DATE : 2017-03-31
INEOS has lifted the force majeure at its 280,000 tonne/year acrylonitrile (ACN) plant at Seal Sands in the UK, several sources said on Friday.
This could not be confirmed with INEOS.
European customers were placed on 80% allocation for March and this had severely limited availability, pushing prices above the cost pass through for feedstocks.
There was some discussion of how immediate an impact this would have on the market.
Contract sources were generally optimistic and thought that April contract would reflect feedstocks movements.
Suppliers pushed for greater increases in March because of tight availability.
A spot player said that it did not think there would be enough surplus to cater for the spot market and prices could continue to increase as a result.
Source Icis News
DATE : 2017-03-20
US chemicals giant Dow is to invest EUR 300 M in Germany over the next 2 years. The project concerns 3 neighbouring sites belonging to the subsidiary Dow Olefinverbund (Schkopau, Leuna and Boehlen, E Germany). EUR 200 M will be invested in site maintenance and modernisation with a further EUR 100 M possibly being invested in additional capacities or production units. Units at the 3 sites could be operating at full capacity in less than 1 year. In E Germany, Dow produces polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyurethane, extruded polystyrene, hydrocarbon resins, acrylic acid, butyl acrylate, powdered dispersions and aniline. Dow's cracker in Boehlen (565,000 tonnes capacity in 2015 according to Petrochemicals Europe) will close for 6 weeks in 2018 for major maintenance work. Although it mainly uses naphtha, 15% of its feedstock is currently gas and this proportion is set to rise to 50%, according to the German press.
The conversion necessary will require construction work and investment. The EUR 100 M budget for this work could be increased in proportion with the amount of propane cracker in Boehlen. However, a final decision on the project has yet to be taken.
Source Chimie Pharma Hebdo
;
DATE : 2017-03-10
INEOS Nitriles has declared force majeure at its 280,000 tonne/year acrylonitrile (ACN) plant at Seal Sands in the UK, a company source confirmed on Friday.
European customers have been placed on 80% allocation for March, the source added. Further details on the force majeure were not immediately available from the company, but according to several of INEOS’ customers production problems began at the beginning of the month.
INEOS Nitriles is also undergoing a three-week regulatory inspection at its 300,000 tonne/year Cologne, Germany plant. The inspection is proceeding as scheduled, the company source said.
The announcement comes amid a period of globally tight supply. European spot prices rose by 54-60% between the start of the year and 3 March as a result of low availability.
The majority of sellers are sold out for March, with the European spot market virtually dry.
Low availability in the US and Asia has meant that local shortages cannot be counteracted by import volumes.
Expectation on how long the European ACN spot market will remain tight varied, but some players expect availability to remain low throughout the first half of 2017.
Source Icis News
DATE : 2016-03-09
In 2016, Jiangsu reduced the pesticide use by 1,100 tonnes (= 1.4%) YoY(= year on year) to 77,000 tonnes in total, striving to realise the goal of "zero growth in pesticide use" by 2020. Notably, significant changes included:
1. Decreased insecticide use
The year 2016 saw slighter occurrence of rice pests, especially rice plant hopper and leaf roller, compared with 2015. In accordance with this, local departments promoted application of environmentally friendly technology for pest & disease control and prevention, significantly reducing provincial insecticide use and meanwhile putting pests under effective control. Particularly, the province placed its emphasis on increasing application of high efficacy, low toxicity & low residue chemical pesticides and biopesticides, such as pymetrozine, nitenpyram and bisamides.
2. Increased fungicide use
Jiangsu witnessed heavy/ extreme occurrence of wheat head blight and rice sheath blight, as well as moderate/ heavy occurrence of rice blast in the year. Given this, the province increased its use of fungicides to curb diseases. That aside, the government promotion of "3 resistant" pesticide mixtures (pest & disease resistant, dry-hot wind resistant and premature senescence resistant) increased their overall applied area and usage amount per ha.
