Versalis acquires full ownership of Finproject

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Eni SPA’s E chemical company, Versalis, recently inked a deal to acquire the remaining 60% of the Marche, Italy, based industrial group Finproject, as per the company's press release.

In July, 2020, Versalis had bought 40% of Finproject, which operates in the compounding sector and produces ultralight products.

The subsidiary of Eni exercised the purchase option, the transaction of which is likely to close in the fourth quarter of this year. The move is anticipated to make Versalis a major player in the high-performance formulated polymers spectrum. Products from Finproject are used for making consumer goods. It markets the ultralight expanded materials under the XL EXTRALIGHT brand.

The acquisition will strengthen Versalis’ position in the volatile chemical industry. It is likely to boost the company’s global market reach. Integrating Versalis’ innovative technological solutions to Finproject’s prospects will enable the company to serve sectors like renewable energy, construction, automotive, and fashion and designing. Renewable and recycled raw materials are used in Finproject, which is in line with Eni’s drive toward a sustainable and circular economy.

Eni’s petrochemical product sales are improving. In fact, it increased 12% year over year to 1.14 million tons for the second quarter of 2021. As demand for energy products is expected to further rise in the second half of 2021 and beyond, the Finproject buyout is likely to enable Eni to generate higher profits from chemicals.

As MRC reported before, there is more uncertainty over Versalis’ plans for its Porto Marghera, Italy cracker closure following local media reports that the company has taken the earlier declaration for a Spring 2022 stoppage, off the table, said the company in April 2021.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,396,960 tonnes in January-July 2021, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 841,990 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, up by 29% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

Eni is an Italian multinational oil and gas company headquartered in Rome. It has operations in in 79 countries, and is currently Italy's largest industrial company. The Italian government owns a 30.3% golden share in the company, 3.93% held through the state Treasury and 26.37% held through the Cassa depositi e prestiti. Another 39.40% of the shares are held by BNP Paribas.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Nizhnekamskneftekhim (NKNKH, part of TAIF Group) expects an increase in rubber sales and a decrease in sales of plasticscompared to last year, Realnoe Vremya said.

NKNKh expects sales of rubbers in the amount of 686,000 tonnes this year, which will exceed the figure for 2020 by 16.7%. Including in 2021 the company expects to sell 258,000 tonnes of synthetic rubbers (an increase of 31.6%), 211,000 tonnes of butadiene rubbers (an increase of 17.9%), 216,000 tonnes of butyl and halobutyl rubbers ( an increase of 1.4%).

Plastics sales are forecast to decline by 3% - to 714,000 tonnes, including due to a decrease in polypropylene sales by 8.7%, to 188,000 tonnes, against the background of a high base last year. The company notes that the growth in the volume of commercial polypropylene in 2020 occurred due to a decrease in its internal consumption by the plant for commercial packaging.

Sales of other plastics, according to the forecast, will decrease slightly in 2021: polyethylene - to 219,000 tonnes (0.9%), polystyrene and ABS plastics - to 308,000 tonnes (0.3%).

The company expects that this year NKNK's revenue will be generated by 37% from the sale of rubbers, 36% from plastics, and 27% from other petrochemicals. According to the company, the share of NKNK in the global synthetic rubbers market is 36.5%, butyl rubbers - 11.2%, butadiene rubbers - 4.4%.

As per ICIS-MRC Price report, Nizhnekamskneftekhim (NKNKh, part of TAIF Group) shut its polyethylene (PE) production capacities for a scheduled turnaround on 17 September. According to the producer"s clients, producer started the scheduled shutdown of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) on 17 September. The shutdown will be short and will last for about 10 days. As it was reported earlier, Nizhnekamskneftekhim shut its ethylene production for scheduled turnaround from 14 September to 16 September.

