| WTI Crude | $41.99/bbl | +1.0% |
| Brent Crude | $43.79/bbl | +1.6% |
| HH Nat Gas | $2.22/MMBtu | +1.4% |
| MB Propane | $0.51/gal | +3.0% |
| 3:2:1 Crack | $8.54/bbl | -0.2% |
Sasol completes the last piece of its $13B puzzle
Integrated energy and chemical company based in South Africa, Sasol, has announced that it has started-up its final unit at its $13B Lake Charles Chemicals Complex (LCCP).
Some context:
Remember back in August when Sasol announced they would be starting up its final unit in October? Well, that low-density polyethylene (LDPE) unit is finally up and running.
What's next?
About a month ago LyondellBasell bought into Sasol's LCCP—forming a joint venture that includes this LDPE unit. The unit (using ExxonMobil's technology) will be making 420,000 tons of the plastic used to manufacture "bags, shrink wrap and stretch film, coatings for paper cups and cartons, container lids, squeezable bottles, and other applications".
Read the press release here.
Shell commits to buying pyrolysis oil from plastic waste
Dutch oil major, Shell, has signed an agreement with plastics recycling company, Nexus, to purchase 60,000 tons of pyrolysis oil from plastic waste over the next 4 years.
What are they saying?
Shell's ambition is "to use one million tons of plastic waste a year in its global chemical plants by 2025.", so they are officially 1.5% of the way there! In any case, for Shell, the agreement is a "positive step towards providing our customers with bigger volumes of sustainable, circular chemicals". Once more pyrolysis oil from plastic waste hits the market you can bet Shell will be looking to buy more.
Bigger picture:
The world's largest petrochemical companies are no stranger to the cracking of liquid hydrocarbons. While it's true that most crackers built in recent years are tuned for ethane (shout out to the shale revolution), these large petrochemical companies remain uniquely capable of utilizing pyrolysis oil from plastic waste. It wasn't too long ago that we saw CPChem looking for a supplier.
Read the press release here.
Dow forms a joint venture to make PAA
US-based chemical company, Dow Chemical, and the Al-Hejailan Group have announced the formation of a joint venture to design, build, and operate an emulsion polymers and polyacrylic acid (PAA) plant in Saudi Arabia.
What are they making?
PAA is a common synthetic polyelectrolyte typically used as a thickener, dispersing agent, conditioner, emulsifier, ion-exchanger, or clarifying agent. Emulsion polymers are colloidal dispersions (just like milk) of separate polymer particles.
The details:
Construction should begin sometime next year, so the plant won't start-up until 2023, once it's up and running it will pump out 40,000 tons per year. The two companies are hoping to capitalize on the "growing customer demand for coatings and water treatment applications". While the Al-Hejailan Group will operate the plant once it's built, the joint venture is utilizing Dow's technology and Dow will be responsible for bringing the chemicals to market.
Read the press release here.