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ExxonMobil carries out maintenance at Singapore plant

  • Market: Petrochemicals
  • 28/11/19

ExxonMobil is carrying out maintenance at an unspecified unit at its Singapore Chemical Plant that has resulted in flaring.

The length of the maintenance is currently unclear.

The site is ExxonMobil's largest integrated petrochemical complex globally and has a 1.9mn t/yr ethylene production capacity, together with downstream units producing polymers.

The complex is also home to the Singapore Aromatics Recovery No.1 plant that has the capacity to produce 530,000 t/yr of paraxyelene, 580,000 t/yr of benzene, as well as 380,000 t/yr of toluene.

By Kate Lee


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25/04/25

Orbia focused on cost in face of weak PVC market

Orbia focused on cost in face of weak PVC market

Houston, 25 April (Argus) — Mexico-based chemicals producers Orbia is focusing on reducing future costs as the broader polyvinyl chloride (PVC) industry faces weakening market dynamics. Orbia said Friday it would focus on maintaining strict discipline on fixed costs, working capital, and capital investments to weather the turbulent global economic landscape. The company is targeting $250mn in savings by 2027, with cumulative savings of $160mn by the end of 2025. The company also expects $75mn of divestments by the end of the year in its building and infrastructure segment. Plants and related infrastructure in Europe were the primary targets of the optimization, according to company officials on the first-quarter earnings call. Orbia chief executive Sameer Bharadwaj said the company could revise capital expenditures lower from its initial $400mn target provided earlier this year should market conditions further deteriorate. Short-term operating costs currently face lower levels with falling ethane prices, a critical feedstock to manufacture ethylene for PVC production. The focus on cost management was spurred by sluggishness in the global PVC market. Chinese and US PVC producers drove export prices lower as a means of moving excess capacity, which Orbia expects to continue. "PVC pricing is as low as it gets" Bharadwaj said. He added producer margins would be squeezed further if product prices continue to decrease. Orbia posted a $41mn profit during the first quarter, down from the $106mn profit a year earlier. Orbia's polymer solutions segment, which includes PVC production, reported $6mn loss during the three-month period because of lower global prices for vinyls and a force majeure at its Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, plant that was lifted in mid-April. Orbia made a $24mn profit during the same period a year ago. The building and infrastructure segment, inclusive of PVC products, posted a $3mn profit for the quarter compared to a $33mn profit a year earlier. By Aaron May Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Brazil 1Q PE imports hint at shifting trade patterns


25/04/25
News
25/04/25

Brazil 1Q PE imports hint at shifting trade patterns

Sao Paulo, 25 April (Argus) — Brazilian polyethylene (PE) imports totaled 459,173t in the first quarter of 2025, down 20.3pc when compared with the 515,063t imported during the same period in 2024. The five major PE exporters to Brazil during the first quarter of 2025 were the US, Argentina, Canada, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Leading the pack, the US shipped 310,861t, a 9pc year-on-year decrease. The decline is expected to continue in the second quarter as Brazilian buyers are avoiding any risk coming from the uncertainties caused by US president Donald Trump's tariffs. Argentina followed with 65,025t, a 9pc increase compared with a year earlier, showing that buyers are increasingly looking for different sources for the resin. One source in Argentina confirmed to Argus that the local PE producer is running at higher rates and exporting to Brazil all of the excess that could not be absorbed internally in Argentina. Canada, with shipments of 19,379t, down by 40pc, and Saudi Arabia with 10,541t, a volume 47pc lower than the first quarter of 2024, also lost market share. Imports from Egypt grew significantly to 8,993t in the first quarter, up from 342t in the same period in 2024. Egyptian PE does not pay 20pc import taxes when entering Brazil. Egypt's percentage growth in the Brazilian PE market was followed by Mexico, with a 664pc increase in shipments, possibly intra-company exports from Brazil's resin manufacturer Braskem's subsidiary in Mexico, and by the Netherlands, with shipments up by 278pc year-on-year at 4,046t. The trade shifts in the first quarter could show the start of a change in trade dynamics in the Brazilian PE market following disruptions caused by Trump's tariff policies announced on 2 April. By Fred Fernandes Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Washington passes producer responsibility law


24/04/25
News
24/04/25

Washington passes producer responsibility law

Houston, 24 April (Argus) — The US state of Washington has passed a producer responsibility bill for plastic packaging, which is intended to pass on end-of-life plastics costs to producers. The bill will now go to Governor Bob Ferguson (D) to be signed into law. The law aims to collect fees from producers of single-use goods through a non-profit producer responsibility organization (PRO) in order to fund municipal recycling and to increase investment in recycling infrastructure across the state. Under the law, producers must register with Washington's PRO by 1 July 2026, with full implementation of the law and fee collection set to begin in January 2030. Washington's law will require its PRO to cover at least 50pc of the state's net recycling costs by 2030, and 90pc by 2032. If the bill is signed into law, Washington will become the seventh state to pass a producer responsibility law for plastic packaging in the US. Less than a month ago on 7 April, Maryland passed a producer responsibility law. Oregon's producer responsibility law for plastics packaging will be the first to be fully operational in the US in July. By Zach Kluver Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Dow delays Path2Zero ethylene project in Canada


