ADNOC and Borealis to build Borouge 4 facility in Ruwais

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has signed of a strategic partnership with Borealis AG that confirms a USD6.2 B (AED22 B) investment agreement between the companies to build the fourth Borouge facility - Borouge 4 - at the polyolefin manufacturing complex in Ruwais, United Arab Emirates (UAE), which will produce 1.4 MM tons of polyethylene (PE) per year, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Expansion project includes construction of a 1.5 MM tons ethane cracker, two state-of-the-art Borstar PE plants and a cross-linked PE plant. Borouge 4 will meet growing customer demand across the Middle East, Africa and Asia with differentiated polyolefin solutions in energy, infrastructure, and advanced packaging.

The new facility will benefit from industry-leading technologies to significantly improve energy efficiency and lower emissions, with carbon capture study underway. Upon expansion, Borouge will be the world's largest single-site polyolefin complex.

The world-scale expansion confirms both partners’ commitment to the growth of Borouge and to support chemical production and advanced manufacturing and industry in Ruwais, a key pillar of Abu Dhabi and the UAE’s technology, innovation and industrial development strategy. Borouge produces crucial industrial raw materials which are exported to customers globally and used by local companies, boosting local industrial supply chains and enhancing InCountry Value.

Borouge 4 will capitalize on the projected growth in customer demand for polyolefins, driven by their use in manufactured products in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. The facility will also enable the next phase of growth at the Ruwais Industrial Complex by supplying feedstock to the TA’ZIZ Industrial Chemicals Zone.

The final investment agreement was signed at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC) by His Excellence His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO and Borealis CEO, Thomas Gangl.

HE Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, said: “ADNOC and Borealis’ significant investment in the fourth expansion of Borouge ensures the long-term and sustainable supply of core materials to critical sectors vital to both the UAE and global economy. This expansion will see Borouge become the world’s largest single-site polyolefin complex, as it continues to play an integral role in the development of TA’ZIZ, enhancing local industrial supply chains and boosting InCountry Value opportunities."

Scheduled to be operational by the end of 2025, ADNOC will supply Borouge 4 feedstock.

Borouge 4 will have an industry-leading focus on sustainability leveraging the capabilities of both shareholders. The facility will utilize Borealis’ proprietary Borstar technology, to produce a product portfolio focused on durable applications for energy, infrastructure, advanced packaging, and agriculture sectors. This unique technology, in combination with hexene comonomer, will enable the production of advanced packaging grades with up to 50% recycled PE content.

Subject to an in-depth study, a Carbon Capture unit that would reduce CO2 emissions by 80% could also be operational in time for Borouge 4’s start-up. The facility is also designed to capitalize on ADNOC’s recent initiatives on clean energy, decarbonizing its power supply through access to Abu Dhabi’s clean power sources. These initiatives are aligned with the UAE Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative.

The first Borouge facility, producing 450,000 tons of PE per annum was commissioned in 2001. Borouge 2 and Borouge 3 took capacity to 2 million tons and 4.5 million tons of PE and polypropylene (PP) per year in 2010 and 2014 respectively. Borouge 4 will boost the company's annual polyolefin production to 6.4 MM tons, making Borouge the world's largest single-site polyolefin facility.

As MRC wrote before, the Borealis cracker in Stenungsund, Sweden, has carried out its first test run of a feedstock derived solely from vegetable-based waste streams. The test, which was carried out throughout the month of September, should have determined the extent to which this renewably-sourced feedstock can serve as a replacement for fossil fuel-based feedstocks. Renewable feedstocks form the foundation of , the Borealis portfolio of premium circular polyolefins. Being able to offer a viable alternative to conventional feedstocks will not only reduce the Stenungsund plant’s overall CO2 footprint, but also help Borealis customers maintain high product quality while meeting their own sustainability goals.

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 1,868,160 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 18% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,138,510 tonnes in January-September 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) decreased significantly.

Borealis is a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers. With headquarters in Vienna, Austria, Borealis currently employs around 6,500 and operates in over 120 countries. In 2020, Borealis generated EUR 6.8 billion in sales revenue and a net profit of EUR 589 million. OMV, the Austria-based international oil and gas company, owns 75% of Borealis, while the remaining 25% is owned by a holding company of the Abu-Dhabi based Mubadala.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China's crude throughput rose 0.8% to 13.81 million b/d in October from a 17-month low in September, reported S&P Global with reference to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics Nov. 15.

