BASF opens ASEAN Technical Development Center in Thailand

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Germany-based chemical giant BASF has opened its ASEAN Technical Development Center adjacent to its existing polyurethane (PU) system house at its Bangpoo site in Thailand, said Canplastics.

In a news release, BASF said the new facility houses a state-of-the-art pre-polymer reactor technology to produce hardeners (component B) that are keys component to boost product development efficiency, thereby enabling faster time-to-market of PU materials and solutions.

The advanced reactor technology is further designed to deliver on a much larger capacity, meeting most demanding customer requirements across all grades. The new pre-polymer reactor technology is additionally capable of developing customized PU System products, which helps improve the commercialization of these specialized solutions.

"The ASEAN Technical Development Center also boasts several new service upgrades, such as more advanced testing and software capabilities,” BASF said. “With the new pre-polymer reactor technology, the ASEAN Technical Center strengthens and complements our technical support network in China, Korea, and Germany."

“Through the ASEAN Technical Development Center, we are better positioned to support our customers and help them capitalize on growth opportunities in ASEAN across key industries and applications,” said Andy Postlethwaite, senior vice president, performance materials Asia Pacific, BASF. “Together with the expanded polyurethane system house, we are demonstrating our commitment to ASEAN, with even more reliable supply, as well as technical expertise and innovation capabilities."

BASF previously increased the production capacity of its polyurethane system house in Bangpoo as part of a move to better meet the growing demand across automotive, consumer, construction, and industrial markets in ASEAN. With a total production area of 2,700 m2, the redesigned system house includes additional mixing vessels, reactors, and storage tanks.

The ASEAN car market by production volume continues to grow with differentiated products and emerging applications, BASF said. “Thailand and Indonesia are among the largest automotive industries in Southeast Asia, while Vietnam is already one of the world’s largest footwear exporters, and its industry is expected to grow as more manufacturers are relocating their manufacturing base there,” the company added.

As per MRC, BASF announced that the implementation of the methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) capacity increase programme for production facilities at its Verbund site in Geismar, LA, USA, is progressing on schedule. Over time, the company targets to double the capacity from 300,000 t/y to approximately 600,000 t/y. BASF said with this stepwise capacity addition, it will support the ongoing growth of its North American MDI customers.

As MRC reported earlier, nn 17 December, 2020, BASF opened its ASEAN Technical Development Center adjacent to its existing polyurethane (PU) System House at Bangpoo site in Thailand. The new facility houses a state-of-the-art pre-polymer reactor technology to produce a hardener (component B) - a key component to boost product development efficiency, thereby enabling faster time-to-market of PU materials and solutions.

We remind that 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).

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.

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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Total has become the first major energy company to quit the main U.S. oil and gas lobby due to disagreements over its climate policies and support for easing drilling regulations, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Total said it would not renew its 2021 membership with the American Petroleum Institute (API) following a review of the lobby's climate positions, describing them as being only "partially aligned" with Total's. Its withdrawal from the century-old API comes ahead of a sweeping change in policy direction in the United States, with incoming President Joe Biden promising to tackle climate change and bring the country to net-zero emissions by 2050.

The points of difference include API's support for the rollback of U.S. regulation on emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, for oil and gas drillers as well as on how to assign a price to carbon, seen as a critical method to curb emissions. "As part of our Climate Ambition made public in May 2020, we are committed to ensuring, in a transparent manner, that the industry associations of which we are a member adopt positions and messages that are aligned with those of the Group in the fight against climate change", Total Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne said.

In a statement, the API thanked Total for its membership. "We believe that the world's energy and environmental challenges are large enough that many different approaches are necessary to solve them, and we benefit from a diversity of views," the API said.

Total's operations in the United States include a number of offshore oil and gas fields in the Gulf of Mexico, a major refining and petrochemical plant in Port Arthur, Texas as well as renewable energy businesses.

Total last year announced plans to cut its carbon emissions, with the aim of reaching net zero emissions from its operations and its energy products sold to customers in Europe by 2050 or sooner.

As MRC informed earlier, Total and Engie (Paris, France) will cooperate in developing, building, and operating green hydrogen production and storage facilities at the 500,000-metric tons/year La Mede biorefinery at Chateauneuf-les-Martigues, France, to create supplies for biofuel output.

As MRC wrote earlier, 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 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.

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

1. Global chemicals output climbs for sixth month

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Data collected and tabulated by the American Chemistry Council (ACC) show that global chemicals production rose 1.9% in November, up from 1.7% in October and extending the recovery that began in June. During November, chemical production grew in all regions except the Former Soviet Union (FSU), said Hydrocarbonprocessing. Headline global production was up 3.7% year-over-year (Y/Y) on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis and is now 2.9% above the pre-COVID peak last December. Global output stood at 122.0 percent of its average 2012 levels. During November, global capacity rose 0.1% and was up 2.2% Y/Y. With improving production, capacity utilization in the global chemical industry rose 1.5 points to 82.9%. This is up from 81.7% in October and the pre-COVID peak in December 2019, but below the long-term (1987-2017) average of 86.5%.



MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The US Environmental Protection Agency said it would propose to extend deadlines for refiners to prove compliance with biofuel laws, but signaled it would not decide on a slew of pending waiver requests submitted by the industry, reported Reuters.

The agency’s proposal represented mixed news for refiners hard hit by slumping energy demand during the coronavirus pandemic and eager to sidestep regulatory costs associated with US biofuel blending policy. It also marks one of the last actions from President Donald Trump’s EPA before he leaves office on Jan. 20.

