Arkema invests in battery start-up Verkor

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Arkema has announced its ambition to build on its battery strategy by becoming a shareholder and technological partner of start-up Verkor, said the company.

Arkema becomes a shareholder and technological partner of Verkor, a French start-up specialized in the production of high performance batteries. Arkema, a key player thanks to its cutting-edge materials and innovative solutions that it provides in batteries, in particular for electric vehicles, is thus strengthening its development in batteries and clean mobility.

Arkema contributed several million euros to Verkor’s recent EUR100 million round of fundraising, which will enable the construction of the Verkor Innovation Center near Grenoble, then the launch of the first Gigafactory dedicated to battery production whose construction is expected to start in 2023. The Verkor Innovation Center, which should be operational in 2022, will provide a collaborative space to optimize smart industrial processes and create new generations of batteries.

As er MRC, Arkema is further increasing its fluoropolymer production capacities in Changshu, China, by 35% in 2022. The increase in capacity is scheduled to come on stream before the end of 2022, the company said in a statement. Financial and overall capacity details of the expansion project were not disclosed.

Trinseo completed the acquisition of Arkema's PMMA business for EUR1.14 billion. The EUR1.14 billion deal was announced in December and was expected to be completed by mid-2021. The company has seven PMMA plants, four in Europe and three in North America. Products are marketed under the Plexiglas brands in the Americas and Altuglas in the rest of the world.

Arkema's PMMA Manufacturing is an integrated business from methyl methacrylate (MMA) to PMMA, marketed under the Plexiglas brands in the Americas and Altuglas in the rest of the world.

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, global polyvinyl chloride (PVC) prices are no longer putting pressure on the Russian market. During the summer months, an acute shortage is the main factor behind the price rise in Russia. At the same time, the shortage of resin intensified in July due to scheduled shutdowns for maintenance at the two largest plants. An acute shortage led to another wave of price increases, and July PVC prices increased by Rb5,000-47,000/tonne, reaching new record levels.

Arkema is one of the world's leading chemical manufacturers headquartered in Colombes (near Paris, France). Founded in 2004 as a result of the restructuring of the French oil company Total, Arkema, with a turnover of EUR6.5 billion, has operations in 40 countries, 10 research centers around the world, and 85 factories in Europe, North America and Asia.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. announced that a consortium composed of its subsidiaries Tecnimont S.p.A. and Mumbaibased Tecnimont Private Limited has been awarded an EPCC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Commissioning) Lump Sum contract by Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), for the implementation of a new polypropylene plant and the related product logistics facilities, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The plant will be located in Barauni, in the State of Bihar, in North-Eastern India. The overall value of the contract is about USD170 million. The scope of work entails Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Commissioning activities up to the Performance Guarantees Test Run. The polypropylene plant will have a capacity of 200,000 tons per year and the time schedule is 30 months from the award date up to Mechanical Completion.

The new polypropylene plant will be part of IOCL’s Barauni Refinery capacity expansion project, which entails the installation of large grassroots units as well as revamps and upgrades to increase the capacity of current units. The Barauni Refinery Expansion project is part of IOCL’s plan to meet the growing domestic demand for added-value products needed to boost the Country’s manufacturing industry.

Pierroberto Folgiero, Maire Tecnimont Group Chief Executive Officer, commented: “This is our sixth strategic EPC contract with a market leader such as IOCL, along with our recent joint initiatives in the green energy arena: we are really honoured to be IOCL’s partner of choice to contribute to the sustainable development of India’s energy transformation industry. We continue to expand the Group’s industrial footprint thanks to our unparalleled technological know-how, a deep knowledge of the local market through our Indian entity Tecnimont Private Limited, as well as our strong commitment to ensure environmentally best performing products and processes".

As MRC informed earlier, Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. announced that its subsidiary Tecnimont SpA, through its Indian entity Tecnimont Private Limited, has been awarded an EPCC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Commissioning) contract by Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), for the implementation of new Acrylic Acid and Butyl Acrylate Units, for the production of relevant high added value products for the chemical market.

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) -- In 2020, total consumption of fossil fuels in the United States, including petroleum, natural gas, and coal, fell to 72.9 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu), down 9% from 2019 and the lowest level since 1991, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing with reference to US Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Monthly Energy Review.

Last year marked the largest annual decrease in US fossil fuel consumption in both absolute and percentage terms since at least 1949, the earliest year in our annual data series. Economic responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, including a 15% decrease in energy consumption in the US transportation sector, drove much of the decline. The United States also had relatively warmer weather in 2020, which reduced demand for heating fuels.

Petroleum products, including motor gasoline, distillate fuel oil (diesel), and hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGLs), accounted for 44% of US fossil fuel consumption in 2020. Every sector consumes petroleum, but the transportation sector accounted for about 68% of total petroleum consumption in 2020. Overall, US petroleum consumption fell 13% in 2020 from 2019.

Natural gas accounted for 43% of US fossil fuel consumption in 2020, the largest annual share on record. Every sector consumes natural gas, but the electric power sector accounted for a record-high 38% of total natural gas consumption to generate electricity and heat in 2020. Over 80% of the fossil fuel energy directly consumed in the residential and commercial sectors is natural gas, and it is mostly used for space heating. Overall, US natural gas consumption decreased 2% in 2020 from 2019.

As MRC wrote earlier, Indian state refiners' gasoline and gasoil sales rose in June compared with a month earlier, preliminary industry data showed on Thursday, as states across the country eased coronavirus-related restrictions as cases fell.

Meanwhile, 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 worldэs 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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil and United Steelworkers said little progress was made in talks on Tuesday between company and union negotiators to end a nine-week lockout of 650 workers at a Beaumont, Texas refinery and lube oil plant, reported Reuters.

Exxon made counter offers to proposals offered by USW Local 12-243, which represents workers at the 369,024 barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery and adjoining lube oil plant, said Hoot Landry, USW International representative.

"They made five counters, one was moving in the right direction," Landry said.

Exxon spokesperson Sarah Nordin confirmed the meeting.

"The company's bargaining team met with the union today," Nordin said. "After discussion, both sides remain far apart. The company's current offer remains available for a vote by the membership."

As MRC informed earlier, Exxon locked out the workers on May 1, citing the risk of a strike. ExxonMobil's Beaumont, Texas refinery is operating at about 60% of its 369,024-bpd capacity as a lockout of union workers lasted ninth week in early July.

The USW has said the company’s last proposal requires its members to give up long-standing seniority and would create a separate contract for workers in the lube oil plant from that for workers in the refinery. Exxon has said the proposal would give it flexibility to be profitable in low-margin environments.

We remind that Gov. John Bel Edwards and ExxonMobil Baton Rouge Refinery Manager David Oldreive have announced the company’s final investment decision for more than USD240 million in capital improvements at the ExxonMobil Baton Rouge Refinery.

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.

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

1. 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.



MRC