By Malini Hariharan Qatar Petroleum’s (QP) ambition to extend its global reach has taken the company to Algeria. QP is reported to have picked up a 10% stake in the Total-Sonatrach joint-venture petrochemicals project at Arzew, Algeria. The entry of QP would result in a dilution of Total’s stake in the project to 41% with […]
Asian Chemical Connections
Kuwait plans another cracker
By Malini Hariharan Despite doubts about availability of gas, its cost and viability of using naphtha or other feedstocks, companies from the Middle East are continuing to plan new petrochemical projects. The latest is Kuwait’s Petrochemical Industries Co (PIC) which is looking to invest $5bn in a new 1.4m tonnes/year mixed-feed cracker and derivatives complex. […]
Operating problems strike Asian polyolefins
By Malini Hariharan Just when polyolefin markets have started recovering operating issues are cropping up at plants in Asia. ExxonMobil was forced to shut its 600,000 tonnes/year polyethylene (PE) plant in Singapore on Tuesday for two weeks due to undisclosed problems. The PE plant had faced problems in early July when it was shut down […]
Taiwan’s tough talk
By Malini Hariharan Formosa Petrochemical Corp’s problems are mounting after two accidents in less than a month at its refinery and petrochemical site in Mailiao, Taiwan. Wu Den-yih, the country’s premier was at the site last week and ordered an investigation report to be submitted on 6 August. And in a bid to reassure residents […]
ChemaWEyaat shifting to a new site?
By Malini Hariharan One more Middle East project appears to be on the move. Abu Dhabi’s ChemaWEyaat is reportedly shifting its 1.5m tonnes/year cracker and derivatives project from the Khalifa Port and Industrial Zone in Taweelah, to Ruwais in the western part of Abu Dhabi. ChemaWEyaat, the Abu Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC) and International Petroleum […]
Searching for balance
By John Richardson and Malini Hariharan Cautious optimism first gave way to mounting anxiety over the prospects for the second half of this year, but now the mood surrounding China’s polyolefins market is downright pessimistic. “It is going to take a few months to clear up polyolefin inventories and volumes from new plants,” Mazlan Razak, […]
Yansab results reflect Saudi gas problems
By Malini Hariharan Yansab posted a net profit Saudi Riyal (SR)502.4m ($134.0m) in the second quarter, its first full quarter of commercial operations. However, results could have been better if its plants had run at full capacity. Analysts at NCB Capital estimate that average utilization rate was below their expectation of 93% for the quarter. […]
Plans for one more cracker at Jubail
By Malini Hariharan A few weeks back the blog had reported that Total was interested in producing more petrochemicals downstream of its refinery joint venture with Saudi Aramco at Al Jubail in Saudi Arabia. And yesterday, Michel Govaerts, general manager of business development for Middle East and Asia at Total Petrochemicals, confirmed that the company […]
Qatar eyes cracker capacity hike and propane cracking
By Malini Hariharan Ras Laffan Olefins Co (RLOC) is studying an expansion of its new cracker by using propane as a feedstock. At a recent news conference, Mohammed Yousef Al Mulla, general manager of Qatofin, the Qatar Petroleum-Total joint venture downstream of the 1.3m tonnes/year cracker, said that while the cracker was currently running at […]
All mixed up in the West
By Malini Hariharan The blog has been writing about the softening in olefin and polyolefin prices in the US. But the European market presents an interesting contrast offering arbitrage opportunities for those willing to take the risk. Operating rate reductions have been reported at crackers in Priolo, Italy; Tarragona, Spain; Carling, France; Cologne, Germany; and […]
Jump to page: