Huntsman aims capacity expansion in Hungary

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Huntsman is expanding its performance products facility in Petfurdo, Hungary, said the company.
The multimillion-dollar investment project will expand capacity for polyurethane (PU) catalysts and specialty amines, scheduled for completion in mid-2023.

Huntsman has received a USD3.8m investment grant from the Hungarian government for the expansion at the brownfield facility to meet growing demand in the PU, coatings, metalworking and electronics industries.

The specialty amines range are used to produce automobile seats, mattresses and energy-efficient spray foam insulation for buildings. The latest generation of products in this portfolio supports efforts to lower emissions and odours of consumer products.

“This additional capacity builds upon our previous expansions to further improve our capability and expand our product range of polyurethane catalysts and specialty amines,” said Huntsman senior vice president for performance products Chuck Hirsch.

“With consumers increasingly demanding cleaner, eco-friendly solutions, this expansion will position us well for significant growth with these global sustainability trends."

As MRC informed earlier, Nanjing Jinling Huntsman, a joint venture between Huntsman and Sinopec Jinling, shut the propylene oxide plant in Nanjing (Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China) in November, 2020 for scheduled maintenance works. This plant with a capacity of 240,000 tonnes/year of propylene oxide was close by late November.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

Huntsman Corporation is a publicly traded global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated and specialty chemicals with 2020 revenues of approximately USD6 billion. Our chemical products number in the thousands and are sold worldwide to manufacturers serving a broad and diverse range of consumer and industrial end markets.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Colonial Pipeline, the nation's largest fuel line, has restarted its main gasoline and distillate lines after it shut the lines as a safety precaution ahead of Hurricane Ida, reported Reuters with reference to the company's statement.

Despite the partial shutdown, fuel supply continued to be available throughout the southeast from the numerous terminals located along the supply route.

The lines went back into operation before midnight on Monday, the company said.

We remind that, as MRC informed before, the fourth-largest US refiner Phillips 66 said earlier this month that it put the smaller of its two Louisiana refineries up for sale amid continued losses and an uncertain future for motor fuels. The company is holding talks with a potential buyer on the sale of its 255,600 barrel-per-day (bpd) Alliance refinery in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, according to two people familiar with the matter. The identity of the potential buyer could not immediately be learned. US refiners have closed or sold oil processing plants as the COVID-19 pandemic slashed demand for gasoline and jet fuel, generating losses for the industry.

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 1,176,860 tonnes in the first half of 2021, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Belgian window profile manufacturer Deceuninck (Hooglede-Gits) posted both a significant increase in sales in the first half of 2021 and substantial earnings due to high demand and increased prices, said Plasteurope.

Adjusted EBITDA hit EUR 51m on previously announced sales of EUR 404m. The result was more than 80% percent above earnings for the first half of 2020 and over 60% higher than in the same period of 2019. For the first time after the initial six months of 2019, Deceuninck exited the red by generating a net profit of EUR 20.6m.

CEO Francis van Eeckhout said he expects this positive development to continue: "The business environment is forecast to remain unchanged in the second half of 2021, so main market-driving factors such as supply bottlenecks and high raw material costs will remain.” Due to the situation, he did not rule out further price increases.

As MRC informed earlier, Deceuninck, a large international manufacturer of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) systems for windows and doors, acquired the Turkish company Pimas, a manufacturer of PVC window profiles.

According to MRC's DataScope report, last month"s SPVC imports to Russia grew to 8,700 tonnes from 5,000 tonnes in June. Good seasonal demand and shutdowns for maintenance at two major Russian plants led to a surge in imports in July. Overall imports totalled 28,700 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, compared to 27,900 tonnes a year earlier, with resin from China accounting for the main increase in imports.

The international concern The Deceuninck Group is a manufacturer of PVC systems for the construction industry. The concern operates in 75 countries, has 35 branches in Europe, North America and Asia and employs 2.8 thousand employees worldwide. The headquarters of the concern is located in Belgium (Deceuninck NV).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - PetroChina, Asia's largest oil and gas producer, said on Tuesday its company had launched an 8.04 billion yuan (USD1.24 billion) ethane-fed ethylene project in China's far western region of Xinjiang, reported Reuters.

The project is designed to produce 600,000 tonnes of ethylene, 300,000 tonnes of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and 300,000 tonnes of full-density polyethylene (PE) per year.

The project will help reduce dependence on foreign ethylene processing technology, PetroChina said in a statement. The ethane to be used as feedstock in the project will be separated from natural gas produced from the Tarim oilfield.

Dushanzi Petrochemical now has an annual ethylene capacity of 2 million tonnes. In early August, PetroChina finished trial operation of an 800,000 tonnes-per-annum ethane-to-ethylene plant in Shaanxi province.

As MRC wrote before, PetroChina Liaoyang Petrochemical Co Ltd , part of the Chinese petrochemical major - PetroChina,successfully started up its new polypropylene (PP) plant in the third week of August. Based in Liaoning City, Liaoyang Province, China, the new PP plant has a production capacity of 300,000 tons/year.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of PE and PP, respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,176,860 tonnes in the first half of 2021, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

PetroChina Company Limited, is a Chinese oil and gas company and is the listed arm of state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation, headquartered in Dongcheng District, Beijing. It is China's biggest oil producer.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Arkema is acquiring US-based Ashland's performance adhesives business in an all-cash USD1.65bn deal, said the company.

The transaction is expected to close by the end of this year. An agreement was signed today for the acquisition of Ashland’s Performance Adhesives business, a first-class leader in high performance adhesives for industrial applications in the United States with a unique and innovative product portfolio. This project is perfectly aligned with the Group’s ambition to become a pure Specialty Materials player by 2024.

"Following the recent divestment of PMMA and the start of the strategic review of Fluorogases, the acquisition of Ashland’s adhesives business is a fantastic opportunity to reinforce the Group’s presence in the US and to accelerate Bostik’s growth," the company said.

With estimated sales of around $360m and an estimated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) at around $95m in 2021, Ashland offers a portfolio of high performance adhesive solutions in high-value-added industrial applications, Arkema said.

Ashland’s Performance Adhesives business employs about 330 people and operates six production plants, mainly in north America.

As per MRC, Trinseo completed the EUR1.14 billion acquisition of Arkema's PMMA business in May. 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. PMMA Manufacturing Arkema 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.

The main sector consuming approximately 75% of MMA is the production of polymethyl methacrylate acrylic plastics (PMMA). Methyl methacrylate is also used to produce methyl methacrylate-butadiene-styrene copolymer (MBS), used as a modifier for polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

According to MRC's DataScope report, last month"s SPVC imports to Russia grew to 8,700 tonnes from 5,000 tonnes in June. Good seasonal demand and shutdowns for maintenance at two major Russian plants led to a surge in imports in July. Overall imports totalled 28,700 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, compared to 27,900 tonnes a year earlier, with resin from China accounting for the main increase in imports.

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 plants in Europe, North America and Asia.
MRC