The agency said it is proposing to extend the compliance deadline for 2019 biofuel blending obligations to Nov. 30, 2021, and an associated deadline for submission of attest engagement reports to June 1, 2022. The EPA is also proposing to extend the 2020 deadlines to Jan. 31, 2022, and June 1, 2022.

Refiners must hand in credits to the EPA each year to prove they complied with their annual biofuel blending obligations for the previous year.

The agency also said it was not taking a position on the availability of 2019 small refinery waivers, which can exempt oil refiners from biofuel blending obligations. The agency said the decision was related to pending litigation regarding the waiver program.

EPA could not be reached by Reuters to clarify whether that meant the agency was not issuing any additional waivers before Trump leaves office.

The proposal was outlined in a document seen by Reuters that is scheduled to be posted on the Federal Register on Friday.

Under the US Renewable Fuel Standard, refiners must blend billions of gallons of biofuels like corn-based ethanol into their fuel mix, or buy credits from those that do. Refiners can apply for exemptions if they can prove the obligations would cause them financial harm.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, EPA had not enforced compliance for some refineries for the 2019 compliance year.

“While we don’t agree that EPA needs to wait as long as it is proposing, particularly for the 2020 compliance year, we do agree with EPA that the outgoing administration should refrain from any further action on the pending small refinery petitions,” said Geoff Cooper, president of the Renewable Fuels Association.

US senators including Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley of Iowa urged EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler in a letter dated Thursday not to grant small refinery exemptions until ongoing litigation is resolved.

Renewable fuel (D6) credits for 2020 traded at 90 cents each on Thursday, up from 79 cents in the previous session, traders said.

As MRC informed earlier, last year, US lawmakers introduced a relief bill that would include aid to biofuel producers after demand for the fuel plummeted because of the coronavirus pandemic, causing mass shutdowns in the industry. The bill, introduced by House Democrats, would reimburse producers that suffered unexpected market losses because of the pandemic from January 1 through May 1. It is not clear whether the bill as proposed will be passed into law.

We remind that 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 also 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 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) -- Crude oil futures tumbled during the mid-morning trade in Asia Jan. 18, as rising coronavirus cases in China raised fresh demand-side concerns, while the spread of mutated strains of the virus also weighed down sentiment in the market, reported S&P Global.

At 11:10 am Singapore time (0310 GMT), the ICE Brent March contract was down 45 cents/b (0.82%) from the Jan. 15 settle to USD54.65/b, while the February NYMEX light sweet crude contract was down 38 cents/b (0.73%) to $51.98/b. The Brent marker had fallen 1.59% in the week ended Jan. 15 to USD55.10/b, whereas the NYMEX light sweet crude marker had ticked up 0.23% to USD52.36/b.

The fall in oil futures comes as a jump in coronavirus cases in China threatened to derail crude's demand recovery.

Towards the end of the week to Jan. 16, several Chinese cities were placed under lockdown to curb the spread of the virus. Even though the lockdown is due to be lifted by Jan. 19, fears of further restrictions remain heightened after the country reported over a hundred COVID-19 infections during each day of the weekend, according to media reports.

"We are seeing a continuation of the downward momentum from last week. Oil's rally stalled in second half of last week after the market started to emerge from under the spell of the surprise Saudi production cut, and started paying attention to the worsening pandemic situation in the western hemisphere and the worrying outbreaks in China," Vandana Hari, CEO of Vanda Insights, told S&P Global Platts on Jan. 18.

Hari further added that, against the backdrop of the fresh outbreaks, the market took little solace from the reasonably strong Chinese economic growth data, which may have instead drawn more attention to China's current struggle with the pandemic.

"It is not just the outbreaks in China that have rattled the markets, it is also the spread of three different and more contagious coronavirus strains reported in the UK, South Africa and Brazil," Hari said.

Despite the escalation of the pandemic, analysts retained a largely bullish outlook in the medium-term, noting that oil remains supported by the 1 million b/d cuts from Saudi Arabia, the vaccine roll-outs and hopes of further stimulus in the US.

"Despite the pullback in prices last week, the market remains supported by Saudi Arabia's output cut. Assuming demand growth remains stable, this should see the drawdown on global inventories rise to 1.1mb/d in Q1," said ANZ analysts in a Jan. 18 note.

Hari agreed, saying: "Majority of the premium from the Saudi cuts remains intact as 1 million b/d over two months is a substantial reduction in supply. However with the resurgent pandemic, it remains a two step forward, one step back situation for now."

As MRC informed previously, oil producers face an unprecedented challenge to balance supply and demand as factors including the pace and response to COVID-19 vaccines cloud the outlook, according to an official with International Energy Agency's (IEA) statement.

We remind that the COVID-19 outbreak has led to an unprecedented decline in demand affecting all sections of the Russian economy, which has impacted the demand for petrochemicals in the short-term. However, the pandemic triggered an increase in the demand for polymers in food packaging, and cleaning and hygiene products, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. With Russian petrochemical companies having the advantage of access to low-cost feedstock, and proximity to demand-rich Asian (primarily China) and European markets for the supply of petrochemical products, these companies appear to be well-positioned to derive full benefits from an improving market environment and global economy post-COVID-19, says GlobalData.

We also remind that in December 2020, Sibur, Gazprom Neft, and Uzbekneftegaz agreed to cooperate on potential investments in Uzbekistan including a major expansion of Uzbekneftegaz’s existing Shurtan Gas Chemical Complex (SGCC) and the proposed construction of a new gas chemicals facility. The signed cooperation agreement for the projects includes “the creation of a gas chemical complex using methanol-to-olefins (MTO) technology, and the expansion of the production capacity of the Shurtan Gas Chemical Complex”.

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