USW calls on ExxonMobil to continue Texas refinery contract negotiations despite lockout threat

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The United Steelworkers union (USW) called on ExxonMobil, one of the world's petrochemical majors, to continue negotiations for a new Beaumont, Texas, refinery contract despite the company's threat to lock out workers on May 1 if there is no agreement, reported Reuters.

"These negotiations are not about wages,” said Darrell Kyle, president of USW Local 13-243, which represents 650 workers at the 369,024 barrel-per-day (bpd) Beaumont refinery and adjoining blending and packaging plant.

“Our greatest concern is making sure our lives and our jobs are safe and secure," Kyle said in a statement issued by the union.

Exxon spokeswoman Julie King said Exxon issued the lockout notice on Friday to union negotiators.

"We have made extensive efforts to reach an agreement, but it appears the union is unwilling to accept our offer to resolve the outstanding differences on the issues," King said.

Kyle said the lockout notice came after the USW offered a one-year extension of the six-year pact agreed to in 2015.

“It would allow our members to maintain their job security and safely operate the facility while the two sides continue to bargain for a fair and equitable agreement, without the risk of a work stoppage,” Kyle said of the proposed extension.

The two sides have been negotiating for a new contract since Jan. 11. At the start a 75-day labor peace period on Feb. 15, Exxon issued a lockout notice and the USW issued a strike notice both to take effect on May 1 if there was no new agreement or an extension to the notices was not granted.

Such notices at the beginning of contract talks are not unusual in labor negotiations. In a lockout, a company prevents employees from entering.

As MRC informed previously, Sinopec Engineering (Group) and ExxonMobil (Huizhou) Chemical (EMHCC) have just entered into a BEPC (basic design, engineering, procurement and construction) contract for the proposed Huizhou Chemical Complex Project (Phase I). The main units of the project include a 1.6 million tonnes/year ethylene flexible feed steam cracker, downstream polymer and derivative units and utilities. The main product units include two performance polyethylene (PE) lines and two differentiated performance polypropylene (PP) lines.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated polyethylene (PE) consumption totalled 356,370 tonnes in the first two month of 2021, down by 9% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) increased. At the same time, polypropylene (PP) shipments to the Russian market was 246,870 tonnes in January-February 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world"s oil and about 2% of the world"s energy.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ZymeFlow completed a major rebrand effective immediately. ZymeFlow has seen immense growth year over year both domestically and internationally, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Continuous innovation and service expansion are two of the main reasons for this growth. The rebranding effort was initiated to better showcase their expanded services and demonstrate why they are the leader in the chemical decontamination field. The project took place in tandum with other key changes in the company including the addition of two major offerings: reactor cleaning and mechanical services.

Tom McQueary, President of ZymeFlow, stated, “Instead of slowing down, we have continued to move forward, innovate and lead out of the pandemic shutdowns. At the same time we were able to develop new products, enter new regions, and create a new brand image."

The rebranding includes a top-to-bottom redesign of the company’s website, logo, graphics, and communications. In addition, the company changed its name, shortening it from ZymeFlow Decon Technology to ZymeFlow. The new brand assets include a modern logo, along with a new website and other visual communications that utilize simple, bold graphics along with real employee photos to better humanize complex solutions.

"We are the same ZymeFlow, known as the world leader in chemical decontamination and process improvement, but have completely updated our image to better match the personality and offerings of the company. We wanted to make sure everyone understands exactly what we do and how we do it.” Says Tom McQueary President at ZymeFlow. “We have refreshed the look and tone of the brand to better represent who our company truly is. We are innovators that take modern approaches to the industry’s toughest cleaning challenges. We do not accept industry standards as being good enough but work hard to find better, faster, cleaner solutions."

As it was written earlier, Lummus Technology today announced that it has been awarded a master licensor contract by PJSC Nizhnekamskneftekhim for its ethylbenzene, styrene monomer, ethylene dimerization and olefins conversion technologies. These four plants will be part of the expansion of an olefins production facility in Nizhnekamsk, Russia. The dimerization and olefins conversion units will be the first in Russia.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated polyethylene (PE) consumption totalled 356,370 tonnes in the first two month of 2021, down by 9% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) increased. At the same time, polypropylene (PP) shipments to the Russian market was 246,870 tonnes in January-February 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Austrotherm (Austria) has launched another plant for the production of expanded polystyrene insulation materials (EPS) in Grodkow, in the south-west of Poland, said Plasteurope.

The Austrian company has invested EUR5.5 mln in the new plant, which is the third in Poland after the sites in Auschwitz and Skierniewice. At present, the number of employees is 15 people and, depending on the expansion plans, if necessary, it can be increased to 50 people.

"The demand for expanded polystyrene insulating sheets in Poland has been constantly growing for many years. This growth is driven, firstly, by rising energy prices and secondly by the smog program launched in 2019, which is providing financial support for thermal insulation measures in private homes,"said Klaus Haberfellner, Managing Director of the Austrotherm Group. explaining the reason for the expansion in Poland.

Austrotherm opened its first plant in Auschwitz in 1993 and then built another plant in Skierniewice in 1999. Together with the plant in Grodkow, the company currently employs 145 employees in Poland.