24/04/25
News
24/04/25

Dow delays Path2Zero ethylene project in Canada

Houston, 24 April (Argus) — Dow is delaying construction in Canada of its Path2Zero project, designed to produce 1.9mn metric tonne (t)/yr of low-carbon ethylene, until "market conditions improve", the company said today. The company decided to delay work at its Path2Zero project site in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, in light of uncertainty around US tariffs and potential retaliatory tariffs by US trading partners, especially their impact on product demand, the company said Thursday on its first-quarter earnings call. Path2Zero, designed to produce ethylene and derivatives with net-zero carbon emissions, was announced in October 2021 and was originally planned for a first-phase start-up in 2027 and a second phase in 2029. The first phase was meant to coincide with an expected upturn in the business cycle. But tariffs have increased uncertainty to the point that Dow said it cannot be sure of a recovery in two years. Chief executive Jim Fitterling described the current market environment as "one of the most protracted down-cycles in decades", compounded by geopolitical and macroeconomic concerns that further weigh on demand. The Path2Zero project delay will save $600mn in 2025, accounting for 60pc of the company's plan to cut capital spending this year by $1bn from the company's original $3.5bn spending plan. The pause comes before a ramp up in construction labor and allows the company to see how tariffs effect global demand and supply chains. "We are at a point right now where we can make this decision to have minimal impact on the project," Fitterling said. "We've done a lot of groundwork, we're finishing our engineering work, and we've got our long lead time items ordered." Despite the delay, Dow remains committed to the project in the long-term. The project will one day capture upside in demand for targeted applications like pressure pipe, wiring cable and food packaging, the company said. When complete, the project is expected to generate approximately $1bn/yr in incremental earnings. Even with the delay, it is still likely to be the world's first integrated ethylene complex to achieve net-zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions. To restart the project, Dow said it would have to start seeing supply and demand balances tighten. The company said it would next revisit restarting the project at the end of 2025. Without a green light by year's end, Dow said it would review a project restart "on a regular basis". The project would triple the site's ethylene and polyethylene (PE) capacity. In total, the site would produce approximately 3.2mn t/yr of low-to-zero emissions PE and other ethylene derivatives. The first phase startup in 2027 was to have brought on 1.3mn t/yr of ethane-derived ethylene and PE, and the second phase in 2029 was to bring on an additional 600,000 t/yr of ethylene and PE. The site will also convert cracker off-gas into hydrogen to be reused as a clean fuel in the production process. The project is designed to capture CO2 emissions for storage by adjacent third-party infrastructure. By Michael Camarda Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Dow studying German cracker and chlorine/vinyl closures


24/04/25
News
24/04/25

Dow studying German cracker and chlorine/vinyl closures

London, 24 April (Argus) — Dow has announced an expansion of its strategic review of European assets, which it said may result in the potential idling or shutdown of its cracker in Boehlen, Germany, chlor-allkali and vinyl assets in nearby Schkopau, also in Germany, and the shutdown of siloxanes production in Barry, UK. The company aims to complete the review, including the initial scope of its polyurethanes business by mid-year. The European actions are part of a package of measures aimed at delivering $6bn in cash support to help it manage the current downturn. Outside Europe, Dow said that it would also delay construction of its Path2Zero project in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada until market conditions improve. The total includes $1bn in costs savings by 2026, $1bn in capital expenditure savings and proceeds from the sale of a stake in a newly-formed infrastructure-focused company resulting in the sale of a minority stake in select US Gulf Coast infrastructure assets. The measures were announced as Dow reported first quarter 2025 results with a net loss of $290mn, down by $444mn year on year, primarily driven by lower prices and higher energy and feedstock costs. Sales of $10.4bn were down by 3pc on the year but with a volume increase of 2pc. Dow chief executive Jim Fitterling said: "The significant impact of slower GDP growth and volatile market conditions on our industry underscores the importance of our proactive management and best-owner mindset. Today's announcements build on Dow's cost actions that are already underway, aiming to further strengthen our financial flexibility and support a balanced capital allocation approach." Dow's cracker in Boehlen has an annual ethylene nameplate capacity of 540,000 t/yr, with propylene capacity of 285,000 t/yr. The review comes in the same week that TotalEnergies announced a plan to close one of its Antwerp crackers by the end of 2027. LyondellBasell, which is also reviewing a number of European chemical assets, will announce its first quarter 2025 results tomorrow. At Schkopau, Dow operates a chlor-alkali unit with 250,000 t/yr chlorine capacity and 740,000 t/yr ethylene dichloride capacity. The site previously had around 330,000 t/yr of capacity for chloride monomer (VCM) production, with two lines operating at the site, but Dow closed the larger of the two lines to reduce capacity to roughly 110,000 t/yr of VCM earlier this year. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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