USITC to investigate imports of PTFE from India, Russia

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The US International Trade Commission (USITC) is investigating a statement by American manufacturers that imports of granular polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) from India and Russia are being sold in the United States at below fair prices, said USITC.

Daikin America (Orangeburg, New York) asked the USITC and the US Department of Commerce for the investigation in a petition filed on 27 January. The USITC announced that it had found enough support to begin the final phase investigation on 15 March.

Daikin has PTFE production at Decatur, Alabama. Other US producers are Chemours, at Parkersburg, West Virginia, and Solvay Specialty Polymers, at Orange, Texas. Indian producers include Gujarat Fluorochemicals and Hindustan Fluorocarbons. Russian producers include HaloPolymer.

As it was written earlier, the US International Trade Commission (USITC) voted unanimously on 10 February that imports of difluoromethane (R-32) from China are being sold in the US at less than fair value, allowing the Department of Commerce to issue an antidumping order. The USITC will issue its final report by 23 March. Commerce began the investigation following a petition by Arkema, the sole US producer of R-32, in January 2020. R-32, also called HFC-32, is primarily used as a component of refrigerant blends owing to its relatively low global warming potential.

As MRC reported earlier, in December 2020, Arkema announced the proposed divestment of its PMMA business to Trinseo for an enterprise value of EUR1,137 million. This project is a new step in the group’s transformation, and is fully in line with Arkema’s ambition to become a pure Specialty Materials player by 2024.

We remind that Arkema said in June, 2020, that it had finalized the divestment of its functional polyolefins business to SK Global Chemical. The divestment was announced last year. Arkema says the sale forms part of its strategy to refocus the group’s activities on specialty materials.

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) -- Dutch material supplier Royal DSM is selling its advanced solar business in backsheet products to Worthen Industries Inc., a Nashua, N.H.-based company specializing in polymer technologies for multiple end-markets, said Canplastics.

The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed. In September 2020, DSM announced it had reached an agreement to sell the coatings business of DSM advanced solar to Covestro AG as part of a broader agreement to sell the resins and functional materials business, including DSM Niaga and DSM additive manufacturing.

“For the remaining solar business, an agreement has now been reached with Worthen Industries that will create a global business which benefits from complementary innovation and enhanced production capability,” DSM officials said in a March 12 statement.

"The acquisition of DSM’s business in backsheets and conductive backsheets, along with its excellent team, is a strong next step in Worthen’s strategy to serve the global PV [photovoltaic] industry with sustainable, high-performance solutions that are VOC-free, zero-waste, and 100 per cent recyclable – enabling a greener, better-performing industry worldwide," David Worthen, CEO at Worthen Industries, said.

Completion of the transaction is expected mid-2021.

As MRC informed earlier, DSM formed a 50/50 joint venture (JV) with VDL Groep (Eindhoven, Netherlands), called Dutch PPE Solutions, to produce medical facemasks and establish the first permanent production of critical facemask components in the Netherlands. The companies are investing several million euros to purchase manufacturing equipment and build manufacturing facilities to produce meltblown polypropylene (PP), the critical material layer in medical facemasks that filters viruses, and make medical masks.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 241,030 tonnes in January 2021 versus 217,890 tonnes a year earlier. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 141,870 tonnes in January 2021 versus 123,520 tonnes a year earlier. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.

Royal DSM, commonly known as DSM, is a Dutch multinational corporation active in the fields of health, nutrition and materials. The Materials cluster is made up of DSM Engineering Materials, DSM Protective Materials and DSM Resins & Functional Materials. DSM Engineering Materials’ specialty plastics are used in components for the electrical and electronics, automotive, flexible food packaging and consumer goods industries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- MOL has become a biofuel producer through the realization of an investment in the Danube Refinery, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Bio feedstock will be co-processed together with fossil materials increasing the renewable share of fuels and reducing up to 200,000 tons /year CO2 emission without negatively affecting fuel quality.

One of the main goals of the European Union, and MOL Group, is to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050. The renewable share obligations of transportation fuel are continuously increasing, accordingly the biocomponent content expectations have also increased across MOL Group's fuel markets, which have so far been met mainly by blending bioethanol and biodiesel.

The bio-component produced using this process has significantly higher CO2 saving potential than other type of biofuels produced from the same feedstock. This project means that up to 200,000 tons of annual CO2 emission will be cut, equivalent to a city of 200.000 inhabitants entirely switching to solar energy for heating. The target is to further expand the type of waste that can be used as feedstocks in the processing to achieve even better CO2 savings from the product.

One of the cornerstones of the MOL Group 2030+ Strategy is to play a key role in shaping the low-carbon circular economy with investments in new businesses such as waste integration and utilization, recycling, carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), advanced biofuels and potentially hydrogen-related opportunities.

In the next five years, MOL will spend USD 1bn on new, low-carbon and sustainable projects to become a key player in CEE in the circular economy and to get closer to its net-zero CO2 emitter goal by 2050. MOL aims to transform its Downstream segment into a highly efficient, sustainable, chemicals-focused leading industry player.

