The court did not satisfy the request of Rostekhnadzor to stop the construction of the NKNKh ethylene plant

MOSCOW (MRC) - The Tatarstan Arbitration Court at the meeting appointed Nizhnekamskneftekhim (NKNKH) a fine of 150 thousand rubles for deviations from the project during the construction of two facilities of the ethylene (olefin) complex, Interfax reports.

"To partially satisfy Rostekhnadzor's application. To bring Nizhnekamskneftekhim to responsibility under Part 2 of Article 9.4 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. To impose an administrative penalty below the lower limit for an administrative fine, in the amount of 150 thousand rubles," the judge said. Representatives of Rostekhnadzor asked the court to impose a penalty on the enterprise in the form of administrative suspension of construction.

For their part, the representatives of NKNK, recognizing the fact of violations, asked the court to impose a fine. According to them, the corrected design of one of the two objects that caused criticism - the hot overpass has already passed the state examination, and there is confidence that a positive conclusion will be received on the updated design of the second object - stacks for pipelines. At the same time, they noted that, at the behest of Rostekhnadzor, the construction has been stopped since March 19, and, thus, even before the court's decision, the company was actually punished by the suspension of construction activities.

Earlier it was reported that the Volga department of Rostechnadzor, during an unscheduled inspection in February-March 2021, revealed violations of the requirements for urban planning activities during the construction of two facilities of the EP-600 ethylene plant, currently the largest investment project of NKNKH.

The construction of an ethylene complex at Nizhnekamskneftekhim is one of the largest industrial construction projects in Tatarstan at the present time. At the NKNK site, a complex is being built to process almost 1.8 million tons of straight-run gasoline per year. In addition to 600 thousand tons of ethylene, the production is planned to receive 273,000 tonnes of propylene, 250,000 tonnes of benzene, 88,000 tonnes of butadiene. NKNK will receive money for Ethylene-600 from Deutsche Bank AG, with which it entered into a long-term loan agreement for EUR807 mln in 2018 (Rb71.5 bn at the current exchange rate). In general, the project was then estimated at Rb234 bn.

The German company Linde is engaged in the design and delivery of the equipment, the construction and installation work is carried out by the specialists of the general contractor - the Turkish company Gemont LLC. In February, TAIF reported that pits were dug at the site by 85%, piles were hammered by 97%, and reinforced concrete structures were installed by 52%. The complex is planned to be commissioned in 2023.

PJSC "Nizhnekamskneftekhim" (NKNKH) is one of the largest Russian producers of petrochemical products. The production complex of the company includes ten factories of the main production and ten departments (railway transport, main ethylene pipelines, etc.). NKNKh produces over 120 types of chemical products, including synthetic rubber, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, surfactants. Nizhnekamskneftekhim is part of TAIF Group. SIBUR has decided to implement plans to merge the petrochemical business with the Tatarstan TAIF group. As a result, the merged company SIBUR will enter the TOP-5 world producers of polyolefins and rubbers.
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COVID-19 - News digest as of 14.05.2021

1. Marathon posts smaller-than-expected Q1 loss helped by higher refining margins and COVID-19 vaccine rollouts

MOSCOW (MRC) -- US refiner Marathon Petroleum Corp has reported a smaller-than-expected first quarter loss helped by a jump in refining margin and COVID-19 vaccine rollouts, which drove a rebound in fuel demand, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing. The mass public vaccinations and easing travel restrictions over the last few months have helped fuel demand tick up from the record lows hit last year, lifting the outlook for refiners. Marathon, which generated positive adjusted core earnings in its refining and marketing business for the first time since the pandemic began, saw its refining and marketing margins grow over 66% to USD10.16 per barrel from the previous quarter.


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Trinseo raises June prices for styrene acrylic and acrylic latex products sold in North America

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo, a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex, and rubber, has announced that effective June 1, 2021, the company is increasing the prices of all Styrene Acrylic and Acrylic latex products sold into the carpet market in North America, as per the company's press release.

The increase will be USD0.10/dry lb (USD0.22/kg or USD222/tonne) or as contracts allow.

According to the statement, the present increase is necessary to offset rising raw material and transportation costs and to remain a strong and reliable supplier.

As MRC reported earlier, Trinseo and its affiliate companies in Europe have announced a price increase for all polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and acrylonitrile-styrene copolymer (SAN) in Europe. Effective May 1, 2021, or as existing contract terms allow, the contract and spot prices for the products listed below rose as follows:

- STYRON general purpose polystyrene grades (GPPS) -- by EUR105 per metric ton;
- STYRON and STYRON A-Tech and STYRON X- Tech and STYRON C- Tech high impact polystyrene grades (HIPS) - by EUR105 per metric ton;
- MAGNUM ABS resins - by EUR160 per metric ton;
- TYRIL SAN resins - by EUR170 per metric ton.

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, in Russia, Nizhnekamskneftekhim's PS prices remained unchanged in May. Prices of Nizhnekamskneftekhim's GPPS were in the range of Rb 192,000-203,000/tonne, CPT Moscow, including VAT, whereas HIPS prices were at Rb196,000-207,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT. At the same time, May prices of Penoplex's material fell by Rb15,000/tonne to Rb204,000-206,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT. And prices of Gazprom neftekhim Salavat's GPPS were not adjusted in early May.

Trinseo is a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber. Trinseo's technology is used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires. Formerly known as Styron, Trinseo completed its renaming process in 1Q 2015. Trinseo had approximately USD3.0 billion in net sales in 2020, with 17 manufacturing sites around the world, and approximately 2,600 employees.
MRC

US Colonial Pipeline restarts after cyber attack

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Colonial Pipeline restarted operations Wednesday at approximately 5 p.m. ET after a ransomware attack last week forced the entire system offline on Friday evening, reported CNBC.

The company did warn, however, that its pipeline would not be fully functional immediately.

“Following this restart it will take several days for the product delivery supply chain to return to normal,” Colonial said in a statement. “Some markets served by Colonial Pipeline may experience, or continue to experience, intermittent service interruptions during the start-up period. Colonial will move as much gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel as is safely possible and will continue to do so until markets return to normal,” the company added.

As MRC informed earlier, most of the pipeline, which is the largest fuel transmission line from the Gulf Coast to the Northeast, has been offline since Friday. The company shut down its systems as a proactive measure after it fell victim to a ransomware attack by a criminal group known as DarkSide.

The pipeline is a critical part of US petroleum infrastructure, transporting around 2.5 million barrels per day of gasoline, diesel fuel, heating oil and jet fuel. The pipeline stretches 5,500 miles and carries nearly half of the East Coast’s fuel supply. The system also provides jet fuel for airports, including in Atlanta and Baltimore.

We remind that Valero Energy chartered an oil products' tanker for storage in the US Gulf Coast on Friday amid a cyber attack that shut the Colonial pipeline, the biggest US fuel pipeline.

Besides, earlier this week, Marathon Petroleum, the largest US refiner, said it could meet its supply commitments but was working to find alternative ways to ship motor fuels to the eastern United States if the Colonial Pipeline shutdown is extended.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 576,270 tonnes in the first three month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 410,890 tonnes in January-March 2021, up by 56% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.
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Marathon board agrees to convert Martinez refinery to renewable diesel facility

MOSCOW (MRC) -- US refiner Marathon Petroleum Corp said its board had approved the conversion of the Martinez refinery in California to a renewable diesel plant, reported Reuters.

Besides, the company made a final investment decision regarding this project.

Martinez, once complete, will be one of the largest renewables facilities in the country.

As MRC wrote before, most units were shut on Sunday night and Monday morning (15-16 February) at Marathon Petroleum Corp's 585,000 barrel-per-day Galveston Bay Refinery in Texas City, Texas, as temperatures plunged due to a Arctic cold front reaching the Gulf Coast. They resumed operations in the first half of March.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 576,270 tonnes in the first three month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 410,890 tonnes in January-March 2021, up by 56% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) is a leading, integrated, downstream energy company headquartered in Findlay, Ohio. The company operates the nation's largest refining system. MPC's marketing system includes branded locations across the United States, including Marathon brand retail outlets.
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