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Heavy olefins
Overview
Global butadiene production and demand are dominated by northeast Asia. Although the region continues to add both supply and derivative projects, there have been market inefficiencies that have resulted in deep sea imports into the region. Accurate and timely analysis will help producers, consumers and traders navigate these turbulent times.
The C5 and hydrocarbon resins industry has experienced a fundamental shift in the past few years, going from several acute shortages to a glut of products in the markets. Producers, industrial chemicals companies, chemical distributors, traders and technology providers all need to understand how this will play out, especially in light of new entries into the global market. Argus’ C5 and Hydrocarbon Resins Service is the only global service of its kind.
Our experts will help you determine what trends to track and how to stay competitive in today’s ever-changing global markets.
Latest heavy olefins news
Browse the latest market moving news on the global heavy olefins industry.
Ineos seals TotalEnergies’ Lavera petchem deal
Ineos seals TotalEnergies’ Lavera petchem deal
London, 2 April (Argus) — UK-based chemical petrochemical company Ineos has completed the purchase of TotalEnergies 50pc stake in the former joint venture at the Lavera chemical site in southern France with the deal including storage and pipeline assets. Ineos and TotalEnergies originally announced the deal in July 2023. Ineos now completely controls the assets at the complex including Naphthtachimie, which operates a 720,000 t/yr ethylene steam cracker at Lavera that can produce 300,000 t/yr of propylene and 120,000t/yr of butadiene. The acquisition also included the 300,000 t/yr Appryl polypropylene business and the Gexaro aromatics operation with a capacity of 270,000 t/yr, the Gexaro site will continue to be operated by Petroineos. Naphtha storage business 3TC was also included in the deal. Ineos plans to fully integrate the connected assets. Ineos already operated and owned ethylene oxide, polyethylene and oxo-alcohol production at the Lavera site. The company also operates the 207,100 b/d Lavera refinery through its Petroineos 50:50 joint venture with state controlled PetroChina. The deal includes Ineos taking control of southern sections of TotalEnergies' ethylene pipeline network from Lavera to the Lyon region. TotalEnergies previously stated that it did not use its share of ethylene production from the Lavera steam cracker and mainly sold it to Ineos. Ineos operates a PVC plant in the Lyon region under the Inovyn business. TotalEnergies operates the Feyzin cracker in the same area. The deal will allow closer integration between the Feyzin and Carling sites for TotalEnergies, the company said. The northern and central sections of the ethylene pipeline will continue to be jointly owned and remain operated by TotalEnergies. By George Barsted Eastern France ethylene pipelines post-transaction Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Vietnam’s Long Son extends cracker shutdown to June
Vietnam’s Long Son extends cracker shutdown to June
Singapore, 25 March (Argus) — Vietnam's sole cracker operator Long Son Petrochemical (LSP) has extended the shutdown of its cracker and associated downstream units in Ba Ria-Vung Tau to June, to address technical issues. LSP shut its cracker and downstream units on 21 February because of equipment issues. Siam Cement (SCG), the parent company of LSP, subsequently issued a force majeure on products the following day. SCG was initially expecting the cracker to restart in about 2-4 weeks after the shutdown in February. But the firm filed a statement to the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) on 22 March, stating that the technical difficulty is still under investigation and the LSP complex is expected to restart in June. LSP's cracker is a mixed feed cracker with a nameplate capacity of 950,000 t/yr for ethylene, 400,000 t/yr for propylene and a 100,000 t/yr butadiene extraction unit. Downstream units are polymer-focused, with a 500,000 t/yr high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plant, a 500,000 t/yr linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) unit and a 400,000 t/yr polypropylene (PP) unit. SCG offered spot HDPE, LLDPE and PP supplies from its new LSP complex to the market earlier this year but has ceased offers since late February, after the force majeure announcement. SCG also stated in its statement filed to the SET that its Rayong Olefins (ROC) cracker in Map Ta Phut, Thailand has resumed operations. The producer is expected to ramp up production at its 920,000 t/yr HDPE unit and 720,000 t/yr PP unit in Thailand following the restart of the ROC cracker, and will resume supply of these grades to the market. The ROC cracker was restarted late last week and has achieved on-specification olefins products since then, according to sources close to the company. The cracker was shut for maintenance since mid-November 2023. The ROC cracker has a nameplate capacity of 800,000 t/yr of ethylene and 400,000 t/yr propylene. SCG also owns another cracker at the same site — the Map Ta Phut Olefins cracker with capacity of 1mn t/yr of ethylene and 500,000 t/yr of propylene. Both the crackers are currently operating at near-full run rates. By Yee Ying Ang, Brian Leonal and Toong Shien Lee Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Rising South Korean cracker rates to boost LPG demand