In Shandong province, refining margins for cracking imported crudes more than doubled to a record Yuan 1,185 (USD182)/mt in October, rising 123.6% on the month, local information provider JLC's data showed.

A feedstock supply shortage for private refiners eased after the release of the final round of 2021 crude import quota allocations, enabling them to boost throughput.

On Oct. 15, Beijing allocated the last batch of crude quotas to 16 qualified refineries at 14.89 million mt. An additional quota of 12 million mt for Zhejiang Petroleum & Chemical's 20 million mt/year phase 2 project was allocated Oct. 25.

As a result, throughput of the private integrated Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian), ZPC and the small-sized independent refineries in Shandong rose 2.2% month on month to 3.19 million b/d.

Sinopec and PetroChina led the state-owned oil sector in raising throughput in end October as a response to Beijing's call to ensure gasoil supply. The state-run refiners had previously planned to their drop average utilization rate to 80.5% from 81.5% in September.

Crude throughput remained 3% below the 14.24 million b/d recorded in October 2020, slowing the year-to-date growth rate over January-October to 5.5% from 6.6% over January-September. China processed 585.15 million mt, or 14.11 million b/d, of crude over January-October, the data showed.

In November, China's crude throughput would be supported by the state-owned refineries' commitment to increase gasoil supply. In late October, Sinopec had announced that it would run its refineries at full capacity while adjusting yield to raise gasoil supply 18% on the month in November.

PetroChina followed by increasing gasoil supply in November and December by 50% from the average level over January-August. ZPC will also raise its utilization rate for the rest of the year from 70% in October to maximize usage of its new crude import quota.

Shenghong Petrochemical's 16 mil mt/year greenfield refinery is expected to start its trial run by the year end, which would contribute some throughput. China's crude throughput for 2021 is estimated to rise 3.7% to 14.2 million b/d.

As MRC informed previously, PetroChina, Asia's largest oil and gas producer,aims to have oil, gas and green energies to each account for a third of its portfolio by 2035, as the Chinese oil major shifts toward a lower-carbon future.

We remind that in August, 2021, PetroChina Liaoyang Petrochemical Co Ltd , part of the Chinese petrochemical major - PetroChina,successfully started up its new polypropylene (PP) plant last week. Based in Liaoning City, Liaoyang Province, China, the new PP plant has a production capacity of 300,000 tons/year.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,138,510 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Technip Energies and Petronas have signed a Heads of Agreement (HOA) establishing a strategic collaboration framework for the further development and commercialization of carbon capture technologies, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

These include PETRONAS’ Rotating Pack Bed assisted cryogenic CO2 recovery technology (CryoMin), and membrane based CO2 recovery technology (PN2). Technip Energies and PETRONAS are committed to accelerating the transition to a net-zero carbon future through increasing innovation and fostering active technology collaborations.

Both companies will work together on furthering the development of carbon capture technologies as well as the associated services and equipment, in order to help operators reduce their assets’ carbon emissions in a sustainable manner.

Arnaud Pieton, CEO of Technip Energies, commented: “Collaboration is vital across the industry to accelerate energy transition. We are proud to have signed this strategic partnership with PETRONAS, a long-standing client and partner which has in the past entrusted Technip Energies to design and deliver some of its most iconic assets. This new partnership extends our historical collaboration with PETRONAS into technology development within energy transition, calling on Technip Energies’ extensive capabilities on decarbonization technologies. It will generate unique synergies by combining Technip Energies’ and PETRONAS’ respective experiences in the development of essential technologies for the capture and management of CO2. I trust that the technologies that we will co-develop and commercialize will serve the decarbonization efforts of PETRONAS and other clients extensively."

Bacho Pilong, Senior Vice President of Project Delivery and Technology at Petronas, said: “Petronas leverages on innovations in a holistic approach towards its Net Zero Carbon Emissions 2050 aspiration and has identified carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies among core enablers towards achieving the ambition. We are excited about the many possibilities to be created under this collaboration between two companies equally passionate about advancing technologies that will mutually progress our sustainability agenda. We also hope our synergy and the ensuing successes will spur similar partnerships that meet the triple bottom lines of profit, people and the planet for a better tomorrow."

