French Rubis reports limited impact on its Haiti operations after earthquake

MOSCOW (MRC) -- French energy logistics firm Rubis suffered only minor damage to its fuels distribution network in Haiti following last weekend’s earthquake, reported Bloomberg.

The earthquake in southwest Haiti on 14 August is estimated to have killed more than 2,000 people. Shortly after the quake, heavy rainfalls from tropical storm Grace hit the region.

Rubis, which has been operating in Haiti since the acquisition of Dinasa and its subsidiary Sodigaz in May 2017, is relieved as all employees are safe and the impact on operations is limited.

Of the 125 fuel service stations operated by Rubis’s Dinasa affiliate, only one was knocked out by earthquake. Three others were damaged but remained operational, the company said.

Rubis added that it would prioritise fuel supplies in Haiti to essential facilities, especially hospitals.

As MRC informed before, bulk liquid storage player Rubis Terminal says its fourth-quarter 2020 storage revenues have risen 30% year on year (YOY) to EUR56.5 million (USD68.4 million), and that it has “significantly increased” its exposure to chemical and biofuels storage following its acquisition last year of Terminales Portuarias (Tepsa; Madrid, Spain).

Rubis, a terminals business joint venture (JV) between fund manager I Squared Capital (ISC) and Rubis Group (Paris, France), says its pro-forma share of revenues from chemicals is now at 36% compared to 31% during the first half of 2020, while biofuels storage now makes up 5% of its pro-forma revenues. “The company has been steadily decreasing its exposure to fuel from 70% of sales in 2016 to currently around 50% of sales,” it says. Rubis completed its acquisition of Tepsa in October 2020 for an undisclosed amount.

The JV’s fourth-quarter rise in sales included 9% organic growth, it says. Full-year 2020 sales rose 10% over 2019 to EUR186 million, it adds.

We remind that Russia's output of chemical products rose in June 2021 by 10.2% year on year. However, production of basic chemicals increased year on year by 8.2% in the first six months of 2021, according to Rosstat's data. June production of polymers in primary form was 937,000 tonnes versus 956,000 tonnes in May. Russia's overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 4,460,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 12.8% year on year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- U.S. Army ordered a full environmental review of a proposed Formosa Group petrochemical plant in St. James Parish, Louisiana, opposed by local groups concerned about the health impact on an area overburdened with pollution, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The review of the "Sunshine Project" in St. James parish in Louisiana, which could take years, will be conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, according to a memo posted on the Twitter feed of an Army Civil Works official.

"As a result of information received to date and my commitment for the Army to be a leader in the federal government's efforts to ensure thorough environmental analysis and meaningful community outreach, I conclude an EIS process is warranted to thoroughly review areas of concern, particularly those with environmental justice implications," Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army Jaime Pinkham said.

An EIS is an environmental impact statement conducted for major infrastructure projects. Switch to Visible for as low as USD25/mo. Bring a friend & you both get a month of wireless for $5. Unlimited data. Powered by Verizon. Terms apply.

Taiwan-based Formosa maintains an "unwavering commitment" to St. James Parish and the state of Louisiana and will "continue to work with the Corps as we receive more guidance on the additional evaluation," according to Janile Parks, a spokesperson for the Sunshine Project.

But local activists who have led a high-profile fight against the USD9 billion project hailed the news as a victory for the environmental justice movement. “Nobody took it upon themselves to speak for St. James Parish until we started working to stop Formosa Plastics. Now the world is watching this important victory for environmental justice,” said Sharon Lavigne, campaigner with RISE St. James, who led the fight against the plant.

Louisiana's Democratic governor, John Bel Edwards, supports the project as an economic driver for his state. His office was not immediately available for comment. Local activists have pressured the seven-month-old Biden administration to halt construction of the massive petrochemical and plastics complex in a Louisiana region nicknamed "Cancer Alley," home to several major petrochemical facilities and refineries where black residents suffer high rates of cancer.

The project had been on temporary hold since November, after the Army Corps suspended its Clean Water Act permit for further review amid a lawsuit brought by local environmental groups. President Joe Biden has made environmental justice a core part of his climate and environmental agenda, and has promised to ensure that communities that live at the fenceline of polluting facilities are protected from additional air and water pollution.

In March, a group of UN human rights experts criticized the Formosa project, which would be built in a poor black community, as "environmental racism."

Switch to Visible for as low as USD25/mo. Bring a friend & you both get a month of wireless for USD5. Unlimited data. Powered by Verizon. Terms apply. "We hope this is the nail in Formosa's coffin," said Anne Rolfes, director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, one of the groups that has fought the construction of the plant.

