Lukoil to invest in petrochemicals

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia's second-largest oil producer Lukoil plans to invest USD3 billion in production of petrochemicals within the next 6 years, said the company's head, Vagit Alekperov, as per Reuters.

He was speaking at the launch of an isomerisation unit at the NORSI oil refinery that is part of Russia's drive to improve the quality and ecological standards of the fuel.

Lukoil has put the unit's annual production capacity at 800,000 tonnes. It will help Lukoil to boost production of gasoline by 400,000 tonnes per year.

According to Refinitiv data, the refinery processed 11.161 million tonnes of crude oil in 2020. It produced 3.317 million tonnes of gasoline, 3.158 million tonnes of diesel and 2.412 million tonnes of fuel oil. Lukoil was not immediately available for comment.

As MRC informed earlier, Stavrolen (Budennovsk, part of Lukoil), a major polyolefins producer in the Russian Federation, plans to upgrade its technical equipment and to increase its production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) as part of modernization.

As reported earlier, in the first week of September 2020, Stavrolen resumed PP production after a forced and long outage due to technical problems. In fact, the plant did not produce PP since 16 July.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Stavrolen produced slightly over 11,000 tonnes of PP in April versus 10,700 tonnes a month earlier. The Budenovsk plant"s overall output of propylene polymers reached 42,900 tonnes in the first four months of 2021, up by 4% year on year.

Lukoil is one of the leading vertically integrated oil companies in Russia. The main activities of the company include operations for exploration and production of oil and gas, production and sale of petroleum products. Lukoil is the second largest private oil company worldwide by the proven hydrocarbon reserves. Lukoil"s structure includes one of the largest Russian petrochemical plant - Stavrolen.

Stavrolen, Lukoil's subsidiary, is Russia's second largest high density polyethylene (HDPE) producer after Kazanorgsintez and the fifth largest PP manufacturer. Stavrolen"s HDPE and PP production capacities are 300,000 tonnes and 120,000 tonnes per year, respectively, the plant also produces 80,000 tonnes of benzene and 50,000 tonnes of vinyl acetate per year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Following the announcement of a joint development agreement in June 2020, Dow and Shell have reported progress on their technology programme to electrically heat steam cracker furnaces, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

This new route has the potential to significantly reduce CO2 emissions from one of the central processes of the chemical industry.

The companies confirm that the joint programme has been awarded EUR3.5 million (USD4.2 million) in MOOI (Mission-driven Research, Development and Innovation subsidy) scheme funding by the Netherlands Government.

They also announce joining forces with The Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) and the Institute for Sustainable Process Technology (ISPT). This multi-company collaboration aims to accelerate key milestones for the near-term progress and longer-term breakthroughs needed.

In the first year, the programme has advanced electrification solutions for today’s steam crackers while also pursuing game-changing technologies for novel designs of electrified crackers in the longer-term. The dual-path approach aims to support emission reductions required to meet the companies’ 2030 CO2 ambitions and their targets to achieve net zero emissions businesses by 2050 or sooner, in line with the Paris agreement.

Joint teams in the Netherlands and the United States have deployed their expertise in electrical design, metallurgy, hydrocarbon technology and computational fluid dynamics to narrow down concepts, validate emissions benefits, advance patents, demonstrate the durability of electric heating elements, and partner with equipment suppliers.

The companies are now evaluating construction of a multi-megawatt pilot plant, with potential start-up in 2025, subject to investment support.

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 744,130 tonnes in the first four month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, PP deliveries to the Russian market were 523,900 tonnes in January-April 2021, up by 55% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas shipments of PP random copolymers decreased.

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.

Royal Dutch Shell plc is an Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the biggest company in the world in terms of revenue and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors". Shell is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA has restarted crude blending at its Sinovensa and Petropiar plants after a gas supply outage to the Jose oil export terminal halted operations, according to a document seen by Reuters.

The resumption comes as a very large crude carrier (VLCC) set sail after delays loading at Jose and a second VLCC prepared to leave, partly alleviating a bottleneck of vessels that had built up due to the gas outage, low inventories and quality issues, the internal PDVSA document showed.

Both supertankers are carrying crude cargoes bound for Asia and a third vessel of the same size is set to depart by the end of the month to cover a similar route.

As of May 23, Petrolera Sinovensa's blending plants, operated by a joint venture between PDVSA and China National Petroleum Corp for converting extra-heavy crude from Venezuela's Orinoco oil belt into exportable Merey crude, were processing 139,000 barrels per day, the document showed.

PDVSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Petropiar crude upgrader, a facility near Jose that is part of a joint venture between PDVSA and Chevron Corp and which also halted output last week due to the gas outage, also restarted on Monday, according to a separate document seen by Reuters and a person familiar with the matter.

The temporary gas outage at Jose resulted from a fire at PDVSA's Amana Operating Center (COA) in eastern Monagas state that authorities blamed on lightning.

