SABIC in move to support cleaner diesel technology

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) will introduce this year a specific grade of urea, technical grade urea that will allow diesel engines run more efficiently and reduce hazardous emissions, said Arabnews.

The new grade will be produced at SABIC’s manufacturing affiliate, Al-Jubail Fertilizer Company (Al-Bayroni) in Jubail, with a capacity of 80,000 tons per year. SABIC’s technical grade urea will enable cleaner diesel technology in engines through liquid injection of urea solution into the exhaust stream of the diesel engine prior to its catalytic converter. This allows the engine to perform better, to use fuel more efficiently while destroying the increased nitrogen oxides with urea.

Khaled Al-Mana, SABIC executive vice president, Fertilizers Strategic Business Unit, commented: "As a company with a strong commitment to a cleaner environment through sustainable products, SABIC has developed this strategic, innovative idea to produce high quality urea that helps reduce hazardous NOx emissions from diesel exhausts and industrial processes. The project is part of our sustainability strategy to share our expertise closely with our customers to develop products, applications and solutions that respond to their sustainability needs."

TGU is pure urea that will be produced in pastilles using the energy-saving Rotoformer technology, which gives the product superior physical and mechanical properties. TCU applications include heavy duty trucks, power and cement plants, non-road machinery, and marine transport.

As MRC wrote before, SABIC has broadened its stretch film portfolio to include one of the first commercially available materials in Europe to combine polypropylene (PP) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE). The film’s high holding force (up to 12% compared to current solutions) for superior load stability is ideal for protecting heavy loads and is the result of SABIC’s constant focus on innovation and expertise in combination know-how. This film solution helps customers meet the demand for high-performance and optically-clear solutions, and can help them reduce costs.

SABIC is a diversified manufacturing company, active in chemicals and intermediates, industrial polymers, fertilizers and metals. It is the largest public company in Saudi Arabia. It is the largest company in the Middle East.
SABIC is currently the second largest global ethylene glycol producer and is expected to become number one after the introduction of these new projects. SABIC is the third largest polyethylene manufacturer, the fourth largest polyolefins manufacturer and the fourth largest polypropylene manufacturer. It is also the world's largest producer of mono-ethylene glycol, MTBE, granular urea, polyphenylene and polyether imide.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Polypropylene compounding leader Washington Penn Plastic Co. has grown even more in that market by acquiring the North American specialty compounded PP products business of ExxonMobil Chemical Co, said Plasticsonline.

The deal follows ExxonMobil’s decision to stop producing those products in North America, officials with Washington, Pa.-based Washington Penn said in a June 6 news release. ExxonMobil customers impacted by the move now will transition to Washington Penn, they added.

"The product technologies are very complementary, and offer some exciting new opportunities to support the needs of our customers," Washington Penn President Martin Devine said in the release.

In a June 6 e-mail, an ExxonMobil spokesman said that the firm had made those PP compounds at a plant in Baton Rouge, La. That plant had been operated for ExxonMobil by Chemtrusion Inc., a toll compounding firm based in Houston. Production there will stop by the end of 2014, the spokesman added.

No further details were included in the release, and officials with Washington Penn declined to comment on what facilities or equipment are included in the deal. Both Washington Penn and ExxonMobil rank among North America’s 30 largest compounders, according to Plastics News estimates.

The deal is the second in two months for Washington Penn parent Audia International. On May 20, Audia — also based in Washington, Pa. — announced that it would spend more than USD50 million to build a major plastic materials plant in Nobles, Georgia. A local media report said that the new plant will cover 240,000 square feet on a 25-acre lot.
Audia officials said the new Georgia plant will support the three U.S.-based materials companies that the firm owns — Washington Penn; Uniform Color Co., a color concentrates maker in Holland, Mich.; and Southern Polymer Inc., a resin distributor in Atlanta.

Audia employs more than 1,000 at 10 manufacturing sites worldwide, including six used by Washington Penn. Earlier this year, the firm bought a liquid masterbatch plant in France from BASF SE.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- INEOS has licensed its Innovene S process to Hyundai Engineering for the Turkmengas new greenfield world-scale petrochemical complex in the Balkan region of Turkmenistan, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The contract for construction of the gas-chemical complex in Turkmenistan, including polyethylene, will be built by a consortium consisting of LG International Corp., TOYO Engineering Corp. and Hyundai Engineering. This is the first Innovene S license awarded to INEOS Technologies in Central Asia.

