Yansab extends EG plant turnaround in Saudi Arabia for additional repairs

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Yanbu National Petrochemical Company (Yansab), part of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic), is expected to take additional three days of repairs at its 700,000-metric tons/year ethylene glycol unit at Yanbu, reported Chemweek.

This plant has been off-line since 1 February, 2021.

As MRC informed before, Yansab has restarted its cracker after a planned turnaround. Thus, the cracker in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, which can produce 1.38 mln mt/year of ethylene and 400,000 mt/year of propylene, resumed operations on 15 February, 2021. It was shut for a turnaround on 5 February.

The company also has polyolefin plants at the same site with production capacity of 400,000 tons/year of polypropylene (PP) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) each. They were also taken off-line for maintenance on 5 February. Both plants resumed production in mid-February.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and 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). Supply of exclusively PP random copolymer increased.

Yansab is the most recent SABIC, (Saudi Basic Industries Corp), affiliate in Saudi Arabia, and will be the largest Sabic petrochemical complex. It will have an annual capacity exceeding 4 million metric tons (MT) of petrochemical products including: 1.3 million MT (metric-tons) of ethylene; 400,000 MT of propylene; 900,000 MT of polyethylene; 400,000 MT of polypropylene; 700,000 MT of ethylene glycol; 250,000 MT of benzene, xylene and toluene, and 100,000 MT of butene-1 and butene-2.

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) ranks among the world's top petrochemical companies. The company is among the world's market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Orbia Advance (Mexico City, Mexico) reports fourth-quarter net income of USD98 million, up 227% year-over-year (YOY) from USD30 million, said Chemweek.

Revenue totaled USD1.742 billion, up 6% YOY from USD1.636 billion, mainly driven by higher sales in polymer solutions, building and infrastructure, and data communications, says the company. EBITDA increased 30% YOY to USD383 million, driven largely by higher prices of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and specialty products in the polymer solutions segment and favorable market conditions in building and infrastructure.

Assuming no significant unexpected disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Orbia expects EBITDA to increase by 4-7% in 2021, driven by economic recovery.

The polymer solutions segment, consisting of Vestolit and Alphagary, turned in revenue of USD617 million, up 12% YOY on high PVC prices driven by tight supply. EBITDA increased 86% to USD158 million. All PVC sites operated at full capacity, Orbia notes.

The fluorinated solutions segment, or Koura, turned in revenue of $182 million, down 3% YOY on the continued impact of COVID-19 on key markets, partly offset by strong fluorspar shipments in December. EBITDA declined 23% to USD58 million on weak pricing and volumes.

Revenue in the precision agriculture segment, Netafim, totaled USD270 million, flat YOY as a rebound across most major markets in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia was offset by continued pandemic-related challenges in Latin America, says Orbia. EBITDA increased 8% YOY to USD53 million.

The data communications segment, Dura-Line, turned in revenue of USD176 million, up 9% YOY, mainly driven by higher order volume in the US and Canada, partly offset by lower volume in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America, where recovery was slower. EBITDA was flat at $34 million as a more favorable mix of higher-margin advanced products and accessories was partly offset by higher raw material costs.

Wavin, the building and infrastructure segment, had revenue of USD582 million, up 12% YOY, driven by strong demand in several countries across Europe and Latin America. EBITDA increased 69% to USD88 million.

As per MRC, Orbia Advance Corporation, S.A.B. de C.V., formerly Mexichem (Mexico City), announced that its board of directors has appointed Sameer S. Bharadwaj as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective February 1, 2021.

The shortage of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) remained in the world, and in recent weeks it has been exacerbated by a series of force majeure shutdown of the largest US producers. Many producers announced further price rise for March shipment; Russian producers also announced price increase for March shipment, according to the ICIS-MRC Price Report.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Vietnam's Nghi Son refinery has restarted after a shutdown on 12 February because of a blackout, a company spokesman said on Thursday, adding that it is investigating the cause, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Thus, it resumed production in the middle of the third week of February.

Vietnam's biggest oil refinery, the USD9-B Nghi Son, started commercial operations in late 2018, and has a capacity of 200,000 bpd.

"The refinery will be fully operational in days, around a week," and the shutdown had not caused any damage, said a source with direct knowledge of the matter, who sought anonymity in the absence of authorization to speak to the media.

The refinery, located 260 km (160 miles) south of Hanoi, is 35.1% owned by Japan's Idemitsu Kosan Co, 35.1% by Kuwait Petroleum, 25.1% by PetroVietnam and 4.7% by Mitsui Chemicals Inc.

