Hyundai Chemical begins marketing PP cargoes from its newly launched plant in Daesan

MOSCOW (MRC) - Hyundai Chemical, a JV between South Korea’s Lotte Chemical and Hyundai Oilbank, has started to market cargoes from the new polypropylene (PP) plant in Daesan in mid-November, according to CommoPlast with reference to market sources.

Chinese customers informed CommoPlast of having received offers for on-spec cargoes of homopolymer of propylene (homopolymer PP) from its newly launched plant.

Thus, offer prices for these consignments were heard at USD1160/ton CFR China, which are relatively competitive. It is reported that several thousand tons have already been sold.

At the same time, off-grade PP cargoes were offered by the producer for shipments to Vietnam.

It is expected that more quantities from the producer would emerge in the near term.

Hyundai Chemical's petrochemical complex houses a cracker with an annual output of 900,000 mt/year of ethylene and 300,000 mt/year of propylene. whereas downstream units include an 850,000 mt/year polyethylene (PE) plant and a 500,000 mt/year PP plant.

As MRC reported earlier, Hyundai Oilbank shut its one crude distillation (CDU) unit, a residual desulphurises and a fluid catalytic cracker (FCC) unit at its Daesan refinery for a maintenance turnaround on April 8, 2020. The refinery remained off-stream for around 30-45 days. Located at Daesan in South Korea, the refinery has a crude processing capacity of 395,000 bpd.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, 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.

Hyundai Chemical is a joint venture between South Korea’s Lotte Chemical and Hyundai Oilbank
MRC

Fire broke out at Sinopec Guangzhou refinery

Fire broke out at Sinopec Guangzhou refinery

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A fire broke out at Sinopec Guangzhou Petrochemical's No. 4 refinery unit on 27 November 2021 night, according to CommoPlast.

It took the fire department nearly two hours to extinguish the fire at the company's refinery, located in Guangzhou, China.

The cause of the fire was preliminarily determined as leakage of coking gasoline when the company attempted to restart the unit from maintenance work.

Apparently, there are no damages caused to the company's downstream polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) plants.

Sinopec Guangzhou's petrochemical complex houses two PP lines with a combined capacity of 400,000 tons/year.

As MRC reported earlier, No. 2 PP line was shut for scheduled maintenance during the incident.

Meanwhile, No.1 PP line with the capacity of 200,000 tons/year and PE plant with the capacity of 200,000 tons/year have been operating normally.

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.

China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group) is a super-large petroleum and petrochemical enterprise group established in July 1998 on the basis of the former China Petrochemical Corporation. Sinopec Group's key business activities include the exploration and production of oil and natural gas, petrochemicals and other chemical products, oil refining.
MRC

India plans to leverage investments for setting up three large petrochemical projects

India plans to leverage investments for setting up three large petrochemical projects

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Tamil Nadu government has categorised chemicals and petrochemicals as sunrise sectors to extend financial support through additional incentives. It has also leveraged investments for setting up of three large petrochemical projects in Thoothukudi, Nagapattinam and Cuddalore, according to Industries Minister Thangam Thennarasu, according to The New Indian Express.

Speaking at the summit on ‘Global Chemical and Petrochemical Manufacturing Hubs in India’, the minister said the three projects will position the State as a petrochemical investment destination.

Stating that the investment promotion agency, Guidance, is interacting continuously with all chemical associations to address their requirements, he said the State aims to establish sector-specific clusters for electronics, foods, furniture, chemicals and petrochemicals by identifying new industrial zones and industrial land banks.

Among the three projects is an oil refinery complex to be established at Thoothukudi with a whopping investment of around Rs 40,000 crore by Middle East-based Al Kharafi. Also, a nine-million-metric-tonne per annum refinery is being set up at Nagapattinam by Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd (CPCL), a subsidiary of the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL). The estimated investment in the CPCL-IOCL project, which will also have a petrochemical complex, is Rs 31,580 crore. The third project pertains to TCG group, which operates Haldia Petrochemicals in Bengal, setting up a petrochemicals project of international scale at Cuddalore.

The Thoothkudi project is awaiting clearance from the Ministry of Environment, said official sources. The project ran into trouble after Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (refinery division) directed the Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu to take appropriate action on complaints against ongoing land acquisition at Allikulam and surrounding villages in Thoothukudi.

In May 2020, the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate Change, said such a polluting industry cannot be allowed close to dense residential areas. It was suggested that SIPCOT find a place at least 25 km away from the town and 10 km from any habitation and ecologically-important areas. Official sources said the project will get clearance after consultations with people.

Similarly, the other two projects are facing opposition and the previous government had cancelled its notification on constituting a Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemical Investment Region (PCPIR), encompassing 45 villages in Cuddalore and Nagapattinam districts. The State Assembly had also adopted a Bill declaring the Cauvery delta area as a protected agricultural zone.

