Orpic to shut PP plant in Oman for maintenance

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oman Oil refineries and Petroleum Industries Company (Orpic) is likely to shut a polypropylene (PP) plant for maintenance turnaround, reported Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Oman informed that the plant is planned to be shut in end June-early July 2014 for maintenance turnaround. It is expected to remain shut for around one month.

Located at Sohar, Oman, the plant has a production capacity of 350,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote before, in December 2013, Oman Oil Company (OOC), a commercial company wholly owned by the Government of the Sultanate of Oman, successfully concluded the acquisition of Oxea which was announced in October. The purchase price was not disclosed. Oxea is one of the largest global manufacturers of Oxo chemicals. With the acquisition, OOC aims to become a vertically integrated global chemical leader in the downstream industry.

Oxea is a global manufacturer of Oxo intermediates and Oxo derivatives, such as alcohols, polyols, carboxylic acids, specialty esters, and amines. These products are used for the production of high-quality coatings, lubricants, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products, flavorings and fragrances, printing inks and plastics.
MRC

МOSCOW (MRC) -- PT Trans Pacific Petrochemical Indotama has stopped production at its Tuban plant in East Java after an agreement with Indonesia’s state oil company ended, as per Plastemart.

TPPI can process 100,000 bpd a day at its Tuban unit in East Java, which turns condensate into products including naphtha. The plant can produce 500,000 tpa paraxylene, 120,000 tpa orthoxylene and 200,000 tpa benzene. The subsidiary of Tuban Petrochemical Industries is negotiating with PT Pertamina, overseas suppliers and the country’s upstream oil and gas regulator for condensate feedstock to restart the plant in July or August.

TPPI is looking to buy at least 1 million barrels a month of condensate to restart the plant. The company is exploring options to start operating independently, by looking for financing and feedstock suppliers as well as to sell output.
TPPI restarted the plant in November after a nearly two-year suspension under the deal with Pertamina that ended May 21. TPPI bought all of its condensate from Pertamina in exchange for selling its output to the state-owned company.

As MRC wrote earlier, this summer, Pertamina signed an agreement to purchase petrochemical products from PTT Global Chemical. The agreement serves as a pre-marketing strategy for Pertamina and PTT’s joint Indonesian petrochemical business. Under the agreement, PTT will deliver at least 5,000 tonnes of polyethylene and polypropylene products each month to Pertamina for sale in Indonesia.

Pertamina is an Indonesian state-owned oil and natural gas corporation based in Jakarta. It was created in August 1968 by the merger of Pertamin (established 1961) and Permina (established 1957). Pertamina is the world's largest producer and exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Total imports of high density polyethylene (HDPE) in Ukraine has decreased by 48% in the first four months of this year, according to MRC DataScope.

April HDPE imports in Ukraine rose to 784 tonnes, while in March, this figure fell to a record level in the last few years to 500 tonnes. In general, total import of pipe HDPE to the Ukrainian market declined to 3,800 tonnes in January - April 2014, compared with 7,400 tonnes year on year.

Significant economic recession and currency devaluation (more than 45%) were the main reasons for the decline in demand from the Ukrainian producers of polyethylene pipes.

Key supplier of PE pipe in Ukraine remained Saudi Sabic. The producer's supplies of pipe PE to the local market in the first four months of the year were about 2,300 tonnes, compared with 5,800 tonnes year on year.

The share of Asian material, imported over the reported period in Ukraine was small because of the long logistics; thus imports of Asian pipe PE were less than 1,000 tonnes in the first four months of this year, compared with 1,200 tonnes in the same time a year earlier.

Some market participants said demand for PE pipes improved in May following poor demand in March and April.
The availability of polyethylene in the market is sufficient, however, the shortage of material can be expected given the limited export quotas at Sabic.
MRC

МОSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, has inaugurated expansions to its production capabilities and service support for its customers in Indonesia and South East Asia and Pacific (SEA&P), said the producer in its press release.

The significant increase in production capacity and upgrading of local facilities will better support the strong growth in demand for pigments, masterbatches, personal care, home care and industrial care ingredients in local and overseas markets.

The investments by the Business Units Industrial & Consumer Specialties, Masterbatches and Pigments highlight Clariant’s commitment to strengthen its long-term provision of value added services to customers in Indonesia and SEA&P.

Clariant is represented in eight locations in Indonesia, with approximately 800 employees across its six production sites and three application and technical centers. The company is one of the leaders in Indonesia and SEA&P in the areas of pigments, plastics, oil & gas, catalysts and edible oil refinery. In 2013, SEA&P accounted for 30% of Clariant’s sales in Asia and 7% of global sales.

As MRC wrote before, Clariant Chemicals (India) announced the opening of its new state-of-the-art headquarters at Reliable Tech Park in Airoli, Navi Mumbai. The inauguration of this facility at Navi Mumbai is in line with the company's plan for increased growth through greater focus on innovation and profitable growth, a company statement said here.

Clariant Chemicals (India) Limited and custom color and additive products with production of more than 10,000 color matches which are completed each year. With more than 50 manufacturing plants around the world, Clariant
Masterbatches products, technology and service deliver competitive advantages that foster long-term customer relationships.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- NOVA Chemicals announced Friday that the first barrels of ethane supplied from natural gas associated with oil production from Bakken Shale are being utilized at its Joffre complex in Canada's Alberta province, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The ethane was produced at Hess Corp.'s plant in Tioga, North Dakota, and transported across the border into Alberta via the Vantage Pipeline. The Vantage Pipeline connects to the Alberta Ethane Gathering System (AEGS) in Empress, Alberta, for the final journey to Joffre.

NOVA Chemicals is the contract operator of both AEGS and the Vantage Pipeline.

The Vantage Pipeline has an initial design capacity of 40,000 bpd but is expandable to greater than 60,000 bpd, a volume that reflects more than 20% of Alberta’s existing installed ethylene production capacity.

Ethane extracted from associated gas produced from Bakken Shale is expected to be a growing and stable feedstock supply source for the Alberta petrochemical industry.

"The introduction of Bakken Shale-based ethane into the feedstock diet at Joffre marks an important milestone in the diversification of our ethane sources for the region and our NOVA 2020 strategy to capitalize on North American demand," said Todd Karran, acting CEO of NOVA Chemicals.

"The new supply sources we recently began to use, together with those currently in development, should enable us to run our existing polyethylene plants at full capacity, as well as support our PE1 Expansion project in Joffre and position us well for potential further growth," he added.

As MRC informed previously, in early 2013 NOVA Chemicals decided build two polyethylene (PE) plants and expand its ethylene capacity. NOVA has taken several actions to secure additional ethane feedstock supply for its crackers in Corunna, Ontario, and Joffre, Alberta.

Nova Chemical is one of the largest world's petrochemical companies, a manufacturer of polyethylene, styrene polymers, monomers, and many other related products.
MRC