SIBUR to bring MAN production in Tobolsk to full mechanical readiness by end 2021

SIBUR to bring MAN production in Tobolsk to full mechanical readiness by end 2021

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SIBUR, the largest petrochemical complex in Russia and Eastern Europe, plans to bring Russia's first plant for the production of maleic anhydride (MAN), located on the territory of ZapSibNeftekhim in Tobolsk and technologically related to it, to full mechanical readiness by the end 2021, said the company on its site.

Thus, the start of commissioning at the MAN production facility will begin in 2021. At present, the installation of all metal structures on the construction site is 98% completed, the total amount of which is 10,500 tons. The installation of technological equipment, which includes 240 production units, including a MAN synthesis unit, units for absorption, desorption, air compression, regeneration, and steam generation, is at the final stage.

In 2020, a MAN synthesis unit, where the main n-butane oxidation reaction will take place, as well as a steam generation unit, were delivered to Tobolsk via the Northern Sea Route from Germany and Korea. In early 2021, a compressor unit designed to compress atmospheric air before it is fed to the synthesis unit arrived at the construction site from South Korea. Equipment for large-sized units has been installed at the construction site, and the product pipeline is currently being installed. At the same time, 75% of technological equipment and 100% of building materials and metal structures are of domestic production.

By the beginning of June, the mechanical readiness of the first facility - an electrical substation, which will serve the existing MAN production, - had been achieved. Commissioning of the water recycling unit, built into a single closed water circulation system at the petrochemical production of ZapSibNeftekhim, will start in July 2021.

"The first MAN plant in Russia was actually built two years after the first pile was driven. This is a very tight time frame for the construction of such technologically complex production facilities. Additional challenges were the high density of production facilities at the construction site and the global coronavirus pandemic, which peaked main construction and installation works. We successfully coped with the first thing due to a clear schedule of construction and installation works and planning their sequence. The strict observance of all anti-COVID-19 measures at the facility, as well as the achievement of a safe level of collective immunity of the project office employees partially due to vaccination, helped to overcome the second thing. At present, we are completing the last construction and installation works and are preparing to reach the mechanical readiness of the entire complex ", - said the head of the project office" Creation of a new MAN production in Tobolsk" Vladimir Mishin.

MAN is base raw material for unsaturated polyester resins, copolymers with acrylic acid, epoxy resin hardeners, lubricating oil additives; It is used in the production of parts for cars, underground and overground storage tanks, films, synthetic fibers, pharmaceuticals, detergents, fuel components, large-diameter pipes, as well as in the food industry - for the synthesis of fumaric, malic, maleic, and tartaric acids.

Plasticizers are substances introduced into a polymer material to make it elastic and plastic during processing and operation. In particular, plasticizers are used for the production of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The share of plasticizers used for the production of PVC products is about 80%.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall production of unmixed PVC totalled 432,100 tonnes in the first five months of 2021, which virtually corresponds to the last year's figure. At the same time, two producers reduced their output.

PJSC "SIBUR Holding" is the largest petrochemical company in Russia and Eastern Europe with full coverage of the industry cycle from gas processing, production of monomers, plastics and synthetic rubbers to plastics processing.
MRC

Ecoslops to produce recycled fuel at TotalEnergies platform

Ecoslops to produce recycled fuel at TotalEnergies platform

MOSCOW (MRC) -- French cleantech company Ecoslops has started the production of recycled fuel from maritime transport at La Mede platform biorefinery, said the company.

The production consolidates the agreement signed between TotalEnergies and Ecoslops SA2, a company that produces fuel and light bitumen from hydrocarbon residues from maritime transport, in 2019. From these residues, the Ecoslops P2R1 unit plans to produce up to 30,000 tonnes per year of recycled fuel (naphtha, gas oil, and fuel oil) and light bitumen.

This circular business model reportedly allows the revalorisation of these residues from maritime transport, and the creation of value locally.

