Hilcorp evaluating purchase of Phillips 66 Louisiana refinery

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Houston-based oil producer Hilcorp is evaluating Phillips 66’s refinery in Alliance, Louisiana, for conversion into an oil export terminal, reported Reuters with reference to four sources familiar with the matter, a move that would eliminate it as a source of motor fuels.

Hilcorp, the largest privately owned U.S. oil producer, with operations from Alaska to Pennsylvania to Texas, did not reply to questions about its interest in the facility, which occupies 2,400 acres along the Mississippi River.

Phillips 66 declined to comment on Hilcorp’s interest.

The hurricane-damaged refinery remains for sale and its “marketing process is ongoing,” said Phillips 66 spokesperson Bernardo Fallas. The company plans to repair the storm damages and restart the facility, he said.

In August, Phillips 66 began meeting with potential buyers of the 255,600 barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery in Louisiana, on the state’s southeast coast. It was knocked out of commission by Hurricane Ida last month when a protective wall gave way, flooding the plant.

“The US refining business in the future is going to be smaller, not bigger,” Phillips 66 Chief Executive Officer Greg Garland said last month as he laid out plans to advance businesses in renewable diesel, hydrogen and materials for electric-car batteries.

Most of the several feet of water that flooded the plant has been removed and most employees have returned to clean-up of the plant, said people familiar with its operations.

In June, the US Energy Information Administration said national refining capacity last year fell by 4.5%, or 848,385 bpd, because of weak refining profits with work-from-home policies slashing gasoline demand.

As MRC informed previously, Worley has been recently awarded a front-end engineering services contract by Phillips 66 to convert its San Francisco refinery in Rodeo, California, USA into a renewable fuels-manufacturing facility. Under the contract, Worley will provide front-end engineering design services for the facility, which will be executed by Worley’s North America West team with support from Worley’s Global Integrated Delivery team.

Besides, in October 2020, Phillips 66 said it plans to reconfigure its refinery in Rodeo, California to produce renewable fuels from used cooking oil, fats, greases and soybean oils.

We remind that US-based Phillips 66 remains open to developing another ethane cracker for its Chevron Phillips Chemical (CP Chem) joint venture, the refiner's CEO said in March 2018.

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 1,396,960 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.

Phillips 66 is a diversified energy manufacturing and logistics company. With a portfolio of Midstream, Chemicals, Refining, and Marketing and Specialties businesses, the company processes, transports, stores and markets fuels and products globally. Phillips 66 Partners, the company’s master limited partnership, is integral to the portfolio. Headquartered in Houston, the company has 14,300 employees committed to safety and operating excellence. Phillips 66 had USD55 billion of assets as of Dec. 31, 2020.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LANXESS has developed a black pigment for coloring recyclable plastic packaging, said the company.

This enables plastics to be identified efficiently and cost-effectively with the aid of NIR detectors like those used for sorting waste. “Plastic packaging colored with carbon black, on the other hand, as is used in large part today, does not reflect any radiation and therefore cannot be detected in sorting plants,” says Bartolucci.

Properly separating waste and producing recycling materials that are separated according to type is expensive. It is difficulties in sorting waste that are currently causing the recycling rate of plastic to remain far too low worldwide. Composite materials and black plastic are particularly difficult to sort, as are foils that are glued together or small transparent trays made from PET. The LANXESS pigment Bayferrox 303 T can make a decisive contribution to recycling black plastic packaging.

In automated recycling plants, near-infrared detection (NIR spectroscopy) is used to quickly sort plastic waste into different types. To this end, infrared cameras are installed above the conveyor belts in most cases. However, black plastic packaging such as foils cannot be identified correctly by the optical sensors due to its color and consequently cannot be sorted. Unlike the carbon black pigments often used in the plastics industry, Bayferrox 303 T reflects infrared radiation, thus allowing identification with the aid of NIR detectors. As a result, black plastic items such as packaging films or trays can be better identified with the iron-manganese mixed oxide and sent for recycling.

Nowadays, three types of pigments are principally used to color plastic packaging. In terms of quantity, carbon black is the pigment most frequently used for black packaging materials, as it is available at low cost on the market and exhibits high color strength. But it does not reflect infrared radiation and items made with it remain virtually invisible in sorting plants. Thus large quantities of plastic packaging cannot be sent for recycling.

The reduced magnetic properties of Bayferrox 303 T make it ideal for coloring plastic packaging. Magnetizable pigments can trigger false alarms during quality control processes in the food industry, for example, disrupting production as a result. After all, metal detectors cannot distinguish between pigments and pieces of metal in an edible item. This is why metal contaminants must be avoided in both the masterbatch and the packaging.

As per MRC, LANXESS is continuing the systematic expansion of its production for synthetic iron oxide pigments. The company is the only supplier worldwide to produce these pigments using the Laux process. Specialty chemicals company LANXESS has expanded its capacity for black synthetic iron oxide pigments at its Krefeld-Uerdingen site by more than 5,000 metric tons per year.

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, the deficit for PET remained in the Russian domestic and foreign markets. Spot PET prices have been increasing since the beginning of the month, and spot buyers of the material have to pay a much higher price for PET chips at the end of the third quarter than contractual ones.

LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 6.1 billion in 2020. The company currently has about 14,800 employees in 33 countries. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing and marketing of chemical intermediates, additives, specialty chemicals and plastics. LANXESS is listed in the leading sustainability indices Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI World and Europe) and FTSE4Good.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is considering regulating chemical recycling, a controversial technology that aims to convert mixed plastic waste into fuel or energy, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

In its notice in the Federal Register earlier this month, the EPA said it wants more information about so-called pyrolysis and gasification, also known as advanced or chemical recycling, and is considering how they could be regulated under the federal Clean Air Act.

