BASF restarts cracker following technical issue at Ludwigshafen, Germany

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF says it is restarting one of its steam crackers at its Ludwigshafen complex in Germany after operations were halted on Wednesday due to a technical issue, reported Chemweek with reference to a company spokesperson's statement.

“The affected cracker is in the process of restarting,” the spokesperson says. “I can’t give you any further details on the technical defect or which of our crackers is affected.” Operations were interrupted at around 8am on Wednesday morning, according to BASF. “There is currently visible fire and soot formation. Flaring is expected to continue until tomorrow. The responsible authorities have been informed,” it further stated in a social media post.

The naphtha cracker produces ethylene and propylene, and is one of two crackers on the site. One has a production capacity of 420,000 metric tons/year, with the other’s capacity at 240,000 metric tons/year, according to IHS Markit data.

BASF shut down an undisclosed part of its chemical complex at Ludwigshafen on 15 January, also due to a technical fault, it said last month.

OPIS is an IHS Markit company.

As MRC informed earlier, BASF has restarted its No. 1 steam cracker following a maintenance turnaround. Thus, the company resumed operations at the plant on September 30, 2019. The plant was shut for maintenance in mid-August, 2019. Located at Ludwigshafen in Germany, the No. 1 cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 235,000 mt/year and a propylene production capacity of 125,000 mt/year.

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, excluding 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) -- MEGlobal has announced its Asian Contract Price (ACP) for monoethylene glycol (MEG) to be shipped in March 2021, according to the company's press release.

Thus, on 10 February, the company said ACP for MEG would be at USD790/MT CFR Asian main ports for arrival in March 2021, up by USD50/MT from February.

The March 2021 ACP reflects the short term supply/demand situation in the Asian market.

As MRC reported earlier, MEGlobal announced its February ACP for MEG at USD740/MT CFR Asian main ports, up by USD70/tonne from January 2021.

MEG is one of the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, there was an acute shortage of PET in the Russian market. As a result, there was speculative excitement in the market. Sellers were raising prices of Russian PET chips, while the buyers who needed material had no other alternative at the moment.

MEGlobal is a fully integrated supplier of monoethylene glycol (MEG) and diethylene glycol (DEG), collectively known as ethylene glycol (EG).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Activist investor Sachem Head has reportedly bought a stake valued at about USD1 billion in IFF and submitted nominations to the company’s board, according to a Reuters, citing people familiar with the matter, said Chemweek.

The move comes less than two weeks after IFF closed its USD26.2-billion merger with DuPont’s nutrition and biosciences (N&B) business, creating a company that will generate more than USD11 billion/year in sales.

Sachem Head launched a proxy fight against Olin last year, reaching a deal in which it took two board seats. The firm is aiming for IFF to take undisclosed steps to improve financial results and ensure the smooth integration of DuPont N&B, according to Reuters.

IFF’s market capitalization is currently about USD33.5 billion. Shares in the company have traded up on report, at around USD135/share today and yesterday, the highest level seen since June 2020.

During IFF’s earnings call this morning, some analysts questioned the company’s financial performance, noting that EBITDA margins trailed below peers even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. IFF Chairman and CEO said the integration of Frutarom, which IFF acquired in 2018, could have gone better in some respects. There were some “compliance issues” in the taste business, and “we probably could have integrated the European organizations faster,” Fibig told investors.

IFF in January said it is targeting 4-5% annual currency-neutral sales growth through 2023 in the new entity with DuPont N&B. Company executives defended those targets this morning, saying that revenue growth was about a percentage point below that level prior to the merger, and that synergies should boost growth to meet the target. “We have positioned ourselves to deliver very significant growth over the years to come,” Fibig said.

Yesterday, IFF reported fourth-quarter earnings that exceeded analysts’ expectations on the back of volume gains and cost reductions.

As per DuPont forecasts higher-than-expected annual profits on Thursday as industrial material manufacturers' quarterly results exceeded expectations due to rigorous cost checks and a recovery in the auto industry, one of the largest markets.