"The start-up of the Ecoslops unit is fully in line with TotalEnergies’ circular economy and energy transition ambitions at La Mede platform. Acquiring an equity interest in Ecoslops Provence in 2019 reaffirmed our position as a strong player in the local economy and we are now further consolidating our site’s industrial redeployment project”, said Stephane Cambier, director of the La Mede platform.

In 2019, the La Mede platform became France’s first biorefinery with the goal to produce 500,000 tonnes of biodiesel each year.

In January 2020, TotalEnergies announced, in partnership with Engie, that La Mede would become the place for installation of France’s largest site to produce green hydrogen from 100 per cent renewable electricity.

As per MRC, Total Petrochemicals, the third largest producer in Europe in terms of oil production, lifted force majeure on the supply of metallocene polyethylene (MPE) from the Feluy plant (Feluy, Belgium) on 24 June. Force majeure circumstances at this enterprise with a capacity of 180 thousand tons of MPE per year were announced on March 26 this year due to the discovery of unplanned technical problems.

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.
MRC

Asian oil buyers expect cancelled OPEC+ meeting to drive crude oil prices even higher and hurt margins

Asian oil buyers expect cancelled OPEC+ meeting to drive crude oil prices even higher and hurt margins

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Crude oil buyers in Asia are concerned that an unexpected cancellation of an OPEC+ meeting to discuss a rise in output could drive oil prices even higher and hurt their margins, reported Reuters.

They are now awaiting Saudi Arabia's official selling prices (OSPs), which were delayed until after the OPEC+ meeting and set the tone for prices of a majority of Middle East crude sales to Asia, to assess the oil market's direction.

Brent crude oil prices rallied to above USD77 a barrel, the highest since 2018, on Monday, after ministers of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, called off oil output talks and set no new date to resume them.

"The OPEC no decision and resulting high price will have short-term negative impact on Chinese refiners, as they will see margins pinched due to often lagging domestic fuel prices," a Singapore-based crude oil trading executive familiar with Chinese refineries' thinking said.

"That could force them to cut runs, which should lift margins again and bolster their crude oil buying," the source added. China is the world's second largest oil consumer and top overall importer.

The talks were cancelled following a clash between top producer Saudi Arabia, which wants to maintain output curbs, and the United Arab Emirates, which has pushed for increased output.

No date has been set for the next OPEC+ meeting, which has left some sources speculating there would be no output increase in August while others expect the group to convene a new meeting within days in order to secure an agreement.

Still, buyers in Asia are optimistic the row will be temporary.

"Buyers would like prices to be reasonable and early release of additional barrels will help us ... this is more of a temporary phenomenon and would settle eventually," a source with an Indian refiner said.

For now, Asia's physical crude market remains adequately supplied even as global fuel demand gradually recovers from the coronavirus pandemic, refining sources said. Asia is the top oil consuming region, accounting for roughly 37% of world use.

Meanwhile, as MRC informed earlier, Indian refiners, anticipating a lifting of US sanctions, plan to make space for the resumption of Iranian imports by reducing spot crude oil purchases in the second half of the year. The world"s third-largest oil consumer and importer halted imports from Tehran in 2019 after former US President Donald Trump withdrew from a 2015 accord and re-imposed sanctions on the OPEC producer over its disputed nuclear programme.

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

Sinopec starts construction of carbon-capture project in east China in a move to be carbon-neutral by 2050

Sinopec starts construction of carbon-capture project in east China in a move to be carbon-neutral by 2050

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China Petrochemical Corp, or Sinopec, said on Monday it started building a carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) project in east China, the largest of its kind in the country, as part of the refiner's goal to be carbon-neutral by 2050, reported Reuters.

The Asian company has been planning to cap its carbon emissions at peak levels prior to a national timeline set by the government for 2030, both through its work to increase hydrogen output and the treatment and capture of carbon dioxide. read more

The CCUS project involves capturing carbon dioxide produced from a Sinopec's Qilu refinery in eastern Shandong province during a hydrogen-making process, and then injecting it into 73 oil wells in nearby Shengli oilfield, Sinopec said in a statement.

