Linde to work for green hydrogen project in Germany

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Linde Engineering to design and build an integrated hydrogen fueling station and electrolysis plant for German waste-to-energy recycling company AGR Abfallentsorgungs-Gesellschaft Ruhrgebiet, said the company.

The project comprising hydrogen production and high-performance fueling technology is receiving funding of up to EUR6.2 million from the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure in the framework of the National Innovation Program Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP). The funding guidelines are being coordinated by NOW GmbH and implemented by the company Project Management Julich (PtJ).

The project encompasses proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers, compressors, storage tanks and high-performance fueling stations. The contract also includes provisions for Linde Engineering to provide maintenance and service. The electrolyzers will have an annual capacity of around 440,000 kg of hydrogen. The electricity will come from AGR’s waste-to-energy thermal power plant, where municipal and commercial waste with a biogenic content of around 50 percent serves as the primary fuel source. The electricity required for the production of green hydrogen will come from AGR’s energy efficiency measures, while securing the feed of green electricity and environmentally friendly heat into the public grids.

As MRC informed earlier, Ruskhimalliance, a parity joint venture between Gazprom and Rusgazvydobuvannya, on March 26 signed an agreement of intent with the Linde Engineering holding, part of the German The Linde Group, on the project for the implementation of a gas processing plant (GPP) in Ust-Luga. Ruskhimalliance intends to approximately halve the cost of the contract for the creation of a gas processing plant in Ust-Luga. The contract price will be EUR5 billion against EUR10 billion with the previous contractor, one of the interlocutors said.

According to the ScanPlast by MRC, the estimated consumption of PE in Russia amounted to 241,030 tonnes in January 2021 against 217,890 tonnes in the same period a year earlier. Only high-density polyethylene (LDPE) and low-density polyethylene (HDPE) supplies have grown.

Linde is a leading global industrial gases and engineering company with 2020 sales of USD27 billion (EUR24 billion). We live our mission of making our world more productive every day by providing high-quality solutions, technologies and services which are making our customers more successful and helping to sustain and protect our planet.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Spanish energy firm Repsol said it will furlough up to 830 workers at its A Coruna and Puertollano refineries in Spain as pandemic restrictions have led to an "unprecedented" slump in demand for fuels, reported Reuters.

"It is a sustained situation that has kept fuel consumption for transport much lower than expected," Repsol said in a statement.

In Q1 2021, the profit Repsol makes on refining products that come into its refineries in Spain decreased to USD0.2 per barrel from USD4.7 in the first three months of 2020, its trading statement released on Thursday showed.

Uncertainty generated by the broad global shift towards clean energy and away from fossil fuels contributed to the decision to furlough the workers, Repsol said.

As MRC informed previously, Repsol is seeking European pandemic recovery funds to support projects including new biofuel plants and 'green' hydrogen production made from renewable sources in a pivot away from oil and gas to supplying low-carbon energy.

We remind that Repsol's refinery at Puertollano in central Spain has recently carried out an upgrade of its olefins unit. The modernization was a part of planned maintenance of the cracker and chemical derivative plants at the end of 2020.

We also remind that Spain’s Repsol shut down its cracker in Tarragona (Spain) for maintenance in the fourth quarter of 2019. The turnaround at this steam cracker, which produces 702,000 mt/year of ethylene and 372,000 mt/year of propylene, was pushed back from Q3 2019. The exact dates of maintenance works were not disclosed.

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.

Repsol S.A is an integrated Spanish oil and gas company with operations in 28 countries. The bulk of its assets are located in Spain.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Danaflex (Tatarstan) plans to build a new plant on the territory of the special economic zone "Alabuga" in Tatarstan, Tatar-Inform reports.

The launch of the production capacity of Danaflex was discussed on 5 April during a meeting of the Supervisory Board of the SEZ. It is planned to create a new packaging plant on the territory of the special economic zone. The volume of investments is over 4.5 billion rubles The commissioning of the plant is scheduled for the first half of 2022.

In 2018, the Danaflex group of companies opened a plant on the territory of the special economic zone "Alabuga" for the production of up to 22,000 tonnes of flexible packaging materials for food and non-food products. Investments exceeded Rb3 bn.

In addition, Danaflex launched the production of IML labels for food and non-food products in February 2020. Danaflex has created a product that meets the most important requirement of the time - recycling, since the product and packaging consist of mono-raw materials. This is the reason for the general trend of transition of other types of marking (self-adhesive, dry label, direct printing, etc.) to IML label.

According to the ScanPlast by MRC, the estimated consumption of PE in Russia amounted to 241,030 tonnes in January 2021 against 217,890 tonnes in the same period a year earlier. Only high-density polyethylene (LDPE) and low-density polyethylene (HDPE) supplies have grown.

Danaflex Group of Companies was founded in 2001. The main activity is the production of flexible packaging materials for various industries. The group positions itself as the largest manufacturer of packaging materials. The structure of the GC includes four production facilities: CJSC Danaflex, LLC Danaflex-Nano, LLC Danaflex-Alabuga and DGPack s.r.o (in the Czech Republic). In 2018, the group's revenue amounted to RUB 12.1 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Firefighters responded to a large fire at a chemical warehouse in the Channelview neighborhood of Houston, Texas, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Local media reported residents heard loud noises followed by a huge plume of smoke filling the air above the K-Solv facility, which stores chemicals such as hydrochloric acid, acetone, ethanol, ethylene dichloride (EDC) and other acids.

K-Solv director of environmental health, safety and security, Mikie Sopczak, said the fire started during a dump transfer operation in which one product is transferred into a smaller container. An ignition source caused the fire during a transfer, although it is unclear which chemical was burning.

The company said all employees were safe and accounted for. One person was transported to an area hospital for respiratory issues as a precautionary measure.

The Houston ship pilots association said vessel traffic along the Houston Ship Channel was not affected by the blaze. The fire happened north of the waterway through which crude oil, motor fuels and petrochemicals move in and out of the nation’s busiest energy port.

As MRC reported before, earlier this year, another US petrochemical producer - Delek US - issued a statement regarding the fire over the weekend at their El Dorado refinery. According to Delek US, the fire at the Penex unit occurred on Saturday, February 27. An on-site emergency response team along with the El Dorado Fire Department were able to extinguish the fire. The air quality was monitored following the fire and Delek US says they have not detected any adverse impacts.

EDC is one of the main feedstocks for the production of polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall PVC production reached 169,200 tonnes in the first two months of 2021, down 4% year on year. All producers decreased production volumes over the reported period.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China's Shanghai Petrochemical,part of Sinopec Group, targets to hike its oil product production yield to 61.2% in 2021 from 57.1% in 2020 and 60.5% in 2019, suggesting that the company will be reducing its petrochemical yield, reported S&P Global.

In addition, Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical, which exports jet fuel and supplies it to domestic airports, plans to raise its jet fuel production by 32% year on year to 1.49 million mt in 2021, in anticipation of the easing of travel bans.

The refinery's planned jet fuel yield in 2021 is at 10.5%, still below the pre-COVID-19 level of 12.4% reported for 2019 but above the 7.7% in 2020.

As MRC informed earlier, Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical plans to shut its high density polyethylene (HDPE) unit in Shanghai for a scheduled turnaround on April 18, 2021. The HDPE plant is expected to resume operations after a 29-day maintenance on May 17, 2021. Located at Shanghai in China, the unit has a production capacity of 260,000 mt/year.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's HPE production totalled 329,800 tonnes in the first two months of 2021, up by 13% year on year. At the same time, only one Russian producer increased HDPE output.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, or Sinopec Limited is a Chinese oil and gas company based in Beijing, China. It is listed in Hong Kong and also trades in Shanghai and New York . Sinopec is the worlds fifth biggest company by revenue.
MRC