AMERICAS

 

Sinopec licenses PP technology to US plant

 

Sinopec will be licensing its gas-phase PP continuous pre-polymerization technology to Formosa Plastics in the USA. The technology has been licensed to four plants in China and this is the first license in the USA.

Comments: Sinopec having licensed its PP technology to Formosa in the US, is a change from the typical trend where international PP technology licensors have been providing their technologies to Chinese PP producers. Sinopec will look to expand its PP licensing activities in China, which is expected to witness the largest PP capacity additions globally until 2020. Sinopec is already very active in the PP catalyst business and offering PP technology as well as catalysts could be a lucrative opportunity for Sinopec to participate in.

 

Nova Chemicals breaks ground on polyethylene research center expansion

 

Nova Chemicals has broken ground on its expansion of a polyethylene research center in Alberta, Canada. The research center has been renamed Center for Performance Applications and will house new testing equipment including a semi-commercial nine-layer blown film line.

Comments: Nova has recently made large investments into its PE business to take advantage of cost-advantage feedstock from shale gas. The company is ahead of its competitors in expanding HDPE and LDPE capacity and has found a consistent, growing source of ethane in the Marcellus. The research center adds another dimension to Nova’s strategy, allowing the company to innovate in end-use applications while using its cost-advantaged position in the commodity export market.

 

Mexichem acquires HDPE pipe and conduit producer

 

Mexichem will be acquiring Dura-Line for about USD 630 million. Dura-Line manufactures HDPE conduit, duct, and pressure-pipe products for telecom and data communications, energy, and infrastructure industries.

Comments: Dura-Line is one of the largest plastic pipe manufacturers in the US. The company has a wide regional presence with manufacturing locations in the USA, Mexico, South Africa, India, Oman, Dubai, and the Czech Republic. The acquisition will allow Mexichem will increase the company’s presence on a global scale.

 

EUROPE

 

Borealis’ acquisition of Specialty Polymers Antwerp completed

 

Borealis has completed the acquisition of DuPont’s 67% stake in the Speciality Polymers Antwerp joint venture. Speciality Polymers, which had been a joint venture between DuPont and Borealis until the acquisition, produces ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA) and acrylate copolymers. Borealis will continue to supply DuPont with EVA and acrylate copolymers from the Zwijndrecht facility.

Comments: Specialty Polymers Antwerp was formed as a joint venture with DuPont Holding Netherlands owning 67% and Borealis Polymers and Borealis Kallo together owning 33%. The acquisition makes Borealis the full owner of Specialty Polymers Antwerp and expands the company’s portfolio of specialty polymer products. Specialty Polymers Antwerp manufactures EVA and acrylate copolymers. Acrylate copolymers find applications in extrusion coating, polymer modification, cast, and blown films, etc.

 

PKN to license technology from CB&I for new propylene plant

 

PKN Orlen has awarded the contract for license and engineering design for a new on-purpose propylene production unit to CB&I. The new unit will use CB&I’s Olefin Conversion Technology to produce 100 KTA of propylene.

Comments: Partly due to crackers in the U.S. shifting to light feedstock as a result of the shale gas revolution, propylene has traded at a premium to ethylene in the past few years. Relative propylene scarcity has prompted many companies predominantly in North America and China to invest in on-purpose propylene production. Instead of going with the more popular propane dehydrogenation or coal-to-olefins, PKN chose Lummus’ Olefins Conversion Technology (OCT), which combines n-butenes with ethylene to produce polymer-grade propylene. The unit will be integrated into the company’s existing fluid catalytic cracker, which makes the investment able to withstand varying prices of ethylene/propylene/C4s due to the large flexibility in the propylene-to-ethylene output of the plant.

 

Faerch Plast to double UK production capacity

 

Faerch Plast is planning to double its production capacity in the UK by early 2015 with the installation of an additional extrusion line and associated thermo formers at its Durham manufacturing facility to cater to the demand for CPET-ready meal trays, high clarity APET and PP materials for cold foods and snacks including bakery, dairy, vegetables, and cold meat.

Comments: Faerch Plast is a Denmark-based food packaging producer with plants in Denmark, England, and the Czech Republic. The company produces PET trays for ready-to-eat foods, and multilayer PP packaging for dairy, snacks, bakery, and other foods. The expansion of production capacity by the leading packaging producer is indicative of the growth of packaging consumption in the region.

 

SO.F.TER introduces new TPE grade

 

SO.F.TER has introduced a new TPE for extrusion that is suitable for applications that come in contact with drinking water. The new TPE, Laprene830.556 is a transparent, flexible, plasticizer-free compound. The new grade is also suitable for adhesion to polypropylene.

