs, and is suitable for small-to-large-scale capacity plants of up to 5,000 metric tons/day."

ThyssenKrupp has built 21 ammonia plants with a total capacity of 40,000 metric tons/day using Johnson Matthey catalysts, representing almost 9% of worldwide nitrogen fertilizer production, Johnson Matthey says.

As MRC informed earlier, Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions said it has won an order from Turkish packaging producer Koksan Pet Packaging Ind Co to build a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plant in Gaziantep, in the southeast of the country. Thyssenkrupp will supervise the construction and commissioning of the plant and provide the main equipment, engineering works, licence and staff training.

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, in Russia, December contract PET prices were in the range of Rb68,100-71,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT. Most producers raised their prices of material in the second week of December and expect further price increases by the end of this month.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Global methanol capacity is poised to see considerable growth by 2030, potentially increasing from 148.44 MMtpy in 2019 to 310.94 MMtpy in 2030, registering a total growth of 109%. Russia, Iran and the US are expected to drive capacity additions during the forecast period. Together, these three countries will contribute around 59% of the total global methanol capacity additions, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing with reference to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s report, “Global Methanol Capacity and Capital Expenditure Outlook to 2030” reveals that Russia accounts for the highest capacity additions with 40.35 MMtpy by 2030. Major capacity additions will be from the Sherwood Energy Maysky Methanol Plant with a capacity of 7.20 MMtpy by 2030.

GlobalData identifies Iran as the second highest country in terms of capacity additions, with capacity of 29.39 MMtpy by 2030. Major capacity additions will be from the Mahan Chemical Zagros Petrochemical Eslamabad-e-Gharb Methanol Plant, with a capacity of 1.85 MMtpy by 2030.

The US will be the third highest country in terms of capacity additions, with capacity of 23.74 MMtpy by 2030. Major capacity additions will be from the NW Innovation Works Kalama Methanol Plant and NW Innovation Works St. Helens Methanol Plant, each with the capacity of 3.60 MMtpy by 2030.

Sherwood Energy Ltd, IGP Methanol LLC and NW Innovation Works Inc will be the top three companies globally in terms of planned and announced capacity additions during the outlook period.

Dayanand Kharade, Oil and Gas Analyst at GlobalData, says: “The abundant availability of low-cost feedstock in Russia and Iran and the shale gas advantage in the US are the primary reason for the rush in methanol capacity additions in these countries.”

As MRC reported earlier, in late April, 2020, the first phase of Connell Chemical Industry Ltd.'s 600 KTA MTO complex, a 300 KTA MTO plant, successfully started up and produced on-spec ethylene and propylene. This project is the first large-size chemical project brought online during period when China was in the process of restarting the economy while fighting COVID-19 pandemic. The MTO plant started feed-in at 8:18 AM on April 15, produced on-spec propylene at 7:00 AM on April 18, and produced on-spec ethylene at 4:00 AM on April 20.

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

According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia decreased in January-November 2020 by 17% year on year and reached 569,900 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the greatest reduction in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia increased by 21% year on year to about 202,000 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2020. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- K+S (Kassel, Germany) and Remex, a subsidiary of Remondis Group (Lunen, Germany), are bundling their waste-management activities in a new joint venture (JV) called REKS, K+S says, said Chemweek.

The partners plan jointly to tap into the rapidly growing market for reutilization and disposal, as well as sustainable waste-management solutions, K+S adds. REKS will combine the operations and infrastructure of K+S’s waste-management facilities with the sales network of Remex. “The waste-management market provides this partnership with an attractive development potential,” says Burkhard Lohr, chairman of K+S.

The JV will offer K+S “the best possible access” to the materials needed in the future to cover large tailings piles at the company’s potash sites in Germany, K+S says. To avoid tailings pile water resulting from precipitation and to solve one essential issue of water protection in the long run, all tailings piles are to be suitably covered by means of new, environmentally friendly processes, the company says.

K+S’s stake in REKS, which is to be consolidated at equity, will enable K+S to realize a significant book gain, while generating a cash inflow of about EUR90 million (USD110 million) before taxes with closing. This forms part of a package of measures to reduce K+S’s debt.

K+S will incorporate its waste-management sales activities into the partnership. The underground waste-management facilities of K+S are exclusively available to the JV, it says. Remex is contributing its wholly owned subsidiary Aurec, which processes mineral waste for backfilling at the K+S site at Bernburg, Germany, as well as corresponding sales activities.

The transaction will be submitted to the antitrust authorities for approval with closing expected in summer 2021.

As MRC informed earlier, K+S (Kassel, Germany) has reported an adjusted group net loss of EUR1.97 billion (USD2.33 billion) for the third quarter, plunging year on year (YOY) from a loss of EUR41.8 million, due mainly to a EUR2.0-billion write-down of the company's potash assets after it lowered assumptions for long-term global potash prices.

As MRC informed earlier, in September, 2.014 million tons of mineral fertilizers were produced (in terms of 100% nutrients) against 1.993 million tons a month earlier. In general, in January - September 2020, Russian enterprises produced just over 18.5 million tons of fertilizers, which is 3.5% more than in 2019.

Also, in 2019, Russian enterprises produced 23.588 million tons of fertilizers, which is 3.2% more than in 2018.
MRC