3. Slightly reduced herbicide use
Occurrence area of rice weeds, especially weedy rice, Chinese sprangletop and barnyardgrass in direct seeding fields, went up slightly in the year. However, affected by frequent rain in some planting areas, farmers failed to apply targeted herbicides timely, thus reducing use of some innovative herbicides like penoxsulam, cyhalofop-butyl and metamifop.
4. Expanded application of high efficacy, low toxicity & low residue pesticides
In 2016, the provincial coverage rate of high efficacy, low toxicity & low residue pesticides on major crops (especially grains) reached 77.2%, up 3.0 percentage points over 74.2% in 2015. According to investigation into 906 users (including large farms, family farms and agricultural service stations),
- Pesticides on rice: 5.56% were of micro toxicity, 84.77% of low toxicity, 9.55% of medium toxicity and 0.12% of high toxicity
- Pesticides on wheat: 5.33% were of micro toxicity, 89.32% of low toxicity, 4.46% of medium toxicity and 0.89% of high toxicity
5. Optimised pesticide consumption structure
Of the total provincial pesticide use in 2016, insecticides/ acaricides accounted for 35.58%, fungicides for 37.02%, herbicides for 26.65%, plant growth regulators for 0.47% and rodenticides for 0.28%.
Specific figures differed among crops. For instance,
- Rice
Insecticides accounted for 41.66%, fungicides for 40.67%, herbicides for 17.66% and plant growth regulators for 0.01%
Leading products by usage amount (in decreasing order): tricyclazole, abamectin, butachlor, isoprothiolane, pretilachlor, pymetrozine, diazinon, emamectin benzoate, jingangmycin A and thifluzamide
- Wheat
- Insecticides accounted for 16.76%, fungicides for 54.11%, herbicides for 29.12% and plant growth regulators for 0.01%
- Leading products by usage amount (in decreasing order): carbendazim, isoproturon, triadimefon, fluroxypyr-mepthyl, thiram, fenoxaprop-P-ethyl, phoxim methyl, clodinafop-propargyl, pymetrozine, tebuconazole and phenamacril.
Source cnchemicals
DATE : 2017-03-09
Herbicide makes the maximum proportion among Chinese pesticides.Therefore, registrations of herbicide-containing pesticides keep increasing. According to the Institute for the Control of Agrochemicals, Ministry of Agriculture (ICAMA), 20 herbicide TC/ TK (involving 19 herbicide active ingredients) was newly registered in China in Jan. 2017 by 13 companies.
Registrations of penoxsulam TC rose to 3, which was respectively obtained by Dow AgroSciences, Shijiazhuang Xingbai Bioengineering Co., Ltd. and HuaianGuorui Chemical Co., Ltd. It is known that the patent of penoxsulam chemicals is valid till 22 Sept., 2017 in China. At present, many companies are applying for the field test of related products. It is predicted that when the patent expires, related pesticide registrations will rise rapidly.
As of 31 Jan., 2017, there was respectively one valid registration of triafamone TC, terfuryltrione TC and flurtamone TC in China, which was obtained by Bayer CropScience. In 2015, Bayer CropScience has temporarily registered triafamone 93.60% TC in China. In Jan. 2017, the company changed this registration into formal registration. Besides, the flurtamone 98% TC formal registration (validity: 5 years) recorded in Jan. 2017 was also a temporary registration (validity: one year) obtained in 2015. Notably, terfuryltrione was first registered in China, by Bayer CropScience. Last month, the company obtained 4 herbicide TC registrations in total.
Two companies registered glufosinate-ammonium TC in Jan. They are Rosi Chemical Co., Ltd. and Henan Yingtai Agrochemical Co., Ltd. As of 31 Jan., 2017, there were 44 valid registrations of glufosinate-ammonium TC in China, of which 8 and 9 were obtained in 2016 and 2015 separately.
