AMERICAS
CB&I to market Versalis’ LDPE and EVA technologies in North America
Versalis and CB&I have signed an agreement through which CB&I will market and provide Engineering services for Versalis’ EVA and LDPE technology plants in North America. CB&I will offer both tubular and autoclave high-pressure processes.
Comments: Versalis, a subsidiary of Italy-based Eni S.p.A, commercially licenses its autoclave and tubular technologies for the manufacture LDPE and EVA. Partnership with Chicago Bridge & Iron Company (CB&I), a technology, design, engineering, and construction company, will strategically expand petrochemical market presence for Versalis.
Clariant and CB&I to commission PP catalyst plant in 2015
Clariant and CB&I’s Zeigler-Natta polypropylene catalyst production facility is set to begin production in Louisville, KY in 2015. The new plant is a part of a strategic partnership between CB&I’s Lummus Novolen technology business and Clariant’s catalyst business. The new facility will produce catalysts jointly developed by Clariant and CB&I.
Comments: The new plant is the next logical step in the long-term strategic partnership between Clariant’s catalysts business and CB&I’s Lummus Novolen technology business. A group of new Ziegler-Natta catalysts will be produced at the facility based on PolyMax and Novolen high performance catalyst series. Clariant contributes basic R&D in catalysts while CB&I has vast experience in process and plant design.
Flint Hills completes PetroLogistics acquisition
Flint Hills Resources has completed the acquisition of Petrologistics for USD 2.1 billion. Petrologistics has capacity to produce 660 KTA of propylene by propane dehydrogenation. Flint Hills will operate the propylene facility as a part of its chemical and refining business.
Comments: As a result of the shale gas revolution, steam crackers have reapportioned their cracker feedstock mix to less than 12% naphtha, significantly decreasing propylene production. This trend has increased propylene prices, and in conjunction with cheap propane from shale gas, has made propane dehydrogenation profitable. The plant has contracts with BASF, Dow, Ineos and Total for the propylene that will last several more years. This is Flint Hills’ first major acquisition in the chemical industry since the purchase of Huntsman’s U.S. chemical business in 2007.
Kaneka Corp. develops two new impact modifiers
Kaneka Corp has developed two new grades of impact modifiers – KenAce M-731 and M-732, which are methacrylate-butadiene-styrene copolymers. The new grades will be targeted for use as impact modifiers for polycarbonate and alloys. The new products will provide impact resistance in low-temperature applications based on the polybutadiene rubber component that imparts good physical properties below -40 F.
Comment: Kaneka produces impact modifiers for various polymers under the brand name Kane Ace. Polycarbonates are tough thermoplastics that are amorphous, have high impact strength and ductility. Kaneka targets automotive market for the sales of these new modifiers as the largest use of impact modified polycarbonate is in automobile applications.
EUROPE
Nizhneskamsk starts production of new PP grades
Nizhnekamskneftekhim has started the production of a new polypropylene grade as a part of an import-substitution program. The new grade is a random copolymer of propylene and ethylene and has enhanced optical properties. Presently, Russia imports such grades from producers such as LyondellBasell, Borealis, Sabic, Ineos among others.
Comments: Russia’s increasing production of specialty products has called for more advanced grades of polypropylene that could not be sourced domestically. The new grade is mainly expected to target the packaging industry. Russian demand for biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) film has increased steadily over the past three years despite widely varying PP resin prices, and domestic production of PP grades should alleviate the jumps in raw material cost.
Synthos to invest in SBR project
Synthos will be investing about USD 103.7 million to construct a styrene-butadiene rubber production facility. The new facility will be constructed at the Special Economic Zone of Krakow, Poland. The styrene-butadiene rubber produced will be primarily directed to tire manufacturers.
Comments: Synthos’ main areas of involvement are the production of synthetic rubber, styrenic plastics, dispersions, and adhesives. The company is backward integrated into monomer sourcing and is currently Europe’s largest producer of SBR. Last year, Synthos signed a contract with a North American distributor to sell its products in the United States and Canada. Synthos will first gain capability to produce S-SBR in 2015.
MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA
Sipchem to start EVA/LDPE plant
Saudi International Petrochemical (Sipchem)’s affiliate International Polymers Company (IPC) is in plans to start up its new EVA/LDPE plant, in the coming month. The USD 800 million plant is located in Jubail Industrial City and has a combined production capacity of 200 KTA.
Comments:The LDPE/EVA plant is part of Sipchem’s strategic plan to capitalize on the increasing demand for the product worldwide. The new plant is a 75:25 JV between Sipchem and South Korea’s Hanwha. Sipchem plant to source ethylene from Jubail United Petrochemical Company and VAM from International Vinyl Acetate Company.
Oman awards technology contracts for PE/PP plants
Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Co. has awarded technology provision contracts for its USD 3.6 million Liwa Plastics Project which includes PP and PE plants. LyondellBasell will provide its Spheripol process for the PP plant and Univation Technologies will provide its process for the PE plant. The project also includes an olefins plant with a production capacity of 900 KTA of ethylene.
Comments: The Liwa Plastics Project is due to be completed in 2018 will be built in Sohar, next to ORPIC’s oil refinery and petrochemical plants. This project will increase Orpic’s plastics production capacity by 1,000 KTA. CB&I has carried out the front-end engineering design, with Engineers India as the project management consultant.
ASIAN PACIFIC
Pucheng Clean Energy to start HDPE/LLDPE plant
Pucheng Clean Energy plans to start its new HDPE/LLDPE plant in November, 2014. The new plant will be located in Shaanxi province and will have a production capacity of 300 KTA.
Comments: Pucheng Clean Energy’s polyethylene plant will be operated using Univation Technologies’ Unipol process. The plant will obtain ethylene feedstock from a combination of coal-to-methanol and methanol-to-olefins plants. This plant is one of China’s largest coal based chemicals production complexes in China.
China National Coal Group to start PE, PP units
China National Coal group plans to start its new PP and LLDPE units in Shaanxi province by the next month. The new coal-to-olefins units will have a production capacity of 300 KTA each for LLDPE and yarn grade PP.
Comments: China is the fastest growing market for polyolefins. The region is expected to add over 3,500 KT of polyolefins in 2014. China plans to build more CTO-based plants in the coming years to ease dependence on petroleum-based raw materials that are in shortage in the region.
Axalta to expand capacity for modified PP powder products
Axalta coating systems is adding manufacturing capacity for new modified polypropylene powder products at its Huangshan operations center in China. The new modified PP powder coating will have excellent corrosion resistance and will offer exceptional durability.
Comments: Axalta Coating Systems is expanding production capacity to take advantage of China’s booming market. The new coating is a high performance thermoplastic powder that has significantly higher corrosion resistance and durability. The modified polypropylene powder coating manufactured in the facility will be applied to go-carts, dishwashers, flange, furniture, buttons and other surfaces requiring a high hardness coating. Axalta is simultaneously expanding its capacity at other locations in China.
Reliance to start up new SBR plant
Reliance Industries Limited is in plans to start its new styrene butadiene rubber plant in Hazira in August 2014. The new plant will have a production capacity of 150 KTA.
Comments: Reliance is India’s largest 1,3-butadiene producer and operates two plants with a total current nameplate capacity of 200 KTA. Butadiene produced at their Hazira plant will be used captively for the manufacture of SBR at the new plant. This plant will be India’s second large-scale SBR plant after Indian Synthetic Rubber Limited.
ONGC’s petrochemical complex expected in 2015
ONGC Petro Additions Ltd is expected to commission is new integrated petrochemical complex in Dahej in the first quarter of 2015. The petrochemical complex which is built with an investment of about USD 4 billion dollars will have a capacity to produce 1,100 KTA of ethylene and 400 KTA propylene.
Comments: OPAL was established as a joint venture between Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL), and Gujarat State Petroleum in 2006 especially for the construction of OPAL’s Dahej complex. The Dahej petrochemical complex will be the largest olefins unit in India upon completion. The downstream units will produce 350 KTA of PP, using the Ineos process, 350 KTA of HDPE, based on the Mitsui process, and two LLDPE lines, each designed to produce 360 KTA using Ineos technology.