"The Agency believes that there is considerable confusion in the regulated community regarding the applicability of Clean Air Act section 129 to pyrolysis and gasification units," the Federal Register notice said. Advanced recycling facilities aim to convert hard-to-recycle plastics, solid waste, biomass, tires and other forms of waste into fuels or energy using high heat and solvents, and has been promoted by the petrochemical and plastics industries as a way to deal with plastic waste.

A Reuters investigation earlier this year, however, found many of these facilities are not processing much waste. Reuters examined 30 projects by two-dozen advanced recycling companies across three continents and found that most still operate on a small scale or have closed down, and more than half are years behind schedule on previously announced commercial plans.

The American Chemistry Council has urged U.S. lawmakers to pass legislation that would incentivize advanced recycling, and 14 U.S. states have passed advanced recycling laws that would exempt chemical recycling facilities from solid waste and recycling laws.

The EPA said it is in the process of preparing a "detailed questionnaire" to get information from dozens of pilot and larger scale pyrolysis and gasification units, including construction date, startup date, air emissions, pollution control equipment and project design.

As per MRC, US Environmental Protection Agency would propose to extend deadlines for refiners to prove compliance with biofuel laws, but signaled it would not decide on a slew of pending waiver requests submitted by the industry. The agency’s proposal represented mixed news for refiners hard hit by slumping energy demand during the coronavirus pandemic and eager to sidestep regulatory costs associated with US biofuel blending policy. It also marks one of the last actions from President Donald Trump’s EPA before he leaves office on Jan. 20.

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 1,396,960 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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indian refiners' crude oil throughput in August dipped to its lowest in 10 months due to ongoing maintenance activities at multiple refineries, reported Reuters with reference to government data.

Refiners processed 4.36 million barrels per day (18.44 million tons) of crude oil last month, the lowest since October 2020 and about 4.8% lower than 4.58 million bpd processed in July.

Maintenance activities at some facilities limited production in August, Refinitiv analyst Ehsan Ul Haq said, adding that demand was likely to resume as the festival season approaches, provided cases of COVID-19 remain low.

On a year-on-year basis, however, refiners' crude oil throughput in August jumped about 14.2%, while crude oil production fell about 2.3% to 596,000 bpd (2.52 million tons), the data showed.

Indian refiners operated at an average rate of 86.89% of capacity in August, down from 91.34% of capacity in July, the government data showed.

India's top refiner, Indian Oil Corp (IOC), last month operated its directly owned plants at 82.83% capacity, as per the data.

Reliance, owner of the world's biggest refining complex, operated its plants at 88.22% capacity in August. Reliance's oil imports in August declined 11.8% from last year, preliminary tanker data from shipping and industry sources showed on Tuesday.

As MRC informed eearlier, India plans to force refineries and fertilizer plants to use some green hydrogen, junior oil minister Rameswar Teli said in late August, as Asia's third-largest economy strives to reduce carbon emissions.

We remind that IOC will build the nation's first 'green hydrogen' plant at its Mathura refinery, as it aims to prepare for a future catering to the growing demand for both oil and cleaner forms of energy.

We also remind that 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.
MRC

MOSCW (MRC) -- Henkel and Pregis recently joined forces to advance the development of sustainable protective packaging solutions that meet environmental goals and address future packaging requirements, said the company.

The recently rebranded Pregis EverTec lightweight, recyclable paper cushioned mailer, which is manufactured with EPIX® technology from Henkel Adhesive Technologies, was the first example of a shipping solution jointly developed to address the growth of ecommerce packaging.

Henkel’s EPIX technology enhances paper product functionality and improves performance while maintaining the sustainability and recyclability. The EverTec mailer, manufactured with EPIX, is a lightweight, durable package that can decrease material waste, as well as reduce reliance on corrugated boxes and improve distribution efficiency—all while providing consumers with a curbside recyclable option. To meet significant market demand, Pregis has opened several new U.S. manufacturing sites in 2021.

Pregis and Henkel share a commitment to sustainability that is a part of their operational and organizational philosophies as well as their product innovation strategies. To support their positions, both companies became signatories to the Climate Pledge whose goal is to achieve net-zero annual carbon emissions by 2040.

“Because we work with brand owners and retailers every day, we know that they are looking for improved sustainable alternatives to ship their products through the parcel network direct to consumers. Listening closely to their needs, Pregis and Henkel have teamed up to bring advanced packaging technologies to the market in a way that no one else can. Pregis’ ability to scale this innovative solution in partnership with Henkel demonstrates our shared focus on creating a circular economy and eliminating unnecessary packaging waste,” said Tom Wetsch, chief innovation officer, Pregis.

Further, with consumers increasingly making purchasing decisions based on a brand’s sustainability profile, receiving e-commerce purchases in an EverTec mailer, will signal to them that they are getting packaging that is aligned with their environmental position.

"Seeing the rise in demand for ecommerce shipments, Henkel embarked on the development of a technology that would offer advanced functional and sustainable properties for paper. With a focus on recovery and reuse of cellulose-based protective packaging, our EPIX technology has become a critical component of the Pregis EverTec mailer,” said Tilo Quink, global head packaging solutions, Henkel.

Henkel and Pregis will continue to deliver new market-driven packaging that meets requirements for circularity. By working together, the companies aspire to accelerate sustainability commitments of their individual organizations as well as value chain partners and customers.

Henkel are also partnering with Borealis and plastics solutions company Borouge to develop flexible packaging solutions for detergents containing both virgin polyethylene (PE) and high amounts of post-consumer recyclate (PCR) in efforts to increase sustainability.

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.

Henkel operates in three business units, including laundry and home care, beauty care and adhesive technologies.
MRC