Dow Chemical restarts three crackers at Freeport, Texas

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dow Chemical has been resuming operations at its three crackers at Freeport, Texas, according to S&P Global.

These crackers with a combined 3.2 million mt/year of ethylene capacity were shut in mid-February, 2021, because of very low temperatures in the region.

At present, it is unknown when Dow's crackers in Freeport will be fully restarted.

As MRC informed earlier, Dow Chemical shut its ethylene cracker No. 3 at its Plaquemine, Louisiana site with the annual production of 758,000 mt for expansion from mid-September to end-November 2016. After the restart this cracker can produce by 250,000 mt of ethylene more than before.

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.

The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene (PS), polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, and synthetic rubber.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Evonik Industries expects to complete the carve-out of its superabsorbent polymers (SAP) business by this summer, says chairman Christian Kullmann, said Chemweek.

Speaking on Thursday at the company’s annual results press briefing, Kullmann said that the carve-out is making good progress and on schedule, but that Evonik has not decided on a preferred outcome for the SAP business. "We’ll see if a sale or partnership is a better alternative, but we’ll find a good safe haven for it,” he said. “We are thinking in terms of scenarios and will choose the best option."

The separation of the SAP business forms part of Evonik’s transformation program to become more focused on specialties. The plan includes the divestment of the company’s methacrylates business in 2019. Evonik also reorganized in July 2020 into four operating divisions and designated three of them—specialty additives, nutrition and care, and smart materials—as growth businesses. The other division is performance materials, which currently includes the SAP business.

Evonik CFO Ute Wolf told the briefing that Evonik decided to carve out the SAP business because it "has very low margins and this influences the margin of the whole group."

Meanwhile, the integration of PeroxyChem, acquired in February 2020 as part of the specialties strategy, is "making good progress," Kullmann said. And the integration of catalyst-rejuvenation business Porocel Group, acquired in November 2020, is also “on track, despite the pandemic,” he said. The Porocel business now forms part of Evonik’s smart materials division.

Growth projects include an expansion of capacity to produce specialty lipids, which are essential for mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines. In addition to production in the US and Canada, Evonik is expanding its production facilities at Hanau and Dossenheim, Germany, which are expected to produce lipids in commercial quantities as early as the second half of 2021.

"Evonik has been leading in lipids technology for decades,” Evonik deputy chairman Harald Schwager told the briefing. With the capacity expansions in Germany this year, Schwager expects Evonik’s lipids sales to reach “millions of euros" in 2021. Evonik spent EUR433 million (USD523 million) on R&D in 2020, or 3.5% of sales, Schwager said.

Meanwhile, the previously announced closure of Evonik’s methionine plant at Wesseling, Germany—the company’s smallest methionine unit—will be effective on 31 March, board member/human resources and industrial relations Thomas Wessel told the briefing. The move will affect 100 employees, of whom 70 will remain with Evonik, Wessel said.

Evonik is about midway through its transformation process, Kullmann said. "The crisis did not prevent us from continuing to shape the company in 2020," he said.

As MRC reported before, Dow and Evonik have recently entered into an exclusive technology partnership. Together, they plan to bring a unique method for directly synthesizing propylene glycol (PG) from propylene and hydrogen peroxide to market maturity.

Propylene is the main feedstock for the production of polypropylene (PP).

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.

Evonik is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. The focus on more specialty businesses, customer-oriented innovative prowess and a trustful and performance-oriented corporate culture form the heart of Evonik’s corporate strategy. They are the lever for profitable growth and a sustained increase in the value of the company. Evonik benefits specifically from its customer proximity and leading market positions. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world with more than 36,000 employees.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Barentz International, through its Maroon Group subsidiary, says it has acquired The Cary Company’s (Chicago, Illinois) raw materials and specialty chemicals distribution business, said Chemweek.

The business operates in the paint, coatings, adhesives, and sealants markets. Terms of the deal, including purchase price, were not disclosed.

"Following the acquisition of Maroon Group in December 2020, we established a platform in North America from which we could pursue targeted growth through strategic acquisitions and expansion opportunities with our principal suppliers," says Hidde van der Wal, CEO of Barentz.

The acquired business will become part of Barentz’s North American coatings, adhesives, sealants, and elastomers (CASE) and plastics unit. Brian Ehlert and its current management team will continue to lead the business on its day-to-day basis. Warehousing and logistics services for the business will continue to be provided by The Cary Company.

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.

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 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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sherwin-Williams (SW) says president and COO David Sewell will step down effective 12 March to become CEO of an undisclosed company outside the coatings industry, reported Chemweek.

Sewell’s position will not be filled immediately, with CEO John Morikis assuming Sewell’s responsibilities in addition to his current role on a temporary basis.

Sewell joined SW in 2006, and was named COO in 2019.

As MRC informed before, in late February 2021, The Sherwin-Williams Company announced it had signed a purchase agreement with global coatings company Hempel A/S to divest Wattyl, an Australian and New Zealand manufacturer and seller of architectural and protective paint and coatings with annual revenue of approximately USD200 million USD and 750 employees.

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.
mrcplat.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Motiva Chemicals has been resuming operations at its mixed-feed cracker in Port Arthur, USA, reported S&P Global.

The process of restart of this cracker with the capacity of 635,000 mt/year of ethylene and 340,000 mt/year of propylene began on 27 February, 2021, and is expected to finish late this week.

The cracker wa shut along with the refinery at the same site on 14 February, 2021, because of the deep freeze.

As MRC informed earlier, the second-largest crude distillation unit (CDU) at Motiva Enterprises 607,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Port Arthur, Texas, refinery is operating at 80% of capacity. Motiva is preparing to restart the smallest CDU and the small coker at the refinery

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.

Motiva Enterprises, LLC, is a fully owned affiliate of Saudi Refining Inc. and headquartered in Houston, Texas, United States with revenue of USD24 billion. Previously, it was a 50–50 joint venture between Shell Oil Company (the wholly owned American subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell) and Saudi Refining Inc. (controlled by Saudi Aramco).
MRC