Jiangsu FengshanGroup Co., Ltd. obtained 4 herbicide TC registrations in Jan., namely triclopyr-butotyl 99% TC, triclopyr 99% TC, clodinafop-propargyl 95% TC and cyhalofop-butyl 97% TC. On the toxicity front, the newly registered herbicide TC includes 18 low toxicity ones and 2 micro toxicity ones
Source cnchemicals
DATE : 2017-02-24
On 14 Feb., 2017, the 20th Jiangsu Pesticides and Sprayer Facilities Information & Technology Exchange Meeting was held in Nanjing City. It is revealed at the meeting that the province intends to decrease pesticide use by 500 tonnes in 2017, despite the estimated trend of serious pest & disease occurrence. To meet this goal, actions will be taken to promote environmentally friendly agricultural production technology in accordance with the 2017 No.1 Central Document.
Pesticide consumption in 2016
In 2016, Jiangsu reduced the pesticide use by 1,100 tonnes (= 1.4%) YoY (= year on year) to 77,000 tonnes in total, striving to realise the goal of "zero growth in pesticide use" by 2020. Notably, significant changes included:
1. Decreased insecticide use
The year 2016 saw slighter occurrence of rice pests, especially rice plant hopper and leaf roller, compared with 2015. In accordance with this, local departments promoted application of environmentally friendly technology for pest & disease control and prevention, significantly reducing provincial insecticide use and meanwhile putting pests under effective control. Particularly, the province placed its emphasis on increasing application of high efficacy, low toxicity & low residue chemical pesticides and biopesticides, such as pymetrozine, nitenpyram and bisamides.
2. Increased fungicide use
Jiangsu witnessed heavy/ extreme occurrence of wheat head blight and rice sheath blight, as well as moderate/ heavy occurrence of rice blast in the year. Given this, the province increased its use of fungicides to curb diseases. That aside, the government promotion of “3 resistant” pesticide mixtures (pest & disease resistant, dry-hot wind resistant and premature senescence resistant) increased their overall applied area and usage amount per ha.
3. Slightly reduced herbicide use
Occurrence area of rice weeds, especially weedy rice, Chinese sprangletop and barnyardgrass in direct seeding fields, went up slightly in the year. However, affected by frequent rain in some planting areas, farmers failed to apply targeted herbicides timely, thus reducing use of some innovative herbicides like penoxsulam, cyhalofop-butyl and metamifop.
4. Expanded application of high efficacy, low toxicity & low residue pesticides
In 2016, the provincial coverage rate of high efficacy, low toxicity & low residue pesticides on major crops (especially grains) reached 77.2%, up 3.0 percentage points over 74.2% in 2015. According to investigation into 906 users (large farms, family farms and agricultural service stations).
Pesticides on rice: 5.56% were of micro toxicity, 84.77% of low toxicity, 9.55% of medium toxicity and 0.12% of high toxicity
Pesticides on wheat: 5.33% were of micro toxicity, 89.32% of low toxicity, 4.46% of medium toxicity and 0.89% of high toxicity 5. Optimised pesticide consumption structure Of the total provincial pesticide use in 2016, insecticides/ acaricides accounted for 35.58%, fungicides for 37.02%, herbicides for 26.65%, plant growth regulators for 0.47% and rodenticides for 0.28%. Specific figures differed among crops. For instance,
- Rice
Insecticides accounted for 41.66%, fungicides for 40.67%, herbicides for 17.66% and plant growth regulators for 0.01%
Leading products by usage amount (in decreasing order): tricyclazole, abamectin, butachlor, isoprothiolane, pretilachlor, pymetrozine, diazinon, emamectin benzoate, jingangmycin A and thifluzamide
- Wheat
Insecticides accounted for 16.76%, fungicides for 54.11%, herbicides for 29.12% and plant growth regulators for 0.01%
Leading products by usage amount (in decreasing order): carbendazim, isoproturon, triadimefon, fluroxypyr-mepthyl, thiram, fenoxaprop-P-ethyl, phoxim methyl, clodinafop-propargyl, pymetrozine, tebuconazole and phenamacril
Pest & disease occurrence prediction for 2017
Occurrence of pests, diseases and weeds is a key factor influencing pesticide use.