Comments: Italy-based SO.F.TER is a producer of engineering plastics based on polyamide, polypropylene, and thermoplastic elastomers. Laprene® is SEBS compounded with polyolefins, suitable for injection molding, extrusion, blow molding, calendering, and thermoforming processes. In addition to the newly developed food-contact application, this TPE compound also finds application in automotive, household appliances, sports & leisure, and cosmetic industries.

 

Ineos and Doeflex complete merger

 

Ineos and Doeflex have completed the merger of their respective compounding operations. The newly combined business will be called Ineos Compounds and will have manufacturing sites in UK, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Comments: Ineos Compounds is a business division of Ineos Group that manufactures PVC and PVC compounds in the UK. Ineos Compounds has a capacity of producing about 290 KTA of suspension PVC and about 120 KTA of PVC compounds that are targeted at construction, wire & cable, packaging, automotive and medical industries. The suspension PVC plant is the largest in the UK, while the PVC compounding plant is the largest in Europe. With the merger, Ineos has bolstered its position as a dominant player in the PVC market in Europe.

 

MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA

 

E-Chem studying propylene project in Egypt

 

Egypt Petrochemicals Holding Co. expects to complete feasibility studies for a USD 1.5 billion propylene project at Alexandria in Egypt by 2015. Echem is also conducting feasibility studies for three other chemical projects including two bioethanol units and a PVC plant.

Comments: Investment in the chemical industry is cautiously returning to Egypt after improvements in political and economic stability in the country. Egypt has Africa’ssecond largest polypropylene industry, but unrest in the region, especially in Lybia, has made sourcing propylene difficult for companies not directly connected to a domestic supply source. A world-scale propylene project would ensure feedstock stability.

 

ASIA PACIFIC

 

Advanced Petrochemical approves PDH investment in South Korea

 

Advanced Petrochemical’s equity investment in a propane dehydrogenation project planned by SK Gas at Ulsan has been approved by the board of directors. Advanced Petrochemical will invest through Advanced Global Investment Company and will have a 35% stake in the plant. The plant will have a production capacity of 600 KTA of propylene and will use the Lummus PDH technology and Clariant’s catalyst.

Comments: Growing demand for propylene and the influx of propane from gas-rich regions has sparked massive investments in PDH plants in several regions as the spread between propane and propylene prices is projected to remain large enough to make the technology profitable. In North America, seven PDH plants are currently in planning or construction stages driven by decreased propylene production due to cracker feedstock changes and by the surge in propane production from shale gas. In China, eleven plants are in the planning or construction stages, as the country pushes to catch up to domestic demand and rely less on imports. U.S. propane exports have increased drastically in the past year, with several Asian companies signing long-term contracts with U.S. midstream producers. SK Gas will likely import propane from the U.S. to run its plant, which will use Catofin PDH technology from CB&I. The venture will also help Advanced Petrochemical Co. establish a more global presence.

 

Sinopec Maoming to start up PP facility

 

Sinopec MaomingPetrochemical plans to start up a new polypropylene facility with a production capacity of 200 KTA. With the new PP facility, Sinopec Maoming will have three PP units with a total production capacity of 670 KTA.

Comments: The majority of the PP plants in China are operated either by Sinopec or PetroChina with a few independently operated facilities. Most of the upcoming PP capacity is expected to be in China, which also has the largest current installed PP capacity driven by the country’s increasing domestic demand for PP resins. Sinopec is also a leading third-party catalyst supplier to the PP plants in China.

CB&I to License propylene, butenes technology in China

 

PKN Orlen has awarded the contract for license and engineering design for a new on-purpose propylene production unit to CB&I. The new unit will use CB&I’s Olefin Conversion Technology to produce 100 KTA of propylene.

Comments: CB&I has been very active in licensing its popular OCT technology in China, which also has a large volume market for butene-1 which is the most commonly used comonomer in China for polyethylene.

 

PTTGC and Pertamina form Indo Thai trading

 

PTTGC and Pertamina have launched Indo Thai Trading, which will sell polyethylene, polypropylene, and mono-ethylene glycol from the two companies. Indo Thai Trading will also become the trading division of the joint venture petrochemical complex which is expected to come on-stream in 2020.

Comments: PTTGC and Pertamina’s JV have experienced delays over the last couple of years. PTTGC has been active in exploring new markets in the Asian region and has already signed an agreement with Sinochem in China for the trading and distribution of PTTGC’s resins. Similarly, Indo Thai Trading will be a trading arm for PTTGC and Pertamina to jointly market and sell their resin products in the SE Asian region.