Nizhnekamskneftekhim is one of the largest petrochemical companies in Eastern Europe, occupying a leading position among domestic producers of synthetic rubbers, plastics and ethylene. Part of the TAIF group of companies, Tatarstan. The nomenclature of manufactured products includes more than 120 items. The products of the joint-stock company are exported to 50 countries in Europe, America and Southeast Asia. The share of exports in the total volume of production is about 50%.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF has launched IrgaCycle a new range of additive solutions to address the imminent needs in plastics recycling, said the company.

The plastics industry is seeking ways to incorporate higher content of recycled polymeric material in all major applications to meet sustainability goals, while facing growing consumer concerns and stricter regulatory requirements to reduce plastic waste. Hereby a major challenge is to mitigate quality deficiencies of polymers arising from thermal and mechanical stress during the recycling process.

Recycled plastics often contain impurities and polymer contaminants that accelerate polymer degradation, which change the material properties. Consequently, recyclers and plastic converters are facing quality and performance issues while processing recycled polymeric material. Formulated additive packages improving the properties of these recycled plastics can be a solution for this challenge.

The production of plastics from mechanical recycling is expected to almost triple by 2030, driven by improved technologies and regulation. This corresponds to a growth of around 10 percent per year,” says Dr. Thomas Kloster, President of BASF’s Performance Chemicals division. ?With IrgaCycle we are expanding our existing portfolio step by step by specific solutions for recycling to support the circular economy goals for plastics."

The new IrgaCycle range includes additive solutions that can help increase the percentage of recycled content in several end-use applications such as packaging, automotive & mobility, and building and construction. These solutions address specific quality issues associated with recycled resins, such as limited processability, poor long-term thermal stability and insufficient protection from outdoor weathering. At launch, the product line includes a range of different additive formulations, with more to follow in the future.

"We have formulated these solutions based on our extensive experience in the plastics industry, combining the high quality of our antioxidants and light stabilizer systems with our application expertise,” says Dr. Volker Bach, Global Lead Innovation at BASF Plastic Additives. “With our global setup we are able to engage across the entire value chain of the recycling industry, be it with brand owners or converters alike and in all regions."

The IrgaCycle range is offered as part of the VALERAS portfolio. In addition to enabling plastics circularity with IrgaCycle, VALERAS solutions bring significant sustainability value to plastic applications by improving durability, reducing waste, saving energy, reducing emissions, and promoting biodiversity.

As MRC informed earlier, BASF and Natural Machines announced their strategic partnership in developing a technology that enables customized face masks and eye patches produced in 3D printers.

As per MRC, BASF reported a better-than-expected second-quarter net profit as it managed to increase volumes and prices thanks to strong demand. Low commodity prices during the coronavirus pandemic weighed on BASF’s earnings last year, but the German group recorded a rapid recovery so far in 2021 as the global economy picked up faster than expected.

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.

BASF's business structure comprises six main segments: chemicals, materials, industrial solutions, surface technologies, nutrition and care, agricultural solutions. At the end of 2020, BASF had sales of EUR59 bn. BASF shares are traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (BAS), on the St. Petersburg Stock Exchange in Russia, and as an American Depositary Receipt (BASFY) in the United States. BASF has been operating in Russia since 1874, is represented in the rating of the 500 largest companies in the country in terms of revenue.
MRC

1. Drive towards electrification of road transportation may cut global refining capacity demand by half in 2050

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A global drive towards electrification of road transport to reduce carbon emissions may cut demand for the world's oil refining capacity by half in 2050, reported Reuters with reference to consultancy Rystad Energy. "Going forward we will be touching by 2050 somewhere very close to 90% of electrification," Mukesh Sahdev, senior vice president and head of downstream at Rystad Energy said, adding that this scenario would probably lead to a 50% decline in global refining capacity. Electric vehicles will cut global consumption of gasoline and diesel, but demand for other refined oil products in aviation, maritime and petrochemical sectors could remain high because of urbanisation which will pose a challenge to the refining sector, Mukesh said.


MRC