The complex, which will be operated by Turkmengas, will include a 386,000 tpy line of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) using Innovene S technology alongside a 50,000 tpy black compounding line.

"INEOS is very pleased to support the development of the petrochemical industry in Turkmenistan with Turkmengas and Hyundai Engineering and look forward to working with both companies to ensure the successful start-up of this world-scale petrochemical complex on the Caspian Sea," said Peter Williams, CEO of INEOS Technologies.

The Turkmengas plant will serve their customers with a broad product range, including Bimodal PE 100 Pressure Pipe, ensuring a competitive advantage for their customers both in domestic and global markets.

As MRC wrote before, Sasol Chemicals North America and INEOS Olefins & Polymers announced Monday that they have reached final investment decision to form a joint venture to build a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plant in La Porte, Texas. The 50/50 joint venture will produce 470,000 tpy of bimodal HDPE using Innovene S process technology licensed from INEOS Technologies.

INEOS is a global manufacturer of petrochemicals, speciality chemicals and oil products. It comprises 15 businesses each with a major chemical company heritage. Its production network spans 51 manufacturing facilities in 11 countries throughout the world.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Production of polypropylene (PP) in Russia increased by 23% in the first five months of this year, compared to the same period in 2013. Predictably, the main contribution to the production growth made new PP plants: Tobolsk-Polymer and Poliom, as per MRC ScanPlast.

Russia's PP production in Russia rose to 90,000 tonnes in May, compared with 87,500 tonnes in April. Total PP production in Russia was 410,100 tonnes in January - May 2014, compared with 329,400 tonnes in the same period of 2013.

Increased production rates at new plants in Tobolsk and Omsk were the main reason for such a serious production growth. Structure of PP production over the reported period was as follows.

Russia's largest producer of polypropylene - Tobolsk-Polymer (SIBUR) increased production volumes to 23,900 tonnes in May. The company produced 76,200 tonnes of PP in the five months of this year. We informed previously that Tobolsk-Polymer began PP production in late May 2013.

The second producer who started production last year - Poliom (Titan Group, Omsk). The producer in May kept the April level of capacity utilisation, and PP production volumes were 15,700 tonnes. Poliom's PP production over the reported period was about 70,000 tonnes.

Nizhnekamskneftekhim and Ufaorgsintez because of the higher capacity utilisation also managed to increase PP production, but not so significantly. May PP production at these plants totalled 18,800 tonnes and 11,100 tonnes, respectively. Nizhnekamskneftekhim and Ufaorgsintez produced 87,800 tonnes (up 2% year on year) and 53,800 tonnes (up 5% year on year) of propylene polymers in the first five months of the year.

Neftekhimia (Kapotnja) kept production at the last year's level. The company produced 9,600 tonnes of PP in May, total PP production over the first five months of this year was 49,200 tonnes. Tomskneftekhim kept the April level of capacity utilisation in May, last month's PP production was 11,100 tonnes. The company produced about 55,000 tonnes of PP in January - May of the current year, down 5% year on year.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Production of high density polyethylene (HDPE) in Russia decreased by 13% in the first five months of this year, according to MRC ScanPlast.

May HDPE production in Russia rose to 67,000 tonnes, compared with 60,800 tonnes in April. Total HDPE production in Russia was about 373,000 tonnes in January - May of this year, compared with 431,200 tonnes in the same period a year earlier. Only Kazanorgsintez and "Gazprom neftekhim Salavat" managed to increase HDPE production over the reported period.

The structure of HDPE production over the reported period looked as follows. Largest producer of polyethylene in Russia - Kazanorgsyntez (Taif) in May increased HDPE production to 44,000 tonnes. The company increased HDPE production to 222,200 tonnes in the first five months of the year, up 8% from the same period in 2013.

"Gazprom neftekhim Salavat" (Gazprom) produced about 9,000 tonnes of HDPE in May, compared with 7,800 tonnes in April. The producer's HDPE output reached 43,400 tonnes in the first five months of the year, up 48% year on year.

The third largest Russian producer of HDPE - Nizhnekamskneftekhim (Taif) because of technical problems in May did not reach the 100% level of capacity utilisation, the May HDPE production figure was around 14,000 tonnes. The company reduced the output of HDPE to 61,500 tonnes in January - May, compared with 69,200 tonnes in the same period a year earlier.


MRC