Asian Paints to expand Gujarat manufacturing capacity

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Asian Paints Ltd has announced that it will invest Rs 960 crore to expand the manufacturing capacity of its facility situated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat, according to Business Standard.

The company has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Government of Gujarat commencing the proposed expansion of manufacturing capacity of paint from 1.3 lakh KL to 2.5 lakh KL and resins and emulsions from 32,000 MT to 85,000 MT, Asian Paints said in a regulatory filing.

The expansion is to be completed in the next 2-3 years at a total investment of Rs 960 crore approximately on plant and machinery at the current prevailing prices, it added.

"This expansion will be carried out on the existing land owned by the company," the filing said.

As MRC reported previously, in early May, 2020, Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) announced that it was considering selling its stake in India’s largest paint maker valued at about USD989 million as the conglomerate steps up efforts to trim its debt. RIL was in discussions with banks for a potential sale of its 4.9% stake in Asian Paints Ltd. through a series of block trades. Reliance holds the stake through Teesta Retail. The size and timing of any potential sale haven’t been finalized, and Reliance could decide not to proceed with a deal, the people said then. The sale of stake in Asian Paints is part of RIL’s string of fundraising plans unveiled in order to bolster investor confidence, even as the crash in oil prices pulled down profit at the company’s oil-to-chemicals business.

We remind that in November 2019, Reliance Industries confirmed plans to invest 700 billion Indian rupees (USD9.75 billion) to establish a crude-oil-to-chemicals (COTC) complex at the company's Jamnagar, India.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF agreed to sell a quarter of its Dutch offshore wind farm to insurance giant Allianz, said the company.

Allianz Capital Partners will buy 25.2% of the Hollandse Kust Zuid (HKZ) wind farm following a transaction between Vattenfall and BASF, when the chemicals major bought 49.5% of HKZ from the Swedish energy firm on 1 September. BASF has stated it intends to reduce its shares to a financial investor.

The deal is expected to close in the first quarter 2022, and BASF will consolidate its remaining 24.3% participation at-equity. As part of the long-term fixed price corporate power purchase agreement, BASF will continue to receive most of the power produced at HKZ as part of its originally acquired 49.5% share.

HKZ will be one of the largest offshore wind farm in the world when it becomes fully operational – expected in 2023 with 140 wind turbines and total installed capacity of 1.5GW.

As per MRC, BASF, the world's petrochemical major, is strengthening its global catalyst development and helping customers to bring new products faster to the market. As part of this strategy, BASF is building a new pilot plant center at its Ludwigshafen site. The new Catalyst Development and Solids Processing Center will serve as a global hub for pilot-scale production and process innovations of chemical catalysts. The construction of the new pilot plant center in Ludwigshafen also emphasizes the importance of the site for global research. The new building is scheduled for completion by mid-2024.

As MRC wrote before, BASF will build a battery recycling prototype plant in Schwarzheide, Germany, at the site of its cathode active materials (CAM) plant.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Arkema will be expanding its oleochemicals capacity by 50%, said the company.

New capacity for Arkema's bio-based portfolio is currently under construction on Jurong Island in Singapore, and scheduled to come onstream in mid-2022, complementing the company's existing production facilities in Marseille, France. Products set to be produced include C7, C11 and C18 materials, comprising n-heptanoic acid, n-heptaldehyde, undecylenic acid and esterol A.

These materials are used in a variety of markets including cosmetics, flavours and fragrances, lubricants, construction and pharmaceutical applications. Arkema is expanding capacity in line with growing demand for sustainable bio-based materials.

We are committed to driving sustainable castor bean farming and to expanding our global supply capability in concert with our customers,” said Arkema general manager for advanced bio-materials Philippe Marthet. "The expansion is completely consistent with our strategy to serve each region from within the region and its timing is welcomed by the market, which shows a strong demand for bio-based specialties."

As per MRC, Arkema is further increasing its fluoropolymer production capacities in Changshu, China, by 35% in 2022. The increase in capacity is scheduled to come on stream before the end of 2022, the company said in a statement. Financial and overall capacity details of the expansion project were not disclosed.

Trinseo completed the acquisition of Arkema's PMMA business for EUR1.14 billion. 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.