In 2016, Jiangsu found an overall moderate occurrence of pests and diseases on crops – mainly wheat head blight, wheat powdery mildew, rice leaf roller and spodoptera litura, with rice borer and foot rot in some parts. Yet, occurrence of major pests and diseases are estimated to strike heavier in 2017. Affected by the increased temperature in the winter of 2016 and decreased rainfall in the spring of 2017, more pests and fungi were found in fields this year than previous years. According to monitoring conducted by the Jiangsu Crop Protection Station (JCPS), from late Oct. to early Dec. 2016, the weighted average of asiatic borers in field reached 145.1, up 14.0% YoY (1,000+ in hills and parts of northern Jiangsu); averaged distribution density of corn borers increased by 27.6% YoY to 47.2 head/100 plants.
Meanwhile, weak pest/ disease-resistance of crops and increased resistance to common pesticides among pests/ fungi significantly impacted the prevention & control effect. In particular, wheat head blight, wheat sheath blight and rape sclertiniose are predicted to strike heavily and corn rough dwarf to strike moderately, with moderate to heavy occurrence of pests & diseases on rice, fruit trees and other vegetables.
Pesticide demand and use for 2017
Despite the heavier pest & disease occurrence in 2017, Jiangsu intends to reduce 500 tonnes of pesticide use in 2017.
Zhang Shaoming, director of the Pesticides & Agricultural Machinery Department of JCPS, introduced: “We plan to control the provincial total pesticide use at around 76,500 tonnes this year.” Specifically,
Insecticide /acaricide: 27,500 tonnes, 35.9% of the provincial total
Fungicide: 28,000 tonnes, 36.6% of the provincial total Herbicide: 19,500 tonnes, 25.5% of the provincial total
Plant growth regulator: 1,500 tonnes, 2.0 of the provincial total
“High efficacy, low toxicity & low residue pesticides and biopesticides will be further promoted. In contrast to this, application of high-toxic pesticides will continue to decrease. Additionally, with supports of advanced agricultural technology, the provincial pesticide utilisation rate is expected to improve by 2.0 percentage points to 40.0%+,” added Zhang Shaoming.
That aside, Jiangsu also increases effort to optimise crop planting structure, as the national agricultural supply-side reform moves deeper. Currently, the province sees increasing planting area of grains, vegetables, melons, fruits and coarse cereals, as well as decreasing area of rape and cotton. These changes may pose impacts on pesticide use over the coming period.
Source Cnchemicals
UK pesticides register new approval (2017): Panarex.
Date : 2017-02-24
On 24 Feb 2017, the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE)'s Pesticide Register announced authorization number 20170520 (standard approval) of Kipota (MAPP No 17993). The authorization document is available, as a 7-page Word document, on the website. This Product does not have Expired Notices. Formulation type: emulsifiable concentrate. The product contains clodinafop-propargyl at 240.000 g/l and is authorized for use as an herbicide on durum wheat, rye, triticale, wheat. The product is not approved for aquatic and aerial use. Parallel import: No. The approval holder is Life Scientific Limited and the marketing company is Life Scientific Limited. The authorization expiry date is 31 Oct 2020.
Source: Pesticides Register of UK Approved Products
UK pesticides register new approval (2017): Panarex.
Date : 2017-02-07
On 7 Feb 2017, the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE)'s Pesticide Register announced authorization number 20170384 (standard approval) of Panarex (MAPP No 17960). The authorization document is available, as an 8-page Word document, on the website. This Product does not have Expired Notices. Formulation type: emulsifiable concentrate. The product contains quizalofop-P-tefuryl at 40.000 g/l and is authorized for use as an herbicide on combining pea, field bean, fodder beet, linseed, oilseed rape, potato, sugar beet. The product is not approved for aquatic and aerial use. Parallel import: No. The approval holder is Arysta LifeScience Great Britain Ltd and the marketing company is Arysta LifeScience Great Britain Ltd. The authorization expiry date is 18 Feb 2019.
Source: Pesticides Register of UK Approved Products
DATE : 2017-02-14
Materials group Evonik said it will start construction on a new plant at its facility in Weiterstadt, Germany to produce high-quality flat films made from multi-layer polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA).
The German group plans to invest “a sum in the double-digit millions in its Weiterstadt site”, it said in a Feb 14 news statement. Production start-up is planned for the end of 2018.
