Samsung Engineering receives EUR1 bn contract for its first petrochemical project in Russia

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Samsung Engineering, one of the world’s leading engineering, procurement, construction and project management (EPC&PM) companies, announced today, that it had signed a contract for the design of a plant for the Baltic Chemical Complex in Russia, said the company.

Baltic Chemical Complex LLC. (BCC), the original owner of the contract, previously signed an EPC contract with CC7 in 2019. The project is located at the Gulf of Finland near the seaport of Ust-Luga, Leningrad Oblast, 110 km southwest of St. Petersburg, Russia.

Samsung Engineering’s work of scope includes an Ethane Cracker Unit with a total design capacity of 2.8 million T/y (Ethylene 1.4 million t/y 2 Trains) and procurement for the project. The Ethane Cracker Unit is the core process element of the plant. The Baltic Ethane Cracker Project produces ethylene from separated C2 out of natural gas.

Ethane Cracker in Gas to Chemicals Project marks a major milestone for Samsung Engineering with its first project in Russia. Samsung Engineering entering the Russian market is achieving further diversification in their overseas markets. Russia is an energy-rich country with the world's largest resource reserves, such as natural gas and oil, and is steadily placing orders for large-scale plant construction. As it is known as a market with high growth potential for the plant business in the future, Samsung Engineering plans to take this order as an opportunity to advance into the Russian market.

A Samsung Engineering spokesperson said: "Technology competitiveness and our abundant track record for similar projects in markets such as India, Saudi Arabia and Thailand became the stepping stone for winning the Ethane Cracker in Gas to Chemicals Project. Marking our first project in Russia, we will insure that we provide a state of the art design for this project."

As per MRC, Samsung Engineering, one of the world’s leading engineering, procurement, construction and project management companies, has announced that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop a green hydrogen & ammonia project with Lotte Chemical, POSCO and SEDC Energy SDN. BHD., a Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) subsidiary.

Samsung Engineering is one of the world's leading engineering, procurement, construction and project management (EPC&PM) companies.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Demand for low density polyethylene (LDPE) has been low since the beginning of the year, due to objective reasons in the Russian market in conditions of oversupply, and this factor is putting serious pressure on prices. Prices continued to decrease in February, but not as significant as in January, according to the ICIS-MRC Price Report.

LDPE market remained oversupplied significantly a serious surplus since January, and in the low season it puts additional negative pressure on demand and prices. Amid a great surplus, converters were trying to get the lowest possible prices for polyethylene (PE) from suppliers. Polyethylene fell in price most noticeably in January; in the last month of winter, the decline in prices continued, but not as significant as a month earlier.

The demand for LDPE in the spot was low in January due to the long New Year holidays. There were already no long holidays in February, but the volume of purchases from converters was still not large. Many converters replenished their stocks exclusively for current needs; in fact, no one built up additional stocks. Also, for the second month in a row, many large converters cover their needs for LDPE exclusively within the framework of annual contracts.
Buyers do not make purchases in the spot market.

Some sellers did not sell their January volumes of LDPE, and the balances were shipped this month, which creates even more pressure on the market. In conditions of low demand, some suppliers were trying to stimulate demand by reducing the price of polyethylene, but the volume of purchases from converters does not increase. Some sellers wre still hoping for the spring months.

From their point of view, demand for PE will grow under the pressure of seasonal factors. Scheduled maintenance works will begin at production facilities in Kazan and Belarus will start in April-May, which traditionally increased the demand for LDPE in previous years.

Last week, the prices of 158 LDPE at some sellers reached Rb145,000/tonne, including VAT, and delivery.
Polyethylene for the production of shrink films was offered from Rb154,000/tonne, including VAT, and delivery, and above.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Japanese ethylene production in January fell 6.1% from the same month a year earlier to 507,500 t, reported Reuters with reference to data from the Japan Petrochemical Industry Association showed on Thursday.

Ethylene, made from naphtha, is a basic feedstock for petrochemicals that are processed into products such as plastics.

As MRC informed before, Sumitomo Chemical is building additional production lines for its liquid crystal polymer (LCP) super engineering plastic at the company's site in Ehime, Japan. This expansion will increase the group’s production capacity of LCP by around 30%. The new production lines are scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2023. LCP has been used for a broad range of applications, including electronic components for PCs and smartphones.

We remind that last year, Sumitomo Chemical successfully conducted the first waste-based polyolefin production at its laboratory in Japan, by use of the ethylene produced by Axens ethanol-to-ethylene technology Atol. This process value chain is complemented with the upfront “Waste to Ethanol” technology by Sekisui Chemical.

Ethylene is the main feedstock for the production of polyethylene (PE).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,265,290 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2021, up by 14% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. supply of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.
MRC

1. PTTGC net profit falls in Q4

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC)'s net profit fell by 49% year on year to Thai baht (Bt) 3.25bn in the fourth quarter as petrochemicals output fell due to maintenance shutdowns, said the company. For 2022, the company expects the recovery in downstream demand from external markets to continue supporting its aromatics as well as olefins and derivatives businesses throughout the year. The company's overall sales surged by 59% year on year to Bt139.3bn in the fourth quarter, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation were up by 20%, PTTGC said in a statement. PTTGC's overall sales in the fourth rose on the back of higher petroleum product prices which tracked the increase in the crude prices as well as a demand recovery from the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, it said. The company's petrochemical prices increased on tightening supply from maintenance shutdowns and a slowdown in production at some producers in the region, the company said.

The tax cut will reduce revenue by 17 B baht (USD526 MM), but that should be partially offset by a rise in other tax revenue as the economy is recovering, Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith told a news conference. "The tax is necessary as the government has extended the cap of diesel prices at 30 baht per liter until the end of May," he said.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Thailand's cabinet on Tuesday agreed to cut the excise tax on diesel by 3 baht (USD0.0928) per liter for three months, from 5.99 baht currently, to help mitigate the impact of high energy prices, reported Reuters.

The tax cut will reduce revenue by 17 B baht (USD526 MM), but that should be partially offset by a rise in other tax revenue as the economy is recovering, Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith told a news conference.

"The tax is necessary as the government has extended the cap of diesel prices at 30 baht per liter until the end of May," he said.

But the country's oil fund, which stabilizes domestic prices, is still unable to borrow 30 B baht as earlier approved by the cabinet, Arkhom said.

The tax cut will give the energy ministry flexibility in keeping retail fuel prices not exceeding 30 baht per liter, said deputy finance minister Santi Promphat.

As MRC reported earlier, EIA forecasts that crude oil prices will fall in 2022 and 2023 from 2021 levels, according to its January 2022 Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO). In the fourth quarter of 2021, the price of Brent crude oil, the international pricing benchmark, averaged USD79 per barrel (b). EIA forecasts that the price of Brent will average USD75/b in 2022 and USD68/b in 2023. The declining prices are driven by a shift from global petroleum inventory declines during 2021 to inventory increases in 2022 and 2023. Global petroleum inventories decline when consumption is greater than production and increase when production is greater than consumption.

We remind that oil supply will soon overtake demand as some producers are set to pump at or above all-time highs, said EIA, while demand holds up despite the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant.
MRC