GS Caltex restarts its new cracker in Yeosu and resumes trial operations

GS Caltex restarts its new cracker in Yeosu and resumes trial operations

MOSCOW (MRC) -- South Korea's GS Caltex restarted its new mixed-feed cracker at Yeosu on July 5, 2021, and resumed trial operations at the plant, reported S&P Global.

The company shut this cracker on June 27, 2021, owing to a technical issue. The company source said it will take some time for GS Caltex to produce on-spec ethylene and propylene.

The new steam cracker, which came online around June 18, has the capacity to produce 750,000 mt/year of ethylene and 430,000 mt of propylene. This schedule is earlier than the initial plan of 2022.

As MRC informed before, this June, the company also started up its new high density polyethylene (HDPE) in Yeosu with an annual capacity of 500,000 tons/year that would concentrate on producing the film (TR-144, TRB-115), blow molding (5520BN or BM593), and injection (6060 or 6060UV) grades.

The company also operates 180,000 tons/year polypropylene (PP) plant at the same complex.

The project is a 50-50 joint venture between GS Energy Corp. and Chevron Corp., costing 2 trillion won (USD1.84 billion) that started construction work in 2019.

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

SIBUR closes order book on Rb10 bln exchange-traded bonds

SIBUR closes order book on Rb10 bln exchange-traded bonds

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SIBUR, the largest petrochemical complex in Russia and Eastern Europe, has announced that it has successfully closed the order book on a BO-03 exchange-traded bond issue totalling Rb10 bln, said the company on its site.

The books closed at the lower end of the final guidance range, with the coupon set at 7.65% per annum and the issue enjoying best-in-class distribution at this coupon rate. The issue achieved the narrowest spread to OFZs (ruble-denominated Russian Treasury bonds) on the local bond market in the Company’s history.

The bonds have a par value of Rb1,000 each. The offering price was 100% of the par value. The bonds have a coupon period of 182 days and a tenor of 10 years, with an option to call the bonds or reset the interest rate after four years.

The placement drew strong investor interest, with more than 60 orders and total demand exceeding Rb55 bn. Leading Russian public and private banks, non-government pension funds, investment and asset managers, insurance companies, brokers and retail investors took part in the placement.

Member of the Management Board and Managing Director for Economics and Finance at SIBUR Peter O'Brien commented on the event: “This bond issue is a logical next step in our team’s ongoing work to manage liquidity and optimise the Company’s debt portfolio in line with the current expectations of SIBUR’s projected cash flows. Thanks to the attractive levels of liquidity present on the Moscow Exchange and the speed with which we are able to issue a new instrument in accordance with our established bond documentation, in one day we collected an order book that was more than five times oversubscribed with demand at the tightest spread to OFZs in the Company’s history. This transaction further evidences the level of interest and confidence in SIBUR’s credit profile amongst a wide range of investors including pension funds, financial institutions and individuals.”

The placement was led by Gazprombank, Sberbank CIB and UniCreditBank. Gazprombank also acted as the placement agent. The bonds will begin trading on Moscow Exchange on 13 July 2021 and included in MOEX’s Level 2 Quotation List.

As reported earlier, in May 2020, SIBUR Holding closed the order book for the placement of exchange-traded bonds of two series in the volume of Rb10 and 5 billion, respectively. Based on the results of the book formation, the semi-annual coupon rate was set at 5.50% per annum, which is the lowest coupon among the market issues of corporate issuers in the entire history of the modern Russian public debt market. The nominal value of one bond is Rb1,000. The placement price is 100% of the face value. The maturity date is 10 years from the date of commencement of the placement. The coupon period is 182 days. The term until the offer is 2.5 years.

As MRC informed previously, SIBUR is ready to quickly conduct an initial public offering (IPO) upon receipt of an appropriate decision of shareholders, the company is structurally ready for placement, the head of the company Dmitry Konov said to reporters in sidelines of the international industrial exhibition "Innoprom". At the same time, in case of an IPO, SIBUR may place its shares on the Moscow Exchange, D. Konov added.

It was also reported that in June,, 2021, the international rating agency S&P Global Ratings confirmed the long-term issuer default rating of the Russian petrochemical company SIBUR at "BBB-" with a "stable" outlook.

SIBUR manufactures and sells petrochemical products on the Russian and international markets in two business segments: olefins and polyolefins (polypropylene, polyethylene, BOPP, etc.), as well as plastics, elastomers and intermediate products (synthetic rubbers, expanded polystyrene, PET, etc.)
MRC

QP signs agreement with TotalEnergies to acquire interest in three South African exploration blocks

QP signs agreement with TotalEnergies to acquire interest in three South African exploration blocks

MOSCOW (MRC) -- State-owned Qatar Petroleum (QP) said it signed an agreement with France's TotalEnergies to acquire an interest in three South African offshore exploration blocks as the Gulf state seeks to expand its international footprint, reported S&P Global.

Under the terms of the agreement that are subject to approval by the South African government, QP will own 25% of the South Outeniqua block, 30% of the DWOB block, and 29.17% of the OBD block, the company said in a July 4 statement.

"These acquisitions represent an excellent addition to our South African regional upstream portfolio, and build upon the positive progress following the recent drilling success in the 11B/12B block," Saad al-Kaabi, Qatar's minister of state for energy affairs, and QP CEO, said in the statement.