“With the investment we have now approved, we are strengthening our role as innovation leader for acrylic-based technologies and products," said Martin Krämer, head of Evonik’s acrylic products business line.
The new plant will be able to produce “extremely wide films with a previously unachieved number of layers”, the company claimed.
At the Bau 2017 trade show in Munich in January, Evonik presented façade elements made from fiberglass plates equipped with a top layer made of its Plexiglas brand PMMA film.
Evonik said: “The demand for extremely long-lasting and sustainable products has become increasingly important, particularly in the construction and architecture segment.”
Source Plastics News
DATE :2017-02-16
OMV has restarted its Burghausen, Germany, butadiene (BD) unit but the force majeure is still currently in place, a company source said Thursday.
OMV declared force majeure on BD supply from the plant in early January on undisclosed production problems which led to the plant running at reduced rates followed by a shutdown in the week of 24 January.
The BD unit has the capacity to produce about 70,000-80,000 tonnes/year, according to market sources.
OMV also has BD extraction capacity at its Schwechat, Austria, petrochemicals site. The whole site will be shut for planned maintenance from mid-April.
Source Icis News
DATE : 2017-02-17
INEOS Nitriles has announced to lift a force majeure (FM) on the supply of acrylonitrile (ACN) from its Green Lake plant in the US, market sources said on Monday.
The company declared an FM on 15 July, 2016, which was caused by the shutdown of a propylenepipeline supplying INEOS Green Lake unit, according to an earlier report by ICIS.
The company said in a letter to its customers that the pipeline operator completed necessary repairs to the propylene pipeline, which is now fully operational.
INEOS anticipates attaining normal shipments of ACN from the US to Asia during January and February 2017, which means deliveries to all customers will return to normal from 1 March, 2017.
The Green Lake ACN unit has a 545,000 tonne/year capacity.
Source Icis News
DATE : 2017-02-01
South Korea's SK Innovation said on Thursday it will acquire Dow Chemical Co's ethylene acrylic acid (EAA) business in a bid to boost its efforts to lead high-value added chemical markets.
SK Global Chemical Co Ltd, a unit of SK Innovation, signed the acquisition deal worth $370 million, SK Innovation said in a filing to the stock exchange.
Under the deal, SK Global Chemical will take over Dow Chemical-owned assets and the EAA business in the United States and Spain, the company said.
Source Reuters
DATE :201-02-01
IHS understands Total Petrochemicals and Sabic have placed styrene customers in North America on 40% allocation after a mechanical failure forced Cosmar, their styrene joint venture, to shut down one of two 575,000-metric tons/year styrene lines in Carville, Louisiana. According to market sources, the outage could extend through June. Supply is already tight, and with demand from Asia set to rise, prices are likely to surge. On 31 January, spot prices on the US Gulf Coast reacted to the news by climbing to $1,500/metric ton for February business, up from $1,450/metric ton on 27 January and $1,325/metric ton on 24 January.
Neither company has confirmed the outage or allocation.
The Cosmar line represents about 10% of North American styrene capacity, notes David Byrne, senior director/C3 derivatives and styrene at IHS Chemical. Combined with other ongoing or planned outages, up to 25% of regional capacity could be lost during February and March, eliminating supply ordinarily exported to Asia. If the plant is off-line through June, 269,000 metric tons of production could be lost. The plant shutting down will free about 14,000 metric tons/month of ethylene and about 35,000 metric tons/month of benzene.
Adding to the shortfall, Americas Styrenics has announced it is extending the scheduled maintenance turnaround of a St. James, Louisiana, styrene unit through mid-March to address critical repairs. The 525,000-metric ton/year unit was expected to return to operation in the next couple of weeks. Ineos Styrolution is scheduled to begin turning around its 500,000 metric ton/year unit at Texas City, Texas, at the end of February, although that could be delayed given the latest developments.
