Court denies US EPA call to remand sulfoxaflor registration

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A federal appeals court has handed a victory to environmentalists challenging the EPA’s registration of the insecticide, sulfoxaflor, said Chemweek.

The verdict also denies a request by the Agency to remand the approval to allow it to complete the required review of the potential impacts of legal uses of the insecticide on endangered species. The US Court of Appeals rejected the EPA’s motion to remand without comment, laying out a schedule for the case to proceed and for it to consider whether the Agency’s 2019 registration amendments for sulfoxaflor violated the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

The legal dispute stretches back to the Agency’s 2013 unconditional registration for sulfoxaflor. That registration – granted to Corteva Agriscience legacy business Dow AgroSciences – swiftly drew litigation from a coalition of environmentalists and beekeepers led by the Center for Food Safety (CFS) and the Center for Biological Diversity. They argued that the EPA had classified the insecticide as "very highly toxic" to bees and lacked adequate data on the risks to pollinators.

The EPA and Dow argued that the Agency should have been shown deference to make its judgement about the risks and benefits of sulfoxaflor, but the Ninth Circuit concluded that the EPA had simply failed to follow its own rules. In its September 2015 ruling, the Court found that the EPA had relied on "flawed and limited" data when it issued the registration and failed to adequately assess the impacts on pollinators. The Court called on the EPA to vacate the registration and obtain further studies and data regarding the effects of sulfoxaflor on bees.

The EPA revoked Dow’s registration in November 2015 and then granted an amended approval in October 2016 for uses on crops that are not attractive to bees – the new licence imposed several restrictions, including buffer zones and prohibitions on tank mixing.

The EPA moved to shift the debate in October 2020, acknowledging that it had failed to complete the required ESA review and asking the court to remand the registration to allow it to carry out its obligations. The Agency warned that farmers could turn to more harmful alternatives if sulfoxaflor was pulled from the market and suggested that it begin the ESA assessment by 2025.

The EPA argued that the ESA review could lead to additional actions under the FIFRA and said that the Court retain jurisdiction to allow for review of the pesticide law claims after the ESA analysis is complete. “Thus, EPA is not seeking to ‘get out of jail free’ or otherwise evade review,” the Agency told the Court.

The plaintiffs – along with a coalition of 11 states – pushed back, arguing that a remand would allow the EPA to indefinitely dodge legal review of the FIFRA allegations and urging the Ninth Circuit to deny the EPA’s request.

CFS senior attorney Sylvia Wu welcomed the decision, stating that “EPA does not get to put off its legal duty just so that pesticide companies can continue to sell their toxic products”. The Court’s order calls on the petitioners to file their opening briefs by February 16th.

As per MRC, 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. 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.

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) -- Chemical distributor Oqema (Korschenbroich, Germany) says it has taken a majority stake in CB Chemie (Drassburg, Austria), a company founded in 2016 by Christian Braunshier, reported Chemweek.

CB Chemie focuses on distributing specialty chemicals to the construction, and paints and coatings industry. It has a subsidiary, CB Nutrition, specialized in supplying natural ingredients to the food industry. The acquisition will “drive synergies in food and life sciences, especially in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria,” Oqema says.

The size of Oqema’s majority stake and financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. Braunshier, CEO of CB Chemie, will continue to lead the company as a shareholder and managing partner.

“CB Chemie is a start-up with high ambitions for growth and an excellent track record for growth over the last three years,” says Hartmut Kunz, CFO of Oqema.

As MRC informed earlier, last month, the Oqema Group, a chemical distributor, said it had acquired Claus Nitsche & Sohn (Nitsche; Hamburg, Germany). Nitsche supplies essential oils, natural flavors, fragrance ingredients, and ingredient solutions, and the portfolio will complement Oqema’s flavor and fragrance range.

We remind that Russia's output of chemical products rose in November 2020 by 9.5% year on year. At the same time, production of basic chemicals increased in the first eleven months of 2020 by 6.6% 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-November 2020 output. November production of polymers in primary form rose to 896,000 tonnes from 852,000 tonnes in October. Overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 9,240,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 17.1% year on year.

Oqema had 2019 sales of about EUR900.0 million USD1.1 billion).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- OQ Chemicals (Monheim am Rhein, Germany) says it will increase prices for several of its oxo alcohol and oxo acetate ester products in the Americas with immediate effect or as contracts allow, according to Chemweek.

The oxo intermediates price hike is due to strong demand and increasing raw material costs, it says. The company had previously announced price increases in the Americas for the same products in both January and February, and on 26 January further announced sales control due to increased demand and shortage of supply for its US oxo intermediate products produced at its Bay City, Texas, site.

OQ has increased the price of 2-ethylhexanol (2-EH) by USD0.17/lb in North America and Mexico and by USD375/metric ton in South America. The prices of n-butanol and isobutanol have both been raised by USD0.15/lb in North America and Mexico, and by USD330/metric ton in South America, while n-butyl acetate and isobutyl acetate have both increased by USD0.10/lb in North America and Mexico, and by USD220/metric ton in South America.

As MRC wrote before, 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 2,220,640 tonnes in 2020, up by 2% year on year. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased. At the same time, polypropylene (PP) shipments to the Russian market reached 1 240,000 tonnes in 2020 (calculated using the formula: production, minus exports, plus imports, exluding producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020).

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- As part of a strategic partnership, BASF and Siemens Energy plan to accelerate commercial implementation of new technologies designed to lower greenhouse gas emissions, as per BASF's press release.