QP, the world's biggest LNG producer, has moved in the past few years to expand its overseas footprint and recently stepped up its activity to grow a gas-focused worldwide upstream portfolio.

It has boosted its international presence through a number of overseas upstream and downstream deals in countries including Oman, Mexico, Mozambique, Angola, Kenya, Guyana, the US, Brazil, Ivory Coast, Mozambique, Kenya and Morocco.

As MRC infromed previously, in June 2021, TotalEnergies and Novatek have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly work on sustainable reductions of the CO emission resulting from the production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) including with the use of renewable power, to develop large-scale carbon capture and storage solutions (CCS) and to explore new opportunities for developing decarbonized hydrogen and ammonia.

We remind that in November 2019, Total disclosed that itis evaluating construction of a new gas cracker at its Deasan, South Korea, joint venture (JV) with Hanwha Chemical.

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.

TotalEnergies is a 19.4% shareholder in Novatek and holds a 20% stake in Yamal LNG, a project that started up in December 2017 and produced more than 18.8 million tons of LNG in 2020. The company also holds a 10% stake in Arctic LNG 2, a project currently under construction and on track to deliver its first LNG cargo in 2023.
MRC

Fire broke out at Formosa PP storage tank in Linyuan, Taiwan

Fire broke out at Formosa PP storage tank in Linyuan, Taiwan

MOSCOW (MRC) -- An explosion occurred at a polypropylene (PP) storage tank belong to Formosa Plastics (FPC) in Linyuan, Taiwan in the early hours of 7 July 2021 and caused a flare-up, which was distinguished within an hour, according to CommoPlast with reference to local media reports.

Formosa Plastics Corp (FPC) runs a 230,000 tons/year PP plant in the Linyuan complex.

There are no further details on the affected unit at the time of this report. It is uncertain if the fire incident affects the operation at the PP unit.

As MRC reported earlier, the company encountered a similar issue on 15 May 2020, when the (T-913B) storage tank stowed PP pallets burst into flame due to a faulty safety valve.

We remind that FPC, part of Formosa Petrochemical, conducted a scheduled turnaround at its PP plant in Linyan from mid-June to mid-July 2019.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's PP production increased to about 851,100 tonne in first five months of 2021, up by 13% year on year. Three producers raised their output

Formosa Petrochemical is involved primarily in the business of refining crude oil, selling refined petroleum products and producing and selling olefins (including ethylene, propylene, butadiene and BTX) from its naphtha cracking operations. Formosa Petrochemical is also the largest olefins producer in Taiwan and its olefins products are mostly sold to companies within the Formosa Group. Among the company's chemical products are paraxylene (PX), phenyl ethylene, acetone and pure terephthalic acid (PTA). The company"s plastic products include acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) resins, polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP) and panlite (PC).
MRC

Chinese court rules in favor of Solvay in patent casef iled by Zhejiang Fluorine Chemical New Material

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chinese court has ruleed in favor of Solvay in patent case, according to the company's press release.

On February 2, 2021, the Patent Reexamination Board of the Chinese Patent Office ruled in Solvay's favor on a patent invalidation case filed by Zhejiang Fluorine Chemical New Material Co. Ltd. (“Fluorine”) against a patent pertaining to certain polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) materials specifically tailored for use as binders or separator/separators’ components in batteries, and to method of making the same.

The Guangzhou IP Court had already accepted last May 2020 a claim by Solvay that Fluorine was infringing Solvay's patent No. 200880019571.2 by supplying Zheflon FL2100 PVDF material and using the patented process in China. The infringement action had been stayed by pending the decision of the Patent Reexamination Board. As validity has now been conclusively established, the infringement proceedings before Guangzhou IP Court have been resumed. Solvay will seek injunction prohibiting Fluorine from exploiting the infringing PVDF Materials, and will seek damages for the infringement.

As MRC informed before, in August, 2020, through the acquisition of the Solvay polyamide (PA) business, BASF enhanced its R&D capabilities in Asia Pacific with new technologies, technical expertise, and upgraded material and part testing services. BASF is planning to integrate the R&D centers from Solvay into its R&D existing facilities in Shanghai, China, and Seoul, Korea. The enhanced capabilities will boost BASF’s position as a solution provider to develop advanced material solutions for key industries.

We remind that Russia's output of chemical products rose in March 2021 by 5.4% year on year. Thus, production of basic chemicals increased year on year by 6.7% in the first quarter of 2021, according to Rosstat's data. production of polymers in primary form was 958,000 tonnes versus 861,000 tonnes in February. Overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 2,740,000 tonnes in the first three months of 2021, up by 8.5% year on year.

Solvay is a science company whose technologies bring benefits to many aspects of daily life. With more than 24,100 employees in 64 countries, Solvay bonds people, ideas and elements to reinvent progress. The Group seeks to create sustainable shared value for all, notably through its Solvay One Planet plan crafted around three pillars: protecting the climate, preserving resources and fostering better life. The Group’s innovative solutions contribute to safer, cleaner, and more sustainable products found in homes, food and consumer goods, planes, cars, batteries, smart devices, health care applications, water and air purification systems. Founded in 1863, Solvay today ranks among the world’s top three companies for the vast majority of its activities.
MRC