At a purified rate of more than 99%, carbon dioxide can be mixed with crude oil and help generate higher oil production.

Sinopec estimated that 10.68 million tons of carbon dioxide would be injected into the oilfield over the next 15 years and boost crude oil production by nearly 3 million tons.

The project is scheduled to start operations at the end of this year, Sinopec said, adding that it plans to build similar projects in neighboring Jiangsu province, by capturing and utilizing carbon dioxide from refinery and petrochemical plants there and using them to boost oil output at its Huadong and Jiangsu oilfields.

The state oil and gas producer said it would explore setting up a CCUS research and development center, but did not provide financial details about these investments.

As MRC wrote before, Sinopec Engineering (Group) and ExxonMobil (Huizhou) Chemical (EMHCC) have recently 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 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.

China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group) is a super-large petroleum and petrochemical enterprise group established in July 1998 on the basis of the former China Petrochemical Corporation. Sinopec Group"s key business activities include the exploration and production of oil and natural gas, petrochemicals and other chemical products, oil refining.
MRC

Chevron Phillips joins chemical recycling group Cyclyx

Chevron Phillips joins chemical recycling group Cyclyx

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chevron Phillips Chemical joined Cyclyx, a consortium-based feedstock management company as a founding member, said Cyclyx.

Cyclyx International, a consortium-based feedstock management company with a mission to help increase the recycling rates of post-use plastic from 10% to 90%, announced that Chevron Phillips Chemical (CPChem) has joined Cyclyx as a founding member.

CPChem is a leading chemical company and at the forefront of cultivating a circular economy for plastics. The company has announced plans for an annual production volume of 1 billion pounds of its ISCC PLUS certified Marlex Anew Circular Polyethylene by 2030.

CPChem will actively contribute to Cyclyx’s ongoing efforts to build and enhance its programs by having Dr. Ron Abbott, CPChem’s sustainability technology manager, serve on the Cyclyx executive advisory board.

"I am impressed with the approach Cyclyx has initiated to increase recycling rates of plastic, and I look forward to collaborating with this expert executive advisory board,” said Abbott. “CPChem is working to create sustainable solutions, and we believe joining Cyclyx as a founding member will expand our capacity to produce and deliver certified circular products for years to come."

As a founding member of the consortium, CPChem joins a growing list of of companies helping to foster a more sustainable future for plastics. Cyclyx provides third-party audited, circular, end-of-life pathways for post-use plastic throughout the value-chain and combines technical expertise with leading-edge technology and data analytics to help to increase plastic recycling rates. Members of Cyclyx enjoy access to innovative tools like chemical characterization of plastics and predictive modelling of feedstock sources to product pathways, custom feedstock recipes, and customized supply chains, which are designed to elevate a more circular economy for plastics.

"We couldn’t be happier to have CPChem join Cyclyx as a founding member and to welcome Dr. Abbott to the executive advisory board,” stated Joe Vaillancourt, CEO of Cyclyx. “As a company committed to advancing solutions for a sustainable future, CPChem is a valuable participant in our mission to help increase plastic recycling rates from 10% to 90%."

As MRC informed earlier, in September 2020, Chevron Phillips Chemical, part of Chevron Corporation, deferred a final investment decision on a USD8 billion joint venture petrochemical complex project along the US Gulf Coast that was expected in 2021. The project, in partnership with Qatar Petroleum (QP), was announced in July 2019. It is slated to include a 2 million mt/year cracker and two 1 million mt/year high density polyethylene (HDPE) plants. The FID delay will also push the original target startup date past 2024.

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

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.

Chevron Phillips Chemical is one of the world’s top producers of olefins and polyolefins and a leading supplier of aromatics, alpha olefins, styrenics, specialty chemicals, plastic piping and polymer resins. With approximately 5,000 employees, Chevron Phillips Chemical and its affiliates own more than ГЫВ17 billion in assets, including 31 manufacturing and research facilities in six countries. Chevron Phillips Chemical is equally owned indirectly by Chevron U.S.A. Inc. and Phillips 66 Company, and is headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.
MRC