Eastman restored operations at its Kingsport site following unplanned shutdown

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Eastman Chemical Company, a global specialty chemical company, has announced that operations at its Kingsport, Tenn., site have been substantially restored following an unplanned shutdown on June 4, as per the company's press release.

Thus, the company resumed production at this site on 13 June 2014.

Eastman has made tremendous progress in bringing the plant back online in a safe and orderly manner with no material financial impact. Based on current information, the company projects the shutdown will negatively impact earnings between USD0.05 and USD0.10 per share, and continues to expect full-year 2014 earnings per share to be between USD6.70 and USD7.00.

"I am very proud of the Eastman team for their quick and professional response to this unfortunate shutdown. As a result of their efforts, we experienced no serious injuries or impact to the environment," said Mark Costa, chief executive officer.

As MRC reported before, in early June 2014, Eastman Chemical Company completed the acquisition of BP’s global aviation turbine oil business. The acquired business is expected to be accretive to 2014 earnings excluding acquisition-related costs and charges. The newly acquired business is part of Eastman’s Specialty Fluids & Intermediates business segment.

Earlier this year, Eastman Chemical Company enhanced its medical packaging portfolio with Eastalite copolyester, the company’s first opaque offering, which is styrene-free and can be a sustainable alternative to high-impact polystyrene (HIPS).

Eastman (headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee, USA) is a global specialty chemical company that produces a broad range of products found in items people use every day. With a portfolio of specialty businesses, Eastman works with customers to deliver innovative products and solutions while maintaining a commitment to safety and sustainability. Its market-driven approaches take advantage of world-class technology platforms and leading positions in attractive end-markets such as transportation, building and construction, and consumables. As a globally diverse company, Eastman serves customers in approximately 100 countries and had 2013 revenues of approximately USD9.4 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ONGC Mangalore Petrochemicals Ltd (OMPL), the aromatics complex in Mangalore jointly promoted by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL), will begin production by the end of June or early July, said Indubusinessline.

The project is 99% complete and the company will be able to commission it in 20-30 days. The pre-commissioning activities are going on for some time.

Paraxylene and benzene are the major products of OMPL. Paraxylene is used in the production of polyester fibres and PET bottles. Benzene is used as an intermediate to make products such as styrene, polystyrene, phenol and nylon. The feedstock for OMPL will be supplied by the MRPL refinery in Mangalore.

The OMPL plant will have the capacity to produce 920,000 tonnes of paraxylene and 283,000 tonnes of benzene a year. The company has marketing plans for the exports and domestic sectors. In the domestic market, the products from OMPL will help develop downstream industries in and around Mangalore.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) is an Indian multinational oil and gas company headquartered in Dehradun, India. It is one of the largest Asia-based oil and gas exploration and production companies, and produces around 77% of India"s crude oil (equivalent to around 30% of the country"s total demand) and around 81% of its natural gas.
MRC

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