As per MRC, Formosa Plastics USA, part of Formosa Petrochemical, restarted its No. 3 cracker in Point Comfort, Texas on June 23 and was expected to ramp up through the week. Formosa OL3 cracker with the capacity of 1.25 mln tonnes of ethylene per year was shut on June 4, 2021, owing to technical issues.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,176,860 tonnes in the first half of 2021, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

Formosa Petrochemical is involved primarily in the business of refining crude oil, selling refined petroleum products and producing and selling olefins (including ethylene, propylene, butadiene and BTX) from its naphtha cracking operations. Formosa Petrochemical is also the largest olefins producer in Taiwan and its olefins products are mostly sold to companies within the Formosa Group. Among the company's chemical products are paraxylene (PX), phenyl ethylene, acetone and pure terephthalic acid (PTA). The company"s plastic products include acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) resins, polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP) and panlite (PC).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China's private refiner Shandong Qingyuan Group is working with local authorities to overcome "liquidity pressure" and expects to boost output at a key refinery to as much as 85% of capacity soon, the general manager said, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Qingyuan has been operating its 100,000 barrel-per-day refinery in Linzi, a district under Zibo city, at half of its capacity on average so far this year due to a funding squeeze, Jiao Chong, the general manager told Reuters.

He said Jiuhe Financial Holdings Co Ltd, a government-backed investment firm, which took a stake in Qingyuan in 2015, is helping the group to secure funds that would allow it to operate its refinery at 80% to 85% capacity within 10 days. A syndicate of international banks is also ready to grant Qingyuan a three-year extension on a $955 million loan, a source with direct knowledge of the loan said.

Qingyuan had sought an extension to the loan earlier this year, said four trading and banking sources familiar with the situation. They declined to be identified because the matter was not public. Qingyuan signed the structured three-year loan with commodities trader Trafigura and global banks in September 2019, with lead creditors including the Netherlands' ABN Amro ABNd.ASand ING Group INGA.AS, Australia's Westpac WBC.AX and Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, according to Refinitiv's Loan Connector.

"Following prolonged negotiations with (a) syndicate of banks, the documentation is ready to be signed, whereby the maturity of the transaction has been extended to 6 years," said one of the sources who has direct knowledge of the loan. "This will allow Qingyuan to continue to operate smoothly in the years to come," the source added.

ABN Amro, ING, Westpac, Sumitomo Mitsui declined to comment. Jiao said he was not in a position to comment on the syndicated loan or the group's broader debt positions. He added that Qingyuan was facing tight liquidity because of investments in upgrading the plant.

As per MRC, Qingyuan, which is based at Linzi in the province of Shandong and operates a 5.2 million-tonne-per-year (104,000-barrel-per-day) refiner, is a regular customer of BP which has expanded its crude oil marketing to Chinese independent refiners over the last three years. Qingyuan has received an annual crude import quota of 4.04 million tonnes and is one of the largest independently-run lubricant producers.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,176,860 tonnes in the first half of 2021, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Braskem is distributing its polypropylene (PP) filament and pellets for additive manufacturing (3D printing) through Nexeo Plastics' online marketplace, said the company.

Braskem, which manufactures thermoplastic resins, claims that its PP filaments and pellets are suitable for additive manufacturing depending on its recyclability, impact strength, chemical resistance and dimensional stability.

The company said that the properties make its polypropylene an ideal material for several 3D printing applications. The distribution agreement will enable Braskem to extend its global distribution of PP filament and pellets for additive manufacturing to North America and Europe.

Nexeo Plastics president and CEO Paul Tayler said: “We are focused on providing our customers with the most comprehensive portfolio of 3D materials and solutions. “Our expanded partnership with Braskem will provide 3D printers with the innovative, quality materials they need."

Last year, Braskem invested in a dedicated additive manufacturing lab as part of its ongoing commitment to innovation and to bringing new solutions to the additive manufacturing sector. The manufacturing lab forms part of an expansion of the company’s Innovation & Technology (I&T) Centre located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Braskem additive manufacturing commercial director Jason Vagnozzi said: “Our new partnership with Nexeo Plastics marks an important moment for our Additive Manufacturing business as we extend the international reach of our products across the European market through Nexeo Plastics’ comprehensive online marketplace.

Braskem stated that its filaments will facilitate quick prototyping, custom product design, light-weighting, optimising geometries and designing spare parts. They are available in 1.75mm and 2.85mm diameters to fit a broad range of printing applications.

We remind that Brazilian petrochemical producer Braskem's 450,000 mt/year PP plant in LaPorte, Texas, along the Houston Ship Channel completed its initial commercial production, as per the company's statement as of Sept. 10. "The launch of commercial production at our new world-class PP production line in La Porte clearly affirms Braskem's position as the North American polypropylene market leader," Braskem America CEO Mark Nikolich said in a statement. With a USD750 million investment, the new PP plant's construction started in October 2017 and was completed in June, 2020.

Braskem operates five other US PP plants in Texas, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, with a cumulative capacity of 1.57 million mt/year that the company acquired. The new plant in La Porte, Texas, is Braskem America's first PP new build.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

Braskem S.A. produces petrochemicals and generates electricity. The Company produces ethylene, propylene, benzene, toluene, xylenes, butadiene, butene, isoprene, dicyclopentediene, MTBE, caprolactam, ammonium sulfate, cyclohexene, polyethylene theraphtalat, polyethylene, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
MRC