Rising South Korean cracker rates to boost LPG demand
South Korean crackers are running harder as margins recover, writes Toong Shien Lee Singapore, 5 March (Argus) — South Korean cracker operators are aiming to raise run rates this month because of recent gains in ethylene and butadiene prices, raising demand for LPG feedstock with propane and butane still at a discount to naphtha. Hanwha Total will lift utilisation at its 1.55mn t/yr Daesan cracker to 100pc from 92pc in March, while KPIC has already raised its 800,000 t/yr Onsan cracker rates to 90pc from 80pc. LG Chem is also planning to increase run rates at its 1.15mn t/yr Yeosu 1 cracker to 70pc from 64pc, at its 800,000 t/yr Yeosu 2 cracker to 80pc from 73pc, and at its 1.27mn t/yr Daesan unit to 67pc from 64pc. GS Caltex is mulling raising utilisation at its 700,000 t/yr Yeosu cracker this month, as is Lotte Chemical at its 1.2mn t/yr Yeosu and 1mn t/yr Daesan units. Hyundai Chemical may ramp up rates at its 900,000 t/yr Daesan cracker to 60pc from 55pc in March, market participants say. The increase in olefin supplies from South Korea is expected to be partially offset by turnarounds at crackers in Japan. The plan to increase rates comes as cracker margins recover in line with rising ethylene and butadiene prices, although margins remain in negative territory. Naphtha cracking margins rose to -$104/t by 28 February from -$304/t at the start of 2024 — the highest since May 2023, Argus data show. Propane cracking margins have recovered more rapidly as propane prices have fallen relative to naphtha, climbing to -$2/t by 28 February from -$240/t on 3 January. Flexible Asian crackers have shifted to propane from naphtha since January to maximise production margins. Expectations of tighter ethylene and butadiene supplies in the region have pushed up prices to multi-month highs. The ethylene fob northeast Asia price rose to $935/t on 21 February from $820/t on 3 January, the highest since March 2023. Butadiene fob northeast Asia values increased to $1,270/t on 23 February from $898/t on 5 January, the highest since July 2022. NE Asian fob ethylene, butadiene Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Korea's Hanwha Total to load down butadiene production
Korea's Hanwha Total to load down butadiene production
Singapore, 4 March (Argus) — South Korea's Hanwha Total will be loading down butadiene production from 5-13 March after detecting a technical issue at its 150,000 t/yr compressor unit at Daesan. The company does not expect to require a complete shutdown to resolve the technical issue but anticipates production losses of around 3,200t. March contract deliveries to off-takers will be reduced by up to 1,400t, and the company has now shelved a previous plan to sell an 1,800t spot cargo for April. This means that South Korean butadiene consumers such as Kumho Petrochemical and LG Chemicals could have to seek imports to plug the shortfall in production. Hanwha Total's announcement also comes on the heels of butadiene prices hitting 20-month highs of $1,300-1,340/t cfr northeast Asia in the week of 23 February because of tight supply. By Bohan Loh Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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Under Pressure: Weather Extremes Take Toll on Chemicals Industry
The fire at the Dow Glycol II unit, the INEOS pipeline explosion, or the olefin unit fire at Shell’s Deer Park, are just a few of the 100 chemical accidents in the USA thus far in 2023. Texas holds the largest share with 27 incidents according to the Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters. On average a chemical fire, explosion, or toxic release occurs every two days in the USA.
WhitePaper - 04/02/24Adiponitrile: Growing supply glut, sluggish demand forces a Texas plant closure
There have been a number of ups and downs to the adiponitrile market in the last decade. The most recent blow is a closure at a site in Texas. Butadiene expert Angie Joe walks you through the major events that led to this decision.
Blog - 20/10/23Integrated PE producers enjoying optimistic margin outlook, despite narrow ethylene margins
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