"Exports are going to dry up if they haven't already," says Byrne. The problem will become acute with the approach of Asia's second-quarter turnaround season, he notes. Inventories in that region began the year even lower than usual because production issues on the US Gulf Coast (USGC) reduced the availability of exports during the fourth quarter of 2016. When Asia returns from the Lunar New Year holiday, the realization export availability from the USGC will be severely curtailed through the first quarter will create strong upward pressure on pricing.
Imports from Europe may be able to make up the difference, says Byrne. Europe is normally a styrene importer, but with production units there running well and demand soft, supply in the region is long.
US styrene prices averaged $1,370/metric ton FOB Houston, Texas, during the week ending 26 January, up from $1,314/metric ton the previous week. In northeastern Asia, styrene averaged $1,362/metric ton CFR China, up from $1,309/metric ton. In Europe, prices averaged $1,338/metric ton, up from $1,277/metric ton.
Source IHS Chemicals
DATE : 2017-01-27
USES
About 75% of the butadiene (BD) produced in the US is used for the production of synthetic rubber, including styrene butadiene rubber (SBR), which is used in varying degrees to make tyres.
About 80% of the SBR market is for replacement tyres, a market segment that affects both SBR and BD up through the supply chain. Demand for SBR and BD has been significantly reduced because of weak macroeconomics in Europe and Asia and an only slightly better consumer market in the US.
Most of the rest of US BD production goes toward making acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), which is used to make plastics for the automotive industry.
Another large ABS market is appliances and electronics, which is mostly driven by the housing market. A small portion is used for plastic piping in housing.
SUPPLY/DEMAND
Overall US BD supply is expected to remain balanced-to-snug in 2017. Although there are four new crackers scheduled to come online this year, the three world-scale units are scheduled in the second half. Players do not expect a significant impact on supply of ethylene – and in turn, co-products such as BD – until about Q4.
There are two or three BD extraction units that are scheduled to undergo turnarounds in 2017, and unexpected production issues could constrain supply. Currently, one producer is said to be on allocation.
Any excess volumes are likely to be fixed for exports as long as Asia prices remain firm. Asia values have been high for much of 2016 and into the beginning of 2017. This has resulted in a wide arbitrage window with other regions.
Demand in the US market is expected to continue to grow at a slow but steady rate. In the synthetic rubber market, several factors – including lower miles driven, technological advances, as well as social and lifestyle changes – have led to longer replacement cycles of when consumers change their tyres.
The Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) forecasts that tyre shipments in 2016 will show a slight 0.3% gain year on year, and this trend could continue in 2017.
There are a number of new tyre plants that are starting up in 2016 and 2017, which means higher consumption of rubber, as well as BD. While some BD players are hoping to see 50% of consumption from the new tyre plants for domestically made product, others are sceptical the US market will see much, if any, significant increase in demand.
BD consumption levels should also see some boost from other derivatives such as ABS and nylon 6,6, particularly amid strong demand for engineering plastics in cars. The market could also see some increased demand from the downstream synthetic butadiene latex (SBL) market.
PRICES
US January BD contracts fully settled at individual increases of 10 cents/lb for three producers and 21 cents/lb for one producer. The settlement puts US BD contract prices at their highest level since June 2014.
Players had been expecting a large jump in January contracts because of the relentless price surge in Asia, but sources had pegged various increases of 6-10 cents/lb before Asia values surpassed the $2,000/tonne mark.
For now, spot pricing remains unclear as domestic consumers and traders looking to export are wide apart on buying ideas. With excess volumes scarce, sources said it is difficult to determine where spot pricing is.
Sentiment remained bullish as sources acknowledged that any near-term spot trades were likely to be done for export. There was also belief that US prices should remain aligned with values in other regions in order to keep volumes in the domestic market.
TECHNOLOGY
BD is produced as a byproduct of the same steam cracking process used to produce ethylene and other olefins.
Traditionally, BD has been made from heavier feedstocks such as naphtha as it results in a greater yield. But with the abundance of lighter feedstocks in North America, more BD is now made from ethane, despite the lower yield.
TPC, the largest producer of BD in the US, has announced plans to build a plant that makes BD by dehydrogenating normal butane. TPC continues to develop the technology, but said the need for the plant in the US has been delayed due to slower growth in the BD market.
