KBR to install its technology at Total refinery in Antwerp

MOSCOW (MRC) --KBR was selected by Total to utilize its ROSE solvent de-asphalting technology for use at Total's Antwerp refinery in Belgium, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing with reference to the company's statement.

The ROSE unit is expected to significantly enhance the profitability of the refinery and is expected to come on stream in early 2016, according to company officials.

"We are pleased that KBR’s world-leading ROSE technology was selected by Total for this major project," said John Derbyshire, president of KBR Technology.

"We understand the importance of this project to Total and are confident that the project will enable Total to achieve its business objectives," he added.

We remind that, as MRC wrote preciously, in April 2013 Total signed a final agreement to sell TIGF, a regional gas pipeline network, to a group comprising Italy's Snam, Singaporean sovereign fund GIC, and French state-controlled power utility Electricite de France. Besides, last autumn Total announced its plans to invest over EUR1 billion into its Belgian refining and petrochemical complex to boost its diesel-making capacity and create cost-cutting synergies. This investment could bring Europe's largest refiner extra cash of USD500 mln a year.

Total S.A. is a French multinational oil and gas company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world with business in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. The company's petrochemical products cover two main groups: base chemicals and the consumer polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene) that are derived from them.
mrpclast.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The export revenues of Brazilian petrochemical company Braskem rose to USD303mn in June, 42.3% higher than in June last year, according to data from the ministry of development, trade and industry, said Bnamericas.

For the first half of the year, Braskem's exports rose by 10.1% to USD1.55bn.

The data refers to the exports of Braskem's main operating subsidiary in Brazil, rather than companies it has acquired in recent years.

In the first half of the year, Braskem was Brazil's twelfth largest exporter.

In June, Braskem's imports fell by 27.7% year-on-year to USD177mn. For the first half of the year, the company's imports have fallen 24.1% to USD1.12bn, making it Brazil's sixth largest importer.

As MRC wrote before, Braskem announced the expansion of its portfolio of renewable products with the launch of its new line of green low-density polyethylene (LDPE), with this new product family complementing its already well known Green Plastics. Annual production of the new resin will amount to approximately 30 kton and the product will be made available in the market starting in January 2014.

According to the MRC data, Braskem imports of PP to Russia over the first half of 2013 totalled 484 tonnes (2 times less than in January-June 2012) and PE imports over the same period made 279 tonnes (up by 45% from the previous year).

Braskem is Brazilian main producer of polyethylene and polypropylene. In addition with ongoing plants located in both petrochemical complexes, in April 2008 Braskem opened a 300,000 metric ton polypropylene plant in the city of Paulinia (Sao Paulo).

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The production of bottle grades of PET granulate in Russia fell by 1.2% to 230,700 tonnes in the first half of 2013, according to MRC ScanPlast.
The total production capacity of all four PET producers in Russia amounts to 520,000 tonnes per year. Over the first two quarters of 2013, the average capacity utilization of the plants was 88.7%, whereas for the same period a year ago this index equalled 89.8%.

As reported previously, despite the decrease in the output, the domestic supply of granulate to the country increased because of the fall in sales to export markets.
PET output in Russia grew in June by 7% from May. Overall, 41,400 tonnes of PET granulate were produced in June. An increase in Kaliningrad plant Alco-Naphtha's capacity utilization, as well as SIBUR-PETF's reaching full capacity utilization after the May outage for maintenance contributed to the growth of production in June.

MRC