By combining BASF’s technological expertise with Siemens Energy’s innovative product and services portfolio, BASF aims to extend its leading role in lowering CO2 emissions in chemical production. Several pilot projects at its Ludwigshafen site are under discussion. BASF’s headquarters is one of the largest chemical production sites in the world.

Possible pilot projects include the construction of a PEM (proton exchange membrane) electrolyzer for hydrogen production with an output of 50 megawatts with the possibility of modular capacity expansions and the installation of a high-temperature 50 megawatts thermal heat pump for generating process steam from waste heat in a production plant. In addition, a modernization of the power grid at the Ludwigshafen site using digital and CO2-optimized products from Siemens Energy is being evaluated. Furthermore, a study is underway to assess the potential for common system and catalytic converter development in an effort, to boost the efficiency of electrolysis plants (PEM electrolysis) and for collaboration in generating electricity from wind energy.

Dr. Christian Bruch, Chief Executive Officer of Siemens Energy AG: “BASF is in a leading position in the chemical industry and is a pioneer in the area of innovation for climate-compatible production of chemicals. Numerous future technologies are still at an early stage of development. By joining forces with BASF, we want to exploit the experience gained in pilot projects as a basis for implementation of new technologies and concepts and thus play an active role in shaping the energy transition in the process industry. Our strategic objective, in our role as a reliable and experienced partner for all types of energy systems, is to help address the growing demand for goods and services and at the same time contribute towards achieving the climate protection targets on our path to a more sustainable world.”

Dr. Martin Brudermuller, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE: “By cooperating with Siemens Energy, we stand to benefit from the expertise of a first-class partner for implementing our carbon management, a partner with whom we can accomplish projects of a commercial scale. At BASF, we want to develop and implement new low-CO2 technologies as quickly as possible. If we want to use such technologies on a large scale, we will need appropriate regulatory framework conditions and targeted support. We need renewable electricity in large quantities for this, and we need it at competitive prices.”

BASF has sought further reduction of greenhouse gas emissions within the scope of its Carbon Management since 2018. Until the year 2030, the absolute level of BASF’s emissions is targeted not to exceed that of 2018. With a planned substantial increase in production volumes, this means a further reduction of the emission intensity by around 30% in this period. In tandem with the availability of newly developed technologies and the increased use of renewable energies, BASF also aims to further reduce its emissions in absolute terms beyond the year 2030. This will lead to a significant increase in BASF’s demand for electricity from renewable sources.

BASF and Siemens Energy have signed a memorandum of understanding for their strategic partnership, which will focus above all on supporting the chemical company in achieving its ambitious climate targets. For Siemens Energy, the partnership represents a further key step toward pursuing its strategic goals, namely low-emission or emission-free generation of electricity and heat, transmission and storage of electricity, a smaller carbon footprint and lower energy consumption in industrial processes as well as shaping a sustainable hydrogen economy.

BASF and Siemens Energy will strive to study the pilot projects identified for technical and commercial feasibility as soon as possible in order to be able to reliably quantify the investments needed and to launch the implementation of the pilot projects within the scope of the currently prevailing framework conditions.

As MRC reported earlier, BASF said in late January, 2021, that its 420,000-metric ton/year steam cracker in Ludwigshafen, Germany was continuously running and had not caused any interruption of supply to its customers. Earlier, several media outlets reported that unscheduled flaring started on 13 January at the northern part of the Ludwigshafen site and was expected to last until 17 January and that an unspecified unit was shut, which "was not the case", as per the company's letter received by MRC.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,220,640 tonnes in 2020, up by 2% year on year. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased. At the same time, polypropylene (PP) shipments to the Russian market reached 1 240,000 tonnes in 2020 (calculated using the formula: production, minus exports, plus imports, exluding producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020).

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) -- Pressured by strict U.S. sanctions, Venezuela's oil exports plunged by 376,500 barrels per day (bpd) in 2020, according to Refinitiv Eikon data and internal documents from state-run PDVSA, financially squeezing President Nicolas Maduro, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump also put curbs on PDVSA's main trading partners, the owners of tankers still transporting Venezuelan oil and on fuel supply to the gasoline-thirsty nation.

The punishment, aimed to oust Maduro after his 2018 re-election was called a sham by most Western nations, has led PDVSA to pursue new customers, rely on mostly unknown intermediaries to resell its oil and deepen ties with Iran, another country under U.S. sanctions.

Venezuela's exports of crude and refined products fell 37.5% in 2020 to 626,534 bpd, the lowest in 77 years. The decrease was even larger for fuel imports, which fell 51% compared with 2019, to 83,780 bpd, according to the data.

The drop in the crude oil offer was several times that of the global market, which fell about 9% last year from COVID-19 constraints. PDVSA did not reply to a request for comment.

As per MRC, China’s refineries posted record throughput in 2020, processing 3% more crude oil than a year ago, as they took advantage of low prices and healthy margins on a quick rebound in domestic fuel demand from the coronavirus pandemic. Annual throughput stood at 674.41 milion tons in 2020, or about 13.45 million barrels per day, up roughly 410,000 bpd from 2019, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.

As MRC informed earlier, in late December 2019, Zhejiang Petrochemical Co Ltd started up its ethylene cracker. Based in Zhejiang, China, the cracker is able to produce 1.4 million tons/year of ethylene.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,220,640 tonnes in 2020, up by 2% year on year. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased. At the same time, polypropylene (PP) shipments to the Russian market reached 1 240,000 tonnes in 2020 (calculated using the formula: production, minus exports, plus imports, exluding producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020).
MRC