Nghi Son and the 130,000-bpd Dung Quat refinery, which started production in 2009, together meet about 70% of Vietnam's demand for refined oil products.

As MRC reported earlier, Nghi Son Refinery & Petrochemical (NSRP) is planning a major overhaul at its polypropylene (PP) unit in Vietnam in June 2021. The production capacity of the company's PP line is 370,000 tons/year. And the entire complex will be shut in 2023 for maintenance.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, 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). Supply of exclusively PP random copolymer increased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Tronox (Stamford, Connecticut) reports fourth-quarter adjusted net income of USD28 million, up 47% year-over-year (YOY) from USD19 million, driven by higher titanium dioxide (TiO2) and zircon volumes, according to Chemweek.

Adjusted earnings per share came to USD0.19, missing the consensus estimate of USD0.26 as compiled by Zacks Investment Research.

Net income from continuing operations totaled USD57 million, up from USD1 million in the year-ago quarter. Sales totaled USD783 million, up 13% YOY from USD693 million.

TiO2 revenues totaled USD587 million, up 8% YOY on an 8% increase in volume. “TiO2 sales volumes increased globally year-over-year (YOY), led by South and Central America, followed by North America and Europe, Middle East, and Africa,” says the company. Zircon revenues totaled USD94 million, up 32% YOY as a 48% increase in volume, mainly on demand recovery in China, offset a 10% decline in price. Revenues from feedstock and other products totaled USD94 million, up 31% YOY.

“Tronox delivered exceptional results in the fourth quarter, with the highest adjusted EBITDA results since closing the Cristal acquisition,” says John D. Romano, co-chief executive officer on an interim basis. “Driving these results is a significant recovery across all products, end markets, and geographies across our portfolio. As we have entered 2021, market demand for TiO2 and zircon remains strong. Due to the favorable market trajectory, we anticipate TiO2 sales volumes to increase 11-15% sequentially in Q1 2021."

As MRC reported earlier, Exxaro Resources (Pretoria, South Africa), a diversified resources firm, will sell off the bulk of its stake in Tronox in a public offering. The 17-million share secondary public offering will reduce Exxaro’s stake in Tronox to about 1.6% from about 14.6%. Exxaro began selling down its stake in Tronox, which had previously exceeded 40%, in 2017. The company took a stake in Tronox in 2012, in compensation for Tronox’s acquisition of Exxaro’s mineral sands operations. A 2019 deal also saw Tronox acquire Exxaro’s interest in its South African subsidiaries, which hold mining licenses for a variety of titanium dioxide raw materials. Tronox is also issuing to Exxaro about 7.2 million ordinary shares in the entire company in exchange for Exxaro’s 26% interest in Tronox’s South African subsidiaries, which hold mining licenses for a variety of titanium dioxide raw materials. Those shares are being included as part of the public offering.

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 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 benzene grew to 120,000 tonnes from 106,000 tonnes a month earlier due to higher capacity utilisation of several producers. Overall output of this product reached 1,236,600 tonnes over the stated period, down by 2.2% year on year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dow Inc is adjusting its carbon footprint and product slate to adapt to climate change and tap evolving consumption trends tied to the global energy transition, a senior executive said this week, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Dow has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050 by boosting the use of renewable energy, such as wind power in the southern United States, and by improving energy efficiency at its petrochemical plants, Dow's Asia Pacific President Jon Penrice told Reuters on Wednesday.

It is also developing products that help customers cut their own emissions such as sealants that improve heating efficiencies in buildings, materials to lighten electric vehicles and make batteries more efficient, he said. "We actually see climate change as something that's very likely to happen, high probability and high impact," Penrice said. "It's going to be a big opportunity I think for many, many players in the petrochemical industry."

Dow launched its MobilityScience platform last year aimed at tapping the "lightweighting" push among car manufacturers seeking to increase the range and lower the power needs of electric vehicles (EV). "We have global sales today of 3 million (EVs), which is only 4% of the global market, but that's growing extremely fast in Asia Pacific, mainly in China, but also around the rest of the world now," Penrice said.

"You have to redesign everything from lighter weight materials, longer-range performance, battery materials, comfort and safety in the car, and overall a lower carbon footprint." Dow is collaborating with traditional original equipment manufacturers and EV startups in China, Penrice said.

Dow has also targeted the wind energy sector with materials that toughen wind turbine blades which are now four- to five-times longer than before, and using coatings to make them resistant to icing during winter, he added. The company is also designing products geared towards a circular economy, such as single-layer food packaging that can be more easily recycled.

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). Supply of exclusively PP random copolymer increased.
MRC