There are also efforts under way to produce BD from biomass, but they are still in the experimental phase.
Source Icis News
DATE : 2017-01-22
Headquaters of SABIC in Rihyad
Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) has signed an agreement to acquire the 50 percent that it does not already own in its petrochemical venture with Shell Arabia, a unit of Royal Dutch Shell, for $820 million, SABIC said on Sunday.
“As per the partnership agreement between the two companies that stipulates the right of SABIC to renew or end the partnership by the end of 2020...SABIC decided to acquire the full stake of Shell, which is 50 percent,” it said.
SABIC, one of the world’s largest petrochemical firms, said the $820 million figure was based on the net value of the venture’s assets. It said the acquisition was in line with a strategy to develop its successful investments.
The venture, known as SADAF, was established in 1980 and operates six petrochemical plants with total annual output of over 4 million tons year of chemicals. It makes products including ethylene, crude industrial ethanol and styrene at a complex in Jubail, on the Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia.
The acquisition agreement is expected to be carried out before the end of this year, SABIC said, adding that it signed another memorandum of understanding with Shell Arabia on Sunday to boost the companies’ cooperation in unspecified international and local investments.
“We will continue to explore potential future opportunities with SABIC,” Graham van’t Hoff, executive vice president of chemicals at Shell, said in an e-mailed statement to Reuters.
In 2014, SABIC and Shell shelved plans to expand SADAF as the results of feasibility studies were not encouraging. The expansion was to have added production of polyols, propylene oxide and styrene monomer.
Shell is involved in other downstream activities in Saudi Arabia; it has a crude oil refinery with Saudi Aramco in Jubail. (Reporting by Reem Shamseddine and Hadeel Al Sayegh).
Source Arab News
DATE : 2017-01-13
Five petrochemical projects are expected to start up in Iran by the end of March 2017, the head of National Petrochemical Co. is quoted by the countrys Mehr News agency as saying.
By mid-February, the second phase of the Kavian Petrochemical complexwhich will be able to produce 1 million metric tons/year (MMt/y) of ethylene and the second phase of Morvarid Petrochemicalwhich produces ethylene and ethylene glycol (EG)will become operational. The Takhte Jamshid and Entekhab petrochemical complexes, which each produce 250,000 metric tons/year of styrene derivatives, will also go onstream, said NPC head and Iranian deputy oil minister Marzieh Shahdaei. The second phase of Pardis Petrochemical, which specializes in ammonia and urea, will be completed by the end of March.
Separately, three units at the Bushehr Petrochemical complex will become operational next year. The Bushehr complex, which is able to produce 1.65 MMt/y of methanol; 1 MMt/y of olefins; 550,000 metric tons/year of EG; 300,000 metric tons/year of light and heavy polymers; and 300,000 metric tons/year of acetic acid, is funded by Chinese financiers. The Marjan methanol plant, also known as the 7th Methanol Project, will also start up next year.
Irans petrochemical capacity currently stands at 64 MMt/y and plans are in place to boost this figure by 40 MMt/y over the next five years, to exceed 100 MMt/y. By 2026, the annual installed petrochemical capacity is planned to reach 140 million metric tons, Shahdaei was quoted by Mehr as saying.
Shahdaei also confirmed earlier reports that Iran had signed memoranda of understanding (MoU) with Total and Linde, and said that the agreements should pave the way for contracts in about one year. Plans call for signing MoUs with two other international petrochemical firms, Shahdaei said but she did not provide details.
Iran exported 10 million metric tons of petrochemicals, worth $9 billion, in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year that will end 31 March. The lion`s share of outbound petrochemical consignments went to Asia, Europe, and South America, Shahdaei was separately quoted by Iran`s Financial Tribune as saying. Exports of petrochemicals increased in volume terms compared with the same period of the previous year, but declined in value.
According to Shahdaei, Iran has a 38% market share of petrochemicals in the Middle East but produces only 4.8% of the world`s petrochemicals despite having some of the largest crude oil and natural gas reserves.
Source Vanguard