As per MRC, Venezuelan state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela has restarted gasoline production at the FCC unit of its 310,000 bpd Cardon refinery. The unit was producing between 15,000 and 20,000 bpd of gasoline, according to union leader Ivan Freites, who said the unit started back up on Wednesday evening. PDVSA earlier in the week began producing at least 25,000 bpd of gasoline at Cardon’s reformer unit.

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 744,130 tonnes in the first four month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, PP deliveries to the Russian market were 523,900 tonnes in January-April 2021, up by 55% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas shipments of PP random copolymers decreased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Japanese tyre major Bridgestone plans to sell its China-based synthetic rubber business, Bridgestone (Huizhou) Synthetic Rubber Co., Ltd. (BSRC), to LCY Chemical Corp., said the company.

Bridgestone Corp. is selling its synthetic rubber production business in China to Taipei-based materials and chemicals supplier LCY Corp., in line with the group's mid-term (2021-2023) business plan to ‘rebuild earning power’.

As part of the deal, the Japanese manufacturer will sell all shares of Bridgestone (Huizhou) Synthetic Rubber Co. Ltd (BSRC) to LCY Chemical Corp. by 14 Dec, said a 15 June statement.

BSRC has one synthetic rubber production plant in Huizhou, Guangdong Province and posted sales of Yuan399 million (EUR51 million) in 2020.

Operational since late 2008, the plant manufactures 50 kilotonnes per annum of styrene butadiene rubber, and supplies to Bridgestone's tire production factories in China.

Through the sale, Bridgestone expects BSRC to “make new synergy with LCY” and maximise growth, given the Taiwanese company’s “excellent expertise for materials and chemicals business."

Bridgestone said the move is part of its mid-term business plan which will see the Tokyo-based group enhancing the earning power of its core tire business through cost-cutting and restructuring measures.

As per MRC, American Bridgestone Firestone, a subsidiary of Japan's Bridgestone Corporation, halted production at its Styrene Butadiene Rubber (SBR) plant in Lake Charles, Louisiana, USA on February 15 due to cold weather in the region. The company confirmed that the 134,000 tonnes BSK per year plant is out of service due to problems associated with extreme weather conditions in the US Gulf of Mexico. Although electricity was restored to the plant, cold weather and power outages in the area resulted in the cutoff of water and other circulation needed to keep the plant running.

Styrene-butadiene rubber has an excellent combination of functional properties in a variety of applications. This rubber is considered the best general purpose rubber due to its excellent properties of high abrasion resistance and high filling percentage.

Styrene is the main raw material for the production of polystyrene (PS).

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, last week's prices of Russian EPS remained at the level as of early June. Prices of SIBUR-Khimprom's spot EPS quantities were at Rb167,000-175,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT. Plastik, Uzlovaya shipped material at Rb178,000-180,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, depending on the grade.

Bridgestone Firestone is an American subsidiary of the Japanese Bridgestone Corporation. Firestone Tire and Rubber and Bridgestone Tire Company Ltd. USA were merged in 1990 to become Bridgestone Firestone North American Holdings Ltd.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PPG has announced an expansion of its coatings manufacturing capacity in Europe for packaging applications, according to BusinessWire.

The investments at sites in The Netherlands and Poland will support growing customer demand in the region for the latest generation of coatings for aluminum and steel cans used in packaging for beverage, food and personal care items. Financial details related to the expansions were not disclosed.

The projects include a further expansion of the company’s location in Tiel, The Netherlands, which will increase the plant’s production capacity for PPG INNOVEL non-BPA internal coatings for beverage cans by 30%. Expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2022, the project follows a 50% expansion completed at the end of 2020.

The Tiel plant also will double its production capacity for PPG iSENSE external coatings that are used for the exterior of metal cans for beverage and personal care packaging. That project is expected to be completed by the end of 2021.

PPG Innovel is the most widely used, non-BPA internal beverage can spray technology in the world, providing flavor-neutral properties and suitability for a broad range of filling products. PPG iSense specialty overvarnish coatings offer differentiating sensory surface effects for can exteriors, including textured finishes that help brands stand out on increasingly crowded store shelves.

PPG also will double capacity at its Cieszyn, Poland, plant to support the growth of the PPG NUTRISHIELD line of non-BPA, internal, food can coatings. The project is expected to be completed by the end of the third quarter of 2021.

These latest investments follow a project completed last year to expand packaging coatings capacity at the company’s Bodelshausen, Germany site. That project doubled production capacity for white lacquers that are used on the external surface of personal care and caps and closures packaging. The research and development (R&D) facility at the site has also been expanded and now represents the company’s European R&D packaging center of excellence. Its official inauguration will be later this year.

As MRC reported earlier, in January 2021, PPG Industries announced it will acquired Worwag (Stuttgart, Germany), a producer of liquid, powder and film coatings for industrial and automotive applications.

Besides, PPG said 24 December, 2020, that it ha completed the acquisition of specialty transport coatings maker Ennis-Flint.

BPA is the main feedstock for the production of polycarbonate (PC).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated consumption of PC granules (excluding imports and exports to/from Belarus) totalled 34,000 tonnes in the first four months of 2021, up by 11% year on year (30,500 tonnes a year earlier).
MRC