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 factories in Europe, North America and Asia.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. announces that its subsidiary Tecnimont S.p.A. has signed with Abu Dhabi Polymers Company Ltd. (Borouge) three EPC contracts relating to the world-class fourth expansion phase (Borouge 4) of the Ruwais polyolefins complex in Ruwais, located about 240 km west of Abu Dhabi City (Abu Dhabi, UAE), said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Borouge is a joint venture between the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), one of the world’s major oil and gas companies and a leading diversified energy and petrochemicals group wholly owned by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and Austria based Borealis, one of the world’s leading providers of advanced and circular polyolefin solutions. The overall value of the three contracts, awarded on the basis of a competitive bidding process, is approximately USD3.5 bn.

The three EPC Lump Sum turnkey contracts relate to the execution of three packages of the Borouge 4 project: the “polyolefin units package”, which includes two polyethylene units with a capacity of 700,000 tpy each, and 1-hexene unit; the “cross-linkable polyethylene unit package”; the “utilities and offsites package”, which includes the utilities and offsites units for the whole Borouge 4 project. The project’s scope of work entails complete engineering services, equipment and material supply, erection and construction activities, commissioning and start up assistance. The completion in expected by 2025. Once the project is completed, the Ruwais complex will be the world’s largest single-site polyolefin facility.

Maire Tecnimont Group has been supporting the UAE to create value by developing its energy transformation industry since the late 90s, with the first Borouge polyolefin complex (Borouge 1) completed in 2001. After three additional expansion projects in 2007, 2010 and 2018 (Borouge 2, Borouge 3, and PP5, respectively), the Group has completed the Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) services for the Borouge 4 project in 2020. Maire Tecnimont Group, leveraging its NextPlant portfolio of digital solutions, actively worked right from the FEED stage with Borouge’s team to transform their business requirements into executable digital initiatives: this will ensure excellent EPC execution and improve the operation and maintenance of the new facilities since their inception, in order to make Borouge 4 a “future-ready” industrial complex.

As per MRC, Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. announces that its subsidiaries Tecnimont Planung & Industrieanlagenbau GmbH and MT Russia LLC have been awarded by Kazanorgsintez PJSC (KOS) an EP contract (Engineering and Procurement) for the execution of a low ensity polyethylene (LDPE)/ethylene-vinyl-acetate (EVA) plant, to be implemented inside the existing KOS facilities, located in Kazan, in Tatarstan (Russian Federation). KOS is one of Russia's largest polyethylene (PE) producers, supplying its products to 36 countries worldwide. The contract signing ceremony was held in Maire Tecnimont Group’s Milan headquarters and attended by KOS General Director Farid Minigulov and Maire Tecnimont Group Chief Executive Officer Pierroberto Folgiero, together with several top executives of both companies.

As MRC reported earlier, Kazanorgsintez (part of the TAIF group) plans to reconstruct reactor B of the low-density polyethylene (HDPE) production and processing plant.

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 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) -- ExxonMobil's Baytown chemical expansion project will include a linear alpha olefins (LAO) unit and a solution polymer unit (SPU). Worley has completed the engineering and procurement phases of the offsite expansion project and will now deliver construction outside the battery limits for the new units, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The LAO unit will have an estimated production capacity of around 350,000 tpy. The SPU will produce around 400,000 metric t of polymers per year, including Vistamaxx performance polymers.

This construction comprises all the interconnecting process and utility streams piping, tie-ins, equipment, and the electrical and instrumentation connections required to integrate the new units into the existing complex.

The LAO and SPU units are expected to start up in 2023.

“We look forward to constructing this specialty chemicals project on the US Gulf Coast for ExxonMobil,” said Brad Van de Veen, President Americas Field Services at Worley. “Having executed the engineering and procurement for the project, it means a lot to us to carry that through to the construction phase - a full EPC execution.”

As MRC reported earlier, ExxonMobil plans to build its first, large-scale plastic waste advanced recycling facility in Baytown, Texas, and is expected to start operations by year-end 2022. By recycling plastic waste back into raw materials that can be used to make plastic and other valuable products, the technology could help address the challenge of plastic waste in the environment. A smaller, temporary facility, is already operational and producing commercial volumes of certified circular polymers that will be marketed by the end of this year to meet growing demand.

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.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world"s oil and about 2% of the world"s energy.
MRC