In Austria, the company has recently started offering services for the removal of extruded polystyrene construction scrap throughout the country. At the Purbach plant, the waste is shredded and then prepared for recycling in the production process.

As per MRC, expandable polystyrene (EPS) resin producer Epsilyte (The Woodlands, Texas) increased prices for the second month in a row for all grades of EPS by 4 cents/pound, effective 1 February 2021 or as contracts permit.

According ICS-MRC Price Report, prices of Russian EPS remained steady this week. EPS producers have not announced next month's price adjustments yet. Prices for SIBUR-Khimprom's material were at Rb160,000-168,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, this week. Prices of Plastik, Uzlovaya's material remained at Rb158,000-160,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Honeywell announced Italy’s largest energy company, Eni, is producing renewable fuels at its refinery in Gela, Italy, using the Ecofining technology jointly developed by Eni and UOP, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The production of biofuels at the Gela and Venice refineries helps Eni meet the growing demand for alternative fuels in Europe. UOP provided technology licensing, basic engineering, specialty equipment, catalysts and training for the project in Gela, which has an annual production capacity of 750,000 tons of HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil) biofuel per year.

In 2014, Eni also converted its refinery in Venice to biofuels, producing up to 360,000 tons per year of biofuels from used vegetable oils, used cooking oils and animal fats. In total, Eni currently converts about 25% of Italy’s recovered used cooking oil to biofuels, supporting European emissions regulations while improving utilization of existing refinery assets. Venice was the first example in the world of conversion of a conventional refinery into a biorefinery.

"To meet increasing demand for biofuels in Europe, Eni converted its existing Gela facility to a biorefinery using the Ecofining technology jointly developed by Eni and UOP,” said Ben Owens, vice president and general manager, Honeywell Sustainable Technology Solutions. “The company saw this as an effective way to further support the growth of biofuels and the European Union’s policies for renewable energy."

The Ecofining process converts non-edible natural oils, animal fats and other waste feedstocks to renewable diesel, chemically identical to petroleum-based diesel, which can be used as a drop-in replacement in vehicles with no modifications.

Ecofining technology also can be used to produce jet fuel. Honeywell Green Jet Fuel™ produced by this process can be blended seamlessly with petroleum-based fuel. When used in up to a 50-percent blend with petroleum-based jet fuel, Honeywell Green Jet Fuel requires no changes to aircraft technology and meets all critical specifications for flight.

The Ecofining process is the most widely used technology to produce renewable diesel and jet fuels, and Eni and UOP continue to collaborate on future Ecofining developments to satisfy growing demand for advanced biofuels worldwide.

As per MRC, Honeywell announced a partnership with Princeps for petroleum refining supply chain solutions. Honeywell’s expertise in oil and gas planning will add Princeps’ petroleum solutions platform to its offerings to provide customers with industry-leading insights in determining the most profitable ways to operate their plants.

As MRC reported earlier, in May, 2020, Honeywell announced that Enterprise Products Partners L.P. will use Honeywell UOP’s C3 Oleflex technology in its second propane dehydrogenation plant, called "PDH 2". Located near Mont Belvieu, Texas, PDH 2 will produce 750,000 metric tons per year of polymer-grade propylene as part of Enterprise’s expansion of propylene manufacturing capacity.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated polyethylene (PE) consumption totalled 356,370 tonnes in the first two month of 2021, down by 9% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) increased. At the same time, polypropylene (PP) shipments to the Russian market was 246,870 tonnes in January-February 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Rainer Seele, CEO of Austria-based energy and petrochemicals major OMV, will leave the company next year, said the company.

The Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of OMV, Rainer Seele, has notified the Chairman of the Supervisory Board Mark Garrett that he will not make use of the extension option for one additional year. The current term of office will end automatically on June 30, 2022.

Seele has been CEO since 1 July 2015. Before that, he led BASF’s Wintershall oil and gas business. Garrett led OMV's Borealis polyolefins affiliate for 11 years before stepping down in 2018.

This structural change facilitates the forward integration in the chemicals sector that has been underway ever since OMV acquired a majority stake in Borealis. With this change, OMV is consistently positioned across the entirety of its expanded value chain and can bundle all relevant responsibilities for petrochemicals and chemicals in a single board division.

As MRC wrote before, OMV is investing EUR40 million (USD48 million) to expand and modernize a steam cracker and associated units at its refining and petrochemicals complex at Burghausen, Germany. The upgrade will increase the site’s ethylene and propylene production capacity by 50,000 metric tons/year. Following a planned turnaround of the refinery, the revamped cracker and petchem units are expected to start operations in the third quarter of 2022. Initial groundwork is already underway ahead of the upgrade.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated polyethylene (PE) consumption totalled 356,370 tonnes in the first two month of 2021, down by 9% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) increased. At the same time, polypropylene (PP) shipments to the Russian market was 246,870 tonnes in January-February 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.

OMV produces and markets oil and gas, innovative energy and high-end petrochemical solutions – in a responsible way. With Group sales of EUR 23 bn and a workforce of around 20,000 employees in 2019, OMV Aktiengesellschaft is one of Austria’s largest listed industrial companies.
MRC