Meanwhile, the minister said the State has established a Polymer Park spread across 306 acres near Chennai to cater to the needs of plastic manufacturing and logistics industries. “We have proposed to establish a pharmaceutical park and a textile park in the State,” he added.

As MRC wrote before, in August, 2021, McDermott International announced a contract award for the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) of a new naptha hydrotreating unit and a new isomerization unit with associated facilities for the Barauni Refinery Expansion Project in Bihar, India, for Indian Oil Corporation Limited.

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

Indorama board approves acquisition of land, assets for new PET recycling plant in Thailand

Indorama board approves acquisition of land, assets for new PET recycling plant in Thailand

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The board of directors of Thailand-based Indorama Ventures (IVL), a large producer of recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) for beverage bottles, has approved the purchase of land, buildings and utility machinery from Aurus Specialty to utilize for a proposed PET recycling facility in Thailand, according to Apic-online.

The assets, valued at a total of 112.90-million baht, will be acquired by Indorama Polyester Industries and Indorama Holdings, direct subsidiaries of IVL.

Subject to approval from the board of investment, the transaction is expected to be com-pleted in the first quarter of 2022.

The project will also comprise a preform manufacturing unit and a solar power facility to form a comprehensive green and sustainable recycling solution, IVL noted.

As MRC reported before, in July 2021, IVL has announced plans to build a facility in Karawang, Indonesia, to recycle almost 2 billion plastic bottles a year in support of the Indonesian government’s plan to reduce ocean debris. The facility, which is planned to open in 2023, will recycle 1.92 billion PET bottles annually and will employ 217 people.
The plant will provide the washed and shredded postconsumer bottles as PET flake feedstock to produce recycled resin that is suitable for food-contact use.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, September estimated PET consumption in Russia increased to 56,960 tonnes, up by 10% year on year. Russia's overall PET consumption reached 592,560 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 12% year on year.

Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited, listed in Thailand (Bloomberg ticker IVL.TB), is one of the world’s leading petrochemicals producers, with a global manufacturing footprint across Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe and Americas. The company’s portfolio comprises Integrated PET, Olefins, Fibers, Packaging and Specialty Chemicals. Indorama Ventures products serve major FMCG and automotive sectors, i.e. beverages, hygiene, personal care, tire and safety segments. Indorama Ventures has approx. 24,000 employees worldwide and consolidated revenue of US$ 11.4 billion in 2019. The Company is listed in the Dow Jones Emerging Markets and World Sustainability Indices (DJSI).
MRC

Demand for the products of polymer pipe manufacturers will grow significantly in Russia

Demand for the products of polymer pipe manufacturers will grow significantly in Russia

MOSCOW (MRC) - Demand for the products of manufacturers of polymer pipelines will grow significantly in Russia, primarily from the state, RBK reports.

As part of the reforms in the housing and communal services sector, the fate of heating networks and water pipelines, which are worn out by 60%, will have to be decided. The required expenditures for upgrading the infrastructure amount to more than 1 trillion rubles. A large-scale municipal reform should also accelerate the process of replacing metal pipes with polymer ones in engineering networks.

Even the coronavirus pandemic has not affected the growth of the polymer segment in the past year or two. According to Rosstat, in 2020 the market for polymer pipes exceeded half a million tons, an increase of almost 15% compared to 2019. In the first nine months of this year, Russia produced 19% more polymers compared to the same period in 2020.

At the same time, according to Rosstat, the share of metal pipes used in the national economy of Russia in 2016–2020 was almost 68%, polymer pipes - less than 32%. The reason for the conservatism of some industries is also the lack of a sufficient regulatory framework. For polymers to become more widespread, business needs to be more actively involved in the development of relevant product standards - GOSTs and requirements for design, construction and operation, codes of practice and state prices for products and construction.

Polymer pipes have recently been increasingly used in various industries, primarily in housing and communal services, but if we talk about the oil industry, then not in all its segments it is still possible to introduce polymer technical solutions. We are talking, in particular, about large-diameter and high-pressure oil trunk pipelines.

The capacity of the market for polymer pipes in Russia (in 2020 - 0.44 million tonnes) is 31 times less than that of China (13.6 mln tonne) in absolute terms, according to Rosstat data. The consumption of polymers of pipe grades per capita in China and the European Union last year was 10 kg per person, in the USA - 9 kg per person, in Russia - only 3 kg per person.

The share of polymer solutions in the housing and utilities sector in Russia is 35%, and in Europe - 85%. If we talk about the field of oil and gas production, Russia consumes no more than 3% of the global volume of flexible polymer reinforced pipes.

Earlier it was reported that the Khabarovsk Pipe Insulation Plant (KhTZI) announced the expansion of the product line and the entry into new sales markets. This year the plant has launched production of pipes with polymeric foam insulation.

According to MRC's ScanPlast, the estimated consumption of PE in Russia amounted to 1,868.16 thousand tons in the first nine months of 2021, which is 18% more than in the same period a year earlier. The supply of all types of ethylene polymers increased.
MRC