As MRC informed earlier, MOL Petrochemicals Company (formerly TVK, part of the MOL Group), the only Hungarian producer of olefins and polyolefins, plans to close the maleic anhydride plant in Szazhalombatta (Hungary) in October in order to carry out repair work to eliminate technical problems. prevented the company from increasing the capacity utilization at this production in September. It is expected that repair work at this 22,000 tonnes of maleic anhydride per year facility will continue for several days, but the exact timing of maintenance has not been told.

Plasticizers are substances introduced into a polymer material to make it elastic and plastic during processing and operation. In particular, plasticizers are used for the production of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The share of plasticizers used for the production of PVC products is about 80%.

According to MRC ScanPlast, February production of unmixed PVC in Russia was 79,400 tonnes from 89,400 tonnes a month earlier, RusVinyl and Kaustik Volgograd decreased capacity utilisation. Total PVC production in Russia reached 169,200 tonnes in January - February 2021 against 176,400 tonnes a year earlier, a decrease in production volumes was seen from all producers.

MOL is the largest Hungarian oil, gas and petrochemical group, engaged in exploration and production, transportation of hydrocarbons, as well as the operation of a network of trunk gas pipelines. TVK is a 100% subsidiary of MOL. TVK manufactures HDPE, LDPE, and PP.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings (HHIH) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Saudi Aramco on blue hydrogen and ammonia projects, reported Kemicalinfo with reference to Yonhap News Agency.

As per the MOU, Hyundai Oilbank, the oil refinery unit of HHIH, will import LPG from Aramco to convert into blue hydrogen, which is hydrogen produced from fossil fuel in a process that captures CO2 emissions.

Aramco will use the captured and stored during the production process CO2 for the extraction of crude oil from exhausted oil fields.

Hyundai Oilbank intends to sell blue hydrogen to Aramco LPG for fuel electric vehicles or fuel cell power plants, or to use in desulfurization facilities.

Hyundai Oilbank plans to set up 300 hydrogen charging stations by 2040 across South Korea.

Aramco will provide Hyundai Oilbank blue ammonia produced with the carbon emissions captured and stored according the MOU.

The refiner will use blue ammonia from Aramco as fuel for its LNG boiler to be built by 2024, according to the HHIH official.

As MRC informed earlier, in October 2019, McDermott International announced that it had been awarded a contract by Saudi Aramco and Total Raffinage Chimie (Total) for their joint venture (JV) Amiral steam cracker project at Jubail, Saudi Arabia. Amiral is a JV in which Aramco holds 62.5% and Total the rest. The plant, designed to produce 1.5 million metric tons/year (MMt/y) of ethylene, will be one of the world's largest mixed-feed crackers.

Aramco and Total launched their USD5-billion Amiral JV project in October 2018. The steam cracker will be fed with a mixture of 50% ethane and refinery off-gases. It will supply ethylene to a downstream 1 MMt/y polyethylene manufacturing complex and other petrochemical products. The project aims to fully exploit operational synergies with the adjacent refinery, owned by Satorp, another JV between Aramco and Total. Third-party investors, including Daelim and Ineos, will locate plants at the value park adjacent to Amiral with a combined investment of USD4 billion. A final investment decision is expected in 2021.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 241,030 tonnes in January 2021 versus 217,890 tonnes a year earlier. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 141,870 tonnes in January 2021 versus 123,520 tonnes a year earlier. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.

Saudi Aramco, officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a Saudi Arabian national oil and natural gas company based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco"s value has been estimated at up to USD10 trillion in the Financial Times, making it the world"s most valuable company. Saudi Aramco has both the largest proven crude oil reserves, at more than 260 billion barrels, and largest daily oil production.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PKN Orlen (Plock, Poland), the country’s largest petrochemicals producer, will receive 3.6 million tons of crude oil per year from Russia’s Rosneft under a new two-year supply contract signed, reported Reuters with reference to the company's statement.

Rosneft suspended oil deliveries to Poland in February after failing to agree on new contract terms with PKN Orlen when the previous agreement expired on January 31. The previous deal had envisaged deliveries of 5.4 million to 6.6 million tons a year.

Polish refineries, including PKN’s plant in Plock, central Poland, have been importing most of their crude from Russia via pipelines but have taken steps to reduce their reliance on Russian crude.

This month, PKN Orlen signed a deal on shipments from US oil major Exxon Mobil and has also been purchasing from Saudi Arabia, Angola, Nigeria and Norway.

“The reduction of crude oil supplies under the agreement with Rosneft does not change anything from the point of view of the stability of supplies to the Orlen group’s refineries and fuels in the region,” PKN Orlen’s Chief Executive Daniel Obajtek said in a statement.

In February sources said that PKN and Rosneft had agreed oil supply terms from March 2021 after a row over prices prompted the suspension in supplies.

As MRC informed earlier, the only Czech refinery and major petrochemical producer Unipetrol was renamed Orlen Unipetrol from 1 January, 2021. Unipetrol is 100% owned by the Orlen Group.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 241,030 tonnes in January 2021 versus 217,890 tonnes a year earlier. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 141,870 tonnes in January 2021 versus 123,520 tonnes a year earlier. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.

PKN Orlen is a leading player on the fuels and energy markets, and the largest company in Central and Eastern Europe, listed in prestigious global rankings such as Fortune Global 500, Platts TOP250 and Thompson Reuters TOP100. The ORLEN Group operates in 6 home markets – Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany, Lithuania, Slovakia and Canada.
MRC