As MRC wrote previously, in June 2021, Technip Energies announced the initiation of an agreement with Agilyx Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Agilyx AS and pioneer in the advanced recycling of post-use plastics. This collaboration aims to accelerate the implementation of Agilyx’s technology for the advanced recycling of post-use polystyrene (PS). Under this agreement, Technip Energies will market and license the integrated technologies of Agilyx depolymerization and Technip Energies purification technology, leveraging the expertise, resources, and global presence of respective companies. The technology is ready and available for licensing.

As per MRC's ScanPlast, the estimated consumption of polystyrene (PS) and styrene plastics totalled 420,690 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 16% year on year. September estimated consumption was 46,150 tonnes, down by 3% year on year.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Evonik plans to launch new plasticizer products based on the raw material INA (Isononanol) next year, said the company.

This will strengthen the Group's global business in plasticizers, which are used in particular for flexible PVC products such as cables, flooring and roofing membranes. The new products are to be manufactured at the Group's largest site in Marl, Germany.

"We are confident of the future viability of our oxo alcohol INA and our INA-based plasticizers VESTINOL® 9 and ELATUR CH. With the new products, we are addressing the specific needs of our customers and complementing our portfolio on a step-by-step basis," says Paul Harmsen, Vice President Strategic Marketing at Evonik Performance Intermediates. The portfolio expansion contributes to the consistent strategy of expanding our business with innovative plasticizers of the new generation.

To determine how existing production capacities at the Marl site can best be expanded, Evonik recently commissioned preliminary planning. As soon as this planning has been completed, the basic engineering phase will begin. This will involve the definition of the basic requirements for the facilities and further elaboration of details on production volumes. The necessary construction work can then begin.

The market for innovative plasticizers is growing rapidly. Evonik is driving this development with its expansion. "As an innovative player in the plasticizers industry, we are embracing trends in this industry. In addition to a balanced product portfolio, supply security is particularly relevant for our customers. Our response to this is to take measures to further secure the availability of plasticizers and the raw materials used to produce them," says Roland Pietz, Head of the Oxo Alcohols and Plasticizers market segment at Performance Intermediates. In addition to the universal plasticizer VESTINOL 9 (DINP), Evonik already offers the innovative products ELATUR® CH (DINCH) and ELATUR® DPT.

As MRC informed earlier, in February, 2020, Dow and Evonik entered into an exclusive technology partnership. Together, they plan to bring a unique method for directly synthesizing propylene glycol (PG) from propylene and hydrogen peroxide to market maturity.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,868,160 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 18% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,138,510 tonnes in January-September 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) decreased significantly.

Evonik Industries is one of the world's leading chemical companies in the promising areas of specialty chemistry. The company's products are focused on the high growth rates of megatrends, especially healthcare, nutrition, resource efficiency and globalization.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indian explorer ONGC Videsh has sold a cargo of Russian Sokol crude for loading in January at the highest premium in 22 mos on robust demand in Asia, reported Reuters with reference to trade sources' statement on Monday.

The 700,000-bbl cargo was sold at a premium of about USD7.50 a bbl to Dubai quotes, the highest since trades registered in January 2020, according to the sources and data on Refinitiv Eikon.

Itochu bought the cargo loading on Jan. 8-14, they said.

ONGC last sold Sokol cargoes for December loading at USD5.30-USD5.90 a bbl.

As MRC informed earlier, India’s state run oil and gas explorer ONGC’s plan to merge its refining subsidiary Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) with Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) has got delayed. The process is now expected to be complete by 2024. The merger was aimed at aligning ONGC’s upstream and downstream operations into two verticals. But ONGC has decided to consolidate its refining and petrochemicals business around MRPL first before going for the merger.

Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL), is an oil refinery at Mangalore and is a subsidiary of ONGC, set up in 1993. The refinery is located at Katipalla, north from centre of Mangalore city. The refinery was established after displacing five villages of Bala, Kalavar, Kuthetoor, Katipalla, and Adyapadi.

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 1,868,160 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 18% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,138,510 tonnes in January-September 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) decreased significantly.
MRC