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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Bayshore Networks and GE Digital announced an expansion to their partnership to integrate their solutions to address the growing need to secure industrial and critical infrastructure networks, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

GE Digital's OpShield technology will be integrated into Bayshore Networks' advanced solutions providing sophisticated industrial cybersecurity and active prevention/protection for industrial equipment, including programmable logic controllers (PLCs), human machine interface (HMIs), and engineering workstations.

"We're pleased to announce another way we will support organizations who need to protect operational technology (OT) environments, industrial processes, and plant operations," said Steve Pavlosky, Director, Digital Product Management at GE Digital. "Being at the heart of an operation's data visualization, control, and reporting, it is critically important to ensure companies are taking steps to protect this key element to their operations. The combination of Bayshore's In-depth Policy Engine with GE Digital's OpShield Management Console and Advanced Protocol technology addresses the fact that while companies may have threat analytics or detection solutions as part of a Cyber Security triad, they must have advanced prevention capabilities."

GE Digital began working with Bayshore in 2019 to bring cybersecurity support to GE Proficy installations. With this extended partnership, Bayshore and GE Digital look forward to providing customers in all industries with software that includes Bayshore Networks' advanced cybersecurity technology with GE Digital's OpShield capabilities.

"Bayshore is tremendously excited to see the relationship with GE Digital expand to combine our joint technologies with the goal of launching OpShield NextGeneration as the premier detection/active prevention solution for the entire industrial marketplace as we jointly work to secure the world's industrial and critical infrastructure networks," said Kevin Senator, CEO of Bayshore Networks. "Together, we will support existing GE Digital customers as well as new customers with technology to protect their OT endpoints and networks from ever-changing and increasing cyber threats as well as advancing this combined technology to a broad range of control products from a variety of vendors. Bayshore's advanced technology brings a whole new level of safety and resilience within the reach and control of plant operations everywhere regardless of PLC brand in use."

As per MRC, during the week ended 6 February, chemical railcar traffic in North America increased 4.1% year-over-year (YOY) on gains in Canada and Mexico. Volume totaled 46,250 carloads, down 4.3% from the previous week, according to data released by the Association of American Railroads (AAR). On a four-week basis, volume increased 5.4% from 2020 and 4.5% from 2019 (chart). For the year to date, chemical railcar traffic in North America is up 5.2% from 2020 and 4.4% from 2019.

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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Apala Mukherjee has been appointed President of BASF Canada effective March 1st, 2021. Mukherjee assumes responsibility for all of BASF’s businesses in Canada, overseeing the implementation of the company’s global strategies in the region, said the company.

In this role, Mukherjee will chair BASF Canada Executive Committee and head BASF Canada’s Leadership team. Moreover, she will lead BASF Canada’s internal business support groups, including Market and Customer Development and Sustainability.

"I am truly excited about this opportunity, and during my tenure I intend to build on the great leadership position BASF has gained in the Canadian market and industry. We will continue to intensify our focus to bring innovative and sustainable solutions to our Canadian customers to further enhance BASF’s position as a leader in the industry," said Mukherjee.

Prior to moving to Canada, Apala Mukherjee was Director of Sustainability of Value Chains for BASF Corporation, located in Florham Park, New Jersey, USA. She has held various positions within BASF Group, including Head of Marketing Acrylics and Regional Integration leader for Engineering Plastics, both in Singapore, and Global Business Director for Polyolefins Catalysts and Staff to the CEO in North America, both in New Jersey, USA. Mukherjee started her career in research at National Starch and Chemical and has worked in various disciplines such as strategy, marketing, technical service and sales across Europe, Americas and Asia.

Marcelo Lu has taken over BASF’s North American Care Chemicals Division which includes BASF’s Personal Care, Home Care I&I and Industrial Formulations businesses.

As per MRC, BASF says it has chosen BTC Europe as its new distributor in Europe for aromatic isocyanates and polyols for polyurethane applications. The collaboration comes into effect on 1 February 2021 and will comprise BASF’s polyurethane product brands Lupranat, Lupranol, and Lupraphen. The new agreement will enable the company to “react to the wish of our customers of providing the entire product portfolio from a single source,” says Oliver Peter, BASF’s account manager/European isocyanates.

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